Topic: a concept...

[Archdemon]

hey, i was wondering if the idea of a castlevania game with automatically generated castles has already been discussed? i just think it would be awesome because every time you start a new game, you get a whole different map.

oh, and uh, for those of you who know what i'm talking about, don't worry i'm still working on CV Gaiden, and i've switched to developing for the nds instead of the psp, cos its kinda easier to code and test for. like, i don't even own a psp for starters...

anyways, erm, so i just wanted to discuss this idea because it kinda sounds interesting...?

[X]

Sounds like this game idea of yours will no doubt have lots and lots of replay value. But as I'm sure you are aware you'll have to put in an extreme amount of sprite and background work just to give it the freshness each time you play. Kinda mind boggling when you think about it...

But don't let these minute details dissuade you from going ahead with this project. I think i'd be cool! And you would never really be able to master it either since it keeps on changing. 

-X

[Archdemon]

yeah, i agree, it'd kinda be more like an artistry masterpiece than a programming one.
the only real hard bit for the programmer would be the actual castle generating algorithm, based on tons of constraints like taking abilities such as double jump and sliding into account to determine if the player can effectively explore each part of the castle, and also integrating the need for players to have to do a bit of backtracking in some areas.
hm, also there would have to be a huge lot of background music.
and, randomly generating a story/scenario each time to go with it would be next to impossible perhaps? or maybe there could be just one story, with the cutscenes occuring in set places of the castle, so because of this there would have to be a few rooms of the castle that wouldn't change with each new game.

[Aridale]

In Reply To #3

This sort of thing generally works better in full 3d. Its a lot "easier" to make 20 different room layouts all usin the batch of textures than it is to make 20 different room layouts with sprites and tiles and hope they can all work well together in any order or fashion.

The best example Ive ever seen of random layouts everytime you start a new game is a game called Nosferatu Wrath of Malachi. The interior of the house is different everytime you start a new game. Sos the placement of your family members you have to rescue.

Prolly be really hard to find a copy even by illegal means as hardly NO ONE knows about the game. But it was really good and very CVish. Not to mention its a prime example of what your talkin about here

[Archdemon]

In Reply To #4

yeah, you're right about the 3d thing i guess, but i read a review of the Nosferatu game you mentioned, and the reviewer said that after a while the rooms started feeling a bit generic, because of the same decorations on the walls, same props, lighting, etc.

btw, i found a few torrent downloads of the game, i might try it out for myself sometime in the future if its still being seeded.

does anyone know of any games which have randomly generated storylines/scenarios?

[Aridale]

In Reply To #5

Fatal Labyrinth on Genesis is completely random every game. Even down to what color items have what effect. Very well done considerin how incredibly old it is.

DL Wrath if you can find a seed that wont take forever... I lost my disc a long time but I remember last time I wanted to play it findin the no cd crack was the hardest part. Im gonna DL it again mself cause its a great game.

And yeah it would get samey after a while but hell its all random theres only so many room configurations you can have before theyre gonna look the same. /shrug

[Archdemon]

In Reply To #6

well the good thing with castlevania is that there are tons of set areas within the castle, each with their own tileset and set of enemies and everything, so i guess it would take even longer for it to get old.

randomly generated bosses would be an awesome concept, huge monsters made out of random pieces or something...

the game, if it was ever made, could have something to do with chaos perhaps (thinking back to AoS), cos that was awesome, and maybe like in the chaotic realm in aos, you could randomly step out onto a balcony with a backdrop of a swirling universe. aos was great like that.

[Patraw]

I think randomly generated maps/dungeons in games are always cool, just because they shoot the replay value throught the roof.  The trick lies in implementing the feature in a way that's actually meaningful (i.e., one could make random maps, that, while random, still SEEM to be identical because not enough changes between individual incarnations).  For a Castlevania title, I think the best approach would be to have many pre-designed "blocks" that the program would them randomly connect into individual stages.

[Archdemon]

In Reply To #8

true, that sounds like a good approach, also the castlevania series puts a bit of emphasis on recurring themes, so it wouldn't be odd to see a familiar looking set of rooms in each castle.

also, predesigning each 'block' of the castle would get rid of the need for a room-designing algorithm which would really be quite hard to program let alone conceptualize.
it would work quite well in 3d as well, having a huge set of 3d rooms that the program just puts together in an ordered sort of way.

i think the only thing that would make a game like this old, would be the same story every time the game is played, and the same combat system unless a really customizable battle system could be worked out, same weapons...