lördag 21 januari 2017

Magier och trick!

Väldigt längesen jag skrev något om RPGmaker spelet Journeys East of Knez! För en tid sen (dvs mer en ett halvår sedan) lade jag upp en del karaktärers specialattacker på facebook som ett sätt att presentera deras karaktärer. Men det var tre jag inte han med! Ap-uppfinnaren Givased, rävmagikern Magínt och kaninprofeten DidIprai blev till fullo klargjorda men de resterande vill jag prata lite extra om här.

Peggy

Peggy är en ung gris-handelsresande som använder pollen, pulver och sin egen kyliga personlighet för att lamslå hennes motståndare. Hon har även tillgång till unika verktyg och kan använda det helt klart störst antalet objekt i spelet. Ett tips är att dubbelutrusta henne med sköldar och din bästa röstning. Attacken "faderns sköld" drar sedan monstrens aggressivitet och skyddar resten av laget!


Shebaz

Shebaz är en drottning över ett rike i öster och fokuserar på kraftfull men dyr magi. När den väl har tagit slut står man där så micromanagement av mana är viktig om man vill använda denna karaktär till fullo. Hon har även ett par verktyg såsom en magisk tron av järn, ett svärd och andra magi-förstörande artifakter. Takes one to beat one!


Sand Horse

Sandhästen är till sist en förvandlad drake som har en jämn uppsättning magier och andra förmågor. Precis som hans förlaga i "resan till väst" fokuserar hans magi på hans magiska andedräkt och....ermm, urin. Men draken kan även använda sin kraftfulla hästspark för att anfalla varelser som är immuna mot magi!  



lördag 14 januari 2017

Pharao Rebirth+


Stackars professor Jonathan Banfield! Inte nog med att en egyptisk förbannelse förvandlat honom till en kanin, utan en annan egyptisk förbannelse frisläppt av hans rival André (som i samma veva förvandlades till en ödla) gör att han kommer att dö om sju dagar. Men nu finns ju Rabevars en lösning på problemet! Om han kan hitta sju heliga graaler kommer han att bli odödlig och därför fri från att dödas av förbannelsen (Jag antar att andra Moseboken hade rätt och den kristna guden klår de egyptiska). Jonathan måste nu spåra de sju graalerna till en samling egyptiska tempel och gruvor (samt Las Vegas) samtidigt som han undviker andra ljusskygga typer som är ute efter Egyptens skatter. Till din hjälp har du din kära assisten som kan hacka alltifrån fällor i gömda pyramider till hål i marken. 



En riktig arkeolog dricker lugnt vin medan han blir attackerad av Serqet

Spelet är ett Metroidvania spel, du utforskar tempel och samlar objekt som ger dig nya egenskaper så att du kan ta dig vidare. Imponerande nog är spelet gjort, bortsett från grafik och musik, gjort av en enda person. Spelet har en väldigt underfundig humor som frossar i sin kassa research (heliga graaler? I egypten? Sju stycken? Tikistatyer nära Nilen?) och brustna engelskaöversättning. 

Ännu en dag som jag kan undvika att faktiskt undervisa i arkeologi är en bra dag!

En sak man kan anmärka på är att spelet har det där irriterande "hardcore-syndromet" där man kan förlora objekt i spelet om man inte gör något obskyrt vid en specifik tidpunkt. Speciellt irriterande då man bara kan ha ett sparat spel åt gången och måste starta om om något går fel. Bortsett från detta är Pharao Rebirth+ ett fantastiskt och välgjort spel som jag absolut kan rekommendera.   


Och det finns en hel del grejor att samla! 

fredag 13 januari 2017

The use of the narrative curve in videogames

The classic narrative curve

It is very popular to make episodic games, particularly from a indie standpoint. There are smaller and easier to manage and develop for. They also have the added benefit of making fans excited and discuss the next installment. In this tutorial we are going to discuss the use of the narrative curve as it applies to videogames, in particular as it applies to episodic games. It is my hope that this thread will be a sort of workshop where I post an installment at a time.
I think that most people are familiar with the narrative curves as it applies to movies and books. When it comes to episodic games and to some extent television series the curve will follow the same basic idea but will have a few more "repetitions".


The narrative curve for theatre, but works for episodic games too!

While episodic games have a single overarching story each individual installment need a smaller "inner" curve of their own. To illustrate this, I am going to compare two Telltale series that I think uses the inner curve well (Tales of Monkey island) and one that uses it not so well (Sam and Max season 2, although the other two seasons used this very well). Please not that I will discuss these games as well as others in the individual series freely, so there will be spoilers. They will also be compared to a potential game called Alex and Adva by Nooby Mcnooberson (ie me) to show how an idea can grow into a story by use of the narrative curve.




Alex and Adva 

But first, the overall storyline of the three series.


 
Tales of Monkey Island:
While trying to defeat his arch-enemy the zombie-pirate Lechuck Guybrush accidentally makes him human again and releases his evil as a pox that infects the Caribbean. To cure the infected people Guybrush must find the fabled La Esponja Grande to suck all evil voodoo energy into it. Lechuck steals the energy and becomes a pirate god but is eventually defeated by Guybrush.


Sam and Max season 2:
Sam and Max investigate a couple of seemingly unrelated cases, eventually tied together by a couple of time-travelling mariachis and a takeover of Hell by bit-characters from the first season. Yeah...you could probably tell from the description alone that this season does not have a strong narrative. I actually struggled to try and keep the overarching story sound better, but had to give up.

Alex and Adva (my own story idea in its raw form)
Alex and Adva want children but are unable to conceive. As a jackalope it is Adva´s duty to guard the underworld and when Alex hears about a magical plant that can bestow fertility Adva lets him into the underworld so they can search for it together. Turns out the plant is a root from the world tree Yggdrasil. Demons are trying to cut it down and Alex and Adva must protect it.

Let us take a look at the three series and how they begin their respective set-ups.




The launch of the Screaming Narwhal

This episode begins in medias res with a Lechuck confrontation, supposedly after an epic quest to create a sword that can banish the evil pirate forever. Gubrush bungles the spell and is stranded on the island of Flotsam. Here the main quest is introduced, finding La Esponja Grande to banish the evil pox and get off Flotsam. The episode is interesting because it has a climax, or at least something imitating the form of a climax, at the very start. The episode also ends with another confrontation being set up with pirate hunter Morgan le Flay, but not taking place in the episode itself. When it comes to the narrative curve the episode feels a little shaky, since the player can solve the puzzles and challenges in any order.




Ice Station Santa
The episode begins with Sam and Max finding out that Santa sends a murderous robot to their office. Deciding to investigate they find Santa possessed by a demon, which they excorsice. Unlike the first season this one seems to be cases unrelated to each other, which need not be a bad thing. The episode, taken on its own, follows the narrative curve well with a setup (collect items for a banishment ritual), a point of no return (portals to other points in times are opened) and a clear climax in the confrontation with Santa and even a resolution that makes fun of sappy christmas specials.

Finally, let us look at my own first attempt.
The set-up, the search for the plant, needs to be introduced. My original attempt stood on its own and concerned house-cleaning, introducing the characters and the game-system. While it was cute, itwas also really slow. My current first episode concerns Alex losing his book of magic and has to find a new one in a hurry in order to impress his employer. Breaking into the house of a magician he learns about the plant. By making the initial quest about something unrelated I can still present the world and its characters in a natural way. And so the adventure begins...

This is the first installment, please tell me if this was informative or if there are any points I could improve on? Any specific points I should focus on when making comparisions between the two game series. Did it make sense for me to include my work on my own game in the comparison?


Inventory Design (Alex and Adva)


When creating a videogame it is important to make the interface as clear as possible, and that goes doubly for an inventory in a point and click adventure game. My goal was to create the entire interface in a single screen and make it work without any gimmicks while still giving a fresh breath to the adventure game genre.
The interface is found with a press of the I button, scribbled on the side of an egyptian pylon. There is a day and a night version depending on if Alex and Adva is in the underworld or not.
It is divided into two categories, each one further divided into two subcategories. The category to the left is the clickable objects. It is the part of the screen the players eyes will be drawn to first and contains all the items gathered during the chapter as well as buttons to change between Alex and Adva. At the top left there is also a button to receive a hint on what to do next.


The section to the right is the notes. Here you can find a list of the creatures that Adva needs to defeat or find as well as notes that will point you towards a puzzle. Alex can use these notes in conversations with characters in the game to reveal further clues.

Instead of getting in a situation where the player has to use all their objects on everything in a desperate attempt to get further into the game I want the player to look at this scene as little as possible. All items are automatically used when the player character is in the right place and the found notes are added to all conversations as soon as they are found. The goal I strive for is for the player to just bring this scene up once when they load a saved game in order to look over their progression and immediate goals!