4k

This is not helping the development of my Clan Lord projects.

Random Dungeons

I am arriving a little late to the party, but I recently purchased Torchlight (the original version, not Torchlight II: the sequel is not yet available for the Mac, at least not on Steam).  I have been playing it for some while now, and I enjoy it.

I am not obsessed with it as I was with Diablo II, even though the two games have similar game play and goals (fight monsters, get loot).  The 3D graphics are gorgeous, and the interface is simple.  I don't quite see the point of pets, but I find it entertaining to teach them spells.  There are plenty of quests to do, but it did not take long for me to grow bored by their repetitiveness ("kill a boss", and "return an item" are the two more common quests types).  A little more variety in quests would have been nice.

However it has been the randomized dungeons which has me thinking back to a project which I had started over two years ago: random instances, which would allow multiple groups to enter the same dungeon and not encounter each other.  I have given this subject a little thought, and want to apply it to my current major project.  Or should I say projects.

With our player base shrinking, instances are becoming less necessary.  But for me, it's a challenge in making it happen.  And making it happen – or making any of my projects happen – is a challenge!

Time and Money

I just threw away some money, and with that, I also am throwing away around 20 future-hours of my life.

I just purchased Portal 2.

Why do I do this to myself?

Laser Tag

I went to a birthday party on Saturday.  The party was basically "dine out at a local Mexican restaurant, drink some sangria and margaritas, and then play a round of indoor laser tag at a nearby gaming facility."

I had never played laser tag, but I have played nearly 2k hours of Team Fortress 2 – and that's almost like playing laser tag, right?  I figured that I would be an instant expert at this game and that I would dominate the playing field.

PRO TIP: One's mediocre computer gaming skills does not translate well into real world settings.  I had enough team-versus-team online gaming experience to check around corners and to watch my back when moving around the map, but boy-howdy I had zero gaming experience on dealing with swarming, screeching children.  The kids' tactic was a basic wolf-pack "surround and pound the adults!" and as one of our base's few adult defenders, I got seriously pwn3d.

I had a blast (pardon the pun), and look forward to playing again soon.  Although their RED team crushed my BLU team, I can boast that I had the high score for my team.  That's right: I was able to out-gun the children on my team.  Maybe my mediocre computer gaming skills accounted for something!

Web-based MMORPGs

I have been playing a web-based MMORPG: Realm of the Mad God produced by Wild Shadow Studios.  This game is even more retro than Clan Lord (if you can believe that) as the graphics are a blocky, pixelated throw-back to the old Legend of Zelda game.

This game does a number of things very well:

• It allows many people to play online using just a web browser (and the Flash plugin).
• It is free to play.
• It relies on microtransactions for revenue.

Long have I dreamed of seeing Clan Lord move from an application-based game to a web-based game, and RotMG is an example that such a transition is possible.  One of the major downsides is that there is rampant cheating within this game – apparently it is quite a simple matter of writing an add-on which enables one to boost the character's stats, granting unlimited health/speed/defense and such.  It may be possible to move from an application-based format to a web-based format but, based on the current security technologies, it does not appear that such a transition would be beneficial for Clan Lord.

Cheating aside, RotMG is still a fun game to play.  I have found myself repeatedly spending a couple of dollars for a few vanity items.  I have thought about microtransactions in Clan Lord, but in its current format, CL doesn't really need microtransactions.  If CL were ever to become a free-to-play web game, then perhaps such a business model could be reevaluated.

Maybe I should learn how to write Flash games for the web!

Spending Time

I spent the evening away from the computer, so I did not do any development for Clan Lord this evening.  Instead I spent the evening playing table top games with friends.  It was a great way to spend the evening.

Blood In The Water

There has been some very positive responses from the GMs on holding a Clan Lord Team Fortress match!  All I had to do was use the term "easy prey" and the GMs have been drawn to this event like sharks are drawn to blood in the water.  We are in the process of selecting a date for this event.  Expect Koppi to make an announcement very soon.

I urge the citizens of Puddleby to practice their CTF skills.  Mwahaha!

Frag A GM!

While I continue with my recent, shameful TF2 binge, I have a new appreciation for the work that Slarty did on Clan Lord Team Fortress.

I have floated the idea to the other GMs on holding an in-game CL Team Fortress match, perhaps players vs. GMs.  We'll see if schedules will permit us to arrange an afternoon of old fashioned Capture the Flag or King of the Hill.

Stay tuned.

How I Spent My Day

I love Sundays. And I love that I now understand how to spray paint images onto a TF2 map.

Yap yap!

Choose Your Own Genie

If you were a child of the 1980s, then you may remember the Choose Your Own Adventure book series.  In each book, you (yes you!) were the hero of the story, and the narrative would develop based on your decisions.  Did you want to fight the dragon?  If so, turn to page 98.  If you instead wanted to retreat to safety, then turn to page 63.  Your choices would change the telling of the adventure.  Christian Swinehart has an excellent technical analysis of this series on his web page.

I am still thinking a lot of about Story Genies, and I began to wonder if they could do more than just behave as a walking sign post.  What if – like the choices made within the CYOA books – the speech of the genie could change, based on interaction with other genies?  For example, suppose I have two genies which I name Alpha and Beta.  I tell Beta what to say, but then I also give it instructions on what to say to those players who have visited with Alpha.  When I release Beta from the genie bottle, she says:

"There's money to be made at sea.  A resourceful merchant could carry stone and wood to the builders on Gold Dust Island."

But for those who have met Alpha, she instead says:

"Oh, so I suppose you've been listening to that fool Alpha and he's been filling your head with nonsense.  He's nothing but a pirate, and a poor one at that.  You'd do very well to stay away from him."

What I love about this idea is that a story has the ability to morph, albeit in a limited way.  I view this ability as an option to Story Genies, and it may be available to those players who desire a little more variety in their stories.

This idea is bubbling its way up On The List.

Another Shameful Milestone Passed

I really should delete Steam from my computer.  Perhaps then I would have any hope of being a productive member of society.

Money Can Buy Happiness

Today Valve released an excellent update for their Team Fortress 2 game.  In addition to numerous new items, mini-games and new clothing, they created the in-game Mann Co. Store.  This store enables players to spend real-world money to get game-world gear.

Most of the character classes for TF2 have items sets.  These are comprised of individual items which, when all are equipped, give an additional bonus/ability.  While these items may be found randomly within the game, many players opted to spend the money and outright obtain all of the completed sets.  It was rather remarkable to listen to players comment on their purchased items (literally listen – many of the players use team speak): one individual spent $60 at the Mann Co. Store and was very happy with his tricked-out sniper.

Some other cool things available at the in-game store are paint and name tags.  Paint enables a player to change the color of certain items, such as the color of a hat.  Name tags allow players to change the name of certain items.  There are also some new clothing accessories which are available only through the Mann Co. Store; these special items may not be found nor created within TF2.  They are available only through the in-game store.

I like the idea of spending a couple of dollars to customize your character.  The prices are low enough to make this an enticing option.  This lead me to wonder: (a) will this business model be successful for Valve, and (b) can a similar business model be applied to Clan Lord?  Joe has stated that he never wanted CL to be the type of game where players could buy in-game advantages, but what about allowing players to pay real world money for in-game vanity?  Would CL players pay $1.99 for a unique female fen healer icon, or pay $2.99 for a unique permanent skin dye?

My TF2 teammates were very happy with their purchases.  I guess money can buy happiness!

RSVP

As a follow-up to my discussion of games within games, I wanted to mention one of my favorite web games: RSVP.

The premise is that you are hosting a dinner party and you, being a good host, must keep everyone happy.  This is achieved by seating matching guests next to each other.

This game has everything that makes a game enjoyable: simple premise, very simple rules, even simpler game play, and a lot of planning and thinking.  The retro look and jazzy lounge music are all bonuses.  And there is no time limit!  This is, in my opinion, a well-designed game.

You may play RSVP online here.

An Open Letter To Blue Castle Games

To the developers at Blue Castle Games:

I read a story over at kotaku.com regarding your upcoming Xbox game Dead Rising 2: Case 0.  I was disturbed by the game play depicted within this video.

I suppose I should have been better prepared for what I was about to see after reading "[c]heck out this video showing off the game's real world beer keg foam physics, vomit viscosity and drunk punching."  And the video delivers just that: the game's protagonist runs around and fights zombies, fires a weapon at a keg of beer, consumes alcohol and then doubles over and vomits.

While I recognize that this is just a video game – one that involves fantasy violence whilst battling zombies – I am nonetheless troubled by the questionable judgment used in the development this game.  Was it necessary to depict an individual vomiting?  I suspect that this matter was discussed within your development meetings: how did you arrive at a decision that vomit would bring value to the game play, and specifically what value does it bring?

I feel that there are better methods of showcasing your game's liquid/particle system (may I refer you to Portal 2 game play as an example), and I found it disappointing that you chose such a sophomoric display as representation of your work.

Respectfully,

Games Within Games

The crew over at Rock, Paper Shotgun recently reviewed a game called Morplee.  The basic premise for Morplee is to play as many mini-games within sixty seconds.  The game is written in Flash, and may be played over at Newgrounds.

While I was playing Morplee (my high score is 1460 – an easy score to beat if you wish to brag about it here), I was reminded of how there are numerous mini-games scattered throughout Clan Lord – games within the game.  We have the Tower of Hanoi and a sliding Fifteen puzzle, two great examples of mini-games.  And what floors me is that the scripts that power these games are relatively small, with each game having around 300 lines of code.

I would love to see more mini-games within Clan Lord.  I have always been fascinated with railroad tracks; I loved the 1980's arcade game Loco-Motion, which is basically the Fifteen puzzle merged with dominoes.  This is the mini-game that I dream of making for Clan Lord: sort of a mining-cart-loose-in-a-mining-cave sort of thing.  More mini-games in Clan Lord is definitely "on the list."

Now if you'll excuse me, I shall return to stomping on colored tiles.

Starcraft 2 and Real Time Strategy

I am glad that I do not play Starcraft.  The Starcraft 2 trailer looks totally bad ass, and the last thing that I want in my life right now is another way to waste time.

I have played the Warcraft series.  My take on these types of Real Time Strategy games is that they're not too dissimilar to farming kudzu while defending crops from Pazu-Ohwi: the player works towards a production goal (kudzu seedlings in this example) while warding off opponents that are trying to destroy the means of production.

It's fun, I suppose, if one enjoys that style of gaming.  I happen to find kudzu farming dreadfully dull.

109

Team Fortress 2 tracks the number of hours that one spends playing the game.  So far I have logged 109 hours on Team Fortress 2.  109 hours.  Two and a half work weeks.

In other news, I have spent 109 hours not developing content for Clan Lord.  I wonder if TF2 had an achievement for that!

The Man With The Golden Harm

Today, while I was diligently looking for bugs – or for something that may be a bug – I missed a golden opportunity.



Instead of unlocking the Golden Wrench in Team Fortress 2, I spent my day repeatedly jumping around in the healer's animal pen, willfully allowing myself to be mauled by Lyfelidae.  I suppose that it could have been worse.  I could have unwillingly allowed myself to be mauled by spies!

Goodbye.

This is the beginning of the end of my Clan Lord development.



I wish I were stronger, but I am weak. I wonder if I can have food mailed to my home?

[Update]:  I played for a couple of hours this evening, and really enjoyed myself.  I can understand why Slarty introduced a variation of this game to Puddleby.  I just wish that I had my twitch reflexes of twenty years ago.

Oh No.

Just when I had finally managed to curtail my time spent playing Portal, the announcement that I have been dreading has been made: Half Life 2 is coming to the Mac today.

I secretly hope that it costs $70 so I will be enraged and swear to never purchase this game.

[Update]: The price is not $70, but instead is $7.00.  One-tenth the price for which I had hoped.  I am trying to maintain my resolve and stay away from that game, but I find it hard to say "no" to an awesome game for a mere $7.00.