Working on adding static background images to the game.
Because I used OpenGL, scaling came free!
Here's some snapshots.
Showing posts with label overview. Show all posts
Showing posts with label overview. Show all posts
9/09/2011
Fun Shot - #?
Hi All,
Working on adding static background images to the game.
Because I used OpenGL, scaling came free!
Here's some snapshots.
Working on adding static background images to the game.
Because I used OpenGL, scaling came free!
Here's some snapshots.
6/02/2011
The Art of Storytelling
It's been a while since my last post and that's mostly because I've been working a full time job.
I thank God that I got this sweet gig as a mobile app developer.
This gives me the chance to learn and develop for iPhone/iPad and BlackBerry. Which means more potential clients for the game.
That, however, is in the distant future. I've still got to get the Android release out there.
What's even better is that the job doesn't require insane hours. I've still got plenty of time to work on SolomonRPG.
So, toward the goal of releasing the first version, I've slowed down development of the game engine and am now focusing on the art and storyline. This doesn't mean the engine has stalled, I just feel that it's at a point where it's good enough and has enough features that I can start concentrating on other critical aspects of the game.
Believe it or not the programming is not the most important aspect of a game.
At least for what I've had in mind since the beginning.
I really hate many of the MMORPGs out there for a few reasons.
For example, Pocket Legends, has great gameplay and graphics but I have no idea what the story is.
Granted I've only seriously played it for a few days. There is no insentive to play beside just leveling up and collecting items.
What's even worse is how you can actually buy items and powers using real money.
I hate this. It cheapens the game and feels like a sell-out move.
Another thing is the story, or lack of story.
What I love about RPGs are the stories. I remember the good old days when I played the greats. Breathe of Fire, Chronno Trigger, YS 1&2, Secret of Mana, Zelda, Final Fantasy, etc.
These games ruled in the story telling aspect. They introduced characters and story lines that progressed and changed, climaxed and concluded. Some of the characters would even die.
Now in most modern MMORPGs this notion is gone. They are not true to their ancestors and have become nothing more than a cheap quest fill system to make some quick cash without actually making a game.
I'm not saying that I think the story line that SolomonRPG has is any better. In fact, it might be worse because I'm not a professional writer. I haven't written a story for a long time
I'm saying it is a unique challenge to have a few races/classes and develop stories around them.
These stories have to be cohesive to build/narrate the story of the virtual world. They have to drive to a point and a conclusion. There is drama and conflict in the middle.
At the same time, you must keep in mind the constraints of the virtual world.
For example, the engine was designed to use a magic battle system. So you have to give a good background/narrative has to how or why the characters are able to use magic.
You have to motivate them to continue to level up and interact with the virtual world.
You also have to keep it simple enough where casual users don't have to read through tons of text to be able to pick up the game and play.
These and other factors make story telling challenging. These are the types of questions that forced me to really examine the story:
What am I doing here?
What is my goal? What is my history?
Why is this town here, why are the other towns there?
Why are those monsters there? Where did they come from?
Why do I have to fight them? Why do they fight?
Why should I do a quest?
Furthermore, the idea of having to write a bunch of brain-dead short quests that don't really tie into anything was not acceptable.
Back to the things I hate about most MMORPGs. You may have noticed that in the Android market you'll see that most MMORPGs are crappy website type 'games' that don't even have any moving graphics. You click on a button and you see some text change. Boring!
To top it off these games don't offer anything in terms of story telling either.
They usually consist of the same old: Go here, get me X of these, and I'll reward you with this.
This is why I never play World of Warcraft, what's the point?
I don't care about the characters, and I don't care about leveling up for the sake of leveling up.
I guess the only real motivation there is the end-game. Where you can battle against other players and do party raids. That's the real fun in leveling up.
SolomonRPG doesn't have a raid system, or even PvP yet. So, I had to come up with a concept that'll motivate players to co-operate and level up. To continue playing toward something.
However, in there lies yet another issue. What to do once the story 'ends'?
I guess at some point I'll have to implement PvP and raiding of a king.
This is the reason I have been so quiet for the past few months.
This adds yet another challenge to making SolomonRPG possible.
In the coming months I'll keep you updated on any progress I make.
So far I have the world story premise but I'll hold off on telling it for now until I polish it a bit more.
I'm also in the progress of making character lists and dialog for each one.
Creating an end-story that will be where all the sub-plots lead to.
These are all new aspects for me, but thankfully God's been giving me the chance to meet some really smart people who have helped give me tips and advice on how I should tackle this.
Anyway, for now I'll just post some random art for the game. These are all still concepts.
Wish me luck, and don't forget: Jesus is King!
P.S.
Here are some snapshots of some of the custom art and maps that I've gathered so far.
None of this is final, in the end I'll probably use tons of pixel art for the old school feel.
Also, thanks a bunch to Kinou Games for being awesome. They've done a bunch of custom tilesets and character sets. They've also been helping me with the art style and map concepts. All in all, I HIGHLY recommend them for anyone who needs good game art at decent prices.
(The first hand drawing is by a personal friend of mine.)
I thank God that I got this sweet gig as a mobile app developer.
This gives me the chance to learn and develop for iPhone/iPad and BlackBerry. Which means more potential clients for the game.
That, however, is in the distant future. I've still got to get the Android release out there.
What's even better is that the job doesn't require insane hours. I've still got plenty of time to work on SolomonRPG.
So, toward the goal of releasing the first version, I've slowed down development of the game engine and am now focusing on the art and storyline. This doesn't mean the engine has stalled, I just feel that it's at a point where it's good enough and has enough features that I can start concentrating on other critical aspects of the game.
Believe it or not the programming is not the most important aspect of a game.
At least for what I've had in mind since the beginning.
I really hate many of the MMORPGs out there for a few reasons.
For example, Pocket Legends, has great gameplay and graphics but I have no idea what the story is.
Granted I've only seriously played it for a few days. There is no insentive to play beside just leveling up and collecting items.
What's even worse is how you can actually buy items and powers using real money.
I hate this. It cheapens the game and feels like a sell-out move.
Another thing is the story, or lack of story.
What I love about RPGs are the stories. I remember the good old days when I played the greats. Breathe of Fire, Chronno Trigger, YS 1&2, Secret of Mana, Zelda, Final Fantasy, etc.
These games ruled in the story telling aspect. They introduced characters and story lines that progressed and changed, climaxed and concluded. Some of the characters would even die.
Now in most modern MMORPGs this notion is gone. They are not true to their ancestors and have become nothing more than a cheap quest fill system to make some quick cash without actually making a game.
I'm not saying that I think the story line that SolomonRPG has is any better. In fact, it might be worse because I'm not a professional writer. I haven't written a story for a long time
I'm saying it is a unique challenge to have a few races/classes and develop stories around them.
These stories have to be cohesive to build/narrate the story of the virtual world. They have to drive to a point and a conclusion. There is drama and conflict in the middle.
At the same time, you must keep in mind the constraints of the virtual world.
For example, the engine was designed to use a magic battle system. So you have to give a good background/narrative has to how or why the characters are able to use magic.
You have to motivate them to continue to level up and interact with the virtual world.
You also have to keep it simple enough where casual users don't have to read through tons of text to be able to pick up the game and play.
These and other factors make story telling challenging. These are the types of questions that forced me to really examine the story:
What am I doing here?
What is my goal? What is my history?
Why is this town here, why are the other towns there?
Why are those monsters there? Where did they come from?
Why do I have to fight them? Why do they fight?
Why should I do a quest?
Furthermore, the idea of having to write a bunch of brain-dead short quests that don't really tie into anything was not acceptable.
Back to the things I hate about most MMORPGs. You may have noticed that in the Android market you'll see that most MMORPGs are crappy website type 'games' that don't even have any moving graphics. You click on a button and you see some text change. Boring!
To top it off these games don't offer anything in terms of story telling either.
They usually consist of the same old: Go here, get me X of these, and I'll reward you with this.
This is why I never play World of Warcraft, what's the point?
I don't care about the characters, and I don't care about leveling up for the sake of leveling up.
I guess the only real motivation there is the end-game. Where you can battle against other players and do party raids. That's the real fun in leveling up.
SolomonRPG doesn't have a raid system, or even PvP yet. So, I had to come up with a concept that'll motivate players to co-operate and level up. To continue playing toward something.
However, in there lies yet another issue. What to do once the story 'ends'?
I guess at some point I'll have to implement PvP and raiding of a king.
This is the reason I have been so quiet for the past few months.
This adds yet another challenge to making SolomonRPG possible.
In the coming months I'll keep you updated on any progress I make.
So far I have the world story premise but I'll hold off on telling it for now until I polish it a bit more.
I'm also in the progress of making character lists and dialog for each one.
Creating an end-story that will be where all the sub-plots lead to.
These are all new aspects for me, but thankfully God's been giving me the chance to meet some really smart people who have helped give me tips and advice on how I should tackle this.
Anyway, for now I'll just post some random art for the game. These are all still concepts.
Wish me luck, and don't forget: Jesus is King!
P.S.
Here are some snapshots of some of the custom art and maps that I've gathered so far.
None of this is final, in the end I'll probably use tons of pixel art for the old school feel.
Also, thanks a bunch to Kinou Games for being awesome. They've done a bunch of custom tilesets and character sets. They've also been helping me with the art style and map concepts. All in all, I HIGHLY recommend them for anyone who needs good game art at decent prices.
(The first hand drawing is by a personal friend of mine.)
10/13/2010
Player Map Making in the Browser
After spending some time creating maps and thinking about story telling, quest designing, and map making I've decided to move the map making process to the browser.
For one, it'll help speed up the flow of the development of content for the game.
I've decided to use jQuery for this.
Since the beginning I've thought about the ability of players to be able to create the story and world around them. The infrastructure was set up with the thought in the back of my head.
So, now that I've decided to port the map maker to a web interface I've also decided to add the ability for players to make the world.
Here's a break down of this new feature-set:
if (checkSwitch(24)) //10x wolf claw quest
Update:
Here's some snapshots of the work in progress:
For one, it'll help speed up the flow of the development of content for the game.
I've decided to use jQuery for this.
Since the beginning I've thought about the ability of players to be able to create the story and world around them. The infrastructure was set up with the thought in the back of my head.
So, now that I've decided to port the map maker to a web interface I've also decided to add the ability for players to make the world.
Here's a break down of this new feature-set:
== Player Web Interface + Web Map Maker ==
Each player has a login to the web interface.
One can create maps using existing tilesets.
In each map one can create events/npcs.
Npcs are javascript driven.
World is empty except for current areas
Player creates account either in web or in client (pre-allocates X scripting switches)
Player can then create areas.
Set Name, Select a tileset. Width and height are 20x20.
Area Settings:
Name
Troops (if empty, non-battle area)
Encounter Rate
The area is automatically added to the system.
Player can add event and script them as necessary
Regular players cannot modify stats.
Only an admin can link the outside world to you.
You can ask to be teleport into your created areas. When done you can ask to be returned to your previous position.
Needed Features:
Upload character sets. (OPTIONAL)
Create item
For fast scripting:
A list of switches (filter by 'created_by_you', 'system_switches')
A list of items (filter by 'created_by you', 'system_generic_items', 'created_by_others'
Areas must be able to be deleted!!!
Scripting (Pseudo-code):
/*********************************************************************************************************************/
//Merch Area Trader - 10x Small Wolf Claw Quest
//Go to the forest, collect 10 wolf claws and come back and i'll give you a red pin
if (checkSwitch(25)) //quest_finished_yn
{
//player already finished this quest
message("Hey, how u liking that pin?");
return;
}
if (checkSwitch(24)) //10x wolf claw quest
{
//player has accepted this quest, check the status...
var nWolfClaws = getItemCount(1005); //number of walf claws collected
if (nWolfClaws >= 10) //small wolf claw
{
//the player has collected the necessary amount of claws...
setSwitch(25, true); //quest_finished_yn
addItem(1006, 1); //add 1 red pin item, created by me
message("Well done! You've earned this pin!");
return;
}
}
else
{
//player has NOT accepted this quest...
message("Man I need me some wolf claws, go fetch me 10 claws and I'll give you this shiny ribbon!");
var response = choice("Do you accept this quest");
if (response == true)
{
//player has accepted the quest....
setSwitch(24, 10); //10x_wolf_quest
message("Great! Good luck!");
return;
}
else
{
//player didn't accept the quest...
message("Fine then...");
return;
}
}
/*********************************************************************************************************************/
I want to make map making as easy as possible. Event/NPC making will be way more difficult. It'll be scripting based. The cool thing is you should be able to create areas, modify, and test them using the master server with the android client. Once approved these areas can become part of the larger world and story.
The scripting will be very RM2K/RMXP inspired and powered by Javascript, so hopefully it'll be easy to use. I'm guessing the most challenging aspects will be the new territory such as scripting in a multiplayer context.
With this detour there is going to be a significant delay in the release of the game, however there should be no reason this can't be achieved in a reasonable amount of time.
I'd be interested to hear any thoughts on this!
Update:
Here's some snapshots of the work in progress:
7/28/2010
5/14/2010
On The Road to an RPG
During the past couple of weeks I've been thinking how I wanted to handle the RPG aspect of the game.
Since I come from an RPG Maker background, I'm familiar with the event/switch system it implements.
However, bringing this into an MMO aspect was a bit of a puzzle. The answer turned out to be simple, and once I got all the details together I set forth into making a scripting engine for the game.
The scripting engine uses JavaScript and it aims to resemble an RPG Maker functionality in script form.
It was also challenging figuring out how it could handle many players at once, from the rough tests it seems that i can handle the load just fine, but only time will tell.
I'm not sure I should even be blogging about this, since it's part of the backend server and the project is not open source.
However, I find it too exciting not to talk about.
So, now that I'm able to sew together an RPG I've started 'prototyping' the game using RPG Maker XP.
The graphics that RMXP uses are pretty much identical to the ones I've designed to be used by my game. This will make finding an artist and transferring ideas much easier.
There is a mountain of work to do with the software, but I'm working on it. However, it would be great to get some help with mapping, scripting, quest designing and story brain storming. I'm also in talks with some artists that have offered to make the art (tilesets, character sets, sprites, etc.) for the game, but nothing too serious yet.
Since I come from an RPG Maker background, I'm familiar with the event/switch system it implements.
However, bringing this into an MMO aspect was a bit of a puzzle. The answer turned out to be simple, and once I got all the details together I set forth into making a scripting engine for the game.
The scripting engine uses JavaScript and it aims to resemble an RPG Maker functionality in script form.
It was also challenging figuring out how it could handle many players at once, from the rough tests it seems that i can handle the load just fine, but only time will tell.
I'm not sure I should even be blogging about this, since it's part of the backend server and the project is not open source.
However, I find it too exciting not to talk about.
So, now that I'm able to sew together an RPG I've started 'prototyping' the game using RPG Maker XP.
The graphics that RMXP uses are pretty much identical to the ones I've designed to be used by my game. This will make finding an artist and transferring ideas much easier.
There is a mountain of work to do with the software, but I'm working on it. However, it would be great to get some help with mapping, scripting, quest designing and story brain storming. I'm also in talks with some artists that have offered to make the art (tilesets, character sets, sprites, etc.) for the game, but nothing too serious yet.
2/19/2010
Status Report 2/19/10
So, after a good 6 months of development for my game it seems that things are coming along nicely.
So here's a status of how things are going:
Android 2d Engine (Completed Features):
Android 2d Engine (Upcoming Features):
Master Server (Completed Features)
Master Server (Upcoming Features)
So here's a status of how things are going:
Android 2d Engine (Completed Features):
- Loading areas and displaying rendering to screen
- Independent frame-rate animated tiles/sprites
- Pixel based camera movement
- Character/Object loading/rendering
Android 2d Engine (Upcoming Features):
- Pixel based character/movement inside the area (DONE!)
- Character idle animation
- Render strings. (i.e. player names/levels/status)
- Loading previously saved areas.
- Editing and saving areas.
- Editing tileset properties (Tileset Editor).
- Works on Mac OS X, Linux, and Windows.
- No immediate upcoming features.
Master Server (Completed Features)
- Validating users
- Pathfinding character movement
- Track object/character positions/status/collisions
Master Server (Upcoming Features)
- Save player information
12/30/2009
10/09/2009
WTF Am I Doing? (Non-Technical)
Growing up as a kid I always loved T.V. shows like Pokemon, Digimon, Monster Rancher, Yu-Gi-Oh! and many others.
Although I was never into the card games, I dreamed of really being able to battle monsters.
So now that I'm all grown up, I haven't forgotten about my childhood dreams. I am now a computer software developer, and it seems that I finally have the chance to make my dreams come true.
With the rising of mobile computing devices it seems like the time is ripe.
So this is what I imagine. A digital world like Digimon, filled with 'monsters' that people can battle against each other at any place and any time.
I also envision a single (expandable) digital world, where everyone can interact with everyone else. Where monsters roam free, and can be truly unique. A self-sustaining world.
So, how do I achieve this? Well, I'll use the tools that are at my disposal.
I'm choosing google's Android platform to develop the actual game. For simplicity it's going to be 2D. I already have the prototype ready, and am now in the process of integrating it with all the other parts.
Of course I'm going to need a server side program, or God.
The God is being written in erlang, it controls the world. However, it really knows nothing about it. It simply takes data in and spits data out.
This is truly the brains of the program.
I'll also need a designing program or Architect. This is heavily inspired by programs like RPG Maker. I remember building my own custom battle system for RM2K back in the days. But I digress.
I've already finished the prototype for the Architect as well, but there is a lot of work yet to be done. Since this isn't particularly exciting I've only programmed it for what I need so far, but I need do add a lot more.
So, I've gotten some of the basics done. However, as some of you will know, developing a MMORPG type game is a lot of work.
So, in the hopes of gaining a bit of extra cash I've started this blog to detail my journey.
If anyone is interested in helping you can e-mail me at therevoltingx(@)gmail.com.
I plan on making the game open-source so it can continue living when I move on to other projects. (Robots!)
Don't worry, I will retro-blog all my progress so far going back to the beginning with setting up a solid 2D game engine with android.
However, I'm concentrating on the God program at the moment, so most likely any new blog posts will be about that.
Regards,
Miguel.
Although I was never into the card games, I dreamed of really being able to battle monsters.
So now that I'm all grown up, I haven't forgotten about my childhood dreams. I am now a computer software developer, and it seems that I finally have the chance to make my dreams come true.
With the rising of mobile computing devices it seems like the time is ripe.
So this is what I imagine. A digital world like Digimon, filled with 'monsters' that people can battle against each other at any place and any time.
I also envision a single (expandable) digital world, where everyone can interact with everyone else. Where monsters roam free, and can be truly unique. A self-sustaining world.
So, how do I achieve this? Well, I'll use the tools that are at my disposal.
I'm choosing google's Android platform to develop the actual game. For simplicity it's going to be 2D. I already have the prototype ready, and am now in the process of integrating it with all the other parts.
Of course I'm going to need a server side program, or God.
The God is being written in erlang, it controls the world. However, it really knows nothing about it. It simply takes data in and spits data out.
This is truly the brains of the program.
I'll also need a designing program or Architect. This is heavily inspired by programs like RPG Maker. I remember building my own custom battle system for RM2K back in the days. But I digress.
I've already finished the prototype for the Architect as well, but there is a lot of work yet to be done. Since this isn't particularly exciting I've only programmed it for what I need so far, but I need do add a lot more.
So, I've gotten some of the basics done. However, as some of you will know, developing a MMORPG type game is a lot of work.
So, in the hopes of gaining a bit of extra cash I've started this blog to detail my journey.
If anyone is interested in helping you can e-mail me at therevoltingx(@)gmail.com.
I plan on making the game open-source so it can continue living when I move on to other projects. (Robots!)
Don't worry, I will retro-blog all my progress so far going back to the beginning with setting up a solid 2D game engine with android.
However, I'm concentrating on the God program at the moment, so most likely any new blog posts will be about that.
Regards,
Miguel.
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