Some notes on "Interface"
Ben Vegiard
It’s great to be able to write opening about the comp now that the
results are in. Let me say I truly enjoyed watching the comp as it
progressed via the blog postings and discussing matters with the other
authors via the author’s forum.
I thought I’d drop a quick line to address many of the things that
were commonly commented on about Interface and to throw in a couple of
my own $0.02 worth. I’m going to comment on.
These items are:
- Game Difficulty Level
- Richard Bos Misspelling
- Apologies to beta testers for not handling grammar issue bugs in the
best way possible.
- Scoring the 20 points
- Name Tage Object & Harness Description
1) Game Difficulty: Interface was originally designed to be the first
of three games, each progressing in difficulty. Many found the game
to be very easy and short. This was, alas, by design since it was to
be a “beginner level” game. However, since it was not disclaimed it
served to confuse some. My bad. Proper disclaimers will abound next
time. Since this was the first in a series, I am starting work on the
next. However, I am going to abandon the old school form and bring
the design up to date from the start. Rest easy, the sequel is in
theme only. You will not see these characters or the same situation
in the next project.
2) I’d like to apologize to Richard Bos for misspelling his name in
the beta-tester credits. I have corrected this in the post-comp
release that I should have out soon.
3) While I’m apologizing, let me also note that my organization for
eliminating some of the grammar issues in the game did not prove out
to be the best for this type of project. The beta-testers found many
such issues. Most were corrected, but I certainly let many of them
slip through without correction. That is my error, not the beta-
testers. I have worked up a much better system for tracking grammar/
spelling issues.
4) Many wondered why they ended the game with only 70 points rather
than the full 90 even when they achieved the optimum ending. One of
the bloggers caught it with some tenacity applied. The answer is that
if you attempt to take the keys while Gilby is still asleep, you are
disallowed. However, the code recognized that you TRIED to take
them. So, when you successfully take them for the first time, the
code considerers it to be the 2nd (or plus) time you tried and does
not award the points. Yes, this has been corrected in the post comp
build.
5) The infamous “Name Tage”: Being a professional software designer,
I knew better. I did it anyway. At the 11nth hour I threw in some
tweaks to increase the depth of implementation. This is a typo that
the beta testers never had an opportunity to see. It was intended to
allow the player to see a description of the “Name Tags” if the
elected to examine them. Even though many of my last minute tweaks
went off without a hitch and added to the game (some of them being
noted in the reviews) I am swearing them off for future projects. Too
much opportunity for disaster. Also, I’m going to live by Emily
Short’s Property Checker extension. On top of pointing out objects w/
o descriptions, it has a wonderful side-effect of highlighting
whenever you miss-type the name of an object since there is likely no
description on that typo. Since I7 purposefully avoids strict object
naming/referencing to allow for natural language declarations, this
will be an ever-present threat. The Property Checker extension is
most helpful here.
Again, thanks to the comp organizers, beta testers, other authors,
reviewers/voters, and the community at large for a seriously fun
time.
Ben
George Shannon
failed, got them later, but never got full points. Thanks for the
explanation (and for the property tages, mystifying though they were).
I was also surprised to see there were other endings, I didn't explore
failure as well as others, I guess. I should try your new version
when it's out.
Ben Vegiard
In re-reading my message, I noted that I omitted the explanation of
the harness. Yes, it did have a description. Yes, I fat-fingered it
as well as a "harenss" in the code and thus the description was
unavailable. Grrrrr. Live and learn… er… learn I suppose.
Conrad
> Thanks for the kind words, Conrad.
You're welcome!
C.
Richard Bos
> 2) I=92d like to apologize to Richard Bos for misspelling his name in
> the beta-tester credits. I have corrected this in the post-comp
> release that I should have out soon.
Heh. You are not the first, and you will not be the last. It is a very
obvious and rather common error for Anglophones to make. But I claim no
overlordship over anyone; I would rather have a cushy job as the hidden
force behind the overt boss.
Richard
George Shannon
Ben Vegiard
> I feel like I'm somehow missing something...
Heh, let me try that again...
Thanks, George, for the kind words.
Try as I may, I cannot reconstruct how I got your name crossed with
Conrad. This seems to be an unexplainable mystery, like how the
universe has always existed, or why most children think cats are girls
and dogs are boys, or why I am getting older even though I promised
myself years ago that I would not do such a silly thing.
Ben