christmas time ideas

It has been a busy term at university and I have not opened this project since early August. But I have been thinking.

First of all, I am going to start again and start with Unity. I liked Godot, especially for it being lightweight, but I want to learn the industry standard engine.

more interesting wood:

• twigs / kindling
• split logs, becomes default fuel, produces charcoal
• dampness on wood, longer burn, more smoke, less heat
• pinecones, quick flare, short duration
• resiny wood
• peat, late game (shovel to dig peat blocks)
• charcoal need to use a variety of fuels for different things fuels can have different sizes? either discrete or continuous bigger trees take longer to cut down but result in bigger logs that burn for longer kicking / throwing things at trees knocks down (/throws) sticks hardwood / softwood hardwood burns hotter and longer, softwood burns quicker, better for starting

felling, bucking, splitting, stacking bucking

• cutting logs into manageable lengths (rounds) splitting
• breaking rounds into smaller pieces stacking
• arranging split wood to allow for air flow and seasoning (drying)

weather:

• wind, shifts directions, need to shield it with rocks
• rain, differing levels, dampens all wood
• fog, reduces visibility

rain:

• need to be there to shield it? with your cloak?
• protect your wood piles from getting damp
• also has benefits afterwards, certain fuels or items become available

gathering fuel:

• better fuel further out but
  • risk getting lost
  • missing a sudden weather change

game loop:

• start with making and protecting a good fire
• get it big and good and protected from sudden weather changes
• then you can go further out, find upgrades and new tools
• rain is still big risk, can hear clouds rolling in
• improve fire defenses, can go further

fire:

• smoke
• heat
• light
• size

fuel:

• ignition delay / multiplier for unlit -> burning
• burn time / multiplier for burning -> burnt
• smokiness
• heat output
• light output
• size contribution
• mass
• wetness
• effect of wetness burning is a curve (smoke, heat, light output are curves) maybe this curve is from mass, unlit mass / burning mass / burnt mass all fuel starts as just unlit mass put it in the fire, unlit mass -> burning mass burning mass slowly becomes burnt mass (or some disappears, some into burnt mass) output is determined from amount of burning mass (multipliers) can retrieve burn mass as ashes / charcoal? or need to clear away ashes and charcoal can reuse charcoal, good in rain burnt mass takes space, reduces airflow need to stockpile different wood types and plan their usages heat dries nearby fuels pre-ignition requirements? small fire can only burn twigs and kindling? visual levels to the fire

maybe fuel in fire is on a different layer (can’t be pushed around and stuff) but can still be picked up?, also gravitates towards center when you drop it in / throw it in, maybe fire is similar to a stack of fuel that is kinda hidden visibly, allows multiple fuel types on top of each other and you can take the top one / last one thrown in out? not too similar to stack other than take last one out but they’re all burning, i think this solves most issues and solves stacking in fire

maybe you can stack thicker logs on top of some thinner logs because this allows the creation of statues and cool figures when you stack them in different orders

goals:

• fire is a ritual / promise?
  • promised to keep it lit
  • tradition, mourning fire
• fire is safe zone
  • keeps scary things out, gathering at night is risky
  • (when you finally get torch you can explore at night)
  • need to sleep there (you get tired and can’t move as quickly)
• need to make a signal
  • lookout will scan the forest at dawn or something
  • fire needs to be big enough on the last day maybe sometimes you want a small fire
• FIRE TO KEEP OUT COLD
  • of course
  • can only explore as long as you don’t freeze
  • bigger fire, bigger warmth radius / warmth meter, longer and further expeditions
  • better fuel is further out
  • movement and forces stiffen as you get colder
  • torches?
    • allows you to take fire with you but doesn’t last for very long
    • bigger fire bigger torches?
  • failure is soft and recoverable

sleeping?

• can only sleep by the fire
• fire burns whilst sleeping
• day cycle is checkpoints
  • the game saves every morning
  • you can go back to old checkpoints (also when you freeze)
• maybe not mandatory or at least very flexible
  • shouldn’t be frustrating but good sleep should reward you
  • you have to trust the fire to last whilst you sleep
  • wake up if fire is dying / too cold
• offers a bit of calm
  • other restful things too?
    • toast marshmallows
    • knit (warm clothes keep warm for longer)
    • play music

player movement:

• acceleration and deceleration
• carrying heavy fuels slow acceleration
• wet ground reduces friction
• wind pushes a little
• can kick fuel? when both hands full, can kick twigs / pinecones / logs into fire
• can push fuel by moving into it, kick gives it a short force
  • fuel has one move function? vector and force as input? or maybe multiple

throwing fuel:

• only physics on throwing
• bouncing and rolling and randomness (pinecones are unpredictable)
• fire pit is very generous
• wind pushes a little
• fuel thrown could scatter ash or other fuels?
• right click only?
  • tap to drop
  • hold down to throw
  • (increasing force variable)

inventory:

• two hands
• each hand can hold one fuel item
• heavy items require both hands
• upgrades
  • can hold some heavy items in one hand
  • backpack / pouch can hold lots of twigs / one log
  • wheelbarrow, can push / move, can move around lots of logs
  • crates / barrels, can store dry piles, can push
  • upgrade fire pits
  • boots to reduce weight deceleration
  • gloves to carry more in one hand, more power in throws
  • tool sling
  • eventually automation
• primary hand?
  • throw does primary hand first, then secondary
  • secondary if primary is empty
  • can swap which hand is primary / selected (with q or something)
  • nothing if both are empty
  • pick up into non-primary first
• log piles
  • every log has a radius of collection around it
  • when you throw / kick another log into its radius it connects to start a pile
  • all logs entering the radius with zPosition lower than 0.05 or something
  • when it reaches max, new piles formed next to it
• can chop other logs by dropping / throwing them onto a splitting stump or something
  • all logs entering the radius with zPosition between 0.1 and 0.2 or something
  • hit with axe and splits into 2 halves
  • initiate a throw onto both sides forming 2 piles

you can only drop logs to form piles but you can upgrade / build holders that allow you to throw fuel onto piles maybe it just needs a certain z velocity and the physics will handle the rest but maybe i shouldn’t rely on physics

• floor has a friction level and an absorption level
  • absorbs a percentage of energy from the log and reflects, restitution maybe
  • bounces
  • e = speed after / speed before
  • friction on horizontal motion (probably just same e value on all velocities)
• enemies / animals / threats
  • throw things at them! of course!
  • throwing is the main mechanic i suppose
  • throw rocks and pebbles at them
  • can get an upgrade to store a pebble pouch
  • can break rocks into pebbles with pickaxe maybe

realise you’ve been making the fire for a bad reason / person

this isn’t my dream game or anything, just a fun project

hot water helps with the cold fetch water from the river

waiting for someone to come? they’re not coming promise to wife to keep the fire going you kinda just slowly die decide when to die / let go, end is a big zoom out of the world showing acres of forest the fire is your idea of her, can’t let it die end is you and the fire dying

winter is coming

short game, maybe a few hours ideas about hope, hopelessness, futility, peace, loneliness

you write in your journal occasionally / every night? player reads it in the morning / in the night seasons change, die in winter? get slower and ill over time but you build a pretty house you have a map you update at night? with where you’ve explored and notable structures purpose of map is to show you where you’ve been before and what ares to explore next, if there are a lack of structures in an area you maybe haven’t explored it enough a good purpose to sleeping

find books that teach you how to do cool things a beginners guide to

• types of wood
• gathering wood
• exploring
• tools / hafting
• making fires
• making furniture
• making shelter

these shouldn’t unlock things, just teach you how to books can burn

tools

• start with hand axe
• felling axe
• saw
• map? find remnants of tools along rivers / in camps / abandoned structures once you have a tool and a good stick and string / sinew to haft

logs are a grid-like system bucking at reliable repeated intervals so you can get the length you want of rounds thickness decreases with length at the same intervals but is smoothed when the log is together? or each section has a start width and end width maybe logs have uniform widths after you chop a tree (i think so, much easier) easy to understand discrete widths of trees, from skinny to very thick with different purposes furniture crafting requires different thicknesses? stool is a very wide round on top of 4 short thin ones easy to see if a log is too long / too short for your cabin stack logs for your cabin to make 90 degree angle walls, would maybe have to restrict logs to only be horizontal or vertical rather than nice dragging once you have 4 (with door gap) or at least 2 walls opposite you can start stacking logs on the roof?

dragging logs, when you leave one at a 90 degree angle (some snapping mechanism) you can stack logs on top you do this by lining up a log (of the same diameter) at the same axis and then pushing on the side of it into the correct wall log and it will stack, hitting with axe or kicking would undo? you can only stack if something like a majority of the weight would be correctly on top of the bottom log roof is done in a similar way, just along the opposite axis push logs perpendicular into the other and if the conditions are right (another wall of correct height to support it across and high enough generally) it will go on top

tough to convey length of a log when it is vertical, would hopefully be fine

can roll and drag logs

log has a length / number of rounds / intervals when you buck a log it creates two logs of the split lengths on either side a log of length 1 cannot be bucked further (becomes a log round? cannot be dragged, can be picked up)

could be small goals that provide upgrades e.g. keep the fire lit for a night it then shows you a vague location of a book / tool in a dream and you have to trek there start with a book of goals? mm bookshelf keep fire lit for a night, fell 10 trees, burn 100 logs, stack 50 logs not sure about this, prefer it to be for exploration

types of shelters (/ you can make any shelter? hmm)

• lean to
• a-frame

multiplayer? idea of building cabins in the woods together

chopping block could be just a larger round? when stacking logs (if im sticking to just this vertical thing) you can stack a smaller log onto a larger log in the case that this setup leads to a big log on the bottom and a smaller log one level above it and you bring an axe down on it, it will break down quicker / easier? can do it on the floor but its worse (i like that this is another thing you can always do but you have to learn! could be in one of the books (on splitting logs))

first book is chopping down trees

maybe winter is coming and you have to build your shelter in time? and have enough wood to last you?

wood carving? (for stuff to do in winter) its a sort of drawing mechanic but not, more emulative of wood carving can cut out sharp lines? kind of only diagonals and straight lines or something chip away at a block until it looks cool, but only 2d i suppose? or could try and do 3d / top view, side view, front view (so you can create 3d shapes) (orthographic projections) this would be represented like a grid of voxels or something but with diagonals as well