And so the continuing story of a quack whose gone to the dogs (always good fun to laugh at myself) but there is a part 3 and there is more, but I cannot give the game away (at present). So as I was designing and redesigning the game I my mind (not graphically) there was the setting of the next part which is a little in the open. It becomes the stage of ‘Heralding’ my entry as a Fakir of Baghdad. It is the fist definite stage on becoming a person for good, or a person of debatable conditioning. You see, Evil is only in existence of this who ‘claim’ themselves to be good, evil is their opposite, or so they seem to think. But being evil is merely a stepping stone. It is always carved to the degree others think what evil was. But we have good and an opposite and that is where the game goes. As I see it, as a Fakir you will get a malleable setting. The good get the power of water, the others get the setting of fire and as you complete the stage you get introduced to either and take another trip to a cave the damp cave for the water Djini Zarek or fire Djini Zulrekh. The setting will decide how the Italian fortress of the game is dealt with. The Arabian lands are dry, the water had left them, but what you will discover is that the Italians built over a earlier stage of the underground waters, they dammed the waters in and kept a well for themselves. As such you are treated by Zulrekh as the instigator of flames, burning the enemy down and the Italians become the firewood of your power. As you became Fakir, you were also given access to a staff (which must be bought) the staff is the same either way, but the way the staff is gained is important. In a previous mission you were able to get a staff, but either you steal it, or you perform tasks to get it. If you steal the staff, you get a beggars staff which is an oak staff and you get the dream to find Zulrekh in the cinder cave, if you perform the tasks you get the dream of the Water Djini Zarek who invites you to the damp cave. That is the step that defines your route. Zarek tells you:
Hello young one, You did well, you please me with the route that is fluidic like water. You did the task and now I seek you out, there is much to tell. The western Italici decided to put there fortress on top of the streams that feed Bagdad, they blocked the waters keeping little for themselves. This water can no longer feed Baghdad, the tigris still flows, but no longer to Baghdad. They must now travel to the Tigris every day to get their waters. But water is strong, so I will teach you how water breaks stone and you can crush the Italians by crushing the walls of their dam and their fortress and the waters will return to the people feeding their needs. Water is an elemental power and it is strong, so you will face new hardships, but you will come out stronger and more fluidic than you have ever been. In this cave challenge you will only get a stream of water, as you smother fire you also give animals a route to escape and as the animals escape your stream becomes stronger and you will be able to stop the flames.
The idea becomes to soften the earth and washing the mud over the cinders fueling the fire. The challenge is not hard, but it shows how a simple stream washes sand, making it mud, as the stream becomes stronger you can unset boulders and they will move over the hay smothering the fuel for the flames. As you do this, you are attacked by scorpions and you can direct the stream over the scorpions washing them away. This is almost how it needs to be, I reckon that some ‘prototyping’ will be required,
Zulrekh tells you:
Young one, your enemy has a fortress, it must burn, their people must burn, it is the only way. And in this task you end the fuel that stops the Arabian people being free. You must attack their ability to wage war against us, they become the fuel to your fire and that fire will fuel your powers too, it is your destiny to free the people to your needs and as they serve you, you will serve my needs too.
And as such you are given the task of flaming the small boys in armor that represent the Italians and as such your flames become stronger and as you burn these little warriors you also gain mana and power just like the washed scorpions did, in the end both will give you a mana segment and your mana will get +5 making your actions stronger. As you play either you get the same rewards, only at the end you will get a different runic stone and the garbs of the Fakir will transform into either red/black or blue/green the clothes are almost the same, merely cosmetically colored and looks differ, but there is no power benefit.
The idea is that if you take this route, you will never see the buried well, you will never free the stream but over time you will redirect the Tigris, but many will be lost to all this (which you will not know). It sets a double dialogue over the game and subsequent settings. I was not happy how some quests in other games went, it is normally not this or that, but to get two storylines and other storylines subsequently is another thing, it makes is a game with two faces and two outcomes. And as you get some direction and choices you will see that the game gives you more. I also think that these acts will shape your coat of arms, The red and black colours in your shield comes from Zulrekh, the blue and green colours come from Zarek and in the end the game shapes your coat of arms and gives you the ‘immortal’ setting on Baghdad.
As such I also envisioned for the Spanish fortress a new challenge, but I am talking about some historic events (as they tend to be) where the Spaniards saw the impact of pestilence of Tharvex or the Azrakhil’s ghoulish hunger. It reflects on Spanish food and their need for Tapas (not entirely true, but it gave me the idea) on that others will learn and whilst we get to that as you have become a person of nobility, you will have gained most places and now it becomes about getting known and accepted all over Baghdad. It is from there you have access to the palace of the Vizier (your old place) and whilst it had fallen into disrepair, your actions will breath it new life and as such the entrance with your coat of arm and stature will proper (either way) and it merely looks cosmetically different and whilst one is darker then the other, it is still a place for you. And as such you will gain the same settings, although there are cosmetic differences to both settings, in the end the same parts are found.
The ending is still in my mind and it has a sneaky movie reference, all the way from Kentucky. So whether you go with blow one’s own horn (my personal pride) or toot your own horn which tends to lean towards a humble statement. But the reality is that some make claim to be such innovative game designers. And I outdid them in three days, all whilst some of those braggers had a over a dozen people working on it. I did this myself and I handed it to the UAE and their gaming ventures, as such a can toot all I care for.
You all have a great day It is time for me to snore a forest into plywood, have fun.
