10.25.06
Another game progress update
Game agents can now see each other, and they can even interact with each other. This required me to create the event and messaging areas, since all agents interact asynchronously.
“Moving” — navigating around the world — was an action, but that action didn’t (need to) generate any events. But “Speaking” did. An agent speaks, and it generates an event, which in turns creates messages for other agents. When the other agents in the proper context make their next move, they will recieve the message. There is no noticable delay. Two agents playing at the same time and in the same context will seem to interact in real time.
The next step is *affecting* other agents. This means, initially: combat. Agent A “attacks” Agent B, and this is an action that generates events and messages, but can also alter the properties of Agent B, and possibly Agent A itself. That’s what I’m working on now.
Part of the game mechanics, as I imagined it, is that Agent A will attack Agent B *with* something — a weapon. So before combat could really be dealt with, I had to add the item and agent inventory components. I only have enough of that in place right now to let me work on the main problem of attacking. This part is shaping up pretty well so far.
I’ve got a big deadline coming up at my dayjob, and the holidays are right around the corner. (Mmmm, I sure do loves them big deadlines during the holidays, don’t you?) So I may not get to keep working on this project as much as I want until the new year.
