Metroidvania template
Three rooms, one path you can see and not take, and the ability that opens it on the way back. Hollow Knight (Team Cherry, 2017) sells you the map of that return. Metroid Dread (MercurySteam and Nintendo, 2021) puts the lock in the wall. A hard jump with no lock is a platformer. The AI metroidvania maker is this map. The AI adventure game maker is the wider family.
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What makes a metroidvania
Metroidvania: a connected map that opens up as you gain new abilities.
The games that set the standard are Hollow Knight (Team Cherry, 2017), Metroid Dread (MercurySteam and Nintendo, 2021) and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (Konami, 1997).
What the template starts with
The metroidvania template starts with three rooms, one locked path and the ability that opens it. That is the smallest version of the loop that defines the genre: explore, hit a locked path, gain an ability, return.
What to change first
Walk into the lock, fail, find the ability, and open that same lock without a fast-travel shortcut. If you need a marker to remember the door, the loop is too big for the first version.
2D or 3D
The metroidvania template starts in 2D.
Related templates
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Describe your version in one sentence. The AI writes a brief from the template, and nothing is built until you approve it. Free for Windows and Mac.