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Early Dev / Where One Citizen - sci-fi life simulation

« on: July 06, 2022, 11:35:32 PM »

I wonder if anyone would be interested in trying something different--a game not about combat but rather about building relationships with people through conversation. As far as I know, it's the first game ever to combine procedural generation with visual novel style character art.

I was surprised myself when I realized that it met the criteria to be considered a traditional roguelike as defined on this site. I guess the roguelike influence on me is so strong that even a game that I don't call a roguelike technically is one! (How's that for a contrast with all the developers calling their games roguelikes when they technically aren't?)

The project has actually been in development for years and I'm putting the first public release here on TotR. It's a beta so I'd very much like to hear your feedback. Downloads for Windows and MacOS below.


About the game
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Earth City, the most prestigious new metropolis built in the 24th century, implements a protocol known as the "Social Imperative" whereby citizens must meet a weekly quota of new friends made and/or relationships deepened. Failure to meet one's quota means exile. As a new citizen you will work yourself up from dirt to increasingly nicer living conditions. While doing so perhaps you will discover the closely-guarded secrets of Earth City that the old generation "olgies" have kept hidden....

Where One Citizen is a hybrid that borrows from multiple genres resulting in a unique multi-faceted turn-based system. The game generates all of its characters procedurally. Their visual appearance, their personalities, their familial relationships, where they live, what they do each day, and so on are all unique to each new game started.


Features:
- A science fiction story with many surprises waiting.
- Conversation-based leveling. Collect and upgrade an arsenal of conversation topics.
- Work jobs, attend classes, rent homes, and invite your friends to move in with you.
- A city with a life of its own. NPCs, too, have jobs, homes, and relationships with other NPCs.
- Turn-based gameplay more challenging than it initially appears, particularly if you're after the best ending.
- An optional romance system that supports four orientations.
- Supply your own music from your hard drive and the game will randomly assign theme songs to NPCs.


Where One Citizen official site


Downloads available on the website
8-17-2022 - Current version is 2.3.2



Screenshots
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Traditional Roguelikes (Turn Based) / Re: A Hint of a Tint - story-driven roguelike

« on: July 27, 2012, 01:58:14 AM »

Thanks for the feedback!

Yeah, I had wondered whether I should mention the furry themes up front in the project description but decided it wasn't necessary to since there's more to the story than that.  I suppose it might keep it from being a good game for children, huh?

You should be able to tell that you're about to enter a different area when your huds begin to slide off the screen. It won't, however, tell you if it's an area you've been to before or not. I realize there is somewhat of a need to be able to locate areas you have previously discovered more easily, but I haven't come up with a good idea yet. The obvious one that comes to mind would be to implement some sort of "world map", but I'm kinda reluctant to go that route due to the complications that would arise from the variable size of rooms and the way I connect areas.

There are two playable characters that are unlocked in Story Mode and two playable characters that are unlocked in Survival Mode. If you wanna unlock them all right away, the readme tells how.

I used the default button naming conventions for Rpg Maker games. Button config is something I have fretted a lot about; more than once during development I changed my mind completely about what button should do what. I think I'm pleased with the current arrangement tho.

It gets out of the mansion setting at least enough for you to get a bit of a change in scenery and a change in music.

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Traditional Roguelikes (Turn Based) / Re: A Hint of a Tint - story-driven roguelike

« on: July 25, 2012, 12:26:07 AM »

Thanks for the feedback. I have tried somewhat to promote the game in the Rpg Maker community but they have not shown much interest in it. Do you know of any specific communities I should promote the game at?

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Traditional Roguelikes (Turn Based) / Re: A Hint of a Tint - story-driven roguelike

« on: July 24, 2012, 12:03:03 AM »

Yeah, the resolution is small. You can do ALT + ENTER to switch to full-screen if it helps, but that's it.

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Traditional Roguelikes (Turn Based) / Re: A Hint of a Tint - story-driven roguelike

« on: July 23, 2012, 12:27:46 AM »

@Nachtfischer
It's not just you. Looks like something happens to the file when I upload to that host. I've re-uploaded it to a different host so it ought to work now. Thanks for telling me.

@getter77
Thanks. It depends on how much interest in the project there is. If there's not too much interest I'll leave it as is; it's basically complete now. But as far as enhancements, the game could probably use more in the way of equipment and upgrades. I wanted to avoid tropes like swords, shields, and armor, and the game's equipment system is consequently quite light. Maybe some kind of crafting system to complement jewelry. More playable characters is also a possibility. Mouse support is a possibility. And if I get more ambitious, I have some ideas for online features to add, though putting online features into a game would be new ground for me.

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Programming / Re: Copyright!

« on: July 22, 2012, 05:57:30 AM »

Imo use of copyrighted materials limits how big of a "splash" a game can make, as it won't be respected in professional circles. I'd avoid it.

I Wanna Be the Guy is an exception. It's kind of a joke game that wouldn't have been the same had it been made any other way.

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Traditional Roguelikes (Turn Based) / A Hint of a Tint - story-driven roguelike

« on: July 22, 2012, 05:47:25 AM »

A Hint of a Tint is a roguelike with a strong narrative, visual interface, and joystick-friendly controls, designed to be accessible to people who don't often play roguelikes. Those familiar with the Mystery Dungeon series may find that it bears some resemblance in game system (but not story). It features two modes of play:

Story Mode tells the tale of a girl named Mandy who finds herself in a world where everyone insists she was created by a device known as the "Spawn Symbol" and nobody seems to believe her when she tells them that she has memories. Story scenes alternate with dungeon-crawling sequences, and frequent help screens teach how to play the game.

Survival Mode is designed to appeal to hardcore players and, unlike Story Mode, features permanent death. Choose from one of the characters appearing in Story Mode to play as and delve into the dungeon to attain the highest score you can. Staying alive will depend on smart use of the items you collect.


The game is freeware, for Windows only.
The most recent version can be downloaded at the project's website.

Feedback is welcome. I'm sure there are unaddressed bugs and issues (I'm aware of the occasional musical glitches). Please report problems or any suggestions you have, especially pertaining to game balance.

Hope you enjoy the game!