gaming An Observation on Video Game Dungeons

[Itchy Hooves 63]

Last night, I was playing PoPoLoCrois for the PSP. I had made it to Gami Gami City and had to infiltrate Gami Gami Devil's castle in order to get an important piece of a flying yacht. As is common with various RPG baddies, he even challenged me to seek out the control room where he was hiding. As expected, there were a lot of dead ends, broken elevators, and other such obstacles. But of course, through a lot of backtracking and taking routes that weren't quite as straightforward, I was able to find switches and a card key to activate everything that needed activating. And of course, when I got to him, he was completely prepared for a fight.

 

Now you may be wondering what the point of sharing all this is. It's just a typical RPG dungeon experience. But that's just the thing... Your way is always blocked. But always, there is some sort of key lying around or a switch that needs pressed. It's always a little out of the way and you may have to backtrack a bit, but they're always there. Always making it possible to get through the 'impenetrable fortress.'

 

Now Gami Gami may have challenged me. But the more I get to know him after that incident, the more I realize... Aside from being a brilliant inventor and designer of machines, he's none too bright...

 

And it's brought me to wonder... How many villains have laid all these things out for you intentionally as a challenge to keep you busy and prove your worth before facing them? And how many are actually just stupid enough to leave their keys lying around for just about any intruder to find?

 

Discuss!

[Strafe 594]

It's video game logic, yeah realistically a baddie wouldn't leave stuff lying around that sets a path tot the goal but you wouldn't be able to progress through the game if he didn't. Just think of it, how unsatisfying would it be if you got trapped in the dungeon and couldn't get out forcing you to start the game all over again.

[Chigens and Kay 3,832]

Have you ever played Dark Cloud or Dark Cloud 2 for the PS2?

 

Every dungeon, every floor, has a key to get to the next floor...until the boss that is.

 

Don't get me wrong though...they were some of the best games I ever played.

[Ron Jeremy 2,032]

It's even more apparent in games like the Zelda series, where you'll have tunics and such perfectly fitted for the hero laying around in the dungeons.

 

I like to imagine that, yeah, the villain is a cunning badflank mastermind who lays out these traps and solutions for the hero to solve to see if the hero is worthy enough to face the villain, but it's just video game logic.

 

If the keys and treasures weren't in the dungeons, the heroes couldn't get through them at all. That would make for a boring game, eh? The hero just going "Well, crap. I can't even open this door. Guess I'll go make a living competing with that potion-selling guy back at the town" and the game ending there.

[NewCalamity 3,454]

Mhm, I do love this recurring thing for RPGs. Such as; Aha! a monster dropped a pair of boots, thankfully it's your exact shoe size! Equip!

 

I see a lot of the RPGs like Zelda pose the items you find inside as ancient artifacts or treasures, that were perhaps used by someone lo~ong ago.

 

It would definitely be interesting to find a video game where a dungeon was literally impossible and there was no way to proceed, or there is no treasure at the end. Though, in video games you're supposed to be rewarded for killin' baddies after all.

[Itchy Hooves 63]

Well, I'm not necessarily saying these things shouldn't be lying around. Obviously, they should be there. I'm just thinking from a perspective of how it works aside from just... Writing it off as video game logic. Which it's fine to do so, I'm just someone who enjoys over thinking things and coming up with different ideas of how they could work. Even if they weren't exactly intended to be thought out so thoroughly.

 

Personally, i like to think the comic relief baddies such as Gami Gami Devil tend to leave their keys under the 'unwelcome' mat and forget about it. While someone like Kefka in Final Fantasy VI would think of it as a fun way to toy with those pesky heroes.

 

That point about equipment always conveniently being the right size! I think about that too sometimes. Especially when you switch equipment between characters. Leather boots that were once worn by the petite, female thief being moved over to the hulking goliath of a warrior? It's hilarious to think about. Though I imagine with the fantasy RPGs, it can be explained away as some kind of enchantment. I had read a novel based on the Fable universe where this had been the case. A gauntlet meant for a larger hand just happened to shrink and clamp down to fit a smaller person. Which makes sense going by Fable standards when you consider the fact that you may be wearing the same thing for ages, but you're constantly getting bigger as you become more experienced.

[Rainbow Danger Dash 145]

hmm... interesting!

[Forlong 1,726]

Ganondorf has an interesting approach. He doesn't bother with Link because his plans are independent of Link's efforts. It doesn't work out for him, but it does make sense.

[Rainboom24 46]

um. dungeons? amnesia the dark descent? um.....