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Blogamajig Arena Digest #1: Can't We Get Beyond Thunderdome?
Max McGee
15 post(s) 
- 12/08/2011 07:18 PM
- 4069 views
BLOGAMAJIG ARENA DIGEST #1: CAN'T WE GET BEYOND THUNDERDOME?
Hi I want to blog about the development of Mage Duel Extreme. This particular entry will be a multi-parter. Most of them won't!
First Principles
Mage Duel the first was my very first attempt at making something in RPG Maker VX back in 2008. It is the very oldest of my new games. Please note I don't say "first serious game" or "first game I was happy with". Like the very first thing I EVER did in the RMVX editor was to map the arena and underworks (which are still being used in this game).
The purpose of making the original Mage Duel was to teach myself RPG Maker VX.
Mage Duel Extreme served the same purpose for the first major RPG Maker program to come out SINCE RPG Maker VX: RPG Maker VX with Yanfly Engine Melody. I actually first attempted the MDX training project as literally just a test project, with no intention of showing it to anyone, back in 2009. I didn't get further than the animated battler config, which I couldn't figure out--YEM can be a bitch to config, and sometimes the comments raise more questions than they answer. So in the end I buried the project, a massively frustrating timesink like my first few efforts to use YEM, in a folder literally called "What were you even thinking?" where it remains to this day.
Fast forward two years to 2011, which has been a rough year for me in a lot of ways. To highlight the one most relevant to this anecdote: I went through an RPG Maker phase this January or so, working feverishly on a project codenamed CONJURER on my own laptop. This fever was fucking COOLED by the fact that my laptop (and at the time only computer) could not PLAY RPG MAKER VX games--mine or other people's--without a hellish nightmare of lag. What I could do still, however, was work on 2k3 games.
I tried, hard, to leverage this disadvantage into motivation: even though I could, barely and only by a stretch, afford a new computer (I opted for a desktop, and I still use my crappy old laptop, which has only grown crappier, for portability) I would hold out until I had finished Backstage 2. Since I could only work on 2k3, it would make it that much easier for me to focus on finishing an ancient project: VX was out of the question anyway.
I held out literally months, until the summer, without buying a new computer. Once I bought it, I told myself it changed nothing: no RPG Maker VX until I'd finished Backstage 2. I lasted a matter of days without setting up and opening the computer. I told myself I would only PLAY RMVX games, to make sure they worked. That I wouldn't open CODE NAME: CONJURER again in the editor. But little did I know that the first RMVX game in my backlog that I'd been wanting to play would make my desire to play with YEM FULLY INSURMOUNTABLE. Edifice, if nothing else, functions as an awesome advertisement for the capabilities of YEM as a toolset, although I know Craze would add that there's no shortage of his own code in there, powering the works.
Anyway, opening MDX instead of Code Name Conjurer, telling myself that this was "not a real project" and I "just wanted to play with the mechanics" and I "wouldn't abandon Backstage 2 development" was how this project was born. (Between this temptation and the long silence of Archeiah_Nessiah regarding the menu system that was one of the final puzzle pieces I needed to complete Backstage 2, the productivity of that project was halted yet again for what must be the tenth time in its sluggish, 5+ year development cycle. A bitterly ironic twist for the sequel of a game made in just one month.)
And so the saga of heaping too much onto an over-full plate continues.
CLASS PREVIEW: ELEMENTALIST
I want to use these blogs as an opportunity to talk about the battle mechanics and the underlying strategic and tactical choices apparent in Mage Duel Extreme, which are naturally the parts of this project I'm MOST psyched about. I feel like talking about one class a week kind of like I did with To Arms! would be a good way to break this development discussion into convenient bite sized chunks. Once I've done one for all of the classes, I'll add a "classes" page.
So, without further ado or preamble I give you The Elementalist.
The words "Mage Select" at the top of the screen are animated.
The Elementalist's default name is Iyo.
Mage Duel the first had some balance issues, that's to be certain. Namely, the Conjurer was a massively overpowered "easy mode", turning one-on-one duels into two-on-one massacres. The Healer, meanwhile, focused entirely too much on healing damage in a game that was about DOING damage. So I knew those two were OUT of the remake, and therefore my starting class lineup would look nothing like that of the original.
Rather than pair the two original classes that worked with two new classes, I decided to make all of the original classes (and half of the new ones) unlockable and include classes LIKE them but different in subtle but important ways as the initially available mages for selection. The Elementalist is in many ways a stand-in for the old Evoker, and the Enchanter is a reimagining of the old Illusionist. Just like the Abjurer replaces the old Healer, while the Conjurer has no direct expy. But that gets more complicated because unlike Healer and Conjurer, Evokers and Illusionists still exist in the game.
So what are the differences between Elementalists and Evokers? Well I could talk about that in terms of mechanics or in terms of fluff.
Fluff-wise, Elementalists are all about HARMONIZING with one or more of the elements (Fire, Water, Air or Earth), a life long dedication to the principles their chosen element(s) represent.
Evokers don't give a fig for water or earth, and they only care about fire because it can deal damage, like their other two favorites, ice and lightning. These aren't elemental affinities to be revered or emulated or gods forbid harmonized with. Evokers use all of thse things as a means to an end: the end of your life, that is.
The mechanical explanation of the differences follows much the same lines.
Elementalists get access to three elements that Evokers don't: Earth, Wind, and Water. These are conveniently three elements that are tougher to absorb/negate than Fire, Ice, and Lightning. Fire remains a strong choice as it has more raw damage dealing potential. In return, of course, Elementalists aren't quite as effective off the bat at raw direct damage than Evokers.
Both classes can deal lots of nasty status effects to the enemy but Elementalists get access to something Evokers don't--elementally themed buffs like Windstride and Stoneskin, which can maximize turn control or minimize incoming damage. The only status effects that Evokers deal in are crippling debuffs; they can't enhance their own power. Elementalists also get another option totally off limits to Evokers: HEALING. This makes them a much more well-rounded and less needle-focused class overall.
In review, here are the features of the Elementalist class NOT already explicitly detailed on the character select screen above:
* Unlike other classes, Elementalists have no special status or elemental weaknesses or resistances out of the starting gate. (Status ailment resistance is handled somewhat uniquely in MDX and might deserve a blog post of its own down the road.)
* Elementalists can equip Rods and Wands but not Staves or Swords.
* Elementalists can equip all Hats, Auras, Robes and Charms but not Armor or Helms.
* Elementalists and so far ONLY Elementalists can choose a "Quickened Spell" from the Magic menu. This Quickened Spell costs two spell-picks to learn and acts as a passive boost to the Elementalist's powers, while permanently "specializing" the Elementalist and imposing a weakness. The Quickening possibilities are:
1) Infernus Pact - +50% Fire Damage output, Fire Immunity, +100% Weakness to Water.
2) Be Like Water - +50% Water Damage dealt, Water Immunity, +100% Weakness to Fire.
3) Zephyr - +50% Air Damage dealt, Air Immunity, +100% Weakness to Earth.
4) Earthdawn - +50% Earth Damage dealt, Earth Immunity, +100% Weakness to Air.
An Elementalist with Infernus Pact is a Pyromancer, an Elementalist with Be Like Water is a Hydromancer, an Elementalist with Zephyr is an Aeromancer and an Elementalist with Earthdawn is a Geomancer. Once a specialization is chosen, no other Quickened Spell can be taken, so choose wisely.
* Finally, here is the complete ELEMENTALIST SPELL LIST.
# FlareS: Basic Fire damage. STARTING SPELL.
# SplashS Basic Water damage. STARTING SPELL.
# GustS: Basic Air damage.
# StoneS Basic Earth damage.
# Burn Notice Weak Fire damage plus can inflict Flammable State (100% Weakness to Fire Damage). Requires FlareS.
# Watery Grave: Weak Water damage and low chance to inflict Death. Requires SplashS. Two picks.
# Blow Down: Weak Air damage and high chance to Stun. Requires GustS. Damage partially based on Quickness, meaning it improves with Windstrider.
# Seal: Weak Earth damage and low chance to inflict Stone'D (Petrified). Requires StoneS. Two picks.
# Stoneskin: Grant one ally a massive resistance to physical damage for a time.
# Windstrider: Grant one ally an extra turn, a 33% Evasion bonus, and extra 150% Quickness for a time.
# Fire Heal: Use the power of fire to heal one ally's LP.
# Flush System: Use Water magic to cure many status maladies. InstantCast.
# Napalm: Get back in the fiery water. Lots of damage to all foes. This is three picks in the current build but will eventually be reduced to just two.
# Maelstrom: Twelve random hits of StoneS and GustS to 12 random foes. Two picks.
All in all, Elementalist is meant to be a beginner-friendly class, well-rounded, with few extreme strengths and weaknesses and clear-and-obvious internal skill synergies.
HALP WANTED!
Are you reading this page? Are you handy with CSS? Please help me spruce up the game page for Mage Duel Extreme into something more unique! I will happily trade an equal amount of any of my own writing, testing, or miscellaneous game design services in exchange. Thank you!
Release Log
I've already unleashed two super-minor updates to Mage Duel Extreme since the first download link I unveiled on Release Something! Day. Here's the full change log for the most recent available download:
# Delusions of Grandeur returned to its rightful place on the ENCHANTER Spell List.
# Delusions of Granduer nerfed while I was at it.
# Sleeping characters now take 2x damage from the attack that wakes them up.
# Mantra fixed and working properly.
# Stunning word fixed and working properly.
# One of Enchanter's dump stats moved from Strength to LP. (Overall slight increase in power.)
# Avana's Grenado and Poison Shot are now *physical attacks* as they always should have been.
# Save bug fixed! The save point following the first cutscene was bugged for some characters, but has been fixed.
# Cyath AI slightly altered.
Hi I want to blog about the development of Mage Duel Extreme. This particular entry will be a multi-parter. Most of them won't!
First Principles
Mage Duel the first was my very first attempt at making something in RPG Maker VX back in 2008. It is the very oldest of my new games. Please note I don't say "first serious game" or "first game I was happy with". Like the very first thing I EVER did in the RMVX editor was to map the arena and underworks (which are still being used in this game).
The purpose of making the original Mage Duel was to teach myself RPG Maker VX.
Mage Duel Extreme served the same purpose for the first major RPG Maker program to come out SINCE RPG Maker VX: RPG Maker VX with Yanfly Engine Melody. I actually first attempted the MDX training project as literally just a test project, with no intention of showing it to anyone, back in 2009. I didn't get further than the animated battler config, which I couldn't figure out--YEM can be a bitch to config, and sometimes the comments raise more questions than they answer. So in the end I buried the project, a massively frustrating timesink like my first few efforts to use YEM, in a folder literally called "What were you even thinking?" where it remains to this day.
Fast forward two years to 2011, which has been a rough year for me in a lot of ways. To highlight the one most relevant to this anecdote: I went through an RPG Maker phase this January or so, working feverishly on a project codenamed CONJURER on my own laptop. This fever was fucking COOLED by the fact that my laptop (and at the time only computer) could not PLAY RPG MAKER VX games--mine or other people's--without a hellish nightmare of lag. What I could do still, however, was work on 2k3 games.
I tried, hard, to leverage this disadvantage into motivation: even though I could, barely and only by a stretch, afford a new computer (I opted for a desktop, and I still use my crappy old laptop, which has only grown crappier, for portability) I would hold out until I had finished Backstage 2. Since I could only work on 2k3, it would make it that much easier for me to focus on finishing an ancient project: VX was out of the question anyway.
I held out literally months, until the summer, without buying a new computer. Once I bought it, I told myself it changed nothing: no RPG Maker VX until I'd finished Backstage 2. I lasted a matter of days without setting up and opening the computer. I told myself I would only PLAY RMVX games, to make sure they worked. That I wouldn't open CODE NAME: CONJURER again in the editor. But little did I know that the first RMVX game in my backlog that I'd been wanting to play would make my desire to play with YEM FULLY INSURMOUNTABLE. Edifice, if nothing else, functions as an awesome advertisement for the capabilities of YEM as a toolset, although I know Craze would add that there's no shortage of his own code in there, powering the works.
Anyway, opening MDX instead of Code Name Conjurer, telling myself that this was "not a real project" and I "just wanted to play with the mechanics" and I "wouldn't abandon Backstage 2 development" was how this project was born. (Between this temptation and the long silence of Archeiah_Nessiah regarding the menu system that was one of the final puzzle pieces I needed to complete Backstage 2, the productivity of that project was halted yet again for what must be the tenth time in its sluggish, 5+ year development cycle. A bitterly ironic twist for the sequel of a game made in just one month.)
And so the saga of heaping too much onto an over-full plate continues.
CLASS PREVIEW: ELEMENTALIST
I want to use these blogs as an opportunity to talk about the battle mechanics and the underlying strategic and tactical choices apparent in Mage Duel Extreme, which are naturally the parts of this project I'm MOST psyched about. I feel like talking about one class a week kind of like I did with To Arms! would be a good way to break this development discussion into convenient bite sized chunks. Once I've done one for all of the classes, I'll add a "classes" page.
So, without further ado or preamble I give you The Elementalist.
The words "Mage Select" at the top of the screen are animated.
The Elementalist's default name is Iyo.
Mage Duel the first had some balance issues, that's to be certain. Namely, the Conjurer was a massively overpowered "easy mode", turning one-on-one duels into two-on-one massacres. The Healer, meanwhile, focused entirely too much on healing damage in a game that was about DOING damage. So I knew those two were OUT of the remake, and therefore my starting class lineup would look nothing like that of the original.
Rather than pair the two original classes that worked with two new classes, I decided to make all of the original classes (and half of the new ones) unlockable and include classes LIKE them but different in subtle but important ways as the initially available mages for selection. The Elementalist is in many ways a stand-in for the old Evoker, and the Enchanter is a reimagining of the old Illusionist. Just like the Abjurer replaces the old Healer, while the Conjurer has no direct expy. But that gets more complicated because unlike Healer and Conjurer, Evokers and Illusionists still exist in the game.
So what are the differences between Elementalists and Evokers? Well I could talk about that in terms of mechanics or in terms of fluff.
Fluff-wise, Elementalists are all about HARMONIZING with one or more of the elements (Fire, Water, Air or Earth), a life long dedication to the principles their chosen element(s) represent.
Evokers don't give a fig for water or earth, and they only care about fire because it can deal damage, like their other two favorites, ice and lightning. These aren't elemental affinities to be revered or emulated or gods forbid harmonized with. Evokers use all of thse things as a means to an end: the end of your life, that is.
The mechanical explanation of the differences follows much the same lines.
Elementalists get access to three elements that Evokers don't: Earth, Wind, and Water. These are conveniently three elements that are tougher to absorb/negate than Fire, Ice, and Lightning. Fire remains a strong choice as it has more raw damage dealing potential. In return, of course, Elementalists aren't quite as effective off the bat at raw direct damage than Evokers.
Both classes can deal lots of nasty status effects to the enemy but Elementalists get access to something Evokers don't--elementally themed buffs like Windstride and Stoneskin, which can maximize turn control or minimize incoming damage. The only status effects that Evokers deal in are crippling debuffs; they can't enhance their own power. Elementalists also get another option totally off limits to Evokers: HEALING. This makes them a much more well-rounded and less needle-focused class overall.
In review, here are the features of the Elementalist class NOT already explicitly detailed on the character select screen above:
* Unlike other classes, Elementalists have no special status or elemental weaknesses or resistances out of the starting gate. (Status ailment resistance is handled somewhat uniquely in MDX and might deserve a blog post of its own down the road.)
* Elementalists can equip Rods and Wands but not Staves or Swords.
* Elementalists can equip all Hats, Auras, Robes and Charms but not Armor or Helms.
* Elementalists and so far ONLY Elementalists can choose a "Quickened Spell" from the Magic menu. This Quickened Spell costs two spell-picks to learn and acts as a passive boost to the Elementalist's powers, while permanently "specializing" the Elementalist and imposing a weakness. The Quickening possibilities are:
1) Infernus Pact - +50% Fire Damage output, Fire Immunity, +100% Weakness to Water.
2) Be Like Water - +50% Water Damage dealt, Water Immunity, +100% Weakness to Fire.
3) Zephyr - +50% Air Damage dealt, Air Immunity, +100% Weakness to Earth.
4) Earthdawn - +50% Earth Damage dealt, Earth Immunity, +100% Weakness to Air.
An Elementalist with Infernus Pact is a Pyromancer, an Elementalist with Be Like Water is a Hydromancer, an Elementalist with Zephyr is an Aeromancer and an Elementalist with Earthdawn is a Geomancer. Once a specialization is chosen, no other Quickened Spell can be taken, so choose wisely.
* Finally, here is the complete ELEMENTALIST SPELL LIST.
# FlareS: Basic Fire damage. STARTING SPELL.
# SplashS Basic Water damage. STARTING SPELL.
# GustS: Basic Air damage.
# StoneS Basic Earth damage.
# Burn Notice Weak Fire damage plus can inflict Flammable State (100% Weakness to Fire Damage). Requires FlareS.
# Watery Grave: Weak Water damage and low chance to inflict Death. Requires SplashS. Two picks.
# Blow Down: Weak Air damage and high chance to Stun. Requires GustS. Damage partially based on Quickness, meaning it improves with Windstrider.
# Seal: Weak Earth damage and low chance to inflict Stone'D (Petrified). Requires StoneS. Two picks.
# Stoneskin: Grant one ally a massive resistance to physical damage for a time.
# Windstrider: Grant one ally an extra turn, a 33% Evasion bonus, and extra 150% Quickness for a time.
# Fire Heal: Use the power of fire to heal one ally's LP.
# Flush System: Use Water magic to cure many status maladies. InstantCast.
# Napalm: Get back in the fiery water. Lots of damage to all foes. This is three picks in the current build but will eventually be reduced to just two.
# Maelstrom: Twelve random hits of StoneS and GustS to 12 random foes. Two picks.
All in all, Elementalist is meant to be a beginner-friendly class, well-rounded, with few extreme strengths and weaknesses and clear-and-obvious internal skill synergies.
***END ELEMENTALIST***
HALP WANTED!
Are you reading this page? Are you handy with CSS? Please help me spruce up the game page for Mage Duel Extreme into something more unique! I will happily trade an equal amount of any of my own writing, testing, or miscellaneous game design services in exchange. Thank you!
Release Log
I've already unleashed two super-minor updates to Mage Duel Extreme since the first download link I unveiled on Release Something! Day. Here's the full change log for the most recent available download:
# Delusions of Grandeur returned to its rightful place on the ENCHANTER Spell List.
# Delusions of Granduer nerfed while I was at it.
# Sleeping characters now take 2x damage from the attack that wakes them up.
# Mantra fixed and working properly.
# Stunning word fixed and working properly.
# One of Enchanter's dump stats moved from Strength to LP. (Overall slight increase in power.)
# Avana's Grenado and Poison Shot are now *physical attacks* as they always should have been.
# Save bug fixed! The save point following the first cutscene was bugged for some characters, but has been fixed.
# Cyath AI slightly altered.
Game Design
Pages:
1
