Reworking the Beginner Area

[Tobias]

I've meant to rework the beginner area for a good while not, and I think this is a pretty good time to get it started. Ideas, suggestions and feedback are welcome, and I'll consider them as I go along and update it.


In short - the beginner area is where you end up after you make a new character. Right now, new players are tossed right next to Jack and his Bluebells - without explanation of that's going on. Sure, they can pick up their first quest, and hunt down caterpillars - but that neither gives much of a long term goal (except: level up), nor is it really to exciting.

Part of the reason is that when I made the beginner area, the game engine itself was pretty new - and a lot of the things that you see at higher levels just didn't exist. Examples for those are the water effects, controllable monsters, flashbacks, custom character animations, scripted quests. So when new people join, all they see is Jack, some bluebells, and think that's all the game can do.

The idea here is to make a new beginner area - for two reasons:
First - to give the entire game an overarching story and objective. When I started, the idea was that characters come from a small expedition dispatched to Midnight Mountain. Inside an underground base deep inside Midnight Mountain, you and several other characters mine for gold and other valuables. This is where the game would actually start. Everything goes well for a while, until one of the explosions opens a dark cave even deeper into the heart of the mountain. Monsters stream out, and overrun the base - your only option is to flee.
Through a series of circumstances, you escape - stranding in Saliko, near farmer Jack. Your goal is to become stronger, get friends and allies on the way, to finally fight your back to your base in Midnight Mountain to free your comrades and drive back the monsters to where they came from.

The second idea is to show off a few of the things that the game engine can do by now. Off the top of my head, I can think of:
- Controlling a monster to retrieve an item.
- A few of the fancier graphic effects, such as the water reflections.
- Flashbacks, to show what's going on in a different area of the base.

One thing I want to avoid, is combat - that's what Saliko is for.

The only thing I've made up my mind about so far is that you're going to start in your "room" (which would be inside a cave, decorated with .. a bed .. and what else?) and that one of your friend NPCs is getting you to work. That's from where quests and scripts could pick up to start the story.

Ideas?

[Tobias]

I want to keep it a bit darker - the monsters come out from the depths of the mountain, so they will look similar to Gorath, Argans and whatnot. Lady Tempest I currently have no real use for - I have plans for a distant dungeon, but that's really far away.

Actually I want to go much more into detail here: I do have a coarse story line (which I coarsely lined out), but you can't start implementing things without the finer things. That begins with how the starting room will look like, over what colour your friend that'll fetch you will be, to what exactly they'll say and what music would play. And of course, how we fit all the things that I mentioned in (for example, controlling a monster to retrieve an item).

It'll be the first thing that new folk sees, so it has to be somewhat decent. ;3

[Pike]

Heya Tobias,
Note that I am writing this with sleep deprivation.
So please forgive me if I make any grammar, spelling, or logical errors.
Chances are, I will some important details.
Therefore, if you like my idea, I'd appreciate it if we could discuss is in-game.
That way, everything can be cleared up, and question may be asked.

Format
*Primary Event
---Second Event occurring at or near the same time as above.
------"Dialogue"
(Special Notes about above line)
*(Special Notes about everything up to the highest "*")

*Scene One
Music similar to:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhpicLUxmQQ plays.
Scene of a canyon area quickly fades in.
(The Canyon area consists of a flat area to the left and a Tall Cliff to the right)
---The dashing figure of a "combat archaeologist wolf" (Like indiana Jones or Lemeza Kosugi) wolf walks into the scene. The player, wearing a large sack follows behind.
("Shorn" is a temporary name for the character.)
------Shorn: Well, this is it!
------Shorn: The fabled ruins of EL MULANO
(Another temporary name)
------Shorn: The ancient treasure is just one climb away from our grasps!
------Shorn: Come, assistant. Let us scale these cliffs.
Shorn walks towards the cliffs and jumps up onto a few platforms.
------Shorn: Come along assistant! Don't let my baggage keep you grounded!
------Shorn: Use the WASD or Arrow Keys to move in any direction.
------Shorn: Also, you can click to get to where you want to go.
------Shorn: Watch how the processionals do it!
Shorn climbs up the cliff stopping every so often to prompt the player.
(The climb will be easy in difficulty and is meant to teach the players the movement controls. Barriers will be made to ensure the player doesn't fall to their death)
Shorn and the player arrive at the top of the cliff.
------Shorn: Not too shabby, assistant. 
------Shorn: Now, let's make our way into the cave.
Shorn walks into the portal disappears
Player follows into the portal (and the next area).
(Storywise, Shorn is made out to be a bit of a stuck-up guy.)

*Scene 2

The Scene changes to a dark hallway. Only Shorn and the player's eye-whites can be seen.
---Music similar to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=djhC-Ttubt0&feature=relmfu plays.
------Shorn: Hey, who turned out the lights?
(Cliché on purpose)
------Shorn: Assistant! Take out my headlight.
------Shorn: Use "I" to open up your inventory. Double click it the item to equip it.
(The player opens the inventory to discover that it is filled with all sorts of stuff including stat-boosting foods as well as a bunch of useless trinkets to play with. Many of them glorifying "Expeditioner Shorn"  )
Player equips the mining helmet
---The cave is somewhat illuminated.
------Shorn: Ah! Some light.
------Shorn: Hmm, whats that over there? Follow me, assistant.
Shorn jumps down an un-climbable ledge and continues to walk over to a pedestal with a translucent black orb with an ominous red glow inside.
------Shorn: Well.......
------Shorn: Put it in my bag. Just double-click it to do so.
Player collects the "Orb of Darkness"
---An eerie sound effect plays and shadow bears and miniature hellhounds come from the darkness
---Dramatic music similar to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWPiElGFvHY&feature=results_video  starts playing
------Shorn: Who......are you?
The shadow monsters hiss.
------All shadow monsters: We are...........your end........
The eye sockets of the monsters glow a bright red.
------Shorn yells: *player name*! Run! Run to the other end of the cave!
The shadow monsters begin to approach the player.
Shorn uses "Growl" to aggro the most of the mobs at him.
Shorn holds off most of the monsters but is slowly pushed back.
The player takes damage as he or she runs to the other end of the cave.
(% Damage is applied)
The player goes through a portal to 2nd exit of the cave.
The player ends up on a narrow ledge. Shorn is to the left holding off monsters.
(By the time the player is here, they are at 10% or less health.)
---Shorn casts a shield on the player.
------Shorn yells: JUMP! There's no other choice!
The player jumps and falls into the river below
The screen blacks-out.
*(Afterwards, the player wakes up next to Jack)

*Scene 3

The screen whites into Saliko.
Suggestions: To supplement the dramatic story of the tutorial area. A special questline could be added to add additional "purpose" to playing. They could be shown with a red star instead of a yellow one.

Examples:

-A quest where Jack basically says "Are you alright? You came flowing down the river. I had to pull you out. Also, I saw an orb in the river. Is it yours? I'm unable to get it but I may know someone who can"

-A quest where the player must guide a fish or seal to get the orb from the river.

-Etc.

*(The player discovers that the shadow monsters are causing problems all over the continent. Will Shorn ever be seen again? Only time will tell.)

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Phew, that took a while.
I'd think that it's detailed enough.
I know that the idea is ambitious, but I hope you like it.
I'd be happy to discuss this or other possibilities in-game.
Thanks for your time,
-Pike

[Snushie]

Well, since I started using Toast I've gotten refreshed on how the beginner area is so I guess I'll try and suggest something.~

You know in Pokemon where you automatically start up with a Professor and they explain to you how to use the controls and what-not? It could be something like that where you're in this little isolated place with someone giving you commands and feedback on what to do and how to operate the controls and understand the environment.

Another thing could be where you're forced to go to Elyssia for something which is why you start out by the river with Jack.

Dunno, I tried. XD

[Tobias]

Oh yes, that is planned. You'll essentially have controls show up directly on your screen, telling you what you need to do. At least, that's the plan. ;P

Pike, your idea, the names and the story are all good, no doubt, but it's not quite what I planned (even though I might be able to use some parts of it).
( I don't want to give "hints" what kind of quests you must do for the main story line - reason is that people will just skip everything that's not required. ;P )

Let's make it more low level, and I'll put in three specific examples:

(1) You're in an underground cave, inside your room. What kind of stuff would you like to see in your room? Should it be messy? Clean? Would you expect it to be dirty and dusty, with spider webs, seeing you're in a cave, or would your character actually have it all neatly and cleanly set up?
(2) Would you personally prefer that your friend who'll show up to get you is a girl, or a guy? Any ideas about their names?
(3) What kind of music should play?

[Pike]

"I want to keep it a bit darker - the monsters come out from the depths of the mountain, so they will look similar to Gorath, Argans and whatnot." - Tobias

I entirely misinterpreted the above quote. I ended up creating a sort of epic drama XD.
To answer you questions.

1.
a) A world map, a bed, a table, and maybe a training manual.
b) Messy room, or at least full of eye candy.
c) Cleanly set up, unless a dirty cave would add significance to the story line.

2.
a) As long as the player isn't meant to have an emotion attachment to "the friend", it doesn't matter. Seeing how only the beginner area is going to be reworked, I'd say to just coin-flip the gender.

3.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lC3P3Q71jUI

I wasn't sure as to what kind of mood you'd like to portray in the tutorial area.
Thus, I made my best guess.
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I hope that answers all your questions.
Although, I'm curious about one thing.
Storywise, how does the player get from the "tutorial area" to Jack's farm?
Thanks again, Tobias.

[Birk]

"1) You're in an underground cave, inside your room. What kind of stuff would you like to see in your room? Should it be messy? Clean? Would you expect it to be dirty and dusty, with spider webs, seeing you're in a cave, or would your character actually have it all neatly and cleanly set up?"

well wut about like its nice and neat at first or wutever and then like the monsters trash it then when u get back to that area later theres spider webs and stuff cuz its been abandoned?

(just a quick thought)

[Nyssa]

Hmm...well I think maybe it would be easier if players could choose how their room looks before starting the game. For example, in the same part where you create your character, there should be a part where it asks whether you want your room to be messy or clean, and there should also be a part where you choose the gender of the friend that shows up to get you, along with a picture of the friend so you can see what it looks like for each gender. As far as music goes, I'm not quite sure what it should sound like, but I have some examples of good songs:

        1:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gH5rzhynJlk&feature=relmfu       
        2:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M17c7d82WL4&feature=relmfu
        3:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKLRO2lX_OI
        4:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7Zzqv57JOg&feature=related
        5:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPk9E3nUAvk&feature=related

That should be enough examples for now.. XD I hope my ideas are good. Thank you for reading (and listening) to my suggestions. :3

[Kitson]

I just found this after logging into my account after a week and a half. ^^; And i say that it's very interesting the ideas that you guys have come up with. I can easily see the similarity in all of the ideas. (no really? XD) I'll try to come up with something (while trying to not take TOO much from others. XD)

[Tobias]

Righty - this took a while, because of implementing all sorts of things such as the stealth code, but I'm working on it when I get the time.

a) A world map, a bed, a table, and maybe a training manual.
b) Messy room, or at least full of eye candy.
c) Cleanly set up, unless a dirty cave would add significance to the story line.

Sounds good - the world map would be a nice touch, I don't have it at the moment, but it'd be a neat detail I haven't thought of.

a) As long as the player isn't meant to have an emotion attachment to "the friend", it doesn't matter. Seeing how only the beginner area is going to be reworked, I'd say to just coin-flip the gender.

I don't think creating an emotional attachment to an NPC in-game is a bad thing. Better than making a bunch of characters you don't care about. ;P

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lC3P3Q71jUI

A bit too bouncy - and loaded with copyright issues. ;3

I wasn't sure as to what kind of mood you'd like to portray in the tutorial area.

Nothing *too* dark at the beginning, something that matches the general feel of the game.

Storywise, how does the player get from the "tutorial area" to Jack's farm?

You'll see!

Hmm...well I think maybe it would be easier if players could choose how their room looks before starting the game. For example, in the same part where you create your character, there should be a part where it asks whether you want your room to be messy or clean, and there should also be a part where you choose the gender of the friend that shows up to get you, along with a picture of the friend so you can see what it looks like for each gender.

That might be a bit too much customization - especially since it doesn't capture the gist of what's going to happen later on. Like, new players will get a first impression here, from which they decide whether they're interested in the game or not. The idea is to give players a good idea of what they'll be seeing later on, so those that are into that kind of game can continue after the beginner area, and those that expected something different realize that right away.

As far as music goes, I'm not quite sure what it should sound like, but I have some examples of good songs:

Those are great songs, and I'll look into them. Thanks! 4 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7Zzqv57JOg&feature=related) is pretty unclear about what the copyright status of that song is (whether the uploader made it themselves). The others seem to use something similar to CC-BY, which is good news.
3 would go really well in a cave level in general (such as midnight mountain cave?).

v This is the version of the first room you start in, without the world map or training manuals yet. Ideas / Feedback (especially comparing it with the current starting area)? v

[Pike]

Forgive me, as I was under the misconception that you had someone
who made music specifically for Icyworlds. I can be quite dense sometimes. :P
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Nothing *too* dark at the beginning, something that matches the general feel of the game.

I'm sorry but this seems a bit vague and unspecific.
Hmm, let me rephrase the question to "What would you like the player to think at this particular moment."

I went on another search for CC-BY music that fit's the ambient, low-percussion style shown in Icy.
Here is a list of various songs and the mood that each portrays.

Sentimental: http://tindeck.com/listen/ihqk

Tranquil: http://tindeck.com/listen/eltd

Purposeful: http://tindeck.com/listen/xpdz

Cryptic: http://tindeck.com/listen/fewx

Carefree: http://tindeck.com/listen/dbkq

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Suggestions for the room:

I think there should be a bit of a light effect coming from the hole in the ceiling.
It would be a sort of a message that there is "more" out in the world.

Other than that, the cave seems to really emphasize a "humble beginning".

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I hope that answers your questions.
Thanks again, Tobias.

[Tobias]

I was under the misconception that you had someone who made music specifically for Icyworlds.

Nope, I do not. Two people promised they'd make music, but they never did.

I'm sorry but this seems a bit vague and unspecific.

If I had something more specific, then I'd probably have the music already. ;P
Hard Rock sure wouldn't fit the game's style too much. Same for rap.

Here is a list of various songs and the mood that each portrays.

They are all CC-BY-NC-ND - so I can't use any of them:

- NC : Non-Commercial - that's not a show-stopper, because the game's non-commercial to start with, but I try to avoid NC in case someone has a genius business idea in future (in which case I must stop using any NC music, or pay out the composers). X3 Especially because a lot of excellent music exists that doesn't have the NC flag.

- ND : This, however, is an absolute show stopper. CC-ND means "No Derivative Works -  You may not alter, transform, or build upon this work." Essentially, you can't do anything. You can't recompress it to make it easier to download, and I would need to disable all volume controls, or fadeins, or cross-fading. And whatever "building up on this work" means, you can't do it either. Playing the attack sounds over the music could be understood as "building up" on it, because the sound mixer mixes both sounds together - which is forbidden in this license.

Plus, let's be frank - it's not bad, but it's that great to justify slapping a NC flag on a 3-years-and-counting-project (and using the risky ND-license). The first one is extremely repetitive, the xylophone (or whatever it is) plays the same six-note-tune over and over again, and is competing for attention with all the other instruments.

[Pike]

6 Tracks that are ACTUALLY CC-BY:

1) http://incompetech.com/m/c/royalty-free/index.html?keywords=USUAN1200047

2) http://ccmixter.org/files/queeniemusic/19817

3) http://ccmixter.org/files/oldDog/19441

4) http://ccmixter.org/files/oldDog/17294

5) http://ccmixter.org/files/admiralbob77/30581

6) http://ccmixter.org/files/totallycornyproductions/25833

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If none of them fit the Beginner Cave to your liking, say so and I shall continue the hunt.
Thanks again, Tobias.