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[RMMZ] DESIGNING FOR A ZOMBIE GAME
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warpshadow
241
warpshadow
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CloseI am working on a game that is almost identical to a zombie game (mass lycanthropy instead) but I am running into problems figuring out how to make combat more interesting, as there is no magic or super technology and most other zombie games aren't really that much into classes or special skills. Any ideas on how to make this game more interesting?
There's a bunch of ways you could take this.
One could be having fast/tanky/smart zombies and mix the groups up to give them combinations. Like, if you had a smart and tanky zombie together, the smart one might direct the tanky one to attack weak points in your party, or make the tank protect them. If you had two smart ones and a tank, maybe they'd both try to direct and sometimes confuse the tank, and get in each others' ways. If you got three speedy zombies and a tank, maybe they'd inspire the tank to move faster, doing charging attacks that deal bigger damage but miss more often, or maybe a speed and smart zombie could band together to hit weaknesses faster and more often.
You could have 'elemental' type zombies, where they've got different types of zombism - and each has their own weaknesses that your characters could target. Like an eyeless zombie wouldn't be good at hitting, but maybe they'd do area attacks to try and hit more people instead of just focussing on one, or a zombie bird might be much harder to hit but a lot easier to kill since it's fragile.
You could always look at other zombie-based games for what they did to draw inspiration. Stuff like Last of Us, which has different zombie types that you have to work around in different ways to get through areas, is great, but there's a lot of zombie games out there.
One could be having fast/tanky/smart zombies and mix the groups up to give them combinations. Like, if you had a smart and tanky zombie together, the smart one might direct the tanky one to attack weak points in your party, or make the tank protect them. If you had two smart ones and a tank, maybe they'd both try to direct and sometimes confuse the tank, and get in each others' ways. If you got three speedy zombies and a tank, maybe they'd inspire the tank to move faster, doing charging attacks that deal bigger damage but miss more often, or maybe a speed and smart zombie could band together to hit weaknesses faster and more often.
You could have 'elemental' type zombies, where they've got different types of zombism - and each has their own weaknesses that your characters could target. Like an eyeless zombie wouldn't be good at hitting, but maybe they'd do area attacks to try and hit more people instead of just focussing on one, or a zombie bird might be much harder to hit but a lot easier to kill since it's fragile.
You could always look at other zombie-based games for what they did to draw inspiration. Stuff like Last of Us, which has different zombie types that you have to work around in different ways to get through areas, is great, but there's a lot of zombie games out there.
Darken
3952
and most other zombie games aren't really that much into classes or special skills. Any ideas on how to make this game more interesting?
Really? A lot of zombie games have class equivalents like Soldier/Medic/Athlete/Criminal/Mechanic to replace the damage/tank/heal role synergy. Use something like "First Aid" instead of Cure, or "Barricade" instead of a defense up spell. Use energy instead of magic, have medicine/alcohol/energy drinks instead of potions (with side effects for gritty realism points). Converting typical RPG mechanics to another setting is the easiest school assignment.
LDanarkos
430
Replace the Poison status condition from other RPG's with an Infected status condition, and have various spells and items that can treat the Infected status condition.
warpshadow
241
I didn't think of those things, they sound like good ideas, maybe I was just overthinking technical fidelity to a genre that is more fps than jrpg.
LockeZ
I'd really like to get rid of LockeZ. His play style is way too unpredictable. He's always like this too. If he ran a country, he'd just kill and imprison people at random until crime stopped.
5958
Darkest Dungeon, the RPG with the most interesting combat of any RPG ever made, is like... at least 60% zombies. And has almost no magic usable by players.
I think that zombie games should also have excitement in the first place, I think that you should add something to the game that will excite the player.
Pick one of your favourite RPGs. Strip it of all fancy names and rename it all with strictly functional names. "Restore HP". "Element 1 Damage". "Damage over time status effect". Then go and rename it all with fancy names based on a given theme -- in this case, zombies. Voila, you got what Darken's saying.
Then you make up whatever lore excuses you want for the gameplay to work like that. Or you just... Don't. And most players won't even think to question.
Then you make up whatever lore excuses you want for the gameplay to work like that. Or you just... Don't. And most players won't even think to question.
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