Hypnosis game

[Realm]

For anyone who didn't read the earlier thread, I'm making a game that utilizes hypnosis both practically and thematically. Progress is slow and there is a lot of work for one person to do, but someone sent me a PM earlier offering to help with writing.

Normally I'd prefer to do all the work myself, but after days of fairly intense work I've only got some of the most basic gameplay mechanics and two rooms done, plus a few little bits and pieces. If I had to do the graphics myself it'd probably take twice as long, but fortunately there are people out there who steal sprites from old games so that people like me can just copypaste them into action. I still need to turn the sprites into something usable however, which takes time, as well as make maps from tilesets which also consumes a lot of time.

So if anyone out there is interested in helping make a hypnosis-based computer game (with due credit of course), these are the things that people might be able to do.

Mapping - I have a bunch of tilesets, all matching since they come from the same game. All you'd need to do is basically put the pieces together in a program like paint to make a map.

Sprite editing - I haven't come across a specific instance yet, but I'm relatively sure some of the sprites in the game would benefit from a little tweaking. This might require a bit more of an artistic mind than my own.

Writing - I'm always fascinated by the many ideas and tastes on this website, and I'm sure there are plenty of people out there with thoughts they would like to share.

Voice acting - I think this speaks for itself (ba-dum tish). Of course male and female voices would be best.

Music - If push comes to shove I should be able to manage the music on my own, but it'd be great to have some variety. For aspiring composers I can point you in the direction of some great free software that'll get you on your way.

I'd rather stick to doing all the programming myself, not because I'm a good programmer but because I've already started and I tend to design things in a way incomprehensible to most. Plus I'm using Game Maker Pro since I couldn't work out the simplest things like on vb.net like how to check key-strokes. So unless someone has pre-existing scripts or AI systems written in GML they think would be useful, I'll have to do this myself.

So that's it. Basically a recruitment drive\cry for help.

Oh and I had another thought about triggers in-game that could have post-game effects. Not sure what they might be but no doubt there will be plenty of people out there with suggestions.

[Mino]

This would probably work better as a fully voiced, text-adventure game. I can imagine having a graphical element would distract from the trance and the commands.

Please only accept people with actual talent on to your team, this will help immensely. I can imagine you're going to need an experienced writer as well. Someone will definitely need to write up a custom induction for this specific game.

[Realm]

I wouldn't even bother with the work if it were a text-based game we were talking about. Anyone here with good script and story-writing skills could manage that without even needing to worry about programming if they had the right software. You may be right about the graphics making it difficult to trance, but a game without graphics would essentially be a more complex 'choose your own adventure' deal. I've never played a text-based game I wanted to go through more than once. Come to think of it, I can't remember a single text-based game I could be bothered completing.

If I were only letting people with actual talent work on the game I'd have to be the first one to stop. All the skills I have thus far applied to the making of this game have taken a time, patience, trial, error, blood, sweat and tears. I do appreciate your point however, and intend to edit everything that does end up in the game.

And of course you are absolutely right about needing a very good writer for the hypnosis-related scripts, but much of the game will require writing that has little or nothing to do with hypnosis. Thank you for at least including suggestions with your criticisms, and I'm sorry if it seems I'm not giving them due credit, but I've had a very long and frustating day. Maybe tomorrow I'll think back on what you said and take more onboard.

[Illpill]

Mino. Whilst it would be great to have the luxury of constructing a team of awesome people to make a game that unscrews the head and pokes about in there, I think you are being a little unfair to the developer of the game. Your advice is sound, but maybe premature.

In the production of anything successful there always has to be a first version.

Look at Prince of Persia. I played the very first version. And by the standards of what it has become it was truly crapulous. The idea has proved durable however, and now it is deemed worthy of its own film.

In some instances a text based idea may be preferable to some, but the existence of a graphical hypnosis game does not prevent you or anyone else from working on their own ideas.

For all I know Realm is on the cusp of awesomeness.

[Fraxo]

Sounds like a interesting game. Are you building the game from scratch, or are you using a game platform for it? Looking forward to see what you can create from this. Would gladly assist if I could. But english is not my first language, so writing is not a good idea. :)

[Realm]

Technically it would be possible to use existing game engines to build the game upon, but I'm the kind of person that likes to start everything from scratch so I know the ins and outs as intimately as possible. Hopefully in the long run this will actually reduce the production time since whenever I try working around someone else's engine I inevitably spend most of my time fixing errors because I don't fully understand how it works.

Anyone who has an interest in writing for the game, don't feel as though you can't offer something because your writing skills aren't stellar. I can always spruce up the dialogue and I have no problem cleaning things up if you have a script or idea to offer.

[demigraff]

I tried building a hypnosis driven game a while back (I was working on an RPG-like world map, with falling block puzzles taking the place of battles; audio files as background sound, synced to the pace of the game, and "subliminal" words and images flashing up on screen). However, I found it was such a big job, and few people would be able to play the result (I'd got quite far into it before I found that I couldn't get Perl/SDL running under windows)

I'd love to see what you can come up with :) Hopefully, using a game engine will make your project a lot easier.

[CerebralVortex]

Count me in. I'm available for voice, and maybe writing as well, depending on what it is you're actually talking about and wanting. Sounds very cool.

[Realm]

It's great to see so much enthusiasm and support for the idea. I haven't been able to work on it for the last couple of days, but when I'm not too busy I'll look at drafting an overview of the whole game so everyone can get an idea of exactly how they might contribute if they so desire.

[Mino]

I wouldn't even bother with the work if it were a text-based game we were talking about. Anyone here with good script and story-writing skills could manage that without even needing to worry about programming if they had the right software. You may be right about the graphics making it difficult to trance, but a game without graphics would essentially be a more complex 'choose your own adventure' deal. I've never played a text-based game I wanted to go through more than once. Come to think of it, I can't remember a single text-based game I could be bothered completing.

I wasn't thinking of a traditional text adventure game, more along the lines of an interactive story with branching paths, a CYOA type thing like you said. The only reason I'm suggesting this is because if you're in a deep enough trance for the suggestions to actual take effect, you should not be able to play a complex game.

If I were only letting people with actual talent work on the game I'd have to be the first one to stop. All the skills I have thus far applied to the making of this game have taken a time, patience, trial, error, blood, sweat and tears. I do appreciate your point however, and intend to edit everything that does end up in the game.

To be quite honest, if you are admitting you have no talent then you really shouldn't be leading the production of this game.

In the production of anything successful there always has to be a first version.

Look at Prince of Persia. I played the very first version. And by the standards of what it has become it was truly crapulous. The idea has proved durable however, and now it is deemed worthy of its own film.

I'm sorry but your analogy is completly wrong. The first Prince of Persia may not be suited to your tastes but that doesn't change the fact that it was constructed by a team of experts, it sold well and was seen as a good game for it's time, which only prooves my point.

I have no intent to stop you from making this game or insult any of you in any way. I am merely offering advice and criticism. I have been involved with the production of quite a few different games, amateur and proffessional, and the number one thing which kills games before they have a chance to be developed is unrealistic expectations. I have seen people want to create a game and half of the time everyone gives up and leaves, and the other half, they don't even start it.

My advice would be to get a proof of concept game out first. Don't concentrate on anything besides that. Get a very, very simple game out which can get the user into a trance and issue simple suggestions. Forget about art direction, writing, music and programing, just get a simple game which can trance most of the audience. After that, make it better, until it's as reliable as possible.

And please only stick with scientifically proven techniques. Subliminal messages and binural audio, etc... Have all been proven false numerous times. Research everything and only go with what works, not what you think works. Don't half arse anything, research as much as you can from reputable sites and don't let anyone help who you know won't.

I really do hope you will be successful. Good luck, and remember to be smart about this.

[Realm]

I wasn't thinking of a traditional text adventure game, more along the lines of an interactive story with branching paths, a CYOA type thing like you said. The only reason I'm suggesting this is because if you're in a deep enough trance for the suggestions to actual take effect, you should not be able to play a complex game.

This is a good point and I'm still debating with myself as how to deal with this. Rather than having the user in trance at all times during the game, it might be more effective to use post-hypnotic suggestions throughout, and perhaps one that can quickly bring the player into trance at appropriate times for more involved suggestions.

The main reason I don't want to go down the path of a CYOA is I can imagine it restricting the breadth of gameplay. By that I mean I'm trying to leave as much room as possible to suit people of all different tastes, and I don't see how the approach you're suggesting would allow for that. It may make it easier trance-wise, but it goes against the more central purpose I had when I decided to make the game.

To be quite honest, if you are admitting you have no talent then you really shouldn't be leading the production of this game.

I'm sure if you read over this again you'll agree it's an unfair remark. If I want to make this game, capable or otherwise, I have every right to do so. A lot of what you're saying makes you sound as though you feel it's your place alone to dictate the direction this project should take. If you feel it really ought to be done your way you can always do it yourself, but no one commissioned me to take on this job and no one can rightly say whether or not I should do it.

My advice would be to get a proof of concept game out first. Don't concentrate on anything besides that. Get a very, very simple game out which can get the user into a trance and issue simple suggestions. Forget about art direction, writing, music and programing, just get a simple game which can trance most of the audience. After that, make it better, until it's as reliable as possible.

The trouble with hypnosis is that its effects vary a good deal from person to person, especially in the amount of time it takes to actually see any effects. I was going to do a proof of concept game which was just a simple puzzle-solving adventure game with triggers thrown in, but ultimately decided that it would probably take too long for most people to experience the game properly for anyone to stay interested.

How is this for a proof of concept so far though: We do know that given time, post-hypnotic suggestions can cause people to react in a variety of ways to implanted trigger words or phrases. So if the game even contained only trigger phrases and no suggestions of its own that required the player to be in trance, it should work. If that were all that could be accomplished I would be quite satisfied.

And please only stick with scientifically proven techniques. Subliminal messages and binural audio, etc... Have all been proven false numerous times. Research everything and only go with what works, not what you think works. Don't half arse anything, research as much as you can from reputable sites and don't let anyone help who you know won't.

I agree with you in theory but fail to see the point of what you're saying. If we neglect to use things such as subliminal messages and binaural beats, which many people believe despite them perhaps not actually working, would that be detrimental to results? Scientifically speaking, if a person believes something is helping them get into trance then it probably will even if only slightly and even if in fact it shouldn't. The mindset of that person after all is the important thing, or so I've come to understand.

[Realm]

Here's a link to the game's basic overview. There'll be a lot more added later on, but this should at least give people an idea of where to begin.

[url]http://www.megaupload.com/?d=HU1697PZ[/url]

[guyincognito88]

Hey, I'd be happy to get involved as a writer.

[Realm]

At the moment the most useful sort of script would be for a file outside of the game that installs a trigger to put the player instantly into trance as quickly as possible. Does anyone know if a file like this already exists, or if not how it would best be achieved?

[krismaz]

There are plenty of files like that, just take a look in in the induction section and search for trigger :)

Here are some examples:

Cardigan - Deep Trance
http://warpmymind.com/modules.php?name=Files&file=Comment&fid=488

HT UltimateInduction
http://warpmymind.com/modules.php?name=Files&file=Comment&fid=1185

Long Induction -fixed-
http://warpmymind.com/modules.php?name=Files&file=Comment&fid=2516

I hope that's what you're looking for :D

[Realm]

I've been training myself with Cardigan's one for a few weeks now. The trigger requires that you stare at a point on the wall or ceiling, then close your eyes, then repeat twice more. Not as quick or efficient as I was hoping for. Do the others involve simple phrases?

[krismaz]

Perhaps a point on the wall or ceiling could be replaced by a dot on the screen?

However, I'm quite sure that there are some that contains simple trigger phrases, since I listened to one once. Which file it was, I cannot remember.

Oh, and I'd love to help with the game, I'm studying computer science, so I'm able to do programming. However, I have no skills at using Gamemaker, but if you need anything done in Java or a similar language I'll help. :)

[ziaspet]

why not include the trigger reinfocement whenever the game loads up so there alwase fresh in the players mind

i like the idea of being able to buy rewards like that...

i also think it might be nice if the bosses could trigger you, distracting or such

[hypnoticnapkin]

I agree with ziaspet. Not only would they try to kill you but they would distract you. They could be kind of specialty too, one would make you keep peeing and another could make you not stop orgasming. Then the final could use all of then maybe.
You could also have some items that make the bosses and other monsters that trigger you not be able to trigger you for a period of time.

[Realm]

Sorry I haven't done anything here in a while, but I've been pretty swamped with work and will be for a little while yet. I plan on getting back on this as soon as I have the time to fully dedicate my attention to it.

As for the recent suggestions, yes a few people have brought up the same ideas and eventually more advanced things like that will be put into gameplay. For the moment however, I'm trying to keep things simple to start it off. Currently there are so many ideas in this and the other thread that I'm starting to have trouble remembering them all.

In addition to triggers that affect the way you play the game, I'd also like to put in triggers that affect the player once they've left the game. For example, I saw a file on this site somewhere that makes you feel naked all the time, even when wearing clothes. If in the game you somehow lose your clothes you might feel naked even after you've left the game, until you get back and buy some new ones. There could be all sorts of other triggers along these lines of course but at present I'm just concerned with getting the game to work on as basic a level as possible.

Trigger reinforcement will definitely occur every time the player loads the game again, as much as possible. Might be tricky with all the different triggers people are suggesting but it'll probably get built up over a period of months or possibly even years.

It seems that triggers affecting the behaviour of the player are the most popular ideas so far, so that will probably be a big part of the game itself. In most traditional RPG's enemies can cast spells that affect your character in similar ways, confusing or disabling them. Rather spending any time on a fireballs and lightning style magic system I might make spells exclusively as triggers. The only problem I see here is that in any game like this characters can accumulate a number of different status ailments, which is simple enough for the computer but might be difficult for the player to keep track of. There'll probably need to be quite a few constant visual cues and reminders.

I'll try implementing this fairly early on if possible, but I'm not sure how to get too many triggers into the game straight away without having multiple files the player must listen to first.

[-SleepyBoy]

Omg I cante wait, this is gonna be so awesome !!!!!

[Realm]

I like the way you think. In fact such a system wouldn't be all that difficult to put together. Just one thing though; would a file containing that many triggers be effective? I've heard from a lot of people that results are best when you focus on one or a small number of files so that you aren't overloaded by all the triggers. Maybe really obvious trigger phrases that are easily associated with the desired effect, only usable while playing the game.

Programming different levels into the game itself as opposed to using different triggers is an excellent idea. It might be a bit tricky to allow complete control over all triggers by the player, so I can't guarantee it'll be possible for everyone to set everything up exactly the way they want it, but they'll at least be able to turn things off that they don't want. If they happen to be very odd people they could even turn all the triggers off.

When I get the chance I'll draw up a "blueprint" for the system.

[Realm]

I've drawn up a rough diagram of the trigger system based on what I think you've suggested. There are a few things to iron out, such as what should happen when a trigger that would be played is turned off. Does nothing happen? I've written in a cycle that can go through each other trigger searching for one that matches closely enough. Since triggers will naturally be grouped into things like changes in behaviour, things the player can feel etc. it should work smoothly enough. Obviously I just have to group triggers together that way.

Adjusting the time that the trigger takes effect won't be difficult at all, although if something causes the game to crash there may be some problems. What I'm concerned about now is how to make different levels of triggers. Are individual triggers to be assigned different levels, or does the game need to have a way of adjusting the intensity of a single trigger? The former is simple but less effective, and the latter is effective but I can't think of a way to implement it.

[url]http://www.megaupload.com/?d=MVAVO3ZH[/url]

[Realm]

And maybe put the phrazing in the trigger file itself. So it says "Level one, level 2, etc." and tells you that whenever your triggered, you +1 to the trigger intensity. So it requires a bit of mental thinking, but it should be able to do because its all sub-consious.

Are there any files anyone knows of that have done this successfully? It seems like an awful lot to keep in your head while you're playing the game. If this approach were used it would have to be a very small number of levels, like 3. People start having trouble working out relative levels of intensity of things after about 5.

If I do try working this in it won't be for a while. Anytihng that involves direct control from the game itself, such as adjusting the time that a trigger is in place, is easy because it doesn't rely on the player's ability to remember every that's supposed to be going on.

[Grima]

If there's a bit of leisure in how the player plays the game, and can choose when to go to this level or fight that boss, then why not set up a notice for the player, stating "For best results, please use these files before proceeding" and then list the relevant files from WMM. The advantage is that the files are already done, you know the triggers, and chances are they'll be better ingrained than a custom one made especially for the game.

Adjusting the time that the trigger takes effect won't be difficult at all, although if something causes the game to crash there may be some problems.

Try making an induction file that states that subsequent trances from a particular source [you] aren't implemented until a 'ding' or some auditory trigger. It specializes your updates so that if something happens when the file is being played, the effects won't be 'installed' half-assedly, and can be retried later on. It also separates the 'installation ding' from other trances, so inductees will only identify the ding as relevant to your files.

-shrugs- just an idea, lmao.

[Realm]

If there's a bit of leisure in how the player plays the game, and can choose when to go to this level or fight that boss, then why not set up a notice for the player, stating "For best results, please use these files before proceeding" and then list the relevant files from WMM. The advantage is that the files are already done, you know the triggers, and chances are they'll be better ingrained than a custom one made especially for the game.

I can see how this might be useful given that different files and triggers will have more or less relevance to certain areas within the game. Of course this limits the game to using files that already exist, which will likely come from many different sources of varying quality.

Try making an induction file that states that subsequent trances from a particular source [you] aren't implemented until a 'ding' or some auditory trigger. It specializes your updates so that if something happens when the file is being played, the effects won't be 'installed' half-assedly, and can be retried later on. It also separates the 'installation ding' from other trances, so inductees will only identify the ding as relevant to your files.

This might work if the game crashes in the middle of an audio file being played, but I'm more worried about the game crashing after the player has already been triggered.

I suppose telling the player at various points in trance that if the game closes unexpectedly, all triggers should be rendered null and void. But even without that, I doubt the player's mind would keep them locked in a non-functional state that was clearly outside the purpose of the game and trance.



I'll be able to start work on this again very shortly. Since I'm going for absolute simplicity to test how things work, I'm going to go with my original idea of a stage or area where the player can trigger both positive and negative events. I'll just start with 2 triggers completely defined by the player. You can put an audio file of the trigger in the game folder (I'll make sure the directions are simple enough to follow), then the game will just use those two files as you play. That way I don't have the added problem of creating game-specific triggers to test which may not work anyway.

[Realm]

I'm back on the game, but as is often the case with long breaks I've lost a lot of momentum. You know when you really get into a project but have to leave it, then you come back and can't remember where you were?

Rather than going back to making the start of the game, I'm going to go straight into the actual gameplay. It's still going to take a while.

My kingdom for a map editor.

[Realm]

Reeeeeeeeeeeeeeally beginning to regret putting so much into the graphics. At preset, it's taking hours to cobble together a single, small room by taking apart screenshots of another game bit by 16-bit.

It is taking such an unbelievably long time that I've decided I'm just going to dumb down the graphics for the test run of the game, then if there isn't a 50 foot high torrent of complaints I'll continue in that style.

It might be better in the long run anyway as it will make it far easier for anyone else to add things.

[ziaspet]

I'm sure people will play the game for the content not the graphics. thanks for keepign at it, i am looking forward to seeing the result of your labour

[Krysta]

If there's a bit of leisure in how the player plays the game, and can choose when to go to this level or fight that boss, then why not set up a notice for the player, stating "For best results, please use these files before proceeding" and then list the relevant files from WMM. The advantage is that the files are already done, you know the triggers, and chances are they'll be better ingrained than a custom one made especially for the game.

This also forces any potential players to listen to a number of files that institute open triggers though. Listening to WMM files for purposes of the game doesn't limit the use of those triggers to the game. Custom files for the game would be more time consuming, but appeal to a broader audience.

[Realm]

Sorry for the apparent lack of progress lately. The actual test run of the game has been held back a bit due to my indecision over how to go about the graphics. I've also been contemplating whether or not to switch to a different engine to write the game. It's always a question of how much control do I need and how easy would I like it to be.

Anyway the immense downgrading of the graphics for now has meant that making a map takes less than 1\100th the time it used to. No, that is not an exaggeration. I am sad to say that it doesn't look anything close to as good as it did before, but I've still yet to make my mind up about a lot of things at least until I've finished the test version.

That's a very good point that Krysta brought up that I hadn't thought of before. For the time being though I'm just going to let people use pre-implanted triggers so we can see how the game runs.

Ironically the game just looks like a crappier version of the exact same thing I was working on originally. Obviously a sign that I need to start making some concrete decisions and sticking with them.

[Krysta]

For the test run, you'll likely do fine with wmm triggers. Your test crowd will most likely be regulars here, who've listened to at least some of the files you'll be using. When you go for a finished product, after your proof here, then it'll be worthwhile to you to work with one single tist to create the files that will be a specific part of your final release.

[TeenWolf]

I count for a 'regular'. :)

1: Downloaded tonnes of files from here.
2: Downloaded tonnes of inductions from here.
3: Regulary online.
4: Easily tranced.

I can't wait for this game.

Good luck, and thanks for all the hard effort you're all putting in for it.

[Realm]

Thank you! It's nice to know that interest hasn't waned.

I think I should be able to release the test version of the game within about a week from now. In the meantime, I stumbled across this...



Alas, if I could only make it an MMO. :roll: [/img]

[Realm]

Again, sorry for the slow progress. Making even a tediously simple game has proved a lot more time-consuming than I had expected. I do have a test version of the game, but it's not really complete. It's still playable but about two thirds of the way through you'll run out of obstacles to avoid.

I've uploaded it as a .rar file here:

[url]http://www.megaupload.com/?d=J3XSACL5[/url]

In it you'll find a folder called "Warp My Mind". Inside that there's an .exe titled WMM and a "sound" folder. There are 4 sound files that go with the game: positive1.mp3, negative1.mp3 etc. The files that come with the game at present are dummy files with no audio. You'll have to replace them with audio files of a trigger word being spoken. They MUST replace the files in that folder and they MUST be mp3's.

positive1.mp3 is played everytime you accumulate 100 points, which you can get by collecting coins\gems (ruppees shh). Blue coins count for 10, red 20, purple 50. When you pick up the flaming crystal at the end of the level, positive2.mp3 gets played. If you get hit by one of the spinning razors, you lose 10% of your health and negative1.mp3 is played. If you run out of health the game is over and it plays negative2.mp3.

Couldn't be simpler. I also have to apologize for the lack of any other sounds in the game, really awful graphics and pretty much everything else. The whole thing actually took a lot of work since many things I had to learn to do for the first time and I had to set up the paths of every single obstacle individually.

Let me know how it works so far and what needs immediate fixing.

[Jeshi]

I haven't tried it with the triggers yet, Although I do think it would be best to pick your triggers and include them with the game.

Pressing space bar opens an error messages.
Movement is finnicky and unreliable. After being hit by a spike-ball I found I could no long move by holding an arrow key, I had to mash it over and over to get movement. Which predictably was not very effective at avoiding the spike-ball.

The game crashes upon death.

The hit-detection is so terrible. I'll hit invisible walls in what looks like open hallways. Causing me to get hit by spike-balls. The pillars are impossible to walk through. In fact, touching the space between caused me to get stuck and unable to move out.

I'm aware it's nowhere close to finished, but right now it's almost unplayable.

I tried it with the trigger files in, and they didn't play when they were supposed to. Although those spike-balls in the hallway have such a hard to follow pattern I fear for what I would have felt had the negative trigger been playing as I got hit over and over again non-stop.

[Realm]

I had no trouble getting around the game myself, but that's probably because I'm more aware of the limitation with the collision detection. Completely forgot about that spacebar thing. I'd planned to use that for attacks, but since I haven't added any yet it just causes a runtime error.

The movement gets messed up when you're hit by a razor because I was trying to make the player get knocked back on impact. Obviously that needs work so I'll just take it out for the time being until I can get it to work reliably. I'm not sure how to work on getting collisions with the walls to act smoother just yet, which is why all the hallways are at least 2 blocks across.

No idea what's going on with the gameover screen so I'll have a look at that. Does the screen just blackout or does the program stop working entirely? If it does turn black, pressing a key should restart the game.

Thanks for the feedback. I'll try to get things running a little smoother when I can. Maybe I should have looked for a template game to start things from so at least the mechanics would be safe.

[Realm]

Update: I just found an opensource zelda clone with the exact same style of gameplay. I should be able to commandeer the mechanics and solve most of the collision detection issues.

[Realm]

I'm guessing everyone's long forgotten about this by now since I haven't been able to get on in some time. The unfortunate cause of my absence has been the complete and utter destruction of my computer whilst trying myself to install a new graphics card. Please don't ask; it's just too embarassing. Suffice to say I shall leave it in the capable hands of anyone else the next time I have to open up my computer to install a new peripheral, uprgade ram or dust the little fans off.

This also means that as well as not having accomplished anything in the last few months, I lost everything I had done. Probably not such a tragedy considering the initial quality of the game, but in future I'll remember the virtues of keeping a back-up.

So... back to ye olde grinding stone. I guess I'll go try and steal that source code again.

[Realm]

I've been toying with another idea though, and looking over this programming for the Zelda game (which I just barely understand at the best of times) I wonder if it might not be worth trying. I was thinking that rather than making a whole new game, it could be easier and ultimately better to make it as a mod for an existing game.

The one I had in mind is called Morrowind. It's old enough that most likely anyone could run it on their computer today, it has a fantastic editor which lets you change anything and there's a ton of user-made mods already out there which could potentially expand the game engine.

Something I might look into if people are prepared to pay the $20 or whatever it is for the game nowadays.

[loicmm]

Well, maybe it's not very ethic, but if it's an old game, I'm sure free download links exist... ^^'

[Realm]

Something perhaps to be left to the conscience of the indiviual then? lol

Here are the pro's and con's as I see them:


Original game (what I was trying before)

Pro's:
Flexibility. If a feature doesn't exist it can always be created.
No need to buy another game just to run it.

Con's
Awful graphics, as anyone who played the alpha can attest.
Everything hinges on my lacklustre programming abilities, as anyone who played the alpha can attest.
Very slow production, as anyone who's followed this thread can attest.


Mod for existing game

Pro's:
Way WAY better graphics.
Existing gameplay engine means everything should run smoothly from the start.
Much reduced production time.
Plenty of other mods out there to help already.
Old enough that it should run fine on any computer today (2002).
Editing software lets you change pretty much anything within the game.

Con's
People would need to buy the game (about $20 or less for the GOTY version now).
There may still be limitations in what can be programmed in.
A pre-built game means the basic gameplay and mechanics are already decided and would be difficult to change.
With games like this, there's always the risk that someone won't be able to run it for compatibility reasons etc., although amazingly it works with Windows 7.


The more I think about it, the more I think a Morrowind mod would be easier and get better results. Plus if I can't even handle a simple control system without major collision problems (in 2d no less), I don't know how I'll manage something like an inventory system or quests and such.

[loicmm]

Well, you could also use free game motors such as RPG Maker, Game Maker...
Or if you find by miracle a copy of Elysium Diamond, you could even do a mmorpg! XD
I just totally see it: you're on the map, dueling against another player by shooting triggers xD

[Realm]

Don't think the idea never occured to me! :D

Of course then you'd need someone to host the game on a server and pay for bandwith and blah blah... I know I couldn't be bothered with something like that.

On the other hand, it looks like the program you mentioned is free to download. I wonder how many other engines there are like this out there. Again, the real issue is having a server for this kind of thing. At least the community would be a small one though. :lol:

What I don't like about RPG maker is that the game mechanics are pretty dull and completely set. It's like an old-style JRPG with no sense of real-time urgency.

[Realm]

I've looked into the Morrowind editor and while it's not ideal, it should be theoretically possible to make all the changes necessary for the game. I'm going to go with this option since I'm the only person working on the game, I already have a fairly substantial workload and frankly if I can be bothered putting this much effort into something then people can be bothered forking out a little dough to play it. I'll be going with the Game of the Year version, so people will need to make sure they have the Tribunal and Bloodmoon expansions.

It'll have to wait until the weekend before I can actually start this but after that I'm hoping things will speed up.

[loicmm]

So it's going to be a patch?

(And btw, I can help you, but I dunno how, over the internet xD)

(Oh, and btw, Elysium is designed so a regular computer can be a server, as long as there isn't too many players on at the same time... It can even work in background and you'll barely notice it x3)

[Realm]

I wouldn't be able to volunteer my own computer as a server, since I have a fairly slow connection and a monthly upload\download limit. It would certainly be a nice little addition to the community having its own online world though. Maybe if someone were to offer their own connection it could be possible some time in the future.

Getting a working beta version up and running might be as easy as attaching a script to the event of getting hit by spells, so that an audio file is played when this happens. It wouldn't require any re-writing of the game, but it would only work in some instances. So basically what I think I can do to test if the triggers work while playing a game is to add some special enemies with the script. Then if that works without any problems, I can start working on a fuller mod that utilizes hypnosis in all areas.

Only problem is I don't know if I can use the same trick with other forms of combat. Attaching scripts to items and NPC interaction shouldn't be a problem but getting hit with a sword for example might.

For the time being, regardless of the long-term direction this takes, I think making this into a Morrowind mod will be the fastest and most reliable way of actually testing how well hypnosis works within a game.

[Realm]

I gave it a go, and in virtually a few minutes I made a spell that only has the effect of playing an audio file. The really great thing is it still loads a .wav file that's stored in the game's directory, so you can still swap whatever triggers you decide to use for the game.

I'll start working on a little dungeon level to test out how well it works now. Hopefully this time people will be able to actually move around without too much grief. :roll:

[ziaspet]

oo! Morrowind, i'm glad i came back to check this thread me and my 4 copys of the game will be happy!

could i suggest making sure its compatable with better bodies cause the default humanoid models leave some to be desired

looking forward to this with great anticipation

[darkenedav]

upgrade to oblivion, moding it is easier. plus sexy female models pre-done :D