Games About Programming
Friday, 31. July 2009, 16:07:16
I've been thinking about this game concept for a very long time. I'm not sure it's viable, but I still think it would be a cool concept. It's a game for programmers. Not only would it be for programmers, but it would be a mechanism for learning how to program. If you need a particular feature to get to the next level, you'd probably be inclined to remember it. After a while, you could learn how to unlock doors, break into safes, bring up maps of the facility to find weapons or more gear, etc. You'd only learn one or two things at any given time and have to use it several times before moving on to the next technique.
I was thinking about a game somewhat like Neuromancer. But where you actually go into the details of the devices. Where your cyberdeck (or whatever machine you use) has its own opcodes. You could make this really simple, but perhaps be for more advanced levels. You could have simple compilers available for each deck. Servers would likewise have their own set of opcodes and you could write viruses or whatnot to break into systems.
I was thinking about a game somewhat like Neuromancer. But where you actually go into the details of the devices. Where your cyberdeck (or whatever machine you use) has its own opcodes. You could make this really simple, but perhaps be for more advanced levels. You could have simple compilers available for each deck. Servers would likewise have their own set of opcodes and you could write viruses or whatnot to break into systems.
In the beginning, you would simply use existing programs where later on you can obtain the source code and modify them. I also wanted to have a virtual combat system that had very specific rules. If you had a multi-core deck, you could have multiple virtual attack drones, each with their own specific code. Things like that.
I think after I have Project V set up, I may contemplate making such a game where dataflow concepts can be introduced within the game. So you could start using it right away and see the advantages it offers, even if it's just in a virtual environment. In a way, it could substitute as a tutorial.
One thing that has been known for a long time is that educational games are hard to come by. I know of only a few for math. But I know of none for programming. With computers becoming ubiquitous, I think it wouldn't be a bad thing to have a game with some programming in it. I also want to build it so that non-programmers could also join in somehow. And yeah, it'd have to be a massively multiplayer online game.
I think having a combat system like robot wars would be cool, but with a twist. Both sides (when they are human players) can use the same amount of points (or where the rewards are less if the difference in points is great) allowing you to customize your virtual bots with those points. But you can code them any way you'd like.
I'm just wondering if it would be possible to have software be part of an economic system where it's one of the primary assets. There's something I like about the concept of building up a virtual robot to fight. There's much more to the game than that, but it'd be a cool way for programmers to obtain more gear and we could have everyone, even non-programmers, be able to watch the battles and place bets.
Oh, one other item I was thinking about was that you have to store your bounty somewhere. A certain amount will always be protected. But beyond that, certain virtual assets would need to be protected on your own dime, sort of like a protected database that people can try to hack into. Hiding it is one thing, but then you need to make it secure if people do find. After a battle, the virtual assets can be moved somewhere else so that only one person can attack it every time it is found. Also, the longer you stay offline, the amount you need to protect will go up gradually. When you log on, you can personally protect these assets and the longer you stay online, the less you'll need to protect. Could be used as an incentive for people to get hooked on it as well as making sure assets aren't stockpiled without being used. So ultimately, it's somewhat like a never ending game of capture the flag. You always have to put something up in order to go after something else.
The sky's the limit with what you could do. And as always, bringing in AI NPC's could work in clever ways to change the game dynamics based on player activity. My biggest problem I think is duplication of software. It's the same problem that happens in the real world. It's not really a commodity if it can be copied. Just think of Diablo II dupes. It completely skews the game.
Like I said, I know it's not really viable because targeting programmers for games is cutting off a huge chunk of the market (maybe all of it), but if there were ways that ANY player could learn easy stuff... possibly without them even knowing it's programming, I think that would be very cool both as a game and as a learning tool.
WIDGETIZE
Anonymous # 3. August 2009, 19:41
Damn cool idea.
For the combat system, perhaps something related to Core Wars..
Anonymous # 3. August 2009, 20:56
I had thought about modern core wars type of games before and also simple programmability for eg a hacking-type action game (unlocking doors, setting real and virtual traps etc) before. I'd love to see something like that, but it would have to be very carefully done.
Actually, not too long ago I played a mech game where you build circuits to connect weapons to power generators and so forth. It was interesting, though a little limited. If done carefully it would be both fun and educational.I'd certainly love to see such a game.
Vorlath # 3. August 2009, 21:06
Also, I'm going to make it easier than simply being text that you input. In some scenarios, the human player can control his or her own virtual robot directly while the others will be pre-programmed. But this pre-programming can be written so that they respond to your live in-battle dynamic commands.
One level I was thinking would be somewhat like those light cycles of Tron. Each bike can turn on or off their wall creation capabality. Each bike can only produce so much "wall". If they try to create more, the oldest sections disapear.
Each player will have several protective posts that form a shield around the "database". However, the posts are only protected by the virtual drones. It's your job to try and completely surround each post. While certain drones can create walls, others can demolish them by being the XOR of the light cycles.
One type can create walls, but cannot travel through walls.
The other type can delete walls, but can only travel through them.
So the best coders will have to make one type follow the trail of the other. This way, the one in front can always be "on" and the one in the back decides what kind of trail to leave.
I'm not sure if this would be the final scenario, but it's one of the ideas I'm thinking about.
Once a pilon is fully boxed in, it can no longer provide defensive protection for the "database". There will be other means of attacking the "database" directly if you have weapons that are strong enough (weapon-shield=damage).
I have other playing fields like this planned out. It'll all be visual and the human players can be directly involved. Other scenarios will not involve the players directly other than to change certain tactics during the battle.
This is just one side of the gameplay. There will be other stuff that will be much more compelling.
Anonymous # 3. August 2009, 22:15
Agreed, it shouldn't be textual code really. Certainly much too boring for non-programmers. It could still be real code though, especially if its a nice flow system, which i think would actually be intuitive for controlling virtual robots.
Actually, I had another game idea just there, though not an original one. I know I'd thought about this before and I know others have. For a command and conquor-like MMO real time strategy game, the problem, for me, has always been what happens when a player logs off? They can't suddenly disappear or be invincible or you could cheat by logging off in the middle of an important battle. It cant just leave the player there idle either, or the players who are online longest would always win. If you can program your units to perform useful tasks such as gathering resources, exploring, guarding important areas or defending your bases, then the game could continue even after the player logs off. If this is, in fact, the only way the game can be played, then being online is more to watch and oversee your units and reprogram them with new objectives, priorities and rules to fine tune them for the situation, but would not give you so much an advantange (by eg manually controlling units precisely) that logging off is essentially suicide. Could be an interesting, educational and strategical, yet fun game. Hmm.
Vorlath # 3. August 2009, 23:58
Anonymous # 4. August 2009, 09:04
Well, the incentive is that you *DO* have an advantage by staying logged in, because it would be extremely difficult to design drones that can adapt to changing situations. That way, if an enemy figures out your defense drones patterns and tactics, then this can be exploited. After a while, they would break through. If you log in often and regularly (or stay logged in for long periods of time), then you can watch and update your units quicker, adapting to a changing environment. Even if you don't directly control your units, theres an obvious advantage to being able to watch and update orders as a battle unfolds, rather than relying on preprogrammed orders to work in all situations and hoping you don't log in later to find your base destroyed. BUT, I think its important that logging off doesn't mean that you're automatically defeated, because as much as I'd like to watch my virtual army 24/7, this just isn't possible. On the other hand, I shouldn't be able to cheat death by logging off either.
If the programming system is advanced enough, you probably could devise a system that could adapt, but I think maybe the drones should be limited because, after all, the best programs will simply be shared on forums anyway, so some balancing would need to be in place to avoid a super program from arising... hrm...
(PS: tired & didn't proof read etc, please excuse BS and bad grammar)
Vorlath # 4. August 2009, 15:52