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Moonpearl's Keywords System


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#1 Moonpearl

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Posted 06 January 2012 - 08:44 AM

Next is the first oddity of mine. It's kinda tricky to introduce since there's so much that can be done with it, but I'll try my best.

How do you make up a puzzle in a standard RPG? Since there's so little interaction (only a single button and choice between 3 options, 4 at best), it usually goes this way:
  • get stucked and be given an obvious hint that you must find a way through
  • find a random NPC who gives you an obvious clue you've never asked for
  • go back to the place you were stucked at and get an obvious choice between use the obvious clue or do nothing
  • flatter your own intelligence, while you've actually done nothing but run around randomly
What's wrong in there? It's that you get things incidentally; without actually being required to investigate, that's what I call a "self-unfolding game" - it's just a matter of clicking around until it works, even a dumb computer could do it.

Now what if you could give virtually any answer to a given riddle, rather than choose between X options you had not even imagined yourself? What if NPCs would wait for you to prompt them with a topic, and give you clues only in response to the appropriate one? Well, my Keywords System does exactly that.

Purpose
To be able to interact with events using keywords. Common usages include: asking people about a specific topic, answering riddles, looking for a name in a registry...

Main features
  • Programming responses to keywords with the eventing system is as easy as: if selected keyword is LIBRARY, then say "This is where I work"
  • Define your own keywords list, as well as those which appear by default - all the others require the player to input them manually at least once
  • Used as a basis for further scripts of mine to come
Known issues
  • Overrides some of the Window_Message class, so it might be incompatible with scripts such as Advanced Message System (not tested).
Screenshots
Spoiler

Download
See my blog entry.

Edited by Moonpearl, 06 January 2012 - 09:50 AM.


#2 kellessdee

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Posted 07 January 2012 - 05:07 AM

Shnazzeh :3
(that's supposed to be a good thing)

Reminds me of those old school RPGs, a very nice blend of text-based adventures and 2D RPGs

good work :)

#3 bigace

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Posted 07 January 2012 - 07:55 AM

Sweet

View Postkellessdee, on 07 January 2012 - 05:07 AM, said:

Shnazzeh :3
(that's supposed to be a good thing)

Reminds me of those old school RPGs, a very nice blend of text-based adventures and 2D RPGs

good work Posted Image

Actually if I'm looking at this right, most Western RPG's have this type of text-based dialog in there games. (ex. Fallout, Deus Ex, Dragon Age, etc..)

#4 Moonpearl

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Posted 07 January 2012 - 10:32 AM

Thanks kellessdee. Actually it's only the first part of a broader project which makes the gameplay even more point&click-like. I'm currently writing a nice demo kit for it, so stay tuned!

#5 rgangsta

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Posted 07 January 2012 - 06:02 PM

Wow. This makes choices look much cooler. And professional like.

#6 Moonpearl

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Posted 07 January 2012 - 06:17 PM

Thanks rgangsta. It's not just about lookks, though, the colors and stuff are merely features of the original RMXP. I'm just using them to outline the keywords in the choice options.

#7 kellessdee

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Posted 09 January 2012 - 01:59 AM

@bigace: shhhhhh....I don't play modern games..... (Actually, I should have realized that...I totally forgot in-game choices haven't changed since before graphics, or, you got me there! :P)

#8 CrimsonInferno

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Posted 09 January 2012 - 05:52 AM

This sounds fantastical, thanks for sharing with us! I cannot see the images though, but I will try it out as soon as I get my PC back to a healthy state. lol

Do you think there might be anymore compatibility issues?

#9 Moonpearl

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Posted 09 January 2012 - 08:59 AM

@CrimsonInferno: Thanks. No, no other compatibility issues since the rest of the script doesn't mess with any pre-existing elements. It's smoothly built to fit in the interface (for example choices with keywords are merely standard, event-called choices, only appointed to display variables with the keywords inside). So I guess this gives a little more work to the user than a full script where you just have to call a simple command and everything unfolds under your eyes, but on the other side it makes the use of keywords much more flexible and guarantees no compatibility problems.

#10 CrimsonInferno

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Posted 09 January 2012 - 11:42 PM

Ah, I see! Thanks for the quick answer, Moonpearl! :D





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