The gimmick, again if you will, for the Mines of Dorter is a series of mine carts and tracks where various switches change the course of where the mine cart will go. This turns into a modest puzzle where hitting the correct series of switches will bring our heroes Casey and Nemus through to the deepest portions of the mines.
When I do levels, I don't draw a rough sketch or plan. Now, that obviously isn't something that I recommend you do, but it's something that just works for me. You see, when I'm actually placing down tiles, the ideas of how the dungeon is designed fall into place like jigsaw pieces. Eventually, I have a finished placement of walls and floors.
However, getting the floor plan of a dungeon is just the start of the "work." I put work in quotes because it's more fun than actual work. Of course, as a cave, there are some natural elements to consider, just like an outdoor area as seen in Mabel Road. However, simultaneously, since humans have occupied the mine, there is a man-made element as well, where miners have chipped away at the walls of the mine to create new passages and such.
Let's look at this screenshot I took of just the basics of a given room in the mines:
We have a basic outline of the walls and the floors. There aren't many straight lines on the walls and edges, so that we have a bit of a natural look. At the same time, there's an element here of the miners carving into the walls to produce what we see here. However, as this room currently looks, it's awfully sparse. Boring, even. Let's try to fix that!
Okay, we have the start of something interesting going on here through the addition of gems sprinkled along the walls. It gives some contrast and color to the room as well as some added definition and depth. We can do more, though!
Ah, some crystals and gems stemming from the ground. Like the wall gems, we have a natural looking placement of the objects. Still, the room continues to look a bit sparse, a little dull to look at. Maybe we can improve this some more...
Ooh! Some pillars! Me likey! Oh, God. I'm slipping into baby talk. Sorry about that. Talking about game design gets me excited and all silly. Anyway, the addition of six pillars not only brings new color to the room, but it fills it up a little more nicely! I'm glad I didn't overcrowd things because that's a thing to consider. You don't want it too sparse, it don't want it too crowded. Like everything in life, strike a nice balance. Maybe we can do even more, though!
Water some nice things about adding pools of water here (and some more gems) is that it enhances the look of the room. It's not just some sizable patches of bland floor. It gives the room some more personality and character, making it more visually attractive. Of course, we can't leave things like this. We're missing something absolutely vital. Can you guess what that is?
Bridges! How else do the miners get through such a room? I doubt they can get big air like Michael Jordan in his prime to get across these watery gaps. Instead, not only do the rope bridges again add personality to the room, they look quite nice to boot! Form and function, ladies and gentlemen! Now, we have a completed room.
So what have we learned here? Well, maybe you learned nothing, and that's okay! You read my ramblings, and that was fun enough. For others, maybe you got an idea on how to make empty spaces more interesting to look at and wander through! If you add objects (especially if you make them add some contrast to the level, area, or room) and depending on the type of environment you're working on (man-made, natural, or a combination of the two) place them appropriately, you'll get some satisfying levels to look at and play!
