Maybe i must give you a small introduction to the world of text adventures or MUDs.
Now, this is a sphere i have been floating around inside for quite some time. The people who are dedicated to text gaming or MUDing are people who appreciate text more than others, and enjoy the freedom of roleplaying without any concrete restrictions such as "there is no script for it" (As in 2d and 3d graphics). Sure there are other reasons why people enjoy text games but, i guess that by mentioning the one above, you might get a feel for what i'm also a part of.
I have indeed posted something similar to what i will be writing about here on other forums, but what it concerned was the mechanics behind my idea. Which seemed to be not so big of a problem.(Thanks to the posts).
With that said, i felt that i had to change forum and present this where other types of people might contribute other vital parts of the development of this game. Which really hasnt started. But at the moment I'll treat it as something that is going underway.
The actual fact of an abstract game is something we have been exposed to a very big degree now a days, thanks to the growing indie market and the appreciation of abstraction in a certain way.
But let's think about what kind of games we are talking about here. Though i praise the indie market for allowing small companies even one single person sometimes, to get a chance to fund and share their game, but the majority of indie games and games close to a vague definition of abstract, are PUZZLE GAMES.
What I will be presenting to you and what i am getting myself in to, is to some degree the art in gaming, which doesnt really need to exist, but its pretty-sounding. And the notion of total abstraction. The ultimate exposure of abstraction for players, so that people open up the actual area in our brains where abstraction must exist. Experimenting in gaming is important.
With that said, and with way too little information(I just noticed) I'll explain a bit more concrete on what i want from you and what i will give you.
I am convinced that by abstract story-telling, the satisfaction of the player can not match up to that of a plain, mainstreamed game but even a regular indie game. It means that even if we appreciate and enjoy some casual games such as, oh i dont know, A tower defence game with a twist. Where we praise the gameplay for being so rewarding, we must also acknowledge the stupidity of the enjoyment. Self-consciousness.
But why a text game? I mentioned very briefly earlier that players who are involved in text gaming appreciate the fact that there is not restriction on what CAN be done, except for the scripting of "Commands" obviously but, basically there can be a scenario where a player might type:
"Emote drops an iphone" Which reads out to other players "Otviss drops an iphone". Even if this emote is prohibited in a roleplaying enforced fantasy game, it can still be done, and there´s no way stopping it. That is the freedom of MUDing.
Nevermind, so yes, why a text game? Well, with that freedom it is possible to write(Which will be the main source of actual content)absurd,surrealistic and abstract environments. Which is crucial for this type of story-telling. That is why this game must be a text game, at least in the beginning, I'm not sure how far i will take this, but the main goal is to establish a group of people for discussion, and through that discussion, a game will naturally develop, heck, a world will develop. Thanks to the creativity of several people, duh.
So i have a few questions here which are important (Programmers, Designers, Coders, Gamers. Whatever you might be, if you want to contribute with an answer to these questions, please do):
- If this type of game is possible, Is there an audience for it?
- If not, what can I do to achieve that at least?
- Will i get help?
What i have mentioned could be interpreted as the creation of a single-player game. And it could as well be so but my intentions are to create an online game where players explore an abstract world together.(more on this, further on, as in, further on in the making).
I have made a mind-map online for myself where i have asked questions regarding necessary topics such as: Character progression, Setting, Objects and Rooms. etc.
Which i would like to share, [recruiting text deleted by mod]
Get in touch with me, or reply to this with your thoughts, questions i would like to answer via email. [email address deleted by mod]
