Development Tools from Odd Places

[BubbaBrown]

I'm writing this due to something I recently did without thinking of the implications. I'll summarize it one sentence: "On the computer, I used a database diagrammer to make an EER diagram model of a role playing game of my own creation that's pen and paper based and it helped in debugging a few things."

So... Has anyone used odd tools to aid their development or did I just happen to establish a whole new level of nerdom and completely damn myself?

And for those that are curious, I used MySQL Workbench.

[Rob Lang]

Bubba, I think it's safe to say I've never use a SQL database to generate an RPG. I have used dynamic neural networks to help me brainstorm plots for a game but that was more academic exercise than anything particularly useful!

Did it work? Did you manage to output a good game from it?

[BubbaBrown]

Well, I only made use of the Enhanced Entity-Relationship (EER) Diagramming tool in it. So no functional game was made, but mapping out the relationships between all the components of the game I'm working on certainly helps in spotting snags and waste. It also helps you figure out how exact parts of the system are going to interact with each other and what you need to account for to allow it all to make sense.

Here's the exported png of the diagram currently. Anyone reading will need to be familiar with EER diagrams, else it won't make that much sense.

[Rob Lang]

I work with these each day and I still think you're mad!

It does seem to work, though. I wonder if some of the more ethereal parts of roleplaying are lost Perhaps a different modeling technique might yield more interesting results, such as UML?

[BubbaBrown]

I've thought about that, too. I was originally going for a simple ER diagram. I decided that EER would work out well enough, since I appreciate the additions of cardinality. Also, working within the constraints of a database mindset actually helps when trying to tracking all the information going on in a game. I'm going to work within the realms of EER for a while longer and see how it goes. I'm from the school of using only what you need and not drowning yourself in complexity. Any suggestions for EER diagramming tools? The MySQL Workbench is nice enough, but the MySQL folks have been lacking in the code quality department as of late.

[Kinslayer]

I've used databases, wikis, brainmappers, key generators, and photo editors used just for text notes. Most of what I use is just one giant text file, though. Different things designed to aid productivity don't seem to be as much help as I would like. I'm not sure if that's just my laziness, or if my brain's natural OS can handle the game-data easier than these other programs can.

Using tools can help you get sorted out sometimes. I have found that using something in unintended ways may work best, such as using a key generator to randomly create text you can use for inspiration for names. The main advantage of using database manipulators, et al. is in noticing relationships that would have otherwise escaped you. An early draft of Midian had attributes and other elements dependent on one another. For example, being healthier increased beauty, which meant the character was more likely to start out with more money. To sort it all out I plugged everything into a spreadsheet. Recursion errors popped up all over the place, as A affected B affected C affected A. Later (and current) versions of the system went with a more random model involving multiple rolls, making finding the relationships in the separate elements a player task during character generation.