MALAGAR'S PROFILE

Still working on my rogue inspired JRPG

* Its about scripts and not about graphics (I know the map looks awful)
* endless repeating gameplay via endless randomly generated levels
* randomized enemies that come in randomized variants + touch encounters (not shown on screen)
* Mini Map can be toggled on and off
* Amount of floor variation varies depending on dungeon level and type
* The forest overlay can be toggled and varies depending on dungeon
* yes, the game is in fact called "GrindQuest"

(im new to rpgmaker vx ace - keep that in mind before screaming at the screenshot)

Sorry if this sounds like a monologe - I started to develop the idea a bit further:

1. I think a game like this would be perfect as a quick paced filler game. You play like
5-10 minutes and then stop to do other things. Later on you check back and see what progress
your characters made. So design principle Nr. 1 would be: Quick filler game.

2. To speed up development, I would personally use RPG VX Ace using just RTP (this cuts the
amount of time spent on art). For a test project, I could imagine a stereotype fantasy setting
where the player commands a big-band of heroes. Design principle 2: Pure RTP (for simplicity).

3. I could also imagine removing Maps completely from the game. Instead make it a menu based game
that takes place on various scenes and within the combat system - that would be it. This
would all be done to make the game even more simple and easier to develop. So design principle
Nr. 3 would be: 100% menu based.

4. Finally, to compensate all the cut-backs on the game there must be a complex database. In fact,
the game would be all around a good database. There would be literally hundreds of characters, items
and monsters to recruit/fight/collect/craft. There should also be a bestiary and a item encyclopedia.
To further enhance the (simple) gameplay, I could imagine some sort of quest system and achievements
as well. Final Principle: Database Complexity to ensure gameplay freedom and addiction.

* Conclusion:

This idea could best be described as party-based, combat-based, turn-based sort of tower-defense game.
You basically just build, level and fight (then rinse and repeat). The trick is to make it fun. This
could be because its very addicting to gather all characters, get all items, see all monsters, get
all achievements and so on. there should basically something new around every corner: each fight grants
you new stuff to research/craft and each level up creates new quests and achievements to fulfill (simple
ones that you complete will fighting and researching).

* A bit of the stuff I have been working on:

A. Took a look at Magic: the Gathering again. Five elements sound like a nice base for a game
like this. Classes, Monsters, Resources - everything could be tied to the five elements. So there would
be FIRE, WATER, EARTH, LIGHT and DARKNESS based game objects.

B. From this set of five elements, classes could be derived. Like 5 classes per element - for a total
of 25 classes to begin with. Then there could be 5 schools of magic as well as 5 different skill
trees, maybe 5 different types of weapons (sword, axe, bow, lance, dagger), 5 types of armor (shield, helmet, armor, gloves and accessories) and so on. this could be expanded later on by adding elements.

B. Sticking to the "law of fives" i decided for 5 different tasks (groups your characters can
be in) as well: CRAFT, RESEARCH, ATTACK, DEFEND and GATHER. This basically describes the core
mechanics of the game (Please note that I removed build and upgrade as they seem obsolete).

Maybe there could be 1-2 additional tasks (one of them would be REST). But this has not been
decided yet. They would be added with bonus elements later on (see that i am targetting for a expandable
game concept here).

* I put a bit more effort to flesh out the different tasks:

GATHER - the simplest task. You assign a character to this group and from there its an automated
process. Every character you assign to gather, earns you a certain amount of resources. The amount
and type of resources gained depends on the characters class (and therefore his element) as well
as his level. You cannot do much more to influence the process, but choose the right characters
to gain the resources you need most.

Red Element - Ores/Ingots
Blue Element - Scrolls/Tomes
Black Element - Bones/Skulls
White Element - Gems/Crystals
Green Element - Herbs/Wood

RESEARCH - In order to produce advanced equipment, you have to research it first. It only appears
in the shop menus when you have researched the item first. Each element could be assigned to one
item type.

ATTACK - There should be a timer that would allow your attack group to fight a random enemy every
x minutes. These fights grant you gold, xp, items and resources. attacking grants you more treasure
than defending and is the only way to complete certain quests (and thus advance the plot).

fights could be spiced up, maybe tied to locations. like "your heroes approach the tower of druga!" and
then are confronted with a series of 7 battles (no recovery besides using inventory items between battles),
followed by a boss fight. locations, names, descriptions and length of fights would be random plus based
on your party level.

this section has space for lots of improvements.

DEFEND - whenever you start the game and every x minutes while you play, your camp has a chance
of being attacked. only the characters in your defend group may defend against attacks - if they
lose (or if you have no defenders available) you lose gold and resources instead. a good defense
does not grant you much treasure - but protects you from the worst.

CRAFT - finally, the chars assigned to crafting actually produce the items you can equip to
your party members. crafting requires you to research the item first, and you must have enough
resources in order to build them. simply spoken: you let your characters craft the swords, axes,
armor, shields, helmets, healing potions, bombs, skills and spells that they will
equip in order to attack and defend your camp.

phew - enough for today. quite a wall of text. I would appreciate any feedback on this idea!

PS: maybe i start a blog on this, but without a game(-page) there is no blog.

time will tell!

malagar over and out

@Jude Looks great (even for a mockup)!

Victor has written a script for this (only for VX Ace). It allows you to set more than one element on a skill (i think it works for items as well).

Take a look here (you also need Victors Base Engine Script - it works with most other scripts that I know):

http://www.rpgmakervxace.net/topic/5227-ve-element-set/

hope i could help

Working on my very first game!

* Im german so please excuse possible grammar errors
* Sprites/Tilesets are all RTP for now (need better Barbarian Sprite)
* To the left goes the statweb (later)
* I wonder why I have chosen a red background when he is coming from the "icy north" (its a mystery - tell ya!)



PS: My project is a roguelike