Currently Kharne could best be described as an interactive demo. I've posted screenshots and videos but it is currently not a game. Nowwhere near in fact. There are no victory/loss conditions and there is no element of danger or competition.
Things are progressing however, in the next couple of weeks, I plan to:
- Do all the spadework necessary for implementing magic.
- Design the frameworks for monster storage and monster AI (again, thanks to Andrew Doull for some inspiring articles on Monster AI).
- Finish the new Angband-style Dungeon Generation algoritms.
- Convert and implement the Cave-Generation algorithm Jakub Debski posted recently to r.g.r.d (assuming Jakub gives permission).
Beyond this, serialisation is the next obvious step, and then its the implemention of magic and monsters. After this, Kharne could be resonably described (in the loosest possible terms though) as playable.
However, I'd like to release something as soon as I can. Even if it is only to showcase what I've done so far. And to get feedback, of course. There's a horrible cliche floating about in the business world: Feedback is the food of champions, but it is (at times uncomfortably) true.
Most of all though, I want to avoid Kharne ending up as the coding equivalent of The Longest Suicide Note in History. And I think even an interactive demo would help in this respect. The smallest course corrections at this point could have a massive effect on the finished game.
What do you think? Should I be aiming for my first demo release in a couple of weeks, or hold off for a proper Alpha version?
3 comments:
Your "The Longest Suicide Note in History" link is broken :(
Ta muchly. Not sure how it got munged in the first place, but I've fixed the link now.
What you have posted so far is very encouraging. I played the original Kharne and enjoyed it. This looks to be leaps and bounds over what we have seen in a roguelike so far. I am comfortable with the blog for updates and do not need anything before a playable alpha is ready.
Tom
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