The game codex: world building, problem solving and more

[Garrison72]

The game codex: world building, problem solving and more

Yes, wer'e going to talk about the importance of reading boys and girls, Corps and Solos. Namely, the in-game dictionary, or Codex.

I'll start with Mass Effect as an example of a well written and interesting codex. It fleshed out the universe and established lore for the game. But it was tertiary at best. In contrast, if you didn't read your journal in the Witcher games, you were not only lost in regard to NPC motivations, plot details and how to complete certain quests, you lacked info on enemy types, character builds, skills, etc. This approach bit CDPR in the ass as many gamers were too lazy to look shit up. I can't tell you how many times over the past two years people have popped into the forums to ask about something that was in the journal. So how can this element be approached in '77? How can it be an engaging yet necessary element for gameplay?

My view is to combine the way Bioware did it in Mass Effect with CDPR's more detailed, mission-centric approach. Basically, I don't want to refer to the journal just to obtain info on recently discovered persons and places. I want the codex to play an active role in gameplay, helping me to research enemy types and gather valuable intel on missions before I execute them, etc.

This thread is for ideas on how to implement the codex in a more innovative fashion than we've seen in games for the past ten years.

 

[chriswebb2020.736]

I thought that a 'library' would be a good place to get some of the timeline together.

I know some people don't give a rats ass about the story, but for those of us who do, a library trip could be very cool.

Learning about gangs and corporations through a 'journal/codex' method sounds pretty good though.

 

[wisdom000]

Laptop... or PDA type device in your smart phone... regardless if it is important to the game, it needs to be big enough to bloody read.

 

[gregski]

I'm looking forward to how they pull it off in the Witcher 3, as it all sounds like the journal/bestiary is really looked into and worked on.

 

[Neural_Cipher]

I hate how people are too lazy to research a perticular issue they are having, more so if the answers are actually in the game and obtainable even worse still is if it's not obvious how to find information in a game and people then make posts in forums about it and the issue is resolved... along comes someone who can't be arsed with a simple forum search and posts the topic all over again.

People's lazyness really grinds my gears, you used to have to think about games and actually read the manual to know how to play, then in game tutorials were used which was good for a speedy intro, now games are so focused to the brain dead that you just jump in and 'blast away no more to pay'. For complex rpg's i feel that players should want to know the game and research things about it to be better players if they want to play, you want a click click boom fanfare? go play modern warfare or something i dunno.

I'm a bit harsh but i can't help it, i hear too many identical questions when the answer is a simple click away essentially staring you in the face.

I liked how deus ex did it, you could read and be immersed but it wasn't critical.

 

[Deadbolt_Don]

ooohh. Dataterms.

Codexs and such can add a lot to the player's experience of they're interested in learning more about the game world. Why bash players over the head with exposition when they'll self-educate if they're already interested in the world? A codex is a great way to add depth while cutting development costs.

Penny Arcade's Extra Credits show thouched upon this topic in their episode titled 'Tangential Learning'. If you haven't seen Extra Credits, it's an excellent show which explores the intelligent side of gaming, how it's evolving as an art form, how developers can improve thier games, etc. It's very interesting stuff. Go check it out.

For a dark, gritty, and mature RPG though.... the standard codex should really only include stuff that regular citizens should know. Stuff about the dark underbelly of the city should be found elsewhere or in a separate, off the grid codex. A 'Hitchiker's Guide to Night City' as it were.

 

[Sardukhar]

Yeah, a Dataterm is the reference in CP2020. But that's a solitary, armoured terminal. You could use those, or you could use a personal Net haven for data, money, jobs and so on, that you access wirelessly. It would have to be pretty tough and well-protected from hackers.

Say a...Datafortress? You could even give it a model number, ohhh...2020? Would that not be cool?

Anyway, into this Datafortress, Model 2020, I would load basically everything you need to know about world history and your character, then add to it as you go, with images, models and write-ups from the books. Weapons would have their stats and maybe even their PnP damage, for reference to other weapons. "Low" "Medium" and "High" never really cut it for me in terms of detail.

You could link this to other people in Co-Op or Dataterms in-game when you buy or steal data.

You could have a game option that lets you add a "?" icon beside every new or interesting object you mouse or cursor over, then have the 'Fortress either feed you the data or tell you it can't.

And, of course, it could get hacked. Perhaps you could hack other people's, messing with their hard-earned files. NPCs, I'm thinking, but I suppose there is an MP application there. Thematically, it goes well with Rache's infovirus.

You could also opt NOT to have a DF, Model 2020, and choose a PDA or -god forbid - hard copy, because being Nomad trash or paranoid Corp flunky, you don't trust digital anymore. Not to mention, journals are so -in- this season...

Depending on writing and effort chosen, quite possible your DF, Model 2020, would have a small-scale limited AI, even a host of Daemon sub-programs that run other programs for you. You could send them on chores in the Net.

Where is the physical location of DF, Model 2020? Who knows. Maybe they are all distributed across the Net. Maybe it's only you that has one and that makes you special. Maybe everyone has one, but theirs doesn't talk to them...

 

[wisdom000]

Say a...Datafortress? You could even give it a model number, ohhh...2020? Would that not be cool?

I see what you did there.... and I approve

 

[Neural_Cipher]

I see what you did there.... and I approve

For those of us who dont' have a fekkin clue and think it's a simply logical idea... what did he do?

I'm picturing some AI you have to crack to get to the lovely gooey information which you might be able to change modify/use as your personal repository or whatever.

 

[chriswebb2020.736]

Say a...Datafortress? You could even give it a model number, ohhh...2020? Would that not be cool?

I see what you did there.... and I approve

For those of us who dont' have a fekkin clue and think it's a simply logical idea... what did he do?

I'm picturing some AI you have to crack to get to the lovely gooey information which you might be able to change modify/use as your personal repository or whatever.

A Datafortress is a location in the net in 2020. It's where information is stored. basically, its a computer system or local network. It's guarded by various programs and other netrunners.

However, this particular reference is to Wisdoms webside: DATAFORTRESS 2020 which is something of a repository for every bit of cyberpunk 2020 information you will find online.



HINT: Look at Wisdoms signature...

 

[Neural_Cipher]

ahhh... lightbuuuulb

so obvious really, i have a feeling i will be playing through cp2077 a fair few times then because i'll probably overlook most things on first playthough lol.

 

[Deadbolt_Don]

Man..... It'd be cool to try and waltz into datafotresses just for fun if your playing as a netrunner. You could potentially find cool tidbits about the world, and maybe useful resources. Locations of secret weapons caches? Black market contacts? Passwords to corporate accounts?

Does anyone know how far they plan to take netspace? Will it be as large and open as the regular game world? If so how interconnected would realspace and netspace be? There'd be some cool possibilities for problem solving and exploration.

 

[Sardukhar]

We don't. They've been reaaaaaallllllly cagey on this point. They've said not everything translates to a video game world.

Okay. I...think they should scrap it.

I know! Heresy. I may have disagreed with myself in the past.

BUT. Expansion and user-generated.

Part of what makes the Net so amazing is that it's endless. I exaggerate not. It's a telecommunications medium, so it exists wherever the Iharu-Grubb Transformations can find a foothold for your psyche.

To give us some half-baked parking lot version would suck.

I'd rather see localized Datafortress hacking and Control Remote functions for things like doors, cars, people....


Because I feel to do the Net justice, would require so much work. I'd love to see it! As Gibson described it, great corporate info structures, the distant fearsome lights of military AI, coasting above the Virtual World..oh yes.

But not at the expense of a City built as Real as they can make it for the other Roles that aren't in the Net very often. A City that lives, breathes and endlessly changes, spawning new opportunities for adventure every time you hit the "Play" button. A nearly endless game that you can play, take on new Jobs in and build missions for yourself.

Night City is worth the Net. I'd give it up in a second for that City.

 

[chriswebb2020.736]

With the Data Crash Virus, I don't even think the 2020 net would have survived. I would have expected a new one, built around a different form of data interpretation, to be in place by 2077. That's the only way I would be sure of preventing cross contamination, by making it incompatible.

It would mean that the net would be a blank canvas for CDPR's creativity... Guided by Mike, obviously.


Oh, and as much as I want an aawesome game, I really want an awesome game with netrunning in it, even if its a later 'expansion' or DLC.

 

[wisdom000]

Thats why I suggested that the net be the city itself, only wireframe...

 

[Garrison72]

Yeah, a Dataterm is the reference in CP2020. But that's a solitary, armoured terminal. You could use those, or you could use a personal Net haven for data, money, jobs and so on, that you access wirelessly. It would have to be pretty tough and well-protected from hackers.

Say a...Datafortress? You could even give it a model number, ohhh...2020? Would that not be cool?

Anyway, into this Datafortress, Model 2020, I would load basically everything you need to know about world history and your character, then add to it as you go, with images, models and write-ups from the books. Weapons would have their stats and maybe even their PnP damage, for reference to other weapons. "Low" "Medium" and "High" never really cut it for me in terms of detail.

You could link this to other people in Co-Op or Dataterms in-game when you buy or steal data.

You could have a game option that lets you add a "?" icon beside every new or interesting object you mouse or cursor over, then have the 'Fortress either feed you the data or tell you it can't.

And, of course, it could get hacked. Perhaps you could hack other people's, messing with their hard-earned files. NPCs, I'm thinking, but I suppose there is an MP application there. Thematically, it goes well with Rache's infovirus.

You could also opt NOT to have a DF, Model 2020, and choose a PDA or -god forbid - hard copy, because being Nomad trash or paranoid Corp flunky, you don't trust digital anymore. Not to mention, journals are so -in- this season...

Depending on writing and effort chosen, quite possible your DF, Model 2020, would have a small-scale limited AI, even a host of Daemon sub-programs that run other programs for you. You could send them on chores in the Net.

Where is the physical location of DF, Model 2020? Who knows. Maybe they are all distributed across the Net. Maybe it's only you that has one and that makes you special. Maybe everyone has one, but theirs doesn't talk to them...

Lore from the books I assume? Great ideas here. I especially like the player seeking out knowledge and downloading/hacking it when he gets the chance. I'd guess this Data Fortress has building plans and schema for underground tunnels, ducts, etc. Allowing us to plan our infiltrations of pertinant strongholds and corp headquarters. All this info won't be easy to get, or cheap.

 

[chriswebb2020.736]

Lore from the books I assume? Great ideas here. I especially like the player seeking out knowledge and downloading/hacking it when he gets the chance. I'd guess this Data Fortress has building plans and schema for underground tunnels, ducts, etc. Allowing us to plan our infiltrations of pertinant strongholds and corp headquarters. All this info won't be easy to get, or cheap.

The entire facility uses the Datafortess to store ALL of its online data. Everything from payslips and toilet paper requisition orders up to flight schedules, emails and black ops mission briefings.

It also controls a the actual facilities defences, alarms and electronic devices connected to the system.

 

[Sardukhar]

Yeah, Datafortress is the term for the internal network of a facility or location. Typically but not always connected to the Net and having a varying number of AIs of varying potence. Also may be watched by a Sys Admin. The "outer" perimeter of a DF is often patrolled by ICE, Intrusion Countermeasure Electronics.

There can be secondary networks as well, not connected to the datafortress, such as your personal PDA. And even the micronets of cyberware.

Netrunners have a fascinating and varied task set ahead of them in order to hack a system. They can stealth it, outsmart it, hammer through it's walls, hack it's locks, socially engineer access, ( although this is MUCh tougher in the era of semi-sentient AI).

Their opponents are the "Icemen", Net Cops who roam the Internet and track criminals, private corporate Runners who hunt them as well or try to hack them back, ICE that protects the systems and allied Runners and SysOps, time itself if they are on any kind of clock or timed job, their won screw-ups and/or arrogance.

If they fail, they may be booted out, arrested, stunned or, by illegal, ( even for Corporate forces) Black ICE, brain wiped or killed. Their hardware may be ignited. Hard teams may be sent to their location or perhaps just a missile/orbital strike. Virals can pollute them physically or in the Net.

They could piss off a real AI. Very Bad News.



The Netrunner's tools are a wide variety of software and hardware, as well as physical assets like Solo teams and Fixers. Their biggest assets are their courage, their greed and their curiosity. The ability to code good shit helps a lot. Also a mobile lifestyle....you've seen Heat? Yeah, be ready to move.


As a player, your own Datefortress would contain all your personal data that you wanted in digital form, your maps, your log, voice commos, you name it. You can keep lots or all of that offline, but even then, a good Runner will hack a drone or spycam and see it when you do. So get a good Datafortress and pay either a solid commercial company or a really talented Runner who owes you, to protect it.

 

[Deadbolt_Don]

If it's too much work, i'm perfectly fine with not jumping around in the net..... for now.

Maybe some day, clever modders can use the magic of the Redkit to bring the net to fruition.

In the meantime, if GOG.com would hurry up and release System Shock 1, that'd be swell.

 

[Garrison72]

Netrunning is a tangent subect, not the focus here. I mean to get as many ideas as possible for extracting information from the environment and how that affects gameplay.