One year has passed since the 1.0 release, and it has been 3 months since the Christmas new players wave, and now Blêktreville has data about how society has evolved … Let me tell you guys, the snowball effect played out exactly as expected, and of course it ended up being super unfair … But is it worse than the real world ?
See, on the French side :
jacquescarta | biz=24 | total=908M
This guy is about to reach 1B … who can compete now ?
On the English side, it is more spread out for now
So French players have won the cup for biggest monopolistic asshole !
Thus proving that the simulation is as flawed as real society, well, it is only a matter of time before the winner reaches the fortune of the real Elon Musk (around 1000B), Blektrian society aims to be better than that !
That is why the next update will introduce : COMMUNISM !
The rule will be simple : biz owners will have to check in every 7 days (real time) for fiscal evasion, otherwise they will be exposed to growing taxes from the new mighty freelance job, tax collector ! (like cops but to bust rich, idling people)
That way, we will ensure more turnover at the top of the best companies listed on the stock exchange. And it is funny to say that, but Blêktreville might end up less rotten than the real world …
Well, the update is not for now, many other things are coming before this one ! I will keep you updated.
In the meantime, have a good survival in the real world, stay safe !
That was my second jam with my brother Paul, but the first official one. 7DRL is a 21 years old gamejam, you have 7 days to ship a polished game that respects the traditional art of roguelikes. We started on March 3rd and finished on March 8th.
We’re astosnished because we actually managed to make a game that is actually fun to play, at least for us.
It’s not perfect (“of course it’s a gamejam”) and it was quite a demanding work, but we did non fail or drop out. We did not have any arguments either, which is something worth noting when it comes to working with family 😉
What went good
Our idea is, I believe, pretty cool. Battletech x Vector Racer, but it’s a roguelike.
We took the basics of roguelikes and tactical games, turn based combat, permadeath, procedural generation, and coupled them with an inertia system, allowing the player to experiment with physics while benefiting from long term strategic thinking.
The result just works in my opinion. Of course our implementation is quite simple – one weapon, one kind of enemy – but you can crash into walls or holes if you do not manage your mech’s velocity properly. And that is the thing I like the most ! When it is your turn to play and you have no choice but to suffer the consequences of your previous moves and hit the rocks in front of you at full speed, even if you have unlimited time before acting and think about how you will get out of this.
What’s not perfect
2D or 3D? The map was flat, of course. But when it comes to art, we both come from different worlds, and we ended up doing a kind of mashup that might not work entirely. My brother is a 3D artist and clearly our gameplay would be much better with a full 3D implementation. But 3D is more demanding for development, especially when the lead developer (me) has no experience with it.
Because of the jam’s scope, and because a huge procedural map is not something you can improvise in 3D, we had to switch to a manageable 2D tileset, something I am used to. For this reason, we had to opt for a top down view.
The characters and bonuses, though, are 3D rendered. We kind of managed to make 3D and 2D work together by using a sort of “flat design” style, and even though the models are not that appealing in a top down view, Paul gave the whole thing a super cool arcadey feeling by spicing it up with very cool FX and animations, and, of course, this amazing UI.
“I always loved those very old games that have a super detailed and gorgeous UI while the gameplay itself looked like shit“, he said.
We also did nice work with the sound FX and a tiny music loop that just nails the atmosphere.
Is this a prototype ?
The gamejam says the game has to be somehow polished and not be a prototype. Is our game a prototype ? We could say “no, it’s a full game”, but I’m not sure TBH : that will be to the 7DRL team to judge.
We really polished the UI / tutorial / debugging / balance and progression, we cared a lot about details, and we believe the experience there is a real standalone that you can play from start to end without any “work in progress” feel : it’s a complete and refined package. In that sense, I feel it’s not a prototype, it’s a full game !
It’s just that the concept looks so good for me, I can easily imagine that some day we’ll want to upgrade it. Maybe switch to full 3D to experience a better angle of those “turn-based physics” , and of course add a lot of content, like weapons (I’d love to draw inspiration from all the Battletech arsenal), maps and missions variety, types of ennemies, it feels unlimited when it comes to upgrade the concept.
But before that, we’ll have to rest a bit : even if we didn’t exactly did extra hours, it was quite demanding … So now, we’ll just wait and see what happens 🙂
This album is brilliant! The concept, the claustrophobic mixing that makes it feel very cohesive, the overall narrative (big favorite for The Cured), and then the groove damn, it’s jackin’ but it’s sensitive!! Congratulations to him, he’s very, very talented.
I was quite happy to experiment with textual genderization and language extension for Blêktre 2081. Not only did I want the text to adapt to each player character’s specific gender in this textual MMO, but I also wanted it to support non-binary gender in addition to masculine and feminine.
To achieve that, I designed a shortcode system :
<masculine/feminine/non-binary/character_TAG>
Example :
- <Mister/Madam/Mx./SELF>! You're a DJ, aren't you? Would you agree to play for Capo's Garden Party? <He is/She is/They are/CAPO> furious because we still have no one, and the party can't start without music...
If SELF (the current player) is non-binary, and the Capo is a woman, the render will be :
- Mx. ! You're a DJ, aren't you? Would you agree to play for Capo's Garden Party? She is furious because we still have no one, and the party can't start without music...
In the end, the logic part was not too complicated.
The main difficulty was exploring French non binary word inventions. Unlike English, French does not have a neutral gender. The masculine form is used as soon as there is at least one masculine subject in a group.
Because of this, we have to create new words, as proposed by inclusive writing (link to a english written guide). This respectful creativity is sadly often subject to debate in France, but I must admit it is not always easy to bend this old and rigid language to reflect modern developments in gender acceptance.
The basic inclusive writing is not always visually appealing due to the heavy use of the median point · (which I’ve learned to master on a keyboard: ALT+183 on the Numpad). Whenever possible, I prefer using neologisms instead.
TLDR : Inclusive writing presents different challenges in English and French. English already allows relatively smooth gender neutral forms, while French, which lacks a neutral gender, often requires the creation of new words or forms, making the process more complex and debated.
However, I am very happy with the results of my efforts and feel that the game can help normalize the use of a neutral form in French.
click to zoom
The Translator
I am a native French speaker and, as a solo developer with more than 15,000 lines of text to translate, it was clear that I did not have many options other than using a machine to help me. I am not particularly proud of it, as I am generally quite critical of the political choices that lead to this inevitable rise of AI in every field and its many disastrous consequences. But on the other hand, it is a tool that made my game accessible to international players, and that is far from negligible...
(If you are a French-to-English professional translator with very, very affordable rates, feel free to contact me T_T)
The prompt
What was more challenging, however, was explaining all those rules to the AI agent that translates the strings so that it respects and adapts the gender system shortcode.
After a full year of use, I refined the prompt as follows:
OBJECTIVE
Translate FR strings into natural, idiomatic English, strictly following all structural rules below.
ABSOLUTE RULES TO FOLLOW
NO FORMAT CHANGES
Never add bold, quotation marks, or formatting.
Never add or remove punctuation.
Never rephrase beyond strict translation.
Strictly preserve spaces.
Strictly preserve capitalization.
No additional line breaks.
Never add explanations or comments.
The output must be only the raw translated string.
Always output in a code block.
PRESERVE TAGS
Never modify or translate: [rose], [vert], [COMP], [SEX], [ITEM], [BIZ], [BREAK], [ADVTALK], etc.
Never modify variables: $1, $2, etc.
Never modify tags like <~ADVERSAIRE>.
Never modify keys between [ITEM] and [-S].
Never modify markers like [-S].
Never alter the order of segments.
MULTI-PRONOUN TAGS
Tags of the form:
<masculine/feminine/nonbinary/TAG>
Must be translated in the first three slots only.
Never modify the fourth slot (TAG key).
Examples:
<Il/Elle/Iel/SELF> → <He/She/They/SELF>
<lui/elle/iel/CAPO> → <him/her/them/CAPO>
<le/la/el/ADVERSAIRE> → <him/her/them/ADVERSAIRE>
PRONOUN + VERB RULE
If a verb follows directly after a pronoun tag, include the correctly conjugated verb in each form.
he/she: verb with -s in the present tense if required
they: verb without -s
Example:
<il/elle/iel/DOUANIER> crie
→ <he yells/she yells/they yell/DOUANIER>
POSSESSIVE RULES
If a noun depends on an owner whose gender is variable or implied, use a full possessive tag instead of a fixed possessive.
Examples:
son cabinet → <his/her/their/COACH> office
sa voiture → <his/her/their/SELF> car
ses affaires → <his/her/their/ADVERSAIRE> belongings
Never leave a fixed gendered English possessive (his/her) if the referent is tagged.
Always use the full structure <his/her/their/TAG> when the referent corresponds to a tagged entity.
FR AGREEMENT SUFFIXES OF THE FORM < /e/.e/TAG> AND VARIANTS
Suffixes like:
< /e/.e/TAG>
< /e/·e/TAG>
are FR morphological agreement mechanisms.
In English:
If the suffix produces an invalid or absurd form (e.g., smilinge, deade, happye), it must be removed entirely.
If a relevant agreement exists in English, it must be expressed correctly (e.g., pronouns, verb agreement).
Never keep a purely morphological FR suffix if English doesn’t need an equivalent.
Examples:
souriant< /e/.e/COACH> → smiling
mort< /e/·e/ADVERSAIRE> → dead
MANDATORY MULTI-SLOT VALIDATION
After translation, perform a silent internal check in three passes:
Read the sentence as if only the he slot existed.
Read the sentence as if only the she slot existed.
Read the sentence as if only the they slot existed.
Each version must be grammatically correct independently.
Check in particular:
Subject/verb agreement (he/she with -s, they without -s).
Possessive consistency (his/her/their).
No conflicts between segments.
Complete grammatical flow in each branch.
No mention of this check must appear in the output.
FINAL LINGUISTIC VALIDATION
After multi-slot validation, silently verify that:
No English word is followed by an FR suffix producing a non-existent form.
No combination creates a grammatically absurd form.
All tags are intact.
No required tag has been removed.
SPECIFIC TRANSLATIONS
“Gravatron” becomes “Rumbletron”.
“Sans-Visa” becomes “Visa-Less”.
STRICT BEHAVIOR
No explanation.
No comment.
A single output: the raw translated string in a code block.
click to zoom
Of course, I also have more shortcodes to trig different formating, pauses in the typewriting effect, and speech bubble synchronized in the game, just to tell the more obvious ones.
With the recently updated Blêktre Editor, the French and English versions are both very easy to manage directly from the game. It really helps keep writing a creative task rather than a tedious technical shortcode puzzle.
That was just a highlight of this system, which was already included in the release version one year ago. The update is not ready yet, we will celebrate when the time comes.
I am now very excited to release the next version. My next post will probably be about a full refactor of the skill system, which will now work with softwares implants that can be bought, sold, or traded, and run in your brand new Cyber Brain. Stay tuned !
Here are some new improvements on top of those previously announced in this post.
New Job: Tax Collector
This one works a bit like being a cop, but instead of chasing criminals, you go after big business bosses, especially those idling behind their counters, and take big cuts from their budgets!
This new job aims to rebalance capitalist ownership. If you want to make a fortune with your money, sleeping on it will not be as effective anymore, you will at least need to watch out for those damn leftists!
Also, robberies, formerly the only counterpower to big bosses’ monopolies, will be toned down a little, but most of the change will simply result in businesses being less wealthy overall.
Besides, a couple of graphical enhancements have landed and the map has been reworked a bit as well.
The update is expected to drop in a couple of months, and will plunge the game into a new beta testing phase of hell.
These are the 36 “ranks” you can reach based on your alignment. They’re determined by your actions and reflect the kind of person others see you as … They may judge you accordingly!
First of all, thanks to all the new players who joined the game! Christmas did bring a couple of newcomers to the English version of the game, and it is clearly motivating me to work on the next big update.
My current focus is, like the title says, to bring more RPG into the game. And I am quite happy with how things are turning out !
Alignement & Ideology
Besides the main story being fleshed out with more memorable characters, the player will be able, and required, to define their character more radically, with a moral alignment (from samaritan to asshole) and a social ideology (from socialist to capitalist).
Traits
Bonuses will be broken down for more detailed comprehension of your capacities
The Traits (formerly known as Perks) have evolved, they can now more clearly influence your stats and therefore the way you can resolve situations.
For example, when you act brutally, this Trait can increase, and every 1% of Brutal makes you stronger in combat. But it also increases your asshole alignment!
Of course, many new possibilities will open so every kind of build can carve their own way.
skills are being refined
Let’s just mention one example, when you were previously forced to resolve a situation with violence, you will now have alternate paths, using your charm, your social recognition, or confusing your opponents with mental jokes.
You will even be able to complete the game without actually hitting anyone !
Different endings and influence on the world
The way you play will of course define the kind of ending you can get, but also how it will shape the world.
For example, if you rule the game as a true samaritan socialist, new players might start with more money, but big bosses will pay more taxes!
And … the nerd paragraph … Blêktre Editor
Because I have more and more text to manage, I developed a brand new dialogue editor. When laziness actually makes you work more…. It’s JS and node server based.
I must admit LLM codex tools type faster than I do, and this is really accelerating my development workflow. I would not call it vibe coding though, because I read and understand everything, so I know there are no mistakes or blurry things.
Conclusion
As these upgrades bring more content to the game (new stories and dialogue, new skills, UI and graphic enhancements, and you might finally be able to buy those cats for your house), I can tell I am not finished with the work, but the truth is I am enjoying it ^0^
Blêktre 2081 has been a fun journey to develop, and aside from the mobile version still in progress and some quality of life improvements that would be welcome here and there, it almost feels feature complete now. But not quite, at least not for me !
Since I have seen a few new players joining during the winter sale, and with all the love I have for this game, I feel like doing things properly. May this update be my very last before fully moving on to my next game !
The mobile version will support swipe gestures to display menus, like it is 2014 again!
What’s being worked on :
A new narrative, sort of “main campaign”, will guide players through the many systems of the game in a more engaging way than a massive tutorial (even though I am pretty sure you would enjoy introducing Tutoman to your parents)
Alternative paths : I want to make sure that every token can be obtained in multiple ways, and that every character and every adventure feels more unique depending on how you play. You should be able to become a smart entrepreneur, a kind samaritan, or a complete asshole.
A perks system overhaul is being implemented to serve this purpose. It will now work with percentages instead of a simple true or false system, so you can even be a 49% asshole !
An extended ending to summarize who you became, what you accomplished, and how you shaped the city.
Rebalancing of the liberal layer : entrepreneurs who do not take care of their businesses will see their empires slowly decay over time, making room for newcomers at that level.
And of course, get rid of the remaining glitches, translation mistakes, and missing quality of life features.
Once those are done, I might be able to let the game live its own life in the background while I do other things =)
