Gary Gygax’s Tomb of Horrors was one of most iconic original D&D “modules” (a stand-alone adventure that was published separately from the game itself). From the very beginning it garnered a sinister reputation as an insane deathtrap, which is basically as Gary intended. Full of hidden passages, dead-ends and fatal traps, it was exactly what a mad undead wizard would construct to mock and frustrate his would-be tomb robbers. Lots of players hated it. I loved it, mostly for the atmosphere; the printed module came with a section of beautiful illustrations which showed many of the rooms in the tomb from the players’ perspective. I thought it would make a great VR environment, so I did a little mock-up.

More than anything, this is a showcase of Konstantin Kahl‘s incredible illustration work. The original drawings show only a short section of the 120-foot entry corridor; Konstantin had to imagine all the rest and fill in the blanks. His work honors and expands the original.

For my part, I am quite proud of how I handled the corridor’s hidden clue. Here is its description as it appears in the module:

B. If the pattern on the floor has been carefully observed and studied from the entrance to this point, the individual with such perseverence will be rewarded by suddenly understanding that a message is contained in barely noticable runes in the mosiac floor. It says “ACERERAK CONGRATULATES YOU ON YOUR POWERS OF OBSERVATION SO MAKE OF THIS WHATEVER YOU WISH, FOR YOU WILL BE MINE IN THE END NO MATTER WHAT!

Go back to the tormentor or through the arch, and the second great hall you’ll discover…

…and the poem goes on for another 16 lines. How on earth do you recreate this in VR?

I manipulated the normal map on the tile floor such that the words appear as shadows when you hold the torch right down next to them, as though they had been very subtly carved into the bumpy surface of the tiles. The effect is only visible if the viewer really moves the torchlight down close to the floor. I’m really proud of it – it’s an example of a visual / spacial interaction that would be impossible in any other medium.