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[markfarr2011]

Starfall

Preview Video:


Demo Link: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B-w-PVgHra9gTGR5YjdpQlZTTjg/edit?usp=sharing



I would like to get involved in this community by starting a DevLog for a project that I have been working on in my spare time.

Description

I am trying to develop a multiplayer game that is set in space.

I am hoping to combine elements of third-person shooters and programming games.

Here is my current idea for the game's mechanics:


I'd like to hear your input: how you would design the game's mechanics, its core features and additional content.

Progress

Over the past few months, I have developed a working preview of the game. It features the avatars that players will be able to recolor and customize, and crafts made out of snap-together parts that players will be able to own.

The server software that I am developing is written in C++, using the POCO libraries and Google's V8 JavaScript engine. On top of providing the game's service, this server also provides a service that developers can access from the web. They can use it to view logs and create new content for the game.

The working prototype of the game client was created using Unity 3.5 under a free license. Over the past week or two, I have been working to recreate the prototype seen in the video using C++, OpenGL and Awesomium, a windowless-port of Google Chrome. I have been happy with the progress made so far: I have made a replica of the game's login screen, wrote a blender exporter for a JSON model format that I wish to use and am ready to move forward. I feel as though these technologies give me more freedom than Unity under a free license, and am find it pleasing when the client and the server share some of the same code. I am open to the idea of purchasing a Unity Pro license and weaving the two prototypes of the client together. Though as I continue to make progress on the new client I feel like there is less and less of a need


Please let me know what you think.

[ITS_Mike]

I'm a little confused by the concept.  Is the game a metaphor for programming, or do you actually program in it?

While watching the video, I thought it was cool how you were in a room but after a quick rotation you were suddenly in a tunnel   I could see this being a bit disorienting, but I don't think that would be a bad thing.

On that note though, I could see the seams in your skybox I'm sure it's something you are aware of, but I thought I'd mention it. I tried to tackle skyboxes a couple years ago (I normally work on 2D games), so I know they aren't the easiest thing to create.

[markfarr2011]

I'm hoping to allow players to construct programs in game, using JavaScript. Their scripts would be a type of item stored in their inventory, which they can by and sell.

Concerning the game being a metaphor for programming: I also am and might continue to add artifacts here and there, like how I used Alan Turing's face for the console wallpaper, to set the mood.

To elaborate on what I had in mind for programming as a game-play feature:
I thought it would be cool if players could unlock pieces of a larger API over time.
They would find items dropped by NPCs that when activated, would allow them to execute scripts that call a certain function, collection of functions, or members of global objects that gives them control over components of the game they didn't have access to prior. For example, they could unlock the ability to access the ship and move it one unit in a particular direction ( perhaps ship.move(direction) ). Another unlockable feature might be the ability to write scripts that control an entity that the player has ownership over, to automate tasks aboard the ship. They wouldn't be able to activate the script in their inventory if they didn't have such a part of the API unlocked.

I thought 0x10c (http://0x10c.com/) was a neat idea and kind of have that as general inspiration in the back of my mind.

I did notice the seam in the skybox and really should fix it.

[FamousAspect]

I don't have time to check out the demo, but I did watch the video. The art style is minimal but it definitely caught my eye. I think your ideas are intriguing, especially about opening the API over time.