The creative paradigm of dungeons is a product of condensing, regularizing, and mass producing classic adventure experiences. In the dungeon, adventures in unknown environments, unexpected events, encounters with powerful enemies, treasure acquisition, secret discoveries, and more are gathered, covering almost all aspects of fantasy adventure works.
The formulaic dungeon creation paradigm essentially stems from the demand for game interaction, where games not only refer to electronic games but also include TRPG as its predecessor. The formulaic dungeon design guided by the rule book helps hosts create playable modules with limited time and creative inspiration. The various explanations for the design of dungeons are aimed at making it convenient and efficient, but also to some extent, they undermine the rationality of the worldview. After all, whether from the laws of geological movement or the laws of civilization (including humanoid creatures and even gods), the large number of dungeons appearing is illogical. Of course, this also includes the creation of ancient civilization relics or gods, which is a reasonable explanation. If the distribution of dungeons is not so widespread, then.
Of course, the aforementioned flaws, compared to the positive role played by the classic Dungeon system in TRPG and future electronic games, are also tolerable and a necessary compromise on gameplay. After all, strictly speaking, even the existence of UI itself can affect the immersion of the game, but it is still necessary.
However, in animations, comics, and novels, there is no need for "game like interaction" from the beginning, and the audience is not a player. So the above shortcomings will be constantly amplified. Why is the dungeon there - how many authors can provide a complete explanation that conforms to the worldview setting and logical consistency - who built the dungeon for what purpose, and how it has become what it is now. Most of it is just deliberately avoiding problems, even if it is the main stage of the story. Dungeons have almost no history - monsters exist in the dungeon from the beginning, and the stationary dungeon only begins to move when the protagonist enters it.
Rationalized Dungeons
The author of this work, who is deeply influenced by D&D and enjoys classic CRPGs such as the Bode's Gate series, provides a fairly consistent explanation of the origin of dungeons based on the D&D style dungeons. Dungeons are associated with the world itself, rather than isolated half planes, giving them temporality and their own history. The dungeon in the work is not static and has undergone several changes in history, and will continue to evolve as the plot progresses.
If the above is only a basic achievement that can be achieved by carefully referring to the Lord's Guide, then what is even more commendable is that this work also depicts the dungeon as a complete ecosystem. The monsters in the dungeon are not naturally occurring, and their only purpose is to kill humans. If killed, they will become gray prevention card models, and only the stereotype left by dropped items exists. The monsters in the dungeon still have biological characteristics, and like ordinary creatures, they need to ingest the substances necessary for life activities, or in other words, they need to "eat". These monsters constitute a unique dungeon ecosystem.
From Monster Illustrated Books to Complete Recipes
On the basis of D&D's rich monster encyclopedia and other prototypes, this work provides more rational explanations, and those phenomena that were originally explained as "due to magic" have been given quite "scientific", bold and imaginative rational explanations. The protagonist Leo observes, studies, and even consumes monsters from a naturalistic perspective, summarizing their ecology and habits. As a result, his works are full of the spirit of natural history.
As the work states, "Eating is a privilege of the living," it is the same for monsters and adventurers. This work is not only a food guidebook, but also a meticulous depiction of adventures in a fantasy world view using "eating" as a clue.
Heaven and earth are inhumane, and they treat all things as mere dogs. As the protagonists, the adventurers do not occupy a central position in the ecosystem. They do not consider themselves as the guardians of the dungeon order, but rather become a part of the food chain and an organic part of the entire ecosystem.
Detailed magic settings
Magic in today's fantasy world seems to be a natural and unexplained existence. But the magic setting in this game is not a game like numerical representation, and magic also has its own rules. Healing magic can heal wounds, but the person being cast still needs to consume organic matter to heal the wound; Summoning magic can create a demon, but it also requires the consumption of organic matter to form its body. At the same time, this work also provides detailed settings for the way resurrection magic works, so that resurrection magic can still exist in this low demon world view, while maintaining entertainment and not affecting the seriousness of the story.
On this basis, this work also provides a reasonable explanation for the worldview setting of magic, the most important ultimate power in the fantasy world view. Magic is not groundless, and this work uses seemingly ordinary settings to reveal the full picture of the world, truly shaping a unique worldview.
Combat Design and Life Details
The battle in this game is not about standing in place, competing and practicing the numerical size of time. Tactics and magic are not just explained off the field, but interact with the environment to play a role.
The characters draw knowledge from nature, arm themselves, and develop exciting combat strategies based on their understanding of monsters and the terrain of the dungeon. The battle process is not about flying and exploding, solving the mentality problem can lead to critical strikes. Fighting is accompanied by accidents and requires making reasonable choices beyond planned circumstances. In certain critical battles, the details of the character's actions are portrayed in great detail, and it is these key actions that do not require magical explanation that create victory. And some large-scale battles boldly unleash their imagination, imagining conflicts between monsters located at the top of the food chain.
In addition to combat, this game also pays attention to details in terms of clothing, food, housing, and transportation. From soap making to vegetable harvesting, everything is based on a worldview and a unique expression of the dungeon ecology, presenting a sense of firsthand experience from a team running perspective.
From Eating to Desire
Dungeons are not just inhabited by monsters. Adventurers and indigenous people form the society of dungeons, which have unique production, lifestyle, and customs.
In the second half, the theme of this work is further presented, shifting from eating to universal desires, revealing the essence of desire in life, with various desires driving dungeons. It is desire that shapes dungeons and even the entire world, and as a result, this work elevates the worldview setting to the level of ideology. In addition, this work also presents a special perspective on dungeons (rooted in Western tradition) from an Eastern perspective.
The plot of the story is driven by characters with different desires, who take different actions for their own desires at the same time and jointly influence the situation inside the dungeon. The characters are not driven by the plot, but rather the creators of the plot.
epilogue
Dungeon Meshi is a harmonious unity of character, plot, and worldview at the creative paradigm level. Worldview serves the plot, and the plot expresses the worldview. The character conforms to the worldview setting and promotes the development of the plot. Dungeons are not just objects of adventure and electronic game like strategies, but containers that carry the desires of characters for joy, anger, sorrow, and joy.
