Life at an underground game company.
Posts tagged Mark
A tale of attributes and marks
21 year ago
by Azrael
in Emerald Kingdom
The problem with a lot of MMORPG’s is that within a month or six, there are recipes for how to build this type, or that type. Where is the fun in that? We here consider the discovery of this or that in relation to character development to be a challenge, and part of the game itself. There is absolutely no benefit to being able to simply follow a recipe for building your character. There is another big thing at play here: experimentation. One of the things I actually like about testing abilities is doing so with others. Experimentation with skills, attributes and abilities with friends is always fun.
So, what are we doing with the character system in Emerald Kingdom? A number of fun things. Let me break out a few things here:
- No numeric stats: This one is easy. Public facing numerics are, in our opinion, bad. They lead to recipes, but more than that, they lead to stat whoring. We don’t like stat whoring. It annoys us. In place of client facing numerics, we will simply move the numbers to the back end, and used named attributes. There are other games which do this, so we are not exactly breaking a mold here.
- Your attributes and stats are not static: they can go up, they can go down. Same with skills. There will be no class locking in Emerald Kingdom. Mainly because, we don’t feel you should have to start over if you are unhappy. This, along with static and numeric stats that can’t be changed amounts to punching the player.
- Plug in attributes: we are working on a system where you can combine the usual and basic six attributes (STR, DEX, INT, VIT, CHA, LUK) into different permutations. Originally, we started with a table like this:
| STR
DEX |
DEX
STR |
CHA
STR |
LUK
STR |
INT
STR |
VIT
STR |
| STR
CHA |
DEX
CHA |
CHA
DEX |
LUK
CHA |
INT
CHA |
VIT
CHA |
| STR
LUK |
DEX
LUK |
CHA
LUK |
LUK
DEX |
INT
LUK |
VIT
LUK |
| STR
INT |
DEX
INT |
CHA
INT |
LUK
INT |
INT
DEX |
VIT
INT |
| STR
VIT |
DEX
VIT |
CHA
VIT |
LUK
VIT |
INT
VIT |
VIT
DEX |
But then, someone (Amesha) pointed out something crucial…
“Unless you plan to weight one stat in each pair more than the other (which I didn’t think you were) those would be a duplicate combination. To put it another way, is 1 + 2 is the same as 2 + 1?”
Great point. We let that sit for awhile, to think about it. We came up with another wonderful table at that point, (this time with some ideas for the names of the stats):
| STR | DEX | CHA | LUK | INT | VIT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| STR | NULL | Power | Magnetism | Appearance | Resoluteness | Vigor |
| DEX | NULL | NULL | Artistry | Aptitude | Cleverness | Quickness |
| CHA | NULL | — | NULL | Glamor | Charm | Serendipity |
| LUK | NULL | — | — | NULL | Guile | Presence |
| INT | NULL | — | — | — | NULL | Verve |
| VIT | NULL | — | — | — | — | NULL |
But then, as we were getting StoryTeller to connect to the main server, I made mention of the whole 1+2 = or != to 2+1 argument. To which someone pointed out: using a system where STR+DEX does something different than DEX+STR would make for an awesome discovery moment for a player. Especially because there are no numerics visible to the player. It provides for an “oh wow” moment. Another made a comment that, until this is play tested we have no real way of knowing.
I think, however…this is how I am going to lean in terms of Attributes. So, we will probably wind up with a table that looks like:
| STR | DEX | CHA | LUK | INT | VIT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| STR | NULL | Power | Magnetism | Appearance | Resoluteness | Vigor |
| DEX | Named | NULL | Artistry | Aptitude | Cleverness | Quickness |
| CHA | Named | Named | NULL | Glamor | Charm | Serendipity |
| LUK | Named | Named | Named | NULL | Guile | Presence |
| INT | Named | Named | Named | Named | NULL | Verve |
| VIT | Named | Named | Named | Named | Named | NULL |
Of course, we will need to come up with some more names for attribute permutations. Another thing we will have to think about is, which stat wins in a permutation? Backend wise, if STR has a weighted average score higher than DEX, how does that work not only for STR+DEX, but how does that affect DEX+STR? Something we need to carefully think about. But in the end this will give us a great spread for the Mark system.
For every major NPC (In the world of Emerald Kingdom, these are called “Sprites”, not to be confused with the term “sprite” or gamesprite”), there is a mark that can be attained. Confusia can mark a player with “The mark of curiousity”, Beatrice has the “Mark of Beatrice”, etc. These will act as attainable buffs for attributes and skills. This is important, because it allows for a great deal of flexibility. Marks will have other subtle effects as well, in terms of how people or other NPC’s view you in the world. People will percieve you differently based on whether you have been marked by say, Colleda as opposed to Taranis.
The Attribute and Skill system is still in the design phase, to be sure. But we have some pretty nifty ideas we want to play with here. Balancing it will be a big thing on the to-do list. But, overall…we believe it’s going to allow for maximum customization, without the need for a really complex interface to do so.
Now to come up with some more names for that table…
The under-representation of women and girls in games.
01 year ago
The difference between indie houses and the big corporate machine: indie houses innovate, corporate machines generate.
You already knew this, right? One area where this smacks hardest is the role of the women in games. Recently, I saw a retweet Brooke did from cuppy of Metaplace fame.
You can find the direct link here. But the main gist of it…
- *whine* Women are HARD.
- *whine* Women are EXPENSIVE.
- *whine* We cant break stuff if we put women in games.
- *whine* Games would be so much more profound if we didnt have to think about gender. (They actually used Ms. Pac-Man as an example. LOLWUT?)
We here at Double Cluepon have something to say about that…
- What a load of crap. Seriously. What a complete load of utter crap. (It’s 2010, and you’re using the same excuses people use to keep women from advancing in other areas. Thanks for injecting it in game design, an area these attitudes have no place in.)
- What an excuse to not innovate.
- Women should not be excluded because of the outcome of a biological circumstance.
- Women are awesome characters, and should be used more, not less often.
This is where indie houses come in. When you want to generate money, you use the tried and true formula. When you want to innovate, you get all experimenty. =) This is where love of game design comes into play. There is room for both camps, to be sure. That being said, I will repeat here, my response to Brooke:
We know about this problem, and we plan to do something about it.
Emerald Kingdom has the average male representation. However, it has an above average female representation. The background, the story, the content…we wanted something different. Not for the sake of being different, but because doing it made sense. Sprites (our Major NPC Class) in Emerald Kingdom? There are 26 main Sprites handling skill Marks. Out of those 26: 16 are female, 10 are male. Is the story and content totally centered around the feminine aspect of things? Certainly not. I can tell you straight up: there is definitely something for everybody. But do males need to dominate? Do they need to be there to “drive the game” or “push the story?”
Nope. They sure do not. Women can be just as evil as the men. They can be just as conniving. They can also be just as kind, and spirited. Beatrice, Avatea, Para and Confusia…Pearly…Thrynity. Notice a theme here? We are not making a female centric game, but we are paying attention, not only to our market…
We are paying attention to a far more important opportunity: the opportunity to innovate.
As the Sprites are the major NPC’s of the game, and interaction with them will be a Big Thing, it’s important to get story and character design right. I am sure there are those out there that believe doing something more male centric is a slam dunk. I am sure you could find elevendy billion focus groups to agree with that. But, honestly? Where is the fun in that? What’s more, if you are NOT having fun in this business, and wont eat your own dog food…
You have no business designing games in the first place. At the very least, you need to do some serious soul searching.
So, wrapping up: we know about this issue. We think we can represent women, and men…in a strong manner, and in such a way that does not relegate women to the role of decorated fluff.
New art, promo, and WireWork updates.
01 year ago
by Azrael
in Emerald Kingdom
Short form today, we wanted to release some updates on how WireWorks is coming along. While it’s a bit behind schedule, it is coming along nicely. All the basic gameplay mechanics have been coded, now it’s on to some of the trickier game logic. We have a great deal of code work ahead of us in the coming months, which is why we are looking around for another developer. Meanwhile, while we conduct our talent search, work goes on. Here are some updated shots of WireWorks:
Some more UI elements have been coded in...
And gel now flows through the circuits....
While programming is working on WireWorks, our art department is working on two things: drill downs of concepts into gamesprites, and paints of concept artwork. Every so often, we like to release a promo of a Sprite. Sprites are the Major NPC class in Emerald Kingdom; they are central to the theme of the world. They will be very interactive, and their impact on the game play will be significant. We do not release every bit of art we complete…but this Sprite is special.
Meet Pearly. She is, without a doubt, one of the more aloof ones...
Meet Pearly. She is one of our more aloof characters, both in design and in how we plan to structure her mannerisms. Pearly is based on someone we actually know and love. We wanted to do right by her, as she supplied me with a plethora of ideas from a player perspective. She also contributed heavily to my thinking in the way of NPC to Player interactions. See, it’s one thing to say you want to do things differently, but if you want to do things differently…well, that means talking to people who play and love games. Pearly is one of those people.
Pearly the Sprite will be a special Sprite, she will dole out a system mark: The Mark of Love. Emerald Kingdom will allow social play in the area of character marriage. When that happens, Pearly will arrive and mark the characters as such. In the real world, Pearly asked that her namesake be a bit of a vagabond of sorts. So one of the behavior models being put together for Pearly the sprite is right up that alley. You may find her ranting about needing a brush, or a day spa…or find her napping on a park bench. Hardly a moron however, she figures in some of the backstory being developed. She can be a powerful and insightful force.
As usual, when we release concept art, when we can we like to release some wallpaper. Pearly is no exception:
Pearly Promo 3
We have released these on our DeviantArt channel, and you can find them there for the taking.
We hope you enjoy them. We want to shout out to Pearly for letting us use her for the game. =)
Jogging through waist high Jell-O.
02 years ago
by Azrael
in Emerald Kingdom
This week has had moments where it was slow going. But, it also has had some moments where things went very very quickly. Overall, it’s been a very good week. We should be wrapping up on all the main model roughs by tomorrow. Painting them will start next week. But, thus far, here is a small sample of what you have to look forward to. We decided to share some of the Sprite model roughs with you. As we mentioned before, Sprites are a major NPC type. So, in addition to sharing the models, we also wanted to give you a bit of information on what to expect from them.
Pearly. A living non sequitur. Handle with oven mitts.
Pearly:
We worked on Pearly quite a bit. The thing about her is that she is a very aloof girl. Pearly is a Sprite who is reponsible for the Mark of Love. She will bestow this on players who marry within The Emerald Kingdom. Despite this, it will not be unusual to find her sleeping on a bench in town, or raving incoherently about spa’s and having her nails done. She may come to a wedding and offer advice about good divorce attorney’s. She’s just that kind of fun. Sometimes inappropriate, sometimes just over the line…but lovable nontheless.
Pearly is a Sprite we had a great deal of fun designing. While a lot of it was piecing together things from photos, and elements from other sources, it ultimately came down to trying to do justice to a person who yells “FACIAL SPA TREATMENT!” for no particular reason. (Pearly is based on a person we know.)
With that kind of in your face attitude, we did not want to diminish the real value of the character with less than a full effort. Pearly is one of our favorite Sprites. We cannot wait to drop her into Emerald Kingdom.
We hope you come to enjoy her in the game as much as we enjoyed designing her.
Malleus. Mister Machine.
Malleus:
We had a great deal of trouble designing Malleus. But then, sometimes some of the more in depth characters give you the most trouble. You start to get afraid that you are not installing a good window of insight into what the character is about. We sometimes worry that we might fail to properly present a model. Not just to the public, but to ourselves. These concept models are what we use to create the gamesprites you will see. They will influence Emerald Kingdom for years to come. The models can set the tone.
Malleus is a complex Sprite. He has some issues, but he has a heart of gold. He’s a pretty central character, and he hands out the Mark of Mecha/Machine. (We have not decided on the exact mark name yet. Don’t want to be too cliche!). Malleus is a disciplined, and orderly fellow who started life in the old days as a soldier. He understands the nature of tools to get a job done, be it technological…or a group of men.
The writer called for a Kurt Russell type of character for Malleus. While we wanted some of the Kurt Russell seriousness, in designing Malleus, we had all sorts of problems. He kept looking too much like Guile for awhile, or an unholy mixture of Kurt Russell and Guile. Eventually, he started to emerge. Now he looks a bit stately, and as a General from the ancient times…he was a well versed combat man.
We definitely are looking forward to seeing this one get a coat of paint.
Thrynity. Poison is poison, no matter how you dress it up.
Thrynity.
Thrynity. We had very little doubt as to how she would eventually turn out. Thrynity is one of those women who have impeccable style, and have no problem letting others know this. Thrynity doles out the Mark of Poison. The important thing to remember here is poison is not always the kind you imbibe through your mouth, or your skin. It can be mental. The Mark of Poison will be useful for the deception and criminal class of character.
When we designed Thrynity, we knew she was going to be a very pretty woman. What we did not know was whether or not she was going to be the heavy type of woman, who swings hard…and dresses like a badass. We found her though..to be better treated as subtle. Poison is subtlety in one of it’s highest forms.
Thrynity is going to be a townie. You will see her, and she will be one of those Sprites who interacts quite a bit with the people. Just remember to ask yourself if what you are hearing might be a lie wrapped in truth. Thrynity will always love dropping little bombs on people. It will be up to the player to decide how much veracity to give her.
Tellerpen. Always check to see if the dice are loaded.
Tellerpen.
Tellerpen has an interesting history. Early in development, it was recognized that a “Trickster” was going to be needed. Loki has been done to death, and nobody wanted Rumpelstiltskin. In our development wiki, he started out with the name Loki, despite nobody wanting it. Time went on and as we started to develop Kerix, Tellerpen started to take shape.
Named after Penn and Teller, he is the pinnacle in now you see it, now you don’t. Thats why he is the bearer of the Mark of Trickery. It will be another useful mark for those people who enjoy criminality, or deception classes. While Tellerpen will definitely been on the lookout for people to beguile, it’s important to realize that while he will be a pain, he is not stripped of Altruism. He just loves the thrill of the better mental mousetrap. He is the type to play with his food, but he may at least make it enjoyable for the prey as well.
Trickery with no soul, at the core of it is evil personified We have one of those. Kerix. Tellerpen is more concerned with simply having fun at the expense of others, or having fun playing one group against another and standing back to watch the outcome. He will be another Sprite to keep an eye out for…if only to be careful.
Beatrice. Note that she is still not a soccer mom.
Beatrice.
Now that we have thrown out some of the medium to heavy hitters in the Sprite category, I thought we might also throw out a finished model we did this week. We have always had an issue with the original Beatrice models. They were too happy, too buoyant. They never matched the style we had developed using Avatea. We tried more than a few times from scratch with Beatrice. Each time, we wound up putting her aside to do other things. That all changed this week. We finally managed to capture the mother of Confusia and Paranoia. We brought her out, and gave her a look that tells you what Beatrice is all about.
Now she looks like she has the experience of her many years. She looks like she has the mileage you would expect her too. Young looking. Her eyes look older than she does. That’s an important feature. Beatrice holds the Mark of Mind. She is more balanced than you might think. She sees things in ways nobody else does. While she has a great deal of concern for her children, she shelters them a bit too much. If you look into her eyes you can see why: she thinks by sheltering them she can avoid them having her eyes. Note also, we removed her broad belt, moved her keepsake to a necklace, and added some embroidery to her pants. All in all…a great new design we are satisfied with, and completely in love with.
We have to say, we have been enjoying this week of Concept Artwork. We are nearly at the point where we have everything we need for version 1. Once we get this week’s work done, it will be time to create gamesprites, textrures, etc from the models we have produced this week. In short, we still have a lot of work. But we are many steps closer now.
To celebrate the new Beatrice model, we are going to re-issue her wallpapers with the new artwork. Enjoy.
Wallpaper Promo 1
Wallpaper Promo 2
Sprites and other NPC’s.
12 years ago
by Azrael
in Emerald Kingdom
We have planned for two classes of NPC in Emerald Kingdom. The first class of NPC will be nearly the standard variety of a Non Player Character. As I said yesterday, NPC’s need to evolve. So when I say nearly the standard, I mean just that. These are NPC’s which will help populate the starter towns, and be there for interaction. They will differ in that they will not simply be Quest Vending Machines. When they do deal out quests, how and when they do so will be vastly different.
The other class of NPC will be the Sprites, not to be confused with sprites. Note the capitalization. In the Emerald Kingdom, Sprites refer to a race of people. The Sprites, from a story standpoint, are the result of some pretty violent evolutionary changes. Getting back to the point however, Sprites will be an integral part of what I discussed yesterday: linear story and quest lines. Sprites and Sprite politics will be areas in and of themselves available to explore. How Sprites relate to the players, and the regular people NPC’s will be one of the big parts of Emerald Kingdom. In keeping with our view of choice, it will be your choice to get involved or to not get involved. There will be plenty of other things to do, see, and be a part of. There will also be other quests and missions to perform.
One part of Sprite life however, will be unavoidable. Marks. Sprites are classified, at least for us on a development standpoint as positive and negative. They each have their own mark. Kerix is responsible for the Mark of Greed. Beatrice gives out the Mark of Mind. Cries gives out the Mark of Grief. Each of these marks are given out based on the things you do within the world. When you receive a Mark, it affects your character stats and attributes. However, there is a kicker here: whether those changes are for good or for bad, will be for you the player to decide. While negative Sprites may be evil, or not very good…their Mark may have specific benefits to you. Some Sprites may be positive, upbeat, non bad and completely good. But if you are a part of the spy class, you may not want Marcia Proba’s Mark of Justice. Of course, certain types of Marks will be system related. The aforementioned Mark of Grief will be doled out by Cries. She will give it to people who have been caught griefing other players.
The Mark system will be fairly dynamic. Ultimately, it will be very intimately enmeshed with the skill and attribute system. We will be talking about skills and attributes in another post. But, one thing I would like to relay here is: there will be no need to have character “rebirth” or stat “resets”. Attributes will be non numerical, and be changeable over time. The Mark system will work hand in glove with this system. It will allow for new ways of customizing your character.
In closing, we think dynamic questing and dynamic attributes and customization with Sprites and Marks is going to be something you, the player will absolutely love. We here at Double Cluepon really cannot wait to try it.
