[Scott]

It was about a year ago that Vince finally browbeat me into announcing the Cylcopean project.  I had been sending him Lovecraft-themed short stories on the sly for several weeks.  They satisfied my writer's itch (if you ever get it yourself, don't be embarrassed --see a doctor right away!) and a resurgent interest in an HP influenced role-playing game.  I was hoping to interest ITS into starting such a project and including me in some capacity.  Instead, I ended up with the whole thing on my shoulders.  To this day when I first wake I shake my fist at a tiny bust of Vince I keep by my bed.

Perhaps someone out there is wondering, other than a bunch of short stories, what development progress is being made on the game...  No?  Anyway, I've got around 40 dialogues in various states of completion, rules documents, items documents and one 37 page, 14,000 word quest document.  That last is just outlines, mind you, not including related dialogues, description text, etc.

Rather than one overarching plot, there are three different Mythos plotlines, only one of which can be completed on one playthru.  All content will be present in each game, but at the ultimate end of one of the major plots that game ends. In a lot of cases the game has to end as a major world change results.  Each major plot will have four possible resolutions:  pro-Mythos and anti-Mythos, combat and non-combat.  Please don't anyone get their panties bunched over whether there will be a boss fight against Cthulhu.  There won't.

Satisfied with the amount of content I have planned, I've recently begun going over the quest document and trying to implement four tenets of quest design.  I've written these out right at the top to help avoid the rut of:  quest giver gives job, player does job, player gets reward, quest giver gives next job, etc.  They are:

> seed quests:  low-level quest leads player to new area or new NPC
> daisy chains:  new quest begins where old one ends, ie. steal statuette from judge's house -> find letter on desk in bedroom
> "accidental" entry into plot: player overhears conversation, accused of eavesdropping; player ambushed by thugs in case of mistaken identity, etc. (thanks to Vince for this one)
> multiple levels of achievement:  quest has several goals, each of which is worth some portion of the maximum possible reward.  Player can bungle the mission, but still get something for his efforts and move the plot forward instead of a binary success/failure model.

There will be no FedEx or gather the ten brass dildos type quests.

So there's a game engine now and a programmer and a whole lot of writing.  I'll be posting more concept art before the end of the year, but I still don't have a dedicated concept artist.

****
I'll be posting an update like this regularly for you Cyclopean junkies, each and every October from now on.  See you all in 12 months!

[Wrath of Dagon]

No boss fight against Cthulhu!? That's it, I'm not buying!

And uh, may be you should do an update every 3 months, so you know, we can check the pulse. Thanks.

[Hector]

If people really want to fight a great old one, I say let them.  Cthulhu in Chaosium's Call of Cthulhu game only needed one stat: eats 1d6 characters per round.

[Gondolin]

Thanks for the update. I'll be checking up on the game in 12 months. 

[Ted]

There will be no FedEx or gather the ten brass dildos type quests.

Memo to self - hide ten brass dildos somewhere in the game.

[Dicksmoker]

Do the backgrounds have any relations to the three Mythos plotlines, or are they just there as entry points into the game?

[Ellorien]

I'll be posting an update like this regularly for you Cyclopean junkies, each and every October from now on.

Mind you, I also expect my Steckerlfisch, Würstl  and Knödeln next Oktober, mein lieber Herr. And Bier, of course.

[Scott]

Do the backgrounds have any relations to the three Mythos plotlines, or are they just there as entry points into the game?

Good question!  No, none of the Backgrounds have any special link or introduction to the main plotlines.  In that respect it's a level playing field.

[Dicksmoker]

So basically, the background quest(s) is just to get you started in the game and, once completed, have no relevance on the main story that unfolds? I guess that's alright, but I think it would be infinitely cooler if things regarding your background extended throughout the main quest and impacted it. It would be a way of making different background playthroughs more unique.

[GhanBuriGhan]

Thanks for the update. Good to know progress is being made although we don't see that much going on here. What made you single out these 4 tenets for now? I guess there is more in the way of tenets / goals one could formulate?

[Scott]

Thanks for the update. Good to know progress is being made although we don't see that much going on here.

Not much going on?!  What?

What made you single out these 4 tenets for now? I guess there is more in the way of tenets / goals one could formulate?

Two reasons:
There are factions you can join in Cyclopean, which would lead you to lengthy quest series.  When these quests are laid out in a row, they tend to follow a Do this, do that, do this pattern which is very boring and mechanical.  I need to break that up.

The game requires self-motivation.  You are, unfortunately, not a demi-god, nor are you destined to save the world, nor is there an ancient prophecy considering you personally.  You're not even a farmer.  That means the inexperienced player could find herself wandering around, searching for floating exclamation points and declaring There's nothing to do! I want mechanisms in place that goose the player with things to do.  This also adds to the illusion of an interactive, not just reactive, world where others talk to you instead of just standing in one place waiting for someone to ask for work.

[GhanBuriGhan]

Thanks for the update. Good to know progress is being made although we don't see that much going on here.

Not much going on?!  What?

I was referring to the other 11 months I know that's unfair, but I was worried a bit since for a long time there was just the occasional bit of writing, and the news that the concept artist jumped ship. The recent updates are all great news.

What made you single out these 4 tenets for now? I guess there is more in the way of tenets / goals one could formulate?

Two reasons:
There are factions you can join in Cyclopean, which would lead you to lengthy quest series.  When these quests are laid out in a row, they tend to follow a Do this, do that, do this pattern which is very boring and mechanical.  I need to break that up.

The game requires self-motivation.  You are, unfortunately, not a demi-god, nor are you destined to save the world, nor is there an ancient prophecy considering you personally.  You're not even a farmer.  That means the inexperienced player could find herself wandering around, searching for floating exclamation points and declaring There's nothing to do! I want mechanisms in place that goose the player with things to do.  This also adds to the illusion of an interactive, not just reactive, world where others talk to you instead of just standing in one place waiting for someone to ask for work.

Maybe its interesting to discuss these a bit more, if you like.
The first tenet describes quests for a specific purpose:
> seed quests:  low-level quest leads player to new area or new NPC

The next two are about specific ways of introducing quests:
> daisy chains:  new quest begins where old one ends, ie. steal statuette from judge's house -> find letter on desk in bedroom
> "accidental" entry into plot: player overhears conversation, accused of eavesdropping; player ambushed by thugs in case of mistaken identity, etc. (thanks to Vince for this one)

The last one describes a specific design goal regarding quest structure and reward system.
> multiple levels of achievement:  quest has several goals, each of which is worth some portion of the maximum possible reward.  Player can bungle the mission, but still get something for his efforts and move the plot forward instead of a binary success/failure model.


All three categories are important, but could have more useful entries, a few suggestions:
Purposes:
- mood quests. Main purpose to set or improve atmosphere or to flesh out the setting. Disconnected from plot.
- red herrings. Assuming a main motivation is to uncover mythos secrets, occasional false tracks may serve to mix things up and convey that not EVERY dark corner hides a deep one.
- Story quests (self evident). Advance the story and present the player with the main choices resulting in plot branches
- Optional story quests. Similar to mood quests, but tied to the main plotlines thematically although with no or small consequences down the line.

Introducing quests:
- Quest hubs: your generic quest hotspot or hub. Here maybe your faction quarters, the arcane library, or a specific shady NPC. Place from which multiple quest starts, possibly many that can be done in random order.
- Timed entry. Obvious situational changes that are triggered by conditional timers or quest events that will strongly motivate player to investigate. E.g. you find your faction quarters burned down. You witness a shootout in front of the local bank. You return to town and it burns. A woman screams and you just see something dark and BIG slip into the sewers... etc.
- Well hidden. Quests that begin from well hidden leads, as rewards for thorough / smart players. Note in the riddle chest. A lead in a real encrypted message, a subtle hint in a dialogue tree or ingame book.


Quest design:
- branch and converge: Quests that branch for a while, e.g. accomodating different player skills, providing different experiences, but no downstream consequences.
- plot change: Quest turns out to be something completely different than the quest hook indicated: You are sent to meet a contact, but on the way fall into the sewers and have to get out again.
- betrayal: Do NPC's lie and double-cross in non-obvious ways?
- Loose ends. Quests seem to open lines of investigation into the Mythos but are dead-ends (unanswered riddles have a strong draw for many)
- Long term tasks. Quests that carry on in parallell to the main quest for a long time. Classic examples are collection quests, where you find parts of the "set" throughout the game.

Maybe it would be interesting to hear which of these you consider, or specifically dislike. Or what else would be specifically fitting / interesting in a Lovecraft themed game.

[GarfunkeL]

So at least 3 playthroughs but each with 12 endings. Are the four different endings chosen at the very end, so I can save there and try out all four or is there C&C from along the game that decides the ending? In other words, Bioware or Black Isle ending? 

[Scott]

So at least 3 playthroughs but each with 12 endings.

Total of 12 different endings.

Are the four different endings chosen at the very end, so I can save there and try out all four...

Sounds awful!  It will be much too late by the end to decide if you're supporting the enslavement of the human race by the Great Old Ones, or instead that you're dedicated to eradicating their nameless cult once and for all.

As for choosing between the combat/non-combat solution, that might also be impractical.  It won't be any cookie-cutter, Bioware/Witcher type binary solution, that I will promise.

[willcodejavaforfood]

Thanks for the update