Designing principles for Lampyre - choices I made long ago
It's not a phase, mom
To go about a given project during several years or even decades is a special kind of obstination. And funnily, the people that have these kind of obsessions never seem boasty or overly proud about it. It's often something they deeply care about and that is engrained deep into their daily life.
I'm slow developing Lampyre, and the most problematic result of this is easily self-doubt. As time passes, some ideas you first found incredible can become tasteless or irrelevant. Or you tested the same scenes so many times you have trouble saying if a functionality is still fun and intuitive (I know, that's why playtests exist).
There is no miracle solution and I learnt very fast not to be too attached or too rigid about a given mechanic. That is also why I did my best transforming my workflow into functional sprints and focusing on the overall loops, so I don't spend unnecessary time detailing or optimizing code that won't even stick around for the final versions.
Still, the game has large designing principles that I would never question. I knew Lampyre would have them from the very beginning, no matter how difficult it would be to implement them.
Some of them are already up and running, while others are still patiently waiting in the backlog. Let's review some of the items on this list and why I'm so inclined to base my game on them !
Procedurality
The big P-word. Nowadays, systems tend to be procedural by default, even when they'd benefit being directed and hand-made (huge and soulless maps, hello). I don't always like it in games, but when it's done right, it hits hard. Procedural characters are one of my biggest hook.
Looks, clothes, personality, traits and skills - the sheer variation of a few parameters brings a whole universe of storytelling, immersion - and when done right, gameplay.
- In Lampyre: Having procedural vyrrlins was a no-brainer. The people you'll meet will never be twice the same and you'll have to adapt your strategy depending on who you find. The map is procedural too, although its creatures and points of interest will always be semi-hand crafted. Random events and difficulty affixes will also come and spice up things.
🟩 Already implemented in Lampyre: procedural map biomes and plant growth !
Game examples where procedurality is a blessing to play around might be Dwarf Fortress, Norland, Rimworld, Wildermyth, XCOM 2.
NPCs with autonomous behavior
This is a little more niche but I found it pairs well with procedurality. I just love games where characters have roles and act independently, following predefined rules for combat, crafting, movement or any other routine. It's extremely satisfying seeing NPCs act this way, because they can easily surprise you (in the good, the bad, and the hilarious way).
Most game NPCs could be qualified as "autonomous" as soon as they follow a patrol route going from A to B. But I'm specifically speaking about allied entities - because when the game lets you tweak their decision logic, it often means their management is a distinct and rewarding part of the gameplay. It could be choosing their schedule and seeing them run off to work, deciding to what resources they have access to, or tell them to automatically use a decursing spell when you get afflicted by a nasty debuff.
- In Lampyre: Allied vyrrlins will have both work and combat-related autonomy in Lampyre. It is of the utmost importance that the player feels the other villagers are huge assets, especially in fights - sometimes even more efficient than your own character if they're properly trained.
There are times we like to play as god. I like to feel my companions could save me from a catastrophic situation on their own (mechanical) impulse if I prepared them well.
🟩 Already implemented in Lampyre: creatures fleeing the light or the shadow veil depending on their corruption score, allied vyrrlins kiting back their opponents into the lantern ranges.
Games with autonomous ally behaviors that I love: Aska, Dragon's Dogma 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, Mass Effect Games, Monster Hunter Wilds
Auto-battling
Also a potent association along with self-governing companions and procedurality. I'm not sure I'm using the correct term, so I'll define auto-battling as having your character throwing out attacks, skills and spells on its own, depending on its current state and the surrounding conditions. No click or keyboard input to trigger (most) attacks, and no aiming.
- In Lampyre: The only things you'll control in Lampyre about your character are its movements, spatial dashes and attack toggle. Shadows are automatically targeted and the rest of the entities will ask for your manual designation to be attacked. The rest: watching your vyrrlin gracefully using its preferred weapons and predefined skills to gain advantage, or fail to do so and fall back.
🟩 Already implemented in Lampyre: allied NPCs following and all creatures having their basic auto-attack loops (melee, distance, and AOEs).
Games examples where the player and/or allied characters automatically attack could be Aliens Dark Descent, specific characters setups of Isaac or Vampire Survivors.
The corruption system
Corruption. Is it scary ? I don't know, it's used in so many games and stories. You're all and well - you walk into some strange puddle or you get wounded by an otherworldly being and voilà , some dark powers gets to you.
- In Lampyre: Lampyre's shadow corruption looks exactly like that. But the twist is that our "corrupted" state is not so much corrupted as it looks. When afflicted by high quantities of shadow blood, vyrrlins progressively transform into lost ones - scrawny figures hurrying through the wilds. They lose most of their advanced cognitive capacities and live as something close to animals.
But they're faster. Much deadlier with their claws. They're also more caring and empathetic, and they'll never hold a grudge. Also, they won't mind the raw meat and terribly half-cooked vegetables you prepared for them tonight.
Your best blacksmith won't be a tainted vyrrlin, that's for sure. But since liandre (your precious purifying substance) is rare and limited, there will be a lot of times where you cannot, or you won't want to keep everyone pure. You'll have to make choices. And I'd like scenarii where a heavily corrupted community is just as efficient as a cleansed one.
It is a difficult system to balance, but eventually, I'd like it to act as a clear gameplay tool that will heavily change how you manage your haven, and how its inhabitants look.
All corruption ranges have benefits, and all have setbacks. The good news is that your villagers should listen to your requests regarding liandre use.
Or will they ?
🟩 Already implemented in Lampyre: light affecting corrupted creatures characteristics and behavior (we can already blind ourselves by lightning a lantern in front of us, nice), consuming liandre to purify ourselves or gaining corruption by walking through the veil.
The original Fable game or even Mass Effect had very clear consequences with being fully evil, neutral or good-aligned - but they were all valid paths. Baldur's Gate 3 illithid skill tree should have a been a "risky but rewarding" corruption system, but since developing all your tadpole's powers has NO IMPACT WHATSOEVER in the game's happenings, I feel it misses the point.
Organic moral and relationships
This also falls into the category of "behaviors that can surprise the player". Characters that can have changing relationships with one another, or with the player. It's just so nice. Sometimes it's just cosmetic (and rightly so - if you have to micro-manage two idiots' relations just not to die, it can become very cumbersome)
At other times, it could have an impact on your gameplay. The key points here is that the player should always have the means to play around existing relationships, or modify them through their actions.
In Lampyre: I intend to make all relationship levels "useful", but deliberately ignoring or trolling a villager could cost you (if someone feels more comfortable being corrupted than pure, and you have no other choice but for him to be a high-level crafter - well, you better spoil him with excellent food and amenities to make up for it). Also, anyone can fall in love, date, and trigger key events to progress their mutual stories. One of your villagers confessing a crush on you. How'd that sound ? Also, directly related to my next point: babies.
🟩 Already implemented in Lampyre: none. Our first relationships mechanics are planned for our current sprint scene !
Procedural / dynamic relations can be seen in most colony simulation games such as Dwarf Fortress, Norland or Rimworld. I found it especially well done in Wildermyth, where companions and family members aging together can develop friendships, marriage, animosity or kinship. All of them influence the game's dialogues organically. And the best part was that even grudges bring specific combat bonuses !
Things hatching and growing
Two weeks ago, I spoke a bit about Creatures 3, a very old PC game where you hatch norn eggs and you watch them growing as they learn and breed on their own. I'm also a big fan of farming simulations.
So, any thoughtful system about planting or raising animals will easily catch my attention. Especially when you mix in some procedurality and inheritance - the simple experiment of pairing two individuals and wait to see the results never gets old.
In Lampyre: farming will definitely be a thing and you'll be able to manage your pets so they have offsprings with specific traits and looks. Or, let your livestock choose on their own. Plants are a more delicate subject, as vyrrlins are much more people of harvest than farmers. Still, I want to give the player satisfying mechanics to locally grow herbs and food.
🟩 Already implemented in Lampyre: plants grow dynamically from seeds to maturity, and multiply on their own. The player can sow them too.
My favorite farming and life simulation systems include classic pieces such as Dwarf Fortress, the Creatures series, the Sims games, Stardew Valley or Zoo Tycoon. I spent way too much time experimenting with Ragnarok Online pets too.
Restoring stuff
If it was not obvious enough yet, I like my games to evolve, visually and mechanically, as a result of my actions. And I know nothing more satisfying than repairing, cleaning, restoring broken and messy environments. Starting with ruins, overgrown messes, deserted structures - and end your game with something complete again. Truly, sometimes it feels even better than building something from scratch.
In Lampyre: this is one designing principle that I am not sure yet how to implement in its entirety. I know I want some natural plant overgrowth, dirt scattering and organic building destruction. Vyrrlins will have dynamic hair growth (particularly impressive if they'd been lost to the corruption for some years) and a cleanliness score. None of these will be critical systems, but they could emphasize the differences between a calm and efficient haven, and one that is barely keeping its head out of the shadows.
Another idea that could perfectly work would be to add a little more "fix the overall mess" situations to the game. In Lampyre's lore, shadow assaults are cyclic on both short and long terms. Many ruins are dispersed across the lands. It often makes sense for vyrrlins to visit ruined settlements and build villages off their remains, especially if their liandre tree is still growing. So, a natural reconstruction phase after tempests or a game starting among old stones makes perfect sense. Restoring points of interests would be valid too.
🟩 Already implemented in Lampyre: destroyed buildings leave ruins for the player to clear off. Damage caused by the assaults is left visible until you gather the materials back.
I have no (or almost none) shame admitting I get addicted by simple restoration loops such as the ones found in Crime Scene Cleaner, House Flipper or even rebuilding my whole sect layout after the flood dragon crashed its fat body across all my rooms in Amazing Cultivation Simulator.
Now, we simply have to code all of this into a playable and fun software. Easy enough.