Overview

Project: Master Of None

Estimated Development Time: 10-15 hours(includes only the manager and base system)

Written In: C#

Description: A system used to track and evaluate different events occurring within the game world.

Objectives:

  1. Keep a record of it current and previous members.
  2. Based on what type of event it is, have the system evaluate the situation into data that is easily used by it members.

Thought Process and Choices

 

Why I chose to use an Event System :

The inspiration for an event system was an interview I found on AIGameDev.com with Mika Vehkala and his work on the AI in HITMAN: ABSOLUTION. More specifically, it was his use of "Situations" to group characters and give them roles. His example was of two guards, protecting a checkpoint of some sort, and as the player neared their checkpoint a situation was created. The closer of the two guards, who was actually the creator, takes the lead role. His partner also notices the player is about to trespass, but because a Situation has already been created, he joins the ongoing one instead of starting his own.

The leader of the two guards starts yelling at the player as he approaches while his partner keeps a more cautious distance with his weapon at the ready. If the player goes too far past the checkpoint or riles up the guards too much, they will start to use force.

Although, it borders on the concept of a scripted event, I'm amazed by the idea of classifying a group of circumstances so that is can be tracked and managed. I also believe it is a key component when it comes to creating squad tactics.

 

Risks:

  1. Identifying what is considered an event is a tricky task. If a particular aspect of a game, like combat, relies heavily on the event system but doesn't always trigger, it can severely damage the overall experience.
  2. Similar to the first risk, determining when to start a new event instead of joining an ongoing one can be difficult and can bring about odd behaviors when done incorrectly.

 

Results:

The event system is currently very limited in scope. The only active event is combat. I plan to add more in the future, such as conversations and squads. Yet, I would say the combat event, on its own, has improved the flow of battles already.

 

 

Design and Development

There are two parts to the event systems: the Events and the Event Manager.

A base Event contains only its type, its members, and the rooms it is taking place in.

The Event Manager is the interface when it come to joining or starting an event. Passing the manager a  room index will get you a list of ongoing events in there. You can even filter that down more by passing the type of event you are looking for along with the room index.

 

Combat Event

Since the combat is currently the only event implemented in Master Of None, I'm going to focus mostly on how it works in the moment to moment gameplay. One thing to note is that combat events are team specific, meaning that in a single battle between two teams there will also be two combat events. Each event taking the perspective of one of the teams.

The main functions of the combat event are:

  1. Track involved enemies and their positions.
  2. To keep track of the advantage or disadvantage the team appears to have currently in the battle. This data is typically used to determine when flanking or more aggressive tactics are to be used.
  3. Relay requests from teammates participating in the battle.
  4. Determine the stage of the battle. The first few seconds are considered preparation, then there is the main battle, and when all enemies are thought to be dead the stage is called "After Combat Investigation."