Fast-Travel, Vengeful Ghosts, Strategic Overlay, Citybuilding, Bosses, Etc

[BobTheJanitor]

Will there be any voice acting for the story bits?

No, because everything is dynamic and there is a ton of dialogue (and it will grow), and all the characters are dynamic. That would be pretty impossible to do voice acting for.

Mix and match. Just do it like the automated system at the bank. With a long obvious pauses between every number. That wouldn't be awkward at all! Or just run all the dialogue through Microsoft Sam. Or Dr. Sbaitso. (who else is old enough to remember that?)

[keith.lamothe]

Mix and match. Just do it like the automated system at the bank. With a long obvious pauses between every number.

It'd work for skelebots!  And maybe explain why all the humans left in the era the skelebots come from.

[x4000]

We don't subscribe to the punitive school of game design

Speak for yourself   But yea, avoiding time tax is good, that way they can die more!

Hahaha.  Well, I suppose we do subscribe to the "raw brutality" school of game design, but that's different from actually punishing the player.  We just like to throw them into punishing situations, which is different... in its way.

[superking]

The punitive school of game design is the school of winners

[keith.lamothe]

The punitive school of game design is the school of winners

I really want to put some delicious fruit in the lava flats, but it wouldn't really be ok

[Nalgas]

The punitive school of game design is the school of winners

I really want to put some delicious fruit in the lava flats, but it wouldn't really be ok

Aww.  I thought stuff like that was the entire point of the lava flats.  Maybe only above a certain level or if you survive to make it far enough in?  Or it could at least be a resource item you can collect from only that area to craft stuff with (probably non-mandatory/bragging-rights-only stuff, so everyone else isn't too left out), as a fitting Platform Hell reference in the literal platform hell area.

[keith.lamothe]

The punitive school of game design is the school of winners

I really want to put some delicious fruit in the lava flats, but it wouldn't really be ok

Aww.  I thought stuff like that was the entire point of the lava flats.

Well, it's the IWTBTG guy's image.  I guess we could ask him   But the pixel art would look a bit odd in our style.

Maybe only above a certain level or if you survive to make it far enough in?  Or it could at least be a resource item you can collect from only that area to craft stuff with (probably non-mandatory/bragging-rights-only stuff, so everyone else isn't too left out)

Resource item?  You don't craft with Delicious Fruit, Delicious Fruit crafts you!  Into vengeful ghosts, as it turns out

[Nalgas]

Maybe only above a certain level or if you survive to make it far enough in?  Or it could at least be a resource item you can collect from only that area to craft stuff with (probably non-mandatory/bragging-rights-only stuff, so everyone else isn't too left out)

Resource item?  You don't craft with Delicious Fruit, Delicious Fruit crafts you!  Into vengeful ghosts, as it turns out

Yeah, yeah, I know how it works in IWBTG.  That's why it would be a "clever" reference to the original by naming something after it in a similarly mean part of the game, as a reward for nerds with too much time on their hands who play too many games to notice, not just "directly copying the original thing from the original game".

Your counter-proposal is also fine with me, though.  I now demand crafting stations in the Soviet Lava Flats which are only usable by the Delicious Fruit to convert players into ghosts.  Of course, that means you also need to make Soviet Lava Flats.  Heh.

[x4000]

We love sneaking references to other games in there, for sure.  There are at least two references to Dwarf Fortress already, for instance.  And there will be a number to AI War, too, though we don't have them in yet.  Having something in our own graphics called "delicious fruit" that is involved in the lava flats would be great, I think.

[superking]

But the pixel art would look a bit odd in our style

five minutes with a bloom filter could fix all that

the item should definately be named 'Delicious Fruit', fall up if approached from below and kill you if consumed 

[x4000]

Oh, not even that long.  I have some post-processing actions set up that are literally four button presses between them at this point.   Yeah, if they wanted us to use the real graphic, I could make it work.

[getter77]

Wow...that's a lotta stuff right there.

Pretty much a case of :nod at wallet, wait couple weeks: as it has clearly gained an especially vigorous momentum.

[Cyborg]

I think it was already stated that the lava flats would be rewarding those who would dare to try.

I don't think there's anything wrong with giving out rewards that match the challenge undertaken. Trying to make sure nobody is "left out" is more for casual gamers. If they want all the goodies, they can level up and get them at a slower pace or go for the big reward by taking on the lava levels.

[x4000]

I'm not worried about leaving anyone out, either.  Though I will say one thing: we are intending to make it so that players don't have to complete the more extreme challenge aspects.  If they don't complete those aspects, then they don't get those rewards, but those rewards aren't required to progress in the game or anything.  Having special challenges be extra means they can be extra challenging.

[Nalgas]

...in other words, what I already said.  I don't mean "left out" as in "not hurting their feelings", just not putting anything that's absolutely required for progression in the game in there, because then a huge chunk of the target audience would be left out of actually being able to play the game in the first place.  Having to suck it up and wait until level 15 of the normal stuff to get something comparable to level 10 stuff that's fueled by the awesome power of Delicious Fruit is always fine, especially when you have infinite levels.