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Review...
One of the things that sets Machine City apart from other games is the pattern adaptation engine. This means that the player continually faces choices, and when the player makes those choices, it tells the engine exactly what kind of things the player likes. Then the engine can leverage that preference to advance the plot in the ways that particular player prefers.
For example, in Deus Ex, you face many choices, both in gameplay and story. Whether to use a tranq gun or a rocket launcher. Whether to kill the agent or simply leave her alone. Etc, etc. Each of these choices influences the rest of the game to some extent. You need different tactics with different weapons, plot points are slightly different if approached from different angles.
Machine City simply feeds that back in on itself. If you show a preference for, say, high-explosive weaponry, the game is more likely to give you more high-explosive weapons and challenges which are either good for or against high-explosive weapons. Similarly, the plot will likely contain an unusually large number of explosions.
It's not just the gameplay: the plot is also adaptive. If you show a marked preference for the friendly young mechanic, the game will not only give you plot related to her, but also tend to throw in plot elements which contain many of the same ingredients - young and friendly, as the obvious two.
This means that the game is really two games. The one where you blow enemies up, and the one where you make strategic/social decisions as to who to rely on, what paths to follow, and so forth.
Some of the difficulty with this concept springs from the need for tons and tons of content. I won't know for sure whether the method is worthwhile until I have created a hundred full situations and interactions.
So, on this page, I'll post those 100 early-game situations as I finish them. Keep your eye here, and you'll get to see them paraded in front of you - and even get to download and play them, once there are enough of them to work well.
One of the things that sets Machine City apart from other games is the pattern adaptation engine. This means that the player continually faces choices, and when the player makes those choices, it tells the engine exactly what kind of things the player likes. Then the engine can leverage that preference to advance the plot in the ways that particular player prefers.
For example, in Deus Ex, you face many choices, both in gameplay and story. Whether to use a tranq gun or a rocket launcher. Whether to kill the agent or simply leave her alone. Etc, etc. Each of these choices influences the rest of the game to some extent. You need different tactics with different weapons, plot points are slightly different if approached from different angles.
Machine City simply feeds that back in on itself. If you show a preference for, say, high-explosive weaponry, the game is more likely to give you more high-explosive weapons and challenges which are either good for or against high-explosive weapons. Similarly, the plot will likely contain an unusually large number of explosions.
It's not just the gameplay: the plot is also adaptive. If you show a marked preference for the friendly young mechanic, the game will not only give you plot related to her, but also tend to throw in plot elements which contain many of the same ingredients - young and friendly, as the obvious two.
This means that the game is really two games. The one where you blow enemies up, and the one where you make strategic/social decisions as to who to rely on, what paths to follow, and so forth.
Some of the difficulty with this concept springs from the need for tons and tons of content. I won't know for sure whether the method is worthwhile until I have created a hundred full situations and interactions.
So, on this page, I'll post those 100 early-game situations as I finish them. Keep your eye here, and you'll get to see them paraded in front of you - and even get to download and play them, once there are enough of them to work well.
posted by Craig Perko at 10:49 AM
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