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cairnswm
20-02-2007, 12:41 PM
After some careful thought I have come to the conclusion that Fairy Fantasy was not goign to be fun to play. As being fun to play is a critical part of any game I have decided to move to a new idea.

Viking rampage is a cross between and Action Adventure game and a match three puzzle game. An action adventure with lots of action and a scoring system that basically takes the match three idea and puzzle games bonuses and combos.

In Viking Rampage the player controls a Viking who has landed in a hostile land and must kill as many sheep as possible, because as everyone knows Vikings just hate sheep. As the level starts a Viking boat will drop the Viking off at one edge of the map and the Viking must do his war and destruction before the boat leaves the other end of the screen.

Other people and enemy soldiers will try and protect their sheep and chase the Viking away. The Viking scores points every time he kills a sheep, or enemy soldier, but loses points when he kills innocent civilians. Bonus points and combos can be collected based on the color of the sheep he kills and various other effects such as the number of burning farm houses there are when he kills a sheep.

Various pickups across the map will give certain benefits such as boots of speed or special armor against arrows. Some items will also give bonus scores and even slow down or back up the boat giving the Viking extra time in the enemy village.

A detailed design document can be found at http://www.cairnsgames.co.za/files/VikingRampageDesignDocument.pdf.

Huehnerschaender
20-02-2007, 03:06 PM
:shock:

You change your game 20 days after the competition start? Wow... you have nerves :)

WILL
20-02-2007, 03:08 PM
umm... 'guts' Dirk, it's said "You have guts!" ;)

But indeed, it is a bold move to do so. But... it doesn't make it a bad thing if you can turn things around. Good luck with the new plan. :thumbup:

Traveler
20-02-2007, 03:49 PM
I must say I'm a bit surprised to see this happen. I thought you had things worked out quite well in Fairy Fantasy. To throw all that away, just because the fun factor isn't high enough doesn't sound right to me. Perhaps there are ways to add to the fun?

I've quickly read through your new design doc (currently still at the office, so a bit limited in time) but the puzzleelement kind of escaped me. You write that the player has to make combos by killing 3 sheeps of the same color in the correct order. To me that doesn't exactly sound like a puzzle, but more of a bonus to make the gameplay more interesting or to gain more points.

I also wonder if the points gained at stage 1 are now lost, with this new design. It is afterall submitted after the deadline. Personally I dont mind if the points remain, just curious about any official saying.

cairnswm
20-02-2007, 04:20 PM
I also wonder if the points gained at stage 1 are now lost, with this new design. It is afterall submitted after the deadline. Personally I dont mind if the points remain, just curious about any official saying.

Well just like the game can change at each stage of the development without losing points I doint see how they can take them away. No where anywhere in the rules does it say that you have to have each stage build on the previous stage - just good common sense says it would be best :)

You're the second person to query the Puzzle portion of the game - I may have to boost it a bit :)

pstudio
20-02-2007, 07:57 PM
because as everyone knows Vikings just hate sheep
I did not know that and my great grand grand... grandfather was a Viking ;) Well you learn something new everyday


but loses points when he kills innocent civiliansThat doesn't sound Vikingish. Being punished for doing what a Viking does best, killing :p

I must agree with the other that it's a bold move to change game in the middle of the competition (perhaps not exactly in the middle of the competition).

However I must say I like this new idea. Especially since it involves a Viking :D So you better finish this game so that I can go on a Sheep killing spree

Huehnerschaender
20-02-2007, 08:04 PM
/offtopic on

pstudio, do you know background about viking gods and culture?

/offtopic off

pstudio
20-02-2007, 09:39 PM
/offtopic on


pstudio, do you know background about viking gods and culture?

I have written my fair share of school papers about Vikings and their Mythology. Especially Mythology is something I know a bit about. I would say more than the average Dane.

and btw
That doesn't sound Vikingish. Being punished for doing what a Viking does best, killing :p this describes a rather stereotype impression of Vikings. Vikings aren't really bloodthearsty barbarians ;)

/offtopic off

cairnswm
21-02-2007, 05:09 AM
I must agree with the other that it's a bold move to change game in the middle of the competition (perhaps not exactly in the middle of the competition).

I'd agree if I had actually done any coding so far. I'm still busy working on S2DL!!

This project plan for the project doesn;t really suit my game coding style - typically 75% of the time spent on a game is spent thinking about the game and the architecture within the game. So up to now I have not actually started coding yet :)


this describes a rather stereotype impression of Vikings. Vikings aren't really bloodthearsty barbarians

Yes they are :) Well in this game they should be - but I must admit that trying to justify them not killing civilians while burnign down their houses doesn;t make much sense :) Maybe Vikings dont kill Pigs and Donkeys?

jasonf
21-02-2007, 10:37 AM
Swords don't kill people, Vikings do :D


Here's an idea, when you first start a mission, there are only a few enemy soldiers, the more sheep you kill, the more soldiers get added (1 soldier for every 10 sheep say).. if you kill the soldiers, for every 2 soldiers, another soldier is added.. if you kill a civilian, 2 soldiers get added.. But the Viking shouldn't get penalised for killing things. these numbers change depending on the difficulty level.

The puzzle aspect sounds like the old game Bomb Jack, where you had to collect the bombs in the right order to get the maxumum score for the level.

For the RPG elements to work, I think you need different types of soldiers (*just noticed this in your design doc), some are more immune to certain attacks than others. If you want to specialise in running away, you focus on your speed, but that won't protect you from the archers, if you want to use magic, you can kill from a distance but you become vulnerable up close because you have to stop to cast magic.. perhaps.. there has to be some disadvantage to focussing on a particular skill tree.

you could drag women back to the boat for bonusses

cairnswm
21-02-2007, 10:40 AM
the more sheep you kill, the more soldiers get added (1 soldier for every 10 sheep say).. if you kill the soldiers, for every 2 soldiers, another soldier is added.. if you kill a civilian, 2 soldiers get added..

I like!

So you as a player define your own difficulty level :) - if you want it tough - kill soldiers, maybe you only get score from sheep.... Mmmm needs some more thought.

jasonf
21-02-2007, 11:07 AM
I'd actually give score for killing the soldiers too, in fact, I'd give carnage bonuses, that gives an incentive to kill them and make the game harder for yourself.. of course, after going on a mad killing spree there would be too many soldiers to handle and you'd have to leg-it before more came, kill the sheep, burn the houses and get out.

This would add an extra addrenalin rush for those who want more excitement.. you could also level up your character quicker by killing the soldiers.. perhaps after killing a few soldiers, you get a bravery token to collect which boosts your stats temporarily making you more lethal. Kill enough soldiers and become Thor incarnate.

..but you can still only finish the level by killing the sheep :D

WILL
21-02-2007, 04:07 PM
Why do you have to kill the sheep? Why can't you just steal the sheep instead? :P

Not going all greenpeace on you or anything, but it seems like such a waste of a valuable resource. And would they not loot for gold and other valuables too?

cairnswm
21-02-2007, 06:01 PM
Cool ideas! - This game concept seems to have many options :)

Now can you help me get the puzzle aspect sorted out better?

Ñuño Martínez
22-02-2007, 11:33 AM
So, no more Fairy Fansasy? :(

Anyway this new concept is cool too. When I was child I want to be a viking! :twisted:

cairnswm
22-02-2007, 08:30 PM
The first download of Viking Rampage is available from
http://www.cairnsgames.co.za/files/viking.zip

So far you can run around the map using the arrow keys, press Left Ctrl/Shift to run faster. Space stops you moving - (This will allow an attack but that still needs to be coded).

Found some chnages needed in the Default TileMap that comes with S2DL - when I have time I'll update S2DL as well.

Huehnerschaender
22-02-2007, 09:37 PM
Runs nicely at 1350 FPS :)

One thing: When you run you should speed up animation, too :)

Hope to see more soon :)

Greetings,
Dirk

jdarling
23-02-2007, 02:28 PM
Runs fine on my box, pulling about 90fps (about the same as I get on Secrets as well). Nice to see your using Reiners tiles and sprites :).

cairnswm
27-02-2007, 11:39 AM
Small update loaded to my site. (Been very busy at work - spent the whole weekend here so no time for GameDev)

The new version has the viking bumping into trees, and allows him to pickup items - theres a row of items just above the viking in the game.

I think the collisions are a little too hard and I may need to make it easier to bump into things.

(PS. I always use Reiners psprites :) )

jasonf
27-02-2007, 12:08 PM
How can I have missed Reiner's site?... I've never seen it before.. cool sprites.. A little cartoony but they would make a really cool Zelda style game.

Everyday is a schoolday.

Traveler
27-02-2007, 06:18 PM
Looks good so far! About 384fps on my laptop.
The new features wheren't there afaict, although I could see the items.

Looking forward to the updates.

Sascha Willems
01-03-2007, 02:56 PM
Gave it a go on my system and so far it runs very well at about 1100 fps. But it seems that you can't pick up items in the latest version (at least I didn't find the button) and the collision radi for some trees are so small that I can pass through them most of the time.

cairnswm
01-03-2007, 03:00 PM
Picking up items is just a case of running though them :)

I have redone some of the collision stuff to make it harder to run through trees and easier to pick up items. Still got problems with running into chickens though (Did anyone see the chicken). Currently the collisions let you walk on top of chickens :(

Sort of know how to stop it happening so will work on it tonight.

Surrently thinking about making chickens explode instead of die - but cant get the look and feel of it right :)

WILL
01-03-2007, 03:10 PM
Imagines a large ploom of feathers. :P

Huehnerschaender
01-03-2007, 03:56 PM
And don't forget the boak boak sound!!!