Nano, Leads and Projects
Level Up - Scott Pilgrim style
On reflection of this month my NanoWriMo project which I was really keen on is just not going to fit into my spare time at the moment.
In better news I'm now Lead Designer at GameLabs Jagex. Wooooot! All quite amazing to be honest. Some amazing and exciting stuff is on the go there now. Wish I could say more, and a bunch just happened.
So it means my time is getting sucked up. Hence no NanoWriMo and my October project falling by the wayside. I do want to carry on tinker but they will be things I can finish in a day or maybe a night or two.
So until I have some tinker bits to show 
P.S. Those blog posts I was sitting on are not going to be published. Not comfortable with them at this stage. Needless to say there is a lot I want to say and some of it may anger people.
COP: Game Flow
Game Flow
So basically that's the game flow detailed there. The mission select is of course random.
Tonight development goal is as follows.
Build a blueprint and save it
One Page Designs
I am becoming a bigger fan of vector based one page designs. The 80 page word document which never gets read gets trumped by the A1 wall poster with overview.
Ludum Dare: The October Challenge
So POV declared The October Challenge : Make a game in a month and sell it.
New Grid system for Game
The game is relatively simple and based in the Channels of Power world using some ideas from the MMO I was making. The idea is I will use Google App Engine as a backend and Unity as a front end.
Setting up a Defence
First a player is given a limited budget to setup the corporate defences on a location. They will also need to script and issue orders. They are contractor to be brought in to setup the defences. It is then saved on the server.
Attacking
Then using a limited budget an attacker equips a team and selects a mission from the server. Then using X-Com turn based style combat they must break through the defences.
Reputation and Replays
The moment the defences are breached that replay is saved for the viewing of the defender. Reputation is built up for how many assaults a map can take. Offensive reputation for breaking assaults with minimal failures. This is of course weighted and balanced, and persistent.
Scope
For the challenge I'm keeping it very very feature light. The plan is to sell pre-order copies at the end of the month if I feel the project is going well and then continue development. Much as many other indie games are doing.
In terms of DRM and platform. I'm going to be releasing PC version with possibility for future platforms. The DRM is online-always account based system. So basically the client is DRM free so to speak and can be installed multiple times but your account is persistent and can only be logged in at one machine. The online is needed to play the game.
Feedback welcome!
Podcast Problems
I have an idea on how to relaunch the podcast but I'm having trouble getting audio equipment together. Please bear with me on that count.