How to make Management Minigame in Ren'Py

[ZinniaAuRevoir]

After so much wandering around with no result I need, I think it's time to ask the elders. Sorry if someone might say I'm arrogant, but I don't want to disturb others in their projects. That's why I wandering around to search the method I need first before troubling others with questions. I might not good in proper manner, please forgive my rudeness.

I have a thing bugging me. How to make a management game like Diner Dash? I want to make a minigame in my big project (I made it slowly but in steady pace, I'm not quite bright, so this might takes years to complete) while take small kinetic novel projects as practice (It's 50% left to finish in 3 languages for first chapter). Thanks for your help and concern .

[apricotorange]

From your description, I'm not sure precisely what the genre of your mini-game is; what exactly are you trying to build?

In terms of presenting a game to the user, screen language (http://www.renpy.org/doc/html/screens.html) is pretty powerful, and creator-defined displayables (http://www.renpy.org/doc/html/udd.html) provide even more power for building complex mini-games. If you look around in the cookbook section of the forum, there's some useful tutorials about how to build complex interfaces in Ren'Py.

If you need help building some particular interface or something along those lines, please give a more precise description of what you're trying to do. Feel free to ask as many questions as you need to.

[ZinniaAuRevoir]

please give a more precise description of what you're trying to do.

Sorry for not making a precise description. I'm pretty bad in asking people.

Since I don't have any reference to show the example, I took a picture of Cooking Dash game in internet.
What do I want to make is a time management minigame in cafe genre to be precise. What do I want to setup is:

1. Timing for the cook to finish her job in the kitchen.


2. Customers' specific time to show up in line


3. Customer patience timing


4. Working time display and it's working


5. Exp, tips and hearts varies on how fast, efficient and gratify the service, which has 5 things;
a. When a customer show up, if he/she has a favorite place to seat (for example seats in veranda) and you manage to take
him/her to the exact place you'll earn 2 hearts, some exp, tips and a heart.
b. Chain works; carrying 2 tables' leftover in the same time
c. While the customers are waiting the hearts will gone gradually and stop when they are looking at menu and eating.
d. Each time you bring customer to his/her seat, serve, receive his/her payment, you will get a heart (does not depend on how
fast your service) and exp (depends on how fast your service).
e. And the player's hero or heroine stats also have some influence on how much tips and exp they'll get and how long the customer
can wait (for example the higher your hero's charisma, the longer time the female customers can wait)

6. When you have enough exp, you'll get a fixed upgrade.

I'm not doing a game just like Cooking Dash, of course. and thanks for your concern, apricotorange.

[apricotorange]

Okay... that's a pretty good start of a description if you're looking for someone to write your mini-game for you. That said, "how do I write this" is a really huge question; there are so many pieces involved that I could go on for pages and only scratch the surface. Maybe start out by looking at the mini-game section of the Tutorial game included in Ren'Py?

There's an active recruitment section of this forum at http://lemmasoft.renai.us/forums/viewforum.php?f=38 if you looking for someone to take a more active role in helping you write your game.

[athenastar17]

Making a game like this is going to take a lot of coding/programming knowledge. If you don't have much coding knowledge, you should start out with something smaller and just work on what Ren'py is actually capable of first. Making something like the shop in Recettear might be easier than starting out coding a diner dash game.

It sounds like you're looking for how to code this specific example, but you should really be looking for all the parts that go into making something like this in Ren'py.

As a programmer, you'll need to know....
1) how to create objects in python (you can use objects for your "waitress," for each customer, and for each "table.")
2) how to use variables in Ren'py and python (you can use variables for your customer patience, money earned, speed of jobs, etc)
2) how to use ATL in Ren'py like the back of your hand
3) how to use loops (if you're a programmer, I sincerely HOPE you already know this)
4) how to handle button events in Ren'py
5) how to use timers in Ren'py/python

If you're not familiar with any of those, as a programmer, you should research that instead, or find a more experienced programmer in the recruitment forums to be part of your team, as apricotorange suggested.

If you ARE familiar with these things, then you can also try searching the internet at large for code examples of the various parts of this game - not necessarily in the python language, or in the context of Ren'py (it's a pretty common design - there should be SOMETHING). If you're comfortable with coding in general, you should be able to translate it into python even if it's in some other language.

PS, you're encouraged to search on your own before asking questions. but it's also okay to ask noob questions. I find everyone here tries to be very nice and polite, unlike on other forums. And don't worry about troubling people with your questions. Everyone on these forums is here because they want to help and be helped by others.... Those who would be "troubled" just don't visit.

[ZinniaAuRevoir]

Sorry for late reply. I have an internet connection problem.

if you looking for someone to take a more active role in helping you write your game.

Thanks, apricotorange. Unfortunately so far I'm not in 'recruiting others' plan.

Making a game like this is going to take a lot of coding/programming knowledge. If you don't have much coding knowledge, you should start out with something smaller and just work on what Ren'py is actually capable of first. Making something like the shop in Recettear might be easier than starting out coding a diner dash game.

It sounds like you're looking for how to code this specific example, but you should really be looking for all the parts that go into making something like this in Ren'py.

As a programmer, you'll need to know....
1) how to create objects in python (you can use objects for your "waitress," for each customer, and for each "table.")
2) how to use variables in Ren'py and python (you can use variables for your customer patience, money earned, speed of jobs, etc)
2) how to use ATL in Ren'py like the back of your hand
3) how to use loops (if you're a programmer, I sincerely HOPE you already know this)
4) how to handle button events in Ren'py
5) how to use timers in Ren'py/python

If you're not familiar with any of those, as a programmer, you should research that instead, or find a more experienced programmer in the recruitment forums to be part of your team, as apricotorange suggested.

If you ARE familiar with these things, then you can also try searching the internet at large for code examples of the various parts of this game - not necessarily in the python language, or in the context of Ren'py (it's a pretty common design - there should be SOMETHING). If you're comfortable with coding in general, you should be able to translate it into python even if it's in some other language.

Thanks for your concern, athenastar17. I'm working on a kn for now as a small project.
What should I say? I'm drawing when I feel drowsy in class to be exact. For not wasting any paper and everything I've drawn like the old days, I guess I need to put a goal on everything I might draw every time I feel drowsy during the lesson until the sleepiness gone. These might be useful to improve my language at the same time.

And like before, I'm not in the 'recruiting others' plan. But as you and apricotorange suggest, I keep it in my mind and my to-do-list when the time comes.

Well, I can't say I'm familiar with those 5 things you said, but I've done plenty of attempts on every single information I got in Ren'Py wiki and many problems I read in Ren'Py Questions and Announcements thread for a complete year. It's amusing when a couple of words and blocks and whatever-you-write can pull a big, awesome things in front of your eyes. Uh oh! My bad for being too curious in everything.

PS, you're encouraged to search on your own before asking questions. but it's also okay to ask noob questions. I find everyone here tries to be very nice and polite, unlike on other forums. And don't worry about troubling people with your questions. Everyone on these forums is here because they want to help and be helped by others.... Those who would be "troubled" just don't visit.

I'm not that encouraged at first. Everything I've done is driven by my curiosity... It's not a very helpful traits, since I always got into accidents and problems but I'm grateful for its value which leads me to my own way for entertaining myself. Even my dad calls me 'my curious kitten'.