I don’t like menu screens. I don’t like how they break immersion, and I don’t like how long they take to make. Unfortunately in any game where you perform abstract actions you need an abstract means of representing them, and Captain Jameson has exactly this problem. When I started considering an exploration based episode I realized I’d need a map screen, screens for communicating with other characters, quest screens, inventory screens, options screens and more. You’d spend all your time clicking through laboriously hand crafted panels, it would feel utterly artificial, and it would destroy the game’s retro technology aesthetic. I had to find an alternative.

I brainstormed common alternatives for abstract game control, and two words wedged themselves firmly in my mind. Text. Adventure. I considered creating a new episode where all control was handled by text console, with the player entering commands to toggle individual thrusters and fire weapons. I might still go back and make that some day, but after Captain Impostor I figured I was due to make something a little meatier and less experimental. I still liked the text command idea though, and started to think about how it might fit into the fiction of the game. Eventually I realized that a faux terminal window (or DOS box, or commandline prompt, or whatever you prefer to call it) would let me do all these things and perfectly suit the game’s fiction and character.

In answer to Vaconcovat’s question, the terminal window does all the things you would expect to find in in-game menus.

Crunch Status update:
Monday: 100%
Tuesday: 50%
Wednesday: 0%
Thrusday: 50%
Am I behind schedule: Sort of

<3 Farbs

The last terminal/console screenshot was a mockup, but this here is real. Now you can hit tab and spray commandline magic from your fingertips. Most of it even works! Unfortunately I slipped a little by not finishing the telnet system. I need to figure out a decent method for allocating DNS entries to the stations before I can do that.

I’m ~80% happy with how the new terminal window functions, which is okay for a first pass. I’ll come back and clean it up later.

I have a crazy busy week this week, cramming all the major features I’d planned for Captain Jameson into 7 days. My schedule used to look like this:

• Week 1: Console
• Week 2: Passengers
• Week 3: Station Functionality
• Week 4: Persistence
• Several Months: Polish and Content

Now it’s:

• Monday: Console
• Tuesday: Passengers
• Wednesday: Station Functionality
• Thrusday: Persistence
• Friday Saturday Sunday: Polish and Content

That’s right, I invented Thrusday. This condensed schedule means things will only be finished to prototype quality, but it’ll be great to get all this in the game. It’ll also be interesting to see whether this plan is even slightly feasible. No time for wondering now though – Monday: Console.

<3 Farbs

My actual brain, not actual size

Human memory is utterly unreliable. Here are two important things I forgot and of which I was recently reminded:

[1] PAX10 submissions close in a little over a week. Had I remembered this I would have focussed on getting the next CF episode to alpha rather than tooling around with PlayPen and Fishie Fishie Fifty. I think I can put together enough of the game by then to represent the final features, but most of the content won’t be there. It’s going to be a hell of a week.

[2] I had a conversation with someone wherein they suggested probably the best possible name for a Captain Forever episode. What’s more, this title is perfect for what I’m currently developing. The title: Captain Jameson. Older gamers might know what this means, other folk might like to do a little research. Sure this breaks the rhymes-with-forever rule, but having invented that rule I’m pretty happy to ignore it. I’m especially happy to ignore it for a name like this. I hereby rename the forthcoming episode Captain Jameson.

<3 Farbs

Remember Fishie Fishie? Back in 2008 I released it as freeware. Then, earlier this year, DK-Games released their own interpretation on WiiWare. I watched with envy as DK-Games remoulded my ideas, merging them with their own fishie fantasies and football fanatacism. Remaking an existing game seemed like so much fun. Why can’t I do that? Oh wait – I can!

I rewrote the original Fishie Fishie for Xbox Live Indie Games. I also rewrote it for myself. The original Fishie Fishie was supposed to be fast and peppy. It was supposed to bounce, fart, and giggle its way into your heart. I played it recently and found it sedate and cumbersome. Whoops. I had to make the XBLIG version faster, and I had to make it sillier. I love my job.

Raising the tempo was easy. I crammed in around half an hour of fun tunes from Incompetech, stripped out or streamlined all the dialogue and menu screens, and tweaked the gameplay speed modifiers.

Silliness took a lot more work. You see, there’s something I’ve always wanted from a Fishie Fishie game. I wanted a preposterous number of players. By assigning every button, trigger, stick and dpad to a unique player fishie, I’ve finally accomplished that. Fishie Fishie Fifty supports anywhere up to 52 players, with 13 people sharing each controller. I’m not even sure thirteen people can fit around one controller, but now they have reason to try. Don’t worry if you don’t have 51 friends though, the game plays great with fewer players, and supports single player against AI. Other silliness includes a hefty dose of belching, and a lovely mechanic which sees particularly gluttonous players grow to fill almost the entire pool.

Fishie Fishie Fifty will be out on Xbox Live Indie Games as soon as it pases peer review. If you have a premium Creators Club account please spare a minute to review it and help it on its way. Thanks!

<3 Farbs