The game plan / Home

Let me begin with saying fuck you. Yes you! The reader. Why? I figured everyone starts a post being relented in his or hers avid followers and thought I'd be a little different. It may seem harsh but as you continue to read the wounds inflicted by my former words will dissipate and eventually be forgotten. Let me soothe your troubled feelings with my ramblings.

So apart from abusing my followers and working on "Bandalive":http://bandalive.com (which is coming along great and hope to release something) I have been thinking to make a game. Obviously I'm not going to start it now, but maybe the idea and designs of it I will. Delve back several years ago, back before when MMO(Massively Multiplayer Online blah blah blah...) was coined term and broadband relatively new - at least it was in Australia - there were a few web-based online games, one of which was "Droidarena":http://droidarena.com (may not be the same game now). This game was really well designed [I thought] and actively got friends and strangers to work and play together in a true MMO fashion. The game revolved around you maintaining a droid and sending it out to arenas to fight for money, money which you used to repair your droid and upgrade it with armor, weapons and shields etc. It also featured something similar to WoW(World of Warcraft) guilds, many of which would fight amongst other guilds or groups flooding arenas so that no small-timer could or would dare enter. There were some arenas that were explicitly for individuals or for guilds and also free-for-all's too. Probably the most unique aspect of the game was that it featured seasons, each season you would start over but be in the same group etc, at the end of which you and your guild would be ranked on a ladder. This was pretty fun and great because it meant that everyone, no matter if a new-comer or veteran would have a fair start. Of course the hardcore players would eventually win but the the game play could be enjoyed by all and left players not over-shadowed by the more superior.

So with my game idea I wanted to take a few mechanics from Droidarena with a few changes to work my the gameplay and style. I like the idea of seasons because it means the game has an end, which is a lot easier to manage then a game that sees no end (ie. Most MMOs) but more so the fact that the absolutely devoted players can't stay at the pinnacle beyond regular player's reach, at the end of it everyone starts from the same line again. What about repeatability? That is something that is factored in the gameplay. If you make it so the game is dynamic and challenging everytime then re-playability is gaurenteed and keeps everyone happen. Who would I achieve this? Well the beautiful thing about MMO's - or some of them at least - is that it's the players themselves who always make change the experience. You will encounter many different players with various levels of skill and behaviors that it should cater to your thirst of variety.

I've been looking at ways I could go about executing such a game. Obviously it's web-based, so no desktop client - at least in the beginning - which creates some difficulty with the first feature. Location-based. How the fuck do you get location aware website unless your developing for say the "iPhone":http://apply.com/iphone? Thanks to "Google":http://google.com, they created a brilliant plugin for most web-browsers called "Google Gears":http://gears.google.com which allows websites to store data and resources on the user's own computer. Another feature Gears has [of late] is geo-location. Geo-location? Yes, geo-location! Now it's getting really trippy hey?! Even though your computer/laptop/fridge doesn't have a GPS in it, Google smartly made a way to approximate your location based on your IP address or wireless connection. Now now put that tinfoil hat down! They aren't watching you, at least not in ways no one else can't already. If you do a visual traceroute on your IP address you'd be surprised to know that the map isn't too far off from where you are, give or take 50km or so. I won't go in details on how or why but just accept the fact that it is.

So there you have it, Google is watching you, MMO's rule lives and I'm out to create a game. You all have something to fear now.

_Sorry_ for the quick wrap up guys, I thought I would be done before leaving for "Soundwave Festival":http://soundwavefestival.com but unfortunately no. There is no closure for you, I leave you all empty.