Re: [Adonthell-minigame] "elemental", dear Watson :> (fwd)

[Kai Sterker]

On Friday 22 February 2002 17:30, you wrote:
> I haven't had anything much to comment on recently, but I was sent some
> ideas by a friend of mine last night.  Some of the ideas are really good,
> particuarly the library search and the idea of different elemental pieces
> on a game board having different sort of moves available to them.
>
> A couple of these ideas seem simple enough to include in the next demo,
> should people feel up to the challenge.  I personally like the horseshoes
> idea.  You could play at the stables in Waste's Edge.  ^_^

That's a long list :). There are some good ideas, although I would think that 
things like the serving or library search are more sidequests than minigames.
Doesn't matter really; they probably have a bit of both.



> In addition to the minigames themselves, there are one or two ideas that
> may imply concepts for the item system, such as the idea of one item (a
> heated gem or something similar) being held in another item (a glass
> bottle).  Should we consider having items that may hold other items?

That's where it gets difficult on the programming side. It means that we have 
to know of each container, what items it may hold, and possibly the other way 
'round too. As a normal gem might go into containers in which a heated one 
wouldn't go.

A similar question is what happens if you quaff a potion; will an empty 
bottle remain behind (that can be refilled) or will the bottle vanish, i.e 
get thrown away. (Any greenpeace activists here ;)).



[spell 'mixing']
This approach might be a little too simplistic. I think there are mainly two 
options: try to get some sense in the reagent/foci combination, meaning there 
is some sort of logic behind it that players can understand and use to their 
advantage. 

The other option would be to have a fixed set of formulas that operate on the 
foci's attributes to calculate the effect of a combination. In that case, 
there would probably no 'easy' logic behind it. I.e. it wouldn't be possible 
for the player to guess the result of a mixture.



>       Runequest had the idea of "everyday spells".  Simple magic that
> commoners would know to help out around the house/farm.

Well, that would be limited to Elves and Half-Elves in our case. But then 
again I think that there wouldn't be the need for them to know magic. I could 
well imagine a Elven warrior, much like a Dwarvish alchemist.


>       A race through a library to find a recipe book could yield an
> effective potion to restore health/constitution if you find it within the
> time limit (before the library closes).  One try per town.

I wouldn't make it that simple, and possibly not too common either. It's easy 
to understand that different people at different places would play the same 
board game, (or a game of horseshoes), but how would you explain a race 
through a library for a certain book? 

I think looking for a book that holds some powerful recipe is more a task for 
a sidequest and not so much for a minigame. After all, the minigames should 
make some sort of sense and integrate with the game world. Helping out in a 
tavern is much more fitting in that respect.


Kai