Goin Hikin BRB

Off to the Appalachian Trail for a week.  When I get back, I shall continue my design work on my horror text adventure to finish up the month.

Development Log: Horror Game Part 4

Well, as usual, more notes for today.  The theme today is mostly on the order of expanding the scope to accommodate a wider slice of life, and how to incorporate such things properly.

Development Log: Horror Game Part 3

Today is another post of design notes like Part 1, random thoughts and so on.  Sooner or later they'll be solidified and put in order.

This one mostly tackles the idea of monsters and player death.  It also gets into some questions about how to make things scary, what horror means, and considers videogame and movie examples for justification.

Development Log: Horror Game Part 2

Well, not too much today.  I've just been considering how best to split up the interface.  Considering it's a text adventure, essentially, but with extra elements to it, it might be helpful for the player if each element was separate so the player doesn't have to dig through text to find the relevant info they need.

What I'm thinking might work.

Although my quick Flash test was four boxes, I think six boxes might be necessary, or at least the most useful.  This seems to be fine, considering that the sample text I'd used in the Flash test was very small and tons more could have fit in those text boxes, which means I can cut their sizes down without issue.

The one major thing I've been considering it whether to develop a text parser, or to rely on a menu-driven system.  Of course a robust text parser would ultimately be the best, player-side, a menu would be easier for me to make.  Ah, that's the way it always is, of course.

Part 3...

Development Log: Horror Game Part 1

Well, I spent the week making design notes more than anything, in an attempt to flesh out and experiment with how the game world will work.

Not all of what I wrote matters; probably most of it will be trashed, but that's part of what the experimentation is all about.  I'm trying to find a way to make a solid horror experience where the player gets sucked in to the text and forgets they're playing the game.

But the notes don't cover everything, and they assume you know what's going on in my head, because, of course, I wrote these notes for myself.

So, in essence, what I had in mind before writing my notes was this:

A horror text adventure that would be online, where the player may meet other players in specific areas.  Where players meet would be "safe zones" so they can chat, discuss what they've seen, etc.  I might offer a few "Channels", such as one for Newbies and Mentors, and one for Roleplayers who like to keep in character.

But beyond safe zones, the world would be randomly generated for each player, so players could not meet outside of safe zones.  In the world, it is creepy, dangerous, and you are very, very alone.

The goal of the game is escaping the nightmare world.  The player is trying to find a somewhat-legendary exit, and must explore endless rooms to do so. ("Rooms", of course, being text adventure vocab, and not necessarily literal.)

What follows after the break are my actual notes, which meander and babble, and just have random idea after random idea, expounding on each for a bit before getting off-track.

Development Log: Horror Game, Day 0

So I've had a bunch of projects in the shadows, dabbling with different ideas, and I think it's finally time to bring one of them to light, and work on it in earnest.

So for the next month, I'll be working on a Horror Text Adventure.  I'll post about it twice a week, whether I have something programmed, or just designed on paper.

Lots of text boxes.  Woot.

This game will have a semi-randomly generated layout that gets created as you play.  Right now I've made a sample with a room that is a church, and each time you load it, it gives random details.  I'm not going to bother posting the actual Flash file like I did with the January Engine, at least not until there is something to do. Clicking refresh really isn't much interactivity.

Like last month, I think I've got a break week, this time where I'm going hiking instead of a conference.  But last month my excuse for not doing a "monthathon" was the conference, and I don't feel like putting it off again.  So this isn't as much of a "monthathon" as it is just me focusing on one project.

So let's see if I can make something creepy!

Part 1...

ECGC BRB

My apologies for not posting to schedule all the time; right now I'm busy preparing for ECGC, as well as working hard on a volunteer project.

Not this kind of volunteering.

Next week I'll be at ECGC so there will be no posts.  Expect posts to resume 4/30.  It is likely that I'll be doing another "monthathon" next month, since I had the itch this month but didn't want it interrupted by ECGC.  Not sure yet want the project will be; typically I assign options to a number and roll a die.

But, till then, keep yourself busy with the Fireboy & Watergirl series, beginning with The Forest Temple.