Golden Xan
Moderator
Staff member
Mallius Odium
Immemorial
Ageless
OG 2020
Grim Scribe
Magus
Vampire Scholar
- Mar 30, 2019
- 349
- 620
- 138
Hey everyone,
Some time ago I was pondering over how it would be possible to make a streaming integration where a viewer helps guide the players through a level, and I kept remembering how I initially thought of the concept as opposing the players instead of helping them. The examples of this role we saw were titled "Dungeon Master", and so I thought of the other side of the coin, the player who is controlling the game or enemy faction to try and stop the player, creating more challenge, and I titled it "Dungeon Keeper" in honor of the game of the same name.
What they are called is rather irrelevant right now, but I wanted to bring forth some of my thoughts about how a different kind of role, an opposing role for Deep Social Media Integration, could be interesting.
I will attempt presenting this idea in a pitch-like form.
Concept
Amongst the roles that stream viewers may potentially take in the Deep Social Media Integration system is the Dungeon Keeper, and opposing force to the Dungeon Master. Its goal is to try and prevent the players from completing their mission. The Keeper does that by choosing between different sets of conditions that the players might face, and he does so in an attempt at picking combinations of enemies, environmental hazards, and challenges that he believes will better counter the players' party.
Influence Currency
The experience is practically a game of its own, where you gain resources in your role to spend as you deem fit. Once your role as the Dungeon Keeper is set, you are allotted a certain amount of resources that you can spend on multiple choices and powers. Every choice has a different cost and it is up to the Dungeon Keeper to evaluate which choices are going to bring him the most value given the situation. The Keeper gains more resources as the players progresses through the level and as the Keeper is able to complete his own goals, which are focused on slowing down or hindering the players.
Flow
Levels are composed of multiple areas. As the players enter the level, assess their objectives and begin exploring the first area, the Keeper is given an overlay of the map with highlighted critical checkpoints and encounters. The Keeper is prompted to spend his influence currency to create hazards and challenges that the players will have to face on their next area. The Keeper is also able to program triggers to specific events, thus creating sequences for the players to face. He may spend his resources at any point while the players are in the area. When they approach a checkpoint of transition to the next area, the Keeper is given a short period to finish his choices for the next area.
As players enters each area and trigger the events programmed by the Keeper, the Keeper gains his influence currency in proportion to their effectiveness against the players. Slowing their progress, hurting them, forcing them to switch states or causing True Death rewards the Keeper, giving him more power to influence the next area and creating a growing challenge. The Keeper is also given a set amount of currency for each checkpoint the players cross, be that in the form of objectives completed, areas explored, or else.
Choices
Each area has a specific set of events, triggers or encounters available to it. Some of them are preestablished by the game by default, and some are chosen by the Keeper, yet limited by their type. A battle area will allow the Keeper to choose between damaging hazards or specific enemies, and exploration or puzzle areas will allow the Keeper to create traps or to hide objectives, slowing down the players. Keepers may be able to choose between a variety of units, each with their own influence cost, to create sets of enemies for the players to fight against; Or may be able to give the existing units special attributes and bonifications, such as elemental damage in their weapons or blessings; Or to set environmental conditions that can potentially hinder the players (or aid their enemies), such as creating stakes that limit the players' movements and serve as puncturing hazards, which would be efficient against specific Undead classes (and so on).
Triggers
In order to create truly exciting experiences that can make a Keeper feel like a mastermind, and to create unique and challenging situations for the players who are facing him, the Keeper can also create triggers in the environment to activate specific events. The triggers may vary between players crossing a certain location, activating an object, killing an enemy, or even creating risk-reward elements such as adding signalers that, if activated, will bring forth free new enemies to fight against. The triggered events may also vary, such as generating more enemies, activating a trap system, closing a portcullis and separating the players, changing the environment by adding a hazard or blocking the passage for players and potentially forcing them to take detours.
Triggers can be set, for a greater ease of development, in specific sections of the map's areas. Or they may be made universal and attachable anywhere, for greater freedom of customization.
Map Tiles
Depending on the kind of mission and versatility of the system, the Keeper may be able to choose between different map tiles that the players will have to cross on their next checkpoint (such as a "building block" in an actual dungeon, with its own peculiarities), allowing the Keeper to customize the player's experience by choosing tiles that he believes will be better to create a challenge for their specific party composition. Each map tile has their own cost associated with it, adding to the options the Keeper has to smartly invest in.
Combat Strategies
Besides spending influence currency, the Keeper may also change the units behavior by choosing from various intelligence settings, making units behave in specific ways, either in groups or individually. By creating an aggressive strategy, the Keeper may overwhelm cautiously conservative players by creating enemies that surround and attack the player's party together. By setting defensive behaviors and creating a hard-to-reach environment with its influence, the Keeper can create situations in which powerful ranged units are inconveniently out of reach, unless the players risk going through hazards in order to take them out. Adjusting battalion formations and setting units to harass specific players, defend important objectives, or to go all berzerk can make every mission very unique for all involved.
Customizable Bosses
Prior to assuming their roles or even during the match, Keepers may be able to create their own bosses by picking from models of units that can be customized with specific parts and items. Almost like picking items for a player's set, the Keeper chooses which equipment a boss will have in various slots of customization, changing the weapon he carries, the armor he uses, what other alien appendices it has, artifacts that it carries and strategies that the bosses employ.
Humanoid bosses can have their equipment customized and buffed. Other kinds of bosses can have their own body parts swapped, sewn together, modified and otherwise enhanced, creating many, many combinations for the Keepers to create and adapt according to which players they are fighting against.
Traits of this system
Feel free to weight in your own ideas and experiences.
Would you like to play as the Dungeon Keeper in Deadhaus?
Some time ago I was pondering over how it would be possible to make a streaming integration where a viewer helps guide the players through a level, and I kept remembering how I initially thought of the concept as opposing the players instead of helping them. The examples of this role we saw were titled "Dungeon Master", and so I thought of the other side of the coin, the player who is controlling the game or enemy faction to try and stop the player, creating more challenge, and I titled it "Dungeon Keeper" in honor of the game of the same name.
What they are called is rather irrelevant right now, but I wanted to bring forth some of my thoughts about how a different kind of role, an opposing role for Deep Social Media Integration, could be interesting.
I will attempt presenting this idea in a pitch-like form.
Concept
Amongst the roles that stream viewers may potentially take in the Deep Social Media Integration system is the Dungeon Keeper, and opposing force to the Dungeon Master. Its goal is to try and prevent the players from completing their mission. The Keeper does that by choosing between different sets of conditions that the players might face, and he does so in an attempt at picking combinations of enemies, environmental hazards, and challenges that he believes will better counter the players' party.
Influence Currency
The experience is practically a game of its own, where you gain resources in your role to spend as you deem fit. Once your role as the Dungeon Keeper is set, you are allotted a certain amount of resources that you can spend on multiple choices and powers. Every choice has a different cost and it is up to the Dungeon Keeper to evaluate which choices are going to bring him the most value given the situation. The Keeper gains more resources as the players progresses through the level and as the Keeper is able to complete his own goals, which are focused on slowing down or hindering the players.
Flow
Levels are composed of multiple areas. As the players enter the level, assess their objectives and begin exploring the first area, the Keeper is given an overlay of the map with highlighted critical checkpoints and encounters. The Keeper is prompted to spend his influence currency to create hazards and challenges that the players will have to face on their next area. The Keeper is also able to program triggers to specific events, thus creating sequences for the players to face. He may spend his resources at any point while the players are in the area. When they approach a checkpoint of transition to the next area, the Keeper is given a short period to finish his choices for the next area.
As players enters each area and trigger the events programmed by the Keeper, the Keeper gains his influence currency in proportion to their effectiveness against the players. Slowing their progress, hurting them, forcing them to switch states or causing True Death rewards the Keeper, giving him more power to influence the next area and creating a growing challenge. The Keeper is also given a set amount of currency for each checkpoint the players cross, be that in the form of objectives completed, areas explored, or else.
Choices
Each area has a specific set of events, triggers or encounters available to it. Some of them are preestablished by the game by default, and some are chosen by the Keeper, yet limited by their type. A battle area will allow the Keeper to choose between damaging hazards or specific enemies, and exploration or puzzle areas will allow the Keeper to create traps or to hide objectives, slowing down the players. Keepers may be able to choose between a variety of units, each with their own influence cost, to create sets of enemies for the players to fight against; Or may be able to give the existing units special attributes and bonifications, such as elemental damage in their weapons or blessings; Or to set environmental conditions that can potentially hinder the players (or aid their enemies), such as creating stakes that limit the players' movements and serve as puncturing hazards, which would be efficient against specific Undead classes (and so on).
Triggers
In order to create truly exciting experiences that can make a Keeper feel like a mastermind, and to create unique and challenging situations for the players who are facing him, the Keeper can also create triggers in the environment to activate specific events. The triggers may vary between players crossing a certain location, activating an object, killing an enemy, or even creating risk-reward elements such as adding signalers that, if activated, will bring forth free new enemies to fight against. The triggered events may also vary, such as generating more enemies, activating a trap system, closing a portcullis and separating the players, changing the environment by adding a hazard or blocking the passage for players and potentially forcing them to take detours.
Triggers can be set, for a greater ease of development, in specific sections of the map's areas. Or they may be made universal and attachable anywhere, for greater freedom of customization.
Map Tiles
Depending on the kind of mission and versatility of the system, the Keeper may be able to choose between different map tiles that the players will have to cross on their next checkpoint (such as a "building block" in an actual dungeon, with its own peculiarities), allowing the Keeper to customize the player's experience by choosing tiles that he believes will be better to create a challenge for their specific party composition. Each map tile has their own cost associated with it, adding to the options the Keeper has to smartly invest in.
Combat Strategies
Besides spending influence currency, the Keeper may also change the units behavior by choosing from various intelligence settings, making units behave in specific ways, either in groups or individually. By creating an aggressive strategy, the Keeper may overwhelm cautiously conservative players by creating enemies that surround and attack the player's party together. By setting defensive behaviors and creating a hard-to-reach environment with its influence, the Keeper can create situations in which powerful ranged units are inconveniently out of reach, unless the players risk going through hazards in order to take them out. Adjusting battalion formations and setting units to harass specific players, defend important objectives, or to go all berzerk can make every mission very unique for all involved.
Customizable Bosses
Prior to assuming their roles or even during the match, Keepers may be able to create their own bosses by picking from models of units that can be customized with specific parts and items. Almost like picking items for a player's set, the Keeper chooses which equipment a boss will have in various slots of customization, changing the weapon he carries, the armor he uses, what other alien appendices it has, artifacts that it carries and strategies that the bosses employ.
Humanoid bosses can have their equipment customized and buffed. Other kinds of bosses can have their own body parts swapped, sewn together, modified and otherwise enhanced, creating many, many combinations for the Keepers to create and adapt according to which players they are fighting against.
Traits of this system
- Streaming delay is irrelevant because the Keeper chooses what will happen in advance.
- Triggers, boss customization and other options make every time you play through a mission unique.
- Influence currency both rewards you and limits the Keeper in their choices.
- Battle strategies make each mission feels like you are playing against a new commander and put players on their toes. You cannot "game" the same enemy types in the same ways repeatedly.
- This role alone is practically a game in itself.
- The Dungeon Keeper role may potentially use the same framework as other DSMI roles do, making development easier.
- Making choices and watching them play out is a special experience akin to the "Tower Defense" gameplay style, but with the uniqueness of combating powerful players who you like to watch instead.
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Feel free to weight in your own ideas and experiences.
Would you like to play as the Dungeon Keeper in Deadhaus?
