Walking around the Net, I've noticed how the development of Pinoy video games is accelerating. UGotGame, it seems, received quite a few submissions.
The Anito message boards are buzzing with comments from a number of people interested in putting together their own games. (At least, they were - site's down.) Some have shown surprising levels of creative thought, but I don't think many of them are familiar with how much effort goes into the creation of a game.
I found my old notes for Anito a few weeks ago, spending an entire afternoon looking through them. Maybe twenty or thirty characters, each with a description of what they seem to be like, and then a description of what they're really like. In exchange for those characters, I get my name in the credits. Not bad, I suppose.
If the development of Anito had a problem, it was the fact that the story was not fully realized until late in development. I think the stories went directly to the scripters and the programmers immediately after being written, which means that no one was really working under an absolutely complete script and set of requirements. In a sense, the team was playing it by ear. Odd, how it all managed to come together.
Personally, I'd like to try doing it again. I'd make sure to follow what I've written for myself in such a case:
1. Get the story done before development starts. Even an outline would be good here. Anything, as long as it gives direction.
2. Get the specifications straight before design and programming start. One can't just start writing additional characters, locations and features in the middle of compositing. I sincerely doubt that any development team will like it.
3. Have a story team as opposed to a lone writer. One guy working alone simply can't think of everything. If anything, having multiple people on a story team ensures that you get a lot of different facets of the story.
Of course, that's if I ever get to write another video game again. I don't suppose anyone out there is looking for a few good people? I mean, hey, I've got experience. :)
Tuesday, September 21, 2004
Monday, September 20, 2004
Antaria: Amalthea
Amalthea crouched in the near-darkness, waiting as her eyes got used to the dim light. Ahead, the stone path broke into ripples where roots had mangled the rock underneath. She straightened, steadying her staff upon the ground with a distinct clank, and continued walking. Her braid trailed listlessly in the air as she did so.
Thorngarde Keep was an adventurer's worst-kept secret, a forgotten ruin rising from the overgrown forests of Allandria. The massive castle had been abandoned close to eighty years before, and the ever-persistent rumors told of the fantastic treasure within its depths, wealth that could provide for a man until the end of his days and far, far more.
That virtually every single adventurer across Antaria knew about the Keep was a detail largely forgotten. Scant weeks would pass without some ambitious peasant, wandering knight or mercenary company passing by to have a look. Usually they would leave empty handed - eighty years of scavengers, after all, would have left no stone unturned.
But Amalthea was more than some mere adventurer - she was a Metrian. And, while the benefits of her field of arcane study were not immediately obvious, Amalthea knew perfectly well that being a Metrian gave her access to the comprehensive stores of knowledge that her colleagues were so fond of collecting. So here she was, investigating a moldering old map drawn by a man who had claimed to have accessed the secret inner depths of the Keep.
It wasn't about the wealth and treasure, mind you. The Guild provided her every need, and she was content. But Metrians were highly inquisitive by nature, and Amalthea just happened to think that being inquisitive gave you the right to walk into places just to have a look around.
There was an odd grinding sound in the distance. Amalthea had been attempting to tie it to anything she had experienced so far, but it resisted association. It was unlikely that anything in the Keep was still in fair condition, so whatever it was, it was certainly of interest to her.
Turning her head slightly in order to gain a better idea of where the sound was coming from, she headed in that direction. As she walked, her staff tapped against the stone floor with every step.
Thorngarde Keep was an adventurer's worst-kept secret, a forgotten ruin rising from the overgrown forests of Allandria. The massive castle had been abandoned close to eighty years before, and the ever-persistent rumors told of the fantastic treasure within its depths, wealth that could provide for a man until the end of his days and far, far more.
That virtually every single adventurer across Antaria knew about the Keep was a detail largely forgotten. Scant weeks would pass without some ambitious peasant, wandering knight or mercenary company passing by to have a look. Usually they would leave empty handed - eighty years of scavengers, after all, would have left no stone unturned.
But Amalthea was more than some mere adventurer - she was a Metrian. And, while the benefits of her field of arcane study were not immediately obvious, Amalthea knew perfectly well that being a Metrian gave her access to the comprehensive stores of knowledge that her colleagues were so fond of collecting. So here she was, investigating a moldering old map drawn by a man who had claimed to have accessed the secret inner depths of the Keep.
It wasn't about the wealth and treasure, mind you. The Guild provided her every need, and she was content. But Metrians were highly inquisitive by nature, and Amalthea just happened to think that being inquisitive gave you the right to walk into places just to have a look around.
There was an odd grinding sound in the distance. Amalthea had been attempting to tie it to anything she had experienced so far, but it resisted association. It was unlikely that anything in the Keep was still in fair condition, so whatever it was, it was certainly of interest to her.
Turning her head slightly in order to gain a better idea of where the sound was coming from, she headed in that direction. As she walked, her staff tapped against the stone floor with every step.
Sick, Sick, Sick.
I've had a bad cough for the last couple of weeks, and I only decided to see a doctor about it last Friday. To make a long story short, I ended up paying an arm and a leg for the consultation and an x-ray, only to find out that I was as healthy as a horse.
My cough, you ask? Seems that my doctor thinks it's because of stress. She advised me to consume more fluids, ease up on the exercise and take it easy for a few days, which I thought was a very odd thing for a doctor to say.
Still, it didn't get any argument from me, especially in light of the fact that my wallet was running on empty by that time.
My cough, you ask? Seems that my doctor thinks it's because of stress. She advised me to consume more fluids, ease up on the exercise and take it easy for a few days, which I thought was a very odd thing for a doctor to say.
Still, it didn't get any argument from me, especially in light of the fact that my wallet was running on empty by that time.
Tuesday, September 14, 2004
Antaria: Overview
Mages on the continent of Antaria are segregated into seven different classes, each with its own type of magic and its own independent philosophy on how the world works. The many alliances and vendettas between each organization, naturally, are tenuous at best.
Galenics - Healing, purification and protection magics. The Galenics are a quasi-religious order, popular among the people for the services that they provide. They hold a great deal of social and political influence, and have become somewhat elitist as a result.
Masquers - Illusion, enchantment and mind magics. The Masquers are the youngest of the seven classes, and maintain great stores of clandestine information on anyone and everyone. They are invariably mistrusted and rarely understood.
Metrians - Force, weather and teleportation magics. The Metrians have the most powerful war magics at their disposal, yet far from using them in combat, they choose to delve into study as scholars instead. Seen as bookish and reclusive, the Metrians do not choose to correct this assumption.
Druids - Nature, growth and survival magics. The Druids are a militant lot, making their homes in the natural environment and eschewing complex advancement. They are often seen as feral, brash, and downright difficult to reason with.
Tempestites - Craft, conjuration and familiarship magics. The Tempestites are best known for the elemental familiars that they command as bodyguards and servants. Tempestites are an arrogant lot, given to various wants of wealth, power and authority.
Shamans - Strength, enhancement and endurance magics. The Shamans are an enigmatic tribespeople who dwell in the harsh southern wastes. Though some consider then exotic, others consider them to be a primitive people, naive in modern ways and means.
Thanatai - Body, death and divination magics. The Thanatai are brooding, methodical necromancers who tend to be reviled by the general public. They have a very practical outlook on both life and death, in light of the persecution that they tend to face.
Galenics - Healing, purification and protection magics. The Galenics are a quasi-religious order, popular among the people for the services that they provide. They hold a great deal of social and political influence, and have become somewhat elitist as a result.
Masquers - Illusion, enchantment and mind magics. The Masquers are the youngest of the seven classes, and maintain great stores of clandestine information on anyone and everyone. They are invariably mistrusted and rarely understood.
Metrians - Force, weather and teleportation magics. The Metrians have the most powerful war magics at their disposal, yet far from using them in combat, they choose to delve into study as scholars instead. Seen as bookish and reclusive, the Metrians do not choose to correct this assumption.
Druids - Nature, growth and survival magics. The Druids are a militant lot, making their homes in the natural environment and eschewing complex advancement. They are often seen as feral, brash, and downright difficult to reason with.
Tempestites - Craft, conjuration and familiarship magics. The Tempestites are best known for the elemental familiars that they command as bodyguards and servants. Tempestites are an arrogant lot, given to various wants of wealth, power and authority.
Shamans - Strength, enhancement and endurance magics. The Shamans are an enigmatic tribespeople who dwell in the harsh southern wastes. Though some consider then exotic, others consider them to be a primitive people, naive in modern ways and means.
Thanatai - Body, death and divination magics. The Thanatai are brooding, methodical necromancers who tend to be reviled by the general public. They have a very practical outlook on both life and death, in light of the persecution that they tend to face.
Monday, September 13, 2004
Antaria: The Great Game of Names, Part I
Might as well note them down here before I forget.
PanM, if you ever get to read this, I thank you very much for the names. I couldn't have gone into further development of Antaria without them.
Galenics
Masquers
Metrians
Druids
Tempestites
Shamans
Thanatai
Lorendheim
Hadrian
Allandria
Vanarum
Kun
The Tajik Wastes
The Maw
PanM, if you ever get to read this, I thank you very much for the names. I couldn't have gone into further development of Antaria without them.
Galenics
Masquers
Metrians
Druids
Tempestites
Shamans
Thanatai
Lorendheim
Hadrian
Allandria
Vanarum
Kun
The Tajik Wastes
The Maw
Disclaimer: September 2004
Still learning how to work this thing.
Every now and then a single image flashes before my eyes, and that's of those days in the late 80s when I was working out how to operate the VCR.
Everything's obviously different this time around. There's not even a "Play" button in sight.
Disclaimers now. Everything here is the property of Sean Uy, writings, ideas and whatnot. Steal anything without my express permission, and I will hunt you down like the dog you are.
Okay, maybe not. But I'll still bug you like no tomorrow, and you'll be powerless to do anything about it because, deep down inside, you'll know that these were my ideas and that I can prove it through multiple forms of media. Save yourself the humiliation.
Copyright is such a sensitive issue nowadays, isn't it?
Every now and then a single image flashes before my eyes, and that's of those days in the late 80s when I was working out how to operate the VCR.
Everything's obviously different this time around. There's not even a "Play" button in sight.
Disclaimers now. Everything here is the property of Sean Uy, writings, ideas and whatnot. Steal anything without my express permission, and I will hunt you down like the dog you are.
Okay, maybe not. But I'll still bug you like no tomorrow, and you'll be powerless to do anything about it because, deep down inside, you'll know that these were my ideas and that I can prove it through multiple forms of media. Save yourself the humiliation.
Copyright is such a sensitive issue nowadays, isn't it?
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