With my stimulus money many months ago I bought a gaming PC. This was my first gaming related purchase since 2013. (GTAV for 360, my last console) Over the first part of the pandemic I spent a lot of time indoors with my gamer roommates and played some games I had missed but what really inspired me to get a PC was the idea of modding and potentially developing games. When the hobby was new I got really into it, aided by ADHD hyperfocus and some amphetamines from a friend, but inevitably burned out.
My main two projects were a 16bit 2D sidescroller starring my cat that I was making in Stencyl (discovered after falling in love with an indie game made in it [Skateride]) and Making modded maps for SkaterXL (I got pretty good at modeling but I'm still vexed about textures and working with them between blender and unity projects)
AAAAANNNNYYYYway all of that to say who else here does game stuff? I want to get back into it and perhaps collaborate on some games with a commie lens, if anyone needs pixel art/animation or blender models?
I'm currently in the final stages of developing a game called Xenologist. It's about exploring an alien planet, with an attempt to remove the colonialist elements found in many other exploration games. Therefore, there is no base building, resource extraction, combat, etc. Your goal is purely to learn as much about the planet as you can within the allotted time. You do this by uncovering the map, studying wildlife, and befriending the indigenous tribes, who will give you things like maps, food, and interviews in exchange for gifts. The planet is randomly generated with each new game.
Some screencaps:
Main view, exploring the map
Studying the wildlife is a simple game of pressing your luck: the closer you get, the more data you get, but as you approach, they get more agitated. Get too close and they'll flee or attack.
The first step to befriending a village is to study them. Some clues are red herrings, but some tell you what gifts they're likely to want. This village has to subsist on mostly bitter foods, so they would most likely highly value candy.
And indeed, the candy is well-received.
A few gifts earn their trust, and we meet with the chief.
An interview tells us of the village's history and culture, and gives us a big one-time research boost
I started it early last year, and I estimate I'll be done in another 1-2 months.
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Thank you!
holy shit this is something i've been wanting for a long time.
You're not the only one! One of my biggest sources of game ideas is stuff I wish I could find.
back when i used to do casual game dev i was the same way. or i'd try to resurrect some obscure old commodore strategy game or something i'd played once and had a vague memory of.
This is cool as fuck, great work! Anywhere we can keep up to date or maybe you'll post it here when you're done?
Thanks! I'll be posting it on Hexbear when it's done.
hell yeah. has that Oregon Trail look with Star Control vibes. i'm excited to try that out.
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I think its use in exploration-based games has settler colonialist roots: historically, such bases in lands being explored were set up to establish dominance over the land, expand the reach of the setter culture, and act as strongpoints against indigenous resistance.
That's not to say that nobody should play games with base building, but it would be at odds with what I was going for if the player was dropping fortresses all over the planet.
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