It's been a while now since I published a real progress update, and the reason for that can be summarized in one word: Discs.
The Identity Disc is the most iconic weapon in the TRON universe. One can no more imagine TRON without Discs than they can imagine Star Wars without Light Sabers (so strong is the comparison that many new-generation fans have begun referring to them as Light Discs).
Back in the late 90's, when I first thought of the idea of Tron: Anti-Virus, Identity Discs were not even going to be included. Not because I didn't want to, but because it probably would not have even been possible. First-person shooters were still in their infancy, and hardly anything ever went beyond some kind of projectile that came out of a gun, flew straight at its opponent, and then exploded (even grenades were rare at the time). But countless improvements to Duke Nukem 3D by the modding community have greatly expanded the game's capabilities. That's not to say that making a disc work is easy though. In fact, it's an enormous headache.
It would not surprise me at all if the Identity Discs end up having the most complex AI in the entire game. If I were basing them off of Tron Legacy, it would actually be easy. But I am painstakingly attempting to get the behavior of the Discs to match what is seen in the classic film (this behavior is actually emulated pretty well in the Tron: Evolution game). In TRON, Discs are akin to swords. They are an extension of their wielders, even across the distance of a room. Disc fights are very duelistic in nature, with opponents attempting to hit and parry. The Discs are also guided weapons, as if while in flight, they operate by remote control or telepathy, always linked to their owner. A wide range of attacks can be achieved, which also dictate what must be done to achieve a successful block. All of this translates into a rather complex system from a programming perspective, though to the player it should be pretty straightforward. To make disc combat possible, I have had to add two more functions to the game, a block button, and a 'target select' button.
The Disc combat system is not done by any means. I am still knee-deep in it. So in the event that it takes another month to get it working the way I want it to, I felt that I ought to post about it.
As I previously stated, the TRON universe, is a place that is greatly influenced by the minds of its creators. This is demonstrated as we see Kevin Flynn's imagination brought to life on the game grid. His lightcycle game, which on the low-tech capabilities of the era, appeared as simple 2D lines being drawn on a screen, appear as fully-3D futuristic motorcycles to the inhabitants of the computer world. Just as Programs take on personalities influenced by the Users who create them, it is apparent that other aspects of the universe are affected in similar ways.
Life Inside a Classic Video Game
"On the other side of the screen, it all looks so easy." -- Kevin Flynn
If you were to take a piece of paper, draw a basic kid's maze on it, and then draw a line from the beginning of the maze to the exit, you have created and played a simple 2D game, something that could easily be made into a basic computer game. Though as a game, instead of a line being drawn, you'd probably want an object to represent the player (presumably something shaped like a person, even a stick figure will do). Then you might want to populate the maze with some sort of monster, robot, etc, that can attack you as you're trying to escape the maze. And unless you're sadistic, you'll want to give some kind of weapon to the player so he can defend himself.
Playing this game would be pretty easy for your average gamer, at least in the early levels. But if this game were being played by an inhabitant of the computer realm, surviving the maze would be an entirely different matter. Not only is it life-or-death to them, but they're actually having to run around inside of this maze... the walls of the labyrinth intimidatingly towering over them, diving and rolling to narrowly avoid attacks from the monsters, and pulling off spectacular trick shots with their blasters. A 2D game, represented in 3D. Just about anyone can see that video games themselves evolved in this way; a game like Berzerk or Robotron many iterations later looked like Doom or Duke Nukem 3D. For Tron: Anti-Virus, the intention is to provide a 3D first-person shooter, but treat it as if the 3D element is an extension of a 2D video game. That isn't to say that 3D won't be fully taken advantage of, merely that the basis of certain elements of the project are deeply rooted in gameplay mechanics that are commonly only used in 2D games.
Pondering over these old games has helped me think of a number of puzzles that I plan on including in T:AV. One classic game concept in particular has even inspired an entire level. Such inspirations aren't limited to level design either. It can also be found in the behavior of enemies in the game; how they move and attack, and how they must be killed.
It is my hope that incorporating these elements into Tron: Anti-Virus will create an experience that is somewhat unique to the first-person shooter genre, but is also strangely familiar.
Though I don't intend on turning this into a playable puzzle (at least not one that is actually critical to gameplay,
I felt like this post was an appropriate place to showcase it. I did it moreso as a programming exercise than anything else,
and to see how well eduke32 handled it. It's one of the earliest computer "games", Conway's Game of Life.
