The idea is simple: a 4X game (like Age of Empires), but simplified and made for local multiplayer.
- Explore: a random world is generated; you start on a small bit of it and need to find the rest
- Expand: you slowly build more structures, create a bigger settlement, settle at other locations
- Exploit: you “use” the resources and your entities to build, invent, update, create, etcetera
- Exterminate: to win, you need to conquer or completely kill all the other players
So it …
- Can be played with multiple people behind the same screen
- Can be played using just a few keyboard buttons, or one controller per player
- Is more family friendly and chaotic.
- Accessible and quick, yet the strategic and growth element of 4X remains.
How to achieve this?
- Everything goes through commands or commanders. At all times, you control one thing in your clan. You can position it and choose a command to execute, that’s it.
- Commanders issue their command to all entities inside their radius.
- (Or all entities “attached” to them, if I make that a thing.)
- This only works if the number of entities is few, and the commanders all do different (unique) things.
- For example, one commander can only build a barracks or collect wood.
- So if you want more people to collect wood, you walk up to a bunch of people not doing that, press the command button, and voila.
- When building: they’ll build it on your current location
- When collecting: they’ll just go to their nearest source
- Many aspects should be automated. For instance, you might automatically cycle through all your “commanders” or “entities” on a timer.
Obviously, with these different commanders, it’s also great to have different factions/clans with very unique commands and playstyles.
IDEA: Some commands shorten/increase the timer for the cycle. (For example: you insta-switch to the next commander in line.)
IDEA: Commands might be more (semi-)random, specific, and then part of a longer list. So it might be something like:
- “Turn two people into bowmen”
- “Create a barrack and a house”
- “Immediately destroy all trees in radius”
These are then positioned in a long vertical bar, and the longer you hold the button, the more it moves towards later options.
So what are the controls?
- Joystick/Arrow keys to move
- Button: short press = command 1
- Button: long press = command 2 (or double press?)
How to deal with the 4X’s?
- Explore: A fog is on the screen. Obviously, once somebody enters a space, it’s revealed. But the fog also returns if nobody has been there for long enough. (This still gives the explorer the advantage
- Expand: Being a single screen, space is limited. As such, expansion should either be slow, or very quick and very temporary.
- Exploit: Many resources are in this world. The basic ones are very easy to access, the harder ones take a lot of time (to balance it). Additionally, though, there’s a huge emphasis on regrowth and renewable resources.
- (Maybe even your population just dies of old age, so you need to constantly keep that up as well.)
- Exterminate: It’s boring to be “out of the game” or wiped out so completely you are basically out. So, instead, there should be multiple ways to win, so you always have a shot.
- Simpler alternative: the game just ends once one player is defeated; the one with the highest score wins.
- Simpler alternative: each player has some special object, once captured, they are now your ally. (However, you can only capture it if the other person is weak enough, or there’s a severe penalty to becoming an ally this way. Otherwise people can just gang up at the start of the game.)
A good name might be Creative Commanders or Command & Confuse.
This is a clear inspiration: https://sokpop.itch.io/king-pins (Also Worldbox.)
THE BIG REMAINING QUESTION: Can we “retheme” or “reframe” it? So it’s more friendly and cute (not the typical medieval, warring, shooting, bleh thing), and also more unique and more suited to this style?
The idea is simple: a **4X game** (like _Age of Empires_), but simplified and made for **local multiplayer**.
- **Explore:** a random world is generated; you start on a small bit of it and need to find the rest
- **Expand:** you slowly build more structures, create a bigger settlement, settle at other locations
- **Exploit:** you "use" the resources and your entities to build, invent, update, create, etcetera
- **Exterminate:** to win, you need to conquer or completely kill all the other players
So it ...
- Can be played with multiple people behind the same screen
- Can be played using just a few keyboard buttons, or one controller per player
- Is more family friendly and chaotic.
- Accessible and quick, yet the strategic and growth element of 4X remains.
How to achieve this?
- Everything goes through *commands* or *commanders*. At all times, you control *one* thing in your clan. You can *position it* and *choose a command to execute*, that's it.
- Commanders issue their command to all entities inside their radius.
- (Or all entities "attached" to them, if I make that a thing.)
- This only works if the number of entities is few, and the commanders all do *different* (unique) things.
- For example, one commander can only *build a barracks* or *collect wood*.
- So if you want more people to collect wood, you walk up to a bunch of people *not* doing that, press the command button, and voila.
- When building: they'll build it on your current location
- When collecting: they'll just go to their nearest source
- Many aspects should be *automated*. For instance, you might automatically *cycle* through all your "commanders" or "entities" on a timer.
Obviously, with these different commanders, it's also great to have different *factions/clans* with very unique commands and playstyles.
**IDEA:** Some commands shorten/increase the timer for the cycle. (For example: you insta-switch to the next commander in line.)
**IDEA:** Commands might be more (semi-)random, specific, and then part of a longer list. So it might be something like:
- "Turn two people into bowmen"
- "Create a barrack and a house"
- "Immediately destroy all trees in radius"
These are then positioned in a long vertical bar, and the longer you hold the button, the more it moves towards later options.
So what are the controls?
- Joystick/Arrow keys to move
- Button: short press = command 1
- Button: long press = command 2 (or double press?)
How to deal with the 4X's?
- **Explore:** A fog is on the screen. Obviously, once *somebody* enters a space, it's revealed. But the fog also returns if nobody has been there for long enough. (This still gives the explorer the advantage
- **Expand:** Being a single screen, space is limited. As such, expansion should either be *slow*, or *very quick and very temporary*.
- **Exploit:** Many resources are in this world. The basic ones are very easy to access, the harder ones take a lot of time (to balance it). Additionally, though, there's a huge emphasis on *regrowth* and *renewable resources*.
- (Maybe even your population just dies of old age, so you need to constantly keep that up as well.)
- **Exterminate:** It's boring to be "out of the game" or wiped out so completely you are *basically* out. So, instead, there should be multiple ways to win, so you always have a shot.
- Simpler alternative: the game just ends once *one* player is defeated; the one with the highest score wins.
- Simpler alternative: each player has some special object, once captured, they are now *your ally*. (However, you can only capture it if the other person is weak enough, or there's a severe penalty to becoming an ally this way. Otherwise people can just gang up at the start of the game.)
A good name might be _Creative Commanders_ or _Command & Confuse_.
This is a clear inspiration: <https://sokpop.itch.io/king-pins> (Also Worldbox.)
**THE BIG REMAINING QUESTION:** Can we "retheme" or "reframe" it? So it's more friendly and cute (not the typical medieval, warring, shooting, bleh thing), and also more unique and more suited to this style?