Recommended Game Dev Engine(s)

[StrawberryHeart]

Apologies if this isn't the right sub-forum for this, but it seemed the best fit. I have aspirations for making my own game- I have some pretty good ideas I think, and want to make a text-based RPG in the vein of CoC, TiTs etc. I am having a bit of trouble deciding on what game dev tool to use to make it, however, and was wondering if people had any recommendations? The game would basically be entirely text and menus (Maybe down the line I might commission someone to provide some supplementary art, maybe not, we'll see), so I could use Twine, but I'd rather it have a custom GUI- things like moving between 'rooms' on the minimap etc.

 

[To&Fro]

Twine has several flavors. Two of them would allow for deep customization of the UI, the Harlowe variant does not really allow for it without some serious HTML skills. I've seen some really good Twine custom UI's done but they were from skilled developers.

You can also NOT use an engine at all and just use standard programming skills, C++, Java, Perl, hell, even Visual Basic can make custom UI text games.

So really, the question you should be asking is what skills are you bringing to the table and then you can properly choose a programming platform to go with it. You'll likely be facing a developmental learning curve no matter what you do unless you have some skills already handy.

The earliest versions of games like this could even be done in WORD or just standard HTML. I saw a similar CYOA game done in PowerPoint... a crap-ton of work but it looked slick and just bounced between slides and it was in .EXE format which PowerPoint can export.

So, my advice is look first to your existing skill set, figure out how much you are willing to learn on your own (aka: how steep of a learning curve can you handle) and then use that information on how to narrow the field of choices.

BTW: Mythos has a now classic adult game (Fools Quest) that is written in a early form of software that became Twine with a custom map. It could easily be done in current Twine but I think the version used is an early custom version that pre-dates Twine 1.

P.S. You can also 'wrap' any standard Twine variant game inside of an HTML UI wrapper using the iframe or other insert methodologies (there are a few). So, your engine would just the created text and send out HTML commands to the wrapper to change the UI if the game itself needs to have the UI change. I'm providing this if you are versed enough in Twine and just have some cursory HTML skills. It's not a far step from that point to a game like you describe, but you'd need to host it someplace. You could even do it in WordPress but they have some rules about adult materials on their site... so you might look for another option.

 

[StrawberryHeart]

Twine has several flavors. Two of them would allow for deep customization of the UI, the Harlowe variant does not really allow for it without some serious HTML skills. I've seen some really good Twine custom UI's done but they were from skilled developers.

You can also NOT use an engine at all and just use standard programming skills, C++, Java, Perl, hell, even Visual Basic can make custom UI text games.

So really, the question you should be asking is what skills are you bringing to the table and then you can properly choose a programming platform to go with it. You'll likely be facing a developmental learning curve no matter what you do unless you have some skills already handy.

The earliest versions of games like this could even be done in WORD or just standard HTML. I saw a similar CYOA game done in PowerPoint... a crap-ton of work but it looked slick and just bounced between slides and it was in .EXE format which PowerPoint can export.

So, my advice is look first to your existing skill set, figure out how much you are willing to learn on your own (aka: how steep of a learning curve can you handle) and then use that information on how to narrow the field choices.

BTW: Mythos has a now classic adult game (Fools Quest) that is written in a early form of software that became Twine with a custom map. It could easily be done in current Twine but I think the version used is an early custom version that pre-dates Twine 1.

P.S. You can also 'wrap' any standard Twine variant game inside of an HTML UI wrapper using the iframe or other insert methodologies (there are a few). So, your engine would just created text and send out HTML commands to the wrapper to change the UI if the game itself needs to have the UI change. I'm providing this if you are versed enough in Twine and just have some cursory HTML skills. It's not a far step from that point to a game like you describe, but you'd need to host it someplace. You could even do it in WordPress but they have some rules about adult materials on their site... so you might look for another option.

I see, thats all very useful info, thank you. I'll continue to look into it.

 

[To&Fro]

Of all the options that exist today in this industry, I can advise you of only one. This option attracted me a long time ago, and I always liked the way this game was created. I'm talking about now globalcsgo.com. I'm sure you are all familiar with it and have a good idea of how the game is completed. I'm sure it is the most suitable option for those who are looking for some lifesaving options to look up to. The choice is yours.

I've never heard of Counterstrike as a programming platform for a from scratch game. I suppose some mod engines would be capable of doing something like this but the word 'unusual' would be a dramatic understatement as a choice for a CYOA/RPG text game. There are a few first person shooter style adult games out there but they are a small group of games. Most are map/location/event driven using Unity/Ren'py or Twine HTML style. While an FPS style would have a certain appeal, it would probably be a mistake to try to do it for a first go around.

 

[StrawberryHeart]

I think they're a bot to be honest.

 

[Nekon]

If you know what you are doing, that is, know web technologies(html, js, css) and have it in mind to create a relatively big game that doesn't fall apart after a year of development, the best and I would say the only option you have is to use a JS framework. There are lots of them, you can google the list and choose whichever you find to your liking. I personally would recommend using Angular https://angular.io/ . My game is made in it (https://dryadquest.com/) and it won't be possible to achieve that level of complexity without it. Binding data to templates and building powerful UI couldn't be any easier.

If you want, you can also check out my game's source code here: https://gitgud.io/dryadquestdev/dryadquest and see if this technology suits you.

 

[Nekon]

I think they're a bot to be honest.

It really looks like a post created by a neural network bot lol

 

[To&Fro]

It really looks like a post created by a neural network bot lol

Yeah, that was a possibility since they were a 'new member' however I didn't want to risk RBelle (also a new member) being led astray by a post like that one. It was a wierd post to begin with but a pretty good one for a bot.

JS makes a lot of sense if you have the basic HTML and CSS skills to go with it. My first foray's into HTML UI's were heavily reliant on JS then Java/J++, but moved to .NET after that, haven't done much of it for a long time now. TWINE just does a lot of the UI for you if you use Sugarcube and that takes about a hour or two to wrap your head around. JS itself can be a bit of a rabbit hole when you first start up, but once you get that 'eureka!' moment, it's pretty easy thereafter. The same could be said for PERL or PHP though.

I'm going to look into Angular... never heard of it before now. It looks interesting but for a rank beginner, I don't know...

Actually the best advice I could give RBelle would be to find experienced someone(s) willing to collaborate with and it solves a LOT of early hurdles.

 

[StrawberryHeart]

Yeah, that was a possibility since they were a 'new member' however I didn't want to risk RBelle (also a new member) being led astray by a post like that one. It was a wierd post to begin with but a pretty good one for a bot.

JS makes a lot of sense if you have the basic HTML and CSS skills to go with it. My first foray's into HTML UI's were heavily reliant on JS then Java/J++, but moved to .NET after that, haven't done much of it for a long time now. TWINE just does a lot of the UI for you if you use Sugarcube and that takes about a hour or two to wrap your head around. JS itself can be a bit of a rabbit hole when you first start up, but once you get that 'eureka!' moment, it's pretty easy thereafter. The same could be said for PERL or PHP though.

I'm going to look into Angular... never heard of it before now. It looks interesting but for a rank beginner, I don't know...

Actually the best advice I could give RBelle would be to find experienced someone(s) willing to collaborate with and it solves a LOT of early hurdles.

Yeah I've been practicing making a rudimentary html/css/java program with Visual Studio Code. Still early days as I'm learning on the fly (Plus IRL stuff not always giving me the time to work on it that I'd want). I think that once I have the core 'base' down, it kinda becomes a matter of just plugging the actual content into it, and newly written content could be deployed fairly quickly. Right now I'm focussed on the actual writing of the first 'alpha' batch of content- character creation, one town, one combat zone, some npcs and quests, etc.

I am a bit nervous about reaching out to someone, especially as I would like to keep my online presence in lewd circles rather separated from my regular online presence. Not really sure how to go about it very easily. But yeah If I could get help from someone who was experience in code while I focussed on the writing, that would be a big help.

Edit: Yeah Nekon the way your game looks/plays is pretty similar to what I want to go for, not the exact same obviously as I have different systems and layout and stuff planned, but building it with the same or similar framework seems like a good idea. Thank you, and I'll definitely have a look at that code when I get the chance.

 

[samibaceri]

I totally support you, but for now, I'll choose rust because it's easier for me to earn skins in this game for me. And rust game skins can be quite expensive, so I thinkI can actually ear a lot before you come up with anything decent, I just hope that you won't have any problems during the working process.

 

[Mythos]

Just to clarify on something To&Fro said, Fool's Quest was not written in Twine, but in a different engine of my own design which works with visual declarations rather than programming. It should be able to do anything that Twine can do, though it's still rather new.

 

[one_two]

The game would basically be entirely text and menus (Maybe down the line I might commission someone to provide some supplementary art, maybe not, we'll see), so I could use Twine, but I'd rather it have a custom GUI- things like moving between 'rooms' on the minimap etc.

For this kind of a game Ren'Py might be your best bet -- it is primarily oriented for development of visual novels (so, text and choices) but, being Python at its core, it's easily expandable with custom elements.

 

[To&Fro]

Just to clarify on something To&Fro said, Fool's Quest was not written in Twine, but in a different engine of my own design which works with visual declarations rather than programming. It should be able to do anything that Twine can do, though it's still rather new.

Thank you for clarifying that. I spent a great deal of time trying to research the engine you were using. It looked like some variant of the old notebook code (I can't recall the name of it ATM) that eventually ended up being Twine. So I just went with that assumption, which I happily admit to being wrong because looking at the code and how it was enabled in the game I couldn't figure out how it went from internal variables to the URL variables and kept the story positioning tracking accurate with the URL info. I didn't consider it to be custom code as development of such code for one's own purposes in a story-writing sense is beyond niche these days, you have my admiration for taking that route! I stopped doing that after I left the Apple II platform because purchasable software became more affordable and widely spread.

I'm a bigger fan now of the story because I know just how much effort you really have to put into it just to write it. Amazing.

 

[Mythos]

It's much appreciated! I've sunk so much time into my own engine that I've decided to publish it. Glad to know it's impressed someone.

 

[To&Fro]

I'd love to see how you implement it. It could be a good competitor to Twine. It's hackable though once you understand the URL coding. I don't see that as a weak spot per-se, it's actually allowed me to get around some of the errors I've found within the game.

Thanks for your hard work. I don't really hang out on Reddit much, but I've seen some of your postings there.

I wouldn't post links to the game here without reading the restrictions that Fenoxo imposes upon games allowed to advertise here.

 

[Mythos]

The engine open source for anyone to pick at. The URL is by default binary. If you were able to hack it in FQ, it's because I meant for you to be able to.

I already promised the moderators I wouldn't shill anything except my engine here, since that could conceivably be used for fenoxo content. I mostly came on here to set the record straight about my engine. I showing that off everywhere I can these days.