Driftwurld Traders

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Callan S.
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Joined: Sun Jan 24, 2010 5:43 am

Driftwurld Traders

Post by Callan S. »

This is using my setting of Driftwurld, but it'll be a new game coded up. As I understand the comp, it's about making new games.

Working title of the game
Driftwurld Traders

Technology
PHP
mysql
A nice free css template I found somewhere! :)

Story
You were born in a tiny village, with not much more than sticks and mud to your name. The world you know of is a wilderness, but the old tales speak of massive castles that rose into the skies. And dragons. But the only terrible lizards you know of are raptors. But there were also stories of power - of great weapons and armour. And maybe you could survive trade runs enough to gain these. You're village is on the brink anyway - yet another victim tof the whims of natures feast and famine. Time to travel, time to trade!

Features
Oh, am I gunna keep this simple! Perhaps it'll be embaressingly simple seeming, but that's okay. Basically a journey game a bit like oregon trail, hoping to gain resources that protect you against raptors, before the raptors wipe you out.

I'll probably aim for A: something simple code wise, B: to finish it in time and C: if I finish before the deadline, then I add more features as I go along!
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janiksxxl
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Re: Driftwurld Traders

Post by janiksxxl »

Sounds interesting.
Good luck.
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Callan S.
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Re: Driftwurld Traders

Post by Callan S. »

Thanks!

For everyone:
Oh, in line with my suggestion to Hall's original thread on ideas for the comp, are there any features anyone's interested in having? You can just pitch something - if it's outside my skill, obviously I wont be able to, but it'd be interesting for all the games here to take some audience input!
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Ringmaster
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Re: Driftwurld Traders

Post by Ringmaster »

Discovery and trading are two fantastic game mechanics.
You can build a game on just those two.
Trading with natives, poachers, farmers, scammers, dealers etc. The list is endless.
Finding resources, trading them and earning money.
Good Luck.
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Callan S.
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Re: Driftwurld Traders

Post by Callan S. »

Thanks, those are good suggestions, ringmaster! I like the moral quandry of whether one deals with poachers, in particular! :)
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Callan S.
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Re: Driftwurld Traders

Post by Callan S. »

Update #1
I've layed back in bed with pencil and paper to figure out some of the programic structure to the game. I used to just try and jump in front of the computer and hash it out as I go, but mostly this just blurs the feeling of having accomplished something, as you might set up an array structure and...that's all you get done, before you tire, but you sat down to write out a whole game - which you didn't accomplish. Also if you sit down to your coding language, you can't just write notes - you write code or write nothing. Well, I guess you could write psuedo code, but that's another subject. When you sit down to pencil and paper, you can write out notes and code snippets and it doesn't matter if you write them sideways, you've still gotten something done in how much you fill up a page with your crazy writings! :)

Anyway, at first I'm going to test the game using session values to store the data, loading values from the session as if from a DB. I just prefer this as you don't have to juggle a database around at the same time and can feel free to add or remove session values without much concern. You just need a reset button somewhere that reinitialises all the session values.

And then I got onto breaking down the subject of the game. This is where you take the fuzzy wuzzy fiction of the to be game you have in your head, and start drawing connections from the fuzzy wuzzy to actual lines of code and memory systems.

Here I had trails. So what does that involve? Well you might have several trails leaving one place - so...probably an array with a start location and an end location. And perhaps when you are at a place, the code can search through to see if you are at that start location. Then it'll list them as selections.

So the first thing I'll code wont have any game like conflict at all - it'll be just the capacity to choose a path, walk along it, arive at another spot from which you can choose a path again. No conflict, but the capacity to do so is necessary for something to conflict with. Gotta have something you can do before something else can get in the way of it!

Okay, that's enough for now as I feel writing more would get in the way of further development - after all, I've only written this in pencil so far. I haven't actually coded it. Ironically such would involve less description, but probably the greater effort!

See ya!
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Callan S.
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Re: Driftwurld Traders

Post by Callan S. »

Well, the other entries seem to abound in graphics and such. Perhaps the comp would do to have 'weights', as in butterfly weight, mid weight and heavy weight.

Thus people wouldn't judge everything as if it's supposed to be a heavy weight. People could just choose which category the game their making goes in, then others can judge whether it lives up to that.
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hallsofvallhalla
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Re: Driftwurld Traders

Post by hallsofvallhalla »

Most of my votes are going to you. I like your ideas and methods of gaining ideas. I love any idea that starts with someone fleshing them out on paper.
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Callan S.
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Re: Driftwurld Traders

Post by Callan S. »

Ah, you're too kind, Halls!

Hope to make a humble little game with a fun little objective :)
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Callan S.
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Re: Driftwurld Traders

Post by Callan S. »

Update #2
I'm using include more now in PHP programming and I think I'm going to use a psuedo object orientated style. Normally I'd have the main.php have game code in it, but I'm thinking now that most games consist of a series of mini games, really, and each will have it's own seperate page. The main.php will instead manage loading of data and act like an automated menu, determining which mini game the players are sent to, rather than having any direct game coded into it. Although the menu will act as a spine that ties all the mini games into one single, large game, it will have no meat of it's own, just the spine. Pivotal for the larger game to exist, but void of any game itself.

Working on the 'run away from a raptor' code, right now, for if you have the unfortunate encounter along the trail of being hunted by one! Involves running to the nearest escape point which is 50 meters away - you start 1D10*5 meters towards an escape point (so you can get lucky and be standing right near one!). The raptor is a one hit kill, but if it does score a hit you get a roll with a +5 bonus to distract it with some of your food (which it swollows in one gulp). At most you can carry 3 packs of food.

One thing I've been pondering is how to get people to feel they are playing the game alongside someone else, like you do with snake and ladders. But simultanious play seems out? I was thinking of showing a recording of someone elses game session might be a good idea? Give them an idea of how other people went on the same thing?
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