What changed
0 fixes2 additions1 change0 removals
changedSecondly, the cash issue led to another issue; A mad dash to profitability, code quality be damned. Over time this built up and made the code... less than ideal to work with. Over the past month a truly massive amount of work has been spent on paying off all the technical debt the project had accrued. We're talking in the tens of thousands of changes. From a technical point of view, the project is in a great state now.
addedThird and perhaps most importantly, I don't know about you guys but I was always somewhat disappointed by how poorly the game came together. The mechanics feel like they are somewhat fighting each other instead of elevating each other. This last point has been the one causing me the most both heartache and headache. I realized I was out of my depth and that I need help. A few months of daring to venture outside the development-basement I have now made a few new friends, two of which happen to be world class game designers. Over the coming weeks I am going to be putting together the grand master plan for how to finally achieve greatness.
addedThe starting point for the grand master plan is this; A Game of Humans is fundamentally about humans. There is a deep simulation going on and things happening, yet it matters little to the actual running of the city/game except for productivity. I am moving the game towards something where the goal is to expand and attract more people, but more people will only come if the existing ones are happy. To make the existing people happy you have to deal with the drama they generate (new mechanic), applying faith powers and sometimes choosing the lesser of two evils. It is likely that the way feelings work will change, into a much more interactive mechanic.
A Game of Humans changes
changedSecondly, the cash issue led to another issue; A mad dash to profitability, code quality be damned. Over time this built up and made the code... less than ideal to work with. Over the past month a truly massive amount of work has been spent on paying off all the technical debt the project had accrued. We're talking in the tens of thousands of changes. From a technical point of view, the project is in a great state now.
addedThird and perhaps most importantly, I don't know about you guys but I was always somewhat disappointed by how poorly the game came together. The mechanics feel like they are somewhat fighting each other instead of elevating each other. This last point has been the one causing me the most both heartache and headache. I realized I was out of my depth and that I need help. A few months of daring to venture outside the development-basement I have now made a few new friends, two of which happen to be world class game designers. Over the coming weeks I am going to be putting together the grand master plan for how to finally achieve greatness.
addedThe starting point for the grand master plan is this; A Game of Humans is fundamentally about humans. There is a deep simulation going on and things happening, yet it matters little to the actual running of the city/game except for productivity. I am moving the game towards something where the goal is to expand and attract more people, but more people will only come if the existing ones are happy. To make the existing people happy you have to deal with the drama they generate (new mechanic), applying faith powers and sometimes choosing the lesser of two evils. It is likely that the way feelings work will change, into a much more interactive mechanic.
There has been a bit of a pause in both the communication and the development of the game, as I am sure most if not all of you reading this will know. There are three things I need to tell you.
First off, the company, Scion Studios, was about to run out of cash before the summer. That had to be solved, and it has. Part time contracting work has put us in a much healthier position. If the company folds there will be no game.
Secondly, the cash issue led to another issue; A mad dash to profitability, code quality be damned. Over time this built up and made the code... less than ideal to work with. Over the past month a truly massive amount of work has been spent on paying off all the technical debt the project had accrued. We're talking in the tens of thousands of changes. From a technical point of view, the project is in a great state now.
Third and perhaps most importantly, I don't know about you guys but I was always somewhat disappointed by how poorly the game came together. The mechanics feel like they are somewhat fighting each other instead of elevating each other. This last point has been the one causing me the most both heartache and headache. I realized I was out of my depth and that I need help. A few months of daring to venture outside the development-basement I have now made a few new friends, two of which happen to be world class game designers. Over the coming weeks I am going to be putting together the grand master plan for how to finally achieve greatness.
The starting point for the grand master plan is this; A Game of Humans is fundamentally about humans. There is a deep simulation going on and things happening, yet it matters little to the actual running of the city/game except for productivity. I am moving the game towards something where the goal is to expand and attract more people, but more people will only come if the existing ones are happy. To make the existing people happy you have to deal with the drama they generate (new mechanic), applying faith powers and sometimes choosing the lesser of two evils. It is likely that the way feelings work will change, into a much more interactive mechanic.
What do you think would make this game better?
(and sorry about the news hiatus, in-between pushing myself too hard and running out of cash, it turns out I managed to burn myself out. It's been a life lesson)
