4 ms·

Level Editing Off the Beaten Path

13 points by mminer 11y ago

versteegen 11y ago
I think storing maps as images is quite common actually for simple games not made in a game engine that handles maps. You can also use the drawn map as a template, and add random details (random variants of each tile). Also, you'll quickly find you want to use more sophisticated autotiling which handles multiple tile types meeting, and special cases. Here's an article about autotiling by defining rulesets which goes into more detail: http://www.squidi.net/three/entry.php?id=166 http://www.squidi.net/three/entry.php?id=166
- mminer 11y ago
  Thanks for the link, that was an interesting read. As far as procedural level generation goes, one of my favourite articles on the topic is this one about Spelunky's level generation: http://tinysubversions.com/spelunkyGen/ http://tinysubversions.com/spelunkyGen/. It's always impressive to see how combining a few simple rules can yield complex and varied levels.
aw3c2 11y ago
That technique is older than a lot of game devs. ;) Alternatively use some ASCII painting tool and use characters for the indexes.
- versteegen 11y ago
  Yes! There are lots of nice ASCII painting tools around. In particular, there's no difference between an ASCII art editor and a roguelike map editor, except for the name :) Thought there was a nice JS one somewhere, but can't find it.
  - mminer 11y ago
    Do you happen to have any particular recommendations for ASCII painting tools? I took a web-based one called ASCII Paint [1] for a spin and first impressions were positive. [1] http://www.asciipaint.com http://www.asciipaint.com
- mminer 11y ago
  I definitely believe it. It's inspiring to read about the techniques and hacks used at the dawn of game development, so many of which are still useful today. Re: ASCII painting, recently I was looking into using an ASCII drawing tool like Monodraw [1] for creating ASCII maps. A format as portable as plaintext is appealing. [1] http://monodraw.helftone.com http://monodraw.helftone.com
Macuyiko 11y ago
Well written, but as others have mentioned, this technique is almost as old and well-known as game development itself. However, it's still pretty cool and refreshing to use. See e.g. Notch' Ludum Dare streams where he makes his levels in Paint.net: http://www.twitch.tv/notch/b/293084461 http://www.twitch.tv/notch/b/293084461 about 3:23:00 in.
- mminer 11y ago
  Agreed, with all the complexity that game development entails, it's liberating to use a technique that's so "lo-fi". Interesting seeing Notch put his levels together. The speed at which he moves from Paint to running level is something to aspire to. Our workflow was fast, but not that fast.

13 points by mminer 11y ago

I think storing maps as images is quite common actually for simple games not made in a game engine that handles maps. You can also use the drawn map as a template, and add random details (random variants of each tile). Also, you'll quickly find you want to use more sophisticated autotiling which handles multiple tile types meeting, and special cases. Here's an article about autotiling by defining rulesets which goes into more detail: http://www.squidi.net/three/entry.php?id=166 http://www.squidi.net/three/entry.php?id=166

mminer 11y ago
Thanks for the link, that was an interesting read. As far as procedural level generation goes, one of my favourite articles on the topic is this one about Spelunky's level generation: http://tinysubversions.com/spelunkyGen/ http://tinysubversions.com/spelunkyGen/. It's always impressive to see how combining a few simple rules can yield complex and varied levels.

aw3c2 11y ago

That technique is older than a lot of game devs. ;) Alternatively use some ASCII painting tool and use characters for the indexes.

versteegen 11y ago
Yes! There are lots of nice ASCII painting tools around. In particular, there's no difference between an ASCII art editor and a roguelike map editor, except for the name :) Thought there was a nice JS one somewhere, but can't find it.
- mminer 11y ago
  Do you happen to have any particular recommendations for ASCII painting tools? I took a web-based one called ASCII Paint [1] for a spin and first impressions were positive. [1] http://www.asciipaint.com http://www.asciipaint.com
mminer 11y ago
I definitely believe it. It's inspiring to read about the techniques and hacks used at the dawn of game development, so many of which are still useful today. Re: ASCII painting, recently I was looking into using an ASCII drawing tool like Monodraw [1] for creating ASCII maps. A format as portable as plaintext is appealing. [1] http://monodraw.helftone.com http://monodraw.helftone.com

Macuyiko 11y ago

Well written, but as others have mentioned, this technique is almost as old and well-known as game development itself. However, it's still pretty cool and refreshing to use. See e.g. Notch' Ludum Dare streams where he makes his levels in Paint.net: http://www.twitch.tv/notch/b/293084461 http://www.twitch.tv/notch/b/293084461 about 3:23:00 in.

mminer 11y ago
Agreed, with all the complexity that game development entails, it's liberating to use a technique that's so "lo-fi". Interesting seeing Notch put his levels together. The speed at which he moves from Paint to running level is something to aspire to. Our workflow was fast, but not that fast.