New game: GalaxyMage tactical RPG

[Jetrel]

I envision it being something like Babylon 5's "Technomages". As such, it doesn't seem to fit the game presented so far, but perhaps it will in time?

If a Galaxy Mage is a cross of sci-fi and fantasy, either by combining magic and technology, or by having such great technology that it seems like magic, then it's fine (though the former is kinda dumb).

If it's just a fantasy-wizard who uses spells based on starlight or such, it might be better to call it "Astral Mage". That's just my 2¢, though.

WesTactics would be an inappropriate name as the tactical combat system is totally unlike Wesnoth.

From one point of view, the tactical system of wesnoth, indeed the entire game engine, is irrelevant - the same is true of the final fantasy series and all of it's spinoffs.

The same is true of the mario series and all of it's spin-offs. Mario Cart is quite different from Mario Tennis, or Super Mario World.

That is what would be cool to see happen with wesnoth.

[NightBlade]

so is this game gana have multiplayer like wesnoth? mcmillen you should check out this game called Vantage Master, its kinda like the game your making so it might give you some ideas. You can find the link

http://www.falcom.co.jp/vantage/index_e.html here

[irrevenant]

I envision it being something like Babylon 5's "Technomages". As such, it doesn't seem to fit the game presented so far, but perhaps it will in time?

If a Galaxy Mage is a cross of sci-fi and fantasy, either by combining magic and technology, or by having such great technology that it seems like magic, then it's fine (though the former is kinda dumb).

Why is it dumb? Why is magic in a modern or sci-fi setting any dumber than magic in a mediaeval setting?

WesTactics would be an inappropriate name as the tactical combat system is totally unlike Wesnoth.

From one point of view, the tactical system of wesnoth, indeed the entire game engine, is irrelevant - the same is true of the final fantasy series and all of it's spinoffs.

You make a good case. If Galaxymage is set in Wesnoth, then "Wesnoth Tactics" would be an entirely appropriate name (and "Galaxymage" would be a poor one).

[turin]

Why is it dumb? Why is magic in a modern or sci-fi setting any dumber than magic in a mediaeval setting?

It's one of the tenets of fantasy world design that Jetryl follows, I believe. Don't make too much stuff special - having magic and advanced science is overkill.

Or something like that.

You make a good case. If Galaxymage is set in Wesnoth, then "Wesnoth Tactics" would be an entirely appropriate name (and "Galaxymage" would be a poor one).

I think I've discovered a formula - the prefix "Wes" is used to mean that the new game takes place in the same world as Wesnoth, whereas the suffix "noth" is used to mean that the new game uses the Wesnoth engine. So, Wescraft would be Warcraft modded to take place in Wesnoth, whereas Spacenoth is a sci-fi game using the Wesnoth engine.

[Jetrel]

Why is it dumb? Why is magic in a modern or sci-fi setting any dumber than magic in a mediaeval setting?

Jepoardy question: Why did the recent star wars films suck?

"influence the midiclorians," anyone?

[turin]

Jepoardy question: Why did the recent star wars films suck?

"influence the midiclorians," anyone?

Well, that is true, but there were also a number of other reasons.

(e.g., crappy writing and no real plot.)

[dborg]

One of my favorite fantasy RPG settings is that of the Wizardry series, which does indeed combine spacecrafts and magicians (and ninja fairies of course). Fantasy is all about imagination and creativity after all.

[mcmillen]

What's in a name, anyways? "Firefox" is a rather nonsensical name, considering what the app actually *does*... and that project is doing just fine

GalaxyMage is easy to remember and -- yes, doesn't make a lot of sense given the current medieval setting -- but leaves open the option of doing some sci-fi/tech elements later, or in a different campaign. Disgaea did that to quite good effect.

I'm strongly against a name like "WesTactics" or something like that, 'cause, well, although we're using Wesnoth art, we're not really using any other Wesnoth code, nor do we intend to set our first campaign in the Wesnoth world... so it would be quite a misnomer I think.

[Jetrel]

What's in a name, anyways? "Firefox" is a rather nonsensical name, considering what the app actually *does*... and that project is doing just fine

GalaxyMage is easy to remember and -- yes, doesn't make a lot of sense given the current medieval setting -- but leaves open the option of doing some sci-fi/tech elements later, or in a different campaign. Disgaea did that to quite good effect.

I'm strongly against a name like "WesTactics" or something like that, 'cause, well, although we're using Wesnoth art, we're not really using any other Wesnoth code, nor do we intend to set our first campaign in the Wesnoth world... so it would be quite a misnomer I think.

Actually, if you like Disgaea, check this guy's gallery out ->
http://machall.com/gallery/index.php?galleryID=18

Those were made by Ian McConville, over at http://www.machall.com/ If you're really serious about getting this thing polished, you might talk to him about doing a notch above fan art.

(Fair warning, though, he doesn't call himself a "slacker" for nothing).

[dborg]

What's in a name, anyways? "Firefox" is a rather nonsensical name, considering what the app actually *does*... and that project is doing just fine

GalaxyMage is easy to remember and -- yes, doesn't make a lot of sense given the current medieval setting -- but leaves open the option of doing some sci-fi/tech elements later, or in a different campaign. Disgaea did that to quite good effect.

Also I think it makes a lot of sense for opensource games to separate engine from content development, so you could always go back and say that galaxymage is just the name of the engine, chosen as a geeky reference to a popular RPG tactics game.

[Kestenvarn]

so you could always go back and say that galaxymage is just the name of the engine, chosen as a geeky reference to a popular RPG tactics game.

True, that.

[Dave]

I really don't think the game's name at this stage has an appreciable impact on the success of the game. It can always be changed later if necessary.

Also I think the author should just go with whatever world they want to create, and people who like it will inevitably join the project at some stage. I'm sure the Star Wars universe would have gotten plenty of criticism as it mixes too many elements of science fiction and 'magic' (i.e. the Force).

David

[irrevenant]

Why is it dumb? Why is magic in a modern or sci-fi setting any dumber than magic in a mediaeval setting?

Jepoardy question: Why did the recent star wars films suck?
"influence the midiclorians," anyone?

Have you ever read the "Star Trek vs Star Wars" article by David Brin? There's a fair amount of pointless ranting in there, but there's also a couple of interesting observations.

Science is the great equaliser. It took scientific knowhow to discover and understand electricity but now any one of us can control it at the flip of a switch.

Brin made the argument that Star Trek (particularly Next Gen which was about at the time of writing the article) embodied populist ideals. ST:TNG is a story of essentially ordinary people, working together and equally empowered by science.

Conversely, the Jedi are an elite class. You're either born one or not, and it seems to run in families, i.e. the noble lineage is inherently better than the common folk. They're like heroes of myth, who were almost always princes or nobles. They're dashing and cool, but ultimately elitist.

"Midichlorians" introduce the possibility that Force aptitude can be studied scientifically, and potentially could be available to everybody one day.

BTW, I agree with Turin : Midichlorians are the least of the new trilogy's problems. Probably the biggest problem in the new trilogy is that none of the characters are personable enough that you care what happens to them! Cool battle scenes are only relevant if you care who lives and dies...

[Jetrel]

All I'm saying is that by choosing a name like that, it contributes heavily to making the game petty and silly, in the best sense of the words. That's not so bad a thing - most diversions, most entertainment that people use to pass their time are like that. However, names do have power - for example, the original name of that web browser was firebird - the pheonix that rises from the ashes of what once was netscape - they had to change this for legal reasons, and I'm not sure if the current name has such deep significance. It may well, though, and names have a different sense for utilitarian programs (certainly, the 'fox' part of it is very meaningful as it describes their means of conflict with IE - they play the classic "trickster" role - Also, reverse the words, and you have foxfire, which again symbolizes life or energy coming from something dead).

Thunderbird also has a [url=http://www.bumwine.com/tbird.html]simple meaning[/a], though it has lost it's "name pair" with Firebird (which was much of the original point to it's name).


Opinions have their name because they are things that people disagree about. I'm not going to participate in a discussion about their validity. I have better things to do with my time, I'm sure you people do as well.


McMillen: Best of luck with the game. Feel free to use any of our graphics or resources, and if you'd like any help in using them, send me a pm - I'm more than obliged to lend a hand or a word of advice.

[Dave]

:| All I'm saying is that by choosing a name like that, it contributes heavily to making the game petty and silly, in the best sense of the words. That's not so bad a thing - most diversions, most entertainment that people use to pass their time are like that.

That's not so bad a thing. Once the game has become larger it can adopt a new name, if necessary.

IMHO focusing on petty things like the name early on are a waste of time compared to more pressing issues.

However, names do have power - for example, the original name of that web browser was firebird - the pheonix that rises from the ashes of what once was netscape - they had to change this for legal reasons

Actually the original name was Phoenix. They had to change that for legal reasons (the people who make Phoenix BIOSes weren't happy about it), and they changed it to FireBird. They didn't have to change it again, but they felt it would be polite to, since there was already a FLOSS project called FireBird, so they changed it to FireFox.

David