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Author Topic: Einherjar  (Read 15393 times)

Fenrir

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Einherjar
« on: January 16, 2008, 08:17:00 pm »

I've finally decided to get off my lazy ass and start game programming. I'm going to need help getting ideas, staying motivated, working out code problem, etc., so I started a thread for my game. In furture I'll make my own website.

You're probably wondering about the title of this thread. Einherjar is the the name of my game. You play as an Einherjar, one of Odin's chosen warriors, and fight, eat, and drink until Ragnarok. The "Doom of the Gods" won't come for some time, and will most likely not be in the scope of this game, so there'll be plenty of fighting, eating, and drinking.

Until I can develop my own game design system, I'll be doing something similar Toady's dev notes.

The following are some general ideas that need fleshing out. I'll organize them into goals once I have the details figured out.

COMBAT ARC: This is something that you'll spend most of your time doing, so it's going to be the part I'll be focusing on most. I may add a simple leveling system, but for the most part I'll be favoring strategy over RPG elements.

ENVIRONMENT ARC: The world will begin as two regions: Muspelheim to the south, a realm of extreme heat, and Nifelheim to the north, a realm of extreme cold. The landscape will then be procedurally generated from this.

FEASTING ARC: This is another important aspect of the game. Eating food and drinking mead will be a big part of the game, I'm just not sure how.

SOCIAL ARC: Your not the only Einherjar there, you'll have to interact with the others at some level. The other Einherjar should have unique personalities.

AI ARC: The other Einherjar, the Valkyries, and any other creatures I might put in should go about their business, and try to achieve their own goals.

MAGIC ARC: Using the sacred yew tree, you should be able to make your own wands and magical items. You should have to find the combination of runes to achieve what you want. But be careful, carve the wrong runes and it could have negative side effects!

Obviously, these are very rough ideas.

Please share your opinions with me.

[ January 17, 2008: Message edited by: Fenrir ]

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Torak

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Re: Einherjar
« Reply #1 on: January 16, 2008, 10:32:00 pm »

You should try making a simple game with limb ripping between two characters, with player(s) saying what to do. Just to start.
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Fenrir

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Re: Einherjar
« Reply #2 on: January 16, 2008, 10:34:00 pm »

quote:
Originally posted by Torak:
<STRONG>You should try making a simple game with limb ripping between two characters, with player(s) saying what to do. Just to start.</STRONG>

Hehe, yeah, I may be getting a bit ahead of myself.  :)
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Armok

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Re: Einherjar
« Reply #3 on: January 17, 2008, 04:13:00 am »

This looks great, I see you used quite a lot of my ideas, and interpreted them perfectly!  :D
I am honored!

---------------
Some powergoals:

POWERGOAL 001: KING OF THE HILL: you are standing on the very top of a large wooden tower, striking down many other Einherjar from this strategic and seeing them falling of the tower, sometimes in many pieces. Suddenly a Valkyrie you know well comes flying and pushes you of the tower shouting back in a friendly tune of voice "cheater!" and laughs heartily before proceeding, the other Einherjar on top of the tower cheers before beginning to fight one another, you keep fighting on the ground.

POWERGOAL 002: SPLAT: today you are going to fight in teams and after you all have gathered on the middle of a field Tor comes by and throws Mjölner right thought the exact center of the great mass of Einherjar to separate you into two teams, everybody steps aside but you are a bit to slow and gets hit. you explode into bodyparts flying in all directions. as the battle starts a Valkyrie puts your head on a nearby cliff whit a good view of the battle and you watch it for the rest of the day. As the day ends the same Valkyrie comes by and patches you up in time for the feast.

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Capntastic

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Re: Einherjar
« Reply #4 on: January 17, 2008, 05:03:00 am »

Is this a roguelike or what?
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Fenrir

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Re: Einherjar
« Reply #5 on: January 17, 2008, 08:48:00 am »

quote:
Originally posted by Capntastic:
<STRONG>Is this a roguelike or what?</STRONG>

It's going to have ASCII graphics, but I'm not worried if it qualifies as a roguelike or not.

Thank you for all the help, Armok. What did you have in mind when you said "Feasting Arc"? I'm not really sure how to make that interesting. Cool powergoals!

I'm going to follow Torak's advice and make a little Einherjar demo, so I can prove (to myself, mostly) that I'm not just all talk, and that I can actually do this.

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Helmaroc

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Re: Einherjar
« Reply #6 on: January 17, 2008, 08:53:00 am »

I hope it's not too much like DF...but it does need a combat system like DF's with organ damage, burn, cold and heat damage, nausea, starvation, maybe sicknesses etc. etc.

idea:

MAGIC-the ability to use wands and(maybe magic spells?) magic items for defense, offense, summoning etc.

I think that if you designed the magic system like NetHack or Ivan (scrolls and wands) it would be easier.

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Fenrir

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Re: Einherjar
« Reply #7 on: January 17, 2008, 09:06:00 am »

quote:
Originally posted by Helmaroc:
<STRONG>I hope it's not too much like DF...but it does need a combat system like DF's with organ damage, burn, cold and heat damage, nausea, starvation, maybe sicknesses etc. etc.

idea:

MAGIC-the ability to use wands and(maybe magic spells?) magic items for defense, offense, summoning etc.

I think that if you designed the magic system like NetHack or Ivan (scrolls and wands) it would be easier.</STRONG>



The Vikings used yew trees for wands. Maybe I'll make it so the player can get himself a yew branch, then enscribe it with runes that correspond to the spell he wants. Good idea, thanks!
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Helmaroc

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Re: Einherjar
« Reply #8 on: January 17, 2008, 09:48:00 am »

Thanks for considering it.

Maybe professions could be implemented, for instance maybe you could build a shop/workshop/building and sell/make things, or you could be a fisherman and run around selling sacks of fish. I like games where combat is not required and you can live by other means. Another idea would be some skills like carving, masonry etc. For instance if you had the Runewriting skill you could have more choices for spells 'in' wand or they last longer.

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Fenrir

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Re: Einherjar
« Reply #9 on: January 17, 2008, 10:00:00 am »

quote:
Originally posted by Helmaroc:
<STRONG>Thanks for considering it.

Maybe professions could be implemented, for instance maybe you could build a shop/workshop/building and sell/make things, or you could be a fisherman and run around selling sacks of fish. I like games where combat is not required and you can live by other means. Another idea would be some skills like carving, masonry etc. For instance if you had the Runewriting skill you could have more choices for spells 'in' wand or they last longer.</STRONG>



That would be cool, but the Einherjar don't do any work, and there's nobody to buy fish in Valhalla. This is definitely something I'll keep in mind for Einherjar II!

This makes me wonder, it can't be all about combat, or this is going to be really boring. So what else should the player be able to do? Of course, this is my first game, so I can't expect too much. But if it's no fun, what point is there in making it? Maybe I should allow the player to make things, like the tower mentioned in POWERGOAL 001 (see Armok's post). Well, I won't be getting around to this for a while, so I can think about it.

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Armok

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Re: Einherjar
« Reply #10 on: January 17, 2008, 10:31:00 am »

I imagine this MORE detailed than DFs system, and also considering these are Einherjar; The warriors of Odin (at least in this game) do not feel pain, they do not become sick, and fasting every night so starvation is a non issue.
Think more Toribash; physics based, limbs flying in all directions and completely free-form action movie-style flying awesomeness. Fire and cold should absolutely make it in.
Everything will be explained better by powergoals.

I don't think magic of that kind is any good idea, you are an Einherjar, a *warrior*, the player should NEVER become a mage-like character.
Of coarse there should be plenty of magic, but it's the magic of the gods, the magic the player might use is passive, for example we are quite safe to assume the weapons used by the chosen warriors of Odin is outside the ordinary.
In viking mythology even the gods rarely use direct spells, Tors lightning is a physical hammer, and animal form is archived by a magical, and much more serius, version of masquerade suites.
The most common obvious magic will probobly be the Valkyrie or a thing I'vr made up myself; wooden training giants; giant wooden golem-like training dummies made to mimic a real giant, for look think Transformers of wood that would become a classic longboat if needed traverse water (they don't transform, but they contain about the same parts as a ship and follow the same visual theme, of coarse as this is ASCII you won't see them).

-----------------
Some Powergoals:
POWERGOAL 003: JUST A FLESH WOUND: You are fighting inside a large windmill like structure, and you fall and get stuck in one of the giant wooden gearwheels, as you begin to be gridded a Valkyrie catch sight of you from outside and quickly dive in and pull you out, she then looks annoyed at the pool of gore that once was your lower body, knowing she will have a lot of work tonight.

POWERGOAL 004: STRIKE THE EARTH: You are fighting a wooden training giant (WTG for now, until we can get a proper Nordic name) measuring five men in hight. You swing at the giants leg but it glances away and the blow strike the earth! The giant points and laughs and rises a fist to deliver a crushing blow, but the laughter turns to horror when the giant notices that your axe struck flint and the sparks set its wooden leg ablaze! son the WTG is burning like a bonfire and runs screaming thought the Einherjar hoard, it runs down a cliff and you loose sight of it.

POWERGOAL 005: OUT OF THE MATRIX: You have somehow acquired two double axes. You run forward and strike two Einherjar simultaneously in the head! you use the inertia to propel yourself high into the air and as you land you spin around arms outstretched and decapitate of several Einherjar as you land, as you take ground you roll, striking the feet you from under some more Einherjar so your team mates can finish them of before jumping up and landing a kick in the belly of another one making him fall of a hight cliff, as you do this you whirl around and stand face to face whit on of your best friends. you both let out a roaring laugher simultaneously, your team won todays battle.

-------------
I find I quite enjoy writing these, I have many more ideas, but they take a bit of time and I want some feedback, so this is enough for today.
I will try ti make one specifying a bit abut the feasting arc soon, but generally it involves a random song generator, lots of mead, and the battle logs of the other Einherjar that was also simulated but outside you view.

Sorry if I act like this was my game, you use so many of my ideas that I just assume you will use the rest to.

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So says Armok, God of blood.
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Helmaroc

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Re: Einherjar
« Reply #11 on: January 17, 2008, 10:33:00 am »

Let's see...well if they can't work, maybe they could hunt and cook their own dishes! Maybe they could gather herbs/mushrooms/weeds and things to make dishes! That would add some spice to the game.

Sorry for that pun. It was inevitable!   :D

P.S. Sorry if im over-posting in this thread.

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Armok

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Re: Einherjar
« Reply #12 on: January 17, 2008, 10:49:00 am »

WHY cant the game be all about combat and drinking mead? If we are going to follow the original mythology that was all Einherjar actually did anyways.
This isn't DF, it's not even about actual vikings, these are Einherjar, they fight and eat, thats it, why should you do more in the game?

As to the statement that a combat only game cant be fun; that is a plain lie, if the combat is awesome enough if can certainly be fun, maybe not for hours and hours on end, but is that really necessary?

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So says Armok, God of blood.
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nerdpride

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Re: Einherjar
« Reply #13 on: January 17, 2008, 11:41:00 am »

These "Power Goals" seem a little bit more distracting than helpful.  They're statements of something that should be able to happen in a game, so it takes a bit of effort to digest them into the programming needed, as opposed to a simple statement of features.

Maybe start with something simpler, like, "basic combat->combat with two weapons->ranged combat->siege combat->additional gore...  Combat Completed."  Then you can check of parts that you accomplish as you go on, too.

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Helmaroc

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Re: Einherjar
« Reply #14 on: January 17, 2008, 11:44:00 am »

quote:
Originally posted by Armok:
<STRONG>WHY cant the game be all about combat and drinking mead?</STRONG>

Why can't it have more choices and options?

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