In the beginning, there was That Which Is, and That Which Is Not. That Which Is came to realize itself, and took the name Uhl and called itself the Sea, and That Which Is Not named itself Yaw and called itself the Sky. The Sky blew above and the Sea flowed below, and where the two met a great froth formed. The froth churned and bubbled, and from it came a great green mass that named itself Ur, and was called Life by Uhl, the Sea, and Yaw, the Sky. Ur made it known to Uhl and Yaw that it was not born of them, but it had always existed, though without form.
Thus it was that Ur floated on top of Uhl and beneath Yaw, and as Ur's body lived, so to did it die, and sink into the depths of the Sea. And so, as Life was given body from the froth where the Sea met the Sky, and the death of this body created a great mound within Uhl, until it pushed Ur aside and passed from Uhl into Yaw. The Sky saw this and called the bodies Earth, and as Earth came into contact with Lice, it began again to live, and named itself Dou.
So it was that Uhl flowed and Yaw blew, and that from their froth Ur took body, and as that body lived and died it gave shape to Dou, and Dou continued to grow. As Dou grew wider, and taller, there ame to be parts of the Earth where Uhl could no longer reach, and so Uhl asked Ur what these parts of the Earth were like. Ur agreed to look, and crawled onto Dou, and thus Life spread across the Earth. As there was life, there was death, and where Life became death without the touch of the Sea, a new thing came to be. It burned, and scorched Dou's body, causing great pain, and so Dou begged the Sea and the Sky for help. So the Sky picked up great armfulls of the Sea and poured it onto the Earth, and when this water, now separated from Uhl, touched Ur it sprang to new life, and named itself Ber, and it was called Rain.
As Ber poured down, there came a great cry as the heat recoiled in pain. The heat named itself Man, and begged for the Rain to end. Dou refused, furious over the pain it had felt, but Uhl pointed out the pain of having the Earth inside of the Sea, and Ur the pain of the death that gave the Earth shape. So Dou relented, and Man became called Fire. Dou's heart hardened with resentment, but the Earth in time realized that Fire could not exist without the Earth to separate it from the Sea. Thus the Earth became sympathetic towards Fire, and separated from it's hardened heart, calling it Metal, and upon being separated from Dou it came into new life, naming itself Dai.
Man was greatful for the mercy of Dou, and yet worried that he could again grow wild and beyond control; and so, he dug great trenches, and asked Uhl and Ber to fill them. Ur, being curious, moved to see these new things, and called them River, and as they touched Life, they became aware and took the name Ban.
Thus it was, that the Sky blew above, and the Sea flowed below, and the Earth rose from the depths, and Life was given body and crawled from the Sea to the Earth, and Fire was born of death without water, and Rain and River were made to prevent the Fire from destroying all, and anger became Metal in the heart of the Earth. This, is how the world was formed.
6/10/2013
5/31/2013
the women
Larich - Short Soldier
Larich is a young (mid forties) Dwarf woman, actually somewhat tall for her kind, with a high pitched voice and a somewhat childish attitude. Her mellow nature and friendly demeanor make her friends easily, a somewhat unusual trait, given that most adventurers are at best a bit rough around the edges. Her size, voice, and attitudelend to most people (deliberately or otherwise) treating her like a kind of little sister. She plays this up at times, but is every bit as capable as any other adventurer. Larich was brought to the world of quests and conflict by equal parts wanderlust and being kicked out of Dwarfhome for refusing to choose a profession and stick with it.
While Larich is friends with pretty much everyone in the guild, if she takes a particular shine to the player she'll follow them around when not otherwise busy. While sometimes annoying she makes an effort to be helpful when she can; sparring with the player, helping them study, or teaching them about the six different grades of granite recognized by the Dwarven Masonry Union. If this develops along more romantic lines, Larich attitude towards the player is best described as puppy love.
Larich's story is about how - or even if - she decides to balance the serious with the silly, whether she 'grows up' or not. It also deals with how outward appearances shape how people interact, intentionally or otherwise.
Caroline - The Amazon
Caroline is a relatively normal Plainsdweller woman thats simply tired of life on her family farm. Fortunately, even a relatively normal Plainsdweller woman is still seven feet tall and nearly three hundred pounds. Unlike most Plainsdwellers, though, rather than being rather humble about her strength she embraces it. She's not the best fighter or the quickest learner, but her work ethic and determination to see her choise through more than make up for it.
As with almost any Plainsdweller, Caroline values honesty and reliability (humility, not as much). If the player becomes friends with her they can rely on to go through Hell and back, so long as they carefully stoke her ego and make her feel like a hero. Similarly, the key to ensnaring her romantically is to flatter her and keep her feeling like she's in control (or at least, allow her the space to outwardly say that she is).
Caroline's story revolves around the purpose of power, and to what end Caroline uses hers. She can end up either as an example of exceptionalism (if she simply works to become the best she can and thinks of power as it's own reason), as a leader (if she uses her power to improve her own social and economic standing), or as a hero (if she uses her power to help others).
Esther - Queen of War
The middle-aged widow of an adventurer, Esther bicked up basic combat skills from her late husband and developed a desire to see the continent, intruiged by the mementos and stories he brought back from his travels. As the daughter of a wealthy Doren merchant, she has a refinement and style that give her a rather regal bearing relative to the sort that usually become adventurers, earning her the nickname 'Queen of War'. In spite of her relative newness to the profession, Esther holds a surprisingly large body of knowledge, thanks to her relationship with her late husband.
If the player befriends Esther she becomes a sort of advisor. She's had enough exposure to the upper crust of her parent's world to understand the mindset behind the type that generally fund adventurers, and enough contact with adventurers to understand what drives them. If pressed, she reveals the player reminds them of one of her husband's old friends. As a romantic interest, Esther has the same feckless attitude towards sex shared by many adventurers, she is more reserved about holding a more serious relationship.
Esther's story deals heavily with the Adventurer's Guild and how such a powerful entity fits into the political dynamic of a fantasy world. It deals with how the Guild maintains some degree of neutrality, how it reacts in times of outright war, and when different buyers pit adventurers against each other.
Kelson - White Rose
Kelson is a young Ratkin woman with creamy white fur, which has earned her the nickname 'mouse' among those she grew up with. This name does not please her. As a result she's become rather defensive and hot-headed (partly to counter the weak image that the name carries n her mind). Even so, when she does reign in her aggression the name rather fits - she's a genuinely sweet and gentle girl with those she's comfortable around. Kelson joined the Adventurer's Guild simply as a way of making extra money where she could.
Having come from a family and culture where reliance on others is tantamount to the survival of the group, Kelson can be relied on to do just about anything if the player befriends her. However this works both ways - a player that refuses one of her requests will quickly find her becoming distant. As a romantic interest, Kelson takes the same kind of ultra-aggressive childishness you might see on a playground. She does make her interest in the player very clear however, coming across less tsundere and more crazy bipolar girlfriend.
to clarify since i didn't make it clear in the last post;
Pascavis - romance is open to females/herms
Caspar - romance is open to all
Rex - romance is open to females
Joachim - romance is open to females/herms
(there will be other male homosexual romance options available - a dwarf in the 'bear' mould and a sort of effeminate goblin guy)
Larich - romance is open to all
Caroline - romance is open to men/herms
Esther - romance is open to all
Kelson - romance is open to all
the decision to open more women to same sex relationships is very simply because in the polls i've had up in the past, more people stated that they played women (and herms), and more people expressed interest in fem/fem and fem/herm relationships than man/man and man/herm.
naturally all of these characters are going to be added rather slowly once the game proper starts getting out. probably going to start with kelson and rex, adding the rest of the core eight, and then moving on, adding characters as their locations start coming up. also worth noting is that these are all notable characters, intended to have romantic encounters beyond simple sex, and all capable of joining your party to fight.
Larich is a young (mid forties) Dwarf woman, actually somewhat tall for her kind, with a high pitched voice and a somewhat childish attitude. Her mellow nature and friendly demeanor make her friends easily, a somewhat unusual trait, given that most adventurers are at best a bit rough around the edges. Her size, voice, and attitudelend to most people (deliberately or otherwise) treating her like a kind of little sister. She plays this up at times, but is every bit as capable as any other adventurer. Larich was brought to the world of quests and conflict by equal parts wanderlust and being kicked out of Dwarfhome for refusing to choose a profession and stick with it.
While Larich is friends with pretty much everyone in the guild, if she takes a particular shine to the player she'll follow them around when not otherwise busy. While sometimes annoying she makes an effort to be helpful when she can; sparring with the player, helping them study, or teaching them about the six different grades of granite recognized by the Dwarven Masonry Union. If this develops along more romantic lines, Larich attitude towards the player is best described as puppy love.
Larich's story is about how - or even if - she decides to balance the serious with the silly, whether she 'grows up' or not. It also deals with how outward appearances shape how people interact, intentionally or otherwise.
Caroline - The Amazon
Caroline is a relatively normal Plainsdweller woman thats simply tired of life on her family farm. Fortunately, even a relatively normal Plainsdweller woman is still seven feet tall and nearly three hundred pounds. Unlike most Plainsdwellers, though, rather than being rather humble about her strength she embraces it. She's not the best fighter or the quickest learner, but her work ethic and determination to see her choise through more than make up for it.
As with almost any Plainsdweller, Caroline values honesty and reliability (humility, not as much). If the player becomes friends with her they can rely on to go through Hell and back, so long as they carefully stoke her ego and make her feel like a hero. Similarly, the key to ensnaring her romantically is to flatter her and keep her feeling like she's in control (or at least, allow her the space to outwardly say that she is).
Caroline's story revolves around the purpose of power, and to what end Caroline uses hers. She can end up either as an example of exceptionalism (if she simply works to become the best she can and thinks of power as it's own reason), as a leader (if she uses her power to improve her own social and economic standing), or as a hero (if she uses her power to help others).
Esther - Queen of War
The middle-aged widow of an adventurer, Esther bicked up basic combat skills from her late husband and developed a desire to see the continent, intruiged by the mementos and stories he brought back from his travels. As the daughter of a wealthy Doren merchant, she has a refinement and style that give her a rather regal bearing relative to the sort that usually become adventurers, earning her the nickname 'Queen of War'. In spite of her relative newness to the profession, Esther holds a surprisingly large body of knowledge, thanks to her relationship with her late husband.
If the player befriends Esther she becomes a sort of advisor. She's had enough exposure to the upper crust of her parent's world to understand the mindset behind the type that generally fund adventurers, and enough contact with adventurers to understand what drives them. If pressed, she reveals the player reminds them of one of her husband's old friends. As a romantic interest, Esther has the same feckless attitude towards sex shared by many adventurers, she is more reserved about holding a more serious relationship.
Esther's story deals heavily with the Adventurer's Guild and how such a powerful entity fits into the political dynamic of a fantasy world. It deals with how the Guild maintains some degree of neutrality, how it reacts in times of outright war, and when different buyers pit adventurers against each other.
Kelson - White Rose
Kelson is a young Ratkin woman with creamy white fur, which has earned her the nickname 'mouse' among those she grew up with. This name does not please her. As a result she's become rather defensive and hot-headed (partly to counter the weak image that the name carries n her mind). Even so, when she does reign in her aggression the name rather fits - she's a genuinely sweet and gentle girl with those she's comfortable around. Kelson joined the Adventurer's Guild simply as a way of making extra money where she could.
Having come from a family and culture where reliance on others is tantamount to the survival of the group, Kelson can be relied on to do just about anything if the player befriends her. However this works both ways - a player that refuses one of her requests will quickly find her becoming distant. As a romantic interest, Kelson takes the same kind of ultra-aggressive childishness you might see on a playground. She does make her interest in the player very clear however, coming across less tsundere and more crazy bipolar girlfriend.
to clarify since i didn't make it clear in the last post;
Pascavis - romance is open to females/herms
Caspar - romance is open to all
Rex - romance is open to females
Joachim - romance is open to females/herms
(there will be other male homosexual romance options available - a dwarf in the 'bear' mould and a sort of effeminate goblin guy)
Larich - romance is open to all
Caroline - romance is open to men/herms
Esther - romance is open to all
Kelson - romance is open to all
the decision to open more women to same sex relationships is very simply because in the polls i've had up in the past, more people stated that they played women (and herms), and more people expressed interest in fem/fem and fem/herm relationships than man/man and man/herm.
naturally all of these characters are going to be added rather slowly once the game proper starts getting out. probably going to start with kelson and rex, adding the rest of the core eight, and then moving on, adding characters as their locations start coming up. also worth noting is that these are all notable characters, intended to have romantic encounters beyond simple sex, and all capable of joining your party to fight.
5/30/2013
the guys
Pascavis - Son of Doren
Pascavis is a Imperial master swordsman, recently retired from the Doren guard. After years of hard work and climbing ranks, he began to feel a dissatisfaction with his work. His settled on the idea of becoming an adventurer, always having been intruiged by the strange wanderers that he met so often during his work, usually getting into some sort of trouble. All the same, he sees the Guild's training process as a necessity, because while he can hold his own against any of the combat trainers, his wilderness survival skills were almost nonexistent, having spent his entire life in the city. While constant association with the city's criminal element has hardly left him naieve, he is somewhat ignorant of life outside the city's well-ordered and civil culture.
As a friend, Pascavis is something of a big brother, taking a somewhat protective mentor role if they're weaker than him and a acting as a staunch ally and loyal friend if they're equally matched or stronger than him. As a romantic interest, Pascavis is somewhat awkward, his life in the city guard having left him with time for only a few short relationships. He tends to follow the player's lead, rather than take the initiative on his own. Pascavis has no romantic interest in other men.
Pascavis's story arc revolves around the disconnect he feels between his strength and his possession of it. He is a fantastic fighter, but has always lent his sword to the causes of others, and never his own, to the point where he isn't even sure if he has a purpose on his own.
Caspar - The Hero Born
Caspar is a Highborn from Knell, seeking to become a famous adventure - revered, respected, and feared. His life, to this point, has been spent working towards this goal; he has studied swordsmanship, law, etiquette, court politics, learned how to survive in the wilds, repair his armor and weapons, and anything else he could possibly imagine might be worthwhile to know when questing for fame and glory; everything, that is, except how to be a figure worth admiring. Caspar is incredibly competitive but somewhat good natured about it; in truth, he's too focused on himself to consider actually trying to sabotage anyone else.
Caspar sees the potential the player has if befriended, and quickly seeks to ensure his own greatness by associating himself with the player. The two train together and Caspar makes his loyalty known by deeds as well as words, but all the same, his drive to compete sets him up as a sort of rival. Caspar can (and will) fall in love with any player that happens to strike his fancy, male, female, or otherwise. As in everything else, he tends to be somewhat demanding and self-centered.
Caspar's arc explores the relationships between fame, strength, and social power. If such a book had been written in this world, Caspar would consider 'The Prince' to be his bible.
Rex - The Unfortunate Giant
Rex is a Lizardkin born abnormally large. He stands as tall as an Imperial, with a slim and powerfully muscled body that comes almost without effort. Such individuals are not entirely unheard of among the Lizardkin, but Rex lacks the thick armor-like scales that usually come with his size. The combination of size and a distinct, almost draconic, appearance generally means those like Rex are heralded as great leaders, but his utterly mundane scales leave him stranded somewhere in the middle. Unable to command the respect needed to lead but never quite fitting in among the common people, Rex left the Sun Coast to seek his fate as an adventurer.
Rex and the player can easily become friends simply if the player accepts Rex as he is. Rex, for his part, feels some sort of deep strength in the player, some ethereal quality that seems to make them a born leader. His curiosity about the player, bordering sometimes on being awestruck with them, seats him into the role of a younger sibling. As a romantic interest, Rex finds himself drawn to this same ethereal quality. He sees a certain sort of premeditation in the way the player moves and speaks that utterly enchants him.
Rex's story centers around how he chooses to deal with the situation of his unique birth. It explores ideas surrounding tradition, social expectation, and personal desires.
Joachim - The Killer
Joachim is a calm and controlled older man that, like most Foresters, prefers to remain quiet when not directly spoken to. What makes him unusual is his temper. Whether because of his (rumored) Orcish heritage, some kind of disorder, or an outright curse, Joachim has a propensity to fall into a blind, unthinking rage when he feels his life is at risk. Joachim has joined the adventurer's guild after several years living as a near hermit, having finally decided to try and find something - anything - that can help him learn to control himself.
Joachim, regardless of whatever kind of relationship he has with the player, remains somewhat distant from them. As a friend, Joachim seems to take some small comfort in the player's almost cavaleir willingness to spar with him, to the point where he questions if they even believe his rages are real. As a romantic interest, Joachim is somewhat more complex; he is a bit of a romantic and helpless to the urges of his heart, but his sense tries to keep him from getting too close to anyone, lest he lose control at a bad time.
Joachim's arc examines the unavoidable violence that combat always entails,and where the line is drawn between a civil fight and the sort of tooth-and-nail fighting that people would like to think is only seen in wild beasts.
a listing for the some of the potential party members you'll meet at the start of the game. i've been writing off and on over the past few months, and this is what's come out. i'll post the four ladies tomorrow after i've had time to type them up; hopefully after that i'll be in the mood to pick coding back up. the women are:
Larich - Short Soldier
Caroline - The Amazon
Esther - Queen of War
Kelson - White Rose
Pascavis is a Imperial master swordsman, recently retired from the Doren guard. After years of hard work and climbing ranks, he began to feel a dissatisfaction with his work. His settled on the idea of becoming an adventurer, always having been intruiged by the strange wanderers that he met so often during his work, usually getting into some sort of trouble. All the same, he sees the Guild's training process as a necessity, because while he can hold his own against any of the combat trainers, his wilderness survival skills were almost nonexistent, having spent his entire life in the city. While constant association with the city's criminal element has hardly left him naieve, he is somewhat ignorant of life outside the city's well-ordered and civil culture.
As a friend, Pascavis is something of a big brother, taking a somewhat protective mentor role if they're weaker than him and a acting as a staunch ally and loyal friend if they're equally matched or stronger than him. As a romantic interest, Pascavis is somewhat awkward, his life in the city guard having left him with time for only a few short relationships. He tends to follow the player's lead, rather than take the initiative on his own. Pascavis has no romantic interest in other men.
Pascavis's story arc revolves around the disconnect he feels between his strength and his possession of it. He is a fantastic fighter, but has always lent his sword to the causes of others, and never his own, to the point where he isn't even sure if he has a purpose on his own.
Caspar - The Hero Born
Caspar is a Highborn from Knell, seeking to become a famous adventure - revered, respected, and feared. His life, to this point, has been spent working towards this goal; he has studied swordsmanship, law, etiquette, court politics, learned how to survive in the wilds, repair his armor and weapons, and anything else he could possibly imagine might be worthwhile to know when questing for fame and glory; everything, that is, except how to be a figure worth admiring. Caspar is incredibly competitive but somewhat good natured about it; in truth, he's too focused on himself to consider actually trying to sabotage anyone else.
Caspar sees the potential the player has if befriended, and quickly seeks to ensure his own greatness by associating himself with the player. The two train together and Caspar makes his loyalty known by deeds as well as words, but all the same, his drive to compete sets him up as a sort of rival. Caspar can (and will) fall in love with any player that happens to strike his fancy, male, female, or otherwise. As in everything else, he tends to be somewhat demanding and self-centered.
Caspar's arc explores the relationships between fame, strength, and social power. If such a book had been written in this world, Caspar would consider 'The Prince' to be his bible.
Rex - The Unfortunate Giant
Rex is a Lizardkin born abnormally large. He stands as tall as an Imperial, with a slim and powerfully muscled body that comes almost without effort. Such individuals are not entirely unheard of among the Lizardkin, but Rex lacks the thick armor-like scales that usually come with his size. The combination of size and a distinct, almost draconic, appearance generally means those like Rex are heralded as great leaders, but his utterly mundane scales leave him stranded somewhere in the middle. Unable to command the respect needed to lead but never quite fitting in among the common people, Rex left the Sun Coast to seek his fate as an adventurer.
Rex and the player can easily become friends simply if the player accepts Rex as he is. Rex, for his part, feels some sort of deep strength in the player, some ethereal quality that seems to make them a born leader. His curiosity about the player, bordering sometimes on being awestruck with them, seats him into the role of a younger sibling. As a romantic interest, Rex finds himself drawn to this same ethereal quality. He sees a certain sort of premeditation in the way the player moves and speaks that utterly enchants him.
Rex's story centers around how he chooses to deal with the situation of his unique birth. It explores ideas surrounding tradition, social expectation, and personal desires.
Joachim - The Killer
Joachim is a calm and controlled older man that, like most Foresters, prefers to remain quiet when not directly spoken to. What makes him unusual is his temper. Whether because of his (rumored) Orcish heritage, some kind of disorder, or an outright curse, Joachim has a propensity to fall into a blind, unthinking rage when he feels his life is at risk. Joachim has joined the adventurer's guild after several years living as a near hermit, having finally decided to try and find something - anything - that can help him learn to control himself.
Joachim, regardless of whatever kind of relationship he has with the player, remains somewhat distant from them. As a friend, Joachim seems to take some small comfort in the player's almost cavaleir willingness to spar with him, to the point where he questions if they even believe his rages are real. As a romantic interest, Joachim is somewhat more complex; he is a bit of a romantic and helpless to the urges of his heart, but his sense tries to keep him from getting too close to anyone, lest he lose control at a bad time.
Joachim's arc examines the unavoidable violence that combat always entails,and where the line is drawn between a civil fight and the sort of tooth-and-nail fighting that people would like to think is only seen in wild beasts.
a listing for the some of the potential party members you'll meet at the start of the game. i've been writing off and on over the past few months, and this is what's come out. i'll post the four ladies tomorrow after i've had time to type them up; hopefully after that i'll be in the mood to pick coding back up. the women are:
Larich - Short Soldier
Caroline - The Amazon
Esther - Queen of War
Kelson - White Rose
5/26/2013
on user interface
so, the main reason that i wasn't satisfied with the old interface was that contained a lot of wasted space and unneeded information.
to begin, my basic thought is that any information presented on a given screen should be actionable; it should in some way inform the decisions that the player is making, or else it serves no purpose. stats like strength and agility can have an impact, but they're both very much persistent statistics; they don't change enough to really warrant providing constant updates as to their status. health is relevant; it changes frequently and directly effects whether a player will decide to seek or avoid combat. name is relevant (in parties) to show who owns what health. day and time are (or will be) relevant, because time will at some point impact which events occur when exploring.
level doesn't impact decision making. experience only needs to be listed if there's some sort of system (that the player can impact in a meaningful way) that changes your stats on level up based on some equipped item or such, in which case you're just providing the player with busywork in order to feel like they're getting the most out of the game, which is bad.
secondly, i don't know why there was a second panel for the 10key. yes, it allows mouse controls rather than keyboard - but it doesn't need to be so large. there's already a panel for system output, so that can be used to inform the player of their options, and all you need is a small bar beneath or above that for buttons.
the new ui is going to have 4 distinct sections: character display (party status; name/health, name/health), game text ("you are in a place"), system text ("options: 1. explore 2. find 3. move") and the button bar. no more text input bar; that can be done by popping up a window, since entering your character's name is really the only time it will be used.
i did get a new keyboard last night. this one has three broken shift keys.
to begin, my basic thought is that any information presented on a given screen should be actionable; it should in some way inform the decisions that the player is making, or else it serves no purpose. stats like strength and agility can have an impact, but they're both very much persistent statistics; they don't change enough to really warrant providing constant updates as to their status. health is relevant; it changes frequently and directly effects whether a player will decide to seek or avoid combat. name is relevant (in parties) to show who owns what health. day and time are (or will be) relevant, because time will at some point impact which events occur when exploring.
level doesn't impact decision making. experience only needs to be listed if there's some sort of system (that the player can impact in a meaningful way) that changes your stats on level up based on some equipped item or such, in which case you're just providing the player with busywork in order to feel like they're getting the most out of the game, which is bad.
secondly, i don't know why there was a second panel for the 10key. yes, it allows mouse controls rather than keyboard - but it doesn't need to be so large. there's already a panel for system output, so that can be used to inform the player of their options, and all you need is a small bar beneath or above that for buttons.
the new ui is going to have 4 distinct sections: character display (party status; name/health, name/health), game text ("you are in a place"), system text ("options: 1. explore 2. find 3. move") and the button bar. no more text input bar; that can be done by popping up a window, since entering your character's name is really the only time it will be used.
i did get a new keyboard last night. this one has three broken shift keys.
5/25/2013
a return
the illness is over, the body has been buried, and life is returning to normal. apologies for saying nothing about the hiatus or it's cause, but i prefer to keep my private life private.
i'm going to be rewriting the game engine from scratch, in part because i'm not happy with all of the crap cluttering the screen in the last release (also, it was willed with bugs and fail). the game is going to turn out to be more of a text adventure rpg, rather than roguelike; perhaps i should use this as an opportunity to change the name from 'frogue' to something else. expect a post detailing my thoughts about the old ui, the new ui in the next few days, followed by some npc profiles and (hopefully) a basic release before too long.
while i'm at it, maybe i should get a keyboard that doesn't have two broken shift keys.
i'm going to be rewriting the game engine from scratch, in part because i'm not happy with all of the crap cluttering the screen in the last release (also, it was willed with bugs and fail). the game is going to turn out to be more of a text adventure rpg, rather than roguelike; perhaps i should use this as an opportunity to change the name from 'frogue' to something else. expect a post detailing my thoughts about the old ui, the new ui in the next few days, followed by some npc profiles and (hopefully) a basic release before too long.
while i'm at it, maybe i should get a keyboard that doesn't have two broken shift keys.
11/03/2012
on real life
it's about 4 am now. about to finish getting ready for work today (leaving in a half hour). if everything goes smoothly i'll be home around 5, and from there i'll probably go in for a shift at my new, second job. i've already worked probably 42-44 hours this week.
nothing got done this week. too consumed by work and trying to stay sane.
nothing got done this week. too consumed by work and trying to stay sane.
10/29/2012
on elves
i've never been terribly fond of how elves are depicted in fantasy stories. idealistic, nearly perfect, incredibly intelligent, talented, and long lived... and yet, somehow, always in decline. all of the persecution complex without any reason to actually be persecuted. but besides that, there's a few things that i just never quite got.
first, there's the forests. with the exception of maybe old nordic legends, the elves always live in forests. this isn't really so bad, except the one major feature that almost all elves share is their fantastic eyesight. these two just don't seem to fit together so well with me; in the sort of thick, overgrown forest that elves so often inhabit, you don't get to take advantage of that kind of eyesight. being able to see ten miles means nothing if the trees keep you from seeing more than a few hundred feet. why are these two features almost always found together, when the one cancels out the advantage of the other? why wouldn't they live somewhere their incredible sight actually helps them?
the second thing that bugs me is the 'peaceful guardians of nature' thing. granted there are a few precious (and notably better) examples of this, but for the most part, elves are depicted as being reluctant to go to war or fight, excessively defensive of the sanctity of their forests, et cetera. i've never liked this sort of view of nature, as some sort of ideal state. nature isn't strictly a thing of beauty; it's senseless death, terrible tragedy, and heartless self-serving survivalism. the young and the weak die, the strong take advantage of the weak, and only the luckiest, craftiest, strongest, savagest, and most desperate survive. i've always seen civilization as an opposite to nature strictly because it tries to change this: a place where the young and weak are protected, the strong protect the weak, and the drive for individual survival is replaced by a drive for communal survival. nature doesn't have, or need, guardians; nature simply exists. if the forests wither and die, that is how nature progresses. if species go extinct, that is how nature progresses. but, that's an entirely other topic of an entirely different gravity.
the third thing about elves that i don't like is their long lives. most fantasy and sci fi lores fall into the problem of not properly handling long-lived species. humans can see four generations for 90 or 100 years; if elves mature at around the same rate, that could be 20-40 generations. the alternatives are that they take a long time to reach adult size (a 60 year old child), have absolutely absurd gestation periods (2-5 years), bizarre reproductive physiology (only capable of breeding every hundred years), or some other disadvantage that would probably preclude their species from advancing past a few generations. even worse, without any of these things, they live long enough that any significant reproductive rate would quickly see them spread across a world in great swarms. now, i could see how this could make for a good source of ancient ruins (spread like wildfire, quickly occupy the entire world, wars break out as overpopulation sets in, war leads to massive rapid technological/magical development, eventually a weapon is developed that virtually wipes the world clean of the race)... but that creates an extinct civilization, not one that's in decline.
haven't had much spare time the past few days. had a tire glow flat (had to replace it), worked long shifts this weekend... and admittedly, played a fair bit of borderlands 2. the mechromancer really kicks ass.
first, there's the forests. with the exception of maybe old nordic legends, the elves always live in forests. this isn't really so bad, except the one major feature that almost all elves share is their fantastic eyesight. these two just don't seem to fit together so well with me; in the sort of thick, overgrown forest that elves so often inhabit, you don't get to take advantage of that kind of eyesight. being able to see ten miles means nothing if the trees keep you from seeing more than a few hundred feet. why are these two features almost always found together, when the one cancels out the advantage of the other? why wouldn't they live somewhere their incredible sight actually helps them?
the second thing that bugs me is the 'peaceful guardians of nature' thing. granted there are a few precious (and notably better) examples of this, but for the most part, elves are depicted as being reluctant to go to war or fight, excessively defensive of the sanctity of their forests, et cetera. i've never liked this sort of view of nature, as some sort of ideal state. nature isn't strictly a thing of beauty; it's senseless death, terrible tragedy, and heartless self-serving survivalism. the young and the weak die, the strong take advantage of the weak, and only the luckiest, craftiest, strongest, savagest, and most desperate survive. i've always seen civilization as an opposite to nature strictly because it tries to change this: a place where the young and weak are protected, the strong protect the weak, and the drive for individual survival is replaced by a drive for communal survival. nature doesn't have, or need, guardians; nature simply exists. if the forests wither and die, that is how nature progresses. if species go extinct, that is how nature progresses. but, that's an entirely other topic of an entirely different gravity.
the third thing about elves that i don't like is their long lives. most fantasy and sci fi lores fall into the problem of not properly handling long-lived species. humans can see four generations for 90 or 100 years; if elves mature at around the same rate, that could be 20-40 generations. the alternatives are that they take a long time to reach adult size (a 60 year old child), have absolutely absurd gestation periods (2-5 years), bizarre reproductive physiology (only capable of breeding every hundred years), or some other disadvantage that would probably preclude their species from advancing past a few generations. even worse, without any of these things, they live long enough that any significant reproductive rate would quickly see them spread across a world in great swarms. now, i could see how this could make for a good source of ancient ruins (spread like wildfire, quickly occupy the entire world, wars break out as overpopulation sets in, war leads to massive rapid technological/magical development, eventually a weapon is developed that virtually wipes the world clean of the race)... but that creates an extinct civilization, not one that's in decline.
haven't had much spare time the past few days. had a tire glow flat (had to replace it), worked long shifts this weekend... and admittedly, played a fair bit of borderlands 2. the mechromancer really kicks ass.
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