So you have made it to the bottom of Grimrock and defeated what lives there. You opened every iron door and have found all the treasures and secrets. Now what? Well if you are feeling adventurous you could download some of the user made dungeons found on the Steam Workshop or the Grimrock Nexus. However, if you’re like me and feeling devious, you could open up the Legend of Grimrock Dungeon Editor and create your own levels full of traps, puzzles and untold dangers.
Much like the game, the editor is straightforward and easy to use. You can get a good feel of how to get started fairly quickly. Also like the game you will find that it can be much more complex than it first looks. If you have never done any modding or level creation in a game before this is a good game to start with. Experienced modders should dig a little deeper to see just how far they can push the given tools.
The main interface is essentially a blank grid where you carve out the floor plan of your creation. You are given 3 tools: Select Entity, Add Asset and Draw Tunnels. Draw Tunnels is just that, use this tool to create or delete dungeon space anywhere you wish. It is worth noting that the editor has scripting for built-in dungeon variety. While you may create one long boring hallway, the editor will add decorative items at random. Hooks and chains along the walls and drains on the floor help break up the monotony. Once you have your dungeon layout completed, it is time to start adding the elements that will challenge the player. The Add Asset button brings up a searchable list of every item in the game. You also have the option of filtering the list to just show props, items, monsters or logic assets. The Select Entity tool allows you to interact and manipulate an asset once it has been placed. This is where the fun really begins. Selecting an entity gives you the options for making it part of a puzzle or trap.
There are many items that act as triggers such as: switches, pressure plates and sconces. which can be used to open or close trap doors or gates. Each trigger item has a check a box telling it to trigger an action. When checked, the item will ask which entity in your level gets activated. For easy reference, there will be an arrow on your dungeon connecting the selected trigger with it’s door. This makes creating a simple puzzle or trap a fairly quick processes. If you want to create a more difficult puzzle there are more options available to each trigger. The pressure plate, for example, can be activated when stepped on. Or made to perform it’s action only after the party steps off of it. A trigger can also be made to operate in only one direction, such as a switch that only closes a door. You can set one trigger to perform multiple actions or have one action than can be done by multiple triggers. There is also a timer asset that can be used to delay multiple actions from a single trigger. For example, opening a series of doors in a specific order 15 seconds apart, or a trapdoor that opens and closes automatically every 3 seconds.
I initially had some issues when I started using with the editor. Mostly because I ignored the basic rule – read the manual. I found that after placing an altar in my dungeon I was unable to place an item directly on top of it. I kept trying to put a dagger on top but, it was always being placed on the ground beside it. When selected with the Select Entity tool, there is an option to place items. So instead of choosing the dagger and placing it on my altar I had to select the altar asset and tell it to place the dagger on itself. I found this to be an odd idea at first, then realized both the alcove and altar were trigger items. In fact, they are specialized triggers because they can contain different types of game assets. This allows you can create a door that can only be opened when a specific item is placed in a nearby alcove. These were used quite a bit in the actual game. Once you get comfortable with the rule sets, you will find many fun and interesting possibilities from the main interface. If you have any interest in writing code then a whole new level of possibilities become available.
The scripting language used in Legend of Grimrock is LUA. Someone who regularly works with either Procedural Programming or Object Oriented Programming should transition fairly easily. If you are brand new to programming then learning LUA is not a bad starting point. All the assets used in the game are defined and imported from a script, so if you want to add a Flaming Sword of Awesome Power you will have to do so via code. This may sound a bit daunting to someone who just wants to re-texture a shield, but it is a simple edit to make within the code. Creating items in a script also opens up new possibilities for the types of traps that can be created. There is a barrel asset in the editor. In the game these are sometimes used to block your path. They can easily be broken. With a little bit of study, I was able to create a second barrel asset alongside the standard barrel.This second barrel type will randomly drop food when destroyed. Though sometimes you will find a monster hiding inside instead.
I am a bit disappointed that this is strictly a level editor. There is no practical way of creating new races or classes. Some clever modders are working on round about ways to add new skills and crafting systems. However these are only available in the user-created dungeons. With the emphasis on level building the editor has no way of importing or exporting individual assets to other dungeons. The way the game looks at new dungeons is in absolute terms. Either you load up the Grimrock dungeon or you load a modded dungeon. There is not good a way of getting new weapons or monsters created by the community into the vanilla game. Many talented modders are already creating new assets and graphics, but they need to advertise them to those who create dungeons. So if you have no aptitude for modeling or texturing you can still add these fun new monsters and armors to your dungeon, just ask for permission first.
One big aspect of modding is the online community. Having other modders and players to discuss ideas with is invaluable. The modding community I found on the official Grimrock forums has been very helpful and pleasant. The is a little bit of ego there, but not nearly as much as in some other modding sites. Possibly it is related to how new the game and editor are, but so far they seem open and willing to help first time modders. Even if you don’t want to participate in the conversation the forums are still a good resource. There is an ongoing thread dedicated to posting new and interesting scripts for you to use. For example, there is script for having a door open only if you walk through it backwards. There is also an excellent video tutorial series on YouTube by a user named, Komag.
The team at Almost Human built the editor with play testing in mind. To open the Legend of Grimrock Dungeon Editor you first need to launch the game. This is because the editor makes use of the full game engine. When you use the editors’ preview function it doesn’t just show you what your dungeon looks like, it actually lets you fully play it. This is a rare feature with modding tools. Normally you open an editor, make your adjustments then open the game and try them out. This might not sound so bad, but having to sit through all those opening splash screens and publisher logos every time you launch the game gets very old rather quickly. This also means that you can make changes to your dungeon and see them take effect in real-time as you play. You save a lot of time by being able to design and test your traps and puzzles side by side.
Conclusion
The Legend of Grimrock Dungeon Editor is accessed from main menu of the game. You have nothing to lose by opening it up and playing around with some basic elements. What you gain might be a unique new dungeon that no one else could have imagined.
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