This game uses Twitter to make unique dungeons every time you play

Procedurally generated levels are not new to gaming, but here’s something that is: Twitter-generated levels.

Hashtag Dungeon is a new roguelike game for PC where players must crawl through labyrinths to slay monsters and collect better items. But Hashtag Dungeon’s creators, University of Lincoln students Kieran Hicks and Sean Oxspring, decided to set it apart by piecing together maps from rooms that people share on Twitter. It’s a confusing concept, but it works seamlessly in the background while you play. It also ensures that no two playthroughs are the same while also creating a lot of variety.

“Player creativity is key to [Hashtag Dungeon] as you can actually make dungeons yourself using Twitter and our built-in dungeon editor,” the developers wrote in a post on their website. “Assume the role of a Dungeon Explorer or a Dungeon Master in order to create a unique dungeon crawling experience.”

The game works like this. When you boot up a session, the game checks Twitter for posts that contain the hashtag “#MyNewDungeon.” Here’s an example from one of the developers:

https://twitter.com/OxyOxspring/status/469819845085638658

What you see in the Tweet above is automated code that Hashtag Dungeon creates when you build and share a level using the game’s editor. When anyone starts playing, it checks Twitter for these tweets and pieces together a unique world for you to explore.

As you explore, you can see the Twitter handle for whoever created the room you are in. This enables you to thank (or scream at) the person for helping (or killing) you.

Hicks and Oxspring are selling Hashtag Dungeon in an early testing phase right now for $5, and they plan to support it with updates. Those include special themes, achievements, and an offline mode. The students also plan to release Hashtag Dungeon on Steam’s PC digital distribution store at some point in the future.

While this is the first game to use Twitter in this particular way, it isn’t the first release to incorporate social media. Mobile game Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP enables gamers to share quotes from the story’s characters live to Twitter as they play it. A number of other triple-A, mobile, and Facebook games also let players share their scores or other accomplishments to friends on social networks.