Template talk:Grand Crafting Puzzle Project

Just kickstarting another page to get more discussion going on the proposed submission template. --Jdnx429 21:00, 19 August 2006 (PDT)

Addition to template: help needed

One thing that we need to know from the players submitting their desgins is what kind of help they need. By this, I mean- do they have a programmer they know who is going to help program it? Do they have an artist who can help make the images for it? Or do they not have anything except for a desgin, and are looking for people? This would save a lot of forum posting like "Help, I have a design but need a programmer." All someone would have to do would be to look at their entry to see if they could help them. I wasn't sure exactly how to phrase this on the template, anyone else have any ideas? --Darkaardvark 12:25, 22 August 2006 (PDT)

Those aren't, surprisingly, entry issues. Entries are, ideally, just the design. This is a distillation process. Once they pass a certain point we'll work out a way to get it made. That's what we're here for. --Gotagota 18:12, 22 August 2006 (PDT)

Proposed Template Discussion

The stuff on the live 'template' page is eventually going to have to be actual wiki templating code, so I'm moving some of the proposal stuff back here. Eventually this page should be replaced with instructions on using the template, but for now may as well use it for discussion.

I found providing example data really useful in the E2 template instructions, so have filled some in here as if I was proposing Alchemistry as a new puzzle. It's probably not all 100% accurate to the actual Alchemistry, but should be close enough to get the general gist out there.

We'll get a wiki knowledgable person to write the actual template code once we think the fields list looks pretty complete. The template should also include a category designator so we get a category page that includes all of the entries. --Jacquilynne / Jasandrea 20:16, 22 August 2006 (PDT)

I'd suggest that submissions be made as sub-threads to the Grand_Crafting_Puzzle_Project page, named as Grand_Crafting_Puzzle_Project/Codename_Proposal.

I mentioned this on the main page talk, but I recommend a pseudo-namespace (GCPP:Proposal-codename) for proposal pages. It leads to shorter article titles and gives us away to lump support pages (like the main article, the dimensions page, and others together). Also, kudos on the fishname idea. --Fiddler 21:15, 22 August 2006 (PDT)

That sounds great. I'm not a wiki expert by any stretch of the imagination, so anything I suggest is just because I've, you know, heard of doing that. I had guppymomma to do all the heavy lifting during E2 so I only picked up the basics. --Jacquilynne / Jasandrea 06:08, 23 August 2006 (PDT)

I'm putting together a proposal (codename: Barbel) but the section 'Known problems' comes out with title 'Known problem' - am I just doing something wrong, or is this a typo in the template (apologies if I'm just being ignorant)? Deathprog23 17:12, 28 August 2006 (PDT)

I've updated the template, it should read properly now. --Jdnx429 18:13, 28 August 2006 (PDT)

Cheers, looks fine now - though it would be neat if it could change from singular to plural depending on whether bullet points are used or not! Deathprog23 20:39, 28 August 2006 (PDT)

There's no easy way to do that with MediaWiki templating. Adding more complexity to the template for the sake of a cosmetic singular/plural heading isn't worth it with the wiki learning curve already required for folks wanting to propose an idea. --Guppymomma 21:23, 28 August 2006 (PDT)

Proposed fields in template

• I added a field for discussion so that people can place a link to the proposal's discussion thread on the Crafting Puzzle board. I think I did it right, but let me know if I booched it. --Jdnx429 00:19, 24 August 2006 (PDT)

Good add, but maybe it could be up in the 'Contact' info box. Fiddler? --Jacquilynne / Jasandrea 07:17, 24 August 2006 (PDT)

• The way the Additional Contact Info field is set up seems redundant; I don't see the point of having Additional Contact Info and then "Also contact:" right after it. Wouldn't it make more sense to eliminate one or the other? --Underlord^(talk) 21:43, 28 August 2006 (PDT)

Field Name	Field Description	Example Content
Project Code Name	Pick a fishname that would be an allowed in the game that no one else has used yet. You should use this name to name your page, as well.	Trout
Submitters Name	Provide your forum/wiki registration name so you can easily be contacted	jasandrea
Additional Contact Info	Pirate names, email, etc.	On Midnight as Jacquilynne, jacquilynne@canada.com, AIM as jacquilynne
Game Concept	Short description of your Game Concept - keep it to a few sentences. Think of it as your elevator pitch.	A more strategic and complex version of RocketMania without the time pressure.
Objective	What's the goal of the game?	Create paths to fill targets with the correct colours. The essential goal is to create efficient paths from the pieces provided.
Scoring Factors	At a high level, how will the player score 'points'?	Completely filling bottles with all the appropriate colours provides a score per bottle. Bottle scores vary based on number of layers in the bottle and whether they're complex vs. simply colours, value of pours used to fill the bottles (which vary based on how many different layers of different colours are filled within a single pour), and any bonuses that may have been poured into the bottle.
Gameplay	Describe the game play, including what the player is initially faced with when the game starts, and how they manipulate it to get a result.	At the top of the screen are source vats with three colours. At the bottom of the screen are targets, which contain variable numbers of layers. Each layer is randomly one of 6 colours ( the three source colours, plus the three possible secondary colours from blending the source colours ). In between are a number of random lengths of pipe offering various angles of connection and bridges. The player must create pipe paths that connect the source colours to targets with appropriately coloured layers. The pipes rotate in a hexagonal space so may connect in 6 directions. Paths may cross each other using some pipe shapes. Other shapes will allow two source colours to blend to create the complex colours, or a single path to split to create sub-paths. Other shapes may consist of two distinct sections of pipe that neither cross nor join. Pipe shapes may have 2, 3, 4, 5 or all 6 points of connection available. Each session will consist of a number of rounds - players will have a limited number of turns of the pipe pieces to create their paths, and then will have to pour the colours to fill the bottles. If they exceed the limit, their highest value bottles will break, and they'll get more turns added to the round. At the end of the round, targets which are connected to the appropriate colour will be partially filled and the top layer will disappear. Targets which are connected to the wrong colour will shatter. Targets which are not connected to any colour will be unchanged. All the pieces used to create paths will disappear and be replaced by new, randomly generated path pieces for the next round. Once all levels in a target have been filled with colour, it will be scored and replaced with a brand new bottle with all its layers left to be filled.
Variability Factors	What bonus pieces or changing circumstances will a player experience?	Specific bonus pieces will offer small bonuses, the ability to fill multiple layers of the same colour on the same pour, or the ability to create a universal colour source for the next round.
End Criteria	Crafting puzzles involve discrete sessions. What will end a session in your game?	When the player has fully filled the required number of bottles (which changes with difficulty level), the session is over.
Difficulty Scaling	How will the puzzle get harder for those with higher skills?	Bottles will get more different coloured layers and take more pours to fill completely. The number of filled bottles per round will decrease so there is less opportunity for scoring.
Crafting Type	What shoppe type do you think your puzzle corresponds to? If it's appropriate for more than one, or any, that's okay.	Apothecary. Could also be used for distilling.
Known Problems	Enumerate any issues or areas of difficulty with your idea. Pretending there are none doesn't increase your credibility.	With no time limit on the puzzle, people can potentially play forever without finishing a game.
Notes	Additional notes you'd like to add about the game.
Images	Additional images if they're not included in the previous sections. These don't need to be anything approaching final art. Hand drawn sketches are fine - just any visuals you might need to explain the idea.

Suggested improvement re:discussion

I've got a suggested improvement to how people are pointed to the discussion thread. The template used in that one is browsable at template:Grand Crafting Puzzle Project/Proposal. Thoughts? --Ponytailguy 04:33, 31 August 2006 (PDT)