![Warrek’s Nest](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0e/Warrek%E2%80%99s_Nest.jpg)
A dungeon crawl is a type of scenario in
fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...
role-playing game
A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of player character, characters in a fictional Setting (narrative), setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within ...
s in which heroes navigate a
labyrinth
In Greek mythology, the Labyrinth (, ) was an elaborate, confusing structure designed and built by the legendary artificer Daedalus for King Minos of Crete at Knossos. Its function was to hold the Minotaur, the monster eventually killed by t ...
environment (a "
dungeon
A dungeon is a room or cell in which prisoners are held, especially underground. Dungeons are generally associated with medieval castles, though their association with torture probably belongs more to the Renaissance period. An oubliette (from ...
"), battling various monsters, avoiding traps, solving puzzles, and looting any treasure they may find.
Video games
Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device to gener ...
and
board games
Board games are tabletop games that typically use . These pieces are moved or placed on a pre-marked board (playing surface) and often include elements of table, card, role-playing, and miniatures games as well.
Many board games feature a co ...
which predominantly feature dungeon crawl elements are considered to be a
genre
Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other for ...
.
Board games
Dungeon crawling in board games dates to 1975 when Gary Gygax introduced ''
Solo Dungeon Adventures''. That year also saw the release of ''
Dungeon!
''Dungeon!'' is an adventure board game designed by David R. Megarry and first released by TSR, Inc. in 1975. Additional contributions through multiple editions were made by Gary Gygax, Steve Winter, Jeff Grubb, Chris Dupuis and Michael Gray. ...
''. Over the years, many games build on that concept. One of the most acclaimed board games of the late 2010s, ''
Gloomhaven
''Gloomhaven'' is a cooperative board game for one to four players designed by Isaac Childres and published by Cephalofair Games in 2017. It is a campaign-based dungeon crawl game including a narrative campaign, 95 unique playable scenarios, an ...
'', is a dungeon crawler.
Video games
![Crawl screenshot 6](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/95/Crawl_screenshot_6.png)
The first computer-based dungeon crawl was ''
pedit5'', developed in 1975 by Rusty Rutherford on the
PLATO interactive education system based in
Urbana, Illinois
Urbana ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Champaign County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2020 census, Urbana had a population of 38,336. As of the 2010 United States Census, Urbana is the 38th-most populous municipality in Illinois. It ...
. Although this game was quickly deleted from the system, several more like it appeared, including ''
dnd'' and ''
Moria''.
Computer games and series from the 1980s, such as ''
The Bard's Tale
''The Bard's Tale'' is a fantasy role-playing video game franchise created by Michael Cranford and developed by Brian Fargo's Interplay Productions (1985–1992) and inXile Entertainment (2004–present).
The initial title of the series was '' ...
'', ''
Cosmic Soldier'', ''
Dungeon Master'', ''
Gauntlet'', ''
Madō Monogatari
''Madō Monogatari'' is a series of first-person dungeon crawler role-playing video games by Compile. The first game was released in 1990 for MSX2. Sega published the Game Gear remakes based on ''1-2-3''. The characters of this series would lat ...
'', ''
Megami Tensei
''Megami Tensei'', marketed internationally as ''Shin Megami Tensei'' (formerly ''Revelations''), is a Japanese media franchise created by Aya Nishitani, Kouji Okada, Kouji "Cozy" Okada, Ginichiro Suzuki, and Kazunari Suzuki. Primarily developed ...
'', ''
Might and Magic
''Might and Magic'' is a series of role-playing video games from New World Computing, which in 1996 became a subsidiary of The 3DO Company. The original ''Might and Magic'' series ended with the closure of the 3DO Company. The rights to the ''M ...
'', ''
Phantasy Star
is a series of console role-playing video games and other supplementary media created by Sega. The series debuted in 1987 on the Master System with ''Phantasy Star'', and continues into the present with ''Phantasy Star Online 2'' and other ext ...
'', ''
Ultima'', and ''
Wizardry
''Wizardry'' is a series of role-playing video games, developed by Sir-Tech, that were highly influential in the evolution of modern role-playing video games. The original ''Wizardry'' was a significant influence on early console role-playing ...
'', helped set the genre's standards, while the primitive graphics were actually conducive to this style, due to the need for repetitive tiles or similar-looking graphics to create effective mazes. ''
Gamasutra
''Game Developer'', known as ''Gamasutra'' until 2021, is a website founded in 1997 that focuses on aspects of video game development. It is owned and operated by Informa and acts as the online sister publication to the print magazine '' Gam ...
''s Matt Barton described ''
Telengard
''Telengard'' is a 1982 role-playing dungeon crawler video game developed by Daniel Lawrence and published by Avalon Hill. The player explores a dungeon, fights monsters with magic, and avoids traps in real-time without any set mission other tha ...
'' (1982) as a "pure dungeon crawler" for its lack of diversions, and noted its expansive dungeons as a "key selling point".
Some dungeon crawlers from this era also employed
action role-playing game
An action role-playing game (often abbreviated action RPG or ARPG) is a subgenre of video games that combines core elements from both the action game and role-playing genre.
Definition
The games emphasize real-time combat where the player h ...
combat, such as ''
Dragon Slayer
A dragonslayer is a person or being that slays dragons. Dragonslayers and the creatures they hunt have been popular in traditional stories from around the world: they are a type of story classified as type 300 in the Aarne–Thompson classifica ...
'', and ''
The Tower of Druaga
is a 1984 arcade action role-playing maze game developed and published in Japan by Namco. Controlling the golden-armored knight Gilgamesh, the player is tasked with scaling 60 floors of the titular tower in an effort to rescue the maiden Ki f ...
''. Growing out of these type of games are games considered to be of the genre "dungeon crawlers", in which the player is limited to the confines of the walls of the dungeon but allowing for complex systems around combat, enemy behavior, and loot systems, as well as the potential for multiplayer and online play. ''
Gauntlet'', ''
Diablo'', ''
The Binding of Isaac'' and ''
Enter the Gungeon'' are examples of these dungeon crawlers.
Variations on the dungeon crawl
trope
Trope or tropes may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Trope (cinema), a cinematic convention for conveying a concept
* Trope (literature), a figure of speech or common literary device
* Trope (music), any of a variety of different things ...
can be found in other
genre
Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other for ...
s. In the early 2010s there was a modest resurgence in their popularity, particularly in Japan, largely due to the success of the ''
Etrian Odyssey
''Etrian Odyssey'' is a dungeon crawler role-playing video game series. It is primarily developed and published by Atlus and currently owned by Sega. By 2016, the series had sold a combined total of 1.5 million copies worldwide.
Titles
Main se ...
'' series by
Atlus
is a Japanese video game developer, publisher, arcade manufacturer and distribution company based in Tokyo. A subsidiary of Sega, the company is known for video game series such as ''Megami Tensei'', ''Persona'', ''Etrian Odyssey'' and ''Trau ...
.
Instance dungeon
In
massively multiplayer online game
A massively multiplayer online game (MMOG or more commonly MMO) is an online video game with a large number of players, often hundreds or thousands, on the same server. MMOs usually feature a huge, persistent world, persistent open world, alt ...
s, an
instance is a special area, typically a dungeon, that generates a new copy of the location for each group, or for a certain number of players, that enters the area.
Instancing, the general term for the use of this technique,
addresses several problems encountered by players in the shared spaces of
virtual world
A virtual world (also called a virtual space) is a computer-simulated environment which may be populated by many users who can create a personal avatar, and simultaneously and independently explore the virtual world, participate in its activities ...
s, but also sacrifices the social element of shared spaces, and the feeling of realistic immersion in that virtual world. They also tend to be a lot smaller and more linear.
First-person party-based dungeon crawlers
![Legend of Grimrock screenshot 01](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/14/Legend_of_Grimrock_screenshot_01.jpg)
This subgenre consists of RPGs where the player leads a party of adventurers in
first-person perspective
A first-person narrative is a mode of storytelling in which a storyteller recounts events from their own point of view using the first person It may be narrated by a first-person protagonist (or other focal character), first-person re-teller ...
, typically in a grid-based environment. Examples include the aforementioned ''Wizardry'', ''Might and Magic'' and ''Bard's Tale'' series; as well as the ''Etrian Odyssey'' and ''
Elminage
''Elminage'' (エルミナージュ) is a series of Japanese fantasy role-playing video games published by Starfish SD since 2008. They are Japanese Dungeon Crawl in the tradition of ''Wizardry'' series. It is one of the most well-regarded series i ...
'' series. Games of this type are also known as "blobbers", since the player moves the entire party around the playing field as a single unit, or "blob".
Many "blobbers" are turn-based, such as the
play-by-mail
A play-by-mail game (also known as a PBM game, PBEM game, or a turn-based game) is a game played through postal mail, email or other digital media. Correspondence chess and Go were among the first PBM games. ''Diplomacy'' has been played by mail ...
game ''
Heroic Fantasy
Heroic fantasy is a subgenre of fantasy in which events occur in a world where magic is prevalent and modern technology is nonexistent. The setting may be entirely fictitious in nature or based upon Earth with some additions. Unlike dark fiction ...
'', but some games such as ''
Dungeon Master'', ''
Legend of Grimrock
''Legend of Grimrock'' is an action role-playing game video game developed and published by Almost Human. The title is a 3D grid-based, real-time dungeon crawler based on the 1987 game '' Dungeon Master''. It was originally released for Microsof ...
'' and ''
Eye of the Beholder'' series are played in real-time. Early games in this genre lack an
automap
A mini-map or minimap is a miniature map that is often placed at a screen corner in video games to aid players in orienting themselves within the game world. They are often only a small portion of the screen and must be selective in what details ...
feature, forcing players to draw their own maps in order to keep track of their progress. Spatial puzzles are common, and players may have to, for instance, move a stone in one part of the level in order to open a gate in another part of the level.
See also
*
Play-by-mail game
A play-by-mail game (also known as a PBM game, PBEM game, or a turn-based game) is a game played through postal mail, email or other digital media. Correspondence chess and Go were among the first PBM games. ''Diplomacy'' has been played by ...
*
Role-playing game terms
Role-playing games (RPGs) have developed specialized terminology. This includes both terminology used within RPGs to describe in-game concepts and terminology used to describe RPGs. Role-playing games also have specialized slang and jargon associ ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dungeon Crawl
Role-playing game terminology
Video game genres
Video game terminology