Text Parser Progress and Story Ideas

I finally got around to hammer out some more code today. I think I figured out the Regular Expression stuff so it should be a bit easier writing the next bit of my text parser. So far my parser can read in specific functions with custom arguments in the XML files that will automatically grab relevant information from the game. This is a vital piece for my conditional logic for sorting events that can be activated at any one moment.

Pretty awesome, but its only 1/3 of a single function. Progress is progress though.

In non-code news, I've been thinking about the back story for the game while riding the train. In a forum thread I mentioned that I wanted to put the setting in an ambiguous modern day rural area. The kinda setting you get from My Neighbor Totoro. A place seemingly behind the times due to its rural nature and where strange magical things can happen.
As for the reason for cow girls, I was toying with the idea of a human breast milk craze becoming the natural order in this world, effectively replacing regular dairy over the span of a decade or so. To fill this demand, an ultra corporation effectively gets indentured servitude legalized for gathering "employees" that work full time as human cows. Something mysterious happens and the ultra corporation collapses completely creating a void for the supply of milk and leaves the twisted laws behind. Therefore "organic" farms pop up everywhere trying to fill in the supply while taking advantage of the new slog of workers that either sell themselves or are forced by debt.

Kind of a twisted situation to not have to call the cows slaves, but "indentured servants." I'll take any constructive criticism for this idea and try to improve on it.

Finally, I was thinking that it would be great as part of the player's origin to start with a default cow girl of their choosing which would set the initial theme of the game. The first character I've imagined is Matty, a young, cheerful girl that grew up in the nearby town. She always had a love for the farm life and repeatedly visited the farm you currently use before it was converted from using regular dairy cows. She has a fascination with cows and wants to try and become one herself with your help. The only thing is, that she has hardly anything to work with, being a tiny thing with no curves to speak of or any practical farm hand knowledge despite her love of farms. She offers herself to be your indentured servant with the potential to be a great cow girl for your farm.

More ideas to come.


Pic by Katou Hayabusa