Dungeon litter

[lennard]

I'm getting close to releasing another playable demo for Dungeon Brawl and I'm starting to look at dungeons that are still a bit spartan... Today I'm looking for 2 things.

A) Ideas for dungeon litter like the moss that you see on the walls in the screenshot below. I got some rocks and moss from an artist earlier this year that's really great for tossing around to liven up a place. I'm hoping for ideas for more reusable stuff like that. Mostly stuff for the walls that doesn't look like you should be able to pick it up and use it - I'm looking for dressing up the place and not the game play (this was originally supposed to be an October quickie for Ludum Dare...).

B) I would like to add some cheapo bump mapping to Dungeon Demon so I can add some life to repeating walls and floors. I'm looking for more or less drop in C code that I can apply to a bitmap, modestly priced commercial is OK. Also, I'd love to be able to have a tool in Dungeon Demon that let me apply moss/rocks/dirt with a tool where I could just say "in that area grow a bunch of moss and dirt in the cracks between the walls". Maybe there are code tools in the world that I could buy and add to Dungeon Demon - if you know of any then please let me know.

and now for todays Dungeon Brawl screenshot:

[papillon]

(Random thought - Have you considered putting some colored circles under the feet of your characters? It's unrealistic, sure, but at the moment it's hard to distinguish some of the enemies from the stones around them.)

[lennard]

My other critters pop a lot more but I see what you are saying. Flash lets me easily recolor critters, I'll fiddle around with the hue on those goblins to see if I can get the contrast up.

I went for a walk after posting to clear my head, great day out here in Canada. Anyhow, I have come up with the idea of having Dungeon Demon add dungeon litter based upon parameters, ie:

Floor Layer:

Add litter:

Image(s)
Radio Button: bind to cracks?
Count per grid spot (100x100): 20-40
If binding to cracks then random distance from cracks: 10-30 pixels


You could add as many items as you care to. This would let me bind moss and weeds to cracks while also spewing rocks and other items as well.

[Aronos]

I have a few thoughts on "Litter" if you still need ideas.

Larger Rocks or even pieces from the walls or ceiling that caved in or broke off. I don't know if you would want them to have hit detection or not, I guess that would depend on the size.
Corpses, or bones, kind of like skulls, arms, or full bodies if you want. You can place them on the floors or walls or even have fragments of them.
Old weapons, rusted or broken would work, even sticking out from walls would add more flare.
Columns or pillars. Depending on what your dungeon designs or areas look like, you can add them in rooms to create obstacles or obstructions instead of just empty rooms.
I'm sure there are a ton of stuff you can add, but you need to make sure none of them impact of deter the actual gameplay, merely enhance it.

Hope this helps.

[lennard]

I've got some rocks that I have been scattering around on some of my levels. Small rocks work, bigger rocks and bodies look like you should be able to interact with so unless I'm going to make then interactive I don't want to add them.

I've been thinking about the poly tool I added to Dungeon Demon - if I added a random factor to distribution and translucency along the edges I think I could get some mileage out of puddles, dirt and other textures along the edges of rooms.

I've got a 5 level playable release coming up and then I'll go back to scratching my head about these visuals. Here are two new screenshots. The first I'm happy with the second needs a new kind of litter (I don't think moss works on that level) to liven it up.




somehow this 2nd one seems egyptian themed. I think I'm going to move the goblins with pentacle spawners to this map:

[ionside]

I've got some rocks that I have been scattering around on some of my levels. Small rocks work, bigger rocks and bodies look like you should be able to interact with so unless I'm going to make then interactive I don't want to add them.

You could still put big rocks in, you may just need to adjust their colour so they blend with the rest of the background more.

There's another thing you could add too; overlays. You could add semitransparent overlays of colour above your tiles to darken some areas, add a little blue in others. Not sure if your editor or engine allows for it, but faking a little change in lighting makes a huge difference.
If you have room on your tile sheet, maybe creating a darker variation of these tiles, and some that blend from normal to dark could be worth while.