I did this last year. [1]
http://minimumuniqueness.com/ I can
show you that. I took the entire greyhound bus map as it existed
at the time for the USA and canada and turned it into a text
adventure where you get randomly deposted somewhere and you have
to find your way back using the information you get and compass
directions. I also allow cheating by looking at an actual
greyhound map. But, I never made it into a quest. No enemies. No
friends. No food. No time. But you *can* get to anywhere from
anywhere on it.. eventually. That was fun. Totally unrelated to
the above gif but related to 'you'll show us' part tongue
emoticon Totally boring ungame, unless you happen to find the
challenge of being lost and an interest in basic connectivity
interesting. tongue emoticon So, sometime last year, I
decided to make a game with the largest map of any game. So, I
took the Greyhound Bus route as it existed and made a Text
Adventure by connecting all of the routes together properly,
complete with their norths and souths all correct. I was going
to make it interesting, with people, stuff happening, a quest
but once I succeeded in making it possible to get to anywhere
from anywhere... with minimal clues on how to get there. [each
of the directions is stated as it would if you were actually in
that particular greyhound terminal number, I put it aside.
Just remembered it today. A game where nothing happens but
travel. Largest map in the history of games, text adventure,
with no adventure. Still, I had fun making it. It deposits you
randomly somewhere in the USA or Canada. Boring within 5 moves
--- Oh I had big plans for it. Froze my computer when the text
adventure maker (this is my first and only attempt at one) tried
compiling all of the connections and created its own view of the
map. Lots of debugging bad connections because I had to make
every connection two-way by hand. First the text adventure
prototype, and then I'd learn how to write using one of the
fancy 3D game engines, which don't look TOO terrible to use with
some focus. Some don't even require much scripting. But I was
satisfied when I got the map done. I was like, "Ok, a game where
you're lost and have to think like a local to get home. Map
works. Done." Registered a domain and shoved it up there and
might have uploaded it to a text adventure site or two - don't
remember. --- grin emoticon Thanks grin emoticon My trouble
is, once I get the basic 'gist' of something out there, I just
stop. Fast and furious creation process, reach milestone, then
I'm like, "Ok, if it's a good idea, maybe someone will trip over
it and take it further and if they don't, that's ok too".
Writing in it was fun at first, - INFORM7 - a newer Zork
language - is what I used, so the code is all readable
English... kinda. I used Excel spreadsheets and staring at the
actual map to figure out what was north or east, or whatever,
and kept relativity in mind the whole time, as that was kinda
the point: "You are west of New York" means you have to go East.
So your brain has to constantly flip around everything. ---
lol it's ok smile emoticon I'm a perfectionist constantly
fighting being a perfectionist by letting things go when _I_
judge that I'm proud of myself. Keeps people's judgements of me
from mattering so much because I've reached my own satisfaction
[yet not perfection] level. Anything beyond is to please other
people and meet their standards. I'm like, "bah, finish it
yourself - here you go". --
References
Visible links
1.
https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fminimumuniqueness.com%2F&h=zAQHx4xdr
