I've heard of Ultima- can't say I've played through it though. I'll have to check it out! That article seems intresting

Me, you, and Governor Greg Abbott lmao

Ah gotcha! Hah yeah any designer of a product like this has to be weary of feature creep- ultimately I tried to make it so when descions are offered they have the most moral and narrative significance possible

Thanks!

I'll be working hard to make something worth your time!

I did play Mass Effect series! I think the paragon/renegade system worked well for the thematic goals of the series. I think it's fun to have games where you are rewarded for being a bastard, but reducing morality down to a binary reward system obviously limits nuance in storytelling. For what it is, I'm a fan. I think the designers had an intentional playthrough pathing of (the player will do a good guy playthrough- then a bad guy one) and that system helps support that. For more artistic works though (like what I'm hoping to build) I think it would be a disastrous design decision.

I don't have anything to add- yeah the reddit marketing sucks, it's opportunistic for sure. Only thing I will say is that it's generally pretty well received and I follow the sub's particular rules.

The engine is Gamemaker Studios 2! I can't recommend it enough if you're looking to get into game dev- I'm by no means a genius and I learned it without too much hassle when I was super young without any game dev experience.

In the more simple dialogue trees, I just label numerically, then alphabetically if there's another branch after that. For a few interactions though I've got some truly disturbing spiderweb graphs that I need to straighten out.

I'm a developer who believes in quality over quantity- the game will almost certainly take less than 6 hours per run to make sure each interaction is as well realized as possible. My goal as a designer is to make something you play in a weekend, then talk about for 6 months. Not something that takes you 3 weeks and then you never think about again.

I'm a senior in high school right now- I don't usually talk about my age when discussing my work because I think it lowers people's expectations of what types of products I can deliver. I made my first video game at the age of 13 and I've been studying and practicing game design 30 hours a week for the past 5 years. Normally younger people in the industry don't have the experience to deliver evocative (if even functional) products. I've dedicated myself fully to game design through and I feel confident that I can deliver emotionally resonant gaming experiences.

If you want to see my previous work (can't say I'm too proud of anything before Yuma Will Burn lol) you can check out my itch(dot)io page, the open-world action-adventure game I tried to make in my Freshman year is good for a laugh.

https://successstudios.itch.io/

hah thanks mate, I'll be working hard to make something worth your time and money!

>What was the most difficult thing to consider when finalizing your multiverse?

multiverse?

that game rocks lol, will play it asap

I'm an avid reader of philosophy (with a focus on ethics) and even above that a focus on video game design intersecting with ethics. I definitely have more to learn though (I've only taken one course in academic philosophy) and I'll take a look at your suggestions! I wouldn't release Yuma Will Burn open source ever- but I'd be totally willing to provide and distribute the game for free if it's used for academic or educational use. If you know of any way to do that send me a direct message!

There are 4 endings- two from failure states, and two from decisions made throughout the game. All the endings have a Fallout-style slideshow to show you what's going on in the world you left post-game. I think players will be super surprised how reactive the world can be in game- unlike an Elder Scrolls game, choice isn't part of the show here- It's THE show. I'm a solo indie so there is scope limitations, but there's going to be enough there you'd need some 5 playthroughs to see 90 percent of the content.

Your spirit of journalism is something I respect. Can't say I've ever farted so bad I can't stand to stay at my desk- although as a matter of fact my cat did vomit on the carpet today and while I was polishing of the demo!

There's a comment here where I talk more about it- Yuma is the hottest city in the US, and fire is a motif in the game!

The story is a thematic exploration of individualism, autonomy, and melancholy through the eyes of a doctor. I like to explore the emotion of passion in my work, which is the exigent purpose behind Yuma Will Burn

I'm hoping for August 2023 right now, but anyone who's a gaming fan knows that development timelines get broken frequently.

I've had a lot of awesome people look at YWB before the demo, but I always need more! if you want to test, my DM's are always open.

My prior game development experience (in my eyes at least) is middling- you can check my name on Steam if you want to see what I've made before. All of those project were made while I was in high school, and this is what I would consider my first serious attempt at a commercial video game.

nope, thanks though!

I did research obviously, can't say I consulted anyone with a degree though. That second thing sounds awesome though! I believe firmly in the moral and ethical value of video games.

None of the story is procedural- I have a lot of respect for things like the Nemesis system in shadow of war, but I didn't think it was the right move for Yuma Will Burn. Yuma Will Burn has what I like to call mechanically influenced storytelling. In The Walking Dead game for instance, that game has some stellar moral quandaries to puzzle through, despite that though there's a sense of detachment from Lee's do-or-die circumstances. Even if NPC death is totally on the table, the audience understands that Lee is going to be fine and the story will continue despite their choices. The intended permadeath experience of Yuma Will Burn is to disempower the player in moral choice moments to give their decisions greater drama and depth.

The name Yuma was chosen because Yuma is the hottest city in the continental US- Fire is a motif used throughout the game. Sadly I don't think Yuma Arizona has quite the same density of crucifixions and opium that I needed for the game. Yuma Will Burn is set underground, but the surface world is somewhere in Mongolia or Russia.

Good question! I've got to give a lot of credit to the folks at Ice Pick Lodge who made Pathologic. Pathologic is a relatively obscure series, but for my money it's one of video game's most evocative experiences. It's a super compelling moral roleplaying experience. Another game that had a lot of influence was Undertale (setting and more moral roleplaying elements). Also, there's a lot taken from the Italian Epic of Dante's Inferno (and a little from the two other books). More broadly the game is influenced by absurdist philosophy and Emersonian individualism in its thematic goals.

Most quests involve the potential of NPC death in some way (as the player character is a doctor) so they majority of the quests have the long-lasting consequence of those characters' presence in the story later on. Most of those NPCs are side characters, but some do have larger roles to play in the story. Also, almost every single quest affects the survival statistics the player is managing throughout the game bringing genuine mechanical consequences.

As far as the actual endings for the full game, only one secret ending is unlocked through a quest. Two of the other endings are fail states if the player character dies somehow, and the other two possible endings are based on a narrative decision toward the end of the game.