It is official: Azaria is DEAD! A massive earthquake in the Great Mountains of Arake buried the whole city, or at least, is what the travelers are saying. Nonetheless, the earthquake did cut all access to the White Jewel.
And so, it began the PAR. A new project based on the scraps of Azaria.
As for the name, PAR stands for Python Adventure RPG (with RPG standing for Role Playing Game, we have nested nests! Hooray!)
PAR follows the Azaria Project to the bone, being a text style game in the mold of the old-school fighting fantasy.
I'm still working on it but I have a serious improvement in the way I'm gonna handle all the information, now using ConfigParser. A better solution than having a impossible number of different files containing all the info and going around each one of then to link then all it was madness.
I'm still testing a few things to make it more dynamic but I do have all the events load ready to use.
The tests I'm doing, will be used with the Items, basically it will determine if I will have a single file with all the items or if I should separate by type (general purpose, weapon, ranged weapon, ammo and armor)
It is still a looong way before any thing playable being release. As a matter of fact, I didn't even set a git-repo for it.
The major difference between Azaria and PAR is that now, I'm writing every code first, instead of the doing like in Azaria where I write a bit of everything each time, and each time I had to change something in the game logic/mechanic I had to rewrite all the texts.
The first adventure, though, is conceptually ready. It was the first thing done actually so to have a idea of the kinds of events I would need to build. It is a single house entry, a 5 minutes play, even less, but it goes to over 50 events!
Sunday, 30 December 2012
Sunday, 21 October 2012
The White Walls of Azaria - improvements and update
Well, after a little hiatus I just resume working on Azaria.
The main goal, for now, is to shift completely the places/location based towards events based gaming. Let-me explain:
As of now, one would walk through the Mighty Roads of the White Jewel of the Great Mountains of Arake by just selecting it's next destination. That work fine when it is just walking around. But what happen when you have an hostile encounter that results in fight, or a neutral one where the result depends heavily in your Charm or even when you need a key to open a door so you can proceed. Well, as of now, this can't happen.
So, by changing to events based, if the event demand, it guide you where you want to go, and test your attributes, let you buy stuff and even fall to your death by crossing a bridge.
This also will fix another problem: quitting!
Whenever you want, the zero (0) choice (a hidden one by the way) will end the game. This can happen at any time and everything will be lost. You will have to start over.
But that's does't happen if you choose to just leave the city by the same way in came in. By handling the events instead of places, you will be able to leave Azaria if you will, and, of course, it will also end the game if you die, unless you want to walk around mindlessly as a dead being!
The main goal, for now, is to shift completely the places/location based towards events based gaming. Let-me explain:
As of now, one would walk through the Mighty Roads of the White Jewel of the Great Mountains of Arake by just selecting it's next destination. That work fine when it is just walking around. But what happen when you have an hostile encounter that results in fight, or a neutral one where the result depends heavily in your Charm or even when you need a key to open a door so you can proceed. Well, as of now, this can't happen.
So, by changing to events based, if the event demand, it guide you where you want to go, and test your attributes, let you buy stuff and even fall to your death by crossing a bridge.
This also will fix another problem: quitting!
Whenever you want, the zero (0) choice (a hidden one by the way) will end the game. This can happen at any time and everything will be lost. You will have to start over.
But that's does't happen if you choose to just leave the city by the same way in came in. By handling the events instead of places, you will be able to leave Azaria if you will, and, of course, it will also end the game if you die, unless you want to walk around mindlessly as a dead being!
Wednesday, 10 October 2012
A word from the Duke of Azar
I know I haven't pushing anything lately at Azaria Project. But, believe you or not, it is for a good cause. Let-me explain:
As I was finishing the outdoor layout of Azaria, The Chasm of Luck, I began to ponder how to best work out the events.
As I want to do something that won't be tied to Azaria, something that will be the same if I ever want a different story, having only to create the descriptions and connections between them; I had to do it very 'generalized'.
Before, I thought in add the events to the places' class but it wasn't going to work. So I tried the other way around, in working primary with events and then, if a given event demands it, shows something.
It is not as easy as it seems. And I'm being working on it for a while. I even did a very short story to try it. (Actually, two short story. The first wasn't that short so I made another one.)
Of course, I'm not working on it all the time. I had a few extra things to do in the past week, mostly related to my moving out to London.
Then again, I'm still working on it. Only when I've done with the events thing I will be pushing Azaria again. And I don't think it will be that soon.
As I was finishing the outdoor layout of Azaria, The Chasm of Luck, I began to ponder how to best work out the events.
As I want to do something that won't be tied to Azaria, something that will be the same if I ever want a different story, having only to create the descriptions and connections between them; I had to do it very 'generalized'.
Before, I thought in add the events to the places' class but it wasn't going to work. So I tried the other way around, in working primary with events and then, if a given event demands it, shows something.
It is not as easy as it seems. And I'm being working on it for a while. I even did a very short story to try it. (Actually, two short story. The first wasn't that short so I made another one.)
Of course, I'm not working on it all the time. I had a few extra things to do in the past week, mostly related to my moving out to London.
Then again, I'm still working on it. Only when I've done with the events thing I will be pushing Azaria again. And I don't think it will be that soon.
Sunday, 30 September 2012
The White Walls of Azaria - Mechanics
I'm not working as I should on Azaria lately. Maybe because I'm getting too anxious about my moving out to London in the next 15 days or maybe because I'm just too lazy (probably the later) and just keeping procrastinating. The thing is, Azaria now is going quite slow.
Also I may point that I want to change a few things both in mechanics and plot. A change in plot would be overwhelming for me. I can't just rework everything now. What is decided must be done before any change can dream in try to take place. Which also is keeping a few updates in events, probably a total re-write of it, at bay. But let's talk about mechanics:
Since the begging, I merged an old idea of character attributes into Azaria, which also brought a whole lot of classes/professions. The attributes itself where divide into four categories with 2 aspects each as follow:
- Strength
- Power: The raw physical strength, how much damage you inflict
- Resistance: Your defenses against blows and poison
- Dexterity
- Quickness: How fast you move/attack
- Precision: How precise your attacks are
- Intelligence
- Intellect: The by-book source of intelligence, the ability to think (affects a few magic sources)
- Cunning: The street-wise intelligence, the fast-thinking according to situation
- Expression
- Charm: How charming you are, how you affect people and animals (and magic)
- Fear: Your fearsome aspects (affects people and animals)
In math terms, you have 13 free points to place into the four categories and 4 to put into aspects. You can choose only one aspect to upgrade. Once you choose Power, you may never put points in Resistance. But for every two points over the base category you get one in the second.
(For now, we are very far from this. That is just a basic 3 points in each category (a total of only 12) and you have additions based on available class (Soldier, Thug and Druid)
The idea is that, whenever you are getting stronger by dealing blows, you also got stronger into receiving they. Whenever you became quicker you also get slowly more accurate. Whenever in get more intellect you learn a little of how fast-think, whenever you improve your social skills, people will also start to fear you because the effect you have on day.
Of course, the other way around as well. A feared person may inflict a certain kind of charm over people, in a way, inspire they. As you learn in the streets, your overall intelligence will also increase, as you got accurate you may became faster in that and as you become stronger and resistant you also become stronger in hitting people.
Now, I'm not sure if I will keep this anymore. Neither the amount of professions available.
I may keep the attributes at least and have just a few basic, one for each basic category, classes.
Maybe something like:
Soldier/Knight/Warrior equivalent to Strength
Thief for Dexterity
Wizard/Cleric for Intelligence
Sorcerer/Druid for Expression
And I'm not happy with it either.
Well, as of the on-goings of Azaria, I'm still filling the scenery, the outside first. A few that will be triggered by events and so on. But as a major, the around-the-city walk.
Later is time for the builds, that is a lot more work. If I'm at over 80% of street related work, I'm not at 20% of all the text.
It is the damn thing of starting with 3 plot at once. Ok, it is still a way better than starting with the whole 27, but you know, it still a lot of work.
Also I may point that I want to change a few things both in mechanics and plot. A change in plot would be overwhelming for me. I can't just rework everything now. What is decided must be done before any change can dream in try to take place. Which also is keeping a few updates in events, probably a total re-write of it, at bay. But let's talk about mechanics:
Since the begging, I merged an old idea of character attributes into Azaria, which also brought a whole lot of classes/professions. The attributes itself where divide into four categories with 2 aspects each as follow:
- Strength
- Power: The raw physical strength, how much damage you inflict
- Resistance: Your defenses against blows and poison
- Dexterity
- Quickness: How fast you move/attack
- Precision: How precise your attacks are
- Intelligence
- Intellect: The by-book source of intelligence, the ability to think (affects a few magic sources)
- Cunning: The street-wise intelligence, the fast-thinking according to situation
- Expression
- Charm: How charming you are, how you affect people and animals (and magic)
- Fear: Your fearsome aspects (affects people and animals)
In math terms, you have 13 free points to place into the four categories and 4 to put into aspects. You can choose only one aspect to upgrade. Once you choose Power, you may never put points in Resistance. But for every two points over the base category you get one in the second.
(For now, we are very far from this. That is just a basic 3 points in each category (a total of only 12) and you have additions based on available class (Soldier, Thug and Druid)
The idea is that, whenever you are getting stronger by dealing blows, you also got stronger into receiving they. Whenever you became quicker you also get slowly more accurate. Whenever in get more intellect you learn a little of how fast-think, whenever you improve your social skills, people will also start to fear you because the effect you have on day.
Of course, the other way around as well. A feared person may inflict a certain kind of charm over people, in a way, inspire they. As you learn in the streets, your overall intelligence will also increase, as you got accurate you may became faster in that and as you become stronger and resistant you also become stronger in hitting people.
Now, I'm not sure if I will keep this anymore. Neither the amount of professions available.
I may keep the attributes at least and have just a few basic, one for each basic category, classes.
Maybe something like:
Soldier/Knight/Warrior equivalent to Strength
Thief for Dexterity
Wizard/Cleric for Intelligence
Sorcerer/Druid for Expression
And I'm not happy with it either.
Well, as of the on-goings of Azaria, I'm still filling the scenery, the outside first. A few that will be triggered by events and so on. But as a major, the around-the-city walk.
Later is time for the builds, that is a lot more work. If I'm at over 80% of street related work, I'm not at 20% of all the text.
It is the damn thing of starting with 3 plot at once. Ok, it is still a way better than starting with the whole 27, but you know, it still a lot of work.
Tuesday, 25 September 2012
Welcome to AZARIA
"Be welcome to The White Jewel of The Great Mountains of Arake, The Chasm of Luck, The City of New Beginnings, THE MIGHTY AZARIA..."
For some time now, a few weeks actually, just little more than a month, I've been working in a 'sort of kind of text based game'.
Back in the beginning, August 18, I started the very first sketch of what is today something barely playable. I don't actually remember what came first, if it was the name of AZARIA, or the desire in making a sort of game hugely inspired in those old Fighting Fantasy games (the name Ian Livingstone came easily in my mind).
What I know is that after I started I did a small research: mainly a look in the 'first page of google search results' and found nothing interesting. I did found a few online play-by-browser games, but they where just a copy and paste of the old game books.
The thing I have in mind, is a bit different:
You do arrive in city and walk around through scenes. But instead of going to the 'entry number 28 if you grab the necklace or move back to 254 if you forgot it', I want to give you options based on what you have done already. If you have the damn necklace, fine, you have a option to go/do/talk something different, if not, sorry, the only option is the basic one.
Also in this dynamism are the combat system. If you fought the guy blocking the bridge and won, he won't be there if you leave and back again latter, but his fellow could now occupy his place instead.
This is not very easy and not that much difficult. The hard part is just figure out how I want the data to be stored/managed/displayed, and I changed that a few times already.
A second point I have in mind is to have different classes, fighters, thieves, mages, and so on... For now, anything magic is just, well, far in the horizon. But I made the character 'sheet' able to receive that.
The whole character sheet is part of another 'project'. Something totally unrelated to Azaria. I will speak about mechanics in another post.
Well, as I told up here, I don't know if it was the wish or the name who came first. And I really don't care. The name, Azaria, came just out of nowhere. One might think that is related to the Portuguese word 'azar', which means bad-luck.
A river named Azar and a castle of same name will drive one thought to this. But no, first I came with Azaria. Then I began to code and write the very first scenes: the roads, the market and a river. I came with the idea that Azaria should have a river, complete with merchant ships, even being a city locate in the 'Great Mountains of Arake'. The name of the river was the city name shortened, so 'Azaria' - 'ia' = 'Azar'. The castle later just get the river's name.
To give another example of the randomness of the name, the Mountain Range suffer from the same illness: As I was writing the very first entry I just wrote: 'Após atravessar as trilhas das Grandes Montanhas de Araque...'
Now, I changed Araque (a Portuguese word meaning 'Bogus') to Arake and stick with that.
But don't be fooled by what I'm saying here, even if 'azar' (bad luck) didn't being the origin, I do used it a lot, really, a lot. To the point that you have a chance of just fall to death while crossing a unprotected bridge.
Well, the 'game' (a very ALPHA type of game, you've been warned) can be download here: http://cavanholi.github.com/azaria
It is made with python, the very basic of it, so you will need it installed before trying.
You may check the github repository and readme file to updates: http://github.com/cavanholi/azaria#readme
For some time now, a few weeks actually, just little more than a month, I've been working in a 'sort of kind of text based game'.
Back in the beginning, August 18, I started the very first sketch of what is today something barely playable. I don't actually remember what came first, if it was the name of AZARIA, or the desire in making a sort of game hugely inspired in those old Fighting Fantasy games (the name Ian Livingstone came easily in my mind).
What I know is that after I started I did a small research: mainly a look in the 'first page of google search results' and found nothing interesting. I did found a few online play-by-browser games, but they where just a copy and paste of the old game books.
The thing I have in mind, is a bit different:
You do arrive in city and walk around through scenes. But instead of going to the 'entry number 28 if you grab the necklace or move back to 254 if you forgot it', I want to give you options based on what you have done already. If you have the damn necklace, fine, you have a option to go/do/talk something different, if not, sorry, the only option is the basic one.
Also in this dynamism are the combat system. If you fought the guy blocking the bridge and won, he won't be there if you leave and back again latter, but his fellow could now occupy his place instead.
This is not very easy and not that much difficult. The hard part is just figure out how I want the data to be stored/managed/displayed, and I changed that a few times already.
A second point I have in mind is to have different classes, fighters, thieves, mages, and so on... For now, anything magic is just, well, far in the horizon. But I made the character 'sheet' able to receive that.
The whole character sheet is part of another 'project'. Something totally unrelated to Azaria. I will speak about mechanics in another post.
Well, as I told up here, I don't know if it was the wish or the name who came first. And I really don't care. The name, Azaria, came just out of nowhere. One might think that is related to the Portuguese word 'azar', which means bad-luck.
A river named Azar and a castle of same name will drive one thought to this. But no, first I came with Azaria. Then I began to code and write the very first scenes: the roads, the market and a river. I came with the idea that Azaria should have a river, complete with merchant ships, even being a city locate in the 'Great Mountains of Arake'. The name of the river was the city name shortened, so 'Azaria' - 'ia' = 'Azar'. The castle later just get the river's name.
To give another example of the randomness of the name, the Mountain Range suffer from the same illness: As I was writing the very first entry I just wrote: 'Após atravessar as trilhas das Grandes Montanhas de Araque...'
Now, I changed Araque (a Portuguese word meaning 'Bogus') to Arake and stick with that.
But don't be fooled by what I'm saying here, even if 'azar' (bad luck) didn't being the origin, I do used it a lot, really, a lot. To the point that you have a chance of just fall to death while crossing a unprotected bridge.
Well, the 'game' (a very ALPHA type of game, you've been warned) can be download here: http://cavanholi.github.com/azaria
It is made with python, the very basic of it, so you will need it installed before trying.
You may check the github repository and readme file to updates: http://github.com/cavanholi/azaria#readme
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