[Developing] Pokemon: Journey (A text-based adventure/strategy/sim game)

[00Vampire]

Question of the day: Should I show Pokemon's remaining hp in battle, or leave as is?

A mixture of story-driven, descriptive adventure game with a little bit of strategy/sim game thrown in.

It's still in the very early stages of development, but that means it's the perfect time to take on ideas, critiques and suggestions!

Recent Update:

• The menu is now more image-based, which I feel is a lot nicer than just a long list of options.
• To flesh out the world (and occasionally give some foreshadowing), I've added a News section to the Menu Screen. On most days, the game will display a unique headline detailing events happening around the region. You could then read the whole article or just ignore it.

Welcome to Kanto, but not quite as you know it!

Locations:
(Bold = Done)

Spoiler:

Pallet Harbour
Pallet Town
Pale Woods
Route 001
Shade Grove
Viridian City
Route 022
Pokemon Gate
Route 002
Viridian Forest
Diglett's Cave
Pewter City
Route 003
Pewter Valley
Mt. Moon
Azure Village
Route 004
Cerulean City
Route 024
Keppal Village
Cerulean Cave
Maiden Point
Route 005
Papaya Ranch
Saffron City
Jasper Temple
Silph Estate
Industrial District
Entertainment District
Route 006
Vermillion City
Vermillion Port
Route 007
East Celadon
Route 017
West Celadon
Route 016
Teal Park
Reseda Resort
Route 018
Pastel Village
Laurel Island
Route 009
Rock Tunnel
Power Plant
Route 010
Lavender Town
Route 008
Route 012
Route 011
Route 013
Scarlet Village
Route 14
Midnight Ruins
Mulberry Village
Route 015
Old Wharf Bay
Fuchsia City
Safari Reserve
Porta Vista
Route 019
Fuchsia Port
Route 020
Seafoam Islands
Cinnabar Island
Route 021
Route 023
Victory Road
Indigo City
Route ???
???

Story:
16 years ago, your father lost a friend to the forces of nature known as the Legendary Birds. He gave up on his journey as a Pokemon Trainer.
Now it's your time.
Travel around the region, collecting and training your Pokemon. Compete in various tournaments and challenge Gym Leaders. Build your reputation and followers, increase your Trainer Rank and fill that Pokedex!
But the world is a dangerous place. Pokemon can be cuddly and friendly, or vicious predators. And the Legendary Birds are still out there, causing destruction whenever they awake from their slumber.

Can't really go into to much more detail without spoiling things!


Features:

• In-depth descriptive storytelling
• Earn Gym badges in any order
• Time system, with date-specific events
• Various tournaments scattered throughout the yearly calendar
• Lots more locations than original Kanto
• Pokemon can get injuries, requiring them to be left at Pokecentres for certain amounts of time
• In non-regulated battles, your Pokemon can die if forced to fight with Critical injuries
• Reputation System (build up your fanbase, or follow other Trainers too)
• Still adding to this list!

Screenshots



Now for the best part. Play the demo here:

I've decided to remove the gamefor now. I will re-upload when I feel there is a substantial amount of content. Keep checking back for updates!


Pokemon Location Guide:

Spoiler:

Pale Woods:

Spoiler:

Oddish, Bellsprout - Very Common
Tangela - Common
Farfetchd, Jigglypuff - Uncommon
Bulbasaur - Very rare.

Route 001:

Spoiler:

Pidgey, Rattata - Very Common
Oddish, Bellsprout - Uncommon
Pidgeotto, Raticate, Gloom, Weepinbell - Rare

 

[mgriffin]

I love interactive fiction, so obviously I think this is awesome! :D

One thing I'd say is that it's a bit tricky to understand the battle messages when (e.g.) my Pidgey battles another Pidgey:

Pidgey attacks first.

Pidgey uses Tackle.

Pidgey takes 21% damage!



Pidgey used Tackle.

It's a hit. Pidgey took 16% damage!Your Pokedex displays its remaining health at 84%.

My Pidgey is the one that did 16% damage, but it always takes a second for me to understand. I probably should have nicknamed it so this wouldn't happen :D

 

[FeraligatrMaster]

I've played the demo with all 3 starters, and I'm ready to give feedback.

Charmander and Squirtle can learn Vine Whip, but neither of them should.

When catching a third Pokemon, I didn't see the option NO, only YES. So you're pretty much forced to give it a nickname.

 

[00Vampire]

I love interactive fiction, so obviously I think this is awesome! :D

One thing I'd say is that it's a bit tricky to understand the battle messages when (e.g.) my Pidgey battles another Pidgey:

My Pidgey is the one that did 16% damage, but it always takes a second for me to understand. I probably should have nicknamed it so this wouldn't happen :D

Thanks! I've now added the term 'enemy' before opponent's Pokemon. 😄

I've played the demo with all 3 starters, and I'm ready to give feedback.

Charmander and Squirtle can learn Vine Whip, but neither of them should.

When catching a third Pokemon, I didn't see the option NO, only YES. So you're pretty much forced to give it a nickname.

Thanks for the feedback. Charmander and Squirtle now learn Ember and Bubble respectively. I originally left off the NO's as you could just ignore the YES's and click on the other links to continue, but I've changed that now and added in NO's to be less confusing. 😄

 

[RogueUchiha200]

I like this game to be honest, it's a very nice change of pace from the rpgs and spinoffs. I really like this game. I hope you continue to develop this game but some advice. Take your time and enjoy making it, game making shouldn't be a chore. I hope you take your time and pour passion into this project. I hope to see more from you as well and maybe one day you'll reach top page. Have nice day/evening/night/ -Rogue :)

 

[00Vampire]

I like this game to be honest, it's a very nice change of pace from the rpgs and spinoffs. I really like this game. I hope you continue to develop this game but some advice. Take your time and enjoy making it, game making shouldn't be a chore. I hope you take your time and pour passion into this project. I hope to see more from you as well and maybe one day you'll reach top page. Have nice day/evening/night/ -Rogue :)

Thanks, that's some good advice.


I've updated the first post to represent the drastic change in gameplay. Feedback would be greatly appreciated. 😄

 

[cazadore]

interesting will wait for more to be done and bugs to be ironed out to though

 

[RogueUchiha200]

Thanks, that's some good advice.


I've updated the first post to represent the drastic change in gameplay. Feedback would be greatly appreciated. 😄

I was quite shocked to see how much was changed compared to last version. While I am quite impressed with this, I dunno, but in my opinion it feels kinda empty. ('m not talking about the content, the content we have right now is pretty dang good.) I do miss the story though (though it was probably removed for a reason) as it made me feel like I was growing alongside my Pokemon. I didn't encounter any bugs just my ignorance of not reading the update log. Overall, while I do like this; I do miss the story mode we got from the last version. But here's a question, is there gonna be a story mode or no? If so, will it start like the last version or not? I will continue to support this project and whatever you do with this. I see immense potential in this. I do hope you continue this project, but remember to take breaks ever so often to prevent burnout and to be healthy. With much care- Rogue (Have a nice one Vampire. :) )

 

[00Vampire]

I was quite shocked to see how much was changed compared to last version. While I am quite impressed with this, I dunno, but in my opinion it feels kinda empty. ('m not talking about the content, the content we have right now is pretty dang good.) I do miss the story though (though it was probably removed for a reason) as it made me feel like I was growing alongside my Pokemon. I didn't encounter any bugs just my ignorance of not reading the update log. Overall, while I do like this; I do miss the story mode we got from the last version. But here's a question, is there gonna be a story mode or no? If so, will it start like the last version or not? I will continue to support this project and whatever you do with this. I see immense potential in this. I do hope you continue this project, but remember to take breaks ever so often to prevent burnout and to be healthy. With much care- Rogue (Have a nice one Vampire. :) )

I've taken your comments on board. I'm going to combine the story elements with the gameplay. I have now added a very story-heavy Prologue, and eventually bits of story/description will be insterspersed within the gameplay. Hope you like it 😄

 

[FeraligatrMaster]

I see Metapod, Butterfree, Kakuna, and Beedrill in the yet to catch list, but the evolutions of the other Pokemon are missing, even though some evolved Pokemon are catchable in the wild in the main games.

 

[00Vampire]

I see Metapod, Butterfree, Kakuna, and Beedrill in the yet to catch list, but the evolutions of the other Pokemon are missing, even though some evolved Pokemon are catchable in the wild in the main games.

The Pokedex is unfinished at the moment, but there will be evolved Pokemon available to catch in the wild also. Evolved Pokemon in the wild will on average have a higher Potential, but be rarer.

 

[RogueUchiha200]

I've taken your comments on board. I'm going to combine the story elements with the gameplay. I have now added a very story-heavy Prologue, and eventually bits of story/description will be insterspersed within the gameplay. Hope you like it 😄

I enjoyed the prologue a lot. I also enjoyed the fact that some choices in said prologue reflect once you get to your own journey which is nice attention to detail. Overall I enjoyed this more than I do toast and butter. My faith in you is stronger than ever and I hope you can continue this project, its a very good one.

 

[jboyneymar]

When I picked the compete option in pallet town nothing happened not sure what happened with the game

 

[00Vampire]

When I picked the compete option in pallet town nothing happened not sure what happened with the game

Currently I've only finished three tournaments, (and they're a little barebones at the moment). You can see when they are happening by looking at the schedule. This is the main thing I'll be looking at for the next update.


UPDATE:

• Added descriptions for first-time travelling Route 1, Viridian City, Route 2 and Viridian Forest.
• Added all catchable Pokemon to Viridian Forest
• Finished sprite lists for Party (all evolved Pokemon now showing)
• Moved Schedule to Bag, added Maps
• Wild Pokemon encounters now show wild Pokemon's sprite
• Made more progress on Pokedex sprites (still not quite finished)

The biggest thing I want to show off is the maps of the region. This is Kanto, but not quite as you know it.

​

 

[jboyneymar]

I am unable to progress past viridian town wondering if that's a bug or if that's just how far you have gotten, either way, great game so far

 

[00Vampire]

*UPDATE*

I've made it so you can no longer get stuck in a dead end. You can only travel to places that have been scripted. (Pallet, Viridian, Routes 1 and 2, Viridian Forest)

Also, the tournaments are currently removed until they are re-coded. However, you can now take part in random one-off single battles to earn money/increase your rep.

I never intended to go full on battle system as it would be way too time consuming. So I've settled for a very Rock-Paper-Scissors style simple battle system. There are no ATK, DEF, etc stats - instead a Pokemon's level and potential influence the strength of their attacks and their health points. Also, because you don't know what Pokemon you will be facing until you're in battle, I found the not-very/super effective dynamic was too decisive. So type matchups only come into play when the player or opponent use a Special attack. (There may be one or two errors with the type-matchups at the moment, but it should be accurate majority of the time.)

Should I show the Pokemon's health during battle? Or keep as is?

 

[ChelseaForever]

There's not much to do at the moment, but it's certainly interesting. Will keep an eye out for updates!

And I think I would personally prefer to be able to see Pokemon's hp, but I don't fell like it's a deal breaker.

 

[00Vampire]

There's not much to do at the moment, but it's certainly interesting. Will keep an eye out for updates!

And I think I would personally prefer to be able to see Pokemon's hp, but I don't fell like it's a deal breaker.

I've decided to remove the link for now, as like you said there's not much to do at the moment. I'll keep posting updates for now, and once I get to a point where I feel there is a decent amount of content (probably two badges, and a good amount of story), I'll repost the link.

Latest update involving *News* and *New Menu* added to first post.

 

[Bored and Tired]

I like it, but i'd like more... I don't know "evil" choices? or choices in general, I love choices, And bad ones at that, If you're gonna make a text based game and considering what you've got right now, add "evil/bad" choices and choices in general, it may change the game a little or a but it'd be fun, and i'd love it.. Probably.. Anyway would love a download, kinda sad you removed it..