So the major time sinks in my life for the past year or so have been:
- EverQuest
- BYOND
- Writing a play
Writing a play is on hold at the moment due to a snafu with the workshop I was developing it in.
For a while I would go back and forth between BYOND and EQ, whichever I felt like doing at the moment. But as we move closer to rollout and the BFG server, and as I start to concentrate on achievable game goals, I found that I hadn't even logged into EQ for the past month or so.
This is not good, because I am the guildmaster for my guild, which means I have to be around to perform certain guildmaster-only functionality. If I'm not around, the guild starts having problems.
So...BYOND wins. I have made arrangements to give up my guildmaster status. I was also going to quit EQ so I could devote the $10/month to the costs of having a BYOND server account, but I had a strong emotional reaction to completely giving up EQ, so I'll keep the account around so I can pop in once in a while.
Now on to creating games for OTHER people to play!
ID:194609
 Sep 6 2000, 10:55 am
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On 9/6/00 3:56 pm Guy T. wrote:
After a month's absence, you still had members in the guild? :) A good question, as it happens. Our guild is rather unusual, in that it started from people who are members of the WELL conferencing system, which has been around for a long time (long before the web). I personally have been on the well for 13 years or so. The WELL has many conferences, one of which is Games. Some people in Games started playing EQ and that turned into several, and pretty soon our obsessive conversation was overrunning the Games conf. So we started an EverQuest conference, which shortly thereafter led to a guild. So the backbone of the guild is stronger than any one person. I occasionally consider reinstalling EQ just to see if the zones are in a common 3D format. They're not, though there have been apps to let you wander around in the zones and there are probably apps to convert the format. The Kunark expansion was quite impressive, and huge leap in zone design. While my mind is turned to things Deadronesque, do you ever tinker with WellWorld anymore? Somebody remembers WellWorld? Well! I had a lot of fun putting that together, but I ran into a basic problem: there was no way I could do all the coding and all the design and all the content for an RPG that would be worthy of the genre while meeting my personal requirements (graphical, in-depth, etc). So I started my NewWorld RPG system which would be completely editable and allow guides to create the game. But that was so damn much work and it was depressing to be reimplementing things that already exist in BYOND. So at the moment I have no plans for an RPG. But maybe if I could find some way to do it incrementally. However, maybe before I decommission NewWorld I should finally open it up so anyone can go be a guide and see how it works. Might be some interesting ideas in there. | |
So the backbone of the guild is stronger than any one person. Now that I dredge my memory for info on EQ guilds (none of which I ever joined, being the antisocial jerk I was -- er, am), I recall there were plenty of useful guild-centric commands that didn't require administrative intervention. So that makes more sense now! Amazing how a little thinking can help things make sense. So at the moment I have no plans for an RPG. But maybe if I could find some way to do it incrementally. Hmm! Aside from L&D, NewWorld was the last project I remember hearing any hints about. Now I have to try and guess what you're currently up to! Maybe we could play 20 Questions. Let's see... does it involve sending text output to the user? However, maybe before I decommission NewWorld I should finally open it up so anyone can go be a guide and see how it works. Might be some interesting ideas in there. I'd bet on it. | |
Now I have to try and guess what you're currently up to! Maybe we could play 20 Questions. Let's see... does it involve sending text output to the user? Now THAT's comedy. However, maybe before I decommission NewWorld I should finally open it up so anyone can go be a guide and see how it works. Might be some interesting ideas in there. I'm with Guy... er, agreeing with him, that is.  | |
On 9/6/00 6:33 pm Guy T. wrote:
Hmm! Aside from L&D, NewWorld was the last project I remember hearing any hints about. Now I have to try and guess what you're currently up to! Maybe we could play 20 Questions. Let's see... does it involve sending text output to the user? Well, talking about planned games seems to be the way to make sure they never get done... Nonetheless, my current plan is: Do three levels of L&D. Work on using this content to find some collaborators for art and such. Second level is currently in heavy planning stage, and is likely to play very differently from the first. I probably know what the third level is in a very basic way. Do a game based on the concepts in email XCom, but taking that game to a different level. This will make it more complex, but hopefully I can keep it simple enough that it will be appealing to non-hardcore gamers as well as at least medium-core gamers. Use this game to build up a base of code for handling turn-based games that can be played simultaneously and through email-prompted turns. The content for this game is forming for me now. Do my Ultimate Game, which is the Civilization/Alpha Centauri knock-off I've mentioned several times. I have no idea what the content of this is yet, but I know my goal: Provide a compelling long multi-player turn-based strategy game that gives you all the depth of Civ/AC while plugging the many problems I saw with their approach to multi-player and particularly email-based turns. The other side of this for me is getting to do a complex civilization AI for computer players, which has long interested me. So that's the plan. But now that I've said it I'll never finish it. Argh. | |
Well, talking about planned games seems to be the way to make sure they never get done...[snip] So that's the plan. But now that I've said it I'll never finish it. Good plan! Somewhere up in the attic with the other stuff I haven't unpacked yet is a book called "The Art of Worldly Wisdom." One of the helpful hints in this ancient volume is: don't publicize your endeavors until they're complete. (Except it's phrased much more eloquently.) I think it's excellent advice overall; but considering that you gave us advance notice (or at least hints) about L&D and it turned out quite well, I have a feeling that you'll keep plugging along. Sheesh... I think I'm about the only seasoned BYOND user who doesn't have some kind of completed game open to the public. But, God willing and the creek don't rise, I should be able to complete my current project soon... | |
On 9/6/00 3:56 pm Guy T. wrote:
While my mind is turned to things Deadronesque, do you ever tinker with WellWorld anymore? Hey... who was it who was making that fungus game? Z | |
Hey... who was it who was making that fungus game? Heh, heh... I'm waiting for the cold weather before I revisit that one. I'll probably rebuild it from the ground up, which shouldn't be too hard with the new features added since Spring. Oddly enough, my current project has many similarities to TFAU... except I haven't thought of a good name for it yet. The working title is "SpaceTug." | |
After a month's absence, you still had members in the guild? :)
Anyway, I'm glad to see you sacrifice EQ time for BYOND, instead of vice versa. The forum needs a reliable curmudgeon.
I occasionally consider reinstalling EQ just to see if the zones are in a common 3D format. All I really wanted to do was wander around and enjoy the scenery (and baffle people with surreal antics now and then)... but I couldn't because of the dang monsters.
While my mind is turned to things Deadronesque, do you ever tinker with WellWorld anymore? I know you said you were putting it aside, but I wonder if your mind drifts to it now and again... it was shaping up to be quite an nifty game. (Though it irritated me that even after my multiple deaths, all the Blue Mother did was whine about my failure to protect her brood! :)