The mechanic obviously has the player pressing the keyboard.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
InDev: Saphruby Mockup
I am in the process of making this for Experimental Gameplay: November and December TEMPERATURE. Not going to post much, but use your imagination. I hope I can use Stencyl or Construct for the final, if not, back to good ole' Game Maker.
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
NaNoWriMo: Ciprus
November is NaNoWriMo, or National Novel Writing Month! I started writing a novel called Ciprus: A Tale of Revolution. It is a chronicle of an immortal, lesser noble trying to incite a political revolution to benefit the masses. I am at about three thousand words as I write this post.
Here is an excerpt:
There is one sure way to become immortal in this world. The test of Pillars. Only the aristocrats of Ulden know and keep this secret. It is but a legend to the serfs. Sometimes, the one of the nobles would tell their most favorite servant of the tale and his adventure in gaining an everlasting life to erect such a pillar, granting the servant entry to the aristocracy. But most of the time, only the Ulden children are taught, and the masses kept in ignorance.
In the darkest of the ancient ages, when the Empress Supreme was not Empress yet, she climbed a mountain and erected a pillar with magics unknown and lost to history. Granted, those before her erected such pillars. But it was only by her that others would come and build upon her pillar. She broke tradition-she passed this knowledge down to her children, the uninitiated. It was supposed to be a quest one would discover for oneself. But knowledge cannot be held in an iron cage.
And thus she became Empress for her wisdom was great. Her children created a kingdom on Ciprus, the kingdom of Ulden. It stood above the ashes of the immortal Ascein, the previous and mythical kingdom, brought down to its knees by an eternal winter.
The Empress cried tears for her people the Ascein, and thus took on winter as her guardian, though it was the destroyer of old. She was not the only Ascein one who has survived, but she was the only one able to rebuild, along with Kailymur, the Modux of that age. Then entered a Golden Age of Ciprus under her fair rule. It came about by giving people choice and knowledge of the Pillars. Many pilgrimages went in year after year.
Here is an excerpt:
There is one sure way to become immortal in this world. The test of Pillars. Only the aristocrats of Ulden know and keep this secret. It is but a legend to the serfs. Sometimes, the one of the nobles would tell their most favorite servant of the tale and his adventure in gaining an everlasting life to erect such a pillar, granting the servant entry to the aristocracy. But most of the time, only the Ulden children are taught, and the masses kept in ignorance.
In the darkest of the ancient ages, when the Empress Supreme was not Empress yet, she climbed a mountain and erected a pillar with magics unknown and lost to history. Granted, those before her erected such pillars. But it was only by her that others would come and build upon her pillar. She broke tradition-she passed this knowledge down to her children, the uninitiated. It was supposed to be a quest one would discover for oneself. But knowledge cannot be held in an iron cage.
And thus she became Empress for her wisdom was great. Her children created a kingdom on Ciprus, the kingdom of Ulden. It stood above the ashes of the immortal Ascein, the previous and mythical kingdom, brought down to its knees by an eternal winter.
The Empress cried tears for her people the Ascein, and thus took on winter as her guardian, though it was the destroyer of old. She was not the only Ascein one who has survived, but she was the only one able to rebuild, along with Kailymur, the Modux of that age. Then entered a Golden Age of Ciprus under her fair rule. It came about by giving people choice and knowledge of the Pillars. Many pilgrimages went in year after year.
The novel is set in a fantasy world, but elves and other mainstays of it are nowhere to be seen. Magic seems more or less granted. Political revolutions are almost unheard of in this setting. I plan to focus on intrigue instead of violence.
If you are interested in writing for NaNoWriMo, sign up in this website!: http://www.nanowrimo.org
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
East Coast Weekend Trip!
Wow, I had the best weekend ever! (Well, one of the better ones traveling).
On Friday, we left Ohio towards North Carolina. We visited a Japanese steakhouse called "Kanki". The food was okay, but the chef was hilarious!
On Saturday, we arrived in South Carolina. I met some awesome CollegePlus! people and we hiked in Caesar's Head State Park. Apparently, it was also here that they filmed the Hunger Games and the Last of the Mohicans. Had a great time fellowshipping with Alex Smith, Elizabeth Fox, Johannah Voeller, and Laura Frahm. :D I missed the dinner, though.
On Sunday, we visited Georgia. My family wanted to see the First Baptist Church of Atlanta, the home of In Touch Ministries. The church is huge! I went to the College & Career class, and it was nice. Afterwards, we had a lunch in the Lakeside Grill they had, and then we headed to the World of Coca-Cola. The tasting room is a must-see.
Then we headed home, and arrived in Columbus on Monday. I missed this place.
On Friday, we left Ohio towards North Carolina. We visited a Japanese steakhouse called "Kanki". The food was okay, but the chef was hilarious!
On Saturday, we arrived in South Carolina. I met some awesome CollegePlus! people and we hiked in Caesar's Head State Park. Apparently, it was also here that they filmed the Hunger Games and the Last of the Mohicans. Had a great time fellowshipping with Alex Smith, Elizabeth Fox, Johannah Voeller, and Laura Frahm. :D I missed the dinner, though.
On Sunday, we visited Georgia. My family wanted to see the First Baptist Church of Atlanta, the home of In Touch Ministries. The church is huge! I went to the College & Career class, and it was nice. Afterwards, we had a lunch in the Lakeside Grill they had, and then we headed to the World of Coca-Cola. The tasting room is a must-see.
Then we headed home, and arrived in Columbus on Monday. I missed this place.
Friday, September 14, 2012
InDev: Grandfather Paradox Part #2
"The Grandfather holds the watch to his gaze. Soon..."
Another blog post in developing Paradox, Grandfather. It is a casual time travel RTS game, or it probably can be more accurately called an RTT (Real Time Tactics) game.
Previously, I introduced the basic gameplay and the two main warring factions. But there is a special "faction", so to speak (Actually, two, if you count the neutral civilians as a faction). The Grandfather "faction" is the source of the blessings, or woes, of time travel in this world. It is composed of the Grandfather unit and his various incarnations. In 192X, he is a young man, who invented the time travel machine and set into motion the events culminating into the war between the Imperiarchy and Republicorp. In 195X, he is an old man, armed with a steampunk army of sorts.
The Grandfather "faction" only let's you play with one unit directly, the Grandfather. You can even control him with the WASD keys and shoot with the mouse button. He can enter any time machine. You have to avoid the Imperiarchy and Republicorp from killing you, or stealing your plans, or otherwise messing with history.
You can upgrade the Grandfather unit. He can be armed with a Chronogun that erases units from existence. When he is still, he is cloaked and invisible. His speed can also be upgraded. But he is weak constitutionally, so take care when manuevering into areas of heavy fire.
The Imperiarchy and Republicorp factions are with through five equivalent units each through four attributes. They are all infantry units. I did not want to add in vehicles and things to the lineup, although in another future version of the game, I might. Possibly the post-experiment version.
Now, I will explain the time travel system, more. In Skirmish battles, after winning, it saves the game, and you can load it, and play against yourself, as if trying to alter history. Or you can play as yourself, and finish in a lower time limit. The Campaign will work the same way. It will be interesting, or at least I hope so.
I decided to cut off the Campaign until the post-experiment version, which I might sell. The version for EGP will include only the Skirmish mode.
Another blog post in developing Paradox, Grandfather. It is a casual time travel RTS game, or it probably can be more accurately called an RTT (Real Time Tactics) game.
Previously, I introduced the basic gameplay and the two main warring factions. But there is a special "faction", so to speak (Actually, two, if you count the neutral civilians as a faction). The Grandfather "faction" is the source of the blessings, or woes, of time travel in this world. It is composed of the Grandfather unit and his various incarnations. In 192X, he is a young man, who invented the time travel machine and set into motion the events culminating into the war between the Imperiarchy and Republicorp. In 195X, he is an old man, armed with a steampunk army of sorts.
The Grandfather "faction" only let's you play with one unit directly, the Grandfather. You can even control him with the WASD keys and shoot with the mouse button. He can enter any time machine. You have to avoid the Imperiarchy and Republicorp from killing you, or stealing your plans, or otherwise messing with history.
You can upgrade the Grandfather unit. He can be armed with a Chronogun that erases units from existence. When he is still, he is cloaked and invisible. His speed can also be upgraded. But he is weak constitutionally, so take care when manuevering into areas of heavy fire.
The Imperiarchy and Republicorp factions are with through five equivalent units each through four attributes. They are all infantry units. I did not want to add in vehicles and things to the lineup, although in another future version of the game, I might. Possibly the post-experiment version.
Now, I will explain the time travel system, more. In Skirmish battles, after winning, it saves the game, and you can load it, and play against yourself, as if trying to alter history. Or you can play as yourself, and finish in a lower time limit. The Campaign will work the same way. It will be interesting, or at least I hope so.
I decided to cut off the Campaign until the post-experiment version, which I might sell. The version for EGP will include only the Skirmish mode.
Saturday, September 1, 2012
InDev: Grandfather Paradox Part #1
"In 195X, two warring factions: the Imperiarchy and the Republicorp, are in a stalemate. Only one way to break this: time travel."
Paradox, Grandfather is a game I'm making for Experimental Gameplay: Time Manipulation for August and September. Details are subject to change. Note that the link provided for the download provides only a mockup prototype without gameplay, yet.
The game is set in an alternate past, where the Imperial States of Ohio (the Imperiarchy) and the United Sozist People's Republicorporation (the Republicorp) are embroiled in an apocalyptic Cold War in 195X. The weapon that caused this war is not the atom bomb, but the time machine.
The Imperiarchy decides to end the war by eliminating time travel in the past. The Republicorp travels back to prevent that alternation in history, then the Imperiarchy decides to stop the Republicorp from going... and so on.
The game is made to be a casual RTS, inspired by Relic of War and the Achron RTS. In the battlefield, the player is given two views. The first view shows 192X view of the battlefield. The second view is the present, or 195X, of the battlefield.
The factions must send units from 195X to 192X, but also can fight in 195X. Only in 192X can mission objectives be met. There is a Time Indicator in which the player can change so the player can send units any time in 192X. For example, if the Imperiarchy captures the "Grandfather"(revealed in a future InDev) in 192X, the Republicorp can rewind the Time Indicator and send troops to prevent his capture. Or the Republicorp can drag the time indicator and place troops in the future to stop the capture at the extraction point.
That is all for now! Gotta get back working. :)
Paradox, Grandfather is a game I'm making for Experimental Gameplay: Time Manipulation for August and September. Details are subject to change. Note that the link provided for the download provides only a mockup prototype without gameplay, yet.
The game is set in an alternate past, where the Imperial States of Ohio (the Imperiarchy) and the United Sozist People's Republicorporation (the Republicorp) are embroiled in an apocalyptic Cold War in 195X. The weapon that caused this war is not the atom bomb, but the time machine.
The Imperiarchy decides to end the war by eliminating time travel in the past. The Republicorp travels back to prevent that alternation in history, then the Imperiarchy decides to stop the Republicorp from going... and so on.
The game is made to be a casual RTS, inspired by Relic of War and the Achron RTS. In the battlefield, the player is given two views. The first view shows 192X view of the battlefield. The second view is the present, or 195X, of the battlefield.
The factions must send units from 195X to 192X, but also can fight in 195X. Only in 192X can mission objectives be met. There is a Time Indicator in which the player can change so the player can send units any time in 192X. For example, if the Imperiarchy captures the "Grandfather"(revealed in a future InDev) in 192X, the Republicorp can rewind the Time Indicator and send troops to prevent his capture. Or the Republicorp can drag the time indicator and place troops in the future to stop the capture at the extraction point.
That is all for now! Gotta get back working. :)
Monday, August 20, 2012
Postmortem: Conspiracrat
A game of secret machinations. One is never ready to pull the strings of the web of secrecy.
I made Conspiracrat as an afterthought for the Game Jolt Official Contest. I really couldn't have spent enough time on it due to me having an exam in the middle of the week. I almost made it to the deadline, but I plan on improving the game, since it shows promise, especially in the Artificial Intelligence and some possible and future multiplayer additions.
The game is a turn-based strategy. You control a secret Society in pursuit of power. To do so, you must take control of Organizations around the space. Organizations can also take control of other Organizations, creating a network. Each Organization may have a total of 5 Members, who can sway the Organization to your purpose.
Gameplay:
The gameplay is a bit lacking right now. I blame myself for not giving enough feedback to players. I also haven't implemented the "Specials" system for each Society that the manual boasts. That said, with the right balance, you can play the existing game right now and engage in a conflict of powers. I need to make it so that the mouse can move around the map. A mousewheel, which laptops lack, is needed for zooming in and out, but it is not necessary. There is a glaring lack of options given to the player. Also, the "Member" part of the game is not as well developed as I'd like. For example, the "Advancing Rank" system of the Members work, but not to any advantage for the player, ironically. I'm not entirely happy with the Society goals, either. The game needs much balancing to make it any more fun. The achievements are a bit unlockable right now, but it should be an easy fix. The interface system was not as intuitive as I planned. I will cover the artificial intelligence in another section of the postmortem.
Graphics:
The graphics were on purpose simplistic and minimalistic, a black and white effect, with a few colors thrown in. That was done because of time constraints, but also on a more philosophical point. It suggests that the Societies have dogmas that are really varied, as shown by the color, instead of a black and white approach. Well, something like that.
Music:
I used royalty-free music from Kevin MacLeod of Incompetech. I found a piece of music that fits each Society to a tee. I used the Supersound DLL to play them as Ogg Vorbis sounds after converting them from MP3s. The music is largely dark and mystical.
Sounds:
The game only uses beeps for feedback. My old computer speaker's do not run anymore, and I have to have them replaced. I used another computer to test the music and sounds, which is the one I'm writing in right now.
Artificial Intelligence:
The Artificial Intelligence is horrible compared to what was planned. I planned it so that the AI can hold diplomacy with the player and other AI. However, due to time constraints, I can't, but I will, hopefully. Also, the AI right now is largely a simple decision tree, and not even that. Although I am glad to say it doesn't cheat like some other strategy AI.
Multiplayer:
There is no multplayer in this game (yet). There was supposed to be. There was in the beginning stages of the game there was hotseat multiplayer. But I went in favor for the AI playing against a single player. I'm still looking if I can turn this into an online multiplayer. We will see.
What I Did Wrong:
I did not put multiplayer.
I did not put enough sounds for feedback.
I did not put a well developed AI.
Lots of gameplay features planned that did not appear or appear subtly, yet.
I did not focus much on the Members part, where the Double Agents and backstabbing come to play.
What I Did Right:
I picked fitting and awesome music.
I got every basic thing in the game at least in beta.
It's finished, somewhat. It's definitely playable to a point.
It has a better interface system than some of my older games.
Well, I had fun making this game! I did have Game Jolt's Good Ol' Fashioned Fun Time TM in the process. I promise updates, because I like the premise and theme. I hope I can make it a bit more like a puzzle game and a psychological, mental one at that.
The Elitinati is watching.
Aeterna Veritas is marching on.
Thursday, August 2, 2012
Mindwrap: Higher Dimensions
"I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such an one caught up to the third heaven. And I knew such a man, (whether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter."
2 Corinthians 12:2-4
Ever since man had fallen into sin, humans have dreamed of realities higher than our bleak three-dimensional existence.
2 Corinthians 12:2-4
Is Heaven a higher dimension? Can the spirit world be explained as a dimension removed from our universe?
But before I go on, I will lay down the basics. As the video shows, a point has zero dimensions. A line will have one. A square has two. A cube has three. We live in a world with a visible three dimensions. Our universe also experiences the dimension of Time, but this blog post only concerns itself with spatial dimensions, not temporal.
Why can we not see or interact with other higher dimensions? We can draw an analogy from the book Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions. In Flatland, the inhabitants are only limited to 2 dimensions. The inhabitants are circles, squares, triangles, and so are their surroundings. A 3-dimensional entity can look down on the flat land, but the inhabitants cannot look up to the higher dimensional being, so to speak. To the inhabitants, the being is godlike.
This will imply that God is probably residing in the highest dimension conceivable, or outside all dimensions, yet interacting with the lowlier dimensions. This reflects His attributes of immanence and transcendence.
There have been theories that the spirit world is simply another dimension. One theory states that living people have a fourth-dimensional spirit attached to the three-dimensional body until death. An interesting concept. I don't know if it has truth behind it or not.
Now, the idea that Heaven(or even Hell) is another dimension, or a dimension within our universe has more credence. The Russian cosmonauts always bragged on the fact that when they went to space, they did not find God. They haven't looked at other dimensions!
Some say Heaven is in another planet somewhere. The Mormons and Jehovah Witnesses believe God as an alien being of sorts. Songs like this support that theory:
Why can we not see or interact with other higher dimensions? We can draw an analogy from the book Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions. In Flatland, the inhabitants are only limited to 2 dimensions. The inhabitants are circles, squares, triangles, and so are their surroundings. A 3-dimensional entity can look down on the flat land, but the inhabitants cannot look up to the higher dimensional being, so to speak. To the inhabitants, the being is godlike.
This will imply that God is probably residing in the highest dimension conceivable, or outside all dimensions, yet interacting with the lowlier dimensions. This reflects His attributes of immanence and transcendence.
There have been theories that the spirit world is simply another dimension. One theory states that living people have a fourth-dimensional spirit attached to the three-dimensional body until death. An interesting concept. I don't know if it has truth behind it or not.
Now, the idea that Heaven(or even Hell) is another dimension, or a dimension within our universe has more credence. The Russian cosmonauts always bragged on the fact that when they went to space, they did not find God. They haven't looked at other dimensions!
Some say Heaven is in another planet somewhere. The Mormons and Jehovah Witnesses believe God as an alien being of sorts. Songs like this support that theory:
"Somewhere in outer space,
God has prepared a place
For those who Him and obey.
Jesus will come again,
Although we don't know when,
The countdown is getting lower every day!
Ten and Nine,
Eight and Seven,
Six and Five and Four,
Call upon the Saviour while you may.
Three and Two,
Coming through the clouds in bright array,
The countdown is getting lower every day!"
It's a fine Sunday School song, but possibly theologically incorrect. God is not a physical alien being from another planet in space. God is a Spirit.
So, just some of my ranting, perhaps, but I hope it made you think.
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