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So I asked OpenAI about the theme....

A topic by The Grumpy GameDev created Apr 01, 2023 Views: 587 Replies: 7
Viewing posts 1 to 7
Submitted (1 edit)

Me: "Lets come up with some ideas about making a dungeon crawler game with a theme of duality."

Editorial: The answer was not terribly original, but if you happen to be stuck, maybe these "suggestions" will help get you unstuck:

Sure, here are some ideas for a dungeon crawler game with a duality theme:

  1. Two Worlds: The game takes place in two parallel worlds, one representing light and the other darkness. Players must navigate through each world and solve puzzles by using the unique characteristics of each world to progress. For example, the light world may have more enemies weak to magic, while the dark world may have enemies weak to physical attacks.
  2. Two Characters: Players control two characters with different abilities, one representing good and the other representing evil. Players must switch between the two characters to progress through the dungeon, and each character has their own set of unique abilities that complement the other's.
  3. Two Paths: The dungeon has two separate paths, one representing order and the other representing chaos. Players must choose which path to take, and each path offers its own set of challenges and rewards. The order path may have more puzzles and strategic combat encounters, while the chaos path may have more action-packed battles and environmental hazards.
  4. Two Modes: The game has two different modes, one representing light and the other representing darkness. In light mode, players must use stealth and cunning to progress through the dungeon, while in darkness mode, players must fight their way through hordes of enemies.
  5. Two Endings: The game has two different endings, one representing good and the other representing evil. Players' choices throughout the game determine which ending they will receive, and each ending offers a different perspective on the story.
  6. Two Realities: The dungeon has two different realities, one representing the physical world and the other representing the spiritual world. Players must navigate between the two realities to progress through the dungeon, and each reality offers its own set of challenges and rewards.
  7. Two Factions: The game has two different factions, one representing order and the other representing chaos. Players must choose which faction to align themselves with, and each faction offers its own set of quests, items, and abilities. The order faction may have more defensive and supportive abilities, while the chaos faction may have more offensive and destructive abilities.

These are just a few ideas to get started with a duality-themed dungeon crawler game. The possibilities are endless, and it's up to the developers to create a unique and engaging experience for players.

Host (1 edit)


  1. Light and Shadow: Players traverse dungeons filled with areas of bright light and deep darkness. They must use both aspects to solve puzzles, defeat enemies, and uncover secrets.
  2. Life and Death: The dungeon is split between realms of life and death, with players exploring both sides to progress. Abilities or items can affect either realm differently, and players may need to revive or destroy in order to succeed.
  3. Order and Chaos: The dungeon represents the constant struggle between order and chaos. Players can choose to ally with either side and their abilities or decisions will alter the dungeon and story accordingly.
  4. Past and Future: The game's dungeons allow players to travel between different timelines, altering the past and future in order to progress. Players must carefully consider the consequences of their actions in each time period.
  5. Reality and Illusion: The dungeon is filled with rooms where the lines between reality and illusion are blurred. Players must discern the truth and use their understanding of both aspects to navigate the environment and overcome challenges.
  6. Creation and Destruction: Players are equipped with tools for both creation and destruction. They must use these abilities to shape the dungeon's environment, creating paths or destroying obstacles to progress through the game.
  7. Material and Ethereal: The dungeon exists in both the material and ethereal planes. Players must switch between these planes to interact with different elements and solve puzzles.
  8. Nature and Technology: The dungeon is a blend of natural and technological elements. Players must harness the power of both to overcome challenges, such as combining plants and machinery to create new tools or using technology to manipulate the environment.
  9. Good and Evil: The game's narrative revolves around the duality of good and evil. Players must choose their path and make choices that affect the dungeon's inhabitants and the game's outcome.
  10. Mind and Body: The dungeon challenges players to engage both their mental and physical abilities. Puzzles, riddles, and combat encounters require players to think strategically and utilize their characters' physical strengths and weaknesses to succeed.
  11. Stability and Change: Players must adapt to a constantly shifting dungeon environment, balancing their approach between maintaining stability and embracing change to solve puzzles, discover secrets, and defeat enemies.
  12. Isolation and Connection: The dungeon is filled with areas of isolation and connection. Players must learn to harness the power of teamwork and solitude to progress, relying on NPCs, companions, or even other players in certain moments.
  13. Knowledge and Ignorance: Players must seek out hidden knowledge and navigate areas obscured by ignorance in the dungeon. Solving puzzles and overcoming challenges will require the player to learn and discover new information, while also facing the consequences of incomplete or false knowledge.
  14. Reality and Illusion: Players must discern between reality and illusion within the dungeon. Illusions may hide secrets, enemies, or obstacles, while reality-based elements can provide critical information and resources to help the player progress.
  15. Freedom and Constraint: Players must navigate the dungeon's challenges and choices by balancing freedom and constraint. This could involve managing limited resources or abilities, making tough decisions, or overcoming environmental restrictions.
  16. Strength and Vulnerability: Players must embrace both strength and vulnerability to succeed in the dungeon. This may involve balancing offensive and defensive strategies, or using moments of vulnerability as opportunities for growth and development.
  17. Growth and Decay: The dungeon showcases the cycle of growth and decay. Players must contend with areas in various states of decay or regeneration, harnessing the power of both processes to solve puzzles and battle enemies.
  18. Water and Fire: The dungeon features areas dominated by water and fire, with each element presenting unique challenges and opportunities. Players must navigate and manipulate these elemental forces to progress through the dungeon and overcome obstacles.
  19. Love and Hate: Players must navigate a dungeon filled with characters and situations that evoke both love and hate. Choices made by the player can impact the relationships between characters, with consequences that affect the game's narrative and gameplay.

Two Masters : Two warring entities have sway over the PC(s), either of which can make survival untenable. (Explosive collars, guild control over all traders / moneychangers, heat seeking intercontinental empowered fireball spells aimed at the party, etc). Juggle the knife edge of their graces until the PCs can liberate themselves from both.


Loyal Traitors : Seize power from your (feudal lord, starship captain, primary AI shard) but until you're ready to do so pay tribute/strengthen the current powers that be so that the Outsiders don't conquer you all. Tribute strengthens logistical support but makes final conflict proportionally harder.

Dual Realms: The game could have two separate but interconnected realms, each representing a different aspect of duality, such as light and dark, good and evil, or order and chaos. Players could switch between these realms to solve puzzles and defeat enemies, using the strengths of each realm to overcome challenges.

Dual Characters: The game could feature two playable characters, each representing a different aspect of duality, such as a warrior and a mage, a light and dark character, or a human and a demon. Players could switch between these characters to solve puzzles and overcome obstacles, each with their own unique abilities and weaknesses.

Dual Endings: The game could have two different endings, depending on the player’s actions throughout the game. One ending could represent the positive aspect of duality, while the other represents the negative. This could encourage players to think about their choices and the consequences of their actions.

Dual Mechanics: The game could have mechanics that change depending on the player’s actions, such as a karma system. Positive actions would lead to positive consequences, while negative actions would lead to negative consequences. This would emphasize the duality theme and encourage players to think about their choices.

Dual Enemies: The game could have enemies that are either light or dark, good or evil, or order or chaos. The player would have to use different strategies to defeat each type of enemy, emphasizing the duality theme and the importance of balance.

Dual Levels: The game could have levels that are split into two parts, each representing a different aspect of duality. For example, one level could have a bright, sunny surface world above ground, and a dark, creepy underground world below. Players would have to navigate both parts of the level to progress.

Dual Weapons: The game could have weapons that are either light or dark, good or evil, or order or chaos. Players would have to choose which weapons to use depending on the situation, emphasizing the duality theme and the importance of balance.

To be completely honest, this is about as broad a theme as one could ask for.  This isn't a bad thing, but I'd be surprised if it threw too much of a wrench into anyone's existing plans. I mean, a seven day jam is hard enough, I suppose, without an overly restrictive theme, so it works out. You could literally take any idea you wanted, tilt the lens ever so slightly to fit the theme, and you'd be fine. We tend to fixate on duality as having to do with binaries and the number two, but that's not ultimately what the word in its fullness refers to, having to do more with separation and separateness between discrete ideas or entities - they don't have to be opposites, and there doesn't even have to be two of them, since any act of "splitting" is a manifestation of duality, so if one thing splits in two once, that's duality, but then if one of those halves splits into two again, that's also duality, resulting in the number three, and if all of them split a third time, well, that's Numberwang!

To put it another way, non-duality is a state of unity - not multiplicity. Three, five, six, or five thousand are not examples of non-duality. A non-dualistic view of the universe, for instance, emphasizes the illusory nature of the perceived separation between all things. 

Of course, even if you were to stick to binaries, opposites, strict dichotomies, and/or the number two, you're still unlikely to ever have a shortage of possibilities and options, because almost everything comes in pairs and almost everything comes as part of a dichotomy. Did you want to make an SMT clone / tribute? You've got duality baked into that whole franchise. Does your game take place in a hierarchical society? There you go. Sure, the good and evil dichotomy is everywhere and might feel a bit cliché, but at the end of the day it's those things for a reason - the conflict is immediately relatable and has clear, identifiable, and real stakes that are pretty much always relevant to the human condition. And there is no one way you have to go about it. Twin Peaks and The Lord of the Rings are both about that same duality, and one is among the greatest and most unique sagas known to man ... and the other is Lord of the Rings.

Anyways, despite the above spiel ... I probably won't even be able to submit a game for this, because I am WAY too mentally ill, old, and tired to do jams shorter than a month long (at least in my particular case, this sort of thing just doesn't fly anymore, sadly). Still, I am super excited to see what everyone comes up with, and will probably spend the week working on a game just to ride the vibe, so to speak. 

Host

Thanks for the indepth description of duality. It was interesting to read and you're absolutely right; duality doesn't necessarily mean binary or opposites, it can also mean parallel and everything in between. I picked this theme exactly for the reason that it's open for a wide range of interpretations without limiting or restricting the developer too much. Frankly the biggest reason and intended effect of the theme was the fact that because the existence of a theme was announced early people are immediately discouraged from starting to work on something specific prior to the jam period.

Sorry to hear about your illness and other struggles. I'm right there with you but with opposite result I suppose. I am unable to commit myself to longer projects and jams so these short ones are perfect for me. I've even done a 3 hour jam a couple times :D

Submitted

We're focusing on Hope vs Despair for ours. There are other dualities that play secondary such as Light and Darkness, Good vs Evil (I think this one is almost free), and Young and Old. We want to also include elements of decay and growth but its unlikely we'll get there in 7 days.

Submitted

Does one dev adding bugs and another dev fixing the bugs count?