Hello folks, it’s time for another blog post! There’s not masses to talk about on the game development front, so I thought I’d share an idea I’ve been working on!
As part of the Twitch streams, anyone who participates in the streams (in various ways) can earn points, and I’ve been trying to think about how you guys could use those points. And I think I’ve come up with an idea.
There’s going to be an immense number of NPCs in this game, and like some nutcase, I’ve decided each one is going to have a name, and (obviously) some kind of dialogue. Even obscure man number two hiding behind the rock in that dungeon. And let’s face it, that’s a pretty hefty amount of work. So, I thought about outsourcing!
Seriously! I’ve also been wanting to find other ways to get you guys involved in the game (other than a name in a credits sequence), so I’m going to be running adopt an NPC!
Essentially, I have a massive spreadsheet which will contain the data for every NPC in the game, from Mr Generic, right the way up to the Rival character. Each NPC will have certain customisable things, name, dialogue, design etc. And for a certain number of Twitch points, you can adopt (and then customise) that NPC! Want a world-weary sailor shouting abuse at strangers in Inott’s beautiful park? Consider it done! Want to name a beautiful maiden Dave because why not? Sure thing!
Obviously, the number of points you have to exchange for the adoption will vary depending on the NPC – there’s only one rival, so that’ll cost a lot more of your hard-earned points than some guy in a shop. My basic idea is:
Generic, non-challengeable NPCs will cost the least points to adopt. Some NPCs you can battle will cost a bit more as you could have a say in what Divimals they use. There are limited numbers of Paladins and Heroes of the Mountain, so they’ll be the third tier. And then individual characters like the rival, and antagonist team leaders are in the top-most tier and will cost the most points.
I’ve put all this data in a Google Sheet that anyone can see, then you can pick from the list and exchange your points! Then you just need to let me know either in the forum, on the blog or whatever, how you want to customise the NPC. The list won’t be complete immediately – it will grow as I build up more of the game. So, there will be plenty of opportunities to use your points!
You earn points by lurking in the stream, chatting, hosting etc. You can also play minigames to try and earn more points!
Anyway, the title of the blog does mention NPC designs, so I will share a couple with you.
In the NPC data spreadsheet there will be a separate sheet with all the generic NPC designs as I create them so you can pick which design you want!
I’ve started off with two designs for a generic, adult woman (in situ because they're tiny in size!):
And to be honest, I’m quite happy with how they’ve turned out. They look alright in the game itself (even among the square blocks I’m using as placeholders!) And they’re helping the game feel more like it’s mine if that makes sense. Anyway, there are tons more of these designs to do, so expect plenty more over the coming months.
Don’t forget to join me for more streaming fun times on Tuesday and Thursday next week from 1.30-3.30pm!