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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.
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The Unofficial Squaresoft MUD is a free online game based on the worlds and combat systems of your favorite Squaresoft games. UOSSMUD includes job trees from FFT and FF5, advanced classes from multiple other Square games, and worlds based extremely accurately upon Chrono Trigger, Secret of Mana, and Final Fantasies 5, 6, and 7. Travel through the original worlds and experience events that mirror those of the original games in an online, multiplayer format.
If a large, highly customized MUD, now over 10 years old and still being expanded, with a job system and worlds based on some of the most popular console RPGs seems interesting to you, feel free to log on and check it out. Visit uossmud.sandwich.net for information about logging on.
If a large, highly customized MUD, now over 10 years old and still being expanded, with a job system and worlds based on some of the most popular console RPGs seems interesting to you, feel free to log on and check it out. Visit uossmud.sandwich.net for information about logging on.
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Why RPG and not action adventure?
But, uh, using a character in battle doesn't help develop the character's personality. It just helps develop their role in battle. I admit that it's easier to give a character dialogue if the character is always present, but you can pull that off in action or adventure games too. Sometimes this involves having computer-controlled NPCs fight alongside you, and other times it involves having them just be in communication with you. Look at the comm chats in Metal Gear Solid games for a good example. Or the discussions with Midna in Zelda: Twilight Princess.
So my point is, there's no excuse to feel restricted. If you want to tell a story, you should try to tell it in the type of game you're best at designing gameplay for.
So my point is, there's no excuse to feel restricted. If you want to tell a story, you should try to tell it in the type of game you're best at designing gameplay for.
1 monster = 3 enemies
Lowering your standards and finishing your game
I did some things like this in Vindication.
I was planning to have a Wild Arms 3/Final Fantasy 9 type system of equippable skills, which would be different for each character, and have varying effects like making blue magic easier to learn, increasing attack power, lowering ability MP costs, etc. The main problem with this system was that Vindication is an RM2K3 game. I dreaded making the image versions of every single ability name and description, and making the interface to equip and unequip them using only picture events. To say nothing of implementing the actual effects, and adding ways to obtain them all. After about 20 hours of work I wasn't even a tenth of the way done, so I just scrapped the whole thing.
I also cut out plans for an extra hidden character. And plans to complete the plot holes in the story, and plans to add more dungeons to the later stages of the game. And plans to have a real final boss. However, all of these issues, I actually went back three years later and fixed. I had released the game as a finished work without them in 2006, and was more or less content with it, but I was never happy with all the things I hadn't done. It was only years later that I really got the motivation back to go back and clean it up.
From the time I started the game until the time I released it on RPGMaker.net was actually eight years. And I'm still making edits! I figured if I could go back and redo major parts of a finished game once, there's no reason I can't do it additional times.
The equippable skill system never did get put in though. Fuck that noise.
I was planning to have a Wild Arms 3/Final Fantasy 9 type system of equippable skills, which would be different for each character, and have varying effects like making blue magic easier to learn, increasing attack power, lowering ability MP costs, etc. The main problem with this system was that Vindication is an RM2K3 game. I dreaded making the image versions of every single ability name and description, and making the interface to equip and unequip them using only picture events. To say nothing of implementing the actual effects, and adding ways to obtain them all. After about 20 hours of work I wasn't even a tenth of the way done, so I just scrapped the whole thing.
I also cut out plans for an extra hidden character. And plans to complete the plot holes in the story, and plans to add more dungeons to the later stages of the game. And plans to have a real final boss. However, all of these issues, I actually went back three years later and fixed. I had released the game as a finished work without them in 2006, and was more or less content with it, but I was never happy with all the things I hadn't done. It was only years later that I really got the motivation back to go back and clean it up.
From the time I started the game until the time I released it on RPGMaker.net was actually eight years. And I'm still making edits! I figured if I could go back and redo major parts of a finished game once, there's no reason I can't do it additional times.
The equippable skill system never did get put in though. Fuck that noise.
The dumbest idea you ever tried to make
Why RPG and not action adventure?
Not all action and adventure games have as strong of a focus on character-driven story as you might like. Not all RPGs do either.
The last five RPGs I played were Etrian Odyssey 3, Fallout 3, Dragon Age: Origins, Pokemon Platinum, and Final Fantasy 13. Of those, only FF13 is really strongly story-driven. DA:O has a good story, but it's certainly not character-driven, and the middle 80% of the game has very little story. The other three have almost none to speak of.
The last five action and adventure games I played were Metroid: Other M, Star Fox Command, Zelda: Twilight Princess, Bayonetta, and Tales of Monkey Island. I don't play as many games of this type so they're admittedly not as new. But they seem to have fairly well developed stories, at least as good as RPGs. Star Fox Command is probably the least story-driven of them, but it has a love triangle. Admittedly none of them are quite as heavily story-driven as FF13, but that's rare even among RPGs these days.
God, I hate this. I hate the way you phrased this, the way you think about this. RPGs are better for stories because everything else in them is boring and uninteresting? BULLSHIT. That just means that those RPGs should have been made better, to keep the player excited. No game should ever be boring at any point. If it is, it's a failure as a game. Games should be entertaining, that's the entire point of them.
If you just don't like the guy to get the girl inaction games, then might I suggest a genre other than action? I hear that Phoenix Wright games are pretty fun. The guy always gets the girl in action movies, though. So I don't know what you're complaining about.
The last five RPGs I played were Etrian Odyssey 3, Fallout 3, Dragon Age: Origins, Pokemon Platinum, and Final Fantasy 13. Of those, only FF13 is really strongly story-driven. DA:O has a good story, but it's certainly not character-driven, and the middle 80% of the game has very little story. The other three have almost none to speak of.
The last five action and adventure games I played were Metroid: Other M, Star Fox Command, Zelda: Twilight Princess, Bayonetta, and Tales of Monkey Island. I don't play as many games of this type so they're admittedly not as new. But they seem to have fairly well developed stories, at least as good as RPGs. Star Fox Command is probably the least story-driven of them, but it has a love triangle. Admittedly none of them are quite as heavily story-driven as FF13, but that's rare even among RPGs these days.
post=204370
I do not want an intricate love story in between stages consisting of BOOM BAM KABLAMO. This does not work. If I am going to have a love story in a game at all it'd be better off in an RPG where your mind isn't always focused on incoming monsters!!!, i.e. is allowed to drift a bit (this happens a lot to me in many RPGs, in situations such as monotonous grinding/travelling between places I've already visited)
God, I hate this. I hate the way you phrased this, the way you think about this. RPGs are better for stories because everything else in them is boring and uninteresting? BULLSHIT. That just means that those RPGs should have been made better, to keep the player excited. No game should ever be boring at any point. If it is, it's a failure as a game. Games should be entertaining, that's the entire point of them.
If you just don't like the guy to get the girl inaction games, then might I suggest a genre other than action? I hear that Phoenix Wright games are pretty fun. The guy always gets the girl in action movies, though. So I don't know what you're complaining about.
Why RPG and not action adventure?
Uh, yeah, of course you can. Exactly what is stopping you? I've played tons of action games with love stories built into them.
Story Line Bullet Points
Sounds like a typical story outline. None of the bullet points look monumentally stupid at a glance, I guess. So who cares? It's impossible for anyone to get emotionally involved in bullet points. Bullet points aren't important. The writing is what's important. You can make any story outline become amazing or horrible, as long as it generally makes sense.
That said, getting these bullet points written down before you start the game is a good idea and probably something I should do, instead of just thinking up the main plot twists before I start and letting everything in between flow from my head as it goes along...
That said, getting these bullet points written down before you start the game is a good idea and probably something I should do, instead of just thinking up the main plot twists before I start and letting everything in between flow from my head as it goes along...
Why RPG and not action adventure?
Anyone who picks RPGs as their genre of choice just for storytelling purposes is either stuck in a time warp to the early 90s, or just messed up in the head. I haven't played any action or adventure game in the last decade that didn't have a story. Any game with a character is expected to have a story.
There are definitely things I love about RPGs. I love the emphasis on making intelligent tactical choices instead of relying on player reflexes and coordination. There are also definitely things I hate about RPGs, though. I hate the fact that any possible challenge can be removed by the player by grinding mindlessly until the enemies all become trivially easy. In my upcoming game I'm attempting to place a huge focus on the tactical combat, and find a way to remove the ability to break the game via grind.
If I didn't have any good original gameplay ideas, I wouldn't be making a game. That's not to say I didn't make my last game despite have no good original gameplay ideas. My last game was comparable to FF4 in terms of complexity and customization, though it does better at providing a challenge. And I did start it with a story in mind more than anything. But I at least had *some* gameplay ideas, even if some of them didn't end up getting put in due to time issues, and others got put in but didn't quite have as big of an impact as I had hoped. They were all very derivative ideas though. Even if everything had fallen perfectly into place with no problems, I just wasn't as good of a game designer back then. My ideas worked, but weren't interesting.
There are definitely things I love about RPGs. I love the emphasis on making intelligent tactical choices instead of relying on player reflexes and coordination. There are also definitely things I hate about RPGs, though. I hate the fact that any possible challenge can be removed by the player by grinding mindlessly until the enemies all become trivially easy. In my upcoming game I'm attempting to place a huge focus on the tactical combat, and find a way to remove the ability to break the game via grind.
If I didn't have any good original gameplay ideas, I wouldn't be making a game. That's not to say I didn't make my last game despite have no good original gameplay ideas. My last game was comparable to FF4 in terms of complexity and customization, though it does better at providing a challenge. And I did start it with a story in mind more than anything. But I at least had *some* gameplay ideas, even if some of them didn't end up getting put in due to time issues, and others got put in but didn't quite have as big of an impact as I had hoped. They were all very derivative ideas though. Even if everything had fallen perfectly into place with no problems, I just wasn't as good of a game designer back then. My ideas worked, but weren't interesting.
People want what they can't have.
I don't really dislike the idea of removing stuff from players. It's just that it isn't presented well in Metroid Prime. You don't actually use most of that stuff in real fights, and the loss of your equipment is presented with a complete bullshit excuse - one that makes you think that even if you get it back, it could be taken away again at any time if another enemy uses an explosion attack. That's really what bothers me. You have to present it in a way that makes the player strive for it. I didn't really get attached to those items in Metroid Prime. I never really got to use them much. It just made me wonder why they even bothered starting me with them.
I like FF6 a lot. I don't like the world of ruin as much as the world of balance, but I did enjoy getting all my characters back. Plus, THE ENTIRE WORLD EXPLODED seems like a more reasonable reason to lose 90% of your stuff than A HALLWAY CAVED IN.
I like FF6 a lot. I don't like the world of ruin as much as the world of balance, but I did enjoy getting all my characters back. Plus, THE ENTIRE WORLD EXPLODED seems like a more reasonable reason to lose 90% of your stuff than A HALLWAY CAVED IN.
People want what they can't have.
I kind of agree with GreatRedSpirit. If I get a new ability, it is exciting and exhilirating. If I get back an old ability in Metroid Prime that I lost after the first stage, it just makes me think, "God, FINALLY." I don't feel any more powerful. I just feel like I'm back to where I already was.
However, taunting me with an ability before I get it can work really well if done right. For instance, if my character is spending the entire game searching for the Sword of Mana, it's intensely exciting when I finally get it. If I have several boss fights throughout the game against my evil twin, and he uses certain abilities, then when I finally kill him and absorb his power into myself, I will be super psyched.
But something about the way Metroid Prime does it is frustrating. I don't know exactly what. I think the fact that you lose the powers for SO LONG in Metroid Prime is what bothers me. Along with the fact that the excuse the game gives for taking them away is highly questionable. You HIT YOUR HEAD KIND OF HARD and now every single function of your suit is broken except the arm cannon. And then you go on to get the shit blasted out of you by explosions and energy beams and Ridleys for the entire game, and it never happens again. If it were presented better, I probably wouldn't mind. I think Chrono Cross does it really well, for example, with the opening dream sequence.
It also probably makes a difference that in Metroid games, you know damn well that you are going to get these powers back, so it kills some of the excitement. In other games, the game taunts you with a power, but until you get it, you're never really sure if it'll be obtained in the end or not. Maybe a plot twist will lead the villain to obtain the Sword of Mana. Maybe your evil twin won't die until the end of the game, or won't give you his powers when he does. The foreshadowing is still there, but less blatant.
In my RM2K3 game, I actually take away party members who are too powerful, and then give them back later. Specifically, I repeatedly find excuses to make the main character not be available in every other dungeon. I think temporarily taking away party members is a great way to implement this idea in a traditional JRPG.
However, taunting me with an ability before I get it can work really well if done right. For instance, if my character is spending the entire game searching for the Sword of Mana, it's intensely exciting when I finally get it. If I have several boss fights throughout the game against my evil twin, and he uses certain abilities, then when I finally kill him and absorb his power into myself, I will be super psyched.
But something about the way Metroid Prime does it is frustrating. I don't know exactly what. I think the fact that you lose the powers for SO LONG in Metroid Prime is what bothers me. Along with the fact that the excuse the game gives for taking them away is highly questionable. You HIT YOUR HEAD KIND OF HARD and now every single function of your suit is broken except the arm cannon. And then you go on to get the shit blasted out of you by explosions and energy beams and Ridleys for the entire game, and it never happens again. If it were presented better, I probably wouldn't mind. I think Chrono Cross does it really well, for example, with the opening dream sequence.
It also probably makes a difference that in Metroid games, you know damn well that you are going to get these powers back, so it kills some of the excitement. In other games, the game taunts you with a power, but until you get it, you're never really sure if it'll be obtained in the end or not. Maybe a plot twist will lead the villain to obtain the Sword of Mana. Maybe your evil twin won't die until the end of the game, or won't give you his powers when he does. The foreshadowing is still there, but less blatant.
In my RM2K3 game, I actually take away party members who are too powerful, and then give them back later. Specifically, I repeatedly find excuses to make the main character not be available in every other dungeon. I think temporarily taking away party members is a great way to implement this idea in a traditional JRPG.
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