Formal Elements

The Basics

Some games are heavily RNG-based. Implement a hard cap on how many wands and artifacts can spawn. Try to match this cap as much as possible.

Players

• Single Player – like Solitare.
• Head-to-head – 1 vs. 1, Chess.
• PvE – Player vs. Environment, or multiple players vs. the game. Common in MMOs like World of Warcraft.
• One against Many – Single-player vs. multiple (obvy).
• Free-for-all – Every man for himself (1 vs. 1 vs. 1 vs. 1..). Most common for multiplayer games, from Monopoly to Modern Warfare.
• Individuals Against the System – Like Blackjack, where the Dealer is playing against multiple players, but those players have no effect on each other.
• Team Competition – Multiple vs. multiple, i.e. sports.
• Predator-prey – Players form a circle and everyone’s goal is to attack the player on their left and defend themselves from the player on their right.
• Five-pointed Star – Eliminate both players who are not on either side of you.

Objectives/Goals

• Capture/Destroy – Eliminate all your opponents pieces (Chess).
• Territorial Acquisition – Control as much territory as you can, not necessarily harming other players (RISK).
• Collection – Collect a certain number of objects throughout the game (Pokemon).
• Solve – Solve a puzzle or crime (Clue).
• Chase/race/escape – Anything where you are running towards or away from something (playground game Tag).
• Spatial Alignment – Anything involving the positioning of elements (Tetris or Tic-Tac-Toe or that game at Cracker Barrel).
• Build – Advance your characters or build your resources to a certain point (The Sims).
• Negation of another goal – The game ends if you perform an act that is forbidden by the rules (Jenga or Twister).

Negation fits as well, as the game ends(loss) and restarts if the player dies by any means, assuming the player has no in-game item that revives them (Ankh and Blessed Ankh).

Rules/Mechanics

• Setup – the things you do at the beginning of a game.
• Progression of Play – what happens during the game.
• Resolution – How an outcome is determined based on the game state.

Controls

Resources & Resource Management

Movement helps the player progress through the game. Buffs and debuffs help or hinder the player, and can be used to their advantage.

Health is a resource that determines how many hits the player can take before the game is over(lose).

• Territory in RISK The number of questions remaining in 20 Questions Objects picked up during videogames (guns, health packs, etc.)
• Time (game time, real-time, or both)
• Known information (like suspects in Clue)

Game State

Map: world information such as traps(and different kinds of traps), enemies themselves, how many enemies the hero has access to(through ranged or closed combat), items/chests

• Total Information – Nothing is hidden, like Chess.
• Info per player – Your hand of cards is only visible to you.
• One player has privileged info – Like a Dungeon Master.
• The game hides info from all players – Like Clue, where no one knows the victory condition.
• Fog of War – In video games, where certain sections of the map are concealed if you do not have a unit in sight range of that area. You also cannot see other players’ screens, so each player is unaware of the other’s information.

Sequencing

Every calculation done by the game is a ratio, compared to the hero. Usually, the player-to-enemy turn ratio is 1:1, but many factors can influence this like the base turn of a sewer crab being 1:2 compared to the hero, or the ‘slowed’ debuff that reduces movement by 50%.

• Turn-based – Standard board game technique.
• Turn-based with simultaneous play – where everyone takes their turn at the same time (like writing something down or putting a card down in War).
• Real-time – Actions happen as fast as players can make them. Action-based video games.
• Turn-based and time limits – You have this long to take your turn.

HEAVY repetition, as the player isn’t meant to clear the game on their first run.

Player Interaction

• Direct Conflict – I attack you.
• Negotiation – If you support me here, I’ll help you there.
• Trading – I’ll give you this for that.
• Information Sharing – If you go there, I’m warning you, a trap will go off.

Theme & Narrative

Every 5 floors the level design changes, both the sprites themselves and the design of overall floor generation.

1-5: Sewers

6-10: Prison

11-15: Caves

16-20: Dwarven Metropolis

21-25: Demon Halls

It is heavily referenced and implied that the environments have been corrupted(like the 10th-floor boss, Tengu, who thanks the player for ‘freeing’ him once he’s defeated), the effects much stronger as the hero explores down. This is not a piece of important in-game information, but a reason for why the hero is in the dungeon.

Successfully defeating the Yog-Dzewa gives emotional satisfaction, especially if it’s the player’s first game clear. This is emphasized dramatically as the player also likely attempted the game hundreds of times, all of them leading to premature death.

After the hero acquires the Amulet of Yendor from the 25th stage, the player can choose to end the game there or carry it up to the surface. This makes the player relive through all stages, but the hero is now a much stronger version than what they were before.

When the hero successfully transports the amulet to the top, the ending screen is the hero relaxing on a cliffside with a sewer rat(the first enemy you encounter). This is a cathartic ending, and also implies that the hero ‘freed’ the dungeon from the corruption, also represented by Yog-Dzewa.

The Elements in Motion

Design Critique

Regarding PD, however, it was likely chosen as it resembled the pixelated style from the games from the 90s. Its simple style makes the playing environment more fit for mobile play(compact screen), which is arguably the most popular, and most comfortable platform to play SPD on.

Graphics & Sound

like I mentioned before, Evan, the developer of SPD specifically, wouldn’t want to change any of the graphics nor the sounds. they are a part of what makes the game fall under the brand of ‘pixel dungeon spinoffs’. many players often play multiple versions, as they all offer different styles of play.

The developer updates frequently to address issues or balance problems, so any bugs or glitches are not serious in playing the game.

Various Stages of the Game

take note of the message you get from entering a new floor for the first time.

similarly, always take time to read the logs on the bottom of your screen, especially if you’re doing some weird combat tricks. some things may happen too fast, enemy death could happen out of the screen, and your potion flasks might’ve been broken during your previous turns.

utilize the [investigate] button, as you won’t get all the information from the visual itself. it’s worth it to take some extra time to know what buffs/debuffs are affecting the enemy and exactly what kind of traps is on the floor in front of you.

Bosses: learning the mechanics and reading the visual hints. since the game is meant to be played repeatedly, over and over, a first-time player likely won’t get to Yog-Dzewa.

additional issues like cursed items and satiety: identification, precaution, alert on potential issues

players are free to invest their limited resources into different aspects of the game, such as different weapons, rings, artifacts(which determines a lot of the gameplay), and wands.