June 10

[Silverwind]

Wow… we're almost six months into 2010 and hardly any of us have produced a single game. Jadaco, Swamp, Guthan and Gan did well with a complete release each, but most of us seem to devote our time to engines.

Although we've all got an extremely busy summer ahead of us, I feel a few short games would re-spark our imagination and get productivity rolling again, so I suggest we do something simple for June's challenge of the month.

Interactive fiction, or "text adventures" are about as simple as you can get, but that doesn't mean they have to be boring or two-dimensional. The grandfather of all roleplaying games "Dungeons & Dragons" is almost entirely dialogue driven, yet remains one of the most engaging, enjoyable and replayable RPGs of all time, so why don't we examine some of its core gameplay aspects to improve the quality of our own games?

Here's a few observations:

• A large percent of the fun factor is provided by exploration.

This is something I tend to overlook myself. Merely being able to explore their surroundings is a rewarding task for players, so providing them with the ability to do so through choices is an important feature for any text adventure. What's behind that closed door? Where does that corridor lead?
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• Players enjoy reward for risk taking.

If a player takes on a room full of undead, braves a corridor of poisonous dart traps, leaps across a bottomless pit and sneaks past a sleeping dragon only to be rewarded with a chest full of copper coins, they'll never play again. Players want mysterious artefacts, powerful magic spells and enchanted equipment. Money and gemstones are affective motivators too, but power is the reward most sought after.
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• A good campaign keeps the player guessing.

Which dialogue do you find more intriguing? "You find a Potion of Healing." or "You search the room high and low for anything of interest, but its contents appear to be junk. You're about to leave when a small glass bottle catches your eye upon a cluttered shelf. Taking it down and removing the cork, you discover a sweet smelling liquid inside. Pressing a drop to your lip, the cut on your mouth heals up and the taste is wonderful. Confident that what you've found is a Healing Potion you slip it into your pocket before leaving the room."

Telling the player exactly what a cluttered room contains or removing all doubt about a magical item's abilities spoils the fun. Describing an object or situation in detail and allowing the player to form their own conclusion about it adds an element of mystery to the game. What's that NPC really thinking...
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• Players like to survive.

This is perhaps the most obvious but most essential observation. Players don't like losing all of their hard earned equipment and starting again at level 1. As a rule, a player should only die if A) They make successive mistakes (and by that, I mean "obvious" mistakes. Choosing the right corridor over the left is no justification to be eaten by Chimera!), or B) They're unlucky. Bad dice rolls, high level random encounters etc. Remember, if the game isn't fun, people won't play it.
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So, keeping these guidelines in mind I'm gonna try to release a short text adventure. Anyone else up for the challenge?

[WarHampster]

I know I'm not... no time, blah blah blah etc.

[EqwanoX]

 if you made a text adventure you should at least use a graphical nav system. i actually never finished my game for march, i worked on it for a couple weeks and abandoned it, its almost done, i lost motivation. it uses v7 and randomly generates maps

[GMG Hendo]

That looks awesome Eq!!

[Silverwind]

Sure does!

I can never get over the awesomeness of the big screen.

[Gnome]

I had a vision. I must finish a game.

[Silverwind]

I was originally gonna go for another murder mystery (perhaps a sequel to Night at Drundergond Manner) but I've settled on a multi-path dungeon explorer with similar gameplay mechanics to the "Fighting Fantasy" book series. It's going rather well so far. I'm only getting one room done per night but I'm accumulating a few nifty ideas.

[WarHampster]

Damn... when are we going to see EqwanoX: The RPG?

[Tireas Dragon]

I am not sure that we are going to.

if you made a text adventure you should at least use a graphical nav system. i actually never finished my game for march, i worked on it for a couple weeks and abandoned it, its almost done, i lost motivation. it uses v7 and randomly generates maps

[Silverwind]

GASP! Look what happens when you highlight these letters:

if you made a text adventure you should at least use a graphical nav system. i actually never finished my game for march, i worked on it for a couple weeks and abandoned it, its almost done, i lost motivation. it uses v7 and randomly generates maps

[Tireas Dragon]

if mad ex venture east rap in shed for a couple weeks
What does that mean?

[Gan]

My translation:
If mad at ex, venture far east, wrap and store her in a shed for a couple of weeks.

See, perfect sense.


-Gan

[Silverwind]

That ingenious EqwanoX...

Anyways, my game is coming along rather nicely, and amazingly I'm still getting one room done per night, so by the end of the month I'll hopefully have a decent game. That's not bad considering my tendency to leak enthusiasm.

EDIT:

Oh yeah, get a load of the story (nothing finalised, especially bad grammar):


It's been a long, hard year for your village. The crops haven't produced enough to feed everyone, the wars in the south prevent trade by the roads and increasing bandit raids leave families with less than enough to survive. It seems a cloud of doom has settled over Tallowick, and there's no sign of it dispersing.

You're barely making enough to get by as an inn guard, but at least the job keeps a roof over your head. The Dusty Bottle scarcely sees half the customers it used to and it's little wonder why. Who'd want to visit a back-end village with little hope of surviving the coming winter?

Late one night as you swap your last coin for a drink, a raggedly dressed dwarf of a man stumbles through the front door and makes his way to the bar. He throws his weather worn cloak onto a stool before cursing himself for not having the price of a room. Taking pity on the poor soul you reassure him that Old Stubs the kindly innkeep will surely put him up for the night, as half of his rooms are empty and you're staying in one yourself. The dwarf mumbles an apology for his outburst and climbs the stool beside you.

"I beggin yer pardon sir, but if being without a room was the extent of my worries I'd not be grumbling. I've wasted three weeks up the Winterspine Mountains searching for a non existent treasure trove!" With your interest suddenly piqued the dwarf promises to elaborate over a sip of your drink.

* * *

Over the next hour the dwarf reveals his background as a travelling adventurer with an ear for rumours and an eye for reward. "Which I can tell ya from experience often go hand-in-hand." he winks. "Unfortunately my latest adventure turned out to be a dud."

"Apparently there was once a secret entrance to an underground network of tunnels built by foul creatures of the Underdark. The dangers within these tunnels are innumerable, but so are the rewards." As he talks your head is filled with piles of gold and magical items. If only YOU could find this secret entrance and bring back a horde of wealth for your village!

"Alas!" says the dwarf, interrupting your thoughts. "Whether or not the labyrinth exists is beyond me, but the secret entrance is nothing more than a rumour." The dwarf rummages his pockets and soon produces a large sheet of parchment, crumpled with age and torn in places. "I mapped the whole area where the entrance ought to have been, but after three week of searching I was forced to return empty handed." He sighs heavily and slumps to the bar. "I'm cutting my ties with this place. Tomorrow morning I'll move on and never look back at this miserable mountain."

Seeing your opportunity, you ask the dwarf if he'd part with the map since he'll have no use for it anymore. He regards you carefully before answering. "Well, I could use a better travelling cloak, so I'll make an exchange if you'd like. But I warn you, you're wasting your time going up there."

* * *

After bidding the dwarf a good night you take to your bed with dreams of wealth and glory. By the following sunrise you're packed and ready to go, bringing what little provisions you have as you set off for the Winterspine Mountains.

It's a three day hike to the mountains but you complete the journey uneventfully. From here on it's rough going though, as the slope steepens rapidly. You manage the first day without much trouble, although you notice a significant drop in temperature, but the second day proves much more difficult.

By now frost covers every inch of ground making it easy to miss your footing, and a single fall from up here would bring you all the way back down. You shudder at the thought and wonder how on earth the dwarf managed. At last you reach the spot where the entrance supposedly lies. Excitement shoots through your veins and you waste no time getting to work

Hours drift by as you uproot every plant, turn every stone and search every crevice for some sort of pit, passage or doorway, but you find none. As night fall you begin to despair. What if the dwarf's suspicion was correct and there wasn't a labyrinth after all? What if the dwarf had never believed in the labyrinth to begin with and merely tricked you out of your travelling cloak? Or what if the dwarf was a foul creature of the Underdark himself, luring you all the way up here so to reveal his true, hideous form and pounce upon your frail, mortal body! You shudder at the thought.

* * *

As you drink from a stream in contemplation, you notice that the stream trickles from an area of the rock face. Curiously, yet only half expectantly, you press your ear to the stones and immediately your heart leaps into your throat. The sound of dripping water echoes from the other side.

You get to work clearing rocks and before long you've uncovered a natural tunnel yawning deep into the mountain. You can hardly believe your eyes! Taking your last glance at the sunlit world you venture forth into the labyrinth...

[Tireas Dragon]

lol Gandolf that translation actually makes sense.


The Story look good Silverwind. I can't wait to play the game.

[EqwanoX]

to much reading!   , eq no like read!

My translation:
If mad at ex, venture far east, wrap and store her in a shed for a couple of weeks.

See, perfect sense.
-Gan

i dont even know what i meant, i think it means i'll finish it a a couple weeks, but it should only take me a couple days though