Tag: Nano

Weekend Update 05-12-13

Some updates from this weekend:

  • UI improvements for the World screen. It still have a ways to go, but it’s a start.
  • Random Monster Encounters! Characters are now hurled into combat randomly when they enter a new location.

Probably going to need to reconjigger Cards and combat again to make room for more complex card interactions. I’d like to avoid making a separate method for each card, but I think some cards will require it.

Thinking about making more complex card interactions means I might have to step my AI’s game up. Perhaps that is where I can begin implementing the learning AI I’ve been wanting to experiment with.

I need to add a lot more content, more Cards, Enemies, Terrains, Items, etc. I’ll make a form that I can use to easily add those things to the database.

I hope to have a veeeeery early build “playable” in a few weeks, if anyone is interested in trying out what I have so far.

Pre-Alpha: World Screen

Here is a preview image of the “World” screen. As a player navigates the world they will be shown artwork for the terrain type they have come upon, as well as a text description.

You can also see the current implementation of the navigation buttons. Which are simply text links for now. As I begin working on the actual user interface these text links will change into buttons with graphics, just like a big boy game!

Codename: Nano

Here is a brief description of the game that I’m developing. Pretty much nothing is set in stone but these are some of the ideas I’m working on and/or implemented already.

Nano is the temporary name of my browser-based, multiplayer  survival game. Nano puts the player in control of a character who explores the world, fighting enemies, getting loot and just trying to survive in the distant future.

Setting

“The distant future you say? Well I’m sure survival is easy in the future! It’s already so easy to live now!” – Some Nerd

“No.” – Me to some nerd

Nano’s set on Earth in the distant future centuries after an apocalyptic event that left very few humans alive. Those that did survive have had to start over, living in small nomadic tribes, living off the land, no longer having access to technology.

Centuries have passed since the apocalyptic event took place and nature has done its thing and reclaimed the land and sea. The Earth is starting to look a lot like it had in the time before humanity ever came around and mucked everything up.

So you’ll be able to piece together more about the world as you roam around. Neat.

Features

  • The world uses procedural generation to build the world as players explore new locations.
  • Survival! Starvation, Dehydration, Disease! All fun ways to die! 
  • Card based combat! As you explore the world you’ll find cards and edit your deck, effectively ‘customizing’ your character. No classes, no levels, that crap is played out.
  • ScoreBoard: Explore, win fights and find stuff to gain points and get ranked against other players.
  • Death is fun! Permanent death! (As see in the hit classic, Real Life!)
  • Multiplayer! I don’t know how exactly yet, but it’s possible… and characters all exist in the same persistent world so it’s just a matter of adding ways for them to interact. Shouldn’t be hard to do, right?
  • Arts! Nice world and character art to look at, so you’ll have something nice to look at while you die of dysentery.
  • And probably more!

Tech Stuff

I’m using C#, asp.net MVC4, and SQL server.

Why these things?

I dunno really. I don’t know enough about all the different options out there to make an informed decision. I just saw what MVC4 could do and was like “Hey! I could make a game with that, I think!” and here we are.

So… what is it, again?

I’m taking inspiration from a few other games:

  • FTL
  • Kingdom of Loathing
  • Magic: The Gathering
  • DayZ
  • Your standard RPGs

Combining aspects of those games and others to make some concoction that I haven’t seen before, but probably already kinda exists because that’s how the world is.

So, those are the basics. I’ve got a long way to go, so let’s see what happens.