[Disc] Would you (as a player) be interested in creating maps?

[Alluvian]

I am making a game right now and considering making a robust level creator that can be released with the game. Would you (as a player) be interested in making dungeons for other players?

I was considering having a rating system where people who make it through could rate it and then the different maps could be rated. difficulty, flavor text, etc...

The map maker would use preset tiles that would just be arranged, and each new room would have optional flavor text that would be displayed as players enter them. Would this be something you would find interesting? I even considered running a competition to make the best rated dungeon, but I would be worried that competition would just be egging people into hacking my rating system. As this is my first multiplayer attempt, I doubt it will be very secure.

[tonypa]

Yes, I think that adds a lot to the game.

[Xploder]

I like the idea of allowing a higher level of freedom to games. I would definitly create a map in it, as long as it is aiding me in the process. Something similar to the "Warcraft 3" world editor [in 2d space], would definilty get me into it. I've developed quite a few custom maps in it and also learned the scripting language to create custom games.

[Alluvian]

I was figuring I might be able to break down all the creature abilities somehow to make them modular enough that you could create a new creature mixing and matching abilities from other creatures, and then picking which existing appearance to use.

That would be harder to handle from a balance perspective. I would have to somehow assing xp values to each stat and each ablility so I could calculate how much the new creature is worth to kill, but I doubt that would work very well because some combos would be more evil than others. A creature with a web attack that holds you in place and and aoe is far more dangerous than either of those by themselves.

I guess I would have to let the creator set the xp, but that just seems too exploitable to me.

[Sietjp]

From my experience with bonuslevel.org , I can tell that even if 1M people play a game, only a few hundreds will make levels. For those players who love your game, a level editor is invaluable.
A level editor will not directly attract more players on your game, but it can keep some player coming back. You can also release self sponsored level packs, if your game is successful (like the Bloons saga), and in this case, it will attract a lot of new players.

[.hooligan]

User generated content is good depending on the type of game and whether its hard or even worth it for the player to do.

[Alluvian]

This should be pretty easy for the player. The game is going to be made up of 'board segments' which is just a graphic for the room/hall/intersection, and data on the layout of tiles and which are passable/have terrain, etc...

So it will be taking pre-existing rooms and hallways, rotating them, and putting them in place, adding doors to define encounters, and then placing pre-existing creatures throughout. Each monster will have a 'spawn threshhold' that also needs to be set, it indicates whether the monster will spawn depending on how many characters are in the dungeon. So this way the content can be scalable for one player or a group of 5. In practice I am guessing there will be few balanced dungeons, and that is one reason I am thinking of having a rating system. In theory it will let a player know which player made content is worth playing.

If this project ever gets done I know half the player made maps will be elaborate drawings of penii.... penises?