http://www.qcfdesign.com/?cat=20
Essentially the idea is that they took the idea of rogue-like RPGs and shoe-horned it into a game that can be played in quick 5-15 minute sessions.
So then the other day some guy on the forums I use as my personal stomping grounds on the internet brought up the subject of a game called "Civilization Revolution[+]" that took the idea of the traditional "civilization" genre and made it quick and console friendly.
So THEN I came up with the brilliant idea of taking the "civilization" genre and pairing it down to the point where a match could be played in 10-20 minutes instead of the 2 or 3 hours it takes to play a "good" match of a civ game.
Then I remembered that I have problems remaining motivated about a nifty idea I have to be able to get it from my head to a real game or even semi-working demonstration prototype. So I posted about the idea on my forums asking people to help me make it and nobody jumped at the chance sooo... given that I've been trying to learn about web-programming and this crazy HTML5/JavaScript/Canvas stuff I figured I'd start programming stuff.
So... now I've got a bit of code making stuff show up on screen and such... yay.
Anybody interested in helping me with my game-that-I-won't-finish-making-on-my-own?
What I've got so far:
The map will be represented by a hexagonal grid, stored and managed a one dimensional array hidden behind a function that returns the array element for x,y... the grid is offset:
Unlike most civ games there will be no "units" to move around the map. You will click a space that touches an exposed space and you will reveal that part of the map, the map will be a "sphere" such that you can travel from one side or corner to the opposite side or corner.
You will start with 7 visible tiles (those surrounding a randomly selected "appropriate place to found a city").
Every time you reveal a tile a turn passes, essentially this is how the game moves forward.
Most stuff will be handled by tokens:
Settle Tokens - Used to settle a new city
Combat Tokens - Used to attack and defend cities
Conquest Tokens - Used to capture cities
Move Tokens - Move turn forward, Move Tokens to other cities (needed for conquest for example), take special actions
As cities grow they increase in population, this is represented by citizens... you start with a size one city and one citizen, when you get 2 citizens you become a size 2 city and can place you two citizens on any of the 7 tiles that are centred on your city... the tile you place your citizen on will produce food, culture, production etc. you can rearrange your citizens whenever the city goes up a size or by spending a Move token. when you get your 8th citizen your city becomes size 3 and encompasses the tiles 2 spots out from your city... around 20 of them.
If your city "bumps" into an opponents city the player with the highest culture controls the contentious spaces.
Cities can produce "enhancements" these can take the form of tokens or improvements like buildings... by improving your city you may make it harder to capture (a wall gives a bonus defence) or reduce the cost of certain tokens (barracks reduce the productions cost of an attack token).
When a barbarian settlement is found it will start stealing random tokens from the nearest city.
You can raise/destroy a city by spending combat tokens from one city in excess of the combat tokens and defence value of the target, you can capture a city by also spending Move tokens equally the cities size and a conquest token.
there will also be a tech tree and such. details, you know...
Anyways... that's the idea.
