Possibly related/unrelated, I was thinking of taking some original, color-based spin on the magic formula, but still keeping it somewhat simplified at the same time.

RED: Indicates (up to) 150% damage, in return for range-limiting; charge-up effects would add character-oriented movement (like Speed Burner from MMX2), though not "implicitly fire-based."

BLUE: Indicates additional stun/stall time; multiplied by a charge-effect.

GREEN: Indicates quicker speed (in both movement and execution), somewhat affecting range.

WHITE/BRIGHT: Indicates a positive effect for your character - for instance, executing "bright blue" would reduce stun/stall time that you face, or "bright green" would make more of your other actions quicken. Alone, it would indicate regeneration.

BLACK/DARK: Indicates a damning effect for afflicted characters; "dark red" would cause an afflicted enemy to take up to 150% damage from ANY attack for some time, not just the present one. Alone, it would indicate an approximate equal of poison.

This system could then be combined into a variety of hues/brightnesses that basically span the digital color wheel; with 150% being for "pure" spells of a type, and values in-between being the compromised result of more effects. This would then ALSO be combined with a range system; including a charge-up system (for single target/multiplied or boosted effect - charge-up white = instant recovery for example), a 3-shot system (where you could hit a choice of targets 3 times, ~50% apiece), lines/rays and zones (like Chrono Trigger tech areas, or one that leads to another like a missile), or floods, which would affect all others; 90% of effect to all (allies or enemies), 10% to whatever was NOT chosen.

The Discovery Channel hostage crisis today made me think about this, for some odd reason. Even though it's completely unrelated.

I mean, a real SKRL would require a lot of consistent factors, an MO, a specific group of targets based on criteria (often the same kind that's used as basis for discrimination - race, religion, gender, physical traits, lifestyle choices and so forth). Like, if you were some kind of "renegade hero" saving our air from smokers; with a consistent, positive message that you want THEM to get, but not tie back to you, and to still suppress that from the general public.

When the heck are the bros gonna get themselves some real chicks, and leave these princesses "in distress" where they continue to place themselves?

And what's the deal with the lump on Yoshi's tongue? Is it a natural protection from getting it stuck in his nose?

How come the world hasn't decided that warp pipes are the optimal form of mass transit?

Finally, where the heck can I buy a 1up? I've got a dollar, I could use one of those.

Happy Earth Day!

ChronoTrigger. Before that was Ninja Gaiden trilogy, and Final Fantasy Adventure.

Congrats on the invite! :D

And I know what you mean. I've been playingplaytesting a lot of stuff here, too. Also, being offline and in process of moving, that hasn't helped much either. I'm glad to see you're still at it though, and I can't wait to see what world develops from this. Let us know when the conference is over, so we can explore what they've done.

First few rooms could use some simple, introductory combat. 5 screens of no hazards whatsoever (or power-up/gold-looting potential) is just a waste of unutilized space. Once you're past that, it's pretty solid and fun. Music could use a tiny touch-up... it's missing a little something.

IMHO, most really good "big projects" are just small projects that are taken to a huge scope over time; or a number of small projects all successfully meshed together.

It's great to see progress, and very interesting to witness the AI state of each adversary.  I think any monster or player climbing a ladder into the feet of another should be protected from crushing, which should be reserved for when the creature above is actually descending, but I don't know how that would be handled programmatically, and players who make the mistake of suiciding while climbing a ladder probably should just learn their lesson.

I can't wait to see more progress but am going to be traveling for a few weeks.  I look forward to getting to know the code better after I return.  Cheers!

IF
(vspeed.monster) > 0
crush = true
ELSE
crush = false //(other outcome??)


Or something to that effect - which basically locks the monster crushing so that it must involve downward motion. Should climbing into them push them? Ladder-combat?

Street Rogue

Do you have what it takes to be the best fighter in the world?

Combine core RL concept with games like fighters, slash-fighters, beat'em ups, open-world/sandbox and superhero games, etc.

Agreed that a MegaMan (/MMX) Metvania cannot go wrong. But yeah, having scene-altering effects based on things like boss encounters in itself is wicked-cool, too.

In fact, of all the MegaMan spinoffs/fangames in existence, how come there ISN'T a MM Metvania, anyways?! It's perfect fodder for that!

I wonder if the jail/prison system has parole/escape systems, bribery, and internal affairs as well...

It's quite a bit darker than my usual-faire taste, but it sounds arguably worth exploring. I'll see what comes of it, though.

IMHO, the videogame itself is all ABOUT the "warp gate." I mean, think about it, you choose a setting and mythos, full of virtual creatures and characters, power it up, and "warp" (IE: immerse) yourself into it. Your fingers are the brain, and your character is the body; and you've already "bent" not only time and space, but laws of "questionable Nature" itself. We are the creator and narrarator, just as we are the explorer, to semi-quote a certain fishy tail.

Granted, our narrative in such a setting doesn't override our physical being, or our other natural needs or states; we can't "plug ourselves into the bathroom" for instance, in our need to use one. You can spend a month "cooking" in a video game, but it's not going to feed "your" mouth.

This kind of thing makes me wonder about the external setting of the world - what if something bigger works in ways completely different of our own? I mean, to some extent, life and art have their imitative nature - cars existed way before video games for example. But there are games without cars, games with cars like our own, and with cars much UNLIKE them, as well.


It also makes me wonder about real life, and if there's intrinsic patterns in it to break (hint: yes there are). I walk a LOT - to and from work, to and from stores, I'm one of maybe 10 people in my modest-sized town that walks as much as I do. Likely 12 miles a day (which to many, is unimaginable. I've seen people give me crazy-stares for going to the local 7-11 on foot, because it's "just so far!!!"), so I know EXACTLY what you mean with that kind of thing. It gives me a totally different scope and perspective than, dare I say, most people have nowadays.

My idea of a long walk: Walking 11 miles to a mall across town, participating in a DDR tournament, and then walking back home. Believe it or not, I pulled the entire thing off without stopping, too.

But as I approach intersections, they have a rhythm and routine about them that rarely deviates, just like many people. Little details change, but the major outcomes don't. So if I'm taking a consistent route home, the timing of crosswalks, and the optimal order of them rarely changes, if at all. I'm still trying to find other patterns to flow with (like: always buy 3 bags of chips when on sale, when you need more they'll be back on sale again).

The Zelda gambling game is easy to bust. Always go to the right. Is real life so simple? Doesn't seem that way, that's for sure. But part of me can't help but wonder - what if it really IS?


Haven't seen Scott Pilgrim, to be honest. And it's been awhile since I've found or taken a "Warp Gate" like the one you mention, but generally I've found them all over. In whatever I do. Lately "aisle 4" at work (grocery/freight) has become one, as it's generally the least packed and easiest to navigate quickly.

It's not the change in abstraction that scares people. It's the inevitability of that change; it's something that always has occured, and always will again, out of natural necessity. It's especially damaging when it comes to topics like economy, religion, rights (which is WHY America takes it's Constitution so seriously... it's basically what protects it's people from it's government - possibly the biggest challenge to our freedoms - and increasingly evident over time). People use these as fundamental foundations - for their lives and philosophies to their everyday decisionmaking and even the definitions of "common courtesy" and "normal life." Take that away, and what do people have?


The story of that Magpie is great! There's a few Kit Foxes around where I work that do the same kind of thing. Nature and Civilization not only can coexist, but inevitably will.

Wickedsauce. Box.net - it's the best friend you never knew you had.

Link is broken. A shame, I'm looking forward to trying this! PM me when fxy!'d, plz.

Create a fun sports- or racing-oriented game? That's like, the ultimate challenge right there.

Take an idea from the "Neverending Hybrid Game Design" thread, and actualize it? A mods/maps contest?

Really, I do have to agree that another "Assemblee" wouldn't be a bad thing - there's a bigger net of talent out there to work with now; and perhaps even premade engine-archetypes could be added/contributed to it as well, making the process even more streamlined.


Or we can do the logic dance, compare comps with better outcomes with ones with lesser ones; and find out what works better. Only thing that makes it notorious to me is that there's always a short, tight timeframe to work within. Maybe something like 3-4 months (rather than 1-2) could produce better, more polished results.


Deranged-dream comp: There's a dozen titles in simultaneous production, each based primarily on a genre (but can factor in a little variety here and there for flavor). Each participant contributes one or two focused efforts (art, programming, sound, design/content, etc.) to a single project, and then the best team/outcome wins. Now that's something that you probably could pull off in a month or two, and see some stellar results from.

EDIT: ZOMBIE PROJECTS!!! 

Take an abandoned/incomplete project from a past compo, and either remake or resume it.

Wicked!

Might I suggest a choice between action and menu battle systems? Lets the player choose for themselves what kind of game it plays out like. There's also some good Gauntlet-esque hack'n'slash potential in this as well.

So... Black Omen = Giga Gaia's personal diving board? I actually never noticed that, either. I just thought the Ocean Palace took flight.

_Madk:

I had something like that in mind too. It became the basis for the racing subgame of iMAGE Zero, which then got completely nerfed; but the idea is very much alive still.

You get one of six vehicles (Motorcycle, "Highflyer," Sedan, Tuner, Truck, or SUV), each with a distinctive feel and advantages/disadvantages. The motorcycle has huge crashability/recovery for instance, but can fit through tight gaps and use ramps to catch hangtime and leap over obstacles other vehicles can't. Trucks and SUVs can both crash through some barriers (like fences) and resist wrecking; SUVs have better on-road traction whereas Trucks are better off-roads. Sedans and Tuners are more classic, Sedans focusing on old-school tactics where Tuners focus more on Drift Race tactics, but otherwise closely heated.

The game makes a "state" (possibly a PG one, like a big jigsaw puzzle), and NFS-style races based on keypoints within and between them. This includes long, inter-city routes with long, winding freeways and so forth. There's cash pickups, as well as the somewhat necessary refueling (streamlined by driving right through the pump, auto-pays an appropriate amount of cash, 1/4 tk, 1/2 tk, or top-off) and repairs (just prevents breakdown, actual performance reduction takes a lot of damage to do).

Also, like NFS, there's different race types, and you can race in either vehicle-type based leagues, or "open league," which allows any combo of vehicles to compete with one another - and keypoints far enough apart so that the different types can take tactical routes and remain tightly competitive (Trucks/SUV routes and their crash-oriented playstyles will make those routes more direct, others detour a bit and cross back and forth; but with points that allow you to leap/bypass them sometimes, if you play it right.

There's a few main, flip/rotatable-but-static state shapes with common entry/exit routes, and then pieced-together cities are then plaed at corresponding points, rotated/flipped to make the routes match up correctly. And of course, we can't forget awesome radio options, right?


  Can you believe I went from that, to "characters riding animal buddies through an Excitebike-meets-Sonic" approach? Yeah, me neither.

EDIT: Also, the point of the game wasn't to win the most races. It was to make the most cash!   And sometimes that meant taking a second place or two where risk/reward would sometimes pay off, but not always. After all, if your repairs cost you more than the difference in prize money...

Oh yes. And TRAINS. How the flunk can racing sim games not have tremendously painful RXR's yet? Plus, it's a quick way to city-hop if you don't really feel like ridin'.

Finally, to clarify, "Highflyer" is meant to be a race-appropriate "alternative Lowrider," and also the only vehicle that can jump on command (as opposed to motorcycles needing ramps). You could side-slide to fit SOME narrow gaps with it, but you might get stuck, where bikes are a safer bet for that kind of tactic.

Oh yeah. It doesn't help that I completely SUCK at drawing vehicles.
__________

Not necessarily related, but also I'm presently intrigued at the concept of making a front-end gaming app that can generate levels or maps based on Wikipedia pages, instead of "randomly." Possibly user profiles on social sites, too. Some things like vowels, spaces, punctuation, and letter frequency/relationships can factor in some design consistency that you can't just "randomize," you know? And cross-linking would make that the perfect basis for a completely overwhelmingly-big universe, regardless of what you're frontending it for (platformer, racing, whatever), so long as you can work within text format limits. (101 variables? 202, counting shifts/caps??)

And if all else fails, the pages ALWAYS have a randomization link, too. You could end up anywhere!!

Yes, that's the key right there.

UNDOCUMENTED features.