Unleashing Your Imagination

Hands-on Rust — by Herbert Wolverson (89 / 120)

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Between this chapter and Chapter 11, ​More Interesting Dungeons​, you’ve covered a lot of important ground. Changing the layout of your maps can completely change the nature of a game. Battling monsters in the tight confines of a room and corridor-based dungeon requires care and offers regular breaks between battles in which the player can regain their strength. A more open map can easily leave the player surrounded. The additional room to maneuver can lead to less breathing room between fights. Whether you prefer to generate your maps or craft them by hand, this is your chance to shine.

Changing the theme of a map can completely change the feel of your game. A brightly lit dungeon implies a fun romp. The same dungeon with dark, intimidating walls and cobwebs feels more like a horror setting. Replace walls with trees, and you have a forest. Replace walls with machinery and metal flooring, and you’ve created a steampunk labyrinth. Replace the theme with sci-fi effects, and you’re now battling inside a spaceship.

Using different graphics for levels completely changes the feel of your game and what players expect. Find a tileset that works for you and unleash your creativity. A good place to find tilesets is at OpenGameArt.[63]

👈 Rendering with Themes | TOC | Wrap-Up 👉

Hands-on Rust by Herbert Wolverson can be purchased in other book formats directly from the Pragmatic Programmers. If you notice a code error or formatting mistake, please let us know here so that we can fix it.