Hi everyone, I've been forced to take a break from writing for the past week or so because a project of mine has taken over. I wanted to share that project with everyone on the forums and possibly get some feedback. So, this all started about a year ago when I came up with the idea to build my own PC game. I'm 16 now (I turn 17 in around two weeks), but I've been programming since the age of 11, and I decided that it was time for me to actually build something. Once I drew some plans up, it didn't take very long for people to show interest on Reddit and other sites, and some people joined my team. All in all, we've gone through just under 20 staff since the beginning, with different people dropping in and out, but the main team of 5 people has stayed the same since the beginning. We're now coming up to the point where our first creative mode demo is ready for release- we just need to polish everything off. This will be available for free when we upload it, after which we will decide whether to move onto Kickstarter or Steam Greenlight. But what's it all about? Well, the concept is pretty complex, but in a nutshell; imagine Minecraft set in the Wild West. A beautiful, 3D landscape ready for you to explore. Gather resources; build towns; weapons and equipment; watch NPCs arrive to populate your cities... you can do almost anything. Bartenders to man your saloons, a Sheriff's department to protect your people, tourists to generate money- the list goes on and on. Just to be clear, this is the plan- we are not at this stage yet. However, we do have our first map built, and you can build towns in creative mode. This may not sound like a lot after a whole year of work, but you should bear in mind that we've never done anything like this before- we've still got a lot to learn, but we've already come a long way. But I digress, I think it's time I just showed you what I'm talking about. The following video is the first trailer we ever released, but this does not show the current version (we're making an updated trailer to coincide with the release of our tech demo). Since then, the graphics have been overhauled and all of the features have changed. We no longer have combat, as not everything has been rebuilt with new systems yet and we're still getting the core mechanics polished off. And here are a few sneak preview screenshots of the new version: My apologies for all of the images, I realise there are a lot but I think they're necessary. Onto the building system- the following scenes were created using the ingame building mechanics. And that's just about everything! I'd love to hear everyone's thoughts on the game Please feel free to ask me any questions about it. Thanks for reading, -GD.
Since we still have no replies, I thought I'd bump with the news that we're currently building a brand new trailer to better explain and showcase everything.
I don't play Minecraft but I love both city building games and The Sims. My first question is, what's the point of this game? Is it just to build? The games I like to play have a hook, a goal, even if it's a loose one. Tropico - stay in power. Pharaoh - specific goals for each mission. Age of Empires - survive and conquer. What keeps me playing this one? The reason this doesn't grab me is the setting and the scale. I have no interest in building a city in the Wild West and I like either total control (The Sims, Age of Empires) or to have influence on so many things that I don't have the time to micromanage (Tropico). This looks like you build and then stuff happens, but you can't directly control any of it? The new graphics look much better but still very early-2000s.
Right now we've still got a lot of work to do, but the idea is that you'll be able to manage all aspects of your city, from the budget of your Sheriff's department to the quality of alcohol served in your saloons. The goal is essentially to build your city, earn fame and become a well-known figure in the world, whether you're an oligarch or a cattle baron. But, as I said, we're only at the beginning of the journey and it's going to be a while before we can fully build the AI and NPC systems. We did just release a new teaser trailer for the upcoming demo: Before release there will be more mechanics and features implemented, but it's a start.
I'll watch the thread with interest. I do miss the days when Sierra released a new city building game every few years.
