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Miscellaneous

Stuff to consider

As you may or may not know, I've been in the process of re-writing Chapter 2's script. I've hit something of a snag, however. Not the kind that prevents me from working on this at all, but a snag all the same.

The snag is simple to explain: I need to figure out whether or not I want to make it possible to switch the party leader between Masako and Goho, retain the party leader as Goho, or make the party leader be Masako for the rest of the game.

As of this writing, Masako is the party leader within the duration of the Divine Trial. When the Trial is done, the Water and Damned Trials will open up. The characters associated with those Trials also make an appearance. Mina will suggest that since six people might cause a loss of effectiveness in exploration and battle, the party members should decide on a leader, and that person would take on up to three companions.

Masako gets an overwhelming vote for the role. Now comes the part that isn't written in stone: She agrees, but makes it known that she prefers a more supportive role. She suggests that the party chooses an alternate so that she can take up her preferred role. After some debate, the party decides that Goho would be the alternate.

The query I ask myself, and to anyone interested in this game, is "Should I allow Masako to be a more permanent leader?" I'm tending towards the option of allowing both Goho and Masako as party leaders, despite the work that might call for later on. However, I'd like to hear some opinions on this that aren't my own.

Miscellaneous

Actually working... sort of

I was amazingly close to polishing off Vagrant Story (it's done now), and I've sunk another ten or so hours on Final Fantasy XII for a total of somewhere around 100 hours (goody, I only need around 80 more before I finish that sucker off, if my first play's game time is any indication).

However, I have done some stuff with this game, even if it's been in bits and pieces. The re-write of the script is shaping up. I have up to the point where the party enters the Divine Trial, Chapter 2's first dungeon. Sadly, this is the only headway I've gotten. Pathetic, huh? Bits and pieces indeed!

To my Matsumori Muse: I don't need to complete this in a day, despite how you seem to prefer it.

Miscellaneous

Stream of Consciousness: Ideations for Chapter 2

I've a few ideas floating around in my head for Chapter 2. None of them implemented, or otherwise written in stone, of course. I kinda wanted to leave some feedback on a game I've been watching for a bit. Though to be honest, I'm probably too lazy to work on my own game. Anyway, on to the ideations.

For the Water Trial, I may want to give the illusion of an area that is below hero level. Well, it's not supposed to be an illusion, per say. The land is supposed to be under the hero, but... I hope you get the idea. Anyway, I basically know how to do this in XP, but this project is in VX.

Originally, the opening of Chapter 2 had Goho and Joruri mouthing off again. I want to do something different. I'm thinking a sequence where Goho wakes up in the nurse's office after collapsing from exhaustion would get the cogs moving in a much more appropriate manner.

I'm not exactly sure how to segue the meeting in Goho's house from the characters discussing what Masako's speech to the incoming class should be about to discussing dreams. I'm thinking after a lot of nothing happens with the first subject. Afterwords, Toshie may make some passing reference to dreams. Then, Joruri goes off saying, "Talking about dreams, Masako, I've got a doozy for you!" Something like that.

Before any of that happens, though, players can participate in various optional tasks. Probably should have mentioned that first! I have a pretty good selection of random, and therefore stupid, things players can do:

*There is a female student in the Entryway that can't decide whither or not to go on a date with the male student just south of her. Perhaps the player can intervene?

*There is a male student on the second floor who is impatiently waiting for his lady friend. Perhaps the player can track her down?

*There is a male student in the chemistry lab that needs to clean the mess there. Perhaps the player can help out?

*The Matsumori Daily is always interested in doing interviews of the student body. Perhaps the player can participate in one such interview?

I'm not sure what kind of rewards to give out for these tasks, though. Regardless of what form they take, I want them to be handed out by students, mostly. Students tend to not have a lot of money to hand out. I'm not keen on having the player be owed favors, either. There's always experience, but there should be some tangible benefit. Items? Hrmmm. Needs more thought.

Nothing to do with this game, but for me, the greatest part of an RPG is that a character doesn't need to be physically strong to be a kick-ass. I'm talking about mage-type characters, here. They may fulfill a similar role to the Standard Fighter, but instead of being obvious about how powerful they are (i.e. the big, muscular dude), they are deceptively powerful: they can be weak and scrawny, but with enough intelligence, still be able to whip out a fireball that wipe nations. I'm probably way too far ahead of myself on this front, but I think the next project I'm going to make will have a playable cast of mage-types to explore this possibility.

Yeah, I'm waaaay to far ahead of myself with that previous thought. Gotta concentrate on this fiasco!

Miscellaneous

Updates and future sight

The new Chapter 1 demo is up and ready! Or soon will be! Here's a few notes on what changes were made.

The riddles within the Wind Trial now accept answers with varying degrees of capitalization. Thanks, downcase function!

All flavor text has been removed. Items, equipment, and skills now have gameplay-related descriptions. Terminology changes also came into effect.

Enemy base statistics have changed a bit, and recalcumanced the way rewards are handed out. I'm not sure if the method I now use makes me totally happy, but the numbers curve out in a satisfactory enough manner.

I made a few minor changes to the script. I think there's a few lines that Mina says that seem a bit forced, but I wanted her to avoid using terms like "wake up" and what-not. I'm also considering the characters should question things more during the first visit to the dream world, but maybe not at the same time.

The statues in the Fire Trial now have a specific encounter linked to it, rather than having a succession of normal encounters. Arguably, I should have done that before, but, well...

Ah yes. Mapping. The thing I seem to get the most hate/disgust from. In the end, I'm a proponent of "smaller is better" (followed closely with "small means less room to screw up in"). If nothing else, the overall size of the dungeons have been reduced. The number encounters per section have been summarily reduced. The style of mapping, however, remains essentially the same. If you weren't a fan of the mapping before, I highly doubt you'd be a fan of it now.


Chapter 2 to-do list:

Look over the script, and probably re-write a bunch of stuff. If nothing else, I want a different opening than what I had before.

Optional tasks open up in this chapter. I have a few ideations on this already as far as what a player can do is concerned, but nothing is set in stone about what kinds of rewards are given out for completing the tasks.

Still don't have a clue what the puzzle for the Damned Trial should be. It doesn't need to be a traditional puzzle, per say, just something players can do that fits the flavor of what a Damned Trial may ask for. I don't want to be too extreme, but...

Ah yes. Mapping. I doubt the style of mapping will change all that much, and I also doubt that the size of the dungeons will expand all that much. The only map that I foresee causing problems for me is the Water Trial. We shall see when I get that far.

Speaking of dungeons, I don't have any Chapter 2 critters in the database yet. At this particular point, this is a minor issue at best.

I'm obviously nowhere near this point, but how many errors will I miss if I'm the only playtester for Chapter 2 content? Probably more than a few will pass by, since I'm the developer. I will probably outright ignore problems because I know things about this game that the average player doesn't know. Knowledge is power, after all.

Miscellaneous

What's been happening

First off, I've since realized that having the normal critters in the second dungeon be killed by a Level 1 party was actually part of my balancing scheme. The raw damage numbers wasn't off, but what made them so easy to defeat was their survivability factor: they only have enough health to last about a round's worth of damage, even under "perfect" conditions. Having them last about two or three rounds against a Level 1 party might be about right, health-wise.

I have a new theory about how to distribute rewards. Previously, I took the appropriate number on the experience to next level table, and divided by a constant number. The theory I have now would have me divide by a number that increases as the experience to next level increases. Wither this number to divide by is the level itself, or a different number altogether remains to be seen.

Outside of re-figuring the experience and money rewards, I'm mostly happy with this game. Once I fix that, I'll be going through the motions of playtesting. However...

I blame this blog for Legacy of the Guilds. It's a reminiscent piece, and it put me in a reminiscent mood. Indeed, in the last few days since I've read it, I haven't been working on this at all, but rather playing one of my favorite games of the past, Heroes of Might and Magic 3. I also have, in-progress, a game of World of Xeen that's been very off-and-on. For full disclosure, I started World of Xeen before reading the blog, so I can't blame Legacy of the Guilds for that.

Miscellaneous

Rewards of encounters

There's two things that I'm constantly struggling with: mapping (the bane of my existence) and how much experience and/or money to give out for a critter. This blog will concentrate on the latter.

Let's say I'm trying to make a creature that is supposed to be geared for a Level X party. Generally, what I do is look at a character's experience chart, and see that it takes so much experience for a Level X character to advance a level. There's no way any normal critter is going to give out a level for defeating it. As of the current build of the game, I'd divided the amount by 3 for normal enemies, and take the full amount (albeit with a lowered scale) with bosses.

To say that this creates a huge disparity in rewards between the lower-level critters and the higher-level critters would be an understatement. Indeed, it only takes a level 12-ish critter (non-boss, mind you) to hit the over 1,000 exp/kill mark. Maybe it's just me, but this just doesn't seem right at all.

Another problem is that I calculate how much money a critter drops with how much experience they hand out. It's not like that decision doesn't give me options. Any given creature could: a) have the party earn more experience, but the amount of money earned is lowered; b) drop more gold, but the amount of experience earned is lowered or; c) have an equal amount of experience and money earned.

Despite liking those options, it's become increasingly clear to me that I cannot use how much experience a character needs to level up as a base-line for how much experience/money a creature at that level can give out. However, arbitrarily coming up with numbers that "sound right" doesn't quite cut it either.

Another oddity: I've noticed that even if I balance the critters to be geared towards a Level X party (as far as the raw numbers are concerned, anyway), they aren't all that difficult. Granted, I'm basing these observations on critters that are more or less designed to be cakewalks, but even the bosses aren't all that scary. For curiosity's sake, I'll be doing some test battles soon to see exactly what the minimum level is to defeat the Earth Spirit (note: that boss is supposed to be geared to a Level 10 party).

Miscellaneous

Stream of Consciousness: To-do list

There's going to be a bit of weapon switching. Katai will be the axe user now (totally not a Brutal Legend reference), Goho's getting the club/mace category, which leaves Joruri carrying the spear.

While giving Katai earth affinity now appeals to me for irony's sake, I don't think I'm going to perform any elemental shifting.

The usable items will have gameplay-related descriptions. The flavor text will probably be removed, as I was fumbling those descriptions (not to mention the names themselves) to begin with. Equipment may take a similar route, even if they have very similar statistics.

Granting character abilities based on personal characteristics (or club-related activities) would flesh the characters out more. However, I'm not particularly keen on making such skills. I have name fumbling problems as is!

There's going to be some terminology changes. Instead of skills having "Basic", "Advanced", and "Master" as damage descriptors, they will instead have "Small", "Light", "Medium", "Heavy", and "Severe" as damage descriptors. The first set of descriptors is, admittedly, convoluted. I think players would prefer the easier-to-understand second set.

I've been considering all the feedback I've been getting from the "Thickening the plot" blog. Outside of getting more feedback than I anticipated (which is good!), there's a few things I may want to try. First and foremost, I want to re-examine, in greater detail, what I already have. I will take what suggestions I believe are appropriate to my situation and see what I can do to about them.

I think Masako answering questions before they are finished being asked is something she should do in-game. If done right, it might even come out humorous. She's not the character who's main purpose is comedy relief *cough*Toshie*cough*, but Masako allowed to have her moments.

Why does Masako dislike Katai? I'm usually inclined to say that Katai is the epitome of sloth, and that trait is something Masako loathes. However, I'm not sure that's the answer anymore. Then again, does it matter why she dislikes him? Probably not, in the end.

Currently, the Wind Trial has a very limited scope of answers to it's riddles: it accepts only a response in lower-case. I want to allow players to type whatever they want, but force the response into lower-case, then check the word to see if it's the correct response. That way, even if the true answer is "light", a player could type in "LiGhT", "liGht", or any variation thereof, and still be correct.

When I was making the Fire Trial, I was vaguely considering putting in a specific encounter for the guardian statues. Why I ended up with three consecutive "normal" fights was probably more about me being lazy than anything else.

Should I allow players the option to have Masako lead the party in Chapter 3, or even after her trial in Chapter 2? This is something I've had in my head for a while now. All I really know at this point is that if I allow players to switch protagonists, it will be in Chapter 3 at the latest. However, since Chapters 2 and 3 is outside the scope of the demo, this is mostly a moot point.

This is supposed to be something of a story-driven game. In that respect, I should have a picture of what the characters are like before the game, a picture of what they are like after the game, with the events of the game relaying, in part, how they get there. With the interview series, I'm confident that I know the "before" picture. However, the "after" picture is still slightly out-of-focus for about half the cast of characters. Might want to rectify this!

Ah yes. Mapping. As far as I'm concerned, there's nothing wrong with the school itself. The issue is with the dungeons. I'm not sure how I'm going to change them because I have a system that works on a very basic, fundamental level I'm terribly lazy on this front.

Considering the way I've handled feedback so far, I've been getting nowhere fast. Therefore, after I make what changes I can, I will post one more update to the demo. After that, I will not post another demo, but continue working 'till I complete the project. How long will that be? I can't really say. However, I will continue blogging about my progress, though perhaps not in as much detail as before. Or I just use hide tags in an attempt to contain spoilers.

Miscellaneous

Mock Interview: Koruba Toshie

Here at the Matsumori Daily, we are always interested in interviewing our fellow students. Today, we have another first-year student, Koruba Toshie. The transcript of our interview as follows:


Matsumori Daily: What was your first impression of Matsumori High?

Koruba Toshie: This place is nothing like how I expected it to be. I mean, there's some similarities to my last school, but it's like... I don't know how else to put it. Sorry!

MD: Don't worry to much about it. So, tell us about your family.

KT: We moved to this area 'bout, oh two or three years ago. The company mom works for basically transferred us here. I was a little sad in leaving my old friends behind, but I've made a mess of new ones since then!

MD: Any brothers or sisters?

KT: A sister and brother, both younger than me. We're a year apart, each. So, by the time I'm a third-year, the halls of Matsumori will be flooded with the Koruba clan! Mua-ha-ha!

MD: O-okay? How about your hobbies?

KT: I practice with the bow a lot. Not to brag, but I've hit a target from as far as a hundred meters! It's really tricky, and the conditions have to be just so, but I can do it! I think dad might have a recording of it, now that I think about it.

MD: Any other personal tidbit you want to share?

KT: I was with a friend of mine a few days back. We were just shooting the breeze... no correction. I was mouthing off mostly. This friend of mine? He isn't all that talkative. Anyways, this girl comes out of nowhere saying, "You messin' with my bro?" Or something like that. She was one scary girl, that's for sure! Anywho, I looked at this guy like, "You never told me you had a sister!" Then again, that would require him to talk. Like, at all. Where was I again? Oh yeah! That crazy girl! It all happened pretty fast so I can't remember much, but the next thing I knew, I was floored with a sharp pain in my jaw. She ditched the scene before I could retaliate proper. She must have taken her brother with her, since he was also nowhere in sight.

MD: I think I know Who you're talking about!

KT: Ohh! Just thinking about it makes me angry! I mean, what was it all for? Next time I see that girl, I'll give her what-for, I'm telling you!


Another successful interview! If you have a suggestion of who we should interview next, or if you want to be interviewed yourself, visit us on the second floor of the school!

Miscellaneous

Mock Interview: Nosaka Kojiro

Here at the Matsumori Daily, we are always interested in interviewing our fellow students. Today, we have the captain of the Kendo team, Nosaka Kojiro. The transcript of our interview as follows:


Matsumori Daily: You were really close to the championship last year! What's your plan of attack this year?

Nosaka Kojiro: I've found that you can glean a lot about your opponent by what he or she says or does before they make their move. For example, if there's even a hint of tiredness, my best guess would be that they'd stand guard, and not expose themselves for an all-out attack. It's not the most sure-fire way to tell, since there's always the possibility that they're taunting me, but it works a good amount of time.

MD: How about the home front? How supportive is your family?

NK: Supportive? Hell, my mom practically taught me everything I knew! From my understanding, she was a fiend of a swordswoman in her day.

MD: Any brothers or sisters?

NK: I have a brother that graduated from Matsumori last year. He's pretty low-key, so it's not exactly common knowledge.

MD: How about your hobbies outside of Kendo?

NK: I don't practice it all that much, but I do a bit of slight-of-hand. Penny for your thoughts?

MD: That was a neat trick, making it look like that coin come out of nowhere! Any other personal tidbit you want to share?

NK: You know so much about me already, but I know next to nothing about you! Well, I can tell you're a woman who's dedicated to your work, at the very least. Therefore, might I suggest that we continue this conversation with more comfortable surroundings?

MD: Er, no thanks. We have enough to go on anyway.


Unnerving ending aside, we have another successful interview! Please join us next time, where we interview yet another new face to Matsumori High, Koruba Toshie!

Miscellaneous

Mock Interview: Umehara Joruri

Here at the Matsumori Daily, we are always interested in interviewing our fellow students. Today, we have the rising star of the debate club, Umehara Joruri. The transcript of our interview as follows:


Matsumori Daily: Perhaps you'd like to tell us about your rise to fame in the debate club?

Umehara Joruri: Fame, huh? I don't know about that, but here goes. When I first came in to the debate club last year, I was already hearing lots of rumors about Masako. "Don't mess with Mitsuya" was the most common one. I didn't think much about them. But when our adviser pitted the entire club against her, I knew something was wrong. I offered to help her, but she politely refused. She said that she'd rather be defeated, and show everyone that she isn't infallible, than to win and keep her reputation.

MD: Interesting. Then what?

UJ: Well, our team was doing their best, but Masako was all over us. It's like, she knew exactly what research we'd use. She refuted everything we shot at her. It was pretty annoying. However, I noticed something odd, and just blurted out my observation. To be more accurate, both me and Masako said the same thing at pretty much the same time. When that happened, there was a dead silence for, I don't know at least a minute.

MD: Hence the saying "When Mitsuya and Umehera agree, there is no response"?

UJ: Well, it happened at least twice more before that rumor really got going. But yeah, that's the basis of it.

MD: Did you win that first debate?

UJ: In the end, we conceded to Masako. It was a very odd day for the club, on all ends.

MD: Well, with that out of the way, would you mind telling about your family?

UJ: My dad's a money lender at the bank. He's done some lending on the side as well, so he has a lot of people to call debts on. From what I understand, he reigned mom with one of his deals. Don't take that to mean that he treats her like an object, though! No way!

MD: Any brothers or sisters?

UJ: No. I'm an only child.

MD: How about your hobbies?

UJ: You mean outside of debate club? I don't think I do anything terribly interesting. I hang with my friends, listen to music, or generally do whatever I want.

MD: I see. Any other personal tidbit you want to share?

UJ: You hit the high points with your first few questions. So, not really.


Another successful interview! Please join us next time, where we interview the captain of the Kendo team, Nosaka Kojiro!