C64 BASIC dungeon crawler adds five levels and character progression
C64 Basic Dungeon Crawler: Stairs, Levels and Levelling Up (Part 11)
Part 11 of the C64 BASIC dungeon crawler tutorial turns a single map into five levels. Each level regenerates the map and requires collecting every chalice before the stairs unlock, with chalice counts scaling from one to three. The character now persists between levels, gaining hit points and alternating strength or dexterity boosts, while potions finally grant magic. The author also splits map setup into separate player and level routines and asks readers how difficulty and leveling should evolve.
The feeling of progress is a huge part of a game's enjoyability. I am not 100% sure that is a word, but you know what I mean!
- leoc
A period, multiplatform alternative: Usborne's Write Your Own Fantasy Games by Les Howarth and Cheryl Evans from 1984 https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bxv0SsvibDMTel93SThEYkJkZHc . (Generously provided by Usborne https://usborne.com/gb/books/computer-and-coding-books )
- classichasclass
For those as confused as I was, the BASIC as written will not run on a C64 (two immediate notes: BASIC 2.0 doesn't have labels, and a variable like STATS would be illegal because it clashes with the status word ST). This only works in their custom IDE which "compiles" (read "adds line numbers, alters names and tokenizes") it.