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Welcome to Planewalker Games! We are the home of The Broken Hourglass, a new CRPG in development for Windows, Macintosh, and Linux computers. |
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On the Fly concludes this month. With Zephra down and Lyrio's future uncertain, Aenarii has some very important decisions to make. The complete tale will remain available here. And watch for a new serial, launching in this department next month! On the Fly
By Bonnie Rutledge
Chapter 6
But facts are not emotion. Maron found his master leaning out of the window. "Pardon my saying, sir, but if you're of a mind to go jumping, can I have the month paid in advance?" Aenarii did not reach for his purse, but he did pull back slightly, golden telescope in hand. He neither laughed nor scowled to answer the jest. "There are storm clouds to the north." Maron noted the absence of Cathoun's mask. He scratched his thoughts for a moment over the implications before joining his employer in gazing upon the city landscape, glorious birthmark on the Empire's backside that it was. It took less than ten seconds to find the Master's point of interest. It took less than that for weariness to overcome his temper. "So you chased her off, eh?" "With your assistance, Maron. Thank you." Maron bowed his head and scraped at the marble windowsill, thumbnail like a pickaxe. The Master only thanked him for doing things that were questionable--stealing from the governor's coffers, relocating competitors to the river with rocks tied to their ankles, and not killing elves whenever the urge hit. Aenarii never offered gratitude for the usual offenses that come with being a servant of a Councilor. Roughing up merchants for a rollback of their profits in the market stood as standard practice. Bribery and extortion in order to push along contract negotiations boasted itself as more of an attractive feature of city economics than a blemish. The honest folk were the scandalous ones mucking up the system with their blather about fair trade and honest wages, and Maron believed they deserved every bruise they got for being a sack of sanctimonious ninnies. The Master always used his given name, as well. "Thank you, Maron." "We cannot have the Imperial Economist seeing the real mining production reports, can we, Maron?" "You must lie to Zephra, Maron. Use your best judgment, Maron, and make her hate us." |
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The Feyborn: Never a Dull Moment |
 Sometimes, when a human daddy and Ilvari mommy (or vice-versa) love each other very much, they have a baby together. This usually does not make them popular with their neighbors. The Feyborn (only occasionally known as "half-elves") are the product of cross-species mating. Humans and elves are sufficiently genetically compatible to produce offspring, but the match is far from perfect. Physically the Feyborn tend to represent a subtle blend of human and elven features, typically favoring whichever race their mother belonged to. Feyborn grow faster and for longer than either humans or elves, so fully-grown Feyborn are typically at least six feet tall. Their pupils have the unnerving appearance of being permanently dilated. The mix of human and elven blood running through Feyborn veins leaves them unstable, and as a race they share three traits universally: sterility, sorcery, and madness. |
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Q&A With Broken Hourglass Artist Ric Halliwell |
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 For our bonus "fifth Monday" coverage, Planewalker Games brings you an interview with Broken Hourglass lead sprite artist Ric Halliwell.
PWG: How did you first become interested in computer art? RH: I have very little art background. But when I first got a computer I stumbled into the game Dink Smallwood, I made a module for it, and I regretted not being able to create graphics for it. So then I stumbled into 3D graphics. Then I got sidetracked again... I can get quite obsessed wondering how to make new effects and new objects. It's endless. PWG: So you didn't have pencil-and-paper art experience before you turned to digital art? RH: Very little. I've never drawn pictures worth hanging on the fridge. |
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Last Updated ( Sunday, 29 July 2007 )
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Inside the Engine: Introduction to dialogue |
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On the fourth Monday of the month, we discuss content development and modding topics in The Broken Hourglass. This month we build on our previous example and explore basic dialogue and store interaction. Last month, we introduced Harika the shopkeeper as a CREATURE--she has basic stats, a sprite, some equipment, and an assigned area and X/Y position in the game. We also assigned her a dialogue and store resource, but we did not actually create those resources. We will do that now.
The important elements of Harika.CREATURE for our purposes in this installment are:
<xml>
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<Dialogue value="harika-dialogue"/>
<Store value="harika-store"/>
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</xml>
Dialogue in WeiNGINE is a state machine simulating a conversation between one or more gameworld characters. Participation from the player character is done through multiple-choice reply options.
We will create a file named harika.dlg/harika.d. (By convention, .d is the filename extension for files which contain dialogue code.)
A state of dialogue is identified by the dialogue resource it belongs to, and its state name. Each state in a single dialogue resource must have a unique name, which can be made up of almost any sequence of alphanumeric and some punctuation symbols.
One state label has a special, reserved meaning in the engine. When the player party clicks on a creature to initiate a conversation, the engine looks at the "talk" state in the dialogue (or dialogues) associated with that creature.
Therefore, this is how we get Harika talking: |
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Last Updated ( Monday, 22 January 2007 )
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Rules and Mechanics: Group Skills |
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On this third Monday of the month, we return to the subject of game rules in The Broken Hourglass. In this installment, we look at a special subcategory of skills and abilities, and find out why it can be very beneficial to have a few friends around. Usually, the numbers and notation on a character sheet entirely reflect personal accomplishment, achievement, or potential. In the Broken Hourglass, however, some skills reflect the knowledge, ability, and potential of the entire party. These are collectively known as "group skills." Most skills and statistics are not group skills. For example, a character's raw ability with a sword, or command over a type of magic, or agility, are all individual skills. Group skills reflect those activities where it is reasonable or expected that the ability and insight of each member of the party could be used in conjunction, to increase the overall chances of success. For instance, it seems only natural that a group of smart shoppers working in tandem should be able to negotiate better prices in a shop than a single negotiator. Similarly, one strong tactical mind in a group during a fight is a benefit--but two working in tandem should be able to do even better. |
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First Gameplay Screenshots |
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