While waiting for Din's Curse...

[Aganazer]

My anticipation for this game has inspired me. Instead of waiting eagerly like a good fan or finishing up Divinity 2, I decided to write my own game. I got so sick of reading about cool things like setting barrels on fire with a flaming sword that I decided I would just write the code myself and watch those barrels burn. Granted in my case its really just a 'O' for the barrel and a ''' to show that its on fire, but its a roguelike and that doesn't usually mean that it will have high end graphics.

After a mere 7 days, my little roguelike is starting to turn into a game. The random levels are being created. The monsters are patrolling, wandering, guarding, and fighting. Character development is developing. Consumables are being consumed. Traps are poping. AOE's are taking out walls as well as enemies. My little "@" avatar is facing all kinds of menacing challenges. Most importantly, its setting things on FIRE with a variety of weapons.

Now I am facing this mountainous challenge of making enough interesting content for more than a single play through. I've got about a dozen AI behaviors to code up. My TODO list could probably compete with Shadow's list for Din's Curse.

So its a challenge, maybe a race, to see if I can get this done before Din's Curse comes out because I know that whatever I am doing will be put on hold the day Din's is released. When does that pre-order beta start anyway?

[Wantonius]

Originally Posted by Aganazer

My TODO list could probably compete with Shadow's list for Din's Curse.

I've had similar experiences in the past. You start up with some basic idea and then after few days of furious coding and planning you look at your ToDo list and think "Whaat? How did this become a _real_ project suddenly?" .

Worst (and best) thought: "Heey, that's a nice idea. I'll implement it!"

[Aganazer]

Originally Posted by Wantonius

I've had similar experiences in the past. You start up with some basic idea and then after few days of furious coding and planning you look at your ToDo list and think "Whaat? How did this become a _real_ project suddenly?" .

Worst (and best) thought: "Heey, that's a nice idea. I'll implement it!"

What's scary is that my ToDo list is growing more rapidly than I can code the changes.

Its a scifi theme. Right after I finished adding throwable grenades, I thought... Now I need a gun that can shoot grenades. And... Traps are just like grenades, I'll add those as well. And... The AI needs to know what to do with these grenades, AOE guns, and traps that I just created.

One simple thing can so quickly balloon into a day's work.

[DarkShrike]

I just discovered these games today so I have PLENTY to do up until Din's Curse beta becomes available but at that point I am shoving cash across the table to help beta test if that will be an option.

The games were interesting enough to me to get me excited about Din's Curse. Then I started reading Steven's blog... The discussion of the systems of the game and potential interactions (bugs or otherwise) is phenomenal. I love the depth of thought that appears to have gone into it and I cannot wait to play!

[getter77]

I entreat to come to the Land of Wind and Ghosts...er, I mean the helpful and relevant forum of The Rogue Temple as you wrangle your wranglings as there are a good number of folk deft at such tasks and ponderings.

http://www.roguetemple.com/

[Aganazer]

Originally Posted by getter77

I entreat to come to the Land of Wind and Ghosts...er, I mean the helpful and relevant forum of The Rogue Temple as you wrangle your wranglings as there are a good number of folk deft at such tasks and ponderings.

http://www.roguetemple.com/

Not much escapes your RL radar, getter77! I'd be lying if I said the Rogue Temple wasn't influencing me. I'll be sure to get a link on there as soon as this passes the F&F testing. In a way I'm trying NOT to be too influenced by popular RLs so that it will be a bit more unique.

[getter77]

Excellent! Don't worry about too much of the biggest of the big towering a shadow over ya....afterall, none of the biggest of the big's devs actively post over there at present! (So far just the Google Groups and Something Awful...)

You know, this is a rather interesting notion you've stumbled upon as well---one that I don't believe has been crystallized prior and could make for a good exercise: As opposed to the random 7DRL contests:

"Game X is coming in a month/Y weeks(days)/etc and looks nifty/chock full o' potential/has some cool something to it based off the spirit of preview glimpses and writings. Could one whip up a solid Roguelike'ish thing around said premise/sensibilities/setting/etc by the time of final release as an homage/challenge/lark?"

As opposed to how it was went in the past being years after the fact like DoomRL, Castlevania RL, DruagaRL...you get the idea.

[Aganazer]

Originally Posted by getter77

"Game X is coming in a month/Y weeks(days)/etc and looks nifty/chock full o' potential/has some cool something to it based off the spirit of preview glimpses and writings. Could one whip up a solid Roguelike'ish thing around said premise/sensibilities/setting/etc by the time of final release as an homage/challenge/lark?"

Cool idea! I could see that being a lot of fun and would probably bring some innovation into RL's that may not have been done otherwise. Here are some feature ideas off the top of my head that might come about from this kind of challenge.

-Risen Inspired - Has a seamless persistent world with no level loading.
-Dragon Age Inspired - Focus on dialog driven consequences.
-Divinity 2 Inspired - The player can use flight combined with ground play.
-Din's Curse Inspired - Focus on dynamic events and a changing world.

None of those mechanics are very common in RL's. A challenge like this could get people thinking in new directions.