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Date: Mon, 21 May 2001 09:09:33 -0400
From: John Colagioia <JColagioia@csi.com>
Organization: No Conspiracy Here...
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Subject: Re: Game Geographies and Dangerous Curves
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Urbatain wrote:

> Hi all!
> First of all, i'm spanish, so sorry by my bad english.

Bah.  One day, I'll tell you about the time I had to train two Venezuelan gentlemen on our software.  Hint:  I don't speak
Spanish, and they didn't speak English...

[...]

> Well, you can do a thing like Snowball of level9: A lot of automatic
> generated rooms but if you have a place to go, it won't be a boring
> thing have this huge map.

That's actually a fairly interesting idea--dynamically generate the city through an algorithm, rather than by hand-coding.
Then, the valiant explorer will always have someplace new to look at.  The problem, though, is making this seem like it belongs
in the game, rather than room descriptions that look like a failed "Mad Libs" experiment:

[Adjective] [Noun] [Type of Shop]
You are standing outside of the [superlative] [same Type of Shop] on [algorithmically-generated address].  It's closed.

[...]

> It's important that this city-sim, don't be a great void: a lot of
> locs with nothing to do. So you can add sub-stories o sub-plots while
> the player is walking from place to place.

This would be the lovely thing about good, autonomous NPCs, I think.  Scatter them throughout the city as "incidental"
characters, who are all pursuing their own goals--which you may help or hinder, if you should happen to find them and become
interested.  Then, the city quite literally comes alive with activity.

[...]

> >north
> You are in the park
> PUAJ!!!! great error!!!
> Be careful to write literature when you change the relative distances.
> >north
> You walk then long street for a long time. It's a good afternoon to
> walk in this town. At least you arraive to the park.
> (It's only an idea. Don't take into account my bad english literature
> ;))

No, you're absolutely right.  The effect created by tiny "incidental" comments--almost "micro cut-scenes," if you will--are
incredible.  A security chime whenever you enter an expensive shop, a comment about the long distance you have just walked, and
random comments from passers-by all combine for a great atmosphere in a game.

[...]


