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Friday, October 26, 2007

SPRG: Monster Tamers Dungeons


It seems like more and more that Dragon Quest Monsters is influencing my own game as I continue to work on this project. To put it simply, the guys at Square-Enix got it right. Of course, I have made enough of my own modifications to their formula to give SPRPG: MT enough of its own feel to be unique. That being said, I'd like to establish a post dedicated to how the Dungeons will be set up in this game.

  • There will be 3 types of Dungeons in this game: Boss, Secondary, and Extra
  • There are 2 parts to a Dungeon
  • Boss and Secondary Dungeons will have 2 parts most of the time, Extra will only have one
Dungeon Types
Boss Dungeons will primarily focus on developing the story. The name of this type comes from each of these having a "boss" or powerful monster at the end of it that must be defeated. All boss dungeons have bosses, but that does not meant Secondary or Extra ones do not. In order to beat the game, all boss dungeons must be finished. For the sake of the story, this is pretty much a given.
Secondary Dungeons are dungeons that correspond with a side quest. They are not important to completing the game and do not necessarily effect the story. However, some secondary dungeons will be used to continue a "branch" of the story that may no longer be important. In addition to involving side quests, secondary dungeons are a good way to find more monsters and monster recipes.

Extra Dungeons can also be called "Secret Dungeons." These dungeons are short, boss-less, and only have one part to them. They end with finding a rare treasure or recipe. Access to an extra dungeon is a reward in of itself. However, although there may be a pot of gold at the ends of these rainbows, getting there may not be a walk in the park. Some of the common monsters you find in random battles may be "boss level" in other dungeons. Although you may be at a point in the game to unlock an Extra Dungeon, it is not a guarantee that you will survive in it.


Dungeon Parts
Dungeons are taken in two parts: the Garden and the Castle. Mind you, these are figurative terms not literally. Not every dungeon is castle. It is important to know the differences in these two to better understand the game.

The Garden tends to be the easier of the two but not by much. The focus of the Garden part of a Dungeon is to find a portal to get to the Castle part. Dragon Quest Monsters fans will be familiar with this type of layout although it is not completely the same. This part is a compilation of a bunch of mini-maps with simple shapes. This results in a slight maze like experience because finding the portal may boil down to guessing the right path.

The Castle is the more traditional type of dungeon, complete with it's own fair share of obstacles to slow you down on the quest to face your doom with a boss. They will be pretty standard for RPG fans, but what makes them special is the focus on the Field Magic System. The Field Magic system is basically the eqivilent to using the tools in Zelda to solve a dungeon. However, Field Magic is not used in battle, limitless in uses, and leveled up through story progress. Basic Field Magic will open doors, push rocks, lift boulders, and blow up stuff. The more advanced kind do some pretty interesting tings as well. Golden Sun fans will find this system familiar.


Dungeon Features
  • Current Area Map
    • Toggle ON/OFF
    • 100% accurate placement of Hero and other events, updated to the game tick
    • Upgradeable through Add-Ons
      • Treasure Box Detector
      • Ghost Detector
      • Invisible Treasure Detector
  • Field Magic System
    • Interact with the dungeon to progress
    • Lift, Push, Pull, Explode and more to objects in your way.
    • Hold down "Shift" to utilize the magic quickly






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