So how does making a community game over a forum work exactly?
Everyone yells ideas out in a thread, then someone makes their own mini community forum so they can discuss things, but then there's no executive decision making and everyone disagrees and aren't willing to compromise and so everyone makes their stuff work how they want too so that it doesn't fit, or noone can figure out what to do, and it eventually dies from apathy.
Man, I know I'm way late to the party, but I've always thought it would be awesome to have a roguelike (or any other game) where you start off as a normal dude, but can collect and combine robotic parts and end up being a super-mecha or somesuch. Like IVAN's limb material system, but more AWESOME.
For example, say you find a helmet, and two arm parts, combine the three with a motor, and you have powered arms anchored by your head (higher than average strength requirement or you'll rip off your own head on a critical failure roll).
Well thats a given. That's where your humor comes from. Putting characters or creatures someplace out of their element. A zombie office could be in hell or limbo or something. Or maybe the zombies won. Humanity is dead. Nothing left to eat. So they go back to their old jobs.
MuddBudd on
There's no plan, there's no race to be run
The harder the rain, honey, the sweeter the sun.
I don't want to derail this potentially awesome thread, but if you like the sig pic, please steal it and spread it all over the Internet. That's what the author and subject of the gif wanted.
Well thats a given. That's where your humor comes from. Putting characters or creatures someplace out of their element. A zombie office could be in hell or limbo or something. Or maybe the zombies won. Humanity is dead. Nothing left to eat. So they go back to their old jobs.
Zombie office romance?
yotes on
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
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RoshinMy backlog can be seen from spaceSwedenRegistered Userregular
Complete randomly generated quests like "Collect a fax from downstairs" or "See me in my office in 10 minutes" while fighting off hordes of zombies and mutants!
Does that mean like... you're the only living human working in that place?
And your bosses are like some kind of demons or stuff who hired the zombies cos they were cheap. And they're giving you shit cos you're not getting along with your co-workers.
Does that mean like... you're the only living human working in that place?
And your bosses are like some kind of demons or stuff who hired the zombies cos they were cheap. And they're giving you shit cos you're not getting along with your co-workers.
Nah, it should be a completely normal office, except for massive zombie hordes trying to kill you and your co-workers.
The more I think about this idea the more I like it.
Does that mean like... you're the only living human working in that place?
And your bosses are like some kind of demons or stuff who hired the zombies cos they were cheap. And they're giving you shit cos you're not getting along with your co-workers.
Nah, it should be a completely normal office, except for massive zombie hordes trying to kill you and your co-workers.
The more I think about this idea the more I like it.
Yet to keep with a humorous aspect, zombie coworkers act like their everyday selves! They're just evil because you know, zombies are innately evil.
You know what would be nice, a seperate inventory/menu/charecter sheet window. So you could look at both the map, and your charecter progression at the same time.
The main problem with roguelikes is created by the combination of a desire for complexity, with limited graphical resources. Often a desire arises to express all possible information on screen when in fact clickable popup info windows with further information about a tile would be far clearer.
I absolutely love the idea of it being an office building infested with evil, but instead of being tasked to destroy the evil you simply have to go about your job whilst dealing with evil in the process. So the end goal isn't to defeat the evil and save the world, it's to get a promotion.
Instead of delving down into dungeons you're delving up and down the office building. It fits so well.
Does that mean like... you're the only living human working in that place?
And your bosses are like some kind of demons or stuff who hired the zombies cos they were cheap. And they're giving you shit cos you're not getting along with your co-workers.
Nah, it should be a completely normal office, except for massive zombie hordes trying to kill you and your co-workers.
The more I think about this idea the more I like it.
Yet to keep with a humorous aspect, zombie coworkers act like their everyday selves! They're just evil because you know, zombies are innately evil.
What if you could/are a zombie?
It's not humorous to battle off vicious flesh-eating corpses while trying to accomplish everyday tasks in your otherwise-normal 9 to 5 job?
Does that mean like... you're the only living human working in that place?
And your bosses are like some kind of demons or stuff who hired the zombies cos they were cheap. And they're giving you shit cos you're not getting along with your co-workers.
Nah, it should be a completely normal office, except for massive zombie hordes trying to kill you and your co-workers.
The more I think about this idea the more I like it.
Yet to keep with a humorous aspect, zombie coworkers act like their everyday selves! They're just evil because you know, zombies are innately evil.
What if you could/are a zombie?
It's not humorous to battle off vicious flesh-eating corpses while trying to accomplish everyday tasks in your otherwise-normal 9 to 5 job?
That is of course, but give a zombie a suit and a tie, then see what happens.
I absolutely love the idea of it being an office building infested with evil, but instead of being tasked to destroy the evil you simply have to go about your job whilst dealing with evil in the process. So the end goal isn't to defeat the evil and save the world, it's to get a promotion.
Instead of delving down into dungeons you're delving up and down the office building. It fits so well.
DO IT! DO EEEEET!
Score would be based on how much money you have at the end of the day, primarily through your salary, which is raised and lowered based on your performance when doing quests. You could also supplement it by collecting pocket change, or you could spend the change on food at vending machines and cafeterias for health.
Your cubicle could serve as a home base where you can rest for free and drop off any valuable items that you can't carry with you. Initially space would be extremely limited, but you'd eventually be able to upgrade to a series of successively larger offices as the game progresses.
They need suits and ties, maybe someone in a casual Friday getup. ;D
Zombies don't like ties.
Collared shirts then?
Dee Kae on
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RoshinMy backlog can be seen from spaceSwedenRegistered Userregular
edited April 2007
Reverse the roles, perhaps?
A zombie corporation trying to survive in the marketplace. You play a zombie drone worker, trying to do your job (quests), advance and get promoted (level up), which leads to new tasks, while dealing with everyday office drama (sidequests) and fending off those pesky human zombie hunters who persist in shooting the sheeyt out of you and your colleagues...
Bosses could be actual bosses, defeat one to get promoted, and today's lunch in the cafeteria is always brains...
In a traditional roguelike as I understand it, YOU go into THEIR dungeon and kill them all and steal their shit.
Now if you ask me thats not sensible.
How about THEY are coming into YOUR place and attacking YOU.
Imagine it, you live in zombieapocalypseland, in the last bastion of living humans like in that film i forget the name of, something of the dead probably, and OMG ZOMBIES HAVE BROKEN THRU THE WALL! They're everywhere! Somebody activate the defense system! So your job is to get to, fix and activate the internal defense system thus destroying the zombie incursion. Works like a standard roguelike in a way, but instead of heading down, you head inwards, towards the centre of the city?
Or, combining it with the totally awesome office of the dead setting, how about your office is under attack from zombs and you need to get to the roof to escape in the boss's helicopter, armed only with a red stapler and a laptop (2 handed blunt)? Use a zombie plague or something and all the zombs can be ex-coworkers.
Or, combining it with the totally awesome office of the dead setting, how about your office is under attack from zombs and you need to get to the roof to escape in the boss's helicopter, armed only with a red stapler and a laptop (2 handed blunt)? Use a zombie plague or something and all the zombs can be ex-coworkers.
Personally, I'd rather use a powerstrip. Perhaps, with the use of crafting skills, you could ghetto-rig the stapler on to a glove and use it as a punching weapon? 'Mining' screws out of the cubicle frames and putting them through the powerstrip, thus making a flail?
I wonder what Zetetic will think of what's become of this thread. He really liked the fantasy/steampunk thing.
Fending off dwarven zombies with a steam-powered staple remover?
My assumption would be that the player is, in fact, a zombie as well.
And through an e-mail glitch you have discovered something. Your corporate bosses are hoarding the most precious thing on earth. The last edible human brain. Not only that, it's a big juciy one, like, Stephen Hawking or something. Something that would give a zombie enormous power and wealth. You've decided to get it.
Now, since the humans are all gone, the zombie food supply would be animal brains. Not as tasty but hey, what can you do. This is their currency too. So, a chicken brain is small currency, whereas a cow brain is large bills.
They would basically have supplanted humanities role in the ecosystem. They still need to farm and such to raise animal brains. Brains could be actively traded on the stock market. Basically, any mindless job that humans do, zombies would. Art and such would be a bit harder for them.
The quest itself would be getting promoted or whatever it takes to reach the top floor of the office building and maybe become the CEO. At which point you can figure out how to get the brain away from the board of zombie directors. (who haven't eaten it because they are fighting over who gets it)
Roshin has the right idea here.
P.S. Glad I amused everyone.
MuddBudd on
There's no plan, there's no race to be run
The harder the rain, honey, the sweeter the sun.
Stick with the real world setting i think, using real world office supplies as weapons.
Cricket bat that some guy keeps in his locker can be the ultimate weapon (shaun of the dead)
Red staplers mysteriously cause fires!
You can beat up the printer!
you can use a walkie talkie to communicate with the fat black police sergeant outside then drop some c4 twenty stories, causing FBI agents in helicopters to come after you!
or something.
malerik on
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RoshinMy backlog can be seen from spaceSwedenRegistered Userregular
And through an e-mail glitch you have discovered something. Your corporate bosses are hoarding the most precious thing on earth. The last edible human brain. Not only that, it's a big juciy one, like, Stephen Hawking or something. Something that would give a zombie enormous power and wealth. You've decided to get it.
Hehe anyone else in this thread play Harry the handsome executive? Best office based swivel chair adventure game ever.
I prefer the idea that it's a normal office building, normal management, normal staff and normal jobs and objectives for you, but the place just happens to be overrun with monsters. But the management doesn't actually care and they demand that you get on with your work, despite the fact that between you and the fax machine are several zombies feasting on your coworkers or that the photocopier is possessed by an ancient demonic force, or that the basement has been taken over by pirates etc etc etc.
My assumption would be that the player is, in fact, a zombie as well.
And through an e-mail glitch you have discovered something. Your corporate bosses are hoarding the most precious thing on earth. The last edible human brain. Not only that, it's a big juciy one, like, Stephen Hawking or something. Something that would give a zombie enormous power and wealth. You've decided to get it.
Now, since the humans are all gone, the zombie food supply would be animal brains. Not as tasty but hey, what can you do. This is their currency too. So, a chicken brain is small currency, whereas a cow brain is large bills.
They would basically have supplanted humanities role in the ecosystem. They still need to farm and such to raise animal brains. Brains could be actively traded on the stock market. Basically, any mindless job that humans do, zombies would. Art and such would be a bit harder for them.
The quest itself would be getting promoted or whatever it takes to reach the top floor of the office building and maybe become the CEO. At which point you can figure out how to get the brain away from the board of zombie directors. (who haven't eaten it because they are fighting over who gets it)
So I wake up, and the thread's jumped two pages and everyone's talking about the various office appliances one zombie could rig together to stove another zombie's head in.
Fucking awesome.
The answer is, obviously, to use the (potentially simpler to make) office setting to start with, and then once everyone's happy with it I can move onto the steampunk setting as well, and continue to update both as long as anyone's interested. Since the only real engine difference between them is that the latter has a few more systems, and a different aesthetic. And frankly, I find the idea of using a cricket bat to thwack a coworker in half suddenly very pleasing.
Remember how I said we'd have a squad system? Yeah, well... You'll just go up to one of your coworkers and ask if they want to come down to level 16 with you because you have something really important you have to photocopy.
So I will get right on knocking up some Shaun of the Dead-esque sprites. Whether this game will get out of the office and into a wider city area, we'll just have to wait and see.
To address vhzod's concerns, well, this isn't a game made by committee. Those always, always fail because people are different and have a wide range of tastes and all want to make the best game they can, but never actually agree on what that is. This is a game made by one guy with an open mind and a whole forum community's worth of ideas backing him up. Which sounds good to me.
Oh my god... This is so much more awesome than I could have ever imagined! Thank god for a community of middle class nerds!
I love the idea of running around with a +3 enchanted stapler of disembowelment. Ooh! And you could even have a fireman's axe somewhere in the building-
Break Glass in Case of Fire Emergency
- break glass
but there isn't a fire emergency!
So, what? A one hundred story office building? You start at the first floor? If you dare, you can even travel down into the 100 stories deep basement levels? A one hundred floor main quest, and a one hundred floor optional quest. If you decide to travel down, you can discover the mystery of the infestation, and solve that. It might make for an interesting moral dilemma. Save the Earth! Or become rich!
Does that mean like... you're the only living human working in that place?
And your bosses are like some kind of demons or stuff who hired the zombies cos they were cheap. And they're giving you shit cos you're not getting along with your co-workers.
Nah, it should be a completely normal office, except for massive zombie hordes trying to kill you and your co-workers.
The more I think about this idea the more I like it.
Yet to keep with a humorous aspect, zombie coworkers act like their everyday selves! They're just evil because you know, zombies are innately evil.
What if you could/are a zombie?
It's not humorous to battle off vicious flesh-eating corpses while trying to accomplish everyday tasks in your otherwise-normal 9 to 5 job?
I read this and first thing that popped into my head was two people having a normal conversation then a random zombie pops his head over the cubicle wall one guy turns and smacks the zombie in the head with a nearby fax machine and they continue their conversation normally
Dude, again, loving the theme, but we have no engine or anything
The theme can change at a minutes notice. We need an engine so that we know what we can do.
That's what I'm working on right now. In fact, what I'm literally working on right now is the timing system. I have the limb damage system all on paper at the moment, we'll see how well the combat works out in practice.
But I'd say a theme is essential to create the engine. If you're doing a superhero roguelike then the combat will be wildly different from a serious roguelike set in a very realistic world. It affects the whole slant of the game mechanics. Not to mention all the extra systems which are directly tied into that world. Somebody playing a WW2 roguelike will not expect the Nazi commander to be casting fireballs.
Wait, that actually sounds kinda cool.
In addition, this is using a graphical interface, so it's not really a true blue roguelike. It's a kind of hybrid. That's why I'm focused so much on the sprites - I need to know what size tiles look good, pin down the exact resmolution, and flesh the mouse scheme out.
Speaking of which, the only necessary keyboard commands will be WASD for movement. Everything else right now will be handled by holding down the lmb and selecting an action from a radial menu - like the quick voice options that pop up when you press Q in Battlefield xxxx. I want your opinions on this scheme, though. Maybe it won't work out. It's an easy enough thing to change.
Expect some kind of awful-looking screenshots sometime tomorrow.
(MKR: thanks dude, there's some really nice tools in that list!)
Posts
Everyone yells ideas out in a thread, then someone makes their own mini community forum so they can discuss things, but then there's no executive decision making and everyone disagrees and aren't willing to compromise and so everyone makes their stuff work how they want too so that it doesn't fit, or noone can figure out what to do, and it eventually dies from apathy.
Or atleast I think that's the standard practice.
For example, say you find a helmet, and two arm parts, combine the three with a motor, and you have powered arms anchored by your head (higher than average strength requirement or you'll rip off your own head on a critical failure roll).
Like, mission 1, go make some copies.
-edit-
Yotes your sig is hypnotizing.
The harder the rain, honey, the sweeter the sun.
I'm watching it, waiting for the part where he goes back in time. It's inevitable!
Office building... filled with zombies.
Steam punk zombies.
Well thats a given. That's where your humor comes from. Putting characters or creatures someplace out of their element. A zombie office could be in hell or limbo or something. Or maybe the zombies won. Humanity is dead. Nothing left to eat. So they go back to their old jobs.
The harder the rain, honey, the sweeter the sun.
Zombie office romance?
Zombie dating sim? It could be huge in Japan.
Complete randomly generated quests like "Collect a fax from downstairs" or "See me in my office in 10 minutes" while fighting off hordes of zombies and mutants!
And your bosses are like some kind of demons or stuff who hired the zombies cos they were cheap. And they're giving you shit cos you're not getting along with your co-workers.
Nah, it should be a completely normal office, except for massive zombie hordes trying to kill you and your co-workers.
The more I think about this idea the more I like it.
What if you could/are a zombie?
The main problem with roguelikes is created by the combination of a desire for complexity, with limited graphical resources. Often a desire arises to express all possible information on screen when in fact clickable popup info windows with further information about a tile would be far clearer.
Instead of delving down into dungeons you're delving up and down the office building. It fits so well.
DO IT! DO EEEEET!
It's not humorous to battle off vicious flesh-eating corpses while trying to accomplish everyday tasks in your otherwise-normal 9 to 5 job?
Though SPI's got a great take on it.
Your cubicle could serve as a home base where you can rest for free and drop off any valuable items that you can't carry with you. Initially space would be extremely limited, but you'd eventually be able to upgrade to a series of successively larger offices as the game progresses.
See? Awesome.
They need suits and ties, maybe someone in a casual Friday getup. ;D
Zombies don't like ties.
Collared shirts then?
A zombie corporation trying to survive in the marketplace. You play a zombie drone worker, trying to do your job (quests), advance and get promoted (level up), which leads to new tasks, while dealing with everyday office drama (sidequests) and fending off those pesky human zombie hunters who persist in shooting the sheeyt out of you and your colleagues...
Bosses could be actual bosses, defeat one to get promoted, and today's lunch in the cafeteria is always brains...
I don't know. There might be something here.
In a traditional roguelike as I understand it, YOU go into THEIR dungeon and kill them all and steal their shit.
Now if you ask me thats not sensible.
How about THEY are coming into YOUR place and attacking YOU.
Imagine it, you live in zombieapocalypseland, in the last bastion of living humans like in that film i forget the name of, something of the dead probably, and OMG ZOMBIES HAVE BROKEN THRU THE WALL! They're everywhere! Somebody activate the defense system! So your job is to get to, fix and activate the internal defense system thus destroying the zombie incursion. Works like a standard roguelike in a way, but instead of heading down, you head inwards, towards the centre of the city?
Or, combining it with the totally awesome office of the dead setting, how about your office is under attack from zombs and you need to get to the roof to escape in the boss's helicopter, armed only with a red stapler and a laptop (2 handed blunt)? Use a zombie plague or something and all the zombs can be ex-coworkers.
Personally, I'd rather use a powerstrip. Perhaps, with the use of crafting skills, you could ghetto-rig the stapler on to a glove and use it as a punching weapon? 'Mining' screws out of the cubicle frames and putting them through the powerstrip, thus making a flail?
And through an e-mail glitch you have discovered something. Your corporate bosses are hoarding the most precious thing on earth. The last edible human brain. Not only that, it's a big juciy one, like, Stephen Hawking or something. Something that would give a zombie enormous power and wealth. You've decided to get it.
Now, since the humans are all gone, the zombie food supply would be animal brains. Not as tasty but hey, what can you do. This is their currency too. So, a chicken brain is small currency, whereas a cow brain is large bills.
They would basically have supplanted humanities role in the ecosystem. They still need to farm and such to raise animal brains. Brains could be actively traded on the stock market. Basically, any mindless job that humans do, zombies would. Art and such would be a bit harder for them.
The quest itself would be getting promoted or whatever it takes to reach the top floor of the office building and maybe become the CEO. At which point you can figure out how to get the brain away from the board of zombie directors. (who haven't eaten it because they are fighting over who gets it)
Roshin has the right idea here.
P.S. Glad I amused everyone.
The harder the rain, honey, the sweeter the sun.
Dwarf company being overrun by a zombie plague!
wait.
no. sorry no I don't like that.
Stick with the real world setting i think, using real world office supplies as weapons.
Cricket bat that some guy keeps in his locker can be the ultimate weapon (shaun of the dead)
Red staplers mysteriously cause fires!
You can beat up the printer!
you can use a walkie talkie to communicate with the fat black police sergeant outside then drop some c4 twenty stories, causing FBI agents in helicopters to come after you!
or something.
Ah, that's a good idea. Really good.
I prefer the idea that it's a normal office building, normal management, normal staff and normal jobs and objectives for you, but the place just happens to be overrun with monsters. But the management doesn't actually care and they demand that you get on with your work, despite the fact that between you and the fax machine are several zombies feasting on your coworkers or that the photocopier is possessed by an ancient demonic force, or that the basement has been taken over by pirates etc etc etc.
Fucking awesome.
The answer is, obviously, to use the (potentially simpler to make) office setting to start with, and then once everyone's happy with it I can move onto the steampunk setting as well, and continue to update both as long as anyone's interested. Since the only real engine difference between them is that the latter has a few more systems, and a different aesthetic. And frankly, I find the idea of using a cricket bat to thwack a coworker in half suddenly very pleasing.
Remember how I said we'd have a squad system? Yeah, well... You'll just go up to one of your coworkers and ask if they want to come down to level 16 with you because you have something really important you have to photocopy.
So I will get right on knocking up some Shaun of the Dead-esque sprites. Whether this game will get out of the office and into a wider city area, we'll just have to wait and see.
To address vhzod's concerns, well, this isn't a game made by committee. Those always, always fail because people are different and have a wide range of tastes and all want to make the best game they can, but never actually agree on what that is. This is a game made by one guy with an open mind and a whole forum community's worth of ideas backing him up. Which sounds good to me.
The theme can change at a minutes notice. We need an engine so that we know what we can do.
I love the idea of running around with a +3 enchanted stapler of disembowelment. Ooh! And you could even have a fireman's axe somewhere in the building-
Break Glass in Case of Fire Emergency
- break glass
but there isn't a fire emergency!
So, what? A one hundred story office building? You start at the first floor? If you dare, you can even travel down into the 100 stories deep basement levels? A one hundred floor main quest, and a one hundred floor optional quest. If you decide to travel down, you can discover the mystery of the infestation, and solve that. It might make for an interesting moral dilemma. Save the Earth! Or become rich!
I read this and first thing that popped into my head was two people having a normal conversation then a random zombie pops his head over the cubicle wall one guy turns and smacks the zombie in the head with a nearby fax machine and they continue their conversation normally
http://dia-installer.de/index.html
For making it:
http://www.freebasic.net/ or http://msdn.microsoft.com/vstudio/express/windows/ and http://www.mono-project.com/Main_Page (for multi-platform support)
For organizing the effort:
http://www.phprojekt.com/
For great justice:
move zig
That's what I'm working on right now. In fact, what I'm literally working on right now is the timing system. I have the limb damage system all on paper at the moment, we'll see how well the combat works out in practice.
But I'd say a theme is essential to create the engine. If you're doing a superhero roguelike then the combat will be wildly different from a serious roguelike set in a very realistic world. It affects the whole slant of the game mechanics. Not to mention all the extra systems which are directly tied into that world. Somebody playing a WW2 roguelike will not expect the Nazi commander to be casting fireballs.
Wait, that actually sounds kinda cool.
In addition, this is using a graphical interface, so it's not really a true blue roguelike. It's a kind of hybrid. That's why I'm focused so much on the sprites - I need to know what size tiles look good, pin down the exact resmolution, and flesh the mouse scheme out.
Speaking of which, the only necessary keyboard commands will be WASD for movement. Everything else right now will be handled by holding down the lmb and selecting an action from a radial menu - like the quick voice options that pop up when you press Q in Battlefield xxxx. I want your opinions on this scheme, though. Maybe it won't work out. It's an easy enough thing to change.
Expect some kind of awful-looking screenshots sometime tomorrow.
(MKR: thanks dude, there's some really nice tools in that list!)
dont mean to be annoying but yes pleaaaase
I'll post screenshots.
Edit: