Project Harmony

[The Elusive Cinder 1,328]

Well I have only recently joined these forums, but I thought I should put this up somewhere simply because any feedback is good feedback.

Since I discovered 'Welcome to Ponyville' I was pretty impressed. Then I read that the team had been hacked and disbanded. I was really disappointed to say the least. A couple of days later, I discovered something called RenPy, a Python based visual-novel scripting engine. an Idea started to form.

Now I can honestly say, I am terrible for starting projects that I get bored of and never finish. Which is why I have not mentioned this anywhere previously (combined with the dozens of other 'I'm making a pony game' topics in sure are floating around. Somehow, however, I kept at it. Slowly but surely, Project Harmony is chugging away.

It's not Welcome to Ponyville. Its not got its own custom engine. Its not meant to 'rip off' or 'beat' any game, project or anything else. Its simply something I have wanted to do since before becoming a brony even.

Anyway, If you see any topics about, you know what it is:

LITANY OF MAGIC
(Previously known as Project Harmony)

A visual novel based, choice and decision heavy simulation / text based adventure based in Ponyville which I have been working on since March. The plan at the moment is to keep building, setting small, reachable goals so that if progress stalls at any point it can be rounded into a playable state.

The current system plan is to give the player a set number of days (Currently planning 100, will almost defiantly change depending on the amount of contact put in. I'm hoping to produce a playable beta with 50.)



How will it play?

The game is text based, with images. Anypony played Ace Attorney? Like that. Each day, events unfold, you make decisions which influence the events of the story, yourself and what ponies think of you. You know nothing about who you are - a blank slate which will grow depending on your actions.

Days you play are sectioned into three types.

STORY DAYS.
Story days are set dates where specific, mane quest events take place. For example, day 1 is a story day which introduces you to the game - set events happen and you are given choices to make.

Story days will feature the most game changing choices.

EVENT DAYS.
Event days play out like story days, certain scripted events take place. Event days will be (somewhat) random and will feature some story changing choices, but mostly will effect what the ponies of Ponyville think of you.

Event days will have requirements: If you told Pinkie Pie you hate Parties, don't expect a surprise party event! If you meet the requirements then any day that is NOT a story day will have a chance of being an event day.

STANDARD DAYS.
Any day which isn't either a story or event day will then be a standard day - a 'filler' day so to speak, where you don't have anything special to do so can feel free to work, train skills, shop or just see who you run into.



I have put a LOT of thought into the day system and think it will work well, but ill keep everypony updated as and when.

Ponies track a LOT of variables. So far I have implemented variables for about 25 ponies, including Friendship, Trust, Health and Love. Also includes flags for whether you are Friends, Enemies and even if you have never met at all.

The theory is to build an adventure, something impressive with choices which affect game play - not just by changing a few words but by making it so that you may meet completely different ponies on a second or third playthrough. If I do this properly, you should be able to play for say, the third time and say 'Oh look, Such and such a pony is in this game!'. Thanks to the Event days, meeting a new pony will open up new stories which involve them! (In theory).

So yeah, mostly a 'Choose your own Adventure' with a little 'The Sims' and a dash of dating sim (Which, if thats not your thing, can be ignored quite easily, Romance is great but friendship is magic.)


(Also, forget about anything cloppy, some scenes may be slightly more grim than the show, but I'm hoping its something everypony can enjoy.)



But Cinderscribe, how can we trust you? Where is this at now?


The basic frame of the game is done, at least to a playable standard though no doubt I will decide something needs to change. Variables are set up and I think I have enough ponies to make a 'lite' version, with time.

Whats really holding me up is that I lack resources - I'm currently using placeholder vectors from MLPvectorclub on deviant art - specifically chosen from those amazing people who marked them as 'Feel free to use for whatever' and while this is all fine and dandy, I still don't like using somepony else's work without express consent - and with (so far) about 10 vectors per pony, well, thats a lot of permission to get. As such, I taught myself to vector - my work is passable, but slow.

I also have no music (Which I have some ideas in mind but don't want to make presumptions so will not be voicing them.) or voice acting (Which is such a large task it will not come into the picture until I'm happy with the rest of the game.)



What I DO have is a working affinity system, enough placeholder vectors to start crafting the mane story, along with some of the event stories (Mane 6 are effectively covered atm). I have a Stats, Inventory and health system. I have the early bones of the magic system and I have confidence in myself.



Here is a very low quality video of the Charater Generation process (Alpha, may change. Probably will.) and the battle system (Unfinished, only have 3 Abilities fully coded at the moment):

Hopefully I'll continue with this enough to get a working prototype out. In the meantime though, because I'm terrible at writing long forum posts, you might not see many updates. that dosent mean its dead, I just work slowly!

Peace out Ponies! Edited June 8, 2013 by Cinderscribe

[Rainbow Skywalker 642]

DUDE.  SOUNDS EPIC.

 

Ok, so I may not be in to these types of games very often, but seeing the work you put into it and the code you're using it sounds like this will be pretty amazing.  All the different factors, the day system, it all seems so great.  I'm just starting to learn Actionscript 3 in flash, so this seems all pretty intense to me, but if you ever need a beta tester or anything feel free to shoot me up.  I know beta testing isn't exactly a rare skill, but hey, just trying to help in any way I can.

[Doc Ginger 86]

DAMN. I am now following this with great interest, i love visual novels and rather hope to see this one come to fruition! My best wishes and luck to you in this project!

[The Elusive Cinder 1,328]

The images I posted are from in game, a REALLY early 'too early to call alpha' build. At the moment, productions ground to a halt- not because of anything permanent or major - but I have about 250 vectors I'm going to need just for the characters and I just realized that at a push I can crank out about 1 per day...

 

I've got a couple of ideas and I'm determined to not let it stop me, just a heads up that even though I might not update often its not because Ive abandoned the project - i just work slowly. 

 

EDIT:

 

Also, just on a whim I googled 'MLP project harmony' and would like to point out that this is not related to the fanfic by the same name. =]

Edited May 18, 2013 by Cinderscribe

[Doc Ginger 86]

Well my Python rather blows otherwise I'd offer some assistance, as it stands all I can really do is say it sounds like its has the potential to be as amazing as the story that drives it. 

[The Elusive Cinder 1,328]

Well, enough tweaking the system for now, I've given up on my theory of vectoring every image I need, going to start work on the story days using the Mane 6 Vectors I have and get this thing going again.

 

In the meantime, I'm always looking for good sources of pony images like in the screens above: Just as an example, here is my (limited) library of Twilight Images I've gathered:

 

 

If anypony is able to supply any more like these, particually for Luna, Celestia, Sombra and background ponies, it would speed things up an amazing amount. Theoretically I COULD write the whole script with no images at all and add them in later, but I struggle to work that way

[Sky Warden 2,243]

@, I'm pretty good at Python and I know RenPy. It's pretty easy to use right?

 

I believe in you with this project. It's true that there are so many "I want to make a pony game" projects in these forum which failed. That kinda ruins people's faith in the game development side of the fandom. Since you seem know how to start a project (like introducing your project after you made a significant progress), I believe you're serious and can finish it. I support you.

 

I apologize that I'm terrible at visual art (even though I recently started studying how to vector), but I'm a good programmer, and my favourite language is Python. I'm just offering a hoof here, because I'm afraid I won't be able to help you all the way until you finish this project since I already have a pony game project to work on. I also understand that adding a new programmer to a team may slow down the project, but if you need some help with the programming part, you may call me.

[The Elusive Cinder 1,328]

Just a quick update: I'm not dead and neither is this project!

 

I have taken a break for a couple of weeks while researching Tulpa, I started having time issues, headaches ect. ect.

 

I'm back now, decided that if anything, writing this would be a bonding project and it might help us progress.

 

I need to try and contact a few people regarding the side stories, I have enough placeholders for background pony's and the like.

 

So, the plan, for anypony interested:

1. Finish magic system.

2. Contact various folks.

3. Build mane story.

4. Build side stories (event days and standard days)

5. Replace placeholder images.

6. Polish.

 

It sounds a lot. It IS a lot. But with the mane framework practically done it won't be too difficult. I have a number of stories planned out and I'm confident in my ability to get this done: I just can't put a timescale on it.

 

I'll try to get a video uploaded of the alpha system running 'day 0', my prototype story day, at some point. For some reason RenPy only records at 3 frames per second in fraps though, which makes it terrible to watch.

[Alleviate 342]

Looks excellent my friend. I think this has a lot of potential (as if we didn't already know that...) Quite interested to see where this goes, I'll be watching. I can't be of much use other than wishing you the best really, shame. Ah well, Good luck. It's been a while since I've seen a decent game like this..

[The Elusive Cinder 1,328]

Hey folks!

 

I've just overhauled the inventory system (The old one was usable but looked terrible) and I'm curious if anypony has any opinions on it. Nothing terribly interesting I'm afraid.

 

Also in unrelated news, I think that posting semi - regular updates on what I'm working on will both help me not forget about the project and keep people up to date.

 

I considered a grid layout using pictures, but it just didn't look right, I felt that this gets the best of both worlds: Every item in the game has a name, description and image (which you can see in the screenshot below) as well as a value and other related tags. For example, lets take... oh I don't know... The Alicorn Amulet. Carrying it will increase a Unicorns magic ability or allow a Pegasus or Earth Pony to cast basic spells. However, It might cause to you make choices against your will and getting rid of it might not be easy...

 

 

 

Because I'm keeping the resolution at 800x600 to make sure folks with old, low resolution screen can still play, I'm having to maximize screen real-estate by keeping things simple. I think it's pretty nice though - gives it more of a pony feel than walls of text would.

 

Finally, the name!

I found out that Project: Harmony is an existing work that looks to be shaping up nicely! In response, I don't want to tread on any hooves so I'm officially announcing the name of the game (Project Harmony was what I decided to call the folder WAAAAAY back before I even have the concept fully formed, it was never supposed to be the real name of the game.)

 

So, for better or for worse, I think I'm officially settling on 'Litany of Magic'

 

It's relevant to the mane plot (at least, if I stick to my current plan for the finished story) while being strange enough to not be an existing name for anything and mysterious enough that it gives nothing away. 

 

Again, these are still fairly early days, so expect more changes and any input is appreciated!

Edited May 31, 2013 by Cinderscribe

[AskPortalPonies 24]

This looks pretty good and I hope you keep at it because it looks like it'll be really fun to play! Looking forward to seeing the game running!

[Shred Guitar Brony 85]

This looks really cool, I look forward to giving it a play when it is finished! I'll definitely be keeping an eye on this. Also I think the inventory looks good and it seems to fit in with the style of the pictures you've put up so far.    

[Doc Ginger 86]

Litany of Magic..... I love it! The inventory system does make allot more fluffy sense being more simplistic as it is now as well. 

[The Man 11]

You still need music for this? I know that myself and some others could give a hand on that.

What genre, and so on?

 

This looks like a fucking awesome game, and it'd be a honor to help.

[repsol rave 2,963]

this looks epic,can't wait to play it!

the inventory looks nice,and you seem to have a nice aspect going with the friendship/trust bars

[The Elusive Cinder 1,328]

You still need music for this? I know that myself and some others could give a hand on that.

What genre, and so on?

 

This looks like a fucking awesome game, and it'd be a honor to help.

 

That would be... pretty awesome. I'm not sure exactly what might be required but music would be massively helpful.

 

Right now it feels pretty empty without any sound 

 

Until I get it into a more stable build though, I'm not going to ask for anyone to do anything: last thing I want is someone putting a load of work into a resource that isn't used.

[~Silver Essence~ 2,625]

Woah!

I am very interested into this project!

It does look similar to the turnabout storm ideal, but the concept in this looks appealing!

I for one can't wait to see this!

Good luck my friend! 

[The Elusive Cinder 1,328]

Well, Turnabout Storm is awesome so I'm pretty proud of that comparison 

I think the real comparison is that Phoenix Write is just a pretty good example of a good visual novel, albeit I found the games to be far too linear for my taste: I loved them, but there wasn't really any choice in the outcome. They told a story: A great story, but they didn't need to be built as a game to tell it really.

 

I'm aiming for a game that (hopefully) will surprise you every time you play. With the random day system and requirements to progress combined, the idea is that a player will only ever see a fraction of the side stories in a game.

 

For example, you might never even meet a pony on your first playthrough, but in the second you find that a good portion of your time is spent helping out a character that you didn't even know was in the game the first time round.

 

And of course some events / characters will be rarer or more difficult to acquire than others. 

 

Damn, I could talk about this all day. Really its because so far, thats the thing I'm most proud of: putting more of the actual 'game' element into a visual novel. 

 

Magic System.
 

So, continuing with the proposed 'semi-regular updates'...

 

I've been on a roll this weekend: Just cracked down and made a hefty start on the magic system. Thought I'd post a picture of the screen as it stands at the moment.

 

There are six spells to learn:

 

Telekinesis

Cloudwalking

Shield

Barrier

Dispell

Shatter

 

These spells will work firstly as simple checks: If you play a unicorn and decide to try to visit Cloudsdale you wont be able to without the Cloudwalking spell.

 

The second application will be in the (so far only theoretical) battle system: magic will be a 'Jack of all trades - master of none' in battle: They can defend against both magical and physical attacks, but must choose tactics much more carefully as they lack the speed, strength, toughness and agility of Pegasus and Earth ponies.

 

Also, the spell icons are drawn by myself, I'm actually quite happy with it, but I'm always open to second opinions!

Two sets of magic icons - the icons on the right are Light magic, when it's learned through study, teaching or any other 'normal' method.

 

The icons on the left are Dark Magic, spells that you can cast through 'other means', even though you might never have learned them.

 

 

Edited June 2, 2013 by Cinderscribe

[Princess Periwinkle 3,775]

This looks like it's gonna be super awesome! I'll definitely be keeping tabs on the progress of this game.

 

Good luck, stay epic.

[Sky Warden 2,243]

If I may ask something about the character creation. What options do you provide us? I'm sure you have a race system, where playing as a race may make a different story with the other race, but I would like to know more.

[The Elusive Cinder 1,328]

So far, character generation is fairly simple: you enter a name and decide on a race. I'm looking possibly at a customisable appearance, but since everything's viewed in 1st person (1st pony?) I'm not sure if its worth using the time to make that feature, at least until gameplay is done.

 

Once you select your race you are assigned stats, strength, agility, intelligence and health. Each race has a specialisation which starts higher than the others. Earth ponies have higher stats in general as they can neither fly or cast magic.

 

The simple character generation was done on purpose: my idea was that you began as a blank template rather than designing yourself, and your character is shaped as you play. Choose to help clear a blocked road? You'll get stronger, but might miss something interesting going on elsewhere.

 

By the end of the game, how your character has developed will be the mane focus of the last few days: are you strong, fast, smart or well rounded? Do you know the right spells for the situation? Can you fly? Are you tough enough to push yourself that extra bit further? You'll still be presented choices but their success will be I flue crud by how your character has grown.

 

What I wanted to avoid was the whole: pick stength - play strong character. I'm hoping that doing things this way will let players say to themselves "You know what? I might be built like big macintosh, but hanging out at the library with Twilight just seems like a good idea." Doing so will result in characters developing differently each time (in theory, anyway).

 

The key idea I'm trying to imiment: there is no 'right' way to win: some choices are obviously better than others, but a lot of them will be more grey/grey than black/white. Choosing to deviate from a set character type shouldn't be a punishment like it is in most games. (I'm looking at you, Mass Effect).

[Sky Warden 2,243]

 

 

What I wanted to avoid was the whole: pick stength - play strong character. I'm hoping that doing things this way will let players say to themselves "You know what? I might be built like big macintosh, but hanging out at the library with Twilight just seems like a good idea." Doing so will result in characters developing differently each time (in theory, anyway).

 

I agree with that. I would prefer a proficiency system where "Use this weapon more, the better you use it" but I have to implement status system in an RPG, so I implement both. Well, I try make the development system very realistic after all.

 

Is there any day limit? I mean, like ending?

 

In a visual novel, the visual interface is the vital part. I'm glad to see that you've got some nice vectors to use in your game. I'm waiting for this one. It's heartwarming to see that the game development side of the fandom is still alive.

 

It's sad that this game doesn't have an NSFW feature.

[The Elusive Cinder 1,328]

Yes, there will be a limit to the number of days, though I don't know exactly how many.

 

Story events will take place on specific days, and the game will end on the final story day. I had to choose between continuing after the finish and replay value - I chose replay value.

 

Combat is going to be a fairly simple affair: initially I wasn't going to have a battle system at all but I'm pretty set on a turn based system now. Still, fighting isn't the sole purpose of the game: in fact, I'm hoping to make it winnable without ever getting into a fight, if you so choose. The reason there are only 3 primary stats is that they will be used for all sorts, not just fighting, and that means a lot more work for me for each stat that I add.

 

For example: Strength will let you hit things harder yes, but in game it also reflects your ability to carry, push and pull things. To stand up to impact and maybe even something as unusual as strong wind. It is a reflection of your physical strength - it's not just 'a button to do more damage'.

[Sky Warden 2,243]

It's a tricky matter indeed. If you don't set an ending, the game after that will be boring, while having an ending is painful for some gamers.

 

In percent, how's the progress until this game is ready for release? Just wondering. :3

 

 

[The Elusive Cinder 1,328]

Very low I'm afraid: I've got the majority of the systems in place but a lot of them are ugly or buggy. I've got a story planned out but it's only a rough draft.

Mane problem is that I don't structure my work properly: which makes it REALLY hard to judge how much is left to do. 'A lot' is the best answer I can give to that

Figured how to edit from my phone

 

Since I don't have anything visual to upload, I just thought I'd post a picture of my first attempt at the spell icons, so you can laugh at how terrible they were:

 

The current icons for Cloudwalking:

 

 

The first draft icon:

 

 

 

Edited June 4, 2013 by Cinderscribe