The never-ending monster killing, treasure stealing, and backstabbing your buddies seems unfair to you in the long run? Your conscience is calling after another game in which you’ve once again beaten up hundreds (at least!) of monsters? You think about starting a „Save the Monsters“ petition? You’re probably realizing that it can’t go on like this –– the unending slaughter has to end! Ulrich Blum might have felt the same way, because in his latest game, Doodle Dungeon you’re on the side of the monsters instead of the heroes fighting them.
There’s still a bit of slashing and stabbing, but this time the invading heroes take a good beating. But what does the whole thing have to do with the teased dungeon build that may have motivated you to click on this post? Nothing has changed and it’s all about beating up things again? Don’t worry! Doodle Dungeon is so much more than just building dungeons or knocking out heroes – it combines both and that’s what makes our new game so special.
To be more specific, this means that you get your own dungeon at the beginning of the game – congratulations! But the incredibly low price should have been a warning to you as it’s completely empty. Well, at least now you can let your creativity run wild – at least as far as the nearby Fallen Outlet Center has everything you need. So the first step of the game is to equip your dungeon. This works via cards that you draft over 14 rounds. Each card has traps, walls, monsters, or treasures that you draw on your empty dungeon sheet to create a danger-filled setting.
And that’s a good thing, because in the second phase the hero arrives in your dungeon and starts searching for treasures to steal. Outrageous, isn’t it? It could be so nice if you could choose the path the hero takes through your dungeon – they would hit every trap and monster. Except, of course, the ones guarding your treasures, because your treasures should still be in place at the end of the game. But no, another player draws the hero’s path through your dungeon (but this also means you get to draw a path through someone else’s dungeon).
Well, in the third and last phase you your monsters go into battle against the thieving scoundrel yourself. This is where your starting cards come into play again because they show not only dungeon installations, but also special effects or particularly cool weapons. You can play cards to make your monsters stronger and harm the hero in your dungeon. Even more fun, there are cards to aid heroes in other dungeons so your rival dungeon masters get more treasure stolen! If you defend your dungeon the best, you’re assured of victory and, more importantly, the so-called hero who invaded your dungeon will hopefully never come back!
But now we don’t want to keep you in suspense any longer and finally introduce the guest of today’s article – designer Ulrich Blum. Ulrich may already be familiar to some of you, as he not only won the Spiel des Jahres (Game of the Year) Designer Fellowship in 2009, but he has also published several successful games, such as the board game version of Minecraft. Today, however, we want to ask him about his latest game – Doodle Dungeon. So let’s get started!
Hi Ulrich, you are now a successful and very active game designer. But how old were you when you developed your first game idea, and did it ever become a sales product?
„This started relatively early. I certainly developed rule variants for existing games when I was ten years old or even earlier. By the time I was twelve at the latest, I was also developing completely new games and making prototypes myself. One of these games I had actually looked at again in the last few years to see if it had any potential for publication. The game was surprisingly good, considering that I had developed it so early in my life. However, I abandoned further development because I saw little market opportunity for it. It lacked the crucial zing for today’s gaming landscape.“
Do you work in another profession besides being a game designer?
„No, I’ve now been a full-time game designer for ten years now. Before that I was an actor, and before that I did an apprenticeship as a cook.“
Before we get to Doodle Dungeon, let’s talk about game development in general. Are there certain activities that help you become particularly creative? Stefan Feld, for example, once reported that he gets his ideas during train rides or while vacuuming.
„To be honest, I don’t like the image of the creative waiting for the muse to kiss him. Creativity is a technique. It can be learned. The rest is simply work. I can sit down and produce idea after idea. But ideas are cheap. I have a whole folder full of dozens of ideas, but one idea alone doesn’t make a game. The first idea makes up maybe one part per thousand of the labor for a finished game.“
Fascinating! Was there ever a moment when the idea for Doodle Dungeon came to you, and if so, what was the trigger?
„I was looking for images of a dungeon for the prototype of another game. Then in the image search, I saw an image from the app game ‚Guild of Dungeoneering.’ The game looks like a dungeon hand-drawn on checker paper. I immediately thought: ‚hmmm, drawing a dungeon on paper myself, that could be interesting.’ But as described above, that was really just the starting point – it was a lot of work from then on to the finished game.“
Can you tell us a bit more about working on Doodle Dungeon? What were the special challenges during the development?
„Doodle Dungeon was one of those games that worked relatively well relatively quickly. But from ‚relatively well‘ to ‚this is a great game and I’m happy with it‘ was a pretty long way. There were at least five completely different ways that the second half of the game was going to work. I tried out a lot and sometimes threw away things that had been in development for a while. In the editorial work together with Pegasus, we also implemented another, more radical, change until it was finally a really good game experience.“
And how long did it take to develop the game?
„All in all, about three years. But as a designer, you usually have several projects going on at the same time. So the exact duration is therefore difficult to determine in retrospect. I only make the effort of recording hours for commissioned projects in which I am also paid per hour. For all other projects you don’t want to know exactly. 😀 But you don’t usually decide to become a game designer because of the money :).“
Let’s take a closer look at Doodle Dungeon. What changed the most from the original idea to the final product?
„The most radical change was the point of view of the player. In the early versions, you played FOR the hero. You drew the dungeon to make it as hard as possible for another player’s hero. But that always felt somehow strange. It then became clearer that it made more sense in the game for you to play the role of the dungeon master. For a long time I looked for ways to move the heroes automatically through the built dungeon. But those were always tedious flowcharts with lots of if/then queries. At some point I realized: All I need is a brain that looks at it for a minute and decides on a path. This solution, in which another player decides the path of my hero, works great and that’s why it made it into the game.“
In your opinion, what is special about Doodle Dungeon and who should definitely take a look at it?
„Doodle Dungeon is a fun game in its core and is therefore listed as such by Pegasus. However, it does have a certain strategic depth and those who have played several times will draw better dungeons on average. Those who enjoy planning their dungeon, but also just want to play something fun, are in perfect hands here. Expert players who are looking for something as a nightcap but still want a game that requires some planning will be pleased. For family players, however, the game is also suitable as a ‚main course.’“
Doodle Dungeon was illustrated by John Kovalic, who is most famous for his artwork in Munchkin. Do you think Doodle Dungeon is addressed to a similar target audience as Munchkin?
„Absolutely! Doodle Dungeon has a bit more depth than Munchkin, but the witty basic attitude and satirical adaptation of classic dungeon crawlers can be found here as well.“
What kind of games do you like to play the most yourself?
„I especially like games that give me a special experience. They can also be a bit unusual or different from other ones. Games like The 7th Continent, Fog of Love or Captain Sonar come to my mind spontaneously. All very different, but all very special in their own way. And with all of them, I have a very unique experience that’s completely different from a lot of other games.“
And last, but definitely not least, what are your next game projects? What are you working on right now?
„My next game will also be published by Pegasus Spiele. It’s a collaboration with Jens Merkl. I can’t reveal anything about the game itself yet, except that it’s definitely also a game that creates an experience that you haven’t had like this in other games.“
Dear Ulrich, thank you very much for your answers! Doodle Dungeon is available in stores so get you copy now!
Questions, comments, feedback? Share your thoughts with us at blog@pegasus.de.
