As I'll address in more detail in another post, we're going to create personalities in Underland. Creatures that become a Bane of the protagonist because they killed the player's physical form and forced them into spectral. Or entities that managed to flee from battle - only to regroup, toughen up and ambush you later.
For these guys, and indeed other guys, we want to present multiple ways to kill things, not just stab it, bash it or shoot it.
And this is where the environment comes in. And the player's grappling hook.
Employing physics we'll be providing players with the ability to topple pillars onto beasts, pinning them in place. Or wrangle a great serpent or wyrm and ride it, inching your way closer to its soft spot, Shadow of the Colossus style.
This won't be a game of pre-set animations and whittling down hit points. It will involve getting to know your enemies' weaknesses and using the environment to your advantage.
Sunday, 7 February 2016
Giving people something to do when they're not playing...
Part of the idea of the Companion App, is to enable players to be still be involved in the game even when they're not in front of their PC / console.
Features like, reading in-game texts, crafting and frequenting the Auction House are all things that can be done outside of the main game. Meaning when players are travelling about in RL - on a bus, or wherever, they can prepare for the next time they're ready and able to play.
I for one, despite being a fan of well-written fantasy, often find the act of reading quest descriptions and other narrative elements of RPGs a bit boring.
The Companion App goes a little way to solve this. The idea here is to present the players with an option to revisit or read up on narrative outside of the actual game. And prepare them for future adventuring.
With Underline we want to create a rich and immersive world where clues on how to defeat certain monsters or specific entities can be gleaned from myriad places. But you don't really want to force the player to read stuff unless they want to. So we intend to provide alternative options for surfacing this information.
Furthermore we want to build this notion into gameplay. So what you read in the Companion App, and maybe what you highlight within that text actually become features identifiable on your map or radar. For example, you find an ancient text which describes the weaknesses of some creatures, you learn that Trolls are allergic to a certain type of mushroom. This mushroom - once mere background decoration subsequently becomes something you can track on your radar (as if you're looking out for it / actively searching for it) and becomes something you can harvest from the environment.
Going forward we'll obviously going to create a whole section on features for the Companion App. But right now its just about capturing the ideas.
As always let us know what you think. What features would you make available in a Companion App, or offline?
Features like, reading in-game texts, crafting and frequenting the Auction House are all things that can be done outside of the main game. Meaning when players are travelling about in RL - on a bus, or wherever, they can prepare for the next time they're ready and able to play.
I for one, despite being a fan of well-written fantasy, often find the act of reading quest descriptions and other narrative elements of RPGs a bit boring.
The Companion App goes a little way to solve this. The idea here is to present the players with an option to revisit or read up on narrative outside of the actual game. And prepare them for future adventuring.
With Underline we want to create a rich and immersive world where clues on how to defeat certain monsters or specific entities can be gleaned from myriad places. But you don't really want to force the player to read stuff unless they want to. So we intend to provide alternative options for surfacing this information.
Furthermore we want to build this notion into gameplay. So what you read in the Companion App, and maybe what you highlight within that text actually become features identifiable on your map or radar. For example, you find an ancient text which describes the weaknesses of some creatures, you learn that Trolls are allergic to a certain type of mushroom. This mushroom - once mere background decoration subsequently becomes something you can track on your radar (as if you're looking out for it / actively searching for it) and becomes something you can harvest from the environment.
Going forward we'll obviously going to create a whole section on features for the Companion App. But right now its just about capturing the ideas.
As always let us know what you think. What features would you make available in a Companion App, or offline?
What do you love/hate in RPGs?
What I mean by this are features. Gameplay or game mechanics. Not narrative events or characters specific to certain RPGs.
So, as a starter for ten I'd suggest co op is a great feature for an RPG.
For me I always harken back to the best times of my pen & paper roleplaying games. And that was almost always about co op. Even when the party was divisive and split down the middle and one half waged war with the other. (Which reminds me of a story I might share in a later post) - it was always about players discussing their next moves and then embarking on a quest together. So co op is something we aim for here.
Another great feature was Shadow of Mordor's Nemesis system. This provided some truly memorable moments for me, playing that game:
"Oi! Man filth! I killed you before...."
And then the intense satisfaction of besting an opponent which has killed you repeatedly. Nothing quite like it. And they say genius steals, so we've wholesale borrowed this system, massaged it to suit our purposes, and Underland will present its equivalent - which we call the Bane system. Except, obviously, we do things a little differently. And virtually any creature can become a Bane of the protagonist in our game. Because we want to capture those moments that engage a player. When an enemy slips through your fingers, learns from your mistakes, and ambushes you later. Taunts you. Steals from you. And then you eventually out smart that sonofa, and crush its skull beneath your boots.
For years, as a games designer, I used to think that game play was the pinnacle of game design. It's what you allowed your player to do that was important. How you extended and evolved a genre by applying a new feature. But it is not that.
Don't get me wrong. All that is important. But it's emotional engagement that is the pinnacle of game design. If you can get your player to love, hate, be furious in (temporary) defeat, bring tears to their eyes and fist pump the air when they ultimately succeed. These are the moments that define a game. These are the moments that stay with you as a player.
Gameplay and game mechanics support them. But it is emotional engagement which captures the heart and mind and rewards the player. It is for these reasons gamers invest time and money. And this is what we strive for with Underland. We want you to tell stories around the water-cooler and down the pub, and salivate for the next time you log on.
So what features in other RPGs have you loved and/or hated?
What's made a game for you, and what's broken a game for you.
I could fill pages with this stuff. But I want to hear from you.
Please.
There, I said please! :-)
So, as a starter for ten I'd suggest co op is a great feature for an RPG.
For me I always harken back to the best times of my pen & paper roleplaying games. And that was almost always about co op. Even when the party was divisive and split down the middle and one half waged war with the other. (Which reminds me of a story I might share in a later post) - it was always about players discussing their next moves and then embarking on a quest together. So co op is something we aim for here.
Another great feature was Shadow of Mordor's Nemesis system. This provided some truly memorable moments for me, playing that game:
"Oi! Man filth! I killed you before...."
And then the intense satisfaction of besting an opponent which has killed you repeatedly. Nothing quite like it. And they say genius steals, so we've wholesale borrowed this system, massaged it to suit our purposes, and Underland will present its equivalent - which we call the Bane system. Except, obviously, we do things a little differently. And virtually any creature can become a Bane of the protagonist in our game. Because we want to capture those moments that engage a player. When an enemy slips through your fingers, learns from your mistakes, and ambushes you later. Taunts you. Steals from you. And then you eventually out smart that sonofa, and crush its skull beneath your boots.
For years, as a games designer, I used to think that game play was the pinnacle of game design. It's what you allowed your player to do that was important. How you extended and evolved a genre by applying a new feature. But it is not that.
Don't get me wrong. All that is important. But it's emotional engagement that is the pinnacle of game design. If you can get your player to love, hate, be furious in (temporary) defeat, bring tears to their eyes and fist pump the air when they ultimately succeed. These are the moments that define a game. These are the moments that stay with you as a player.
Gameplay and game mechanics support them. But it is emotional engagement which captures the heart and mind and rewards the player. It is for these reasons gamers invest time and money. And this is what we strive for with Underland. We want you to tell stories around the water-cooler and down the pub, and salivate for the next time you log on.
So what features in other RPGs have you loved and/or hated?
What's made a game for you, and what's broken a game for you.
I could fill pages with this stuff. But I want to hear from you.
Please.
There, I said please! :-)
Memorials in Games
On a side note, one of the things I truly love about games is there capacity to become (arguably) eternal memorials to those that have died.
World of Warcraft has done this well, with a number of memorials to friends and loved ones of the developers.
I have had the great misfortune of experiencing two friends 'pass'. One in a motorcycle accident (Jed Hicks) and another from 'misadventure' - which is pretty fitting for an RPG. :-) (Keith Morgans) ...Keith would certainly appreciate the irony anyway.
This game will definitely include memorials to both.
Deeply missed, forever loved.
pilch out.
p.s. Yes the Designer in Chief has a soft spot.
What's coming... aiming for a prototype
Just to explain, what you're going to get, eventually, from this blog, is updates regarding our coding, graphics, audio and gameplay / game mechanics development streams. We'll be showing you works in progress (WIPs) including demos, screenshots, example audio files for VO and SFX and everything else you'd expect from game development. But I wanted this blog to capture everything. From initial concept to business strategy so you guys get insight into every decision made.
I also wanted it to become a point of discussion, and a point of involvement. A place where we can touch base with the public and essentially, to an extent, collaborate on something. Share ideas and feedback. And head toward the admiral pursuit of User Generated Content (UGC). Giving those willing a chance to actually contribute.
But for now, we have no code, no graphics, no audio. Just concepts and plans. Our next step is to secure money so we can develop a prototype.
The prototype as I see it would involve getting the basics working. Generating environment from geo-location, time and weather.
This is step one.
Step two would probably involve basic movement of the player controlled entity.
But in order to do this we need money. And in order to secure that money we need a following. So if you like the idea. Please follow and share and spread the word.
We'll really appreciate your support.
Thanks.
p.s. anyone helping out at this point will get Hall of Fame recognition. That's all we can offer right now. Some funky title and our undying love and admiration.
Undying... now that might be a good alternative title for the game....
That, or perhaps: My Work Is Not Yet Done (a nod to Thomas Ligotti).
Friday, 5 February 2016
Underland Needs You!
Got an idea for Underland? Well let's hear it! Don't be shy. Stick your suggestions in the comments field below. Great games require collaboration, and we'd love to hear your thoughts. And don't forget to follow and share! Spread the word! - I'm hoping that last bit works like a Jedi Mind Trick. :-)
Sample Dialogue for Dread Pirate Booty - extracts from the Game Design Document
Underland will use a significant amount of spoken dialogue, or voice over (VO). Arguably more than Fallout 4 because the last thing we want is our own Preston informing the player that another wretched settlement needs their help.
We'll also be using a CMS to frequently update the game to keep dialogue fresh.
Here's a brief sample of some of the dialogue as it currently stands (this post will be expanded in the future).
"I mets this pirate once, claims he was an assassin from an ancient order. What a load of bullfish. He knew some lovely songs though." - (tongue-in-cheek reference to Black Flag)
"Ayes gonna open ye up!" - (said to both chests and notable enemies)
"What treasures have ye hidden in ye chest!" - (said only to notable enemies)
"Aaarr Polly, never have I seen such a sight. 'Cept fer ye on ye wedding night!" - (said when finding notable treasure or locations)
"Aaarr Pol, almost as pretty as ye!" - (said when finding fine treasure)
"Shiver me timbers, Pol. Absolutely no idea what it means, but shiver 'em anyways."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)