Ok, so to wrap up last week, I did some further work on library references and still need to do a little before I move on to add attacks (that should be fairly simple though).
And now, as I mentioned in previous post, I'd like to share some thoughts and ideas I had for Dragontorc.
Visual style / renderer
Most likely first implementation will be based on 2D graphics but I was thinking a lot about some voxel based renderer (it may not be proper voxel renderer, as it could be just normal triangle-based mesh created from voxel graphics) and in the end I would like to have it, but for the time being, I will stick to the basic 2D.
The reason for 2D is that I have some bits of it, it will allow me to focus more on gameplay itself. Having 3D with voxels make it easier for some people to work with than normal 3D and there is still that pixelated look. Voxels also help with having less data to be created than for 2D (4, 8 directions?), although each single frame of animation requires more work. But in future, if all data is in 3D then it might be used in more complex 3D game.
Versions of game
I am thinking about having at least three different versions of game.
And now, as I mentioned in previous post, I'd like to share some thoughts and ideas I had for Dragontorc.
Visual style / renderer
Most likely first implementation will be based on 2D graphics but I was thinking a lot about some voxel based renderer (it may not be proper voxel renderer, as it could be just normal triangle-based mesh created from voxel graphics) and in the end I would like to have it, but for the time being, I will stick to the basic 2D.
The reason for 2D is that I have some bits of it, it will allow me to focus more on gameplay itself. Having 3D with voxels make it easier for some people to work with than normal 3D and there is still that pixelated look. Voxels also help with having less data to be created than for 2D (4, 8 directions?), although each single frame of animation requires more work. But in future, if all data is in 3D then it might be used in more complex 3D game.
Versions of game
I am thinking about having at least three different versions of game.
- Full game with modding support, documentation, maybe custom editors (although everything should be possible to be done with text editor). This would be most expensive one... Hey! I would still like to earn something ;) And by most expensive I mean most expensive of all versions. The prices still should be quite low. This version should allow people to add new content or even create new games. It will require something to make it easier to distribute people's work to make it as easy as possible for inexperienced players to try various stuff.
- Remake of Avalon and Dragontorc. It would be great to have them as faifthul to originals as possible, but I don't consider it as necessity. Of course this version would be free.
- New adventure that would make use of almost all engine features that I plan to have. Ideally this could be few hours long game that could be bought for some really, really small amount of money. Not extensible as full game but should give feeling of what can be achieved. Having this version free, could make no sense if it would be few hours long.
I don't know what will be order of releasing all versions. At the moment I don't even know when I will finish it. But yes, I want to make it a commercial product. Why? Take a look at the time it takes me to do anything. Weeks, months. Because I am working on it just few hours each week and even then I am not fully focused on it. If I had more stable situation financialy-wise then I could quit my current job and work on it full-time. But it may not happen anytime soon. Releasing it as commercial product could change it. Even if the success would be really moderate.
But now, let's finish this milestone!
Hi NM
ReplyDeleteRegarding your comments about type of game and charging. Let me address the latter issue first. I think the idea of charging is absolutely fine. I think the retro-game industry has moved beyond this rather romantic idea of giving everything away free, as they, we, I, all realise the amount of time and effort that goes into producing a game. Moreover, if the general public had to choose between a free remake of a favoured game that was inferior in quality to a remake that was paid for, I'm sure they would choose the latter. So, do not feel uncomfortable about charging an amount for the game.
Regarding the 3 types of game you suggest. Well, firstly, I would like to play any and all 3 versions suggested. Having said that, they do fall into an order of preference. My own first choice would be option 3 - a completely new adventure. The longer, more detailed the better. Option 2 is fine, but I have already played these games many times to their end, so the thrill of solving puzzles and finding new places and areas wouldn't be there. As for option 1, it does sound exciting, but having the whole game broken into chunks that an editor then can move around tends to reduce the thrill of the game itself: I know there's only this many landscapes and this many creatures, etc.
That's my opinion, anyway: a new adventure for Maroc that has many areas, new spells and creatures, plus an unfolding narrative that took a long time to solve would be my idea.
However, I'm under no illusion as to how much work would be involved in such a venture.
Anyway, I'm enjoying the updates greatly, even if I still don't fully understand them! So, roll on MS3!
I am not sure about legal status of remakes. Probably it is ok, when they are free, but not when they are paid for. And I don't know who is the owner of Dragontorc, as it may not be Steve Turner. I will have to sort it out at some point.
DeleteAnd 3 types of game now: You know, in the end option 3 - completely new adventure is just a subset of option 1 ;) What I'd like to achieve is to invite players to add new stuff that would be incorporated into the game without additional work from them. For example, someone could think that what this game needs is some scissors that could cut something (that also could be cut with knife) and also could be an item of interest for some character with proper line and other stuff. Or bottle that could be filled with water or any other liquid and be used to put out fire (there can already be bucket with same functionality) but could also be broken with stone or something else (that can break small things) and such smashed bottle can be used to cut things. I don't have any obsession with cutting but with two additional items that can do same thing and with extra items that already would be in game, I wanted to show that puzzle that would require to cut line could have different solutions. Either during game (you have access to bottle, scissors and knife) or at the stage of creating of adventure (in the game you will only have bottle or scissors or knife). And during every adventure you don't need to have everything in it.
I understand that adventure and story created by human may be more interesting but I'd like to have two solutions for it (except for doing everything by hand):
1. Code will generate whole adventure based on schemes (of story arcs, situtations, puzzles, etc).
2. Designer may write skeleton of the story and fill some of the things but would leave other bits to be filled with code. Which means that the story could be the same during every playthrough but some places, puzzles, characters you meet may differ.
And there's one more thing. I really appreciate all your opinions and I am thankful for them, for the ideas :) And you are the first person that will go into "special thanks" section of credits. Unless in the future your input will be even bigger :)