28.01.15

I am overwhelmed at my work and have few spare minutes for anything else.
Thanks to upcoming Ice Totally Gaming,
Next two weeks would be very busy, but then I can continue development with standard pace.

23.01.15 keep going

I am implementing ideas mentioned in previous post. There is no super interesting algorithms or generators. Mostly "front-end" coding. For example, right now I code active memo box for "talk with creature" interface.
It has to accept mouse wheel input and has up/down buttons. Nothing special as you can see, but it have to be done.

But! I have found (okay I know it exists) very interesting unit in the code  'Stored_Adventure_Graphics_Hack'.
^_^ Smells like bad architecture, isn't it?

Quest_1, Quest_2 or the story that tells itself (Fallen Gameplay III)

My most and utmost desire is to create game that will tell a story itself.

It is possible if you create game with highly detailed micromanagement. Tons of small details combine and may create a decent story, but my plan is to create game when you play the story random generator creates.
Procedurally generated story, from scratch.
I know, I know, I am just a dreamer!
I think, it is possible to create such game if you have a spare hundred years..
But..
Maybe, just maybe it is possible without spending a lifetime on it and, simultaneously without degenerating quests/ story to endless bring %item_name%, kill %monster_name%?

I was thinking about it for period if time, but when I played Divinity :Original Sin  and implemented first event, I came important and obvious decision:
Hand made stories beat randomly generated, if say that both of them are made on one level of skill.
This way, no exception.
Okay, we can sacrifice story details to get procedural variability and replayability.
For example, the event "Attack of necromutants" enhances the gameplay of first minute of game (Nevertheless it is too annoying event to let it be the way I did it, even for 0.3 release ^_^ ).
So, I let's try to make it together. Our universe level goal to create self-generating story, but the task for 0.3?
Well. Lets make variability to event "Attack of necromutants". Let's guess, it is our game from the beginning to the end.
What we have to do accomplish this goal?
First of set one, for the player, few of them:
Of course: survive.
What about the second?
Flee is nice goal, but we don't have anything outside of this event, so. Let it be: "Protect town" from Necromutants.
Nice!
Maybe Necromutants shouldn't be on the streets already, but spawning nearby?
Sound like idea! Not very original, but okay.
Next question: how?
Player can give orders to citizens and organize them to protect town.
Craft items for them, equip them fight monsters too. (we have all this mechanics, except "give order", but it isn't a difficult task).
Game will spawn necromutants every N turns and increase danger level every X interation.
Survive it!

Well, sound like a decent plan for 0.3 version or not?
hmmm. ^_^

Master Cat says...

Master Cat says: Work on Fallen today you will not.  My place for nap now, it is. 

GoodSir's cat decided that he shouldn't draw necromutant today.
Hurray! No more bad guys!

Screen of Death

New Year vacations are all over, so I can't work on Fallen 24/7.
It is no problem, because I work on overwhelmingly interesting stuff, but Fallen is Fallen.
Minimal plan is to expand "death" screen, systematize and balance death from lack of "resource"  (hunger, fatigue, sanity etc) and hide debug odometers,  at end of all.

Divinity: original sin

I don't write about other games in this blog, because, well, it is development blog, but.
Screw it!
As fervent follower of Divinity series I assure you, this is the game roguelike fans dream of!
Rare situation when next game is like original and better.

It is complicate and full of details as all of us love, but you are able to control the balance of details during your game.
I say, you can play the game at 110% pace, read every book. check every barrel, solver every quest and talk to any rat you met (Yes! It is possible in Divinity and very useful), but the game doesn't make you to do this!
Because, in some games you can't control the detail level of the game for real. For example you hate brewing potions or pixelhunting every single corner of the dungeon, but no! If you don't do so, game becames unplayable.
Not in this case.
You don't want craft? Don't use it. Don't want to read books? Up to you and so on.
You can even play Divinity as a slasher and no problem, game gives you this opportunity. It is possible and still fun.
That's what means control over game details.

Or, alternatively, you can play enjoying every single moment, reading every book you find (remember first walkthough can be only once!) and it would make game easier, but not simple.
Game adjusts to your game style without autoleveling crutches, game pace changes, not the fun level.

Well. I can write about Divinity for ages. Original sin has interesting and original quests, and from one hand this quests are oldschool and should be really solved, but, simultaneously, solving them isn't hard or pain in the butt.
Come on, devs, there is way to make quest interesting, easy to solve and fun without turning them into "3 in row" application - design them well! Like it is has been done in D:OS.

So. Play DOS, it is awesome.

First Event

I have implemented first event in Fallen universe.
The attack of Necromutant!
They are on the streets of the town, slaughtering living beings.
It is to be always active in 0.3. The game will start from this event every time during this release.

Of course, it would be super annoying to let it be starting event for every possible game. So, it will got to Directors storage of "nasty stuff to spice up the game".
I plan to add 0-2 events per version. ^_^

Fallen gameplay II

Hello, boys and girls!

It is time to fulfill my promise and write about the design, maybe together we can find the answers.

Well. the main problem of roguelike development is "game design by professional programmers".
The infamous trap, mistaking technical flawless or mechanical details and gameplay.
The result, well. You know it:

0.3 map

This is version 0.3 main  random map (Full size: LINK).
I have tried to make more cave like dungeons.
You can see underground town, its outskirt, few farms, homesteads and other random locations.
All of them need stories, quests and adventures. ^_^
From 0.3 and after I'll add more and more stuff to explore and loot!

Craft for 0.3

Programming of character creations screen and craft screens has been finished.
GoodSir is going to make them look good. ^_^
You can find tons of items during your travels in the Catacombs.
All of them should be useful.
Until the implementations of skills, all schematics are to available for  every character and takes few seconds to craft.
It is always fun to find a big gun, but it also fun to turn this gun it to bigger gun or even automaton!

0.3 is planned for 18.01.15
12 days ahead and a lot of work to do.

Apples, apples, apples!

I used apples sprite as dummy for every item I don't have sprite for. ^_^

Right now I am working on interactive environm

ent. You should be able to interact with every single item or map cluster.
Deconstruct street light, butcher corpse, craft weapon from mushroom etc.

Second important part is to create algorithm that would generate map interesting enough to explore.
On this screenshot you can see small part of actual map. It has town -1, town outskirt -2, and random mushroom farm. (I think, that town outskirt has to many houses, but it is easy to fix).

PS
There is debug information and debug sprites on the screenshots. ^_^

working on 0.3

Playtest has shown that Fallen engine is technically okay and, as I promised, it is time to start gameplay updates.
Yeah, it is all about an actual roguelike game.
As you can see on a screenshot above (it isn't final, just my madskills for test purposes) I am trying to butcher a corpse if mushroom roach and craft a hammer.

Hammer is a good tool! It can be used to bash necromutants or craft advanced tools and weapons.