

Level Editing Off the Beaten Path - mminer
http://matthewminer.com/2015/05/11/level-editing-off-the-beaten-path.html

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versteegen
I think storing maps as images is quite common actually for simple games not
made in a game engine that handles maps.

You can also use the drawn map as a template, and add random details (random
variants of each tile). Also, you'll quickly find you want to use more
sophisticated autotiling which handles multiple tile types meeting, and
special cases. Here's an article about autotiling by defining rulesets which
goes into more detail:
[http://www.squidi.net/three/entry.php?id=166](http://www.squidi.net/three/entry.php?id=166)

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mminer
Thanks for the link, that was an interesting read. As far as procedural level
generation goes, one of my favourite articles on the topic is this one about
Spelunky's level generation:
[http://tinysubversions.com/spelunkyGen/](http://tinysubversions.com/spelunkyGen/).
It's always impressive to see how combining a few simple rules can yield
complex and varied levels.

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aw3c2
That technique is older than a lot of game devs. ;)

Alternatively use some ASCII painting tool and use characters for the indexes.

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versteegen
Yes! There are lots of nice ASCII painting tools around. In particular,
there's no difference between an ASCII art editor and a roguelike map editor,
except for the name :) Thought there was a nice JS one somewhere, but can't
find it.

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mminer
Do you happen to have any particular recommendations for ASCII painting tools?
I took a web-based one called ASCII Paint [1] for a spin and first impressions
were positive.

[1] [http://www.asciipaint.com](http://www.asciipaint.com)

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Macuyiko
Well written, but as others have mentioned, this technique is almost as old
and well-known as game development itself.

However, it's still pretty cool and refreshing to use. See e.g. Notch' Ludum
Dare streams where he makes his levels in Paint.net:
[http://www.twitch.tv/notch/b/293084461](http://www.twitch.tv/notch/b/293084461)
about 3:23:00 in.

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mminer
Agreed, with all the complexity that game development entails, it's liberating
to use a technique that's so "lo-fi". Interesting seeing Notch put his levels
together. The speed at which he moves from Paint to running level is something
to aspire to. Our workflow was fast, but not that fast.

