CAGD 270: Project 1

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Assignment: Project 1 - Create a DnD level using Roll20

Publication - 10/02/24

The Goal 

        This was the first project in level design, in which the class was instructed to individually create DnD levels using Roll20 for other classmates to play through each iteration. The initial reception was positive as many of the students in the class were excited to finally get some hands-on experience with designing levels instead of just writing down notes and submitting quizzes. We were given a set of guidelines to follow so our projects had some rails to abide by so they wouldn't appear too different gameplay-wise. The guidelines were to utilize the concepts taught to us during class such as "teaching through experiment", "prepare players fairly" and, "Don't taunt players". Using those guidelines we had to complete the goal of the level which was to move 3 characters from one side of the map to the other and teach the players all of the mechanics of the game, the best way to summarize that was to think of it as a tutorial level. My playtesting group consisted of Brandon (Mage), Ross (Rouge), and Marisa (Warrior).

The Islands     

        The idea for my DnD level was sparked almost immediately after the teacher had announced the assignment, I had played a session of DnD on Roll20 before with a group of my friends years ago so I wasn't unfamiliar with the website. That session had an interesting beginning as we had just escaped some war-torn islands and escaped to a harbor where the session began, the premise of escaping some war-torn islands was fascinating to me so I wanted to create a level of exploring those war-torn islands. A benefit of choosing islands as a base for the level created an amount of individuality that set it apart from my peers' levels within caves and dungeons, like most DnD maps would be.

Iteration 1  

        This is the first iteration of The Islands, it is relatively basic and simple it got the job done without risks, compromising details, or gameplay additions. This was due to the uncertainty I had with what I could do with the board and its elements of play, the reason for this was the feedback I received from my instruction about an earlier iteration. 

Actually Iteration 1.5

        This is technically iteration 1.5 as the original iteration had to be scrapped due to its complexity from its non-linear gameplay. In the original iteration, I had many islands where players had to explore a lot more compared to this iteration. The instructor saw the original iteration but did not like the amount of exploring and told me it needed to be much more linear so I scrapped it all except for the three bosses and came up with this. This iteration has a very linear progression up until the final bosses, the enemies between the beginning and end rose in difficulty the further the party progressed. 

Review and Suggestions

        The feedback I got from playtesters was the map felt short, which I took note of. This map wasn't revolutionary but did have hopes for later additions indicated by the scattered barren islands. As the first official iteration, I believe it performed well while still having room to grow and improve.

Iteration 2  

        

        This is the second iteration of The Islands, at first glance the map's base is identical to the first iteration besides the water, which is Roll20's fault, not mine for being deleted. With this second iteration we were directly tasked to add a minimum of three door-key systems within the map and a legend to label all the items on the map so the players would know what they were encountering should they be confused. 

Enhancing

        Since my map consisted of bridges and islands I turned the bridges into drawbridge which needed a key to put them back down. I used some of the previously unused islands to house the new items and new enemies to defend the keys from the players. Adding the legend was relatively easy until somehow it managed to delete all of the water from the background. I left some islands barren still for ambiance and also for possible future additions. The instructions for doors needing keys addressed the problem of the map being short but just to be sure I added a few more enemies to increase the length of time needed for a playtest.

Reviewing and Suggestions

        The feedback I received from this version was positive with few complaints regarding the experience of the players no matter the class they were playing. However, I did receive some suggestions on improving the map in terms of features as this version only built upon already-established factors. This iteration was a positive step towards a better map but I was thinking of a whole new architecture to start anew versus fixing this older one that I didn't think could accommodate the suggestions given.

Iteration 3  

        This is the third and final iteration of The Islands, this map is built from the ground up as a whole new architecture. The only thing that resembles the older iterations is the idea of connecting the islands with bridges but even that has been tweaked with more difficulty, essentially expanded and enhanced. 

Expanding and Enhancing

        Everything with this map is directed with the idea of making the map more difficult and more interactive. The requirements for this mode were to introduce a checkpoint system where players would respawn with full health if they died and to introduce an inventory for each person playing so they could pick up the items scattered around the map and use them to their advantage. To introduce the checkpoint system I decided to make the whole map more difficult, I started with players traversing the islands by creating three types of bridges, two of which needed the player to roll a die to determine if they would fall off them and take damage, the second addition to the movement was the introduction of quicksand which the player's hand to roll each time they landed on a space with it, if they got stuck they would take damage. Enemies in general have increased, in the previous version there were a total of nine enemies but now there is a total of sixteen enemies, most notably there's an optional mini-boss players can take on if they wish to. Increasing difficulty means the creator must balance it out otherwise players will become frustrated to overcome this I placed the new items all on the "starting" islands to help assist the players in overcoming these new challenges enough that they wouldn't become too frustrated while still being able to utilize the checkpoints. 

Revisions and Reviews

        Carried over from older directions were the implementation of doors and a legend for all the items and enemies. When this iteration was playtested the players liked the implementation of new mechanics and enemies which resulted in a positive overall verdict of the session, however, some felt that at points the game felt a little too long and drawn out. To fix this I would need to adjust that balance of difficulty with a reduction of enemies as a whole or a reduction in the amount of stats a certain one has so it can progress faster. This final iteration displayed good development progress upon each iteration adjusting where either playtesters or I believed it needed adjustment. Expanding and enhancing with a new map versus building off a map that was already pretty well developed was a risky maneuver but it resulted in a well-made map that only needs a few minor tweaks.

Conclusion 

 

        Over three different iterations, multiple playtests, multiple suggestions, and multiple revisions, The Islands is a much better map than the first iteration could ever dream to be. The first iteration is barren and desolate compared to the final iteration, even the second iteration looks lacking compared to the final one. A big change between the first and last iteration is determined by the feedback and the arduous implementation by the creator to address all the issues to ensure the experience is improved and not hampered. These three iterations of making a DnD level allowed me to step in the shoes of a level designer with planning, executing, and revising a level until it reached my satisfaction and the satisfaction of the playtesters.