[jzoeller]

Hello, my name is Jesse Zoeller. I am an indie developer and have recently released my first game DarkLight Dungeon. It is a 3D Dungeon exploration game with 2D turn based combat.

I am also working on DarkLight Dungeon - Eternity at the moment.

You can check out screenshots, forums and the demo on my webpage www.DarkLightDungeon.com

Thanks,

Jesse

DarkLight Dungeon
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DarkLight Dungeon - Eternity Alpha Build

[Mattias Gustavsson]

Hey, this looks very nice :-) And from the screenshots from DarkLight Dungeon, it looks rather interesting. Good stuff!
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www.mattiasgustavsson.com - My blog
www.rivtind.com - My Fantasy world and isometric RPG engine
www.pixieuniversity.com - Software 2D Game Engine

[RampantCoyote]

I haven't played much of it, but I like it. It's got the ol' Might & Magic 1 / 2 vibe.
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Tales of the Rampant Coyote - Old-School Game Developer talks Indie Games, RPGs, and the Games Biz

[jzoeller]

Another shot of some of the improvements in DarkLight Dungeon Eternity.


Hi-Res Image Here.
http://DarkLightDungeon.com/Images/DDEternityPreview1.png

[jzoeller]

[jzoeller]

The first 10 of 50 levels.

[RampantCoyote]

I have been reading a bunch of reviews of old RPGs from the late 80's / early 90's lately (archived issues of Computer Gaming World from back then, etc.) It's funny to imagine what people like Scorpia would say seeing stuff like this.

Anyway, these levels are HUGE. How do you come up with creative and interesting stuff to pack into these dungeons?
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Tales of the Rampant Coyote - Old-School Game Developer talks Indie Games, RPGs, and the Games Biz

[jzoeller]

It's not easy. I found breaking down the work into five level chunks is for me a fair amount of area to focus on at a time. I have the overall ideas written down for the entire scope of the dungeon, but breaking it down into small segments to work on at a time really helps to make that section shine.

I first come up with an idea for the area in general, then start sifting through textures and creating objects that would make it unique, interesting and match the vision in my mind. Then I come up with the enimies and how they would reside in this area.

I carve out the dungeon first, thinking about making it exciting for the player as they explore, making sure there is enough to keep the player moving forward. The puzzles are also much more interesting and complex in DD2.

Also I have added areas that are optional and as non linear as possible.

By the time I add equipment, monsters, chest etc to all the rooms and then balance and rebalance that area, it is easy to get burned out. As soon as I feel that way, I stop, and play an RPG. I don't wont to create content when I feel like that, because the creativity is not there. I find that break playing RPG's is fun and brings back the creativity. My last break has involved playing M&M6.

DD2 is packed with so much more over DD1 and with 40 more floors to design, it's a long haul. Once everything is done, I plan to go back through and flush out even more content to bring the entire dungeon together.

There are so many new surprises awaiting players this time around. To toote my own horn a little, I find it hard to find the words to convey to people how much of a massive improvement there has been between DD1 and DD2. I learned a lot from creating DD1.

[jzoeller]

[jzoeller]

Here is a close up of some level design. I take my time and plan out the look and feel, what is the purpose of this area/level and how the players perception of it should be. This level took 5 hours to build. Another 1 hour to add lights and objects, there are still another 5 hours of adding monsters, treasure chest, traps, puzzles, etc. Then about 2 more hours of initial game play balancing.

[jzoeller]

Below is a preview video of DarkLight Dungeon Eternity - Alpha Build 1.0.0.48

View full screen 1080p for best quality.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhUngKMHbzI

[Malignus]

As someone who knows what a pain in the butt it is to create items, menus and behind-the-scenes systems for an RPG, I can understand the urge to show off those things in a trailer. You really shouldn't, though. If I hadn't had the patience to sit through 4 minutes of you fiddling around with menus (and believe me, a lot of people won't), I would have never seen the quite-cool-looking gameplay footage.

My advice: make another video where you skip character creation, zip right through to the dungeon, and spend a solid 3 minutes just exploring, triggering traps and teleporters, and battling monsters. It'll draw in way more people. Just my two cents.

[jzoeller]

Thanks for the feedback. I just wanted to get something out there to show off the game in general. I am planing to make a true trailer video soon.

Jesse

[tcaudilllg]

Hey did this game ever get finished?

[RampantCoyote]

Yup, it was released at the beginning of the year. I'm nowhere near finished with playing it yet, but I got pretty deep into the dungeon. Well, it FELT like pretty deep , but I guess it wasn't really, 'cuz I think the lowest level I hit was somewhere in the low teens.
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Tales of the Rampant Coyote - Old-School Game Developer talks Indie Games, RPGs, and the Games Biz