Konoko Payne, June 2009 release
Here is a new Konoko Payne release. That’s the good thing about not having a job anymore, you get some free time for side projects 
The changelist, grosso-modo:
- AI: added global timestamp for taunt sounds, to make sure we don’t play N taunt sounds from N different characters at the same time
- fixed bug with console unlocking even when player doesn’t have a datapad
- added MB steam sound
- added thug taunt sound (c17_99_01thug.wav, “don’t make me hurt you”)
- reworked sound for exploding monitors
- added one more taunt sound for ninja
- added zoom sound for digital camera
- reworked transitions for taunt anim from “run stop” motions
- bugfix: “game over” was not correctly centered in 640*480
- gun pickup is now easier when a lot of them are at the same place
- engine: added hot loading of DDS files
- nothing happens when touched by gun while jumping => should be fixed now
- added blownup anims
- added new weapon: portable mortar
- added explosions
- crates now glow when hit by plasma riffle & mb
- added helicopter fight in “compound” scene
- continued main gameplay/story
- engine: added DEVIL wrapper in SystemPlugs
- fixed small hiccup/lag when the datapad is spawned in compound redux
- weapon overlay not correctly displayed in 640*480 => fixed
- added sound instances to fix volume issues with sound emitters
- fixed Muro’s face in monitors (was glowing too much)
- monitor screens are now dds files
- added “bonus objects” to collect
- added achievements (using Xbox360 achievement bitmap & sound)
- engine: billboards are now depth-sorted
- + the usual lot of bugfixes and misc tweaks
So basically a lot of random stuff. The first version of the helicopter fight I previously mentioned is in. It’s interesting to see that gameplay, what makes your game a game, what makes your game fun, is not really tied to complex algorithms or clever optimizations. At the end of the day, what counts is all the tedious grunt work required to link A to B when C happens under circumstances D. If the player doesn’t figure out what to do after 60 seconds, start a special event to help him. If he does, make sure the help event is canceled. If he reaches the boss without a weapon, make sure there’s still a way to win the fight. If he defeats all the small guys, start this cutscene to show that the big guy is taking over. If he defeats the big guy, start this other cutscene. If he wants to use this item at that moment on that guy, make sure it works as the player would expect. Etc, etc. Lots of small, dirty, “ugly”, conditional code that wouldn’t win anything in a beauty contest, but that contributes a lot to the final fun factor.
In my role of newbie game designer here, I think the trick is to make sure the player is never bored. That’s probably why I keep adding new gameplay features, at the risk of never finishing this thing. For example this new release now has achievements - yep, the same as on Xbox. In ONI, if you got tired of hand-to-hand combat, you could switch to weapons. Now if you get tired of shooting, hey, you can collect those bonus objects. In the may release I also introduced the “puppet master” mode, which allows you to take control of enemies (like in Ghost in the Shell). It gives the player one more option: if he’s tired of combat, he can try the sneaking / ghost approach and walk undetected nearby enemies. The big issue of course is to make sure all the game mechanics work well together, instead of phagocyting eachother savagely. They must be well-balanced and all that. I’m certainly not there yet!
Another aspect is to make sure you thought about everything the player can try - and implemented a proper reaction. It’s like in Dungeon Master on ST in 1987. Part of why that game was so great is because no matter what you tried, the devs had thought about it first and there was an appropriate reaction in the game. Like, you’re at the very end of the game, seconds away from the ending… and no, you decide to go back all the way from level 13 to level 00 with the Firestaff… and bam! They thought about it too, alternate ending.
July 7th, 2009 at 6:54 am
what program do you use for all the plance and one question the flexine( the one with the blue screem ) thing i don’t really know is ,how to use it , first i want to know is it for making places and things ??????second when i drag the zcb and i press yes (load) it said file .\******************** (many random thing )and report error
July 9th, 2009 at 11:20 am
I’m not sure I understood your post correctly but:
- I use 3DS MAX to make “places”
- “Flexine” is the game engine
- run “KonokoPayne.bat” instead of running the exe directly
July 10th, 2009 at 3:10 pm
Wow, you’re full time on this project, a game, good luck !
July 11th, 2009 at 12:18 am
Not really “full time”, no. I still have to do job interviews in July, move in August, and start a new job September 1st
July 11th, 2009 at 5:42 pm
Wow, that’s tough, the first room is smooth but, I don’t know how to pass the vertical room. Do you expect the player to do a jump from one enemy to the next, when this enemy is a very lethal one and you have to use a shield ? If I could start with a not lethal one that would be ok for learning the move, or maybe there is another way to pass it ?
maybe you should add more hand to hand combat before this room.
So the combat is fun
I tried the puppet master mode, that’s fun, but there is no ai vs ai reaction, so i shoot anyone without any reaction, but I believe it’s not high priority.
July 15th, 2009 at 12:54 pm
Well the “prototype” is just a bunch of rooms connected to each other without real logic or design, it’s just there to test feature X or Y. So yeah, it’s probably harder than it should be. In particular, I agree those “sentinels” are too frustrating with the current settings. (You are indeed supposed to jump from one to the next, you can get a shield to make it easier, and no, there’s no other way).
The “game” (i.e. not the proto) should have a better difficulty curve
Puppet master is work in progress/proof of concept. Indeed the AI reaction in this mode is not done yet.