GusmanakJoin Date: 2008-04-01
Post Count: 1186 |
Over the past two weeks ZolarKeth and I have been hard at work on our next game, Urbis. We haven't talked about the game much, only because we weren't entirely sure about where we wanted to go with the game. Now we're ready to reveal Urbis.
[BASIC CONCEPT]
Urbis is a basic life simulation game. Before I go on to describe the game, understand that we are not building it around the idea of roleplaying. And no, this isn't like "The Sims", or "Town of Robloxia".
In our Alpha concept, the player will spawn on the streets of a small town, with a handful of a cash and nothing else to their name. A tutorial with introduce them to the concept of the game, and direct them to one of many possible job opportunities in town. One of the functional jobs players could start out with is the Cashier position, at a gas station, grocery store, or fast food restaurant. They could also be a cook, at said fast food restaurant.
[JOBS]
Regardless of the job, once the player signs up for a position they are presented with their work schedule and starting wage. We're not messing around here. The game has a day and night cycle and days of the week. The player's job requires they work most days, have a break, and even allows them days off.
Jobs in Urbis are basic minigames. If you start out as a cashier, you'll have to click on items to scan them, and then make change for the NPC customer. Yes, you will actually add dollars and change up to equal the amount required. A full job shift usually lasts 7-8 minutes. (one minute per hour in-game)
Image of Cashier position: https://twitter.com/Gusmanak/status/490974384731869185
Image of Cook position: https://twitter.com/Gusmanak/status/490975239241625600
We want to populate the game with many unique jobs, and we don't want to punish the player for quitting their job and trying a different one. We want jobs to be fun and rewarding.
[JOB EXPERIENCE]
Correctly achieving tasks in your job will award you with "Job Experience" at the end of your shift. Failing the job minigame will result in you losing Job Experience. JE, determines the player's overall reliability. The more JE you earn, the better jobs you can unlock and work at. Having a high JE also determines how good your wage is. So work hard in your little job minigames, and make more money!
[PLAYER INTERACTION, NPCS]
Another quirk with Urbis is that we never rely on players to interact with eachother. Above I stated in the cashier job you'll eventually "make change for the NPC customer", allow me to explain. The economy in Urbis is supplied by NPCs. These are just figures that pop up to "buy" something at the store you work at, etc. Now, if someone is working at a gas station, and another player walks in to buy a snack, the snack will be purchased through a GUI. The snack player won't have to go through the cashier at the store to buy the item. This way, the cashier can't refuse to let the player purchase the item, for example.
"Work at a Pizza Place" is a great example of the pros and cons of requiring players to interact with eachother. Urbis is skipping over this entirely.
Now, although players don't have to rely on eachother, we still want to support player interaction. Players will be able to give money to eachother, carpool, and live together in a residence. We're not discouraging roleplay.
[SLEEPING, EATING, LIVING]
So, back on track. After the player has completed their job shift, the game will instruct them to find a place to live temporarily. A motel will be available for players to rent out rooms. For a small fee every night, the player will have a bed to sleep in. Yes, sleeping is important. Players have four stats to worry about. Heath, Hunger, Thirst, and Energy. It's important to purchase food and drinks around town, and have a place to stay.
[THE FUTURE]
This is about as far as we've gone. We know we want players to purchase groceries and store them in a mini-fridge or something along those lines. We want players to be able to spend their money on clothing, vehicles, and other little accessories. In the long-run, players should have the option of moving out of the motel, and renting an apartment - as well as having the ability to buy furniture, paint their rooms and such. Then, eventually, players should have the ability to buy a house of their choice.
[SUMMARY]
Urbis is a life simulation game in which the player must get a job, work a weekly schedule, and earn experience to move up in the world. They must allocate money to allow for groceries, as well as a place to live. With the extra money they have, players can purchase desirable items available everywhere.
[TESTING, AND RELEASE]
Urbis is nearing the alpha concept that I've described above. We would like to make the Alpha paid access, and decrease the price as it enters Beta and release. Honestly, this "life simulation" idea has never been seen on Roblox before, and we don't know how the community will react to it. Urbis is a game that we would work on for a very long time. I think we can mold the game to the desires of the community very well, and we're looking forward to hearing the opinions of the players.
So, join the "Dualpoint Interactive" group and get ready for our next game!
http://www.roblox.com/Groups/group.aspx?gid=1066925 |
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Altair55Join Date: 2008-05-28
Post Count: 38160 |
wow who could have guessed |
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DurIockJoin Date: 2009-12-18
Post Count: 426 |
wwwoooowww |
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eprentJoin Date: 2013-10-17
Post Count: 15007 |
Sounds interesting!
I'm sure I'll be checking it out as soon as it is publicly released!:) |
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PlyloxJoin Date: 2012-05-29
Post Count: 226 |
Ok, I get it. |
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HumanMopJoin Date: 2009-03-13
Post Count: 6487 |
I'll totally support the idea if you can rob stores and pull of heists and still cars and stuff. lol
-=Robo=- |
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Yeah, it would be more of a game where player's actions effect other players negatively and positively |
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tommyfunJoin Date: 2011-01-04
Post Count: 1404 |
CALLED IT |
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ElcudiasJoin Date: 2014-03-05
Post Count: 113 |
Sounds like something you'd be confused about first, then love it in the end. I see another first pager. |
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xHammyJoin Date: 2012-07-30
Post Count: 85 |
Why reveal it? |
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Enzo01234Join Date: 2011-03-24
Post Count: 6131 |
Sweg |
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HumanMopJoin Date: 2009-03-13
Post Count: 6487 |
Because it's near alpha release lol
-=Robo=- |
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There should be weapons to buy and banks to rob, i think that just working somewhere would get rather boring.. |
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AhijahIDJoin Date: 2012-09-25
Post Count: 106 |
pls add guns nd cars nd ability to rob people if we cant alrdy
~ ahijah ID, #80 ~ |
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quite an interesting concept |
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HumanMopJoin Date: 2009-03-13
Post Count: 6487 |
It is an interesting concept but it's an odd transition from action to simulator.
Like I said, I hope there's plans for criminal activity.
-=Robo=- |
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xHammyJoin Date: 2012-07-30
Post Count: 85 |
What about buying weapons, and having gang areas... |
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so why not name it 'live life' or 'life simulator' |
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HumanMopJoin Date: 2009-03-13
Post Count: 6487 |
^@nano
because those are stupid names lol
-=Robo=- |
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you can't have a town life game without guns (and cops)
maybe there could be a 1/100 chance of being robbed by an npc? |
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And, at a random point in every server, a zombie apocalypse happens and you get teleported to Apoc Rising! No? OK then. |
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