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Dundjinni

	Author: Jim Zabek Article Type: Paper & Pen RPG Games Publication Date: 12/15/2004 Developer: Fluid Entertainment Publisher: Fluid Entertainment Related Categories: Fantasy, Role-Playing, Scenario Design / Creation

Introduction

Creating maps for pen & paper and tabletop based games can be quite challenging, especially for those of us who aren’t artistically talented. I play Dungeons & Dragons fairly regularly and am fortunate enough to have a Dungeon Master who can draw well. My gaming group uses an erasable marker on an oversize map that has a square grid printed on it. Though it suffices for our miniatures and is practical and fast, it isn’t the most attractive solution. 

A variety of mapping tools are available for Dungeon Masters who want to elevate their players’ gaming experience to the next level. Each has its own strengths but none I have seen so far offers a product so comprehensive that it completely replaces the others. Rather, these mapping tools tend to be specialized products which do one thing particularly well, such as easily drawing a world map, while offering only adequate solutions to other mapmaking issues, such as drawing the interiors of buildings.

Dundjinni is a mapping tool that follows that pattern. What it focuses on is the creation of the insides of structures with beautiful detail and graphics. Dungeon Masters who want a “wow” effect from the gamers in their campaigns are likely to be very satisfied. Dundjinni gives the Dungeon Master tools to make stunning maps of castles, temples, dungeons, caves, taverns, and virtually any other structure. The quality of the graphics is far superior to any other tool I’ve seen. In the hands of a talented Dungeon Master, it will render objects that I would characterize as works of art. Readers need not just take my word for it: they can view others’ creations by visiting the Dundjinni website and see for themselves. 

It is also possible to create outdoor maps. Wargamers may be interested to note that it is also possible to create maps not only with squares but also hexes. Grid color can be changed or totally suppressed. The large scale outdoor maps look decent, but in keeping with the pattern of other mapmaking software, they lack the "wow" effect: they're good, but not as great as the smaller scale indoor maps. I should note that I didn't review the campaign art pack, however, which was created to specifically address large scale maps. I hope we'll have an opportunity to review that pack in the near future.

Installation & Technical Issues

Installing Dundjinni was simple enough. However, I had some problems installing the Java platform included on the CD. A visit to the Sun’s Java website had me up and running without further issue, though. After that I didn’t experience any major problems. From time to time, however, I did experience a bit of slowness as it takes a while for the application to load. But overall, once it was up it worked quite well, even on my laptop.

Documentation

The documentation for Dundjinni installs into the Dundjinni directory into a Help subfile. It is helpful for the most part, though I experienced some confusion over how the grid sizing worked. It turns out that the zoom feature also demonstrates how the map will look at different grid ratios. A grid in which a square represents one quarter inch is effectively zoomed out, whereas selecting a view where each square represents one inch zooms the picture in. I couldn’t figure out how to keep the grid resolution fixed while still being able to zoom in and out of my work. I finally figured out that what I saw on the screen didn’t matter: it was in printing that I was given the option to specify what size each square should be.

Despite some brief confusion over grid sizing, overall I didn’t find Dundjinni difficult to use. However, in the interest of full disclosure, it should be noted that I have fairly extensive training using software development tools. Dungeon Masters who consider themselves technically challenged may find Dundjinni a bit challenging at first, though I suspect that with some experimentation the learning curve won’t be too great. Recently, a tutorial has been added which can be downloaded from the Dundjinni website. The tutorial does a very good job of familiarizing Dungeon Masters with the application. As a nice bit of foresight, the tutorial is provided in two versions: PowerPoint and Adobe Acrobat.

Drawing a cave and some treasure.	My first dungeon.