ZX Review #5-6 04 ноября 1997

Игры

Adventure Project - Design and razrabotaka Adventyurnyh and RPG games.

(C) Humeniuk NV, g.Sayanogorsk


        Adventyury and RPG


   Hello.

   I am your reader with
91. I especially like
sections on adventyurnym and RPG games, as well as section
"Forum". After I read the article "ADVENTURE GAMES",
"ADVENTURE LESSONS", "ADVENTURE
PROJECT "," SHERLOCK ", published in 1994, I became interested 
in studying adventyurnyh games. As I remember, my friends 
perepotroshili hundreds of games from the collection in search 
of at least one adventyury. We were lucky, and we something 
found. Since then passed years. My brother and I spent a lot of 
time studying the work adventyurnyh games, analysis,

search for their decisions. We managed to write, for 
experimental purposes, several adventyurnyh game programs, 
however, not at the Spectrum, and the Vector-Regional 
Exhibition Center ". The fact that we started, like most, with 
BASIC, and in the simple experiments proved that the BASIC 
"Vector" is more convenient for writing such programs. He

more economical, easier, and it
easier to handle and analyze the arrays and string variables, 
as well as he wins graphic and music capabilities. Now, looking

at the path, I would like to discuss some points
in creating adventyurnyh and RPG -
programs to express their point
view and give some advice
those who make their first steps in this direction.



   1. The plot, traps, puzzles,

           obstacles


   It's no secret that
that adventyurnye games in its
Most are quite interesting and intricate plot, which may be 
based on what whatever. This and legends and myths

tale, perhaps even real
life situations. Hero of the game
can be placed in whatever world: real or fantastic,
kind or treacherous and hostile. Before the hero with the 
ultimate goal, to achieve that perhaps only overcome a number of

obstacles that may be expressed in riddles, secret traps, 
entanglement of the playing field etc. All this, of course, well

but there is one important point about which we should not 
forget. We should not forget that that the game must first

fun, to attract, and often goes quite another. User
sits at the game and get stuck in
the first two locations. Why?
Apparently, it is partly
in the number of these very obstacles set before the 
protagonist of the game. And not always logically sound. I want 
to note that in most games adventyurnyh obstacles

is a type of quest. The program is so full of
obstacles that can not step to step how to clog, and this, in 
my opinion, may deter many from maybe an interesting game.


   You can spend a lot of nerves and time trying to get out of
several locations, and the reason
can be covered in detail: You do not
guess smell a flower, from
which was supposed to drop the key
to open the door. Not everyone
people will look for key
beautiful colors. Such twists in the game I think logically
unreasonable that go beyond
framework of logical thinking and
calculated by a nonstandard
approach. Well, if the program
intelligent and gave a hint in time
or a hint, but if not? I believe
that the writers in the early stages of development of the plot 
and the playing field should think about how to find a middle 
ground number of obstacles in the quest to make it not too

many, and their address and combat have brought satisfaction
and interest, rather than a headache.
Fascination and interest in the game lies not in the number of 
obstacles, as well as their development. If your game able to 
get just one person, and not the whole country, it does not mean

that your program is simple and
uninteresting.

 2. Movement of the protagonist

      and other characters


   Very often the hero adventyurnyh games, getting into gaming
space immediately feels
restraint on all sides. You can afford to take a walk
a dozen locations, and this is something for
volume of the playing field in the hundreds,
thousands of locations. You know the situation: stuck in the 
north - door to the south - the gulf; oh yes!

to the east you can still have a couple of
locations. Do not have time to start playing,
and so the door does not open, across the river - think how to 
swim. Well think, is in real life, you interfere with something 
to bypass? Why go bypass is impossible, the program is, of 
course, does not report. And what a deal play after all this up

the remaining thousands of unclimbed locations, if he can not 
overpower a dozen. The same applies to other characters that 
are marking time in several locations around you, scurrying 
around, saying something, and sometimes just suddenly somewhere 
to go. Of course, this does not apply to all programs,

but all the same case is fairly typical.

   I will cite the case of life. When we designed one of his 
first adventyur, I immediately drew attention to this fact; a 
little thought, I decided this discrepancies so. Why did the 
protagonist hamper such rigid framework to limit as much

his freedom? Let him be
first opportunity to walk,
look around, and the characters can move around the playing 
field, where only able to reach. Of course, this does not mean 
that the program lacked the closed paths and locations, but 
Freedom was still quite palpable. When the game was programmed, 
we are in the process debug realized how dynamic and fun it 
turned out. Characters briskly ran through the four-story 
castle, opened the door, thereby opening the way for the 
movement, collect items, exchanged them among themselves, came 
to the main hero, tried to speak to him, teleported to other 
locations, etc. While playing the field was just a child, just

about 70 locations, however,
the main character an opportunity to wander through the castle, 
look around where you do not hurry, think, or just drive on for 
someone to attack or pick up a subject that he has someone 
claimed right out from under the nose. Program

adopted lively character that gave her a good playability.
This was especially valuable for
program in BASIC.

   During the design of maps, we tried to take into account such
factor as the distance, ie,
if, say, the corridor was long, then he has held several
locations in length, that is, in my
opinion, gives adventyure more realistic. In adventyurnyh 
programs I often encountered a situation where one location, 
for example, is marked as a house, the other - the river, the 
third - a mountain, etc. Here, of course, plays its role scope 
RAM, programmers do not install intermediate locations, so 
there is a somewhat distorted picture of the distance between 
key locations. I do tried to avoid. Who has

desire, you can try.
Key locations will become less
but the game will be more close to real life.


    3. Little about the characters


   I am a big supporter of programs
in which the characters are
complete, ie they lead an independent life, self-focused move, 
understood by most words from the dictionary program, well 
improvise some action hero, able to

support the dialogue, are quite
specific role and task. However, sometimes dominant desire to 
make as much as possible characters in their game, well

what they will receive - it of secondary importance. How do I
I think it is not entirely correct. In my opinion, far more 
interesting to interact and communicate with high-grade 
characters who live and obey the same rules and laws on

whom you are acting. If,
For example, you can not pass through the wall and use the 
door, then the character should be able to use it. Well, if it 
is closed, it should be able to figure out what

need to find the key, etc. Paying
due attention to the characters, you
ensure yourself a more
than might appear at first
look. The protagonist is not
Equally interesting to communicate and interact with 
established characters, than to run home the task of the game. 
It appears opportunity to wander with them,

trace their path, observe
their actions, to examine their nature and much more. Not bad
the characters provide even
would be simply the ability to improvise with respect to the 
actions of the protagonist. It is obvious that it is impossible 
to foresee all its actions. Character may still be 
misunderstood something, say, in an address to his cue. In such 
a situation character does not necessarily

suggest that it is something not
well understood, the answers like: "I will
did not understand, "that you were told?", "I do not understand 
your words." It is better to use "I'm tired of listening to 
you," you bored me, "Excuse me, but I'm in a hurry", etc. 
Similarly, she program is very easy can respond to incorrect 
input commands. 


      4. How to diversify

        adventyurnuyu game


   Can I lay adventyuru elements that would
made it a little more interesting
a little more diverse than all
others are available adventyurnye program? I hope that
something in this direction
do still possible. Although
the idea that I want to offer
below, yet hardly realized in their programs, but the 
experiment is worth. I do not sure that this idea is new, 
perhaps someone has already tried to development in this 
direction, I do not know. The essence of the idea is now in

nothing. What if adventyure implement a mechanism to generate 
new characters with all the attributes,

names, challenges, opportunities, etc. After all, generates the 
same ELITE thousands of planets and their names, 
characteristics and prices of goods. Characters will to die and 
be born. All in life. The game can turn out such that after a 
half-hour game even a programmer and writer does not

be sure whether they
This time, pass it through. Well,
and if able to generate
new items, traps and new locations to some allowable maximum, 
then at the end ends, you may have nederminirovannaya game. Not 
excluded that in return will have to sacrifice something, but 
it is worth it. 


  5. RPG elements in adventyure


   Many readers will probably
drew attention to an interesting series of articles on the game 
genre RPG. What a pity that such programs there is little to 
Spectrum. Output is still there. Those who have read carefully

article "ADVENTURE PROJECT", they know that adventyurnyh games,
and RPG, keeps track of attributes:
intelligence, strength, courage, pride, anger, agility, etc. 
Attributes allow you to determine the behavior of characters in 
one or other situations. A thought

to establish in the very beginning of the game
some tuning block, which would allow the user to
choose your character name and
attribute to your liking. More
addition, a set of attributes can be greatly expanded. 
Introduce the opportunity to choose roles, race, abilities, 
skills, gender, and all the best which is well-proven

D'D gaming and RPG.

   Now you need to create conditions for change in all these
attributes in the best and worst part of the game. It should be 
possible to train protagonist. Attributes better

just keep on the screen constantly, in the limited space,
or print on-demand user, as list
Attributes can be large enough to be constantly
keep on the screen. The user has an incentive to improve his 
situation, he begins to realize that the more he 


open the doors, so it will be
ability in this regard; than
reading more books, will be the smarter, more will
attacks, the more chances he has
defeat a more powerful and strong enemy. Of course, the need to 
develop their microsystem rules by which you can perform all 
the calculations, balance and etc. Not only is keen on taking 
something from the RPG, we is still under adventyury. Maybe 
someone will want to go further, and he will introduce another 
choice of a professional class the hero game: warrior, priest, 
an attacker, the magician. Since character we have as long as 
one and the program looked more like a hybrid between 
adventyuroy and D'D, then by introducing three more characters 
to the existing one, you can get hybrid adventyura - RPG. It is 
also necessary to take care of the number of quest obstacles 
Located on the playing field - they should be considerably 
less. Ultimately, we may, and does not get RPG in the truest 
sense words, but very interesting adventyuru - that's for sure.



     6. Designing RPG


   Not be ruled out that someone wants to try to make a clean 
RPG game. I want to suggest You try this option

creation of RPG. In my opinion, he
quite practical and will insure you in advance of possible
Error in creating its system
rules. Yet the system of rules
not established and run-in, you can
try to start making game
desktop applications. Thus, you produce cardboard
playing field, share it on location, sign them, to lay out 
gambling chips, in general, doing all that will count

necessary. Start simple. Not
worry, the computer is idle is not necessary. There You put all 
the tables, data, formulas, attributes, etc. And program should 
be provided with A convenient editor for the rapid

changes and amendments to the
data, formulas, calculations, etc.

   Moving the pieces and distractions
to a computer for calculations, for a while, I think, you can 
create a small system of rules for simple RPG and D'D games.



   Seeking like-minded people on the passage and the 
establishment adventyurnyh game with RPG elements and D'D, as

at the Spectrum, and on the "Vector 06C.


   Our address: 662793, g.Sayanogorsk, 5-72-36, Humeniuk, NV '
Humeniuk AV


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