Game concept

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DDL
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Re: Game concept

Post by DDL »

6-shooters are easier to check for "ammo remaining", too (you just look at the back of the drum), so you can happily get away with no UI for that. :)
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gamer0004
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Re: Game concept

Post by gamer0004 »

I would like a hunting rifle. That's not typical FPS stuff and would fit the theme. Something like this:
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DaveW
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Re: Game concept

Post by DaveW »

Well - after getting references for it I thought a FAL would look a bit too military for the game - plus it would suggest the character had firearms knowledge to use it (knowing when to use the charging handle etc.) so I was thinking of using a shotgun instead. And after looking for references for a Webley shotgun I liked the look of, I came across a Webley MK IV revolver and realised it would be a much better choice. Like you say, it's a simple tool - plus it would also stop any spray tactic the player may use with an assault rifle or shotgun.

A hunting rifle is another choice that wouldn't feel FPS-like either - but the other benefit to the pistol is that it would be unobtrusive on the screen which is important since it'll be there most of the time.


Reloading is a tricky one, and ruins my nice (if I do say so myself) idea of the magazine taps on the gun. Having a button to break open the gun and check remaining bullets would be cool but I'm not sure whether it would be used enough to justify the player learning a new key - that may be something to decide during a playtest though. It would be simpler to have a reload animation where the character empties the shells into his hand and puts in new ones individually - and you imagine the character sepearting the spent and unused shells in his hand offscreen.
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Re: Game concept

Post by AEmer »

Actually, what I would do is have reloading be a press and hold affair, and just pressing it for a little bit only pops out the drum, letting you check....

You'd have to do something like, as soon as 'r' is pressed, the left hand starts moving, then it returns to its old position as r is released.

It's a non-standard way of doing it though, so having it communicated to the player is tricky....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Fpigqfc ... Fegoraptor

And communicating game controls is important....
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Re: Game concept

Post by AEmer »

Oh, also, if you did go with a hunting rifle, a 6-shooting hunting rifle would be ace.

For some reason people in general ( and me in particular) find that the barrel magazine is really cool.
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DaveW
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Re: Game concept

Post by DaveW »

Gamer - I couldn't view that image at work since our filter tends to block embedded images for some reason, but now I'm back I can see that what you posted is an over/under Shotgun and not a rifle :P Which, actually, is what I was originally planning instead of the L1A1 (though i was thinking of the Webley & Scott 910)

I do like the look of six-shot rifles too, but that seems more 'Western' to me and even though it's not explicitly said, the game is set off the coast of Britain.



I'd probably do the reload thing the other way - a quick tap triggers a reload and a long tap holds open the revolver. But unless I was to punish the player for reloading with bullets left in the cylinder it wouldn't be necessary - and while having all the shells (empty or not) fly out would be technically realistic..I don't know, I don't think punishing the player would be in the spirit (hoho) of the game.
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Re: Game concept

Post by AEmer »

well, it would give the player the very real sense of tension that reloading quickly comes with a tradeoff - he has to find the unspent ammunition by rummaging through the dirt - which means that when he's down to one or two shots, things are really interesting and tense.
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Re: Game concept

Post by DaveW »

That would probably be getting too close to that Unity game 'Receiver', where the intention was to be as deliberately obfuscated as possible. Not my intention with this :P

I would hope the fact you only have 6 bullets and a slow reload would be frantic enough in a gunfight :)

Been doing some more tests in UDK - I managed to get CryEngine working but goddamn is their engine heavy on system requirements. I can barely run their demo on medium and I have a perfectly reasonable setup. UDK it is:

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Re: Game concept

Post by Moonbo »

Looking pretty good Dave!
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Re: Game concept

Post by AEmer »

Did you get stuck?

The art you posted looks pretty atmospheric :-)
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Re: Game concept

Post by DaveW »

Actually - I was just about to post where I am with this :) The art in that screenshot was just test stuff, I'm going to have to be a lot more modular than that to get everything done. I love the lighting you can achieve with UDK with very little effort, though. It's definitely the right engine to use.

Right now I'm rethinking how the game will play in terms of level design. I've scaled back the amount of unique locations but I don't think a true "open world" style will work, because without something (a character) directing you it will get confusing. That said, I don't want to go completely linear either - the best solution I can think of that retains a degree of non-linearity is this:

The game starts with a linear section - you are in the water, and you get to the surface. You go through some caves and some mines, and end up in a village with the boat - but it's missing crucial parts. A note left in it says that they have been taken away by different people to stop anyone escaping the island. The village will act as a 'hub' - there are 3 ways to exit, corresponding to the 3 items you need. Each exit leads to a linear section of the game which will eventually loop back to the hub - and each time you return, the exit vanishes (a building replaces where it was or something). When you get all the parts a ghostly voices tells you to stop and instead of escapes, it tells you to destroy the ship using explosives. If you choose to listen to it, that leads to another short level in an army base where you find explosives - but the stalker will really go for you if you do. Or you can choose to escape.

I'm interested in mixing in Greek mythology to the underlying story though, particularly about Charon. How I picture the story is this:
You've died at sea. When the game starts, you're way underwater and all you can see is two parts of a small fishing boat sinking past you and a small coin. The exits in the village disappear because they're not real - you're in a state of limbo and it's your own mind that has created the island. In the end it is meant as a test of character - the ghostly voice at the end of the game will re-iterate what you'll have already read: the Charon wants to escape at all costs and any attempt to escape could release him. If you choose to sacrifice yourself to (in your eyes) save humanity - you're ultimately rewarded.
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Re: Game concept

Post by AEmer »

What you're touching upon here reminds me of the concept of a parable - a story which is meant to illustrate some spiritual point.

There's a load of specific qualities usually associated with parables - but usually, they're done to illustrate a complex relationship in a fashion that can't easily be accomplished otherwise.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parable_of ... n_fig_tree

The parable of the fig tree doesn't say what it means to say outright; it lets the listener ponder the meaning, until he realizes the relationship described, which has a fairly powerful meaning: The listener or listeners are the fig tree, and if he doesn't bear fruit, god will cut him down.

The game concept proposed here, where you put the player inside an illusion charon has designed and maintains, hoping the player will let him leave - that's kind of like a parable. While some people dread the supernatural, you'd think horror game players are probably fine with a spliff of it.

The television show LOST attempted to work with this idea as well; it plays with many mythological concepts, and while it was ultimately not successful because people saw it as a drama rather than an epic, the fundamental idea, I think, is sound. Including a greek demigod out of left field in a horror game is, to be honest, kindof ingenious, and using it as an excuse to make a very metaphorical-seeming experience come together is pretty cool. It's almost similar to how the dracula vampire mythos is given strength by referencing the real life historical figure, vlad the impaler, and how that story draws on facets of old fairytales to come alive. Indeed, the movie(book?) Stargate also did something similar with the old egyptian gods, successfully transplanting them into a sci-fi world where their mythological status really helped give off a very particular vibe.

Anyway, what's curious is, this particular angle seems like it is ripe for small computer games. There are plenty of parables that could be designed around mythology, and which would fit with various gaming experiences. While not original as such, it's certainly novel in this context.
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DaveW
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Re: Game concept

Post by DaveW »

I think most people will be glad to see a horror game not based on HP Lovecraft. The Cthulu mythos is cool, but it's way over-used. I've liked the idea of 'the stalker' (as I call him) being Charon since you suggested it in passing a while back - as you say, it's a great way to tie together the strange dream-like experience I want to create rather than just saying "It's a dream!" at the end or some similar cop-out.

Can't say I've done much on the game though, I'm very lazy. I want (ideally) to have the levels planned by the end of this month and have a working prototype of the levels by the end of the year - though I'll probably use Source for that rather than UDK. Then next year will be building the actual game.

I've got the basic structure laid out now, at least:
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Jonas
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Re: Game concept

Post by Jonas »

And you plan to spend how long on all that?
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DaveW
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Re: Game concept

Post by DaveW »

The rest of my life, probably.

But, in reality, I'm hoping 1 to 1.5 years if I get off my ass and start working on it in earnest. I can probably simplify it further, if I made the player go back to the mines to get explosives rather than going to a new map (military base) for example.

I might change my mind when I start prototyping but I don't want to make a half-assed attempt at it :)


Edit: Or maybe I'll extend the frst section (up to the dock) and release it for free as 'Episode 1' and set up a kickstarter to finish the game. Seeing as all the cool kids are using kickstarter these days! \:D/
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