[The transposition principle]

think of it kind of like the magic of true names. knowing what something truly is and how it works gives you power over that thing. in transposition, you understand the intricate details of the universe and the true nature of all things so you have the ability to transpose or shape or alter them as you will.

combine that with something like time and you find that you can weave the very fabric of existence. understanding the true nature of time, compounded with imagination and you create time travel or teleportation or the ability to retrieve items by simply willing them to come to you. the possibilities are boundless.

[The Darkness Principle]

to quote: There was a time when all people believed in God and the church ruled. This time was called the Dark Ages.

and because it's funny: In the beginning there was nothing. And God said, 'let there be light,' and there was still nothing; but everybody could see it.

:lol:

You're kidding, right? There has never been a time when ALL people believed in God. Even the bible says that in the first book: Genesis. Cain and Abel were the sons of Adam and Eve and when Cain slew Abel he was banished to the land of Nod where there were whole cities of people who didn't believe in God. Regardless, I think the point here is that the darkness principle is based on obfuscation, illusion, and hallucination. It sounds like a good thing to me.

Most pagan religions revere black (aka darkness) as a strong color symbol of protection and positive energy. It's because of that belief that darkness or black is often attached a negative connotation because of the propaganda machine of religions seeking to persecute the "heathens."

I think that darkness combined with imagination and elemental principles would make a good combination too. I mean, creating defenses using the raw elements of existence bolstered by the power of imagination makes for a pretty wicked idea in my head.

[The Principle of cyclicity]

I have to say that's a pretty elitist view, and doesn't seem likely to foster a large community. I've received a bit of advice from one player and I appreciated his help, but I still feel like I'm wandering around aimlessly, and I'm no idiot.

I've been a programmer for over 15 years and a gamer for 20 and recently started designing games six months ago. Everything I've read and learned from developer networks says that anyone should be able to play and figure out your starting portions of the game, then smart and dedicated players are rewarded by figuring out the more complex parts.

All I've been able to figure out so far is that I need to fight a whole bunch and wait 24 hours and lose a whole bunch but I've been playing for nearly a week now and I can't see any progress. It makes you want to lose interest in the game.

Regardless, I admire the work that has been done and I think this would be a great game if the learning curve and early character progression were not so steep. Just my opinion, though. There are obviously a handful of people who "get it" and enjoy it. I'm about fed up, though.

[The Principle of cyclicity]

While I appreciate the poetic and philosophic aspects of these texts, I have to say I think it's really poor game design to have something in the TUTORIAL portion of the game that new players might not understand and that new players are basically stabbing in the dark at their choices.

It makes the player feel like they're not in control of the game they're trying to play FOR FUN.

I don't know. I'm torn here, because I enjoyed the portions of text that I read, but what's the point of them if they don't really relate to game play? Why make the player choose if they have no meaning? I'm only two days into the game, so perhaps I'll discover it later.