My name's Rob, also known as Protopop, and I'm working on an indie Procedural RPG made in HTML5, so you can play it in your web browser. It's called Nimian Legends Empires, and it's the update to my original Nimian Legends game. I wanted to talk a bit about what motivated me to make it, and some of my process. The biggest changed between this and the old version is the procedural design - a lot of the game is handcrafted but a lot is also procedurally generated.
You can see a short gameplay video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Kz5NL7rrXY
After creating Nimian Legends I wanted a way to deliver more of the world faster. I realized how difficult it was to populate kingdoms, let alone continents with content. But I had a lot of legends and lore from the Nimian Legends universe. I ended up creating what I call the AdventureGen Engine™. It creates locations, names, weapons quests procedurally, but allows me to add handcrafted ‘nodes’ for important cities and citizens from the world.
Procedural Quests
I’m currently finishing the quest generator and then will be ready to launch the new version. The quest generator (and the AdventureGen Engine in general) uses a fractal structure to make itself aware of world elements above (continental) and below (individual beasts) each node. Im taking care to develop the quest and dialogue engine to be lively and filled with character. I found that generic quests can fee cookie cutter, so a lot of effort has been so the engine takes into accounts the lives and motivations of various citizens and create interesting interactions between them.
3 Cards
One problem with the original was that i sued many different systems - beasts were presented as cards, but inventory was a standard drag and drop. My original version had been card based, so i went back ti that, with the idea that everything was now a card and worked in sets of threes. Now shops offer 3 items (weapons, magic, armour, shields and more) procedurally generated and based on the areas level. Beasts acre created procedurally and different kinds populate different areas (Frost daemons in snowy areas, Undead in swamps etc…).
Card Decks
You have three decks and each deck can hold 3 cards. You collect cards by travelling around the world and drawing them from locations, or purchasing them in cities and villages. Some cards are given to you as rewards for completing quests. Battle decks hold anything you can use in a fight - weapons, armour, spells. In general battle cards are permanent until you sell them. The Perk Deck hold special one-shot cards that modify your abilities or give you special powers. Finally the Rune Deck holds special permanent blessings that affect your hero’s abilities. Career cards give you a special permanent skill based on the career you chose. For example, Swipes can attempt to steal items from shops (and you can amass quite a fortune stealing then selling goods - just don’t get caught), and Rooks (powerful fighters) gain +1 attack damage fro each level they achieve. You also get runes from choosing your path - Speed, Strength and Spirit. Choose Spirit and your Karma, used to cast some cards, is doubled. Choose speed and you can dodge enemy attacks, reducing damage.
Your Hero
You’re character can choose a career, path, gender (male, androgyne or female) and species - with your character portrait updating depending o what you choose. You gain experience and gold by defeating beasts and completing quests, allowing you to level up, which increase your stats and skills.
Free and Inclusive
Nimian Legends Empires is free and is being released online in Fall 2015. i created it in HTML5 for a few reasons. Since my days as a flash developer I have always wanted my games to be as accessible as possible, and HTML5 achieves this. HTML5 is also very flexible and relatively simple to code. I like the open nature of it and there is always a lot of help nearby.
The world is also inclusive. Male, female and Androgyne choices are available for your gender, and your hero can engage in romances with any gender. The world of Nimian Legends itself may be filled with danger, intrigue and corruption, but the spirit i am making the game in is one of inclusivity.
As for me, I’m a solo game developer with a few games on the app store. And since my Dungeons & Dragons days (check out 5th edition - great art and inspiration!) I have enjoyed creating games and worlds. This world itself is the background setting for Nimian Legend BrightRidge, a 3D Open World wilderness game on the app store (it is getting an HD update this fall as well). I hope you’ll get inspired by Nimian Legends and keep an eye out for it this fall
You can see a short gameplay video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Kz5NL7rrXY
After creating Nimian Legends I wanted a way to deliver more of the world faster. I realized how difficult it was to populate kingdoms, let alone continents with content. But I had a lot of legends and lore from the Nimian Legends universe. I ended up creating what I call the AdventureGen Engine™. It creates locations, names, weapons quests procedurally, but allows me to add handcrafted ‘nodes’ for important cities and citizens from the world.
Procedural Quests
I’m currently finishing the quest generator and then will be ready to launch the new version. The quest generator (and the AdventureGen Engine in general) uses a fractal structure to make itself aware of world elements above (continental) and below (individual beasts) each node. Im taking care to develop the quest and dialogue engine to be lively and filled with character. I found that generic quests can fee cookie cutter, so a lot of effort has been so the engine takes into accounts the lives and motivations of various citizens and create interesting interactions between them.
3 Cards
One problem with the original was that i sued many different systems - beasts were presented as cards, but inventory was a standard drag and drop. My original version had been card based, so i went back ti that, with the idea that everything was now a card and worked in sets of threes. Now shops offer 3 items (weapons, magic, armour, shields and more) procedurally generated and based on the areas level. Beasts acre created procedurally and different kinds populate different areas (Frost daemons in snowy areas, Undead in swamps etc…).
Card Decks
You have three decks and each deck can hold 3 cards. You collect cards by travelling around the world and drawing them from locations, or purchasing them in cities and villages. Some cards are given to you as rewards for completing quests. Battle decks hold anything you can use in a fight - weapons, armour, spells. In general battle cards are permanent until you sell them. The Perk Deck hold special one-shot cards that modify your abilities or give you special powers. Finally the Rune Deck holds special permanent blessings that affect your hero’s abilities. Career cards give you a special permanent skill based on the career you chose. For example, Swipes can attempt to steal items from shops (and you can amass quite a fortune stealing then selling goods - just don’t get caught), and Rooks (powerful fighters) gain +1 attack damage fro each level they achieve. You also get runes from choosing your path - Speed, Strength and Spirit. Choose Spirit and your Karma, used to cast some cards, is doubled. Choose speed and you can dodge enemy attacks, reducing damage.
Your Hero
You’re character can choose a career, path, gender (male, androgyne or female) and species - with your character portrait updating depending o what you choose. You gain experience and gold by defeating beasts and completing quests, allowing you to level up, which increase your stats and skills.
Free and Inclusive
Nimian Legends Empires is free and is being released online in Fall 2015. i created it in HTML5 for a few reasons. Since my days as a flash developer I have always wanted my games to be as accessible as possible, and HTML5 achieves this. HTML5 is also very flexible and relatively simple to code. I like the open nature of it and there is always a lot of help nearby.
The world is also inclusive. Male, female and Androgyne choices are available for your gender, and your hero can engage in romances with any gender. The world of Nimian Legends itself may be filled with danger, intrigue and corruption, but the spirit i am making the game in is one of inclusivity.
As for me, I’m a solo game developer with a few games on the app store. And since my Dungeons & Dragons days (check out 5th edition - great art and inspiration!) I have enjoyed creating games and worlds. This world itself is the background setting for Nimian Legend BrightRidge, a 3D Open World wilderness game on the app store (it is getting an HD update this fall as well). I hope you’ll get inspired by Nimian Legends and keep an eye out for it this fall
- Joined
- Aug 11, 2015
- Messages
- 5