CADH20000'S PROFILE

Oh, forgot magical summons such as elementals who would take damage differently based on the attacking element and are even healed by attacks of their own element. Some, such as Sylph (Wind Elemental) are totally immune to purely physical attacks.

Sorry, I was posting at about 3am, should have put off posting til today AFTER I slept. :p Anyway, not the first time I've designed a skill set, just the first time I asked for suggestions while 1/2 asleep.

I'll try to address each of the points you brought up, but if I miss one in that block of text just point it out graciously, no need to be snippy.

Part 1:

The game has only had about 5 hours of brainstorming. Mostly focusing on:

• Reputation system (which includes/controls team acquisition and management)
• Skill acquisition and advancement
  
• Item/weapon acquisition and advancement
  
• Storyline advancement
  
• Event conditions
  

Actual combat is only about 1/3~1/2 the game.

Skills are ADVANCED through combat, but are acquired outside of it through the classes/clubs and spellbook "trials".

It would be primarily a combination tactical-RPG and school-life sim with a variety of potential teammates each with their own skill-set so the player should have quite a bit of freedom as far as strategy.

The setting is the modern world and the main character is the only true Mage/Wizard among the good guys, the rest of them are to be recruited from among his classmates and who specialize according to the classes they are good at in school, for example the chemistry wiz is an Alchemist and uses potions to attack/heal, the jock is a Brawler and uses his fists and feet to attack, kid from shop class is a Mechanic, etc... Not all classes are combat-oriented though. You can keep some allies in the background pumping out potions (Alchemist) or making/upgrading weapons and tools (Mechanic).

If the main character/commander is defeated the game is over, but he MUST participate in all battles, so keeping him alive is your main priority. If anyone else gets defeated they retreat from the battle and lose respect for you, lose too much respect and they leave the team completely...

Mage/Wizard/Commander: Strong long-range attacks and support spells, weak close-range combat skills. Has the ability to sacrifice his turn to give an ally another one that round.

Alchemists: Basically healers/trap masters. They are useless in head-to-head combat unless they have been prepared properly in the chem-lab first. They make potions to heal and/or attack. However, IF you have acquired the appropriate materials and recipes they can inflict status ailments such as poison or wield explosives to hit multiple enemies (example: set up a molotov cocktail to blow underneath the enemy party causing heavy fire damage to those within range)

Brawler(or Fighter. I haven't finalized the class title yet): uses hand to hand combat which includes attacks ranging from punches and kicks for immediate damage to submission holds which can be used to temporarily disable most enemies and capture some enemies which allows the player to obtain items and/or information.

Mechanic: Worthless in combat, invaluable in the Shop Class where he/she makes tools and weapons for the rest of the team to use.

Still working on the other classes...

I didn't want the standard RPG skills like "Magic Arrow" or "Fireball", they've been so overused that they're kinda cliche. For instance, the four I already have are "The Summoning of the Elementals" set (Fire, Water, Wind and Earth) and each calls in a magical (Elemental) ally(Salamander, Undine, Sylph, or Golem) for one powerful attack in their element at the cost of leaving the caster wide open for that turn.


I've got to run some errands now, I'll be back and address the rest in a bit.

I'm planning out another game project. Just got done brainstorming with some guys about it. Somehow during the process I ended up committing myself to writing a bunch of spells and doing up 2 alternate graphics of each of the spellbook pages for the project...

The spellbook itself is a semi-conscious entity designed to teach and test novice mages. Study hard and pass the tests to learn new spells, fail the tests and you are trapped in the pocket dimension where the test takes place until such a time as you can pass the test…or die trying…

Intro story:
http://fav.me/d5b7r2w
Basically, a boy goes to a convention with a book cosplaying as a magician, but accidentally casts a real spell as the book turns out to be real. This brings some unwanted attention, and now he has to recruit allies to help him stay alive while he races to figure out how to destroy, or render useless, the book his enemies are after.

The incident with the Salamander alerts some bad people/evil magic users to the existence of the spellbook. You are forced to break your vow and actually learn to use it correctly in order to protect yourself.

Basically each page of the spellbook will display in the Futhark syllabary until it is learned by completing the spellbook's tests at which time the graphic will be switched to the same spell in the English alphabet and the spell is added to the skill list.

I do have 4 of them basically done except for minor edits...

I had done those 4 as a scroll for an illustration for my book quite a while back, but since I took those 4 spells straight from the book, I can take the illustration from it too and just edit it to look like an old book page instead of an unrolled scroll, right?

Game mechanics ideas:
1. The team recruitment takes place at school.
2. Recruit classmates to help you fight. Different classmates have different skills depending on the classes they specialize in:
a. Chemistry = Alchemist
b. Gym = Fighter
c. Etc…

3. Who is willing to join and how you are treated depends on your rep.
a. Example: Do well and strong people join you, do poorly and only weak ones will.
4. Reputation system built around separate “Classes” where you have an
a. overall reputation based on combined score as well as
b. sub-reputation based on separate classes.
5. Different NPC/Potential team-mates are impressed by doing well in different classes
6. Reputation is also built on how you treat the others;
a. Example:
i. bully weaker kids and only bullies/delinquents will want to join you
ii. defend weaker kids and “upstanding” kids will want to join you


Anyway... Anyone feel like suggesting a spell or two for the list? Nothing too graphic please, the playable characters are a 12 yr old and his classmates.

My team's game will most likely not make the deadline and so be ineligible for the contest, but I refuse to let them quit!

They got behind and now they don't feel it is worth trying to finish on time. Nothing I can do seems to get the fire back in them either, but it WILL get done, even if it is late!

author=edchuy

author=cadh20000
Yes, but unfortunately I'm also the only team member with the Lite version instead of the full program! :p

May I suggest you download the Ace trial, which ought to get you through the event, timewise (BTW, you get 30 days)?

Already used it up or I would.