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Post by Dungeon Warden on Apr 14, 2005 19:18:55 GMT -5
Le, la, and Les all mean 'the' (male, female, and plural). La Lune means the moon.
Scientist tend to use the Latin names because latin is a dead langrage and they don't have to worry about the meaning of the words changing. There is no reason that your would couldn't have many names depending on the area the characters live in.
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Post by Dungeon Warden on Apr 13, 2005 17:25:26 GMT -5
Because anyone can see thousands of stars in the sky and therefore a name for our own star is required to distinguish it from the others. There is only one viewable moon and so it is refered to as The Moon. Scientists called our moon Luna when it was discovered that there were other moons in the solar system. It is hard to convince people to use the name when they are so used to calling it the moon and everyone knows what they're talking about.
What this all comes down too is that you only need a name when you need to distinguish it from something else. In the case of the planet, a name was needed not to distinguish it from other planets, but to distinguish the planet from the different countries and areas that make up the planet.
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Post by Dungeon Warden on Apr 13, 2005 16:33:51 GMT -5
Our planet has had a name since language was first developed. The name often refered to the stuff you walk on rather then the concept of a globe, but there has always been a name to refer to the known world, whatever the concept of the world was at the time. In some cultures the name is now used to refer to the land the people live on rather than the whole world, but their land was the whole world when they named it.
I suppost in depends on the political climate of the culture. In an area like Europe, where there were many cultures fighting for the same land, a name would be needed to refer to the world regardless of who owned it at the time. In a secluded area inhabited by one people, the land and the world would be the same.
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Post by Dungeon Warden on Aug 11, 2006 19:57:17 GMT -5
I have no way to make a screen shot. I'll have to get Reality Bites or someone to take a screen shot once I get the new demo done.
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Post by Dungeon Warden on Aug 11, 2006 18:19:39 GMT -5
Strange, the link works fine for me.
I've been inspired to make my own VFX character because of Dark Horizons (and others). Look for my sexy secretary in my next demo.
Keep up the great work!
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Post by Dungeon Warden on Jul 30, 2006 19:16:57 GMT -5
Why would you have by-pass objects on? If you're trying to show how good your VFX is, shouldn't you have it being blocked by moving NPCs just like a normal character. It's strange to see characters walk into the effect.
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Post by Dungeon Warden on Jul 30, 2006 19:08:52 GMT -5
Very good job. The character looks very well done.
Strange, why does the VFX walk through NPCs. Isn't there a character under the effect?
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Post by Dungeon Warden on Mar 21, 2005 14:25:02 GMT -5
If found the new version easier than the last version but it was still hard. I haven't played it much since I was working on my own mini game (it should be available here soon or you can go to the Pavilionboards.com/forums to get it). I'll play it some more next weekend and see how far I can get.
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Post by Dungeon Warden on Feb 15, 2005 12:09:37 GMT -5
I had a hard time getting the dragon to move toward a corner, so these suggestions might be more helpful. Thanks again.
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Post by Dungeon Warden on Feb 13, 2005 19:29:35 GMT -5
Ah, yes. [] is a content script, the rest are action. got you. That makes sense. Still you could use the content script to warp the player to the beginning of the level when he pressed [].
You could have a multi-choice on []:
1. Restart level 2. Restart game 3. Quit 4. Continue
then if someone pressed [] by mistake, they could select 4. to continue the game (this can also be used to pause the game).
I'll try your suggestions. Trapping the enemy in a corner would make bombing them easier. Thanks.
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Post by Dungeon Warden on Feb 13, 2005 14:48:27 GMT -5
Not only does the game exit if you die, it also quits if you hit []. What genius thought [] was a good button to use to end the game? It is way too easy to hit [] by accident. Why doesn't [] heal you and select quit instead? I really don't understand what you were thinking.
How hard is it to save two variables (hearts and bombs) so you can restart a level instead of having to start all over again?
It takes 20-25 bombs to defeat the first enemy leaving you 5-10 for the next level. You are them given 10 more for a total of 15-20 making it nearly impossible to take out the second target. If you try to save bombs, the enemy keeps recovering making it impossible to take him out the first time. I don't know how much you play tested this, but you'd have to be very good to make it to the third level.
If you bomb the heck out of the target, you are almost guarenteed to get hurt. Since the enemy recovers, and you don't, there is really little hope of getting very far whatever you do.
Please use a special effect to show the areas the bomb targets - including color coding the distance. ex. red (around the bomb) does 2 damage, orange (one space away) does 1 damage, and yellow (three spaces) stuns the enemy/ player (see option 4 below for an expansion of this idea). Visual clues are welcome in any game.
You should make vibration available from the beginning. Since you can't feel or see the bomb go off, there is no way to know if you are a safe distance away or not. You really don't have time to count squares.
Suggestions:
1. Get rid of the bomb limit and put in a time limit instead.
2. Limit the bombs but give the player a way to get more. For example, the player has to waste time, allowing the enemy to recover, while he runs to a bomb restock area.
3. Don't allow the enemy to recover. This would allow the player more time to place bombs and get away without having to worry about the enemy recoving while he runs around. This would make the game more strategic as the player tries to use as few bombs as possible to take the enemy out.
4. Give the character a weapon so he can stun the enemy before placing the bomb. This would allow the current game play to work since one of the problems is the enemy moves away from the bomb before it goes off.
5. Do it like Zelda, and have the enemy eat the bomb. This is similar to the above but removes the need for a weapon. The player then needs to place the bomb in the correct place before it goes off. This would also reduce the chance of the player getting hurt.
6. Give the player a number of lives and start the current level over when he dies. If all lives are lost, restart the game. DON'T quit the game unless the player wants to quit (offer a menu choice).
7. Increase number of enemies each level and/or make them move faster. Allow the player to heal and get bombs at specific points on the map. Let the enemy damage the character if he touches them. I think this would be more fun then the current style of game play.
This is a very fustrating game, however I wanted to keep playing because it is a fun idea. The best games start out slow and easy, giving the player a chance to learn the system, and then slowly get more difficult. This game is difficult to even get passed the first level. You should be able to do the first 3-4 levels at least before it gets this hard.
Keep working on it. The idea has some real potential.
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Post by Dungeon Warden on Mar 22, 2005 15:41:25 GMT -5
As long as it is easy to figure out, keeping it a secert would be all right. A little trial and error never hurt anyone. However, if you are never sure if you made the right choice, it could be problematic. In this case, some hint of what Chrome or stat is best should be given.
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Post by Dungeon Warden on Mar 21, 2005 15:01:47 GMT -5
It looks like you put a lot of work into the background of your game. Your characters are well though out and developed. But how far are you in actually getting the game done? A lot of people talk about how great their game will be but they rarely get past the first town and a dungeon. Your game sounds impressive, but I want to play it not just read about it. Show me the demo.
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Post by Dungeon Warden on Mar 16, 2005 13:14:25 GMT -5
1) What is the plot of the antagonist?
A. The goal of the antagonist is to keep the protagonist motivated to continue, although he is usually trying to do the opposite. My antagonists goal is power, but not control of the world. He has more personal problems to deal with.
2) Is it possible to make the player "love" the villian more than the hero?
A. I'm sure this is possible, but not very wise. There should be a point in which the player must defeat the antagonist and by this point the player should hate him and want him to die.
3) You know you really wanna see the villians main plan come to fruition, right?
A. A great story can include the villian's plans succeeding, but not at the falling of the hero. It is at the climax, when the villian seems to have won that the hero suddenly i) realizes the villans weakness, ii) understands a clue he was told, iii) overcomes his fear, iv) is saved by someone he saved earlier, v) etc. so he can defeat the villian and/or ruin his plans. This is the key moment of suspence that is often lacking in RPGs and many novels. The worst thing to do is have the hero win through no effort of his own (a magic weapon or an ally) or doing something he should have done before.
That said, my game will have several outcomes, including failure on the part of the hero - but the story will continue with an extra quest to stop things from getting worse.
4)The villians lackeys. Cooler than the Villian?
A. This is often the case because the hero deals with the lackeys throughout the story and usually only sees the villian at the end.
My game will have several lackeys that the hero needs to defeat. Each one is different and might be considered cooler than the main villian. That is still being worked on.
5)After all the hype, build up and power monging, who misses the villian when he loses?
A. I hope that with all the build up and suspence through out the game, defeating the villian will give the player a sense of relief and a desire to play again. My game is story driven and should work to build a connection between the hero and the villian.
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Post by Dungeon Warden on Mar 31, 2005 21:58:18 GMT -5
In my game (as anyone who's played the demo will know), there is no lackeys or villian at the begining. It is the trap laden dungeon who is the main adversary. You are trying to catch the robber who stold the crown but it is a while before you catch up to him.
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Post by Dungeon Warden on Mar 31, 2005 10:49:41 GMT -5
The main villian in my game will be met by the characters early in the game as a side story to looking for the crown. You don't know who the villian is until the end when you finally confront him, although you will hear many stories along the way (but only if you look for them) that will let you know what you are up against.
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Post by Dungeon Warden on Mar 10, 2005 10:32:20 GMT -5
It would depend on what the object is. If it's something that can be made or bought, Ebay would probably be a good place to look. If it is an hystoric relic, then reading historic text books and searching for the information online (using several search engines) would be the way to go.
Finding the actual item may require a Raiders of the Lost Arc type of search, which, as any archeologist can tell you, can be a long, expensive, and often fruitless task.
You need to track down the last person who saw it and check the local legends in that area to find out where the item might possibly be. If no one has found it yet, then it must either be well hidden (buried) or in a dangeous spot (ex. The treasure of Oak Island). Once you get close, it is just a mather of trial and error until you either find it or give up trying.
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Post by Dungeon Warden on Apr 6, 2005 16:24:35 GMT -5
There is a condition I sometimes see in stories which I call the passive hero syndrome. This is when the hero is either forced or chooses to sit and watch events unfold without doing anything. This includes being saved by a magic item (usually a sword) they have no control over, being saved by the "calvary" (basically anyone who comes and saves the hero), or the hero is too weak or uncaring to do anything.
The player should feel in control at all times and it is fustrating when that control is lost. If fighting a bad guy is something they want to do, then they should be allowed to do it. The reverse is also true, if the character wanted to save a bad guy who isn't that bad, they should have that option. Sometimes the story requires bad things to happen that unset the player, and that is all right as long as it is well planned out. If the player doesn't understand the reason they can't do what they want it is upsetting. Basically, it depends on the set up and ongoing story. Every detail needs to be taken into account. Don't remove an option for the player because it would be 'cool,' only do it because it is an interracial part of the overall story line.
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Post by Dungeon Warden on Mar 15, 2005 20:51:21 GMT -5
Very interesting. Speculation has begun.
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Post by Dungeon Warden on Mar 14, 2005 16:25:17 GMT -5
A battle arena would have to be more interesting that the regular battles your characters fight. I thing the area can be both part of the main story and an optional mini-game as well. This means expanding the game with enough extra content that people will want to keep fighting in the area after the important story related parts are done with.
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Post by Dungeon Warden on Mar 11, 2005 21:26:30 GMT -5
Story line and the battle system are the two things that make or break a game for me. If the stories not interesting and the battles are boring, I get pretty tied of the whole game. I play RPGs for the story and I don't like it when the battle system gets in the way. However, if the battle system (including leveling up) is fun, I might ignore to story for a while just to level up to see what new abilities I gain. Everything else is just gravy - nice to have but they're not nessicary.
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Post by Dungeon Warden on Jan 25, 2005 12:25:50 GMT -5
Oh, that's right. I was trying the figure out how it differered the message depending on what you do. Since all the error numbers are not used, there may actually be a number for pressing the /\ button, but the programers left it blank because there is no way to tell if the player is trying to talk or examine. It might be worth investigation. (*make note to self: check this out*)
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Post by Dungeon Warden on Jan 24, 2005 18:38:59 GMT -5
It should be pretty obvious when you look at the messages. I think 3 and 4 are the look and talk error messages (I know they are near the top). Talk says "There is no one to talk to." and look says "You look at the ground ... and see nothing." Just remove these messages and put in a call script to a content script. Error Messages is a system event, so content scripts will work just like with the [] button.
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Post by Dungeon Warden on Jan 23, 2005 23:00:32 GMT -5
You might have second thought once you actually look at the script. It's long and handles a lot of errors, some dealing with build in commands (like message speed and the afore mentioned number input command). Since the error message script runs automatically when an error occures it would actually make scripting easier to just change the messages, them to try to write your own.
One of the best uses of the error messages is the errors for talk and look. These basically allow you to program the /\ button to do something else if there is no event to talk to or examine. I think someone mentioned using it to steal from NPCs by selecting search (changing the name) when standing next to an event.
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Post by Dungeon Warden on Apr 28, 2006 19:14:57 GMT -5
Looks like Leef meets all your considerations, Solemn Truth.
I agree that a name is just a name (see My Wii discussion). It might seem strange at first but you get used to it the more you use it.
I also think the name should be short (or at least have a short form that most people use), be similar to other people from the same culture (people from different areas can have different sounding names though), and shouldn't be too bland or weird. Having a name that fits the character is aways a good thing to do.
One other tip is to avoid giving characters names that start with the same letter, especially if the names have a similar number of letters. When using fantasy names especially, it's easy to get similar looking names mixed up.
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