In trying to generate an interesting graph for my overworld, I got a bit lost on different techniques. The one I settled on in the end is nothing fancy, though it reminded me of my research days, but for now it serves its purpose: generating a believable enough graph for a story to take place in. After describing in more details the context of what I set out to do, I want to highlight one of my early attempts, as a cautionary tale that sometimes, fancier is the enemy of good.

When I started working this time around on Infinite Storyes, I knew I wanted to simplify the world representation. Earlier incarnations had an overworld map, no matter how simplified - think Mount and Blade: Bannerlord for the 3D type, or Unreal World for the 2D one. In these games, you explore a vast place, the size of a small country, on a zoomed-out overworld map, but have interactions with very local things - a village, a person, on a zoomed-in map.

Before setting up my Godot editor for pixel art, I had to decide on a screen size. I watched this excellent video from Adam C Younis, a fantastic gamedev artist with a very pedagogic approach. I settled in my case on a screen size of 480x270, with a default zoom set to 4, to nicely fit with the standard 1920x1080 resolution. The travel screen, of which I discussed last time, will be a bit bigger, at 640x320, to always have the feeling that the world is bigger than you are.

For as long as I can remember, I loved hiking. More precisely, I loved hiking but hated going back the same way I arrived. A loop though? Perfect. Each step forward brings the promise of discovery. Nothing beats for me the feeling of walking up a slope and discover a magnificent vista - finally see the destination, a lake, contemplate a sunset, or find the perfect camping spot. It’s this feeling of exploration and anticipation that I aim to capture in the travel screen of Infinite Storyes.

I’ve started the process (again) of creating the game I always wanted to play - a unique adventure named Infinite Storyes. Yes, with a “y”. The concept is quite unique, though over the years some games like Wildermyth, Pendragon, and Roadwarden came really close. Infinite Storyes is not just a game; it’s a fantasy story generator at its core. You will embark on quests leading you on a journey through a living world, where you will interact with believable people.