Most multiplayer games try very hard to put all players on equal footing. “After all,” some would say, “it wonʼt be fun if a player has a clear advantage.” This perspective can only be from a person who has not played Dungeoneering.
Dungeoneering is a game wherein the player holds a controller with a directional pad and at least one button. This player is the Hero; he moves his avatar around the on-screen dungeon, fighting goblins by hitting them with a sword and wooing princesses by hitting them with a flower. Sometimes passages open to him; sometimes they close. Sometimes the princesses and goblins are very small; sometimes they are very large. If he kills (or woos) enough goblins (or princesses), he will gain a level. Lucky him! The Hero seeks the Ultimate Reward buried deep within the cavern.
Dungeoneering is a game wherein the player holds a tablet digitizer. This player is the Dungeoneer. The Dungeoneer can carve out regions of an on-screen dungeon, fill them in with rock, or make goblins and princesses (by moving the pen in a circle). She can also draw in various inks which have no mechanical effect. The Dungeoneer is responsible for making sure the Hero has a rewarding experience.
Together, the two will communicate and create an interesting story replete with personal growth, overcoming adversity, rising and falling tension, and an Ultimate Reward (decided by the Dungeoneer based on the Heroʼs performance).
Dungeoneering was developed in Fall of 2009, and explored the concept of socially constructed play quite apart from more recent games like Sleep is Death (Geisterfahrer) or Everybody Play & Edit.