To the First Dungeon

 Continuing my rant from before, I want to make the first dungeon before I start making the game.

 Technically, the roadmap of the first dungeon is the Town, the Field, and the Dungeon.  Some games may start with a "Tutorial Zone" that may start in a Field or Dungeon, but generally, it may be a good idea to start with this three-part leg before you start teaching players how to play the game.

First, let's start with the Town.  This is the Safe Zone, a place with no monsters to encounter, which would also include places to refill and upgrade yourself using what you earned.  When designing a Dungeon, the question is if you want to return to this Town or if you plan to head to the next Town.

Next, we have the Field.  This area may or may not have battles, but the area is quicker or lighter to move through than a dungeon.  Traditionally, the World Map is a Field from one Town or Dungeon to another, though some Fields can also be normal maps that connect Towns and Dungeons.

After you get an idea how the three sets of maps connect to each other, then we figure out how to make a Dungeon.  Most RPGs tend to have one Boss at the end of each Dungeon, though some bosses may have more.  Some RPGs also place puzzles and some tools in these Dungeons, but regardless of how these dungeons are set up, most dungeons generally follow the same structure as the first.  That is why it's important to work on the First Dungeon set so that you basically make a template for the other dungeons.

 

For my current project, this is my dungeon structure:  3 Bosses, with random troops between each boss that get stronger after the boss.  A bit spartan, but knowing how I design this dungeon, I will have an idea how to do the next dungeon.