It would make sense to start programming with the life game as the city game will essentially involve manipulating the life modules.
Character variables, technology variables, religion variables, also choices within a module will be different depending on the time in your life you encounter that module.
Lots more ideas going through my head too… Lots to think about…
Oops, started typing this before your second post andy. Here’s my take the stat sheet.
Well as a quick look here are the alterego stats (just after birth):
Occupation: (NONE)
Relationship status: UNATTACHED
`Familial: ##
Intellectual: ##
Physical: ##
Social: ##
Vocational: ##
Calmness: ##
Confidence: ##
Expressiveness: ##
Gentleness: ##
Happiness: ##
Thoughtfulness: ##
Trustworthiness: ##
Money: ###
Income per turn: 0
Thoughtless spending per turn: 0
Acquisitions: (NONE)`
Personally, I don’t like the second set of characteristics, so, uh, let me work something out…
Humility: ## :Pride/Confidence/Vanity (Someone think of a better ‘negative’ word for pride?)
Bashfulness: ## :Shamelessness
Cowardliness: ## :Rashness
Quarrelsomeness: ## :Flatterynessess… (Someone think of a word for this? Overly friendlyness?)
Naivety: ## :Paranoia
Here are a handful of psychological opposites (Negatives on both sides, I’m very much a supporter of the ‘everything in moderation’ path).
As for the top set of stats… I personally don’t like ‘Vocational’ being a stat unto itself. I mean, what does that cover? What if you change careers? I just don’t like it. But what does that mean we would need in its place? Tech skills, Business skills… I can’t think of a lot of other things. Maybe we could split the other skills too? Physical could be split into Strength/Agility/Dexterity/Constitution. Of course that can always be condensed into the Body/Agility combo (Body covers everything ‘mass’ based, while Agility covers everything ‘speed’ based). Social comes across as a sort of Empathy/Charisma skill in AlterEgo, while Familial… well, I never really saw what effect Familial actually had.
Of course there are the other things to track, such as Money and Relationships. Can anyone think of anything else important that would need to be tracked (or would be interesting/useful?).
I agree in that first, the life system should be built, and then the eventual city system could be added around it.
As for how modules and age are handled, I think a slightly simplified version of how AlterEgo (yea, I’m looking at this a lot right now, but it is rather definitively the precursor to this idea) handled it would be best in tracking modules and their use. Break life into six or seven sections: Infancy, Prepubescence (Childhood), Teenage Years, Young Adulthood, Middle Aged and Old; and have each module attached to a certain time span. Each module falls into one of these catagories. The earliest ones (Early Infancy) might be fixed, as might a handful of others (first period for females/something in the same vein for males), while later ones would draw from a randomized generator. One thing I have to say, I think that for this, where part of the point is replayability, adding a number of random variables would be a good thing.
As for world variables, I think that it should be assumed modern to near future. Trying to set things up which could generate ‘past’ style scenes would just be too much to do.
One thing I think we need to come up with is how ‘adult’ things will be handled. Are we going to go an AlterEgo route with warnings before each module which may possibly include some kind of sexual situation at all? Or would it be better to have a starting game toggle for that? Another option, of course, would be to include nothing of the sort; Just assume that people are either mature enough to deal with it, or assume that their not and gonna hit the ‘Adult situation’ button anyways. I mean, we are in the twenty first century.
Adult modules could be added with a warning attached to that module.
I think the general life game would be around the different life stages and your actions within them. I think six stages would be good as you outlined above, with perhaps 2 or three modules to live through in each stage.
It would very much be a branching tree - depending upon how you react to the early modules, you’d be able to choose (or not) different modules as you grow older. For example, if you do poorly in school, you can’t access the university module and can’t access the doctor profession.
Random in this game will be a must! To keep up replayability, I’d like many random elements. I was thinking of a random name generator for the people you meet, but perhaps some characters (optionally named by the player) should be there who appear every time.
We agree on the setting - modern times - although I do want to explore the idea of different technologies being present or not… Which naturally adds work for each module… Will have to think about that.
I still need to spend some time thinking about variables… I think we’ll have to start with a long list and narrow it down.
Oh yeah - there’s no reason why every variable has to be used in every module - also we can add extra variables via temp variables if we need to.
Okay, I’m just writing my thoughts directly now - not the most clear of writing.
Tomorrow, my first game goes to beta and I need to finish writing it still! You’ll have my full and undivided attention once the first game is complete. For my sanity, hopefully not too long!
Appleduck, Toa_Onarax, let us know your thoughts as well. What would you like to see in the game? I think if we are going to work together, we should all start from the same page. Lots of broad ideas, narrow it down then come up with a plan.
Religion needs to be important! Also… some way to track all the characters you have created… So during the god game you could directly, as god, talk to one of the characters you played - that would be nice!
All of these are great ideas but it does feel a little unorganized which is why a thread for this topic alone would help. as for how jobs are handled i think this should be based off stats and if you have higher education. the way the variable is handled is something i am still thinking on.
also how in choice script would you code the salary of your job sense it would need to increase your money each day?
The core module should be similar for each play through. One module per life in a set format. Options available to you within each module should be variable depending on yor choices.
Key variables would include partner name, salary type, physical attributes (attractiveness/ physique) mental attributes (IQ/ EQ), health (needed to determine age of death), religion, education level… Anything else?
After we create the core module, we add new modules which can be explored during your life. For example, after playing the school core module, you then have the option of several extra modules to play through (max of 2 extra modules per life stage to increase replayability).
This means the core modules will be the biggest as they will be played every time. The other modules can vary in size but will be mini stories in their own right.
I think the core modules should be Based upon:
Infancy, family
Prepubescence (Childhood), school/education
Teenage Years, first love/education
Young Adulthood, relationship building
Middle Aged, relationship/ family
Old Age, family
Hobbies / career/ and other sections (world events?) would be covered in the extra modules.
Salary would be a variable, but rather than a number of wealth, perhaps a level of wealth…
I had an idea on your characters sexuality i think it should be a randomly generated variable you cant choose to be gay in real life you shouldn’t choose it in this game.
@appleduck28 That’s an interesting point but I think in this case suspension of disbelief is the best choice. After all many people like to play a character similar to themselves and others like to role play a certain type of character. In my opinion having sexuality randomized would isolate both those categories.
(I haven’t read the last three comments by the time I wrote this, I’m really having to write it piecemeal because of what I’m doing.)
Personally I was thinking of a larger number of modules per age (like a dozen or so) with one off choices (again, akin to alterego). But it sounds like you’re thinking about fewer,but larger modules. Maybe a balance between the two? Like every stage has twelve, three ‘directed’ ones (major ones which is partially picked from a list) and nine completely random minor ones, with the major ones being split up (so their like the first, fifth and ninth.) There could also be a counter attached to the major ones that would recall them (such as having a child would make it call up a small scene every time your age foes up). I’ve got this counter I was working on, let’s me see if I can draw it up into something… simple.
Also, I have a tendency to have this knee jerk avoidance reaction to religion, and so probably won’t contribute much there.
@appleduck28 Yea, it is unorganized. Right now it’s basically just kicking around ideas, seeing what sticks and what doesn’t. About jobs, I was just voicing my concern over a single tier of jobs, where you’re some kind of white collar criminal businessman and nothing else.
As for salary, that is a tricky one. I personally see three ways of dealing with it: 1) Ignore it. Just tie it into happyness in some way and leave it at that. 2) Give it a stat. Every turn it checks your stats and refigures your ‘money/salary/cash’ stat (which would be a measure of income/spending/morgages/every other major purchase) and money related things are bought off that (so a huge morgage would give you a negative, but would possibly give you other boosts). 3) Track it like AE did in that your salary gives you so much, minus so much for your normal expenses, and you get to spend the rest as you see fit.
Personally, I like the second one best, but the third option would be rather workable. Tie your salary into your job/performance, and allow the player to select their standard of living +/- a given amount based on another stat.
Which bring me to my last point for the moment: A ‘responsibility’ stat would probably be good. A lot of people nowadays are very irresponsible, particularly with money, and so a touch on such a thing would be nice. It could control things like how much money you throw around, and how ‘willing’ the character is to do the hard things in life.
Okay, I lied, that isn’t my last though. Two other things:
@appleduck28 I have to agree with @Toa_Onarax in that having no choice in sexuality does alienate a lot of people, but I like the idea. Maybe (as I was mentioning about ‘points’) have such a thing as a feature of a ‘long’ game (which would require a save feature) and make the world a lot worse (no women’s lib, no gay rights… I’m not sure about people’s opinion in touching on ‘harsher’ things in the world) and your characters end up being the ‘modern heros’ like Martin Luther King Jr…
Of course you could always just do a free game and play in a ‘light’ world.
Oh one more thing I still say we keep the third part where you become a god since that’s my favorite part.
I also agree that randomised sexuality is a very uncomfortable prospect. People like to be able to define their characters if a game is about creating their own characters.
I’ll also help out with this, but I’m quite poor at coding for the moment.
Well i mainly suggest random sexuality for realism purposes but i do see your points.
i have noticed not much is being said about being the mayor for the city customization part. will this be handled by choose things like legalizing gambling which increase funds but also increases crime or will it be handled a different way?
@appleduck28 I think much differently than you are thinking. A sins stlye game does not lend itself well to choicescript. The city part will be more of a ‘stage setting’ for the rest of the game. (To my understanding)
@Reaperoa well that’s why I mentioned it because i was having trouble thinking how choice script would work for that kind of thing.
Honestly I say we have the city aspect only come in if you’re elected Mayor
Or you can be the founder of the city.
Hmmm… I love the points idea! I’m thinking the first time you play you set up a basic city with only a few options available. After your first life in your city you can unlock new features with the points you accumulated. This allows you to add new places to the city, which, in turn, opens up new modules fr the life game. The ultimate unlockavle feature would be the god mode where you are god and can watch over your city. Regarding sexuality, let the player choose. Give them the option of straight/gay/random. The same with other characteristics - they can choose their attractiveness, intelligence and physique or it could be random. (another unlockable here- extra points to spend on their character. First play means they can have an attractive character or intelligent, but not both. As they unlock more they can have both later).
I see the city-builder section as completely separate to the life part. Essentially with the city builder, you are setting the history of the city before your character is born. Does that make sense?
The way I see it, the city building part, the life part, and the god part as playing different characters.