Life at an underground game company.
Posts tagged Story
Fifty.
02 years ago
I have been quite busy as of late. Between resume vetting, working on some web re-organization and generally taking some time to regroup….I have barely had time to do much anything else. When I get busy, the blog goes silent. That’s going to change a bit as time goes on. More of the crew here at Double Cluepon will begin writing posts here and there. Nova, our CR Vixen will also be getting in here soon to keep things rolling, and keep things tidy.
So, for the fiftieth post, I just wanted to give you some updates as to what is going down here at Double Cluepon.
While we will be mostly interviewing this week, having collected a massive number of resume’s last week…it’s still not too late to submit a resume and portfolio to us. We have gotten so many folks sending us credentials it’s very overwhelming. We wish we could bring all of them in, but we just do not have the resources. However, one of the things we are considering is some kind of intern program. We think it might be helpful to some of these folks to still hang around a game studio. Especially an indie studio.
- WireWorks, our first game, fared much better than we initially hoped.
It sounds weird, but all of us felt WireWorks had a chance to not do as well as it did. We never expected it to hit four stars. (The version of WireWorks that is going into Emerald Kingdom will be far more polished) Despite that, it did a lot better than we hoped. It came out of the gate, and for our first ever product, it beat the Average, hovering around 3 stars, or just under. Not bad for our first try! Especially in a world of hundreds of thousands of flash games. We learned a great deal from its reception. We also learned where we failed, and what needs improvement. We are already putting some of these things into new policies as we move forward with Emerald Kingdom. Even so, everyone we spoke to directly in some way loved WireWorks, and we are quite proud of our debut product.
- We are currently working on revamping our web presence.
Be on the lookout, we are in the process of putting together a new unified web presence, with a uniform interface so things are easier to navigate. We are doing this now, while we have some time during the spin down of WireWorks development, and during our star search for a new artist.
- We have opened our forums, and have also posted some details about some major features you will find in Emerald Kingdom.
You can find our forums here. More to the point…the forums are the place to mingle and hobnob with us folks at Double Cluepon. We read them all the time, and may from time to time answer direct questions. If you want to get more direct with us about Emerald Kingdom…the forums are the place to do so.
- Twin Perennial is now in production.
We do not have a release date for the debut. However what we can tell you is this: the story outline is done, the script production cycle is now been started, and it is in full production. What is Twin Perennial? It’s a web comic which is based on the characters and world of Emerald Kingdom. While many of the main characters will appear, it will “key” in on two very important major characters. The sisters Paranoia and Confusia. Twin Perennial will serve to introduce the world, concepts and characters of Emerald Kingdom. We have not mentioned her in awhile, mainly cause she has been busy with her own gigs in addition to helping to develop the strip…but you should definitely check out Joan Varitek. You should also check out her etsy store. We love Joan. Greatly. In that platonic kind of kindred type of love. Not the prison type of love. Also, banana’s.
So, in closing…things are busy, yes. Not as busy as they are going to get very soon. I really want to see some of the kids walking around the world already.
Ja Mata!
StoryTeller begins to take shape, and other things!
12 years ago
One of the first things I learned about the production of video games was that, while the game itself is important, one of the more important parts of creating game content are the tools used behind the scenes.
The first ever thing built in StoryTeller. Ugly but beautiful. Note the Junkworks Building!
Early on, we recognized that content creation was going to be 50% of Emerald Kingdom. Possibly more, so while we were writing specs for Emerald Kingdom, it emerged that we were going to need some rather robust tools to create the world for the game. It was out of this discovery, that StoryTeller was born. StoryTeller has been in active code development now for what amounts to no more than a week, in terms of work done. That being said, we had to get some specifications down on paper (or in our case, a wiki) and then our new software engineer, Zach took to it. After a flurry of work yesterday, we have object placement working so far. It’s terribly rough, and it’s highly crude. The interface can be uglier than a blind date.
So with that said, in the span of about 40 hours, StoryTeller has:
- Zoom In/Zoom Out.
- Drag
- Grid selection
- Tile selection
- Tile Paint/Delete
- Object placement
- Asset drawers (where we keep things we want to use for building)
- XML File loading.
- Adding assets (tiles, objects)
- All kinds of other stuff, some working, some not.
All in all, not a bad job for the small amount of time it’s been actively worked on. The overriding specification for StoryTeller is this: creative people should not have to talk to a code developer to implement their art or vision. That goes for the people who draw (the artists) to the people who write (the writers, and quest developers) right down to the producer (the person who oversees, and maintains the vision of the finished product). A good tool should enable, not obfuscate. Simply put, when StoryTeller reaches a stable point, where it becomes useful on a full time basis, Emerald Kingdom’s world will begin construction. With the way we have done the specs for StoryTeller, building Emerald Kingdom will not take long. Why you ask?
Because while Zach is working on StoryTeller, and Doug is working on the back end of things…
Amy and the Art Department are creating model sheets.
Thynity, drilled down from a concept, into a model sheet.
From those model sheets, she has been putting together the assembly line for animating everything from Gremmies to Sprites. Clothing, Items…even Buildings, as you can see from the above picture. We are also adding another artist in the next week or so, to aid and speed up this process. (Wheee, Double Cluepon will be 6 people!)
While that is going on, story material is still being produced and edited. The Web Comic is being moved forward.
In short order: by the time StoryTeller gets to a usable point, which is not too far in the future…we will be ready, and we will have the supplies we need to paint the world. I have found that working in game development is not unlike cooking: there is an art to preparing all of your ingredients so things are all done in the proper order, so you can then assemble the dish.
WireWorks .85 Alpha. Note the updated menu.
Let’s also not forget WireWorks! WireWorks is approaching Beta. Sound has been plugged in, as well as numerous other planned features. One of the newer features added is a selector which will allow you to go up and down in the level ladder by 5 level increments. All of the menu functions have been enabled, and as I said previously, the sound is there. Sound is currently being tweaked. In addition to that, we will be updating the menu screen once more, to add a mute button for music. While we happen to think the music is great, and not in any way overbearing, some folks just don’t care for background music. We strongly believe in options, so one more menu board revision!
One of the more interesting features to have been added to the main playfield thus far is the “fuse” or timer/ticker. You can see it in the next shot.
The "fuse" timer bars, which tick down the time till the gel starts a flowin!
We had always planned for a good and intuitive timer in the upper left hand box. It’s finally been implemented, and works quite well. Note the three node board. Things start to get tricky with three nodes. At that, the version of WireWorks which will be in Emerald Kingdom will have high level 4 Node Boards! (Red, Green, Blue and Yellow) Nonetheless, the game play and timers are still being tweaked a bit more. Once WireWorks hits beta, we will be opening up the testing pool a bit more. We will be starting with people who have signed up for our mailing list. Random folks will be getting Beta invites for testing WireWorks. We’re betting the beta testers will have a great time playing.
Wheee, Elphie teaches you the ropes.
Speaking of playing, the other thing which has been implemented, is the “How to Play” tutorial. Elphie in all her glory. While the actual dialog is something that is not set in concrete yet, the routine for it is. We will be tightening up the how to play, with all the needed details and proper grammar over the next few days.
We can’t have Elphie acting illiterate! We know for a fact that hooked on phonics worked for her.
That’s about it. In wrapping up, we have not dieded. We’re all just busy busy busy. Making stuffs. For you. =)
Ja Mata!
The under-representation of women and girls in games.
02 years 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.
02 years 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. =)
A few words from your captain.
02 years ago
I would like to share with you, something that’s been rolling around in my head for a bit. Consider it a kind of a foreword to Emerald Kingdom…
This started out as a somewhat acedemic exercise in what was wrong with the games I was playing. It’s turning out to be much much more. I could not be happier with the state of things.
Emerald Kingdom embodies the very nature of how I like to play. There are villains, there are heroes, and there are victims. Beyond all that, it’s really about storytelling. I could sit here and tell you all about all the things I thought were wrong with any number of MMORPGs. I could recite shortcomings, point out flaws, and circle annoyances.
But in the end, it’s really all goes back to days long past, with action figures and playsets. Fantasies half or fully baked. It’s about the story. That’s the real thing missing from games these days: the story. The genre of MMORPG is a broad one. It’s full of innovations, feature sets, class ladders, numerics. Somewhere along the way, story was relegated to a corner and turned into some kind of flowchart enabled quest vending machine. This is the single most important loss to any game genre, and it’s a loss that does not have to be. Bungie showed that as far back as 1994 with Marathon. Way before Halo. Way before Myth. They took a genre nobody expected good storytelling in: The First Person Shooter, and turned it into something compelling, alluring, and addicting in it’s own right. Doom II, it’s nearest contemporary had a narrative…but nothing like an actual story. Story is what made Marathon great. Story is central to Halo too. You don’t need story for an FPS to be good. But it is needed if you want greatness.
Back to little Azrael: when I was but a child, playing with action figures, watching Jason of Star Command, Space Academy, or the original Lost In Space, I was enthralled with the spaceships, but more than that…it was the story. Using whatever action figures or legos or ships I had…I always invented new stories with those characters. That was how I played. You can tell how compelling something is based on how fast hours melt away. My imagination was a flamethrower when it came to time. Stories, even in my own mind had beginnings, middles and endings. I kept track of what happened yesterday, and picked up right where I left off the next day. Watching Tron was not enough for me. I had to go beyond, I had to ask…”what happened next?” When I watch Bubblegum Crisis, what I see is action, and some drama. I don’t see automatons going from minor character to minor character to advance the story line. I see passionate acting, I see interesting things going on. Why do we settle for less in our games?
This is the real reason I am so disgruntled with the state of play in the MMORPG field. When I was in my world of play, I never did the same thing twice. I always went in new directions. I always invented the new plot twist, or the new maneuver. I did not settle for what happened previously. I went for more.
So, fast forward to now. Why does this happen with MMORPG’s? Where is the inventiveness? This is the real tragedy of the genre. Whether I start a game today, or a year from now, my virtual life will be the same. A predictable sequence of events based on quest dispensing. I have news for you people: that is not how I play. I also think, I am not alone in this feeling. Sure, you can try to mix it up a bit with different stats, or classes. But it’s still the same tired sequence of events.
Emerald Kingdom is different. I keep saying this to you all, in the hopes that you anticipate it. But today’s post is more about why that difference will exist. Play, like real life is a series of twists and turns. It should never be a predictable event you can flowchart. Yes, I could complain about hyper inflation in Free To Play MMO’s. I could complain about monthly subs, or stat collectors.
In the end though, it’s really about immersion and compelling play. Other MMORPG designers can talk all they want about world design rules, and formula’s that work. All of those things required imagination at one time. What I lament, and what we here at Double Cluepon hope to change is the stop short on quests, stories and content. It’s time to step up and acknowledge that the imagination is limitless, and stop insulting the playerbase with limits in this regard.
Emerald Kingdom may have started with my annoyance of little things. In developing it, and helping it bloom it has become something I have always wanted: a real play set, where the events of virtual life are not so much governed by what vending machines we install, but by how imaginative I am, and the people around me are. There are parts of me all over it. From the Sprites, to Items…even some of the clothing and weaponry. Stuff I dreamed up when I was 6 is in this game. I kept it, for you the player all this time.
So, as I said. EK will be different. Now you know a little bit why it will be different. It’s important to realize the why. Anyone can say it, it takes a bit more to actually understand and articulate it. I intend to do right by this, because, like all of you…
I really want to play this friggin game. =)
