Let's Kickstart an Open Source DM Engine
Posted: Sun Dec 16, 2018 3:07 pm
Ok so you have all probably seen that there have been lots of successful crowdfunding projects where classic games or types of games have been brought back to life.
I know there have been things like Legend of Grimrock which trade heavily on their association with DM. But what I am thinking about is an engine rather than a game.
Something like the open source versions of Doom that are available, which work with the old Doom mod but also allow new mods to be designed with new features.
Specifically what I am thinking about is a whizzy, shiny new interface for playing DM games. Taking advantage of, for example, touch screen controls.
My vision is that the user would be able to download the engine, which would come with some new dungeons created by the team. If they wanted, they would be able to load in classic dungeon.dat files from DM, CSB, DM2, or those given away on this site, and play them.
It would be released free of charge as open source software, and we'd create some nice packaged versions with artwork and collectables, for people who backed it. The crowdfunding would only have to cover the cost of development, because as we aren't making a commercial project we don't have to worry about marketing, packaging, distribution etc.
From my understanding, this would involve doing two things - one, creating the new engine and interface, and two - recreating the assets from the original games so we wouldn't be in breach of copyright by distributing it.
As far as the engine goes, as long as it recreates all of the features of the original DM I would be happy. This has obviously been done already multiple times by people on this site, and I've had many hours of fun playing different versions, and am indebted to their creators for that. If any of them are reading this and would like to be involved, I'd be overjoyed. It's obviously very possible to do this. If possible I'd also like to build in more advanced features - improved enemy AI, more complex NPC interactions. I am sure this is all possible too.
Recreating the interface - DM's interface is amazing, even after all these years its highly intuitive and that's more than you can say about just about any RPG engine of its era. But in 2019 there's definitely room for improvement. The viewing window could be made bigger, the position of character portraits and icons could be re-thought to make something that "flows" more like how modern gamers expect a game to work these days. Ideally this would all be highly user configurable. Icons and buttons could be re-arranged as the player (or dungeon designer) sees fit.
Recreating the assets would be essential as DM is still copyrighted IP. This wouldn't be a small job, as a minimum I'd like to see all of the monsters, items, scenery etc from DM, DM2 and CSB recreated in high definition. I imagine this might be where the majority of the funding would go.
Regarding the issue of copyright, if this was going to go ahead I would make efforts to contact the original creators as well as the current copyright holders. Of course it would be great if we could get their endorsement - if anyone involved back then wanted to get involved with this now, then that would be a huge benefit. But I'm not in any way counting on it. Getting backing from the rights holders might let us, for example, use assets such as the artwork or even the name "Dungeon Master".It would also be a publicity boost for the project and help us put together some cool backer incentives for those who are putting up money for something that will eventually be a free product. All of which I'd love to do - but I think the project is viable without it.
So what do you guys here think? I know you are the DM hardcore - those who have kept the flame alive for the last 30 (!) years - do you think this is a good idea? Is there anyone who'd be willing to be involved? Personally I can bring to the table experience of UI design, planning Kickstarter campaigns, as well as games industry contacts. I'd need team members able to help with programming, artwork and sound effect design. Anyone up for it?
I know there have been things like Legend of Grimrock which trade heavily on their association with DM. But what I am thinking about is an engine rather than a game.
Something like the open source versions of Doom that are available, which work with the old Doom mod but also allow new mods to be designed with new features.
Specifically what I am thinking about is a whizzy, shiny new interface for playing DM games. Taking advantage of, for example, touch screen controls.
My vision is that the user would be able to download the engine, which would come with some new dungeons created by the team. If they wanted, they would be able to load in classic dungeon.dat files from DM, CSB, DM2, or those given away on this site, and play them.
It would be released free of charge as open source software, and we'd create some nice packaged versions with artwork and collectables, for people who backed it. The crowdfunding would only have to cover the cost of development, because as we aren't making a commercial project we don't have to worry about marketing, packaging, distribution etc.
From my understanding, this would involve doing two things - one, creating the new engine and interface, and two - recreating the assets from the original games so we wouldn't be in breach of copyright by distributing it.
As far as the engine goes, as long as it recreates all of the features of the original DM I would be happy. This has obviously been done already multiple times by people on this site, and I've had many hours of fun playing different versions, and am indebted to their creators for that. If any of them are reading this and would like to be involved, I'd be overjoyed. It's obviously very possible to do this. If possible I'd also like to build in more advanced features - improved enemy AI, more complex NPC interactions. I am sure this is all possible too.
Recreating the interface - DM's interface is amazing, even after all these years its highly intuitive and that's more than you can say about just about any RPG engine of its era. But in 2019 there's definitely room for improvement. The viewing window could be made bigger, the position of character portraits and icons could be re-thought to make something that "flows" more like how modern gamers expect a game to work these days. Ideally this would all be highly user configurable. Icons and buttons could be re-arranged as the player (or dungeon designer) sees fit.
Recreating the assets would be essential as DM is still copyrighted IP. This wouldn't be a small job, as a minimum I'd like to see all of the monsters, items, scenery etc from DM, DM2 and CSB recreated in high definition. I imagine this might be where the majority of the funding would go.
Regarding the issue of copyright, if this was going to go ahead I would make efforts to contact the original creators as well as the current copyright holders. Of course it would be great if we could get their endorsement - if anyone involved back then wanted to get involved with this now, then that would be a huge benefit. But I'm not in any way counting on it. Getting backing from the rights holders might let us, for example, use assets such as the artwork or even the name "Dungeon Master".It would also be a publicity boost for the project and help us put together some cool backer incentives for those who are putting up money for something that will eventually be a free product. All of which I'd love to do - but I think the project is viable without it.
So what do you guys here think? I know you are the DM hardcore - those who have kept the flame alive for the last 30 (!) years - do you think this is a good idea? Is there anyone who'd be willing to be involved? Personally I can bring to the table experience of UI design, planning Kickstarter campaigns, as well as games industry contacts. I'd need team members able to help with programming, artwork and sound effect design. Anyone up for it?
pity. Thank you doll, you made my day. There are a few people who already agree with you.