It's the little things

It's been a while over the holidays and with my day job since any significant changes have happened to the game.  Cleaning up code and adding comments doesn't make for compelling reading, but it is work that needs to get done.

But now, it's the little things I have to focus on.  I want to get something out by this summer that feels like a 'game'.  Which means combat, and means ignoring a bunch of things I plan to add in later just so I can feel some progress and let people get a little excited about having something in their hands.

On that end, I'm going to bypass the combat I plan for the final game and go with a simple "YOU'RE IN COMBAT!" moment as you explore the dungeon.  When it happens, you get the choice to attack or run.  But it's silly things like "how do you run?" that suddenly make you realize how many little decisions actually go into making a game, and how any one of them can ruin it.

In this example, running from combat when you want to escape.  Do you press (R) for run, (F) for flee or (E) for escape?  And if not (F) do you press (F) for fight or (A) for attack?

- OR -

Do you move in a direction to flee?  North, South, East, and West...?  Does moving in one direction over another change the chances of escape?  If moving is what you need to do to flee, what happens when you move into the creature attacking?  Is that an attack?  A push?  An attempt to flee past them?  Or does nothing happen?  If nothing happens does it take your turn?  Or does it just say 'invalid move' and let you try again?

All of these decisions have to be made just so I can put off doing the complicated combat and have it be you standing in a square with a random creature in front of me letting you attack or flee.