November 01, 2009
I've finished my internal Milestone 5 ("Engine Updates"). Yay! The SENG engine is now in good shape for a full-featured game. Oh, there are always more features I could add, but there's enough there for a full-featured, full-length, engrossing, deep RPG.
So, with that, I announce the end of "Untitle…
October 28, 2009
Among other things, I've been mucking around with the spell effect system. I made the code much more flexible and generic, making it easier to make effects with varying appearances. As part of that work, I also spent a little time coming up with a core set of decent looking effects. Here's a "High …
October 22, 2009
Some interesting links for this week:
Shamus has an interesting article about broken economies in RPGs:
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/columns/experienced-points/6660-The-Broken-Economy-Is-Your-Fault
I found this really interesting, because I've been trying to design and balance the eco…
Shamus has an interesting article about broken economies in RPGs:
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/columns/experienced-points/6660-The-Broken-Economy-Is-Your-Fault
I found this really interesting, because I've been trying to design and balance the eco…
October 15, 2009
I've been working on icons for SENG lately; almost done.
One of my philosophies for SENG is to have a minimum of art content, but display it in many ways. In terms of icons, this means using one icon for a variety of different representations. For instance, inventory. Instead of making two separate …
One of my philosophies for SENG is to have a minimum of art content, but display it in many ways. In terms of icons, this means using one icon for a variety of different representations. For instance, inventory. Instead of making two separate …
October 11, 2009
Various links this week, all courtesy of Coyote (http://rampantgames.com/blog). Hey, maybe you should just read his blog instead of mine! (OK, you can read both).
First, a postmortem on Persona 4. Interesting for me to read about the trials and tribulations that another small RPG creator went throug…
First, a postmortem on Persona 4. Interesting for me to read about the trials and tribulations that another small RPG creator went throug…
October 06, 2009
In the last couple of days, I wrapped up some last RPG tweaks. Made rogues a little more powerful, adjusted the numbers a little bit; nothing too big.
Next up on my list is to add some AI functionality to the monsters you run into in SENG. Right now they basically just charge at the closest party me…
October 02, 2009
A couple of updates on the game engine. First, I added support for footstep sounds and ambient audio. One of the critiques that I got from the To The World Tree demo (http://www.prankster.com/ttwt) was that the game was virtually silent. I'm a little resistant to having a full background music trac…
September 30, 2009
First, Greg Costikyan has a detailed article on randomness in games (video and otherwise), based on a presentation he made at Austin GDC 2009. Highly recommended; really informative and interesting:
http://playthisthing.com/randomness-blight-or-bane
Next, Coyote waxes poetic about his favorite game U…
http://playthisthing.com/randomness-blight-or-bane
Next, Coyote waxes poetic about his favorite game U…
September 26, 2009
Shamus has a nice article, with the exagerrated title "Give Me a Win Button":
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/columns/experienced-points/6575-Give-Me-a-Win-Button
But really, arguing for games to have a difficulty slider. Persuasive... I really should put a difficulty scale into SENG.
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/columns/experienced-points/6575-Give-Me-a-Win-Button
But really, arguing for games to have a difficulty slider. Persuasive... I really should put a difficulty scale into SENG.
September 25, 2009
So I finished up the updates to the level editor. Now, let me show off what it can do!
To do this, I'll show how easy it is to make a tower in a grassy field. Let me put a caveat that I don't have any real art or anything, and I don't have a full tileset to work with. (I did actually spend a bit of …
To do this, I'll show how easy it is to make a tower in a grassy field. Let me put a caveat that I don't have any real art or anything, and I don't have a full tileset to work with. (I did actually spend a bit of …
September 23, 2009
Couple of links today:
Andrew Vanden Bossche from GameSetWatch has article about storytelling through cutscenes or text exposition, and the often-superfluous nature of stories told in this manner. Good article:
http://www.gamesetwatch.com/2009/09/column_design_diversions_press.php
Shamus has a nice ar…
Andrew Vanden Bossche from GameSetWatch has article about storytelling through cutscenes or text exposition, and the often-superfluous nature of stories told in this manner. Good article:
http://www.gamesetwatch.com/2009/09/column_design_diversions_press.php
Shamus has a nice ar…
September 16, 2009
Just a couple of interesting links for the RPG designer today.
First, the Ink Knight finally continues his interesting series on interesting Cursed Items. Good stuff:
http://inkknight.blogspot.com/2009/09/give-your-cursed-items-reason-to-exist.html
Coyote has a list of ways to make a simple combat enc…
First, the Ink Knight finally continues his interesting series on interesting Cursed Items. Good stuff:
http://inkknight.blogspot.com/2009/09/give-your-cursed-items-reason-to-exist.html
Coyote has a list of ways to make a simple combat enc…
September 15, 2009
I've been thinking a bit about the overall structure, plot, and story fit together in CRPGs. That is, how does the game designer arrange the progress through the game. This includes things like what locations the game includes, and when the player will have access to them. What overall quest or que…
September 11, 2009
This week I've been working on some updates with the level editor. Based on my experience with To The World Tree (http://www.prankster.com/ttwt), I knew that I had some issues; the level editor was slowing me down. Rather than muddle through as before, the best thing to do was to revamp the level e…
September 05, 2009
Good article from Rock, Paper Shotgun:
http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2009/09/01/the-big-question/
About having, in an RPG, not just interesting quests, but quests that have meaningful consequences on the game and story.
I agree with this sentiment, and want to keep it in mind when designing "Untitle…
http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2009/09/01/the-big-question/
About having, in an RPG, not just interesting quests, but quests that have meaningful consequences on the game and story.
I agree with this sentiment, and want to keep it in mind when designing "Untitle…
September 01, 2009
Time for another update on Untitled SENG Game. I've been squirreling away on engine changes; in the last couple of weeks I've implemented (well, re-implemented) the way items work in combat, and added a conversation journal.
I had a small bullet on my "To-Do" list; make items work with the new RPG s…
I had a small bullet on my "To-Do" list; make items work with the new RPG s…
August 27, 2009
I was reading Rampant Coyote's blog, and stumbled upon this post:
http://rampantgames.com/blog/2009/08/how-long-should-rpg-be.html
Where he asks, "How long should an RPG be?" (Specifically, in hours of play.) Interesting question, certainly. But, say you've already decided how long your RPG should be…
http://rampantgames.com/blog/2009/08/how-long-should-rpg-be.html
Where he asks, "How long should an RPG be?" (Specifically, in hours of play.) Interesting question, certainly. But, say you've already decided how long your RPG should be…
August 24, 2009
This article:
http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/4111/dirty_coding_tricks.php
Really caught my fancy. It has a set of short features on last minute hack/bugfixes that programmers put in to quickly fix an issue just before shipping, often in horrible ways. Probably incomprehensible to the non-progr…
http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/4111/dirty_coding_tricks.php
Really caught my fancy. It has a set of short features on last minute hack/bugfixes that programmers put in to quickly fix an issue just before shipping, often in horrible ways. Probably incomprehensible to the non-progr…
August 18, 2009
Something that has been weighing on my mind for awhile is the question of how to run a decent Beta test (or any sort of test) for an independent, single-player RPG. Specifically, my RPG, still titled "Untitled SENG Game". I'm approaching the point where I'll have some gameplay prototypes ready, and…
August 12, 2009
Just a couple of random links today.
First, this neat site:
http://maps.bpl.org/history/
Has a huge collection of historical maps available online. So, for instance, if you want a map from 1482 of Asia Minor (in Latin), here's your thing:
http://maps.bpl.org/details_M0612036/?mtid=790
Whether or not you…
First, this neat site:
http://maps.bpl.org/history/
Has a huge collection of historical maps available online. So, for instance, if you want a map from 1482 of Asia Minor (in Latin), here's your thing:
http://maps.bpl.org/details_M0612036/?mtid=790
Whether or not you…
August 06, 2009
Andrew Doull has a nice post on permadeath; that is, where dying in a game means you have to restart the game again from the beginning:
http://roguelikedeveloper.blogspot.com/2009/07/permadeath.html
This is a common feature of roguelike games, Angband, NetHack, and the like (not coincidentally, Andre…
http://roguelikedeveloper.blogspot.com/2009/07/permadeath.html
This is a common feature of roguelike games, Angband, NetHack, and the like (not coincidentally, Andre…
August 04, 2009
I've had some time over the past week to do some good coding, and I've got some lingering features done in the SENG engine.
The first of these was "map discovery". Previously, when you entered an area, you could see everything in it, both onscreen and in the map. Even stuff behind closed doors, etc.…
The first of these was "map discovery". Previously, when you entered an area, you could see everything in it, both onscreen and in the map. Even stuff behind closed doors, etc.…
July 30, 2009
A little while back, Gamasutra (http://www.gamasutra.com) had a feature on Essential RPGs that a game designer should play. Excellent feature:
http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/4066/game_design_essentials_20_rpgs.php
Let's see how I stack up! Bold if I've played it, Italics if I haven't.
Bonus:
July 28, 2009
I was on vacation in Maine for the past two weeks. Technically I had Internet access, but I stayed away from everything except email. No programming either.
So, not much to report from the past two weeks. I did notice another Dev Journal pop up here at GameDev, which I've added to my list of blogs:
h…
So, not much to report from the past two weeks. I did notice another Dev Journal pop up here at GameDev, which I've added to my list of blogs:
h…
July 09, 2009
RPG Anvil: The Lua Tutorial Final
Well, I thought I'd have some final thoughts on the tutorial here, but really at this point, it stands (or falls) on its own.
My Lua tutorial showed:
Well, I thought I'd have some final thoughts on the tutorial here, but really at this point, it stands (or falls) on its own.
My Lua tutorial showed:
- Linking and initializing Lua.
- Loading a Lua script from a string.
- Running a Lua script from our C++ code.
- Calling a C++ …
July 08, 2009
Today, how to handle errors in your script-called functions.
The previous installments of this tutorial are here:
- RPG Anvil: The Lua Tutorial Part 1 - https://www.gamedev.net/community/forums/mod/journal/journal.asp?jn=503512&reply_id=3480420
- RPG Anvil: The Lua Tutorial Part 2 - https://www.gamede…
July 06, 2009
Today, how to access C++ objects when Lua calls your C++ function.
The previous installments of this tutorial are here:
- RPG Anvil: The Lua Tutorial Part 1 - https://www.gamedev.net/community/forums/mod/journal/journal.asp?jn=503512&reply_id=3480420
- RPG Anvil: The Lua Tutorial Part 2 - https://www.…
July 03, 2009
Today, how to call a C++ function from your Lua script.
The previous installments of this tutorial are here:
- RPG Anvil: The Lua Tutorial Part 1 - https://www.gamedev.net/community/forums/mod/journal/journal.asp?jn=503512&reply_id=3480420
- RPG Anvil: The Lua Tutorial Part 2 - https://www.gamedev.net…
July 01, 2009
Today, how to call a Lua script from your game.
The previous installments of this tutorial are here:
- RPG Anvil: The Lua Tutorial Part 1 - https://www.gamedev.net/community/forums/mod/journal/journal.asp?jn=503512&reply_id=3480420
- RPG Anvil: The Lua Tutorial Part 2 - https://www.gamedev.net/communi…
June 29, 2009
Today, how to get Lua and link it with your game.
The previous installment of this tutorial is here:
- RPG Anvil: The Lua Tutorial Part 1 - https://www.gamedev.net/community/forums/mod/journal/journal.asp?jn=503512&reply_id=3480420
Lua is available at http://www.lua.org/. As of this writing (June 25…
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