Hard choices: designing mini-games, fit for a story.

Robin

Thanks :)

At the end of the adventure, one of the girls could give Keen a holorecorder in the shape of something festive (Christmas Tree/floating snowflake/roast turkey/etc.) which would then appear in his quarters. Interacting with it at anytime would then allow for the story to be replayed. You could even make the holorecorder into a puzzle box design, which would have to be solved to activate it.

Robin

I actually know what you mean :) But...if it's really a Xmas related event, then it would be a bit odd to have it playable the entire year round. Don't you think? But perhaps there can be a way around it... maybe by entering a cheat. Or doinga special calander puzzle?

Robin

:D

Dave Lerner

I... am actually not fond of limited events Because if I miss them, they're gone and I can NEVER complete the entire game Other people may have different opinions Maybe you should do a poll?

Phantomponch

A Christmas event and a logic puzzle would be a stupendous combo. I love the idea of “everyone” in the mood… might get a little bit much for keen to handle, but I’m sure everyone would find a way to get the presents they asked for for Christmas!

Anthony Docimo

not sure how its two different mechanics...but thats probably because I was and am thinking in terms of assembling a puzzle......just with a piece or two that get covered up (either when the puzzle is completed, or in mid-assembly) I don't doubt all the games in the OP will be fun to play.

Robin

Oh, that's really nice! But maybe it deserves to be more then just a side quest? I thought about doing an xmas event, that's only available for like 2 weeks a year. And maybe during such a time, you could collect this info, so you can poor the right drinks at Xmas itself -and get everyone in the mood for ...you know :) Well, I'll be sure to take notes of your idea, perhaps I can add it somewhere in the future . And thank you again for all your great suggestions! :)

Robin

Thanks! And because I have both versions now, I thought about mixing them as well. But although it's a cool idea, I'm not sure how much sense it will make for the player to do that; as it it are still 2 different gameplay mechanics? But perhaps I should test it :)

A bit of a long winded idea for a cute side quest would be Keen finding datapads around the ship that would contain logs detailing the rest of the crew's interactions with each other. This could then be tied into a logic puzzle game where by reading the clues Keen could uncover each girl's favourite drink, which could then be prepared in the juicer and delivered to them for a little bonus scene with each girl. As an example, he might find something like "Met with the Ship's Doctor over lunch today to discuss the comfort settings for some new equipment I've just had installed. We shared a Sweet new Blue drink together and she seemed to dislike it. I still prefer the Aldebaran Sunrise myself too." This would then allow you to collect the clues that the Blue drink is Sweet and not liked by the Doctor, and isn't called the Aldebaran Sunrise. (It could also be inferred the writer wasn't Sophie, since she'd be unlikely to describe her sister as "the ship's doctor".) Another would then be "Bumped into Lorza in the hallway today. The Thick Yellow drink she was fetching for the Captain splashed all over me, and it took ages to scrub it all off of my cleavage. Luckily it gave me an excuse to enjoy a quick Seeding Sunrise in my cabin before heading back to the Bio Lab." Again giving the clues that the Yellow drink is Thick and enjoyed by the Captain, and not called the Seeding Sunrise, which is the drink favoured by Sophie. Eventually the players would be able to complete a logic grid puzzle to reveal results like: Lune - Blue - Sweet - Lakeside Delight Sophie - Black - Warm - Chocolate Moon Lorza - Purple - Spicy - Aldebaran Rush Doctor - Green - Rich - Seeding Sunrise Captain - Yellow - Thick - Golden Bloom The complex part to all this would be the juicer, which would then need to have a flavouring and colouring combined to mix the right drink to be given to each girl, either as separate scenes in their own locations or as part of a single large scene featuring all the girls together. Overall though it would help to build up the relationships between them all in a way which wouldn't require too many invasive scenes where Keen would be eavesdropping or walking in on scenes between the girls, plus since most of them would be resolved through reading datapads it should reduce the amount of extra artwork and posing that would be required.

Anthony Docimo

very cool games. i look forward to playing them (and the other 13) maybe have only one or two internal not-very-organ-looking parts that need to go in before the main parts (the externals) are assembled? just a thought. keep up the great work