SRL Archive - Game Development

A programming game

• First there would be like a tutorial where you must complete levels by writing small scripts.
• Easy levels
• Code could be like a puzzle where you only have to put the pre-written code blocks in the right order.
• Very easy levels where no if statements etc are required
• Medium levels
• Still puzzle but smaller code blocks (signle lines)
• If statements
• Loops
• Hard levels
• Must write code (not a puzzle)
• Lots of hints on all levels
• All levels are free
• Tutorial can be skipped
• Then there would be the main game
• Same API as on the tutorial
• Gathering resources
• Multiplayer interaction
• PVP
• Trading
• Etc
• Option to remote control your character by hand
• Not free but like $1/month/account so people could afford multiple accounts
• Botting allowed, RWT allowed
• I think the server would be java and client would be javascript+html. Open server API so people could develop their own clients.
• Turn based (like 1 sec gameticks)
• Open questions:
• Server side bots? People could upload bots to the server so they don't have to keep their own computer running
• security?

I just posted this here to keep list of things and to know what you think of it.

For the most part, I like the idea; however, what would stop everyone from using the exact same bot once one person created a great one for a given task? Even in a game where botting is allowed, it would only have any success due to the challenge inherent in bot creation, which will disappear once one bot solves any given task and is openly available (even if for sale). People play games for the feeling of accomplishment, and while they may bot early, they won't ever have felt that accomplishment and quickly just leave the game. If it's going to be a mmo of sorts, it would need some level of either anti-botting (as a measure of ensuring bots are unique at least to an extent), or some other method to encourage personal development. A friend and I actually looked into this not long ago as a non-mmo version that would teach concepts of programming, but we realized we wouldn't know how to market anything of the sort correctly.

There would also be issues with finding the correct market of people who want to script at all. But that's a different type of story that I'm not familiar with.

From: Kevin
For the most part, I like the idea; however, what would stop everyone from using the exact same bot once one person created a great one for a given task? Even in a game where botting is allowed, it would only have any success due to the challenge inherent in bot creation, which will disappear once one bot solves any given task and is openly available (even if for sale). People play games for the feeling of accomplishment, and while they may bot early, they won't ever have felt that accomplishment and quickly just leave the game. If it's going to be a mmo of sorts, it would need some level of either anti-botting (as a measure of ensuring bots are unique at least to an extent), or some other method to encourage personal development. A friend and I actually looked into this not long ago as a non-mmo version that would teach concepts of programming, but we realized we wouldn't know how to market anything of the sort correctly.

There would also be issues with finding the correct market of people who want to script at all. But that's a different type of story that I'm not familiar with.

If everyone botted the same resource then it would stop being effective because there would be a limited amount of the resource available. (Just like trees, rocks, npcs etc in runescape)

From: Kevin
…

It's a puzzle thing for the first few levels so seeing as it is a puzzle, you can randomize it in any way possible while maintaining integrity and playability. That shouldn't break the game in any way or give some unfair advantage. Some puzzles might of course be harder I guess..

From: weequ
If everyone botted the same resource then it would stop being effective because there would be a limited amount of the resource available. (Just like trees, rocks, npcs etc in runescape)

Agreed, but how do you keep everyone from being able to bot all the same resources at the same efficiencies? Sure trading is still in place, but everything would eventually balance out to trading value on how long it took to acquire stuff. IE: 1 hour of mining runite trades for 1 hour of cutting oaks. Even if there was a level requirement in place, it wouldn't affect the overall psychological aspect of how the player didn't really dedicate their time to value it any higher for that level pre-req. If we can all accomplish the same things with the same tiny amount of time (thanks to copying scripts), then value gets lost beyond the time spent with the computer running and having no feeling of accomplishment.

From: Brandon
It's a puzzle thing for the first few levels so seeing as it is a puzzle, you can randomize it in any way possible while maintaining integrity and playability. That shouldn't break the game in any way or give some unfair advantage. Some puzzles might of course be harder I guess..

It was the resource gathering portion of the game that I was mentioning in reference to my comments. It's not even about an unfair advantage as much as everyone being on the same playing field. It wouldn't be feasible for anyone to get ahead without creating an army in which to do so. In a game where everyone is the same, there's no sense of accomplishment or method of showing off. If every player on Runescape had the same [insert whatever really good armor they have], then noone would think it was something to achieve and it would never really be a goal, even though stats-wise it may be great.

- Now as a response to both Brandon and Cause together - Perhaps there could be some unique nature to it if people had hash based generated puzzels based on their account id. IE: I'd have a unique puzzle type my script would have to solve for woodcutting that noone else would (or very few random other would) and it may be the same puzzle every time I cut wood, but the puzzle type is still unique for me. It's unique in a way that I could script for it, but not in such a way that my script couldn't solve the variations of it.

Then again… How do you come up with such a complicated manner of puzzles that don't reach the point that someone couldn't solve all given puzzles with one script?

I think you misunderstood the puzzle part. What I meant was that I would write the code to solve a certain level in the tutorial and then split the code into blocks which the user would have to put in the right order to solve the level. If the order was wrong then the code would not compile or the bot might do something stupid if the code compiled. It's just a feature that would help beginners to start writing bots.

From: weequ
I think you misunderstood the puzzle part. What I meant was that I would write the code to solve a certain level in the tutorial and then split the code into blocks which the user would have to put in the right order to solve the level. If the order was wrong then the code would not compile or the bot might do something stupid if the code compiled. It's just a feature that would help beginners to start writing bots.

I understand, but still, what would prevent everyone from using the exact same bot for any given activity? Maybe they learned the beginner stuff (maybe not) through the tutorial, but once they are in the actual game, what prevents them from all running that one guy's script for the same activity? What will encourage them to be the developer further after that over taking the easy way out like many a leecher?

From: Kevin
I understand, but still, what would prevent everyone from using the exact same bot for any given activity? Maybe they learned the beginner stuff (maybe not) through the tutorial, but once they are in the actual game, what prevents them from all running that one guy's script for the same activity? What will encourage them to be the developer further after that over taking the easy way out like many a leecher?

I just find it kind of hard to believe that a perfect bot for each activity would be publicly released if the game is complex enough.