Game Concept & Coding Language

[Sharlenwar]

Okay, so I have been poking through Halls' Browser MMORPG php tutorials, and they have been extremely helpful. I haven't used any source, and have simply typed out the code, and have figured some stuff out as I have gone along. I'm not done and will continue to finish.

I have a game concept that has come to me and one where I certainly would want to play. I'm not sure if it is me, but I have seen a lack of business simulation style games. Yeah, I found an Airline one which was way too complex and one where I didn't want to spend hours to learn. There is never a lack of RPG's and variations of them, which bore me now a days. There are some space games as well, which again, seem to be all similar to each other, complicated, and something where I don't want to try and spend the time to have to try and figure out. So the idea is to create a game that seems simple, is fairly easy to learn, but allows players who keep playing the opportunity to get more complex. There was a game that I played on the PC, I just can't remember for the life of me the name of it. You basically ran a factory, created products, bought raw resources, and then you could create retail outlets to sell them. So my idea is a game where you form a company, and can own raw resource deposits, factories, retail outlets, services, etc. Of course, I get bored of text really fast, as I enjoy playing games with a graphical flair.

So, considering that I've been going through the tutorials, it is mostly just so that I get a handle on php and how to interact with a mySQL database. It is simpler than I thought it was, and have a good grasp on the concepts. Similar to other programming languages, just different commands and what not. So, my dilemma is to choose a coding language that I can effectively use to create the game in. I want it played in a browser, as that seems to work for me at work, as I can't really install any programs and I have internet access. So this is where your help comes in. Through reading various posts, there is obviously a common theme. Pick a method and stick with it until the end.

I'm not looking to make money, but to simply produce an interesting game for people to play and maybe find enjoyable as well. Recently I have seen Impact and I am really digging that. I'm looking at a certain graphic style and interaction that I think will work. That is where my inexperience comes in. I know I have an idea that I want to see if it will work, and I'm just unsure. Will php be enough? Will simple graphics work, or do I need something more?

My plan is to continue the php tutorials, maybe make something within the php environment. I plan on looking at Impact and seeing what I can achieve with that, then maybe marrying the two together. This is more of a discussion, so let me know, if you have heard of games similar, please give me links as I've been looking and can't seem to find anything that I would want to play myself. Thanks for all of the help, and this is going to be interesting.

[Jackolantern]

I would still go with PHP. You can have still have graphics. Since your game's design lends itself to more static images of buildings, products, etc., and will be highly GUI-driven, PHP would be much easier for largely the same play experience. Impact is better for fast-moving games that often center around action, have a large amount of animations, and that rely primarily on key presses for input. It will also be much easier to save progress for players in PHP, since Impact is 100% client-side, meaning any saving either relies on the still-shaky Local Storage API, ajax calls, or the headache of full server/client integration (not worth it for this game's design).

Impact is cool, but it is really geared more for fully animated, traditional game development. Highly menu-driven games that can easily be broken down into "pages" should probably be handled through PHP, with Javascript to spruce things up and add effects where needed.

[hallsofvallhalla]

Some of the biggest Browser based game winners are the PHP refresh style games. Simplistic but deep gameplay. Twitch style fast action games are fun but do not always keep long term players like strategic slow paced tactical games.

[Jackolantern]

Very true! Both games have their ups and down. Traditional, loop-based style games (like most Impact games) often have more mass appeal, while not all players will get into a PBBG. But a PBBG will keep those it does hook around much longer than a casual game lol.

[Callan S.]

So the idea is to create a game that seems simple, is fairly easy to learn, but allows players who keep playing the opportunity to get more complex.

The method that comes to my mind is to have small scale play and large scale play. Small scale play is fairly simple to get going, but you're small - like a corner store or a stall at a sunday market (or even a lemonade stand! Or maybe you start in that order - lemonade stand, stall, corner store). But it's simple to play and get going. Then you have large, which is corporations and - that's hard and complex. Maybe the players corporation wont survive - but they can always go back to the corner store and cash up or reconsider their approach. End game is to be Bill Gates!

[Jackolantern]

Yes, a good game will always teach as it goes. The days where you just drop players into the middle of the full gameplay and expect them to read the manual or help files is long gone.

[Sharlenwar]

Awesome stuff guys! Thanks for the pointers. So I was right to continue with the PHP and what not. Interesting. Now, I haven't looked too much into it yet, but can you have Impact read some values from a database, then when the game is done, write to a database?

[Jackolantern]

Since Impact is 100% client-side out of the box, you would have to write AJAX calls to hit the server (probably a PHP script on the server) and have the server-side script do the saving to the database.

[Sharlenwar]

Errg, I have been trying to find some graphics that I can potentially use for the game I'm looking at doing, and I just can't seem to find the right fit or set of graphics. So if any of you know of any overhead 2d style graphics of terrain, buildings, etc. Please let me know. Otherwise I'll have to just pound some out by my own skills.

[OldRod]

Check out RPG Maker... I believe there were some sprites you could use. At least for development and testing. You would probably have to replace them before releasing your game.