I'm working on this game filled with lots of detail. The problem is, how many of you really care about all the little details? I spend about two hours for each EVENT GROUP just fine-tuning the tiniest details.
The game's only confined to a small city. However, I've put LOTS of detail in everything. For the past few weeks, I've been typing the possible races, backgrounds, and professions, even though these things only affect the ability scores in the slightest, though they may have some gameplay benefit in the future. And mind you, there's more ability scores in this game than in most games. And that's all through a LOT of hard work in the past few weeks. I haven't even started on the battle or conversation engines.
So, I ask you people, is this all necessary? Should I spend hours typing obvious things like what a farmer or laborer does? Should I spend even more hours intergrating sections of the game and history of places your character will never even visit (unless the game turns commercial)? It's like those history books in Baldur's Gate. Someone spent hours typing them, but do people really read them or does everyone just try to finish the game?
And then there's the tiny details that actually add to gameplay. You know, stuff like having less charisma than everyone else making you pay 10 gold pieces more or other things like how extra intelligence can make you talk about things the average character wouldn't understand. I could probably save a few weeks of work by not putting such trivial details in. But would any of you miss it? Sure, it means that putting the charisma thing in would be pointless, but how many of you actually make charismatic/intelligent characters anyway?
Damn details are driving me crazy. Oh, and I wasn't joking about all those things above. Charisma and Appearance does help you shave off only a few gold pieces (though they add up after time), and I did spend hours typing fairly obvious things. Heck, I spent about 20 mins typing that pointless background story in the manual.
Disclaimer: Any sarcasm in my posts will not be mentioned as that would ruin the purpose. It is assumed that the reader is intelligent enough to tell the difference between what is sarcasm and what is not.
As a devoted fantasy fan I'm in favor of as many details as you can come up with. What makes a work like Lord of the Rings so good? Because of the many details. Tolkien actually took YEARS to create the amazing world of Middle-Earth. For all races, places, characters and everything he created background stories (like you can read in the appendixes and extra books). In the eventual story, he only used like 10% of what he'd thought up, but everything else he had thought up, somehow resonated against the background of Middle-Earth. So all the details were highly contributing to the story, and that's what made it so good.
So even if players aren't likely to notice those details, they do spice up your game. Your world won't be artificial anymore, but the details bring it to life. And that's the very reason why you should use them, even if they are time-consuming. Good luck with your game!
Gaming is fun... making others game is even more fun!
Assault Andy Administrator
I make other people create vaporware
Registered 29/07/2002
Points 5686
22nd December, 2003 at 18:54:04 -
It matters alot. My friend just got a new computer and it came with "Gunmetal" which I have on Xbox, and it's so much more sexier on his computer and you can see all the little details like the people's little faces and stuff.
I reckon it's always cool to have options to your games, whereby you can customise stuff, like the appearance, sound volume, difficulty...it kinda goes without saying in commercials games, but it should be considered more often in a Klik games.
Plus little neat graphic and sound effects can never go astray. Enviromental effects are always one such example of this.
MUGGUS
Come and annoy me more at
www.muggus69.tk STOUT ANGER!!!
Hmm... sounds like all that work hasn't gone to waste. But let me rephrase the question... if the little things like environmental effects delay the beta about 2 more months and could delay the move from beta to full game another month, would you people mind, or would you just want me to scrap it?
Disclaimer: Any sarcasm in my posts will not be mentioned as that would ruin the purpose. It is assumed that the reader is intelligent enough to tell the difference between what is sarcasm and what is not.
Pete Nattress Cheesy Bits img src/uploads/sccheesegif
Registered 23/09/2002
Points 4811
23rd December, 2003 at 10:32:02 -
i often find myself whittling away the hours on tiny details (the speed casings fly out of guns, different bloody effects, limbs sliding along the ground) without realising it. but the more detail, the better the game.
yeah little details give games lots of replayability
"Say you're hanging from a huge cliff at the top of mt. everest and a guy comes along and says he'll save you, and proceeds to throw religious pamphlets at you while simultaniously giving a sermon." - Dustin G
Whoa... so many more detail lovers that I expected. So, if you guys had the chance to play things differently with smart characters, dumb characters, ugly characters, pretty female characters, etc, at least a few of you would?
Disclaimer: Any sarcasm in my posts will not be mentioned as that would ruin the purpose. It is assumed that the reader is intelligent enough to tell the difference between what is sarcasm and what is not.
I think it's great to have a choice to play the game differently. It's like whole new experience.
Like, i've always imagined after playing and finishing a game like say, Quake for instance. What if I played that game again, but I played as a shambler? I mean how cool would that be. Playing as some bad arse monster who's been pissing you off for several hours of your life.
I mean, isn't that what true role playing is anyway? Being able to choice what role you play as? I believe it is!
MUGGUS
Come and annoy me more at
www.muggus69.tk STOUT ANGER!!!
I'm forever pissing around with stupid little details, I think that's what makes my games take so long. Like on Zombies Now, I spent ages on light directional shadows, zombie moans that get louder when zombies are close, reflective surfaces and stuff like that. I think small details are important, cos they keep your attention, noticing all the little things.
I love some of the little effects i've put in my latest version of Prototype X actually. I'm really tempted to post a demo of it just cause I kinda wanna show 'em off , but i'll wait till I get more done.
Pretty basic things like bouncing shells, smoke coming out of guns. Particle explosions that leave singe marks. I also love the physics i've got for the throwing knives...although it's not perfect.
I'm putting much more detail in this latest version, and it's much more impressive.
And that's what it's all about. The little things make the final product all the more attractive, presentable, and gives it that edge that seperates a reasonable game from a good one.
MUGGUS
Come and annoy me more at
www.muggus69.tk STOUT ANGER!!!
It depends on what audience you want to please aswell, as you can see here nobody has said 'Screw details'. Its also important to pick and choose what details you take on, dont take on big ones that will wear you down and you will take intrest in another game. I am too a lover of details, it makes your game that much better then sombody elses shot at it. Its also good to pick details that people will notice, if you code a bunch of stuff that nobody will see, then why do it? If I play your game, and the words coming out of my mouth are like 'Oh hey thats awsome' or 'Oh I cant believe he made that' then your mission is complete. Otherwise, when I play sombody elses game, you hear 'Same old.. same old... *yawn*'.
We are the music makers, we are the dreamers of dreams...
I was playing a game with lots of small detail in it, at first i didnt notice, then i thought, lots of little details make the game seem professional so you see the game as being the 'norm' and if you took it away you would notice that things are missing.
It's not a part of it making the game better, it makes the game seem normal.
SCREW DETAILS... just kidding i like details.. cos a game without any details will be the sort of game that i first made (well, i expect the graphics wouldnt be so terrible and the plots so crap... but details in games are always making me say, "hey... look at that...thats really cool..."
oe example where i said exactly this was on Zelda: the ocarina of time i noticed something gold around... that girl at the ranch's neck i walked closer and had a look and what do i see?
a bowser pendant!! and there's a place where you can see portraits of mario and princess peach...
details are always cool spend lots of time on them and be happy with a very cool game
Twas brillig, and the slivey toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe,
All mimsy were the borogroves,
And the momewraths outgrabe.
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, but i'll wait till I get more done.
