Desperate Gods: Best game? No. But it can be!

The place to discuss all things Desperate Gods.
SharpShinyThings
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Desperate Gods: Best game? No. But it can be!

Post by SharpShinyThings » Mon Nov 26, 2012 5:49 pm

I'm not certain Wolfire knows exactly what they made when Desperate Gods was born. The challenge was to make a game in a genre they hated, in this case, digital board games.

This is not a digital board game. This is a Virtual Tabletop Simulator, and one of the single best ideas I've seen in years. This has so much potential is insane.

Imagine, for a moment, a simple addition to what is available now in Desperate Gods; the addition of classic playing cards, the ability for a host to spawn and despawn pieces, and the ability for players to sit on opposite sides of the table and slight improvements on object manipulation.

Keep thinking.

I don't know what you thought of, but I was playing poker with my friends in Seattle and Pheonix. Cards, spawn in more gold, play.

What if you could change the board? Checkers. Chess. Go. Heck, Dungeons & Dragons!

This has the potential to be one of the greatest and most versatile game engines ever created. We need to being this to the attention of the creators, and for this I need your help. Post your ideas or simply to say you like the idea. Sticky this thread if possible.

My mind exploded with the possibilities the first time I say the design overview on YouTube. I can't have been the only one. Let's make it happen!

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Archa
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Re: Desperate Gods: Best game? No. But it can be!

Post by Archa » Mon Nov 26, 2012 7:06 pm

What most card games have and this does not is the ability to hold cards in your hand where others can't see them. After that, anything is possible, every board game ever made.

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Archa
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Re: Desperate Gods: Best game? No. But it can be!

Post by Archa » Mon Nov 26, 2012 7:07 pm

For example, I'd kill to see saboteur on this engine :)

InovPR
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Re: Desperate Gods: Best game? No. But it can be!

Post by InovPR » Mon Nov 26, 2012 7:11 pm

I definitely agree with Sharp that this game engine has a ton of potential! It is open source correct :?:

SharpShinyThings
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Re: Desperate Gods: Best game? No. But it can be!

Post by SharpShinyThings » Mon Nov 26, 2012 8:53 pm

InovPR wrote:I definitely agree with Sharp that this game engine has a ton of potential! It is open source correct :?:
It is indeed, running on Unity. What would be great would be some form of mod support.

SharpShinyThings
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Re: Desperate Gods: Best game? No. But it can be!

Post by SharpShinyThings » Mon Nov 26, 2012 9:00 pm

Since it seems I gathered a bit of attention, heres my (personal & arrogant) pitch; I present you...

The Wolfire Game Table!

   Controls (needed streamlining)
 LMB - grab
 RMB - toggle zoom (cursor always stays still, no zooming out and launching a piece across the table)
 Space - tap/take all (applies to decks or pieces/dice)
 Shift - lift piece higher
 WASDQE - manipulate
 F - flip card facedown/shuffle deck
 R - reveal card/flip deck
 X - hold piece (disables physics until moved again, for having a "hand" in card games)
 T - move around table
 C - show "toychest"
 Esc - show UI/menu
 ? - show help
 Mouse causes smooth panning when moved in Zoomed mode. 

     Expanding on a open tabletop concept, takes it further with the ability to choose a board and various pieces (dice, figures, cards & tokens) for a wholly adaptable game. 
   Support more players, possible voicechat integration? Possibly a round table that players can move around, with a UI that shows what side they are on. 

   Password-protecting rooms is great, but there needs to be a way to search for rooms, especially considering the sudden popularity of Desperate Gods. Invite systems would be nice, as well.


     Key point: mod support. Make it easy for players to make their own boards, cards and textures for pieces. This allows for unique (or classic!) games to be played with friends, regardless of distance.  


   The "Toychest": a special UI that allows players to quickly spawn in pieces, cards, decks and change the board on the table. Possibly allow textures to be shared, so if one player tries to take out a unique piece, all other players will be able to see the same piece instead of a default one. An easy way of expanding ones collection should be made. 
Playing boards can be moved and manipulated the same as pieces, but only from one of the toychest tabs. This prevents accidental launching of pieces. 

   Needed pieces:
 Retain all existing pieces (DG figures, tokens, stones, cubes, cards, decks)
 Make tokens thinner. 
 d4, d8, d10, d12, and d20
 Chess pieces (minifigures?)
 Add classic playing cards to starting library
 A "card stand" that holds cards on edge when tapped with a card.

   Initial boards: (note you do not need a board on the table)
Desperate Gods
Chess/Checkers
Backgammon
Mancalla
Poker 
Simple grid (a way to mark table/boards? Pencil/marker prop?)

   Extra Ideas: 
 Gloves representing other players pointers on the table, several choices. 
 Changeable tabletops: stone/ wood/ plastic
 Changeable lighting: lantern/ incandescent/ modern
 Skybox? Default black, others available?

     Notable design issues:
 Would need to support a potentially  large number of physics-enabled props, and said props spawning and despawning. Possibly limit the number of props allowed?
 Fix physics "dragging," held objects can be slid via holding tap, cards can be dealt by sliding, ect. 


I don't know about you, but I would pay good money for something like this! (again, this is just my arrogant pitch, I started just looking for a way to change my keybinds!)

Valforte
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Re: Desperate Gods: Best game? No. But it can be!

Post by Valforte » Tue Nov 27, 2012 7:19 am

I'm currently working on a D&D table. Will feature grid combat area, different markings for DM to limit the combat area, some monster and player miniatures, spawnable dies (d2 (coin), d4, d6, d8, d10, d10 (dozen), d12, d20), spawnable magic AeO markings.

This is what I always wanted to play online D&D with my friends. Along with a voice chat will be perfect.

Tyrce111
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Re: Desperate Gods: Best game? No. But it can be!

Post by Tyrce111 » Tue Nov 27, 2012 7:28 am

I'de love to be able to log into this game, select which game I would want to play from a closet, selecting the box art for the game. We could download more boards, decks, expansion packs ;) We could decide to bring alien packs into the game, a deck of playing cards to play a quick game of blackjack that was the action for a square or chance card. It would be SO AWESOME to improve GUI (not the gameplay because I love the feel of independently moving each piece) to, as said before, spawn in more coins if we need to, poker chips and download new boards and decks from a modding UI
:D

Also good for people like me who have nobody to play pen and paper with and try games I've never heard of :lol:
Last edited by Tyrce111 on Tue Nov 27, 2012 7:30 am, edited 1 time in total.

White Bear
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Re: Desperate Gods: Best game? No. But it can be!

Post by White Bear » Tue Nov 27, 2012 7:29 am

Wolfire could profit greatly by continuing this project into fully fledged online virtual table top with customizable game. Think if you could share and create table top games in steam workshop.
Possibly allow actual table top companies make DLC versions of their licensed games.

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Glabbit
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Re: Desperate Gods: Best game? No. But it can be!

Post by Glabbit » Tue Nov 27, 2012 8:10 am

In a few odd ways, those ideas are slightly worrying, drawing people further again from real-life meetings and Family Game Nights.

In a completely different way it is excellent and would be fantastic and must be done.
White Bear's right; There's big profits to be found if the tabletop system is marketed correctly.
...I don't suppose I could get a cut by virtue of being all known and loyal maybe?

Tyrce111
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Re: Desperate Gods: Best game? No. But it can be!

Post by Tyrce111 » Tue Nov 27, 2012 8:25 am

I would pre-order this if Wolfire continued it. Im not suggesting this but one could make a fortune out of micro-transactions. $1-$2 per game? Maybe more for the really in depth ones... I'de be one of the crazy guys who would buy them all just to say "Hey, I caught them all... To train them is my cause"

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turbochop
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Re: Desperate Gods: Best game? No. But it can be!

Post by turbochop » Tue Nov 27, 2012 10:00 am

I think you guys are right; Wolfire is sitting on a miniature goldmine with this engine.

SharpShinyThings
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Re: Desperate Gods: Best game? No. But it can be!

Post by SharpShinyThings » Tue Nov 27, 2012 11:50 am

Simply put: we would pay good money for this.

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Retarded Username
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Re: Desperate Gods: Best game? No. But it can be!

Post by Retarded Username » Wed Nov 28, 2012 12:19 am

Woah, woah, woah...
Holy shite! I´ve never thought of this "engine" like this! (And would have never even thought of it)
DAMN, we can all do our own board games! (Well at least people with Unity Pro) And see if they do are fun!
I´ve never been so eager to see what can the community does with game modding!

Ricochet64
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Re: Desperate Gods: Best game? No. But it can be!

Post by Ricochet64 » Sat Dec 08, 2012 8:18 pm

Three words:
Warhammer.
Forty.
Thousand.

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