Devlog Powhatan resource management / strategy WIP

Hi, I thought I would begin a Dev log starting from the very basics really.. In hope this will motivate me into developing my ideas into reality.

Although I've been around the forum sometime now this is the first time posting anything other than my artwork, and commenting on others.

I'm a newbie and know little jargon etc so please make allowances for this..<img src="smileys/smiley9.gif" border="0" align="middle" />

My game idea as you can guess is a tribal strategy/ resource management..

I haven't really come up with a definite title for the game ( any help would be welcome)

Any help with anything would be welcome...

I was inspired by watching The New world movie. I've spent quite a while researching the Virginia Indians and the first English settlers and the impact this had...

The aim of the game will be playing the character Pocahontas who has to balance the resources between her tribe (Powhatan), the English, and the Patawomeck tribe. Through mini games.. controlling crops, catching food, building houses, protecting the villages, trading/ bargaining and so on.. Just wanted to add I only have the free versions so will be limited too..........

any comments would be welcome thanks..

<img src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/157237874/head%20shoulder%20wide%20-%20Copy.png" border="0" /><img src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/157237874/Hand%20keep2k%20-%20Copy.png" border="0" />

<img src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/157237874/simple%20game%20plan%20-%20Copy.png" border="0" />

simple game plan

<img src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/157237874/map%20jamestown%20start%20mock%20-%20Copy.png" border="0" />

hi

this is a mock up of the type of look i want for the James fort. Having an isometric view..

The graphics will be all my own, with some of the buildings being interactive. Displaying a GUI/ menu driven trading screen..

I think the houses will be more simpler to represent the first settlers at that time..

Looks like a big project ahead of you. Good luck.

newt

hi I guess it is a big project.. I will tackle it a step at a time, and hope I will get some help on here when I come to face the problems.

Thanks for the good wishes

<img src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/157237874/Sydney_King_Powhatan_village_detail_1%20-%20Copy.jpg" border="0" />

this is the Powhatan village I want to try and re-create..

the chiefs dwelling will be located here, with other homes located outside the area as well.. ( i think)

any help or advice would be most appreciated thanks

mineet

Thanks for sharing this devlog. I was wondering what you've been busy cooking up.

Although its not an easy choice of genre to start with (lots of statistics likely to be involved, and not so many preset behaviours, etc) sometimes you just have to go with the idea you're most passionate about. I knew absolutely nothing when I started my board horde game, and just tackled it one problem at a time.

I would highly recommend getting to grips with Functions, Families and Groups as these will cut your events down massively and keep your project easy to manage. Also try to set aside a group/function for Debugging and cheats as it will save you a lot of time in the long run (I wasted many an hour testing my own game and hoping the heroes would eventually collect the latest potion I was trying to test, when if I'd just put a key press in from an early stage that would instantly changed it to the right potion it would've been so much quicker!).

It's also a good idea to decide what screen size your going to go for quite early on (something fairly universal) and whether you're building the the game for desktop, or mobile as well.

Anyway, you were very supportive of my project and many other people's projects, so I'm sure there will be plenty of people happy to help out if the need arises. Just give me a yell if you get stuck.

Dave Hailwood

you always make time for others; thank you....

As you probably know I haven't got a license yet ( wish I was able to purchase at the sale price).. Anyhow because of this I'm focusing on fleshing out the graphics and the basic game design..until I'm able to purchase the license. As well as having no programing skills its all very new to me..

It will be 800 x 600 and I'm aiming at desktop.

I wanted a game that held an interest for me. The plight of the Native American Indians (the Powhatan tribe) and how the chief esp used his farming, resources and trading skills to balance favour between the colonists and the nearby rival tribes..

I'm using Pocahontas as my main character as she became a silent figurehead and a symbolic liaison between the chief and English...

I'm hoping to capture as much detail as possible.. Its an interesting read. However the more I read the more I want to add.. which could become a problem..

thanks again Dave.. your comment is really helpful

Very interesting theme, good luck with game.

hellwalker

hi thank you, I hope it will be interesting to others..

I'm just about to look at other games for reference.. at hand I have

'the settlers ii', or 'age of empires, age of empires gold',

hopefully one will give me ideas on the type of game play I want to achieve..

if anybody knows of any reference games dealing more with the trading side, it would be nice to know..

thanks

mineet

Those are all good games to look to for inspiration. I would also suggest looking into King Of Dragon Pass, for a different approach to trading/storytelling (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_of_Dragon_Pass). It's quite an old game, but has recently been revamped for ipad (and can also be bought for cheap on PC from gog.com).

Dave Hailwood

hi thanks for the recommendation :)

I've just started the age of empire, I'm hooked lol and I'm only at the learning tutorial.. its good, not sure if im taking in inspiration I've been so busy building and hunting lol

mineet

That's the best thing about making games. You get to play them for eight hours, and pretend you're doing research...

Dave Hailwood

lol yes thats true.

I looked into the game you mentioned.. I like the idea of it not being animated. I think that may work better for my artstyle.. Its something for me to think about.. thanks for that

mineet Sid Mier's Pirates - for any system - has trading in it. Probably one of the best "sims" ever made. It keeps coming back in new incarnations on new systems. Last is Wii/iOS, first time I played it was on c64! Epic game.