It seems like my schedule is clear enough that I’ll be able to participate in Ludum Dare 55, April 12-15. It was fun last time. My goal on this one is just to improve my scores from LD54:
At the kiddo’s taekwondo class, where it’s “blocking week”. Somehow, it’s never “ducking week” or “running away week”.
Achievement unlocked: pirating the Webelos Handbook.
(I swear, we have a copy in the house, I just can’t find it)
We rejoined Netflix this week, and I’m a little surprised by how big the included library of Android games has gotten. Any recommendations? I’ve played Terra Nil before but didn’t get too far, so I might revisit that. 🎮
Spoons, Brakes
This feels a bit like cheating: but immediately after my last post on the topic, I built a paper prototype of the Spoon Theory game using index cards. I’m going to count that as hitting my goal to have a prototype by the end of the month.
For April and May, I want to return to Brakes Escape– adding polish, more variability in scenery and obstacles, and perhaps some power ups. By the end of June, I want to have it in the Google Play Store.
Finished Listening: The Sandman Vol. 5: A Game of You by Neil Gaiman 📚
He’s not “taking a bath”, he’s in the bath tub.
The hardest part is starting
I still like my spoon-theory game concept (as amended), though there’s a lingering skepticism over whether the thing I’ve described will be fun and actually a challenge to solve– but that’s what testing and iteration are for.
I’ve slept on it for a week. I now have 7 more days until my arbitrary, self-imposed deadline to build the prototype. Let’s go. Start. Now.
(Is blogging this itself procrastination? Maybe.)
I assumed that replacing our aged wireless router (whatever Verizon gave us, 12 or more years ago?) would improve performance, but kind of surprised that (according to speed tests) our internet is now twice as fast.
A Solution
Is it possible to take what I’ve described and actually make it fun and challenging? Or, will the right path (or a right path) always be obvious at a glance?
Now that I’ve thought about it some more, I think part of the answer here is: the player shouldn’t be the only entity moving across the board. There should be NPC’s representing social interactions that the player may want to encounter (that add spoons) and others that the player will want to avoid (that take away spoons). They should move in predictable patterns, and the player’s challenge becomes:
- observe and understand the NPC’s movement patterns
- figure that into their plan for traversing the board, along with destinations to reach, routes to take, and turns available.
That sounds more like a puzzle.
Idea File
Found this list of ideas I had posted to Twitter over some number of years. It’s not all gold, but I still like a few of them:
- a first-in, first out laundry hamper
- Shazam for the noises a malfunctioning appliance or car might make.
- URL shortner that implies value judgement. Think like.ly, hate.ly, whatev.er
- a site for stolen recipes, called TastyLeaks
I vaguely recall trying to build this:
- site that lets you take any book, and turn it into a chapter-a-week lesson plan. discussion and vote-based rev. q’s and homework
This is basically haveibeenpwned.com:
- site where you can sign up, submit your email address(s), get notified when it shows up in a dump from @LulzSec & friends
Spoon theory game: initial concept and prior art
Here’s my initial concept for the spoon theory game:
Each level/puzzle is a grid, with a starting location and one or more “must do” spaces, zero or more bonus spaces, and other spaces that either add or remove “spoons” (which can be thought of as stamina or energy). The player’s challenge is to design a route that connects the starting location to (at least) each “must do” location in order to complete the level, without running out of spoons or turns.
Levels can vary in size, number of must do or bonus spaces, and the number of turns available to complete the puzzle. I currently plan to offer unlimited undo.
Example tiles:
- must do: appointments, social obligations, school or work
- bonus: things that might represent trade-offs, like a party can be both fun and overwhelming. May cost or earn spoons.
- other spaces: these might represent normal day-to-day tasks and chores that cost spoons, or preferred activities that add spoons, like rest, play, listening to music.
Perhaps you earn a star rating on each level (ala Angry Birds), 1 star for passing, two for passing and getting some (not all) bonuses, and three for passing and getting all bonuses. You could then revisit levels to increase your stars.
prior art
Spoon theory lends itself pretty naturally to games– stamina/energy/“spoons” are a limited resource you need to manage, and I’m not the first to attempt to translate it into a game mechanic. You might even see the reverse– video games as a metaphor for how some people need to think about and manage their energy.
Most of the games I’ve seen are choose-your-own-adventure-style interactive stories, where you play through the day of a character, and make decisions that cost or earn spoons. If you search itch.io for “spoon theory”, you’ll get a number of those, with a few variations. If you search on Steam, you’ll find Robin, which fits that description as well.
Some other things I found:
- Here’s one modeled as a chat conversation
- This one, where you must rapidly tap the space bar to generate spoons (it’s really hard!)
- A board game and a dice-and-paper simulation.
I guess my idea isn’t not a choose-your-own-adventure, it’s just that all of the the choices and their consequences are revealed at once, and the challenge is in planning your path through the day, managing your spoons and time.
open questions
Is it possible to take what I’ve described and actually make it fun and challenging? Or, will the right path (or a right path) always be obvious at a glance?
I’m not sure I can know without building it. And if that is the case, then having a working prototype will allow me to troubleshoot the gameplay. I hope to have that prototype by the end of the month.
Finished reading: Game Design Deep Dive: Platformers by Joshua Bycer 📚
Currently listening: The Sandman Vol. 4: Season of Mists by Neil Gaiman 📚
This is my favorite storyline in the whole Sandman series– probably because it’s Lucifer-heavy, and I love Mike Carey’s Lucifer spinoff (maybe more than Sandman itself).
BuJoBook
Finished reading: The Bullet Journal Method by Ryder Carroll 📚
I skimmed or skipped some of the more philosophical material (like a chapter on “radiance”), but I have some good ideas about how to reinvigorate my bujo practice:
- get back to the habit of reviewing the month-so-far every morning, or at least weekdays.
- be more liberal about creating “collections” outside of the daily log flow, for particular projects, topics, or goals
- just write more! let the journal be more of a log of ideas, thoughts, frustrations, and victories, and not just a todo list
Currently reading: The Bullet Journal Method by Ryder Carroll 📚
I’ve been using a bullet journal for a couple of years now, but lately, it’s been… I dunno. It’s a to-do list. I think I need to reconnect with bujo as a mindfulness practice, and not just a task tracker. When it was working well, I felt more effective, not just productive. I want to get that back.
I’ve never read the book before. Maybe it’ll help?
I was thinking about watching Midsommer, but reading the Wikipedia article was just enough horror for me.
Finished Listening: The Creative Act by Rick Rubin 📚
Spending the evening at Fairfax County Government Center, shuttling election materials between the loading dock (where I found this sign) and offices upstairs.
Currently reading: Game Design Deep Dive: Platformers by Joshua Bycer 📚
Finished Listening: The Sandman Vol. 2: The Doll’s House by Neil Gaiman 📚