I’m a bit stuck with my CRPG project –that really, really needs a name!–. I think I got the gist of implementing the Whitebox rules, and a nice keyboard (or joystick) controlled menu system to manage inventory, but I have never made a full CRPG before –the closest was many years ago in GWBASIC–, so I don’t know if what I’m doing is correct.
It is true that it doesn’t matter too much as long as it works, but I have reasons to think that I’m not doing a great job. For example: I’m using a lot of code, and the cartridge format I’m using makes it easy to have lots of data, but code is tricky (specially coding in C).
So I have that feeling that I’m going to continue putting hours on the project to realise too late that I have lost my motivation, or I got to a dead end.
It has happened to me before, even recently working on Hyperdrive: I have implemented the same engine three times already–. A CRPG is a larger project and I don’t feel like starting everything again –there was a failed project before this one, and if you count moving from disc to cartridge as an iteration; this could be my third go already!–.
That’s why I have been focusing in more direct projects, like Hyperdrive –despite being unclear how things are going to be implemented, I have finished a couple of shoot’em ups already–, letting the CRPG project rest and keep thinking about it in background.
I watched a talk by Josh Ge on How to Make a Roguelike, and besides of being very inspiring –I don’t think I’m going to make a roguelike any time soon; although you never know!–, it made me realise how little of a plan I have to build my CRPG. And then a talk by Bob Nystrom (from Game Programming Patterns fame, among others) Is There More to Game Architecture than ECS made pretty clear that I have no idea if my approach will work –and the fact that the bits I have feel too big for an 8-bit could be a good indicator–. I may need a way of learning before I can succeed in an actual CRPG.
So now I’m thinking that perhaps I should try a smaller project, probably on a modern system so I can prototype and iterate faster, and manage to finish something –even if is small–. I know how to finish games, but not a CRPG.
Recently I’ve been playing with some C with SDL2 code that looks very simple –and not that different from what I do in 8-bit systems!–, and I also have a clean new codebase to do 2D games using Javascript and Canvas 2D. I’m considering one of these two options to implement something small on the side, so I can validate some of my current assumptions on the actual 8-bit CRPG. Sounds like a better way to do things wrong, and I may even finish a game!