(Re: King’s Quest Online)
Hi David,
You do seem to be putting a lot of time into this so I guess you’re serious
about it. What method uses the ‘modular design documents’ you refer to, can
you point me to a page about it? It does seem like a good approach to do
this kind of thing.
Anyway, your character selection procedure looks solid to me but then again
that is not really the hard part because it’s been done in just about every
on-line game. What I’m really wondering about is exactly how you will
integrate the adventure/stories into the game. I mean, we can’t ALL rescue
the princess can we? 🙂 Also, the downside of stories is that they end
somewhere (even the neverending story ends ;)), how will you keep the story
going? I think that these are the questions that should be answered first
Best regards,
Barry
>From: “Sierra On-Line Fan Site”
>To:sierragamers@talkspot.com
>Subject: Re: King’s Quest Online
>Date: Sun, 29 Feb 2004 15:36:50 -0500
>
>Ok – I’ve got something else for you guys to look at and give feedback
>on. A few days ago I showed you guys the races and classes the game will
>have. Today, in addition to revealing the pitch for the game (which in
>my opinion isn’t all that interesting), I’m revealing the character
>creation process. I’ve been working on this one for a couple of days
>trying to come up with the entire creation process step by step and it’s
>finally finished. All I can say is thank god for modular design docs!
>Otherwise this whole thing would have been a total headache. 😉
>
>Anyway, here it is. As always, your feedback and suggestions/critiques
>are greatly appreciated.
>
>-David Reese
>lordcorenair@netscape.net
>
>——————
>3.0 Character Creation
>
>When starting the game for the first time, the player will automatically
>be taken to Character Creation. During the phase of the game, the player
>will be able to select the race, class, and defining attributes of their
>online persona along with the personas name. At the beginning of the
>game, players will only have one character slot to utilize, but as they
>progress in the game, they will be able to unlock other character slots
>and race/class/attribute combinations by collecting special items and
>doing certain quests.
>
>
>3.1 Step 1 Race Selection
>
>The first step in creating a new character is selecting the race of the
>character. The different races are displayed as generic character models
>(these models are models of the specific races and do not have any class
>attributes). The models will be lined up side by side. When the player
>clicks on one of the models, the text box area underneath the models
>displays information about that particular race (See section 7.0 (Races)
>for the descriptions of the races that should appear here). To select
>the race as the race of the character to be created, the player clicks
>on the button labeled Next to proceed to the next step in the process.
>If he/she changes their mind, they can click on the button labeled
> Back to return to the last area they were at (Main Menu or whatever.)
>
>3.2 Step 2 Class Selection
>
>The second step in creating a new character is selecting the class of
>the character. The different classes are displayed using models of the
>race the player selected in Step 1. Each class has a unique look. The
>class models are displayed side by side in the same fashion as the race
>models were displayed in Step 1. When a player clicks on one of the
>models, the text box area underneath the models displays information
>about that particular class (See section 8.0 (Classes) for the
>descriptions of the classes that should appear here). To select the
>class as the class of the character to be created, the player clicks the
>button labeled Next to proceed to the next step in the process. If
>he/she changes their mind, they can click on the button labeled Back
>to return to Step 1.
>
>3.3 Step 3 Physical Appearance
>
>The third step in creating a new character is adjusting the physical
>appearance of the character. The character model depicting the
>race/class of the character is displayed in the center of the screen
>with highlighted areas representing areas that can be customized.
>Clicking on one of the highlighted areas brings up a UI element for that
>particular customization area. Once the player has finished adjusting
>the physical appearance of the character, he/she clicks the button
>labeled Next to proceed to the next step in the process. If he/she
>changes their mind, they can click on the button labeled Back: to
>return to Step 2.
>
>3.3.1 Height/Weight
>
>To adjust the height and/or weight of the character, the player clicks
>on either the right/left arrows below the character model to adjust the
>weight or the up/down arrows to adjust the height. Players can hold down
>the left mouse button while clicking one of the arrows to change the
>associated value by a major amount or by left clicking on the arrow to
>make a minor change to the associated value.
>3.3.2 Head
>
>To adjust properties such as hair/eye color and other facial features,
>the player clicks on the models head. This zooms the camera in to show
>only the characters head. A UI interface will appear that allows players
>to tweak assorted properties. Once the player is satisfied with their
>changes, they click the button labeled Done that is located at the
>bottom of the UI interface.
>
>3.3.2.1 Head Modification UI
>
>The Head Modification UI will appear to the left of the character
>models head and will fade in when it appears. When the player leaves
>the modification, the UI will fade out .
>
>3.3.2.1.1 Eye Color
>
>The eye color property is represented in the UI as a label Eye Color:
>with a slider bar underneath the label. Next to the Eye Color: label
>is a label that specifies the current color. To change the eye color,
>players left click and drag the slider either left or right, which
>causes the eye color on the character model and the color name label to
>change accordingly.
>
>3.3.2.1.2 Hair/Fur Color
>
>The hair color property is represented in the UI as a label Hair
>Color: with a slider bar underneath the label. Next to the Hair
>Color: label is a label that specifies the current color. To change the
>hair color, players left click and drag the slider either left or right,
>which causes the hair color on the character model and the color name
>label to change accordingly.
>
>
>3.3.2.1.3 Hair/Fur Style
>
>The hair style property is represented in the UI as a label Hair
>Style: , a label that specifies the current hair style, and a collection
>of icons depicting assorted hair styles that pertain to the race and
>class of the character. There is also a left arrow and a right arrow
>that will appear at either end of the icon
***CONTINUED***