No Time To Play

It’s been almost a year since I last looked into IF authoring systems, and the market has shifted again. A Hugo title became the most talked about game in 2011 — one that features extensive multimedia and random combat to boot. Yay for Cryptozookeeper! There is also an ever-increasing number of (choice-based) Web games, outnumbering those written for my new favorite platform, TADS 3.

Speaking of that, soon after a new release of TADS came out with Web play support, thus bringing the old powerhouse in line with its main competitor, the news spread like fire that a new online service came out enabling people to author Inform 7 stories online. To top it all, mere days later the young Quest system announced official support for a similar feature!

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As promised last time, I got around to setting up a new website for Ramus. Right now, it contains the exact same information as the original web page, except this time it has room to grow. And because it’s a wiki, you can suggest additions directly inline! See you there, and thanks.

Remember Ramus? I can’t blame you if you don’t — the last update was half a year ago. But recently, a new user (hi, John!) pointed out some missing stuff in Ramus, such as an example of how to link to multiple fragments at once, or include a fragment inside another. (The latter doesn’t work, by the way. See the F.A.Q.)

I also want to write some documentation, including a getting started guide, but that will require setting up a proper website for Ramus first, instead of a simple homepage. I’ll get around to it, just not right away. Thanks for your patience.

So, the project that has kept me busy as of late has ended, poorly (making current again something I wrote over a year ago). But all my recent reading triggered something in me, and instead of going back to coding games, I started writing fiction again for the first time in years. And this time, it seems I’m onto something.

As an amusing coincidence, the issue of storytelling in games has recently resurfaced. You may have noticed Kelketek’s earlier post, but the Rampant Coyote also chimed in, even twice, not to mention this post on how improvisational theater can inform game stories. And it just happens that storytelling is the one other skill (beyond coding and art) I need in order to make serious games.

But first to get something done.

Two gaming publications have just announced that they’re closing down. That in itself is no big deal, except perhaps for the timing. What is interesting is the different ways it was handled.

On the one hand we have the GamePro magazine issuing a press release a mere week in advance (which promptly drew the ire of Internet archivist Jason Scott). On the other hand, we have GameSetWatch explaining their reasons in a very personal manner, and explicitly promising to keep the website online.
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Work has ramped up as of late, preventing me from working on my projects much. On the plus side, I’m in a mood to write code again, though not on my existing games. But mostly, I’ve been thinking about art.

Among other things, I joined OpenGameArt and contributed some art I had laying around. For all that people make fun of programmer graphics, one of my submissions was actually appreciated. Having been made with a clear purpose in mind must have something to do with that.

I’ve also made another raytraced scene, and thinking of more. One of these days, maybe I’ll have enough of them to inspire an adventure game.

But first, to get my work/life balance back into shape. See you around.

Software developers are willing to put up with a lot for the chance to earn a little money. (Hello, Web agencies!) This is most visible in the iPhone market, which has two very onerous barriers to entry:

1. you have to own a Mac and
2. you must pay a $99 developer fee just to test your own apps on the device you bought honestly.

Despite these obstacles, the official Apple app store has enjoyed a veritable gold rush (which, like in history, has benefitted few people, often not those who took risks and toiled). This may have something to do with the fact that many developers already own a Mac, and you can at least develop your app without asking for permission.

This is not a given, however.

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This is undoubtedly no big deal for most game developers, but all my games have been mute so far. Not by choice, either. I know people who are equally good programmers, artists and musicians, but that’s hard. Those of us who are more specialized have few real options:
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I finally took a break from game development this week, mostly due to my brain refusing to focus on anything resembling code. So instead I’ve been following news more closely than usual, and making plans.

On the news side, the 2011 Interactive Fiction Competition is in full swing, and looking good. There’s a good handful of CYOA titles, mostly browser-based, and at least two experimental works. A refreshing variety of authoring systems are represented, including Alan and the reborn Quest, and the comp enjoys mainstream coverage. As a minus, not only there are still untested games being entered, but I caught one author openly advertising that!

Let’s make one thing clear: a game that hasn’t been beta-tested is half-finished at best. I don’t care if it’s as simple as Hamurabi, it will have issues. Don’t open it up to the public in that state.

In the way of plans, I’ve decided to pause the development of Dungeon Romp for now, and start a more streamlined, graphical roguelike instead. It will be based on a novel concept, and make a better browser game, in addition to being portable. When I resume work on Dungeon Romp, it will be running in the natural environment of traditional roguelikes: a Unix terminal. That way I hope to satisfy both casual and hardcore players without too many compromises.

But first I have some other things to get out of the way.

After a week of barely adding anything to Dungeon Romp, I have to admit being overtaken by burnout again.

On the plus side, I’ve added the all-important time management, and it shows. Also, mobs can now have natural armor, and defense is no longer based off the same attribute as attack. That should allow considerably more tactical diversity… once I get around to taking advantage of it. The bug where a mob other than the player could trigger the end of the demo is gone, too. Last but not least, now there can be non-portable items, good for making signage and such.

On the minus side, it’s obvious to me now that three levels aren’t nearly enough even for a demo. So much for my code size target. Of course, adding another set of levels is a whole can of worms. And I still have to add ranged combat. At least now I know how. Probably.

But first, a break from programming. See you around.