Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Smart advices I shall use carefully

http://lostgarden.com/2008/02/gdc-past-lessons.html

Simple but quite useful for a project like mine. There's already some element from this list that made it into the current version currently in testing:


Build in the "Norm Effect" if at all possible

I think the first NPC that talked was welcoming every new characters in a given zone. Simple to do and can be extended to add more fancy stuff like "Welcome [character name]! Congratulation for your recent achievement [badge name]".

Include spectators

The "Log as guest" button is all about that. Instant access to the game without any boring account creation process (at the cost of limited interaction).

Legends must grow

Not currently implemented but planned from the start, access to characters stats from a web service (to start) and then a web interface (like the WoW one).

Facilitate relationships

There's a guild system but a friends system is probably needed as well. To know if you're friends are online or not in a single glimpse makes it a lot easier than sending random /tell to check if the character is online or not.

Include cooperation

The way crafting will operate will surely require many people to cooperate or at least do quite some trades to achieve the high end items. Ex.: To craft a large chest, you first need a small chest. You can buy it from someone or craft it yourself since it's easy to craft.

However, to craft a tavern, you need small wood modules to craft medium wood modules to craft the require number of large wood modules to craft the tavern. This means a lot of resources and probably a considerable amount of time. But if you're able to get right away the large wood modules from someone else, the task becomes easier, faster, funnier.

Facilitate special events

I think GMs' commands can be easily used to create events on-the-fly. Some tweaking might be needed and more is planned (like the ability to award custom badges for the futur badge system).




2 Comments:

Micha said...

On the cooperative crafting idea...a thought...
In most similar games, what you mention is usually possible by buying pre-built/gathered components from other entities, saving time at the expense of other resources, usually money. As an alternative (but not a replacement), groups of users, in a guild or otherwise, could come together to build something that combines all of their skill and resources. Perhaps something like a giant Godzilla-sized robot or a guild hall or something else nearly impossible for a single player to make on his or her own. Even regular sized objects with rare components would be ideal for this kind of thing.

Over00 said...

yep, those are good ideas. Specially like the giant-size monster that can be crafted. This part will be a really fun one to elaborate.

I already thought about some kind of manor which would require rare gems and gold to build (who wants a manor made simply of wood?!) or special weapons that would require rare metal.

The current mining system makes it perfect to play with resources rarity.