[Question] Pokémon text games?

[Vociferocity]

I've been quite into text games (both the hypertext (aka: choose your own adventure) and regular text adventure kinds) lately, and it's made me think about pokemon-themed text games.

I'd love to play around and make something in one of the text game engines, but I can't help wondering...is there even an audience for that? would anyone here play a pokemon text game? and what kind of features would you want to see?

I know there can be some cool features: thanks to another (abandoned) text game project, I've got a heap of interesting text game code, and I think I could turn it into something pokemon-y. You'd have a Party as well as an Inventory, and maybe you'd be able to swap out pokemon at a PC? You'd be able to catch randomly generated pokemon in areas, but I don't think there'd be a big fight scene, it'd just be like.. "a wild X appeared: fight/catch/flee".

Anyway...is this sounding at all interesting to anyone? Should I bother?

 

[Maruno]

A text-based Pokémon game would be quite interesting. It's always worth doing what you're interested in, even if for no reason other than it'll improve your skills.

There are many kinds of text-based system, from the pure form where you type in your commands to HUD-based ones which shows various information alongside the main text area and has buttons for the available commands. Which system were you thinking of using?

One benefit of text-based games is that it's much easier to create random dungeons with them.

 

[AlexTCGPro]

Yeah very interesting! I will love to play a pokémon game like that, go ahead and good luck ;)

A trade and battle system between players will be real awesome but I have no idea if its possible.

 

[Vociferocity]

The thing I'm using is called "Inform 7", I've played around with it a whole bunch & even actually finished (finished!!) a game (albeit a small one) in it. It makes games in the original text-based game style, where you type in "go north", "take sword", etc.

since making the post I've actually got the basics of a pokemon game working, haha! I still need to fill up one of the areas with battles and a couple puzzles, and it's only a teeny game, but it should be a bit of fun :)

I'm glad there's clearly interest on the forum for different types of pokemon games! I think it would be cool to see a bunch of different game genres/styles here. not that the regular pokemon style isn't a great deal of fun! but there's definitely room for other ways to interpret pokemon as a game

 

[jacktheking]

There is already browser-base Pokemon MMORPG.. If you want to make a text-base game with good features, I would suggest you learning PHP instead.

 

[Vociferocity]

There is already browser-base Pokemon MMORPG.. If you want to make a text-base game with good features, I would suggest you learning PHP instead.

The game I'm working on isn't actually a browser-based game, or an mmorpg? & I actually already know php, haha. but thanks for the advice anyway :)

 

[jacktheking]

Oh, LoL.. So you know PHP? That great..

Once your text-base Pokemon RPG game come out, I would like to try; since it is not browser-base..

 

[☆Rei☆]

The game I'm working on isn't actually a browser-based game, or an mmorpg? & I actually already know php, haha. but thanks for the advice anyway :)

So it's "console" based, and by console I mean DOS (for those who still don't know it's the black rectangle with white text inside it used for debugging programs or as main interfaces in programs such as the command prompt and many high leveled programming languages)

 

[Esper]

I enjoy CYOA games and a Pokemon one would be fun. A version that's more interactive than a simple CYOA also sounds like it could be fun. A small, short game that you could play in one sitting sounds like just the right amount for a text game.

 

[bjacks14]

I personally believe there would be some interest in this sort of project. After all, if you think about it, pokemon's graphics are pretty bare bones (by todays standards) to begin with.


I actually read a few days ago about a project (sorry I can't provide a link) a gentleman was working on to convert pokemon to a text version so it would be user-friendly for the blind. By taking the graphics out, you don't really lose anything. You're still playing the same game. It's not like a games such as First Person Shooters where graphics are absolutely necessary to play the game.


And from a personal perspective, text adventures are almost as nostalgic as pokemon. So the two together might see hours of play from me :) Plus, imagine the ease of adding new pokemon, moves, types without needing to add graphics. The game could actually get very advanced.

 

[cjors]

"I can't help wondering...is there even an audience for that?"

It depends entirely on what you are trying to achieve. It is completely within the realm of possibility to recreate any of the existing pokemon games, except without graphics, but you would loose a lot, the whole visual element which is important to pretty much every part of the game out of combat, just to gain a few skill possibilities like bjacks14 suggested.

For years, I've tried to design a game that my friends and I (long time pokemon gamers) could play on paper that took only moments. I failed. Unfortunately, I would need to use a database, or a computer, to achieve what I wanted, and I would have needed collaboration from my friends on virtually every aspect of the game. I believe if you are going to design something that is going to be experienced in a community environment, that a community of people should work on it's development.

I believe that there would be interest (I would be interested in) in a browser or client game (MMO) where a player could whip up a team of pokemon at any level to face off against their friends in short but fierce optimal battles. As an adventure game, players could gain achievements such as badges by fighting by the gym leader's rules (all pokemon must be 2 levels lower than her highest level pokemon, no fire pokemon may be in the roster, etc) or by facing off against random opponents. Players could join clans and use their money to buy factories (which produce goods which can be sold) and training equipment. The elite four would be selected from real players, who really want to keep their ranking! New equipment and new moves would be introduced on a steady basis. The big disadvantage is that you loose almost all of the "questing" that is normally attributed to pokemon games, but I think that the name "Pokemon" has enough strength to carry over into other fields, such as optimizing combat simulations, business simulation, social simulation, and community building!

I've thought about this on and off for years, but I would need a team (at least three, with at least two of us knowing anything about computers) to do it, and for the first several months we'd all be volunteering our time. If this is the klnd of game you are interested in building, please contact me. :)

 

[Corvus of the Black Night]

A text game would be interesting. Before you set out I would HIGHLY recommend you have some background in whatever language you're using so that you can program the Pokemon to be more accurate if you're interested at all in any sort of rpg elements to mix up the gameplay a bit. It took me about 4-5 months to port 95% of the engine necessary for Braillemon into GML, plus I had to update it to Studio and that was another week or so of changes.

If not then there are many text game resources that can help you make your game become a reality.

As someone who tries to promote accessibility whenever possible I request that whatever you do pick is 508 compliant and is accessible via screenreaders, because then you will have a wider audience. I also recommend implementing good sound design as well, because it will help keep your audience motivated. Again there are many resources that fit the bill.

But that's just a personal jif I get lol

I want to get this straight RIGHT now, there IS a market for your game, you will find people interested in it. You need to go to the right places though. I have a lot of experience with working with the blind/visually impaired and I can inform you that they would be interested in playing a well thought out and thorough text based game with good sound design, but you gotta make it something unique and interesting. Let me tell you right now that if you made it well enough, you could probably even make a little money off of it, and even if you don't, the individuality will be a great point on your resume as well.

If you can't get an audience here, try presenting it on a forum like audiogames.net and see what they think. If it's accessible with screenreaders then I think you could stir up some interest.

Don't let someone telling you that "there's no market for it" because they can't see it let you down. I really wanna see people stretch their wings and try all sorts of things with these kinds of games.

I actually read a few days ago about a project (sorry I can't provide a link) a gentleman was working on to convert pokemon to a text version so it would be user-friendly for the blind. By taking the graphics out, you don't really lose anything. You're still playing the same game. It's not like a games such as First Person Shooters where graphics are absolutely necessary to play the game.

That sounds eerily similar to my project actually, how ironic lol