So, about last week; the tricksters tricked me.
When we were writing everything for last week, I thought the emergent themes were settled, but looking everything over after Day 28 had ended, it became a lot more fuzzy looking through each of the rooms.
Sure, there were goblins and tricksters galore, but the core of the week flirted with many different themes; Love, Romance, Dance, Sex, Commitment, Sacrifice…
…What I discovered was seven different stories commenting on the idea of sacrifice, with varying romantic undertones.
Some Context: For my dungeon23 challenge, I’m making a random “d365” tunnel/cavern segment “table” inside my cosmic underworld setting, “The World Without Skies”.
Week Four: Love & Sacrifice in the Time of the Coronavirus
Starting off the week, this room has a lot going for it!
In a ballroom carved out of ice, manifestations of Life and Death waltz in romance, their shadows bringing well, life and death, to whoever they touch.
The raw cholera of their passion has also summoned forth burning lava into the ice-ballroom, among other paradoxical dualities which will soon manifest, by the force of their lilting steps.
My favorite part of this room is obviously the trapped goblin couple.
Sounds like a hell of a getaway!
The themes of the week culminated to a zenith on the last day, as it has tended to do:
Here is actually an interesting subversion on the 'once-thought' theme of the week; a sacrifice that tricksters can’t squirm through via their preferred means.
If you want to pass through this way, you must give the lion your best organ.
The symbolism of this room deals with the concept of parentage.
(IRL, this day I got hurt in a certain special area, and all these thoughts plagued my mind the whole day, for reasons I’ll leave to you to discern. Just like last week, I’m doing fine now! Lol!)
Innovations of the Week
This is a new segment that will come and go as it pops up - weekly innovations!
I think it’s really fun to see how designs change over time, just due to iterations and “the process”.
This past week, 2 big innovations developed - this cinematic cross-hatch map diagram style above, and the “Strongest Song” bit being replaced with results from a random table, to just the song that inspired that room the most that day.
A little extra personal flare to look back on fondly when this is all over, as well as a mnemonic device for tone when running the rooms themselves!
I’m also really excited to see how immersive this new ‘mapping style’ can get!
Best Room Week 4: The Cave of Bestowing
Each week, I declare the “best room of the week”, based solely on my subjective preference. Our "Greatest Hits”, if you will.
We eluded to him last week, but here he is, the Trickster himself, the third and littlest brother among the mightiest Elderbairn; the True Heir of the World Without Skies… Belourgon the Droll.
After his brother Demogorgon was ousted from the World Without Skies to our realm by the powers of Order, for the first time in his existence, Belourgon “the Whisperer” began taking his status seriously.
Now, in his own way, he is challenging the Fathers and their crowns for their myriad claims to hegemony.
None can discern the ancient irrational mind of the first fool, nor his plans for you and I.
Discord Highlight: Doom and Apathy’s Trap Room!
Doom and Apathy went in and showed me their exact design process for this room, I’ll just let them describe it so you can get it from the horse’s mouth!
You can find Doom and Apathy on their Instagram @doom_and_apathy, where you’ll find some really sick painted miniatures of all varieties! If you’re into black metal, you’ll find some deep cuts and gems here.
How is Dungeon23 going for you?
Please let us know in the comments or join our Discord server, where we’re posting about #dungeon23 every day!
Discovery: There Will Always be Goblins
This one is a bit more trite and hallmark-y, but here we are. The theme of the week is love and commitment, after all!
This week I learned there will always be goblins in the background of the most important moments of your story, but don’t let them poop on the magic.
And with that, Level 1 of #dungeon23 is over!
Join Us for Dungeon23!
The best part about dungeon23 is that there’s no real way to lose. It’s for fun!
Interact with it as much or as little as you’d like. If you’re looking for a fun place to geek out about dungeon23, come on down to The Cult of The Muse Discord Server!
We’d love to see what you’ve come up with!
Join us next week, where Drew reveals his evil master plan for monthly themes, and the revealing of “Level 2”: WAR.
P.S. If you haven’t heard about Blackoath Entertainment’s recent Berkserk-homage, Sacrifice, they’ve just re-announced their Sacrifice Game Jam! I’ll be making some cool stuff for it before the jame ends in March, and I hope you’ll join us for that too!
Sacrifice is a really cool system all about cursed martial characters fighting ancient demons with nothing but iron and grit, and I love it to pieces.