There are two types of game designers...
Those who design games, and those who *think* about designing games. I'm kidding 😂. I have no idea what the general consensus is on the types of game designers. The two types that I am familiar with, in large part thanks to @Justin_Gary's wonderful Think Like A Game Designer podcasts (check them out, they're super fun!), are story driven designers & mechanics driven designers. I fall into the story driven category. For sure.
In fact, my brain is so obsessed with a "good backstory" that I struggle to work on ideas that have interesting mechanics before I can come up with an accompanying story. Something that draws me in.
This is a habit I am trying to break, specifically by working on Skitrix: Two vs. the Words. It's a co-op word game. There are two characters, the girl and the boy (I didn't even give them names!). Each of them will have a special ability (when I get around to coding those) that helps the players clean up the play area or slow down the falling letters, and that's it.
I'm almost done with it. The old school, local co-op, two players, one keyboard, is done. There's no music or sound yet and the special abilities need to go in. I should also probably add controller support and a few other things that were on the to-do list from a while back.
HexaGrid -> Into the Dungeons -> HexaGrid Arenas -> Into the Dungeons: Arenas of Ryst
My last post was about a game that I'd shelved, and how it came back to life. I mentioned in that post how the new characters gave me the opportunity for a clean break from my ITD world. I didn't want to force fit stuff in there. Yet, I do want to build it up as much as I can.
I was talking about the sci-fi/techno element the characters had, and while discussing this with the artist who drew them (@OfTetris), he mentioned how he saw them more as sci-fi/fantasy. The first thought that came in my head was "But that's Into the Dungeons!".
So, on a late night walk, I was noodling with a few different backstories that explained why people came to fight in these HexaGrid Arenas.
The land of Xyg - Ryst (top), Aeire (right), Zemi (bottom), Orr (left), and Muerr (center)
One of the "other-worlders" who landed on the Planet Xyg, chose to leave the continent of Muerr recognizing that he would not fit in with the Monks and their way of life.
He set sail North, and found his way to the land of Ryst. The King of Ryst, hardened by war, and the frigid land which he ruled, found use for the "other-worlder" and ordered the construction of gladiatorial arenas. One that would draw fighters from all corners of the world to fight and prove their mettle in the Arenas of Ryst!
With this new backstory, I'm able to expand on the world of ITD!
Building worlds. An architect in training.
This is all very new to me. I struggle to work on just one thing, and nothing is going as fast as I want it to. I've become a little bit better about being patient. Or at least I'd like to think I have.
So far, the ITD universe has the following in progress.
1. Into the Dungeons: Origins - A 4 comic miniseries about how the Dungeons of Muerr came to be. I'm not so sure this will be a comic anymore. I'm debating whether to have it be a comic/graphic novel or a short story with illustrations.
2. Into the Dungeons: Arenas of Ryst - A mobile multiplayer game for 4 players, where the last player standing wins. This was the very first ITD project. It died for a while and gave birth to the PC multiplayer game (Heroes & Rogues), but now it is back in development!
3. Into the Dungeons: Heroes and Rogues - When the mobile game died earlier this year, I started writing the backstory for ITD and wondered if I could take some elements from the mobile game and bring them to the PC. This is moving slowly, and now that Arenas of Ryst is back in development, I worry if they'll be to similar and what Heroes & Rogues will even look like!
4. Into the Dungeons: Machinata - A two player strategy card & miniature game. I created this as the chess equivalent on Xyg. I've had a couple of play test sessions which seemed to go well. Family was involved so opinions might have been biased. The cards for the game are being illustrated and there are a few components for the board game that I don't quite know how/what to build. I also feel like it would be much easier to make this into a video game. Uncertainty strikes again!
This section has primarily been about organizing my thoughts around ITD and putting down all my worries about these projects on virtual paper. I want them to work, but more importantly, I want to share this world I imagined with others who might enjoy the stories I want to tell. Through games, music (Dreamboat is the ship on which the refugees from Cynn travel the stars and ultimately find their way to Xyg), and words.
Hope to see you on Xyg, someday!