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[Kyzrati]

[usual gratitude for voicing support]


...before long I need to start increasing the game's public exposure so that different people can use those tired old phrases

[JobLeonard]

I do honestly believe there is a very fanatic audience out there for this genre, and the "production values" of this particular game are off the charts so... why haven't you?

[Kyzrati]

I agree the potential might be there, but I want to make sure I pull it off right so I'm waiting for the first video to be available before advertising it beyond the usual developer communities.

You really need at least one good video to make places like IndieDB and Steam worth it, but there isn't any game content yet except for placeholder prototype stuff. Also haven't decided whether or not to hook up with a pixel artist to do a sprite set *before* increasing exposure. Lots of potential players would really want sprites instead of letters.

Moving on to content right now, in fact. Was just reviewing robot class design yesterday, and today probably working a bit on items after writing a couple more blog posts, one of them about content and "making a game"

[Ultima Ratio Regum]

Most devs who deal in ascii roguelikes focus their efforts purely on gameplay because 1) that is the focus of true traditional roguelikes, after all, and 2) most are beginners who don't yet have the experience to develop a good UI on top of their game. By the time most devs have that experience they're moving on to 2D/3D games. Only recently has there been a resurgence of interest in applying a wide range of modern game design principles to roguelikes, and by seasoned developers, too. With Cogmind I'm trying to take that concept as far as possible; we'll see if that results in wider appeal...

Heh, I could pretty much have written this paragraph - I echo those thoughts entirely. Anyway, I really like the manual. What kinds of things are you putting in there? Just mechanics, or more game information anyway? I've been finding it unusual to write the manual and trying to balance between explaining "how to play the game" in its essence, but not "what to do" or "how to win". Seems trivial, but I think for any vaguely complex game the "how to play" bit extends far beyond just controls, but you still don't want to say too much...

[Kyzrati]

True that it can be difficult to separate the two. On that topic I did end up having a "hints/strategies" section of the 7DRL manual, and that partially in response to player request. Players even wanted a breakdown of the types of enemies they could meet, which I think is going a bit beyond the scope of a manual.

Personally I'd like to keep it solely focused on mechanics, explaining only what's what. That's the plan, anyway. One breed of player that enjoys complex games certainly wants all that information to make better informed decisions, while others just want to have fun without thinking about that stuff. I think it's okay to cater to the number-crunching crowd (unless it totally spoils the game, like giving any AI behavior details!), but it's best to keep that information out of the way and not make it required for play.

When copying 7DRL manual information over for the screenshot I intentionally skipped the first section, which talks about your "purpose/goal" (that should be part of the experience), and any section talking about strategies or specific content beyond what was necessary to illustrate a mechanic.

[cragwind]

Been looking at this. I also appreciate the focus on UI and spending time on to get right.

Any reason for choosing to go with 'matter' as a unit rather than a wider variety different physical resource types that could be collected, some of which might be scarce or regional? Maybe scarcity shows up in other parts of the gameplay?

[Kyzrati]

"Scarcity" will be reflected more in what parts you find or get access to, so there is only one consumable resource in order to ensure that you aren't burdened by too many requirements on top of obtaining parts. Even matter can be scarce depending on how you fight enemies, so managing salvage becomes somewhat an issue.

Another reason for a single consumable resource is something I haven't covered yet: the scope of the game. While it may sound like an epic game, Cogmind doesn't take place in a huge open world or anything like that. The layout is more akin to subterranean dungeon diving (though with larger dungeons), meaning it would be quite difficult to properly distribute multiple different resources in a satisfactory way.

From an interface and gameplay perspective it's also not too easy to fit in more types of resources without compromising simplicity (as well as the internal logic of the world). The player already has to balance other statistics like integrity, coverage, energy generation vs. consumption, heat levels, system corruption... there's a lot to think about without throwing in more consumable resources. Unlike most other games, your equipment (parts themselves) is your ultimate consumable resource!

Thanks for the interest!

[JobLeonard]

The layout is more akin to subterranean dungeon diving (though with larger dungeons), meaning it would be quite difficult to properly distribute multiple different resources in a satisfactory way.

Maybe you've already mentioned this, but what kind of world will this be set in? For some reason I'm just remembering Total Annihilation where you had organic worlds and metal worlds, and the economy of the game would be completely depending on which map you played.

[Kyzrati]

No, I haven't discussed it yet on the blog; so far I've only covered very specific features, but as development continues there will be more about the glue that sticks it all together (the blog is soon to become more about content rather than features). This will be somewhat difficult to discuss since I don't want to spoil the game too much.

In terms of organization, the closest comparison would be DCSS (Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup), where you have a main multi-level "dungeon" (in this case a subterranean complex built by robots) and have the option of either going straight up (your goal is to reach the surface) or taking side branches for a more circuitous route. The side-branches serve to provide 1) more of the story, 2) a way to escape if you are being pursued too closely and in danger of being overwhelmed, and 3) potential access to better parts and allies/NPCs.

In terms of the world, that "main dungeon" complex is a relatively young one in the process of being built and used by a "certain enemy" (the end boss that you don't really have to fight, but who's controlling everything). You'll see a fair number of non-combat robots going about their own business (workers, engineers, excavators, haulers, recyclers, researchers, operators...); they make the world seem more alive, and of course you can always jump them if you want to cannibalize their parts

The side branches are mostly natural caves surrounding the complex, and they're home to a whole different class of autonomous robots.

[Kyzrati]

Every True Roguelike's gotta have one (or more!): The message log.



One more post about interface-related stuff, then we're finally moving on to content.

[Kyzrati]

Making the map area more informative in Cogmind/roguelikes with "map dynamics":

[JobLeonard]

So, an attempt to give more productive feedback than just praise:

I was thinking, these effects could further enhance immersion if it was explained in-game as if my robot's computer was running some kind of predictive subroutine - highlighted by some in-game faux-console HUD overlay message whenever one switched to one map dynamic. You know, kinda like in Terminator or Robocop, except it's a top-down map instead of a first-person view.

You could also choose to have special map dynamics like heat-vision, maybe as upgrades you have to find along the way somehow (yes, Metroid Prime is one of my all time favourite games, how did you know?).

[Kyzrati]

Any and all constructive feedback is appreciated

Heat vision and other types of "vision" have been suggested a couple times, and I started the design doc with them included, but they had to be dropped because it's not possible to make them important enough to justify the addition without major changes to gameplay. In principle I want to make sure that features introduced for cosmetic purposes don't impress themselves on the gameplay. While fun, adding something like heat vision requires adds a whole new facet to the mechanics, one that I don't think balances well with the rest of the game. I may explore these again much later in development, or possibly in a sequel. As you say, they'd be cool.

Cogmind *does*, however, feature other sensor modes enabled by parts that are already an integral part of the gameplay, and these should definitely be animated when activating them. I'm just now getting into the stage involving re-design of the original parts list, so now's a good time for that. As you say there should also be extraneous data appearing in out-of-the-way places purely for effect. I should add more such effects to the existing explosion prediction, too--number calculations etc. Thanks.

Immersion FTW!

[eigenbom]

Will this be available for this Oculus Rift?

[Kyzrati]

Nope, just good old PC. And only Windows, at that. It'll run under Wine, but there won't be a Linux build for a long, long time, if ever. Unless I spend forever updating and porting the engine. Right now I just want to make a damn game (<--title of next blog post), not fool around with technology I don't have time to play with. I wish I did, but there's just not enough time... (Are you planning on taking Moonman to Occulus?)

Now that you mention it though, I can imagine how cool an idea that is for a project, VR console manipulation that's part of the game.--I'm sure someone will beat me to it =p

There's got to be something like that in works now, I would think. Might not have the same feel, but I'd think with some true 3D graphics such a game would probably look better. As for me, I've got my head (and abilities) stuck in some ancient time.

[eigenbom]

It was a joke, but now I'm imagining a VR environment where you walk up to a console and play a RL on it!

[Kyzrati]

Ha, I totally did not get that, seeing as it seems every third indie I read about is experimenting with the thing! Personally I think it would feel pretty awesome to play Cogmind on an Oculus, hardcore style with just the keyboard--no mouse allowed. Once all the UI/sound effects are in it would be quite an awesome way to get into it.

The whole idea of the game's presentation is to be an immersive experience...

[Kyzrati]

Little intermediate post about entering the "content" phase of production: Making a Game.

[Kyzrati]

Data-driven development in Cogmind.

Behold, the items from the prototype, made in one day oh so long ago!


The new game will have more unique/special items given all the new mechanics.

[JobLeonard]

Pffft... that's not so... oh wait, there's a horizontal scroll bar... SWEET BABY JESUS!

EDIT: Also, maybe it's just me, but an approach like this just screams "IN GAME EDITOR!" (and custom maps).