Mining minigame in RPG
by Steve Fletcher · in Game Design and Creative Issues · 10/14/2003 (11:50 am) · 10 replies
I'm planning to make a minigame for mining ore in Mythale RPG.
The player's goal in the minigame is to get ore, which he/she can either sell or use to make weapons, armor, etc.
The problem is that I need ideas about how this will work.
I want there to be things you interact with to open up new areas. Levers can be used to open up various areas of the mine. Each lever would open some passageways (by openning doors, putting down bridges, etc.) and close others.
I need more ideas about how to make this better though.
Some of these ideas could be used elsewhere in the game as well.
Right now, you stand there and hit walls containing ore with a specific type of weapon. When you've hit it enough, the wall breaks, and you get the ore. This isn't all that fun, and it is similar to chopping down trees.
I want the minigame to be different. So one specific problem is how the player should actually get the ore.
Should he smash the walls like he does now? Or should he use some obect to blow up a bunch of walls and give him the ore? Or should the ore just be sitting around but hard to get to (i.e. you have to go flip levers and what-not)?
I plan to look at some old games to get ideas, but I figured I'd also post here, since this is Idea Central.
The player's goal in the minigame is to get ore, which he/she can either sell or use to make weapons, armor, etc.
The problem is that I need ideas about how this will work.
I want there to be things you interact with to open up new areas. Levers can be used to open up various areas of the mine. Each lever would open some passageways (by openning doors, putting down bridges, etc.) and close others.
I need more ideas about how to make this better though.
Some of these ideas could be used elsewhere in the game as well.
Right now, you stand there and hit walls containing ore with a specific type of weapon. When you've hit it enough, the wall breaks, and you get the ore. This isn't all that fun, and it is similar to chopping down trees.
I want the minigame to be different. So one specific problem is how the player should actually get the ore.
Should he smash the walls like he does now? Or should he use some obect to blow up a bunch of walls and give him the ore? Or should the ore just be sitting around but hard to get to (i.e. you have to go flip levers and what-not)?
I plan to look at some old games to get ideas, but I figured I'd also post here, since this is Idea Central.
About the author
#2
10/15/2003 (8:28 am)
Well i think it would be a good idea for a job to do in the game not a minigame in the game. 
#3
That exactly one of the things our group is talking about.
Certain areas could produce needed resources. for instance FXfoliage lays grass around in our world.
Well I got a healer who needs certain flowers that only grow in certain places. Certain areas of FXfoliage could produce these special flowers.
For mining we thought using particle emitters mounted to special areas in the mine. you hit these areas with pick axes the rocks fly out.
10/15/2003 (9:21 am)
Its not a bad idea, Your trying to figure out a way to get some sort of resource out of the game and make it fun to boot!!That exactly one of the things our group is talking about.
Certain areas could produce needed resources. for instance FXfoliage lays grass around in our world.
Well I got a healer who needs certain flowers that only grow in certain places. Certain areas of FXfoliage could produce these special flowers.
For mining we thought using particle emitters mounted to special areas in the mine. you hit these areas with pick axes the rocks fly out.
#4
The player goes up to the wall and takes out their pick-axe(or insert ore-mining object here), and begins to hit the wall. For every hit, a small amount of ore will appear in their inventory(you can make it a numerical designation with an icon to keep it simple), but depending on where they are, they may get more or less per hit. You see, ore is never evenly distributed, so it depends on what object they're mining to get that stuff, and that makes them look around for the best ore.
Not exactly a mini-game, but I don't think that that's going to be much fun by itself in any event. It's more along the lines of tradeskills. Now, if you make it sort of like an adventure to get to where the ore is, now *that* can be fun...
10/15/2003 (9:22 am)
Well, how does the wall "blow up" or "come down"? Seems particle-heavy. You know what you can do?The player goes up to the wall and takes out their pick-axe(or insert ore-mining object here), and begins to hit the wall. For every hit, a small amount of ore will appear in their inventory(you can make it a numerical designation with an icon to keep it simple), but depending on where they are, they may get more or less per hit. You see, ore is never evenly distributed, so it depends on what object they're mining to get that stuff, and that makes them look around for the best ore.
Not exactly a mini-game, but I don't think that that's going to be much fun by itself in any event. It's more along the lines of tradeskills. Now, if you make it sort of like an adventure to get to where the ore is, now *that* can be fun...
#5
The problem is that mining is currently EXACTLY like chopping down trees. I want it to be different in some significant way.
For the walls exploding, there would just be an animation of walls breaking into dust. Since this a 2d tile-based game (which I neglected to mention), it will just be a section of tiles. So I won't have to worry about particles and such.
I've been thinking about the whole minigame thing, and it has a number of flaws. The lever-pulling thing is just silly for mining. It's really more of a dungeon-exploring thing.
And I don't want to make a minigame like Boulder Dash or something. It has to be something that:
a) makes sense for mining
b) is fun
c) isn't the same as chopping down trees
Maybe it can be like Harvest Moon except with mining instead of farming.
I'll loook on the Internet and see if anything inspires me...
10/16/2003 (9:44 am)
Right now, I have it set up so that the player just hits the walls (with whatever mining instrument I finally decide on) until they come down. Then they get one piece of ore, but I was planning on making it so that they have a mining skill that determines their probability of getting certain amounts of ore.The problem is that mining is currently EXACTLY like chopping down trees. I want it to be different in some significant way.
For the walls exploding, there would just be an animation of walls breaking into dust. Since this a 2d tile-based game (which I neglected to mention), it will just be a section of tiles. So I won't have to worry about particles and such.
I've been thinking about the whole minigame thing, and it has a number of flaws. The lever-pulling thing is just silly for mining. It's really more of a dungeon-exploring thing.
And I don't want to make a minigame like Boulder Dash or something. It has to be something that:
a) makes sense for mining
b) is fun
c) isn't the same as chopping down trees
Maybe it can be like Harvest Moon except with mining instead of farming.
I'll loook on the Internet and see if anything inspires me...
#6
10/16/2003 (9:45 am)
Ryan has a point. It shouldn't be much like a minigame. Just something that you can do in the game that's fun. 
#7
walls. This way player will be alert and it will give some adrenaline rush. Also, there can be dwarven treasures hidden somewhere. PLayers will try to exploit all of the mine just to find surprises.
Water. dont know how to use it exactly, but hitting a subterran river should trigger something which requires players action. maybe escape the mine.
Create something fantasy-crazy like "Living Gold" - some gold nuggets dont simply lay on ground once the wall collapses - they try to get away from player who has to chase them. They ought to have higher value as well though:)
If such a surprises would gradually reveal during the game, mining will not be so dull, I think.
10/16/2003 (10:08 am)
Throw in some spiders and crawlers in between the mine walls. This way player will be alert and it will give some adrenaline rush. Also, there can be dwarven treasures hidden somewhere. PLayers will try to exploit all of the mine just to find surprises.
Water. dont know how to use it exactly, but hitting a subterran river should trigger something which requires players action. maybe escape the mine.
Create something fantasy-crazy like "Living Gold" - some gold nuggets dont simply lay on ground once the wall collapses - they try to get away from player who has to chase them. They ought to have higher value as well though:)
If such a surprises would gradually reveal during the game, mining will not be so dull, I think.
#8
The problem is that mining is intended to be primarily for the craftsman-types, who don't particularly like fighting. So putting in enemies would be bad idea.
What I can do is put mine enemies in places where you don't have to go unless you want to. So there'll be 2 sections - 1 where just mine stuff and another that's got enemies in it. The 2 sections will have to be seperated somehow.
I've been thinking about that whole exploding walls thing. Maybe you can normally mine the ore by hitting it with your hammer (or whatever), but some kinds of wall are too strong. Then you could detonate some sort of machine (which would just be sitting there) to destroy the tough kind of wall.
I was thinking about adding "stone" in addition to ore and gemstones. Stone would be used for building (which I plan to add to the game). The tough walls could be made of stone instead of ore.
Destroying the tough walls could also open up paths to new areas in the mine.
For water, you'd need to cross a bridge to get to more ore. In some cases, you would need to pull a lever or something to put the bridge down. So water can be used to seperate areas of the mine.
The "Living Gold" idea is a good one. I could make some of the walls be golems made out of that kind of ore. Then when you hit them, they go running off. And you have to chase them down. Maybe they could go some distance away and then turn into a wall again. So it's not really a big deal - it's just something weird to keep the player occupied.
Aside from ore, there's also gemstones, which you just pick up. That's not quite enough excitment though. In fact, it's so unworthy of note that I didn't even bother to post that information here before.
I was thinking that could be some sort of mine cart, but I don't know what anyone would do with it. I don't want them to have to mine the ore and then put in the cart to get it. That would be a frustrating way to get ore.
So the plan is now: gems that you pick up, ore in walls that you hit with hammers, stone in walls that you blow up with bombs (which are just sitting next to the walls), walls that turn into golems when you hit them, water that you have to put bridges across, enemies in a special section, and treasures hidden throughout the mine.
The enemies and treasures should probably be in the same section.
I think that's good enough, but I'm open to opinions. I won't implement this right away so that I have time to change things before they're actually in the game. I have other things that still need implemented, so it's not like I'll be wasting time.
10/17/2003 (7:45 am)
Well...The problem is that mining is intended to be primarily for the craftsman-types, who don't particularly like fighting. So putting in enemies would be bad idea.
What I can do is put mine enemies in places where you don't have to go unless you want to. So there'll be 2 sections - 1 where just mine stuff and another that's got enemies in it. The 2 sections will have to be seperated somehow.
I've been thinking about that whole exploding walls thing. Maybe you can normally mine the ore by hitting it with your hammer (or whatever), but some kinds of wall are too strong. Then you could detonate some sort of machine (which would just be sitting there) to destroy the tough kind of wall.
I was thinking about adding "stone" in addition to ore and gemstones. Stone would be used for building (which I plan to add to the game). The tough walls could be made of stone instead of ore.
Destroying the tough walls could also open up paths to new areas in the mine.
For water, you'd need to cross a bridge to get to more ore. In some cases, you would need to pull a lever or something to put the bridge down. So water can be used to seperate areas of the mine.
The "Living Gold" idea is a good one. I could make some of the walls be golems made out of that kind of ore. Then when you hit them, they go running off. And you have to chase them down. Maybe they could go some distance away and then turn into a wall again. So it's not really a big deal - it's just something weird to keep the player occupied.
Aside from ore, there's also gemstones, which you just pick up. That's not quite enough excitment though. In fact, it's so unworthy of note that I didn't even bother to post that information here before.
I was thinking that could be some sort of mine cart, but I don't know what anyone would do with it. I don't want them to have to mine the ore and then put in the cart to get it. That would be a frustrating way to get ore.
So the plan is now: gems that you pick up, ore in walls that you hit with hammers, stone in walls that you blow up with bombs (which are just sitting next to the walls), walls that turn into golems when you hit them, water that you have to put bridges across, enemies in a special section, and treasures hidden throughout the mine.
The enemies and treasures should probably be in the same section.
I think that's good enough, but I'm open to opinions. I won't implement this right away so that I have time to change things before they're actually in the game. I have other things that still need implemented, so it's not like I'll be wasting time.
#9
Another thing is, what is the difference between gem stones and ore? Are they both forms of money? You may want to consider having only one form of money.
10/19/2003 (10:51 am)
I like the way the shovel worked in Zelda:The Oracle of Ages for GBC. You basically have a shovel, and you can walk around with it equipped and if you are standing on a dirt surface you can dig with it and sometimes money comes out and sometimes it doesnt. In fact, I think even enemies come out once in awhile. Another thing is, what is the difference between gem stones and ore? Are they both forms of money? You may want to consider having only one form of money.
#10
I think I'll add something like that to the game, but I don't want it to be exactly like that. Maybe it'll be the dwarven treasures thing Nauris was talking about...
There could be 2 different kinds of ore walls that look the same. Some of them give you ore and others give you some sort of special hidden item. The item itself doesn't do anything, but if you get alot of them you could do something.
Alternately, I could do this for chopping down trees. When you chop down one of the hidden trees, a fairy appears. Talk to all the hidden fairies to get some sort of benefit.
Mining is already looking pretty good, so I think I'll toss that in chopping down trees.
Ore and gemstones aren't money. They're just resources that you use to make stuff like weapons and armor. Ore and gemstones used for different kinds of items.
Gold is the only kind of money, and that's just completely seperate from mining. But I think I might add a gold mine - just because that's a sensible sort of mine to have. It might be a "bonus" area near the end of the game.
10/19/2003 (12:04 pm)
Hey, that shovel idea is a good one. I remember a Zelda game for GBC (probably the same one) where I used to enjoy doing that. There were seashells or something that you could find and take somewhere to exchange for something.I think I'll add something like that to the game, but I don't want it to be exactly like that. Maybe it'll be the dwarven treasures thing Nauris was talking about...
There could be 2 different kinds of ore walls that look the same. Some of them give you ore and others give you some sort of special hidden item. The item itself doesn't do anything, but if you get alot of them you could do something.
Alternately, I could do this for chopping down trees. When you chop down one of the hidden trees, a fairy appears. Talk to all the hidden fairies to get some sort of benefit.
Mining is already looking pretty good, so I think I'll toss that in chopping down trees.
Ore and gemstones aren't money. They're just resources that you use to make stuff like weapons and armor. Ore and gemstones used for different kinds of items.
Gold is the only kind of money, and that's just completely seperate from mining. But I think I might add a gold mine - just because that's a sensible sort of mine to have. It might be a "bonus" area near the end of the game.
Steve Fletcher
I guess this is just a bad idea then. Maybe I should just forget about changing mining around.