25 replies to this topic

[Bowsette]

What would it be? I had a discussion about this (sort of: it was more like me ranting about what I'd put into a videogame if I had the resources to do so) and figured it might make a good thread. It can be anything. The sky's the limit.

Mine would be thus.

Third-person RPG with character creation. Tons of races to choose from, with a great deal of classes to specialize in. Subclasses too. The ability to switch classes where required. Single-player/multi-player capabilities. Clothing options, including some form of tailor for the player to design their own clothes. Combat would be real-time, with plenty of different combat styles depending on class and player preference. Fully destructible and usable areas. Enemies coming up a hill? Got an axe? Chop that tree down and send them to hell with it. Crossbowman hiding in a tavern window? Blow the top floor to pieces with a fireball or ten, etc.

On the subject of magic, I propose a different method of handling it, rather than the generic MP bar or cooldown methods. Magic in videogames is generally a mental creation, a conjuration formed by the mind and unleashed upon this plane of existence. Instead of a generic bar, magic would require health-based sacrifices. Mental stress would set in when using magic consistently. Characters would begin to suffer headaches, becoming migraines, interrupting concentration. Eventually crippling them from pain. At points like this, enemies (that are intelligent, at least: common rats wouldn't use this opportunity) would break off from other conflicts in order to take advantage of this powerful opponent being incapacitated and move in for the kill. This would result in a more realistic magic system that doesn't just display raw power. It would get rid of the generic "strong magic, weak health" mage and create a new type. Along with that, mages would need to think about their surroundings in that friendly fire is always on. You can drop a meteor in Final Fantasy style, but you'll probably hit your own party too. Think about it.

Edit: Magic is formed on another plane of existence. The caster visualizes the spell, and then through either hand movements or a verbal incantation (depending on class type, which I'll go into in a moment) give the spell a physical form in this plane.

Regarding casting types, I have three in mind. The first, incantation. This involves speaking a series of spellbound words that through sound provide essence for the creation of whatever it is the player wishes to do. Pitch and volume would affect the sub-type of spell, as would inflection. A murmured incantation would provide less of a result than a shouted one, but it would also be less draining to the caster. The downside to incantation would be silencing. Whether magical or physical, if the caster is made unable to speak, they are unable to cast.

Second casting type: gestural. This involves the same visionary techniques outlined under incantation, but with one major difference. Instead of speech, the catalyst for this is hand movements. Speed and urgency would change the strength of the spells just like pitch and volume do with incantations. And while gestural mages are immune to (or rather, not detrimentally affected by) silence, they are wide open to any form of physical or magical binding or warding. If they can't move their hands, they're just as worthless as a silenced incantation mage.

Third casting type: artes. These are the strongest of the three types I've got in mind, but are also the most susceptible to being locked down. To perform, Artests (working name) require time and physical resources. Their method of casting involves drawing, scratching, digging, or otherwise creating runic symbols and patterns, then speaking a key phrase to activate the dormant power within whatever the runes are placed upon. For weaker abilities, they carry parchments which they can throw or affix, and can be activated from a distance. Their power can split the land or even use the very walls themselves to construct a beast to aid them. Think of them as a summoner class, almost. Their weaknesses are threefold, in accordance with their increased power. Silence, binding, and concentration. Both silencing and binding will halt them before completion of their artes, and mental exhaustion (from extended power use, see outline of mage class) will lead to their work either failing completely, or becoming warped (in attack artes this could be anything from backfiring on the caster to just fizzling out completely, and in summoning artes could result in warped beasts. Constructs without arms, legs, or even two halves of different constructs. This can be a blessing or a disaster, as there is no guarantee the caster will be able to control what they create. In defensive artes, it is most likely going to result in backfiring and instead of protection, opening up the target's defenses or even binding them in place with a reversed barrier)

On the subject of melee classes, there wouldn't be a huge change in how they play out. However, going back to an earlier point, environmental combat would play a large part in how useful they'd be. When controlled by the AI, their actions would depend on their intelligence level. A troll warrior for example, would do little aside from pound seven shades of poop and blood out of any hostile it sees, whereas a high-int mercenary would think about the environment and how it would affect his attacking capabilities. Ground level, firmness, nearby usable items such as trees, rocks, cliffs etc. Additionally, an intelligent warrior would actively probe enemy defenses to see what works and what doesn't. If they have different weapons available (axe, sword, rapier, mace etc.) if one doesn't work, they'd switch to another where possible and make another attempt. Combat skills would be balanced between two forms. Learned and created. So the player could merge a vertical slash and a horizontal slash to create a + shaped combo cut. Alternatively the player could "draw" attacks on-screen and the character model would carry them out.

On the subject of ranged classes such as archers, they would also fall under the requirement of awareness of their surroundings. A misplaced arrow can just as easily fell a friend as a foe. A tactic I'd like to see implemented would be taking into account range and trajectory. Climbing to a higher point in order to get a better view and aim where possible. Ammunition would also be a factor. It would be limited, unlike some games where you have as many as you can humanly fire. Everything has a weight, so a balance is required. Depending on attack power and squishiness of the target, as well as the surroundings, an archer could also pin an enemy to a wall, or floor, or ceiling, or whatever else you care to try, based on a body part system. e.g if you pin a humanoid target by its shoulder, it will try to remove the arrow with the other hand and continue fighting, albeit crippled.

On the subject of equipment, as I mentioned before I want it completely customizable. Not just in appearance, but in ability as well. So an in-depth crafting system is a must. It would also require skill sets, not unlike those in the Elder Scrolls games, but more refined. I'm not entirely sure how, but yeah. It would also have visible damage and durability decreases. If you get hit in the plate mail by a large mace, it's probably not going to retain its super-smooth, un-marred appearance. By not taking care of your equipment, the player could easily end up in trouble when their sword shatters, or their bowstring snaps.

Storyline-wise, I haven't thought too much about it. I'd like something similar to the original Dragon Age, where there are different stories depending on your chosen character. There would be various story-shaping events, both necessary and unnecessary, throughout the game and sidequests. I'd want it to be a mature story, the sort that people can really get into like a great book. Though if possible I'd like to avoid the generic rivalries like dark elf v wood elf, etc.

The environment would be an ever-changing realm where the player's actions have implications upon the world that don't end at "I've heard about your exploits at ______" from a random NPC. I'd want forests, seas, glaciers, everything. An entire planet to traverse. On the subject of forests however... returning to an earlier point I made about being able to cut down trees, the ability would be there for the player to simply cut there way straight through a forest, as opposed to following pathways. However, it would have repercussions. Destroying the flora would imbalance fauna, and as a result lead to changes in other areas. If the player destroys a forest completely, in time the woodcutters village will become abandoned and neglected, as the residents no longer have a way of earning coin. To add to that, looting items and selling them would affect the economy. Sell a lot of gold ore, the price will go down. Similarly, items created with it will also lose value, while other items will go up in value. Collapse a silver mine and the price of silver items will soar since that ore is no longer available.

I think that's about it. I'm sure there's more to add, but I should probably stop killing your eyes with text. >.>

Gogogo

[Jesse Custer]

WoW with a space opera theme. WoW has got it spot on so i'd want their mechanics. with a killer char creation system like City of heroes/villains had. PvP in various modes. melee combat battles like tekken. vehicular combat like twisted metal. then throw in some CoD fps for kicks. characters that age and reproduce maybe, making a lineage of sorts. a pet system that gives you the option to beat them when they piss you off.

[Wolf]

Your MMO sounds awesome, sounds like a huge cost in development for an MMO, but awesome nonetheless


Ummm, Ill just extract some key points from the MMO i've been doing notes on forever

Character creation:

First, you pick a race. Races will be updated and rotated periodically, depending on the race's standing in the Kingdom [we'll use the Kingdom as a quick reference for the island the MMO takes place on. Huge polarized metropolis with 3 major cities, one on the top-left side of the island, on the the bottom right side of the island, and one in the middle.]. As the royalties of the Kingdom embargo and ally other continents, the races available for choosing will be changed. Races are the basic template for your character creation, usually having a few unchangable traits [eye color, skin color, etc].

After that you pick your aesthetics , what you look like, how tall you are.

Then you name your character, first name and last name.

Then you pick a class! oh im so original!

Scratch that, you don't pick a class, classes are inherent in your chosen skillset. If you train with your swordsmanship and magic, you're a spellblade. If you use nothing but ranged, your a ranger. The game doesn't formally recognize class builds, you rank what skills you have/want. Anything goes.

So if you don't pick a class, what do you pick? You pick traits. Traits are things that set your character apart. You pick a combination of traits that you like [they'll be on a point based system, aesthetic traits cost less than skill traits, which cost less than power traits.] You may remember I did an entire thread on the application of a Trait system. And with your customized character, you get dropped in the world.

First Thoughts:
So, you got this new character, I'm sure you wanna go level him up, make him the Sir Fuckblade you imagined, with his standing army of the dead. You are free to adventure to your hearts content, the island isn't very big, it's not noticably small but not big enough to get lost in. Certain areas are overrun by medium to high level monsters, ripe for the farming. Dungeons in all shapes sizes and flavors litter the landscape, some open to all, some sealed for mysterious reasons. Standard MMORPG fanfare. But first, you have to learn some skills. You decide to pick up ranged, wanting to pewpew things from afar while you're still squishy. You equip your first ranged weapon, a rather large, ineffecient pistol, and acquire a new skill, Ranged Attack. You go and use this newfound skill on an enemy outside of town. With some luck you land your first shot, and slay the pig demon. suddenly you notice when you hover over Ranged Attack, it has it's own XP bar. Yes, mastering a skill in this game can be as simple as repetition, you can keep shooting until your the best shot in the world. No worry about spending points over a spreadsheet to make your character the statistical best at shooting. The second, less grindey way to rank skills is to find an NPC, or Player-character to train you in said skill. Now, not any regular player-character will do. Albeit, you CAN learn skills from a normal PC, but at a rather slow rate, He's a warrior not a teacher... unless the PC has the Tutor skill, which allows him to accelerate the rate at which he teaches pupils, with the juiciest part of the buff being teaching the base level of the skill, like when you picked up a pistol for the first time. He can do this with all skills he knows, from his magic, to his professions, almost all skills can be taught. So you learn a few fancy moves from him, for a rather large price, and you feel like adventuring. So you adventure for a while, mastering your skills, earning xp, and getting loot. You even buy cool [albeit cheap-looking] clothes to make you look like the Fuckblade you are.

But weeks later, you notice the young, dashing character you've created is now... old. His dexterity and str have been on a steady decline, but his intelligence and wisdom is rising, also. Your character is aging, a normal human concept. But how do you keep Sir Fuckblade alive? Potion of youth? Some, strange, black magic? No, sadly there is no magic available to restore youth. But, there is another way to pass on your legacy.

So you have a child, adopted or otherwise, and teach him all that you know. As your character reaches a point of pure frailty, no longer being able to adventure. You then play as your son, we'll call him Lil' Fuckblade. He inherits your last name, a small percent of your current level, most of your traits and skills [giving you a chance to perfect your character further, and raising the Traits cap by 1/2 a point], and sets forth for adventure, like his father did before him. Lil' Fuckblade is more interested in the magic that he learned from his father, and even though he has lots of "natural" skill in ranged, inherited from his father, he trains constantly to better his magical understanding.


The Recurring Metagame: Heritage

So, as you play your characters vicious adventure/child/death cycle, you will be able to accrue power how you like. Sir Fuckblade is helping his heritage with Ranged, while Lil Fuckblade contributes towards magic. Using this, you can create a rich heritage in whatever skillset you choose. Not only allowing you to express yourself in-game, but allowing you look back at the glorious Fuckblade family tree with pride. Remembering the struggles of Sir Fuckblade, and his bumbling pistol skills, all the way to Lord Fuckblade IV, god of the Ice shot.



Fun extras:

You may have noticed Tutoring being a skill. What a strange skill, right? Well I was hoping that most gameplay related things, instead of being outsourced to an NPC who spends all day standing in place selling X, to be part of player interaction. With a huge list of professions, both practical and impractical, you can fill a niche in the economy and make mad cash, or you can learn a profession relevant to your skills. Essentially, I want professions to be more than a side thought or time sink, but an actual part of the game. Professions I have been thinking on: The essential Blacksmith/Tailor/Potion maker trinity, Laborers [for the farm-happy], pickpockets, bards, tutors, soothseers, summoners [foresight and summoning being actual magic skills, but also a way to make money] and much, much more.


Fun theory on magic: While physical skills are learned from being taught, or naturally stumbling upon it, magic skills rank from primarily from knowledge. This means finding the oldest, wisest tomes you can find, and sitting down and reading them. The tomes themselves will actually help you learn the skill [teaching you some tips or tricks for when and where to cast it], while boosting your level for the spell in question. Magic itself depends not only on the user, but the conditions, and learning these conditions will be part of the difficulty of magic use. Example: Fire magic does less damage over time while it's raining [only while outside], while ice will deal more damage over time. On a sunny, dry day, the opposite is true. Lightningbolt usually does massive damage to a single target [due to it's high critical chance], whereas if the target is surrounded by other enemies, the spell will deal a % of damage to the whole group, with the chance for a crit dropping considerably]. Dark magic not only works better at night, but becomes more crit-oriented while you are low on health, while the opposite is true for white magic [healing]. Magic, itself, is completely described, lore-wise.

I want the players to actually have an impact on how the game plays. It's not going to be "Go here, here, or here for X item". Some dungeons only unlock when certain conditions, either with the character or the server, are met. Some dungeons may award you a rare, illustrious skill. Do you teach it to the other players? Make it "just another skill" among the dozens of other skills?, or do you keep it for yourself, letting you be the sole user of it until someone else stumbles upon the secret. Maybe you guard that secret, you don't want anyone else to acquire the skill that makes your family unique. So you guard the secret with you life. Maybe the dungeon gives you a massively OP weapon, one that doesn't fit your build. Do you sell it? Flaunt it? Maybe you make it the core build of your next child?

Do you hear that?

That's questions you're asking yourself that not only affect you, but the entire game

It's almost like... you have a role to play in this game...


TLDR:

Make a character that is truely unique and one of a kind

Adventure in a world brought to life by the players, not NPCs and gimmicky events

Instead of leveling to 99 and just staying there, you accumulate power through your family bloodline, one that you create

Insane amount of personal freedom, player choice/consequence, and lore detail to liven up an otherwise vanilla RPG world



EDIT: Fixed the post going all techno on me

[Calvary]

I'd love to see a really realistic survival RPG set in a zombie post-apocalypse. First person with an emphasis on urban decay and an evolving landscape. I'd like to see gangs rise and fall, the scarcity of supplies and the regression of society, oh an hordes of hundred-strong zombies meandering through labyrinthine cities. Destructible landscape would be a must as well, setting fire to areas and causing distractions. I could elaborate but it'd take a lot of time.

Oh, an natural levelling up, the more you do something, the better you get at it. And permadeath.

[Affray]

If a large production company took any of those ideas and spent the next six years making them exactly as described, they will have created a game to shadow all other games.
I would certainly lose myself in these worlds, especially Wolf's.
Setting up a lineage and essentially playing out a character's bloodline throughout the ages is a fantastic idea.
Especially if it were done in such a hands on manner.

[Diabolical_Jazz]

I think Champions Online has my favorite character creation and combat mechanics of any game.
Maybe it wasn't as fun with other character types, but holy crap was high-level combat with my teleporting, dual-sword and gun-kata cowboy-fox-spirit fun. Holy crap was it fun. Holy. Crap. Was. It. Fun.
I could pummel an individual target for pretty decent damage then disappear when I was in danger, then attack out of nowhere from a completely different angle. I was the ultimate hit-and-run harasser. And every time I disappeared I could basically fill my health all the way back up while repositioning myself. Which all happened really fast. It was incredibly fast paced. If I slipped up I died.

There were some people whose defenses I couldn't overcome, but that was kinda fun in its own way. I wasn't the supreme damage-dealer anyway. I was just crazy fast and survivable.

You could really build a huge variety of play styles into characters. It was great like that.

The only thing I didn't like about Champions, really, was that I felt it needed a bigger world. Everything else about it was pretty near perfect. It just got to be a bore leveling characters up through the same couple of zones.

[Galactus]

If I were to make a video game....

It would have to be an RPG. Not like Skyrim or Dragon Age. I would make an RPG that was a throwback to the old school JPRG days of turn based combat. The world would be in the Steampunk fashion. Airships, Robotics, Advanced tech. Victorian age decor.

When it comes to the world, I picture it as an alternate reality type world. Using earth's geography except that everything is altered. None of the present cities or nations exist. Use of airships is the main means of transportation across large areas. Steamships to travel across the water as well, except the seas are full of pirates!

The world is in chaos. A tyrannical ruler has taken control of the Empire. One of the largest nations on the planet. He has overthrown the government and established his own laws. The Empire slowly turns to shambles. Cities are becoming deserted and the people are living in poverty.

Many of the ruler's generals have taken control of the populated areas and have become ruthless. One such general is experimenting on the citizens of the Empire. Genetically altering them into zombie like monsters. Another general is grabbing up the still innocent females of a small village because he believes their sacrifice it will make him live for eternity.

The story would progress as you battle your way up the chain of command until you are able to face the ruler himself and take him out and free the Empire from the tyranny and poverty that has run rampant.

It seems a bit cliché, but I think I could make it more unique and not so linear.

Character design and selection would allow for full customization.
-Full Customization: Hair, Height, Face, Weight, Skin Color, Gender.

I also have envisioned that befitting the Steampunk fashion, there would also be the option of adding robotics to your person. Prosthesis in the form of robotic limbs that would not add advantage to the character but would add a bit of personal flair and style.

However the main character would be restricted to only a few classes;
-Knight Class: Shield and one handed weapon only.
-Warrior Class: Dual wielding of one handed weapons.
-Lancer Class: Two-handed Spear and Pike weapons.

Each class would have their own styles of fighting. Each with their own advantages and disadvantages.

To balance out only have 3 classes, I would make companion characters.

Companion characters would be;

-A healer character that I envision would hold some kind of steampunk-ish medical equipment. Perhaps and giant syringe and some medieval looking defibrillator paddles. Able to heal HP as well as resurrect the fallen. Perhaps a type of mad scientist type.

-A berserker character than I have envisioned as a dual axe wielding dapper lumberjack. With a giant handlebar mustache. Talks like a gentleman.

-An archer character that wields an advanced tech bow. Arrows that are able to be customized with additional effects. A female with an eyepatch housed with some type of autofocus monocular to allow for precision hits.

-A knight character that uses a sword and shield combo. Much like the knight class. A fat guy with a lisp or something. Something opposite of stereotypical knight.

-A “magic” character. Instead of magic. I could see it being some type of advanced tech that is able to fire projectiles that are enchanted with effects. Maybe some type of hand cannon? A short pirate girl with a prosthetic peg leg. Young age.

-A character that wields are large, two handed weapon. Perhaps and giant axe, sword, or scythe. A highly robotic man. Many prosthetic limbs to aid in the wielding of heavy weapons.

All companion characters will be able to have their equipment upgraded and their abilities customized.

When it comes to abilities, it will work much like an ability tree. With many options depending on the class chosen. I would have many different paths, so that would offer many different ways to customize your character. Something like 20 different paths perhaps?

The combat is something that would either make or break the game. I have envisioned that the main character, along with a single companion character would take to the battlefield. With the ability to switch companion characters in towns and such. So only 2 characters will be engaging the enemy at once. As well as follow you as you walk around. It would make the customization of abilities for the main character, as well as the companion character much more important. They need to compliment each other. Perhaps make it possible to even leave the main character on the sidelines, and roll with 2 companion characters if desired?

It would be random encounter, except for important or storybased battles. Once engaged in combat. It would be turn based. Turns would be decided based on stats and actions. Such as your Speed stat will make you take action more often in combat, yet if you were to take an action that would need recovery time, your next turn may take longer to approach.

In battle you will be able to react to actions taken by your characters and the enemies. Such as, counter attacking, blocking, parrying, dodging, will be done on a real time button press.

Attacking will take similar traits. Real time synchronous button pressing to accomplish masterful strikes and actions.

Character position will change depending on actions taken during battle. It will be a 3D battle ground.

Any good game will probably have some kind of side game, or main sidequests that add fun and time killing excitement to the game.

I kind of want to go with this steampunk pirate thing. Perhaps the main character can become a pirate and try to conquer the high seas while purchasing and upgrading his own steamship. Fighting off the Empire Navy as well as other pirates. A way to earn extra money and grab some rare loot?

Also the ability to purchase a home would be thrown in. To store all of your equipment and show off trophies. The house would be totally customizable as well. Able to make additions and purchase furnishings. Maybe the companion characters can chill here while not killing badguys?

So that's it I guess. It's in my mind and hard to put into words, but that is the type of game I would love to play.

[Affray]

That description sounds very much like Final Fantasy IV.
It isn't laden with steampunk themes, but they are there, and airships galore, and the characters you describe are pretty similar too.

[Galactus]

Does it? I played FF4 wayyy long ago. I don't really see the connection aside from airships and that it is on a different version of Earth. It did have like 10 characters that were playable, which would make coming up with an original design hard. However I wasn't trying to be totally original. Just describing a game that I would love to design for myself to play.

[Wolf]

Just describing a game that I would love to design for myself to play.

As a semi-knowledgable indie dev. I would be glad to help.

If you're willing to sacrifice graphics, you can do a retro 2D RPG real easy [so many simple engines and tools]. If 3D is a must, you'll have to look around for free/proprietary engine that does what you need, Unity is a good choice. If all else fails you always have Source and Unreal, both EXTREMELY flexible engines, just require some expertise under the hood and using the tools. Also 3D is going to take a MUCH longer development time than anything 2D, of course and will require a much bigger roster of developers than a 2D retro game.

[Dasherman]

How would a lineage work out in multiplayer?
You need another player for a kid, but who will control it?
Or is sex only possible with an NPC?

[The Robstar]

Well simply if Fallout 3 or New Vegas we're Multiplayer (maybe even 4 player) I would have just as much enjoyment in that then most MMOrpg's.... However if I had to choose an ultimate game it would have to be...

A FULLY 3D MMORPG POKEMON GAME WITH ALL OF THE REGIONS/CITIES/POKEMON ALL CRAMMED INTO ONE GAME!!!!

Simply follow the chronological order of the anime and make your way across a broad, lush Dragon Quest VIII type of aesthetical landscape....

Legendaries should also be exclusively bosses so nobody can capture them giving them more prestige...

Also connectivity to the all current and past pokemon games would also be a win!!! From the original gameboy games to the Nintendo DS....

Man if only this game would become a reality.... I would dump my girlfriend and marry my starter pokemon

[Wolf]

How would a lineage work out in multiplayer?
You need another player for a kid, but who will control it?
Or is sex only possible with an NPC?

I hadn't gone too into the difference between children. But I suppose it would be like...

If you have a child with an NPC wife, or adopt a child, you get one child. If you have a child with another player, you get 2 children, one for each. [and each one will have the corresponding parents features.]

As for where they stay, if I didn't have enough resources to do actual PC villages, I could cheap out and use the "homestead" idea from Mabi. Essentially you can use an item to take you to your homestead, which is your house out in the middle of nowhere. It's impossible to get there otherwise as it's not really part of the world map, but it's own seperate map. Doing that gives me more possibilities, like making you able to customize and expand your house, and would save us having to come up with a PC village system.

[Dasherman]

Or two with combined features? Mom and dad traits combined, averages and all that.

[Affray]

Or two with combined features? Mom and dad traits combined, averages and all that.

That shouldn't be a problem, just as soon as we crack the human genome and figure out all that math.

[Dasherman]

Aw well, how hard could that possibly be?

[Wolf]

Or two with combined features? Mom and dad traits combined, averages and all that.

I thought about it, and its kinda realism vs player enjoyment. While it would be more realistic, people could then be picky about who they have children with. Also, combining stats would make it more work to balance the game -- if your stats are based off only your stats, I can balance that easier than having to think of every combination of stats that could occur.

So I guess, again, it's all about the resources I would put into the game.

[Dasherman]

Well, this is about the perfect game, so your resources would be near infinite.

[Wolf]

Well, this is about the perfect game, so your resources would be near infinite.

Oh, then it would be all R&D and player testing for whatever worked. Full PC village with a rent and neighborhood system. Two PCs having a child would result in mixed, balanced stats, each child inheriting skills mostly from one parent, with a touch of the other parent's.

[idk]

heh...

GTA style gameplay (semi-realistic city, life-like, the option of unrealistic fun stuff is there)

realistic physics (water, mud, sand, etc) breakable near everything (buildings, ground, trees, props, everything can be destroyed.)

realistic driving physics (including interraction with the environment: water, sand, mud, pavement, hitting things.)

high quality shooting, cover system, good guns, customisation.

character/vehicle/safehouse customisation/upgrades

buyable businesses/houses. rent out hoses for moar profits.