Story Mode?

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exfret
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Story Mode?

Post by exfret »

I was wondering about the incorporation of maybe a "story mode" into Grav. Sim. My thoughts are described in my reply to ARP:

exfret wrote:
A Random Player wrote:http://william.hoza.us/. Not all are science, but a few of them are really cool. (Going to post some in the centrifugal game thread.)
I really like how their gravity simulator gives you a goal. I think a goal could greatly increase the addictivity of the TTG grav. sim. Maybe something like they did, or maybe more like challenges you could accomplish. That also reminds me of rockets. You know, it would probably be extremely cool if you could incorporate a "story mode" into gravity simulator where maybe you need to make some planets to live or you need to add planets to steer a broken rocket to a repair base. What do y'all think of this? In my opinion, grav. sim. is greatly intriguing, but it needs to lead people to the configurations they could try out (I was at first and still am baffled at what experiments I could conduct). Otherwise, people may not find the hidden wonders behind gravity, so you need to help show these wonders to them. (I'm going to post this in a new thread in gravity simulator, too. If you want to continue the gravity discussion, posting there would be better than here.)
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robly18
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Re: Story Mode?

Post by robly18 »

While it sounds interesting, I don't think the gravity sim as it stands now would even be able to have a story mode in it, simply due to the way it's, well, a sandbox.
A gravity based story game does sound interesting, and I think Andy should try something like it sometimes, but our current simulation simply doesn't fit the bill.
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exfret
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Re: Story Mode?

Post by exfret »

robly18 wrote:While it sounds interesting, I don't think the gravity sim as it stands now would even be able to have a story mode in it, simply due to the way it's, well, a sandbox.
A gravity based story game does sound interesting, and I think Andy should try something like it sometimes, but our current simulation simply doesn't fit the bill.
Well, you know how there was the though of evolution simulator, and then we started devising plans for an evolution game? I'm thinking it could be kind of like that, where gravity could be used as a game. I mean, just look at how many ways you could make it into an awesome game:
-Planet guider (place down planets + suns to guide the rocket to a certain place)
-Rocket navigator (complete rocketing maneuvers to get somewhere w/ limited fuel, somewhat like an advanced centrifugal game)
-Gravity design (something like the website I mentioned in the first post of this thread)
-TPS, Third Person Shooter (Shots could get influenced by gravity, and you could make 'custom arenas', but I was kind of thinking this might be better for hyperbola-land)
-Platformer (you start on the start planet trying to get to an end planet w/ your planets' gravity and spin, and maybe even tidal forces influencing your 'jumps' and you can make custom levels like above)
-Puzzle game (where you try to solve various challenges, like "shoot a planet within a certain region in such a way that it gets to the goal")
And that's all just what I thought of on the spur of the moment (mostly). I'm sure there's a story we could pair it with it, too, but that's more of a later-in-the-process kind-of-thing. Also, turning gravity into a game sounds like a really good solution to one of its inherent problems as a simulator. (This is that it will be less fun for users without the creativity/imagination to create designing challenges and experiments for simulation themselves).
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robly18
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Re: Story Mode?

Post by robly18 »

Look, the problem is that, the gravity simulator is, by design, a simulator. Nothing else. The game you linked was made to be a game. The simulator was made to be a simulator.
The mechanics, the way it's structured, simply don't work the way they would if it were to be a game. Simulations need rigor. Games need fun.
Back to the example you gave, notice how it's nearly impossible to get full rigor on everything you do? That's deliberate. If it was turned into a simulator, it would be no good.
Likewise, the current gravity simulator simply doesn't work that well as a game. I mean, a game based around gravity sounds good, but we can't make it out of the gravity sim. It would be like trying to make the gravity simulator by modding minecraft: sure, you can do it, but is it going to be good? No, it's not.
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exfret
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Re: Story Mode?

Post by exfret »

robly18 wrote:Look, the problem is that, the gravity simulator is, by design, a simulator. Nothing else. The game you linked was made to be a game. The simulator was made to be a simulator.
The mechanics, the way it's structured, simply don't work the way they would if it were to be a game. Simulations need rigor. Games need fun.
Back to the example you gave, notice how it's nearly impossible to get full rigor on everything you do? That's deliberate. If it was turned into a simulator, it would be no good.
Likewise, the current gravity simulator simply doesn't work that well as a game. I mean, a game based around gravity sounds good, but we can't make it out of the gravity sim. It would be like trying to make the gravity simulator by modding minecraft: sure, you can do it, but is it going to be good? No, it's not.
Like I said, I was imagining a transition like evolution simulator to evolution game. Also, I think the transition would be as easy as adding in a user-controlled rocket, or a little person-asteroid or something like that. Even so, GSim doesn't need to become a full-fledged game, I was only suggesting that Andy give it some direction. Simply pointing users in some paths they might go on to discover things would be good enough. All I see in a simulation is something that shows you the output/result of some input. Simply add a goal output with possible restrictions on the input, and wallah, it becomes a game. Why wouldn't this work out?
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