Future of my first game
Added 2019-01-22 12:47:33 +0000 UTCHey folks,
as promised, some polls.
First of all, some information.
Amazed (my first game), will be a maze crawler like game.
The goal is to find a power cell, which is randomly spawned inside of the maze and you have to reach it.
The thing is just, that each step takes energy and you only have 200.
When you reach the power cell, then you get 200 additional energy (each time), but the memory consumption per step is increased by 1 too (each time).
Thus, eventually you will run out of energy and that's game over with a final score.
The game itself is fun already and I think I'm releasing it without Alex yet, but she's the one I make the poll about.
Currently there are two main ideas about how she works:
First idea, is that you don't see the power cell location, but can dispatch Alex for 10 energy.
She will learn where the power cell is and guide you. Though, it is only limited steps, so you might have to dispatch her a few times to really learn where something is.
So it is a risk, because it depletes your energy, but also makes it easier to find things.
The other idea puts Alex into a more active role.
Here she will learn side by side and give more hints. She will also have a happiness factor and act differently.
The idea is, to give her more character, which should be learned.
What I mean is, the following: Rules are the same, but she won't cost energy.
Instead she runs the maze by your side and gives you tips.
Her reward is two fold: First, she wants to solve the maze, but also she wants to help.
If you accept her reward, she will be happier and also learn to help you. If you ignore her, then things get more difficult to predict.
She still wants to maximize reward, which includes you accepting her guidance. So, we will see what she does to achieve it.
It's a little more of an experiment and could be fun. It is also a more cooperative way of playing it.
I hope that's understandable on what I want to do. If not, please, please ask.
Another idea is also referring to the power cell.
There are also two ways I can do it: Hide the power cell location, which makes you more dependent on Alex.
Show the power cell location, but add traps.
Both of those ideas influence other mechanics again, but that's the gist.
So you can have Alex, that shows you how to avoid traps or Alex that shows you the way to the power cell. And also a more passive Alex or a more active Alex.
Comments
I had another idea that moo might be able to play around with. The idea is again that of the hidden maze, where rather than having a visible maze and potentially hidden target, you know you location and your target, but you do not know parts of the maze you haven't discovered yet, thus moving about would reveal more and more of the maze. That also gives another angle to Alex's help, namely than rather than try to find the goal or threats she becomes a map maker for you. Perhaps one could add a time factor, so rather than being only energy per step it also costs to merely stand still. The purpose of that would be that you could send out Alex to help map, during which you could choose to either wait, allowing Alex to know her way back to you or go exploring while you wait, which might result in Alex being unable to find you again or taking a long time, thus wasting valuable energy.
Ulvra Silvershade
2019-01-22 22:28:37 +0000 UTC