Thread by @DormansJoris

'The Place': a new level design philosophy to guide level generation in #Unexplored2. It describes the elementary structure that helps generate locations to complement the typical dungeons and place encounters in them in a logical manner. A thread (1/11) #gamedev #indiedev

The place:
- is a confined space with an entrance situated in an environment.
- can only be entered through entrances.
- could be a keep, a house, a tower, a glade, or room.
(2/11)

The environment (1)
- is interconnected: you can travel from any place in the environment to any other place in the environment.
- may be open, maze-like, hazardous, or any combination thereof.
- could be an open plain, a dense forest, a swamp, a cave, a ruin complex or a city.

The environment (2)
- may contain useful resources, contain secret hints, or other gameplay opportunities.
- a safe path connects the level entrance to the entrance of the place.
(4/11)

Entrances (1):
- An antechamber may be located in front of the place’s main entrance. It is a good place to post a guard.
- The main entrance may be locked, in which case the key needs to be with a gatekeeper, hidden in the environment or be acquired prior to entering the level.

Entrances (2):
- The main entrance may be guarded, or hazardous.

(6/11)

Secondary Entrances:
Preferably there is at least one secondary entrance into the place from anywhere in the environment. These entrances need to be secret, hard to traverse, dangerous to reach, require specific skills or locked with a key needed to be obtained elsewhere. (7/11)

The vault
- The place may have a vault.
- If the vault is locked, its key needs to be hidden in the place.
- If a secondary entrance leads directly into the vault, that entrance needs to be extra secret, extra hard, or extra dangerous. (8/11)

Examples (1)
The place is a keep on a cliff, steep stairs leading to the keep are the antechamber. The environment consists of dangerous unstable cliffs (climb at your own risk). A hidden, difficult climb creates a secondary entrance into the keep for those that can find it.

Examples (2)
The place is the central hall of an underground temple. The environment consists of tunnels and abandoned rooms. The antechamber is guarded by automated magic defenses, but a secret passage also leads into the place. The place contains a vault opened by a puzzle.

Examples (3)
The place is a glade in a dense forest at its center stands an ancient carved stone. Outside the path the forest is thick and hazardous, but thorough exploration might reveal healing herbs. A large malicious tree guards the entrance to the glade.
(11/11)

Here's actually a quick implementation in the game:

A single, relatively safe path leads directly to the place, other but hazardous (!) routes lead to two secondary entrances, which in this simple implementation are just that. It is easy to place NPCs using this structural info.