Abandoned Town (Community Project)

[Streetboat]

who here can draw in real life?

i think some quick concept art of your ideas would be rad to see, and i think it would help a lot in the planning phase of everything

[Red]

Indeed, a good picture tells more than million words.

[CarnivorousJelly]

who here can draw in real life?

i think some quick concept art of your ideas would be rad to see, and i think it would help a lot in the planning phase of everything

I CAN DRAW! I CAN DRAW, STREETBOAT, I CAN DRAW! *jumps up and down excitedly*

Would probably be a good idea to draw my concept out... I'll do it as a speed paint once my computer stops acting up (the hdmi converter was overheating and causing my tablet to hate me)

[Daktoa]

If we're going to have a plot then perhaps there should be an objective as well. Maybe each person's area will have an object he needs to reach the next. Perhaps he believes the answers to why he's awoken in this town lie in his home, but he cannot find the key, so he goes on a long fetch quest of various objects until he finds his key.

Spoiler below!

First house is open, it has a drill piece inside. Another open house has the second part of the drill. Another house has crowbar. You can choose which house you'll use each object to open, but the final house must be opened by key.

[CarnivorousJelly]

If we're going to have a plot then perhaps there should be an objective as well. Maybe each person's area will have an object he needs to reach the next. Perhaps he believes the answers to why he's awoken in this town lie in his home, but he cannot find the key, so he goes on a long fetch quest of various objects until he finds his key.

Spoiler below!

First house is open, it has a drill piece inside. Another open house has the second part of the drill. Another house has crowbar. You can choose which house you'll use each object to open, but the final house must be opened by key.

I was discussing this with Artsy (who is on vacation at the moment). Although I agree that it would be nice to ensure that each area is explored fully by doing this, it would also mean that we'll have to designate someone's house-tavern-pub-hotel-inn-thingy to go last (and second last, since the second last would need the key for the final area). Originally, I thought of putting a counter on the screen after entering each house (like "Areas Discovered: X out of Y") but that might be a little too artificial.

[PutraenusAlivius]

I think my pub needs to be last since it's really tidy and electricity is running through all parts.

[Romulator]

Mine should be discoverable at any point. All it does is give an insight to the people who had lived there before the events of the Abandoned Town Exploration.

For all I care, it could be the start

[Daktoa]

idk if this method is super convoluted, but I came up with a sort of order

Spoiler below!

There will be several "levels" of houses. Something like
Level 1: Houses with open doors/entrances. These will be the first areas you can access.
Level 2: Houses with stuck doors that could be broken into. You will need to collect crowbars and drills from the level 1 houses to access these.
Level 3: Houses with locked doors that cannot be crowbared, probably metal doors. You will have to collect keys from the level 2 houses.
Level 4: The final house. (Now this part is just me putting ideas out) You get the key to his house from a level 3 room and you open the door, but upon entry you realize his house is a large machine room with another mechanical door, and you need to go to the other level 3 house to get a switch that will operate the machine. This way it makes sure you visit all the level 3 houses before you can finish the game. Also for the machine part, perhaps the reason the town is abandoned is because he was building a time machine and he accidentally launched himself to the future. It's super cliched but it works with the machine concept.

[Romulator]

idk if this method is super convoluted, but I came up with a sort of order

Spoiler below!

There will be several "levels" of houses. Something like
Level 1: Houses with open doors/entrances. These will be the first areas you can access.
Level 2: Houses with stuck doors that could be broken into. You will need to collect crowbars and drills from the level 1 houses to access these.
Level 3: Houses with locked doors that cannot be crowbared, probably metal doors. You will have to collect keys from the level 2 houses.
Level 4: The final house. (Now this part is just me putting ideas out) You get the key to his house from a level 3 room and you open the door, but upon entry you realize his house is a large machine room with another mechanical door, and you need to go to the other level 3 house to get a switch that will operate the machine. This way it makes sure you visit all the level 3 houses before you can finish the game. Also for the machine part, perhaps the reason the town is abandoned is because he was building a time machine and he accidentally launched himself to the future. It's super cliched but it works with the machine concept.

There are three flaws I can get out of your proposed idea, without trying to put it down:

1) The area consists of more than just housing. Page 30:

• Flawless - ?
  
• Artsy Racoon - an outdoor area, lots of streets and alleys - has lang file
  
• Romulator - hotel/motel/inn
  
• Carnivorous Jellybean - main outdoor hub, park
  
• JustAnotherPlayer - tavern/pub
  
• Daktoa - ?
  
• victorkim - ?
  
• endosine - cool things
  
• Red - story
  

2) I do not think that the project should be linear. Linearity means that you play by our rules, not I make my own rules. The project is subdivided into the exploration of multiple areas and is, as I am lead to believe, entirely up to the player as to where to explore, what to explore, how much time is spent and why I chose to go there.

3) The story, if any as far as I have perceived it, is that the town's residents are gone. Where they went, it doesn't really matter. Let's just say that the player now has free will to do what they wish, and now go breaking into their local Jap's Tavern, or frolic carelessly in Jellybean Park. The player can also use this opportunity to get an insight to the local neighbourhood, unravel secret areas, find out how some people lived and perhaps break a few windows.

In a sense, while us whom are making maps could provide a small quest within our map, I personally feel that an overall storyline which involves the necessity of in-depth exploration would derive the project slightly.

[Red]

Exactly, open, explorable, lot of space to move.
That is how I also see it, you explore the familiar and try to find answes for unfamiliar.
The town will tell what occured, where and why.
But still I would love to see some common, global puzzles to proceed further within the outside level. Even though most puzzles are primarly for the original level author to make.