Life at an underground game company.
Posts tagged Skills
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
Full Steam Ahead
22 years ago
Now that the holiday’s are over, it’s time for us to plunge full time back into the fray. While we here at Double Cluepon took time off for the holiday’s, we still worked off and on. We should be releasing some fun artwork progressions in the next few days, as well as some isometric sketch models. That being said, we want to give you a run down on what to expect over the next couple month:
- Over the course of the next month, we will be readying our first skill based “Quickplay” game. We do not have a title for it yet, but we think you will find it fun. It involves building things. While we will be releasing it as a standalone, it will also be a part of the regular Emerald Kingdom game. Practice practice practice.
- One of the other things we have cooking, is getting you some story materials related to the game. Be on the lookout in February, we should be announcing something in the first week of that month.
- Another thing that has recently started being heavily developed is the battle system. Right now, we are focusing on the one to one battle system (player vs spawn, player vs player, etc). In addition, items items items! So be on the lookout for more art, and coming soon…
- Actual gamesprite models. Stuff you will see in game.
- Sando!
- Once we have an alpha of the new quickplay ready, we will be looking for some folks to help test it. The alpha test will be by invite only. Leave a comment if you’re interested in helping test.
- Right now, emeraldkingdom.com and emeraldkingdom.net are not active. That will change upon release of the first quickplay. Initially, we will be making the forums available, followed by some more content goodies.
Wrapping up, we feel 2010 is going to be a very exciting year. Emerald Kingdom is coming. Tell your friends, your family, your sister or brother. Tell anyone who will listen. We intend to have an invite only Alpha period, followed by a lengthy public beta. Right now, our timeframe is roughly April/May for the Alpha, with the Beta to follow once we have major bugs squished. As usual, we will keep you updated here, as well as our usual channels: DeviantArt, Facebook, Twitter, etc.
Elphie takes shape…
02 years ago
Elphie. NPC who will be starring in our first quickplay
Elphie has begun to take shape. We have three different “classes” of NPC in Emerald Kingdom. Sprites, Major NPC’s and Minor NPC’s. We elected to divide them up based on their duties within the game. Elphie is going to be the main focus of our first quickplay game, which has a working title of “Junk Dreams”. Elphie and her husband Roar (Roar is still being worked on.) run the “Junkworks”, which will be a main shop within the game. At the Junkworks, you can use raw & salvaged material to create weapons & armor.As weapons, armor and gel are very significant to the game you will be spending time there. Be it for the purpose of making gel cores or creating rail weaponry.
Elphie though, well, she is going to be the person who is there for our first crafting & skill puzzle. When you go to a Junkworks, it will be to buy, sell, trade or directly create “hard” types of items you may want or need.
So, we have been working hard this last week or so on NPC’s, Gameboard/Tile design. Nothing too glamorous. Nonetheless, I wanted folks to know we are still alive and kicking, just busy. Busy busy. Between art production, and trying to network and pull together brand and community…we have been a busy bunch of people.
Till the next update!
Ja Mata!
Power is everything.
02 years ago
by Azrael
in Emerald Kingdom
Today’s post will somewhat lead into Thursday’s post about economies. Mainly because in addition to a monetary economic system, we foresee the evolution of a sub economy related to what we refer to as “Gel Tech”.
In Emerald Kingdom, Gel is a naturally occurring substance. It’s available anywhere. But, let’s break it down. From our notes: “Gel is the basic raw energy form used in the game. In its unrefined form, it is found at breech points around the land. “ I do not want to reveal a whole bunch of detail on the actual system just yet. I will say that there is a two part process for getting Gel into a usable form. The first part is finding & collecting it. The second part is refining it.
However, let me just state equivocally: In the Emerald Kingdom, power is going to be kind of a big deal. It will power your armor. It will fuel your artillery. It will be used in synthesizing items such as potions and heals. It will be used to construct things. Your weapons will use it. Your crafting will use it. It will be a system almost unto itself. That being said, we do not want Gel to be a scarce commodity. We want it to be pretty common. However, the refined forms…especially the ones with greater capacity…well, those may get scarce. Especially if there is a Faction, on the prowl looking to start some trouble.
The energy tech in Emerald Kingdom serves as a supply system of sorts. We did not want to create a super complex way of making machines work. We did want some kind of sub economy that could function in its own right with it’s own system of fountains and sinks. Gel tech does that, and more. It gives us leave to create some really nifty items. Things like:
- Powered Armor.
- Ranged Artillery.
- Siege Weaponry.
- Water vessels.
- Land vehicles.
Those are just a small sample of where we are going with this. Gel is also a bit of a MacGuffin. Gel is almost a like the DNA for the Emerald Kingdom. It’s very existence is a plot device. It’s history and how things got to where they are now is directly related to Gel, and how it changes and shifts. The Sprite’s evolution into their present form is a direct result of the things that happened with Gel thousands of years before the player gets into the game.
(Before anyone starts making comparisons to Final Fantasy VII, let’s just get out a simple fact: as Picasso supposedly put it: “Good Artists Borrow, Great Artists Steal” It’s one of the most misunderstood phrases ever uttered. Whether it’s an element of style. Or a premise, etc. There is a difference between borrowing elements and outright stealing. The Lifestream was certainly an influence on how we have constructed Gel. We are not ashamed to admit that. We love FF as a franchise. While we admit Gel has some connections to the lifestream, for us it actually has more to do with Gaia Theory, and…to an extent, Omega Point Theory. Once you get into the game, this will be fairly obvious.)
While Gel is certainly a main point in the game, it should be noted that it’s simply one facet. We are shooting for a very hodge podge collection of technology. Will there be projectile weaponry? Yes. Will there be swords? Yes. While we expect full bore war machines of some sort, and personal powered armor of some sort…it’s important to remember that all technology has it’s limits and loopholes. But, we definitely wanted Gel to be a positive energy source in a world of old and new technology. We wanted something that could be controlled and balanced on it’s own via fountains and sinks. More importantly…we wanted a swiss army knife for power and crafting…but integral to the operation of the world itself. Gel is not only a power source, in a very real way it is also part of the story.
Fixed attributes are bad.
22 years ago
by Azrael
in Emerald Kingdom
There will be no numerical stats in Emerald Kingdom. They do nothing but create uncomfortable hindsight. They ultimately force you to cling to a badly constructed character. Let me give you an example.
You find a new MMORPG. We will call it AwesomeMMO. The game is new, and everyone is talking about it. Unfortunately, real information about how characters grow and work within classes means when you level up, you have no idea where to put some of your stat points. You choose a fighter, so you dump a bunch of stat points on STR and DEX, thinking that being strong and moving fast are going to be key. Later on down the road you realize that your CON score, which you didnt pay much attention to because you have armor and your fast and you are strong…your CON score is low. And your CON score is what affects how fast you regenerate HP. It also affects how much HP you are awarded every time you level up. You’re level 50 now, and you have to fight 10 levels above you to get decent amounts of experience points. But you’re getting slapped around hard sometimes because you regenerate your HP slower, and you have less HP to work with. There is now, no way to go back. You are stuck with this character that you built out of ignorance.
Some games try to fix this with “resets” or “rebirth” into a new higher class. (or the same class, just with your stats base lined) This results in your stats being defaulted, and you can then build again. Usually, resetting a character costs money, rare items and time…not to mention following some really boring and tedious steps. This is so wrong headed, I do not even know where to begin. Why would you think punishing your player is a good idea? It’s not. But the real question is: why would you punish your players for bad design choices you made? Character resets and rebirths are a kludge. A quick fix solution to a bad design problem.
Emerald Kingdom will not do this. Emerald Kingdom is looking at non numerical named stats that are dictated by two things:
- The way you play.
- What you choose to enhance, or emphasize less.
For instance, if you think Strength and Dexterity are what you need, we will offer ways to enhance those specific things. You may for instance work your strength through grinding, or a mini game, and go from “Weakling” to “Strongman”. These are not the names we are using, but you get the idea. But here is the kicker: say, later on you do not like the way your character has worked out. You begin working other attributes which emphasize Intelligence and Charisma more than Strength. You can raise those stats, let your strength slide. It will take time (but not thousands of hours!) but you will eventually see the change in your character. Without a reset, rebirth, etc. A real world analogy is, if a body builder suddenly decides he wants to be a Physicist, he is not going to have time to build his body the way he used to. His mind will expand, but the strength and body will be reduced because his focus is elsewhere. He will always be strong, but not the same as when he was oiling up for competition.
The wonderful thing about this idea that we are now developing is that it also works for character classes. If you are an MBA, you work in an office building with spreadsheets, balance sheets, numbers, etc. One day you decide to join the army. While you never completely lose the things you learned as a college grad, you de-emphasize those things in favor of becoming a soldier which requires a whole different skill set. After 10 years in the army, your primary skill set is combat not balance sheets. You remember your life as an MBA, but there would be a learning curve to get back into it after spending 10 years away from it.
The important thing to remember here is: when we choose things in real life, and become unhappy with what we choose…we have options to remedy that. Be it college, military, or life experiences. If real life were like an MMORPG…when we choose to do something we did not like, we would kill ourselves and hope to re-incarnate into something we want. Much like some people delete their character and start over. So, we asked ourselves: why? Why create a system like that?
The answer was: there is NO reason to create a system like that. In fact, it’s been done to death. It’s not fun. It’s not challenging. It’s gives users less choice. While our system is still in development, I think it’s going to be one of the more fun things to test. I really do.
