Book Two:
Video Games—
Introduction:
My greatest interest.
Yes a rule could be plainly made that “video games" shouldn’t be a book in Another Christian Satanic Bible. But it would be a self denial of myself not to put one here. I love retro gaming. It is my favorite community. It helps me sleep at night. Like going over the evolution of game pads as counting sheep.
I’ll have ideas here for new games mostly by going over pre existing ideas (in a form that shows options.) As different ways that things can be done. By showing you just how many different ways things can be done you will be full of ideas.
The retro gaming community is enormous. You’ll find all kinds of it online. Ranging from top tens to reviews, hardware, mods, hacks, history, glitches, newly made games for old systems, playthroughs, speed runs, all sorts of things. I spend around three hours a day watching these things. It fills a good space in my mind. I think video games are a good influence. They keep you out of trouble.
I have a lot of things to say about video games as a result.
I’m not really into the violent stuff though. It's had its day. After awhile it loses its initial novelty—its shock. Though Mortal Kombat was of quite a Satanic design, down to the gongs.
If you are making a game I hope what you find is useful for you here. I’ve tried programming. Python to be specific. But just didn’t have enough interest to go very far. So I have ideas instead and that’s the closest I can come to my dream of making games.
Also: I’ve written the book My Anti Christ Game or Movie. And my Full Bible of Steel includes a 160 page book similar to this. They are free and in public domain just like all of my other books. And if you know any game maker, please share these with her or him.
Many if these are original ideas that you may freely use.
So letsa go!
What Makes a Game Good or Bad:
Control of the character can keep the game good or ruin it. This includes requiring too precise jumping that feels totally unfair. A weapon not versatile enough. Like I’ve seen before in a game where you can only shoot while squatting down. Some games have enemies that you just can’t understand how to defeat them because your control scheme against them is inadequate and they can’t be dodged. So in making good controls simply give the player good control.
The music—This one is obvious yet there are games that have been made to contain just short looping melodies, even that not being a good one. Or awful sound effects and stuff. Set the mood right. Good music makes a big difference.
Pointlessness—to play an overly simple game is no fun. To just run around collecting things for one ups and not much else. Lack of depth and substance makes a very dull game. Instead do your best to engage the player of your game. You don’t want things to be too complex but as long as everything has its importance that’s not so important.
A good story—Especially in an RPG. Some have been rather pointless. Some RPG games have a shallow story. But others have been the best you’ll ever hear. And what’s more you play a role within it, artificially but still in suspension of disbelief. They find themselves engaged if they like the story. It is a role they fit right into.
Is just fun—a good game is simply fun. A good game is engaging and involving. Beside this fact rules don’t stand. It is a game. It doesn’t have to be realistic or follow a guideline. As long as it’s a fun game that’s all that matters. So just take note of what keeps it that way. Some simple things can either make a game very good or very bad But as they say “the proof is in the pudding.” Super Mario Bros made no sense at all but it sure was fun. And they tried to copy it without adding anything to it. Just changed stuff around. But those copy artists made nothing as excellent as Super Mario Bros 3. I mean, compare it to Adventure Island.
Boredom certainly makes a game a bad one. That’s often so because of simplicity. You just have nothing to do. You are just going around attacking things, maybe multiple times before they die. And there is no substance to it. Nothing to expect of it.
The Earlier RPG games were modeled after Dungeons and Dragons. Character choices, dungeons, mazes, characters like either a barbarian, warrior or magician were there. And not much more than that and hit points. It is good to go a little bit back from the start. RPG games forget their history. There once was job classes. Now if there’s any job classes at all they are more like job tendencies. A character can be more moved towards one set of class or another, but not necessarily. They had a game or two develop your character based on what they did. So if you used a bow and arrow, you become better and better at archery. But if that’s all that you did then there would be a deficit for other abilities. Supplementation is needed in such a circumstance if that is going to be a good game element.
Earlier RPGs were often dungeon crawlers. In a pseudo-3D way (whatever pseudo 3D really means.) There may be a torch on the wall. You grab it and use it later. You come across keys and things.
Then there was the overhead perspective. A game with very basic sprites. Layer types of these were graphically better (Diablo.) Early RPG games could be picturesque text based games like King's Quest. A more 3D perspective could be found in Drakhen.
Betrayal at Krondor was very unique among RPG games. You battled on a grid. You could pick locks. You could hear stories from your different characters. You might find the plague in a treasure chest. You had to get food regularly, or die. And you had to keep your weapons sharpened. You had to camp out, rest. It was obviously made as realistic as could be.
Some games had an upfront view during random battles. Some a side view. Others an isometric one. And later ones an open 3D field. But people obviously prefer the 2D perspective. It just keeps coming back. It doesn’t have to be realistic anymore than the board game Monopoly does.
Medieval fantasy themes were prevalent in older RPG games.
A more randomly changing game now that more simple games can be made more complexly, randomly generated things are possible. For example sometimes an enemy here, sometimes a different one. An item here at a certain time but not otherwise. Music that changes slightly after so many melodies. A day to dusk effect. Weather effects. And the physics behind them. A programmer can make a very world with it’s own physics. Elements can adjust the game entirely from character to character and of its people, traveling in it, etc., depending on certain things like time of day.
To implement AI in a game well is a new luxury that a programmer has.
Art of the Platformer you can go in about any direction: higher, lower, forward, maybe backwards. There are strange elements. Ones almost Satanic. A strange cave dweller. Dragons or great beasts in some areas. The gamer may have to maneuver around them. There are shoes that have wings on them. There are rings that protect the Vampire from the sun. Money is given to the one who searches for it. Surprises occur such as a room suddenly having g an enemy that wasn’t there before. You can clear out areas a little by little gaining ground. Ground for the king? There are people locked up by goblins that you must save. Or at least be rewarded for so doing. And there are messengers from heaven and messengers from hell to assist you.
You may be trying to reach nirvana or mount Olympus. You may be trying to reach Valhalla. And you’ve got to be worthy to get there because the gods will try and stop you! Or you could be looking for a grave of a lost loved one to set their spirit right. Or the same with a whole family. Or on a quest to find your lost loved one requiring a lot if venturing around and detective work. They were worthy to go to The Dark World. And so must you to find them.
The King of some kind could have you being hunted down. Guards once seeing you will go after you. And you may have to slip through unnoticed. After all you are after an item that would make you godlike, trying to find it before he does. You may have to go across many lands and places, learning all you can to create that powerful item that would lead you to rule over the world, or just to overthrow a wicked king.
A platformer could have mixed with it RPG elements. One of my favorites to do so is the SNES game Wanderer from Y's 3. The Character you play as had a health meter. He had a small amount of items to help him. Of a certain kind. Of weapons and shields he had more. There were certain items that allowed him to progress or become more powerful, as was sometimes a necessity in the difficult game. He’d always return to his hometown to get more clues, help, and items. He found himself up against a formidable foe at the end. A monster had been conjured from hell (which is a common theme in games.. but don’t fix it if it isn’t broken!) It was a one place at a time game and it did that very well. I would say just add an over world map and it would have been what Zelda 2 should have been.
The Art of a Side Scroller I can think of some good examples: Mario Bros., Ninja Gaiden, and Super Ghouls and Ghosts. Ones cute, another dark, and the other Satanic. There are power ups to protect you: new armor, a larger form, being shadowed/ having two then three of you. The things that matter most are the controls, environment, characters, music, and power ups. The pace may demand quickness or let you take your time. Will put you in a watery area where you must slowly maneuver around. That’s it’s own precision. While another has you being both precise and quick.
The enemies can be like bones that once attacked they fall apart. But they come back together. Or you can play with their shell. Or take their goods.
There can be any number of power ups as you want. Some levels may only have the power up, not elsewhere. Or some worlds/lands the same. The better ones are more difficult to reach. And there are different kinds of power ups: that increase lives, energy, defense, or used to attack. Then there’s money in these games used for any purpose you want.
Joe and Mac was another good side scrolling game. You fight dinosaurs at the end of each level. It was a cave man game. You could ride on pterodactyls. A stone wheel was one weapon. It rolled forward, predictably. It had an over world map between levels. A really good game.
And we cant forget Donkey Kong Country. You could play as two characters. You could burst out of barrels. There were mini games (always a nice inclusion) and animals to ride on. Really good music in that one too. The opening theme really sold the game.
Here are a few new concepts that can be used: There is rain in a lot of side scrolling game but not much lightning. There is quicksand but not so much swamps. There can be a cleric passed by before an altar where he summons evil spirits. At the first part of the game many such spirits attack you. The cleric may be a little difficult to defeat but if you do then no more ghosts come from the graveyard.. no more of a certain enemy in the game. And you may need Holy water on that cleric, or something like that.
You may be after a cult of people. A cult of people may be after you. Maybe you must take their books and destroy their idols. Or slay their fanatical religious leader in the game.
You can have a number of your own followers helping you out. Helping you escape. Telling you where to go.
Allies can come down from heaven in a ladder. Enemies up from hell with one.
In the game you may be sealing the portals of hell.
A bell can be a special item among a few you are allowed to carry. The bell removes all evil spirits from the room. As for the other enemies that’s a different matter.
And holy water can be obtained from a pond. Like a baptismal one in a cathedral.
There can be smoke coming up from a hole, it is a hole to hell. There can be a grave next to a hole, which is a crypt. Each have different things below. The hell hole has little demons to have help you, would you bring them above (but it can be dangerous down there.) The crypt has its own special reasons for going down into.
Angels can descend down from heaven to help you. Like in an RPG kind of summoning element applied to a side scrolling game/ platformer, you can summon things to help you. Like a dragon breathing fire down upon your enemies.
Sometimes a sword falls down from heaven for your use. When you are low on health a shield falls down for you.
When you’ve destroyed certain more difficult enemies you are given that sword from heaven.
And we’ve seen things like five coins of a special kind = an extra life. Or as many = a mini game. But what else can happen by collecting the five special coins/ items? Something more imaginative than an extra life? How about learning a new spell? And each level provides a new opportunity for a new spell. Going from fire to water for example. Or it can be that you can summon a new beast, dragon perhaps, or creature. So that in a level there are five dragon coins. Getting them all gives you the power to summon a dragon whenever you want to.
Let’s say the levels are really long. But you can get a zap forward to skip a chunk of it. Like being blasted out forward. Or blasted into a secret area of five special levels. Or to meet a criteria for the same. Maybe you would be sent to a worse place by not slaying the enemy boss or not meeting a requirement such as defeating certain things from place to place. Or if you don’t collect all of the special coins then you are sent to a more difficult level.
100 points = 1 credit. Credits are given at the end of each level as does a shop. At the end of every level is a shop. And how many points you’ve gotten translates to how many credits you are given. Especially hard enemies give you more points than the others. So points will really matter in the game.
In every world of the game you get three wishes. But first you must find the magical lamp in world one. If you like there can be more than one lamp. Three perhaps. And with them you get three wishes. Only three, only so many, or once per world. The wishes can be for money. To clear out bad weather, or ice in an ice world. Or to remove particularly difficult enemies, or for a special sword.
There could be symbol things to collect. You can only use one though. If you get a second one it replaces the first. If you get a third one that replaces the second, etc. And they give you special items at the end of the level. If you get the same symbol item again then you will have that first thing upgraded.
And other kinds of letter or symbol things can be collected. Maybe at the end of a whole world you get things accordingly. The more you find the more things you are given at the end of each world.
And I have an idea of that at the end of every level you are gradually dressed as a King. At the end of level one you get a cape, then a sword, a shield, armor, and finally a crown.
Art of Alchemy or mixing up different things to make something new. It’s becoming synonymous with gaming, too. That you gather food in a 3D field: from trees, from growing someplace to combine them into thousands of possible different things. Or that you just buy food to make recipes from. There are sometimes magic stones that can be brought together for different effects. To do not just one thing but to have a spell do two or more things. Or it can be a ring. You have 8 fingers to put them on. And as such set 8 attributes for your character, like automatically casting regen. They can protect you in some way or boost your defenses. When you are cooking something you may even have special wood to cook it on.
Then there are weapons that can be enhanced by bringing together different parts/ materials. Two metals maybe. Or to infuse it with a spell. Or just to have a blacksmith make it a better weapon.
So leave these things scattered around. Have them obtained by defeating enemies. Or gotten from a chest. Or found someplace. And list the possibilities for them. Give for them a description. If you are very good at game physics then they could practically have a nature of their own!
Art of an Adventure Game at the heart of it there is exploration. That and experimentation. You enter into the gaming world with just a little help. Things are pieced together as you go along. You can have villages in them to recuperate. To build skills. To buy things. To learn. And the world itself is full of treasures. Maybe you don’t know what to use them for. And by using them everywhere you find many things.
There are dungeons to crawl. They can be in maze fashion right before your eyes or over your head. Can be 3D or 2D. Some are text based adventure games that are largely point and click. Anything you click on can be taken. People can be talked to by clicking on them or click on any given thing to manipulate it.
Along the path are fairies and unicorns, goblins and dragons, ghosts, evil spirits and demons, beasts and creatures. Some will help, others will harm you. Some are hard to find. Others are easily found.
Maybe the first part of the game has you clearing out an area. To remove infectious blobs and a recent plague of monsters. Or four areas. Each needing it’s own equipment to clear the monstrosities. And so the path of the King is cleared. You may not have a role as significant as saving a princess. You might just be doing things for a King or Queen throughout the game. And the King rewards you for so doing. And your quest is just to be a highly honored knight.
In an adventure game you may choose the role of one of four types of people. A knight, wizard, thief, warrior. Maybe you could easily flip between them. One is good for one area, and for another another. Like adding to your party as an RPG games does but in an adventure game kind of way.
After every twenty minutes of gameplay you may enter into “The Upper World” through a portal. It is there that you are rewarded for what you have done, and given to by the gods accordingly. You are healed, allowed to transport immediately to what place you wish to go to. Every twenty minutes, thirty maybe, the access to heaven is granted.
Maybe you are wanting to speak to a lost love one. That is something that only a certain wizard can help you do. But he wants something from you first.
In an overhead adventure game you hear a sound. That sound means something. You may be lost in the woods hearing an owl. And the closer you are through the woods the louder the sound. But you have to use a bird whistle for this. There is a different kind of sound, too. Kind of like moaning. Like suffering. If you follow that sound you are lead into a graveyard, a swamp, or something.
The sky can be observed. And can be related to things easily. A triangle of stars might stand out, giving you an idea of where to go. The crescent moon and full moon represents something. Clouds show images. The people expect a hero is underfoot.
The paths are cleared every Sunday. Each Sunday you may more safely go about. Due to a lot of monsters the towns may be closed. By defeating the surrounding enemies its gates are opened. Almost in a zombie apocalypse sort of way.
Evil fairies that transform into beasts.. or about anything they want to, may endanger you if you come into contact with them. The general rule here is: never come close to a fairy! As they may transform into something terrible and harm you. But to slaughter the Mother Fairy is to slaughter them all. To slaughter the Mother Bat, the Mother Goblin, ect., is to remove all enemies and dangers in the world. And is, perhaps, your quest.
You may be after a magical spider and it makes a formidable foe but you capture it and take it to a certain person. That person weaves a kind of magical silk from it giving you clothing that is far more protective. Until then you may have not known a lot about magic but now you do. That covers clothing. But what about a wand? You may have to go deep into the woods. You find talking trees in one area. They say they know you are the hero of the lands and take from their center tree. It was once alive but being the oldest among them no longer is.
Then there is a ring to make. One of great magic. You’ll need to find a certain kind of pearl under water. You enlist the help of a fisher. You get equipment that’ll help you find it. And after you get the pearl you have a magic blacksmith form it into a ring. Then there’s a powerful shield to make from a slain dragons natural armor. A spirit who takes you to its grave.. once a great knight now fallen, buried with him a great sword.
And sheets of magic paper given to you by various people. The more you have the more powerful of a magician you become. You may buy these to have written into your occult journal. A journal of many things.
Maybe you wake up in a new bed over and over again, and so in a new land. Each land having a special purpose for you and in the end you become legendary.
Or you were unjustly executed as a heretic of hell and you go there. In hell you are made powerful by The Devil and sent back into the Earth/ world for vengeance, bringing hell with you.
The Art of an RPG is to have the gamer playing a role (and series of roles) that he likes. It is your objective to make its world inhabitable immersive, involving. A good RPG has you wanting to know what lays around the corner. What will come next? It may ask of you to set your priorities straight. To get things in order. You gradually become stronger. You are empowered by love in a quest to undo tyranny. Along the way the plot is irresistible. Nothing is impossible. You get the sense of progress throughout, and that gives you and your party hope.
The story is very important for sure.
You can’t have an RPG without magic! But you can include it in many different ways. The character can learn magic upon leveling up. Some players at the beginning can learn magic, but not others. Then those others can learn magic later on. If it sounds good to you. Or you can simply buy magic. Or find magic stones. Or to learn spells from wizards (which I feel is underdone on an RPG.) Usually it is an adventure metroidvania game that does it.) There can also be spells that are fetched after they are cast against you a few times. I haven’t seen that done yet except for a blue mage character. Or spells can be learned point wise. Through so many points gained toward it, battle by battle.
As you go from village to village you can buy better and better items (weapons, armor, potions) and the random enemies outside give you greater and greater exp points and money. Traveling around can be by raft or boat, flying ship, horses and carriage, underwater devises.
Make the best sprites that you can.
Create a system that’s easily understood. But remember a player can learn a lot through repetition. As long as they know what to do to begin with.
Create the best story you can. Write the best music you can. Have items that change the very nature of the game and given all of this you will have made a really good game.
As heroes the game may open its doors to you giving everything you need. Such as towards the end of the game things become free. Or as soldiers to the King prices are lower or free to a certain amount. The merchant character can buy things from NPC's and seems to stumble across money. The soldier character can enlist help and gain funds. The cleric is provided help by their followers. They have sacred items. They see visions and are given help and advice from gods. The gray mage learns spells cast on them. The alchemist can put that into a ring that others can use, given the right material. The herbalist can procure and use the herbs of a land. Perhaps in a point and click way describe their possible uses to you. The blacksmith gathers metals and makes weapons from them. The scholar knows short cuts, is generally well informed by the environment and the things in it. They can help you find any given thing. The Teacher can teach your party learn new sword techniques and spells. The longer you have him or her in your party the better you become at fighting and learning new spells. The scholar may be the only party member that can read certain occult books or languages.
Then there are the usual classes: mages, fighters, etc., to diversify the game, each having their own abilities.
And swords can be used to summon beings. Like a dragon sword that strikes with the power of a dragon. Or an earth hammer that quakes the land. Or a feather bow that shoots out like an eagle.
And the same with shields. Like a dragon shield having a dragon defend you in its wings. As long as they are equipped as weapons and shields they can be used every time you strike or face a type of strike.
Where they are found can be in a graveyard as a fallen soldier, high upon a mountain. As resting in a tree. Or just called forth by the incanter/ summoner.
You may have sheets to summon a being. And so are limited by how many you have found or purchased. A chest may contain a page or a few pages of incantation sheets. They are burned, the being is summoned, and can be done with as many sheets that you have.
Here is an idea for random battles: we usually have beasts or some kind of things. But my idea is for like judges to fight, or star bright celebrities, boxers, as such that are demonic spirits throwing stuff at you in a way that mimics humans. A judge and his gavel striking down is a random enemy. But not just that, it is a spirit mimicking and mocking human traits. Kind of like how Q did on his first appearance on Star Trek. Making themselves a king if things get really tough.
Your summoned beasts can evolve. From a small dragon to one large. That is every time you gain a new level.
Maybe a world is terraformed in the game. The moon, and has to be dealt with. Or an alien planet invades your own. Or a giant magic crystal is going to collide on your planet known to have great magical properties. Others have fallen to the ground before that made a corrupt kingdom all powerful. And you and your team against that Kingdom is trying to get the crystal asteroid first.
After defeating the great magician he places a spell on your hand just before death. There is now an eye on your hand and you seek to remove your curse. It must be pricked with the Sacred Dagger. A more powerful person knows where you are at until then, and seeks revenge for the slaughter of his son. The first wizard warns you of that before he dies.
And speaking of strange random battles one enemy can be just that: a large hand with an eye on it. And/or a large hand with a mouth on it. Could be a magician with a book who takes a moment to read spells and cast them on you. Or a large magic book is your enemy. Its pages are many. It opens up to a random page each time before it casts a spell on you. In low odds it may cast sudden death. Then there can be a blessing book as a random encounter. Or that first book could be made into a blessing book. Either way the blessings book gives you one good thing, up to four perhaps, one per party member, closes, and the encounter is done. That blessing may co