(i) Vyacheslav Mednonogov
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cool Russian/English language site dedicated to
game programming is here:
http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Bridge/е557/
It's called "Programming of Magic Games". now there is also
my few texts :)), including an article from so far
unreleased zx_format #о9 about intelligence in RtS.
p.s. the list of articles in Russian and English is different
r.p.s. Here is a short excerpt from one article:
WHAT DOES THE "xutOBOCtb" GAME APPEAR?
when translating an idea intolife should not forget about systemic
principles. If the principles of hierarchy and modularity are respected in
in some way “automatically”, since they are identical with
principles of structured programming, without which no
it is simply not possible to create a large program
physically, then about the absolute priority of the global goal sometimes
are forgotten, violating the principle of functionality, allowing
dominate structure over function. this was the case, for example, with
some games on the Windows platform ("Deadlock", "Outpost")
they tried to "save" on the interface by using standard
means of exchanging opinions with the user and not at all
taking into account that they represent not just another countless
.about the account is a financial application, and the software is entertainment
character. similar dominance of an inconvenient structure to the detriment of
functionality caused these games to fail,
despite reputable publishers and significant funds,
invested in development. To date, only two are known
games for Windows-95 that are “hits” are “Diablo” and “Age
of Empire", and in both the standard shell interface is replaced with
original.
upon the release of a new game, in computer magazines it
assessed on several scales, of which subsequently
the final score is displayed. as a rule, in the role of such scales
"graphics", "music", "plot" appear... and there is another scale,
denoted by the slightly strange-sounding term "playability",
which roughly translates into Russian as “playability”. at
Despite its apparent simplicity, playability is quite difficult to determine and
provide. It also includes a user-friendly interface, ease of use,
not too difficult and not too easy at the same time
passage, quality of graphics and music, plot twist,
the presence of “highlights” - in a word, the concept is very complex and bad
amenable to formalization. However, it cannot be ignored.
How many monstrous games, huge in size, have
"sophisticated" graphics and sound, but disappeared into obscurity - and that's all
due to a complete lack of playability.
some general recommendations for giving the product
playability, however, can be given. first of all, the game should not
"slow down" it is clear that the execution speed is onlypartially
depends on optimization of algorithms, and first of all
determined by the speed of the hardware, but braking can be
overcome by degrading graphics quality, for example, or
mute. Dynamics is paramount.
Further, static images are unacceptable. If water then
the waves should hit the shore, preferably rustling pebbles;
if we see the sky on the screen, then we must swim slowly across it
clouds, trees should bend from the wind, and all objects -
cast a shadow, and in the right direction, and not towards the sun.
Any game is always interesting insofar as it has
for the player something new, unknown. so from time to time
time, new characters and methods of action must appear,
spells, units - otherwise the player will simply get bored.
It is important to choose the right graphics mode. so if
1b-bit color is provided, that is, b5 thousand colors, this is
verygood, but if this is also done in resolution 1о2хх7b8 -
the image will be simply amazing... but here's the smooth scrolling
and the change of plans in this mode most widely
common video cards (and most often these are one-megabyte
Se) is not able to provide. that means we'll get a twitching
picture, which will definitely be to the detriment of playability. From another
hand, no amount of smoothness will save the one who tries
work in the good old e2oh2oo: now is the era of SVGA, and players
too spoiled by high resolution pictures. so,
The optimal mode seems to be bchoxch8o or 8ooxboo at 25b
flowers.
Also, there is such a thing as player motivation.
It is determined primarily by the plot - how much of it
collisions can force the player to take part in events
even with some satiety of the game itself. Usually motivation
more important for questob and RPG, and much less important for strategies and
eD-action. This, however, does not mean that the action game will suffer
good motivation, rather the opposite. Two widespread
basic models: either the main goal is to overthrow
some main villain or hero is unclearhow
turns out to be somewhere unknown and is trying to get home. In the first
case, in order to spur the player, the main villain can
kidnap a friend/girlfriend/unfamiliar but charming princess.
It is less common to need to save the world, and it is very rare to find
original motivation.
In modern games it has also become a de facto standard
multiplayer mode support. The absence of such a regime immediately
sharply reduces interest in the game, because no matter how good the AI is
(artificial intelligence, "artificial intelligence") characters,
anyway, he is a couple of orders of magnitude lower than human, and the only one
his trump card is the ability to simultaneously control all his
units, while human attention is always focused on
in one area of the map.
games have always been a class of programs that respond instantly to
all market innovations. it was the same with Internetom - mass hysteria
regarding the Network was just gaining strength, but they were already openingthe first game servers for those interested. Internet capabilities
compared to a classic local network is undeniably higher:
The first is usually played by 5 people, maximum 8-1o. besides this
people need to all get together, figure out the time... On the Internet
there is no need to look for opponents - they are always there, and in abundance, except
In addition, the average number of simultaneously playing fluctuates around
5o-1oo people (Diablo, battle.pet servers). Considering that
the interestingness of the multiplayer mode is directly proportional to the quantity
opponents, then the advantage of the Internet becomes obvious.
in addition, factors such as unknowns come into play
opponents, which always sparks curiosity, plus desire
"to wipe the bourgeoisie's nose", etc.
the prospects for online gaming are so highly valued
West, that a number of products have already been released, focused ONLY on
Network. that is, in the solo or classic network version they
simply not supported in principle (Iron Wolves, Meredian 87,
ultima Online). unfortunately, in Russia you can hardly count on
for sale of the op-linoboro project, if only because, to put it mildly,
insufficiently widespread networkservices and lack
tradition of paying a real price for gaming software in general.
The only option is to sell the development to the West, fortunately in
Moscow already has companies engaged in purchasing projects for
stage of scripts or even just raw ideas. unpatriotic though
and quite realistic.
Recently, a good tradition has developed as
As the project approaches completion, distribute its demo version
and ask the gaming community for all sorts of advice on the topic
its improvements. To do this you will need to have your own
pages on the WEB server, e-mail addresses, and hardware -
modem with a data transfer speed of at least 1cc baud.
It’s also important to create excitement around the game for a long time
before its release, periodically launching promising reviews on the Internet
and special literature for players. it is possible that many
will buy the released release simply by inertia, impressed by
publications.
so, one hundred percent predict whether the game will become a “hit”,
naturally impossible, but subject to the presence of all
the above elements, the likelihood of this is significantly
rises.
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