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[RyanT]

Howdy,

For quite some time my dream game would place users in a non complex world, give them a scripting language (that is created by me), and let them modify the environment. Some may say this is exactly like the Matrix, yet, I really have no idea how this would work.

This world would give you the basic building blocks, and it could/would be your job to expand on it, if you please. For an example, you could be given a few computers, routers, and such; you could use wires to connect them and the scripting language to create a network. But one flaw of mine is that I’m not too computer/network savvy.

In your eyes, how would a scripting game, somewhat like the Matrix, work? You can modify the code that creates your environment, but what would that code look like? What would you like to do in this "game"?

[LiquidAsh]

I would love to see a game like this.  One of the tricky things about this kind of game is keeping the learning curve steadily increasing.  There was a game called Light Bot that seemed to do this pretty well.  I could see building off this so more objects can be programmed.  Another model that you might look into are the old MUD systems.  Many of these games allowed players to add/modify areas of the game with script.

[RyanT]

The game, of course, will be online. The learning curve should range from easy, creating simple stuff, to complex. I tried the Light Bot game, it is fairly similar to a past game I created. But with mine, you actually wrote the scripts to controls bots, who fought each other.

But still, I have the problem of what would the scripts look like, how would a Matrix scripting type of game be like, and what type of COMPLEX objects would you be building?

[jotapeh]

I remember that bot scripting game (although I think the version I played was called RoboWars or something?) It was fun, but I was not smart enough to use it properly, alas!

I'm not sure I entirely follow your concept, are you thinking something along the lines of what Second Life allows its players to do? I personally feel that this is an area of gaming that could use a ton of improvement.

[RyanT]

I've never played SecondLife.

I'm not even sure where I want this idea to go. An old game I play is an graphical emulation of a command-line environment. It allows you to program networks, DNS, and so on. I love how open this idea is, but, I do not have too much knowledge of Networks, and such. So a remake of it is most likely out of the question. I guess I am asking for is, more or less, some great ideas that would include scripting?

[Chromanoid]

maybe you could try concepts of your game in second life. there is a scripting language called lsl. there are basic building blocks, some health logic etc.

i think there are some wars in sl that work like a war in a programmable virtual world. these wars are fought through programming weapons, shields, bots etc.
here is a link to a catalog for virtual goods in sl (13000 items in the weapons category) https://www.xstreetsl.com/modules.php?name=Marketplace&CategoryID=19
some use custom combat systems, some use the built-in one.
here is a link with war related news in sl: http://foo.secondlifeherald.com/slh/war_and_militias/
my favoutite headline: "Will SexBed Dispute Lead to Nuclear Conflict?" :D

maybe the links inspire you...

[RyanT]

I still have no clue what Second Life is, although, I have heard of the name. I recently though of a small idea that I will try to expand on. I'll make a reply here with the basic idea if it grows. Essentially, the fun of the game should be the challenge of making use of limited technology to make interesting things.

[FatHat]

Have you played Final Fantasy 12? I thought they struck a nice balance on this, you could program your characters, but it wasn't complicated enough that it was conceptually difficult.

it was basically a prioritized list of if statements. Like "if hp < 60: heal party member". Pretty limited but you could still make very sophisticated behaviors form that simple base.

[Martin 2BAM]

Whoa, I had an idea like this like two weeks ago:
An massive RPG where you can "program" a character (with a simple language) for answering some predefined-like questions or give clues or exchange items, etc.

You would have your playing avatar to explore the world and a still non-moving one to which others could ask questions and buy/exchange stuff.
That way it would build a sort of economy.
The moving avatar would go after loot and adventures... and then the non-moving one recommend paths and places for free/for a price, and also sell the items the moving one finds.

Was just a whacky tentative idea.

[Skofo]

You mean Garry's Mod + Wiremod?

[Chromanoid]

I still have no clue what Second Life is, although, I have heard of the name. I recently though of a small idea that I will try to expand on. I'll make a reply here with the basic idea if it grows. Essentially, the fun of the game should be the challenge of making use of limited technology to make interesting things.

Just for the record: second life is no game because there is no game logic (there is a health point system integrated which is rarely used). it is a programmable virtual world. you can implement your own game logic if you want to. it is used for various forms of adult entertainment, chatting, art and roleplay. you can rent virtual land to create your own virtual dwelling/3d chatroom/game world etc. many people create things in sl to sell them to other people for real money (currently 260L$ are 1$ http://secondlife.com/statistics/economy-market.php). you can buy avatar costumes, stuff for your virtual dwelling, games etc.
one of the biggest roleplay communities is the gorean community with several sims (sl servers). Practically every fetish and nearly everything a society might consider abnormal can be found in SL (it is a part of the internet ^^). so be careful where you go .

some universities (including my one) try to use SL for elearning. one of the best examples for this might be the "Ohio State Testis Tour" http://slurl.com/secondlife/TELRport/59/97/302
http://slurl.com/secondlife/ can give you a good impression how big the virtual world of sl is.
a friend of mine uses (or tries to use) sl to plan stages (for concerts). some architects use it for planning houses etc.

sl is a big sometimes ugly user generated media moloch

[RyanT]

You mean Garry's Mod + Wiremod?

I've never heard of WireMod, nor have I played GMod. But I did a rather hastily search on WireMod, and it looks interesting. Perhaps, I can create a scripting language that does similar things to create items.

Though, I would need someone who is fluent with WireMod to help me come up with some functions/commands for my scripting language, since I cannot play this game. Any takers?

[SirNiko]

I think you probably need to look into Second Life. It's really not that complicated. It's a virtual 3-d space where people run and around and build stuff. On the basic level, you just assemble 3-d geometry, and maybe animate some of it. On a deeper level, you can script things, introduce variables like health and ammo, and create simplistic RPG or FPS style systems. It's really quite close to your idea.

SL isn't very good for 'gaming' mostly because the system doesn't really support it. At best, you wind up with a hobbled together system that makes your average MMO alpha look like a finished product. Controls are usually unintuitive because there's no standard across the system. Nothing stops players from using outdated versions of your system with the new versions, leading to all sorts of trouble. Not to mention, most people are in SL not to play a game, but to use it like a virtual chatroom.

The other idea would be to simplify the process until you essentially have Klik and Play online. It could be something akin to Little Big Planet where you just have reams of user content. A small body of users building a fantastic world for the larger body to play and explore. The only problem there is that large quantities of low-quality content could spoil whatever good content manages to be created.

-SirNiko