Ob Iter
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Small Details (Looking for ideas)

This is in part a response to a reply on a previous blog that i have removed and replaced with this one.
I delete things often. It keeps things for me, organized. Anyways...

Though i have worked with RPG Maker for over 10 years, this is only my second game. My first was a 95+ game called Eternal Darkness (Released 2002). I submit to the notion that 'i am new to this'. I have a lot to learn. One thing i believe important is 'small details'.

That comes in many forms, but i hope with this website i can find many ideas to use in my game as i progress.
Some examples of what i already have:

- MP3 music rather than MIDI
- Abundant treasure chests
- Full healing after battle (Wild Arms 4 / 5)
- Heavy focus on 20 x 15 maps (though bigger maps occur when they make sense).
- Original Character sprites
- Choices that branch events
- Interaction with inanimate objects (the toilet)
- On screen enemies

I believe these, and some other minor details i have incorporated into my game, make it a better game, but i know there is room for much more. I saw a review for a puzzle game called Zack to the Future on the main page. If i take that series for example, and learn how the coding works, i may find some new ideas. Of course, there are many more games, and many i have not yet played.

So, i will do my own research, but anything that any of you have found in other games which really seemed to add depth, i am interested in reading about. Many of these ideas don't exist in my brain yet. I want to put them there. xD

Posts

Pages: 1
Versalia
must be all that rtp in your diet
1405
01/27/2011 09:26 PM
Personally, none of the features you listed inherently make a better game. MP3s rather than MIDI, for example, drastically increases the filesize of your game. What if players don't like the MP3s you have chosen, or you have poorly matched them to scenes and areas? What if the cutesy MIDI sounds, if well-chosen, evoke a sense of nostalgia in the player that is viewed as a positive emotional reaction?

Abundant treasure chests. This is almost bordering on the inherently BAD. I refer you to reading the excellent article Risk and Reward by Sam as well as any other game design articles you can get your hands on.

One of these articles (I forgot which) goes EXTENSIVELY into the "full heal after battle" mechanic, and how this can totally devalue or unbalance your combat system unless pulled off with finesse.
Nightblade
2723
01/28/2011 09:40 AM
MP3s dont increase the file size so much long as they are optimized properly.
BurningTyger
Hm i Wonder if i can pul somethi goff here/
1289
01/29/2011 02:27 AM
The real small details are the small details. Flesh out your NPC interactions- does one of the shopkeepers hold his nose while talking to a certain character?-, make your forests look alive, with vines and random flowers, give each character a unique mannerism, etc.
Pages: 1