cliftut
07-07-2007, 03:13 AM
This is my first post but I'm going to jump right in, since this is the primary reason I joined the forum. ;) Bear with me. If you don't want to read it all, pick one of the sections and just comment on it.
#1: Game Concept
This is a concept for a game I plan to design over time, as I learn to program. I will probably start out doing simple programs and snippets in JAVA since I'm slightly familiar with it (I'm all but a complete beginner even so...). The game will be highly physics based, and an "avatar" physics game, for those of you who watched Matt's interview.
In simplest terms, my original idea was to create a game in which you achieved (at least some of) your goals by "going ragdoll". Specifically, you would play a ninja. Here's a quick poetic idea that explains what I was thinking of;
"In modern times, a ninja has mastered the technique of completely relaxing his mind and body. By removing all resistance from his being, he can achieve virtual invincibility, allowing him to survive extreme situations and overcome great obstacles. Using this amazing skill, he does what all ninja do best; fights for his life."
Of course, this is only the beginning of all my ideas, but a basic concept is best to start off with. Some of my other ideas merit a game of their own and I don't want to ruin this concept by cramming it with too much extra baggage. I'll cover these ideas when I make a topic specifically for the game.
The name? I call my idea Project Flopninja. Catchy, no?
#2: An Idea
I'm going to need physics for this game, since it will be A PHYSICS GAME (interesting relationship). Rather than using pre-made tools or engines, I hope to construct the physics from scratch. This way, I will be acutely familiar with everything and I'll have lots of knowledge to use as I perfect everything. To be specific, though, I want the physics engine to be completely detachable from the game. Not only that, but I want it to be Modular.
In short, I want a physics engine that works a bit like a Lego toy; You will have multiple pieces, and you only have to use the ones you need. It would consist of a core, and then, for instance if you need fluid physics, you can plug it in by simply adding the fluid physics part into the folder the core engine is in, or by plugging it into the code.
Example; Say you want to make something with 2D fluid physics, and 2D solid-body motion and collision physics. You simply add two files that control those into the "Core" folder, and you would instantly be able to interface those into your game, via the Core Engine. This way, you could have a physics engine that only took up as much space as it needed to, so your game would be smaller, you could interface different types of physics simulation together relatively easily, and you could even create your own type of physics simulation and integrate it into the engine as another "addable". Needless to say, I would make this available to the public and it could become an all-purpose, customizable physics engine.
It seems like a fairly good idea to me. It'll just take time and lots of learning.
#3: The Odd Idea
Alright. This is the weird one. I doubt any of you have thought of this, but I can't be sure; maybe you were just too freaked out by the idea to say it aloud. Would it be possible to create a TEXT BASED PHYSICS GAME, and still keep it FUN? I am completely open to ideas here, but I think such a concept despite its strangeness, might be possible.
The only application I've thought of for this would be in a text-based role-play style game. In simplest terms, replace many dice rolls that would normally be used to determine the outcomes of certain things by applying adjusters (+5 to hit, etc.) , and instead, use physics equations. Thus, rather than you being able to break down that door relying on your strength adjuster and a random number, it would be the result of a physics sim that took into account the strength of the door, your own strength, and maybe even things such as how or where you are hitting it; things that you will most likely not encounter in a standard text-based game.
Even more extreme, imagine a text based adventure game in which not everything is text based. What if, on the other end of all that ASCII, there was an actual 3-Dimensional world, which actually followed physics rules like our own (and perhaps some strange ones as well if you wished). It's an elegant concept; the player is immersed in what they believe to be a world of text and programmed responses, but in reality they are wandering around in a 3-D World, displayed to them through text descriptions attached to 3-D objects and places. There's also another plus; if stuff is only displayed through text, that means that the computer doesn't have to render anything, all it has to do is calculate. I expect such a system would be uber-fast. It would be sort of like a reversed Matrix; instead of being in a 3-D world that is actually a bunch of code, you are reading the "code" of a fully functional 3-D world, without even knowing the 3-D world is there. Also, it would be rather convenient to make for those who aren't very good at 3-D art, because your 3-D world would only need to be modeled to a minimal level. It would be great for those who are better at writing than producing visual art.
If you have your own ideas for text based physics games, please share!
#1: Game Concept
This is a concept for a game I plan to design over time, as I learn to program. I will probably start out doing simple programs and snippets in JAVA since I'm slightly familiar with it (I'm all but a complete beginner even so...). The game will be highly physics based, and an "avatar" physics game, for those of you who watched Matt's interview.
In simplest terms, my original idea was to create a game in which you achieved (at least some of) your goals by "going ragdoll". Specifically, you would play a ninja. Here's a quick poetic idea that explains what I was thinking of;
"In modern times, a ninja has mastered the technique of completely relaxing his mind and body. By removing all resistance from his being, he can achieve virtual invincibility, allowing him to survive extreme situations and overcome great obstacles. Using this amazing skill, he does what all ninja do best; fights for his life."
Of course, this is only the beginning of all my ideas, but a basic concept is best to start off with. Some of my other ideas merit a game of their own and I don't want to ruin this concept by cramming it with too much extra baggage. I'll cover these ideas when I make a topic specifically for the game.
The name? I call my idea Project Flopninja. Catchy, no?
#2: An Idea
I'm going to need physics for this game, since it will be A PHYSICS GAME (interesting relationship). Rather than using pre-made tools or engines, I hope to construct the physics from scratch. This way, I will be acutely familiar with everything and I'll have lots of knowledge to use as I perfect everything. To be specific, though, I want the physics engine to be completely detachable from the game. Not only that, but I want it to be Modular.
In short, I want a physics engine that works a bit like a Lego toy; You will have multiple pieces, and you only have to use the ones you need. It would consist of a core, and then, for instance if you need fluid physics, you can plug it in by simply adding the fluid physics part into the folder the core engine is in, or by plugging it into the code.
Example; Say you want to make something with 2D fluid physics, and 2D solid-body motion and collision physics. You simply add two files that control those into the "Core" folder, and you would instantly be able to interface those into your game, via the Core Engine. This way, you could have a physics engine that only took up as much space as it needed to, so your game would be smaller, you could interface different types of physics simulation together relatively easily, and you could even create your own type of physics simulation and integrate it into the engine as another "addable". Needless to say, I would make this available to the public and it could become an all-purpose, customizable physics engine.
It seems like a fairly good idea to me. It'll just take time and lots of learning.
#3: The Odd Idea
Alright. This is the weird one. I doubt any of you have thought of this, but I can't be sure; maybe you were just too freaked out by the idea to say it aloud. Would it be possible to create a TEXT BASED PHYSICS GAME, and still keep it FUN? I am completely open to ideas here, but I think such a concept despite its strangeness, might be possible.
The only application I've thought of for this would be in a text-based role-play style game. In simplest terms, replace many dice rolls that would normally be used to determine the outcomes of certain things by applying adjusters (+5 to hit, etc.) , and instead, use physics equations. Thus, rather than you being able to break down that door relying on your strength adjuster and a random number, it would be the result of a physics sim that took into account the strength of the door, your own strength, and maybe even things such as how or where you are hitting it; things that you will most likely not encounter in a standard text-based game.
Even more extreme, imagine a text based adventure game in which not everything is text based. What if, on the other end of all that ASCII, there was an actual 3-Dimensional world, which actually followed physics rules like our own (and perhaps some strange ones as well if you wished). It's an elegant concept; the player is immersed in what they believe to be a world of text and programmed responses, but in reality they are wandering around in a 3-D World, displayed to them through text descriptions attached to 3-D objects and places. There's also another plus; if stuff is only displayed through text, that means that the computer doesn't have to render anything, all it has to do is calculate. I expect such a system would be uber-fast. It would be sort of like a reversed Matrix; instead of being in a 3-D world that is actually a bunch of code, you are reading the "code" of a fully functional 3-D world, without even knowing the 3-D world is there. Also, it would be rather convenient to make for those who aren't very good at 3-D art, because your 3-D world would only need to be modeled to a minimal level. It would be great for those who are better at writing than producing visual art.
If you have your own ideas for text based physics games, please share!