My New Game Idea

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Xaos
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My New Game Idea

Post by Xaos »

So, for some reason, I got the urge to make a (somewhat simple) text based RPG game. It'd work kind of like a normal text based rpg, fight/kill/adventure. A main difference would be a focus on companions. Much like Pokemon, you could tame a wild creature and make him your companion. Different creatures would have different actions, for example a dire wolf would add attack and a sparrow would bring berries to heal. Stuff like that. Id also make sprites so the whole game world would be layed out in static images but it would take the "text-based" away. Battle would also show the sprites. im just gonna write ideas and whatnot here, and once I get into actual creation ill ask for a move to project showoff ;) I also ask people write their ideas, basically anything you'd like to see in a medieval rpg. Obviously the only features I've said are companions and sprites/map, but seriously just throw any idea you have out here.
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Xaos
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Re: My New Game Idea

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For my combat system, I'm going with something a bit different. Rather than hit points, the body will be split and weapons will be realistic in assessing damage. Humans will have both arms, legs, head/neck, torso and hips as 'hittable' body parts, for example. There will be 3 attack styles, a fast swiping attack, a lunging attack and a power attack. The swiping attack will cut and deal cut damage and inflict bleeding, which will cause damage each turn. The lunging attack does more bleeding and can break bones but is less accurate and leaves open to counters. The power attack is far less accurate and does not inflict much bleeding,but it can completely remove limbs and break bones. Each body part will be able to have armor equipped. Each body part will have hit points,and once they reach 0 they are unusable. There will also be overall hit points, but they are only lost with a loss of limb, torso attacks, head attacks and bleeding.

There will also be a 3x3 tile system in combat. Lunges can reach with a 1 space difference, but any more than that and it will have to be ranged combat. Players will also be able to attempt to escape from combat.

There will be a map where people will travel (a step-by-step system) and at each movement, there will be a random chance for encounter of an enemy, similiar to Pokemon.

Once into a city/town, the step-by-step system is gone and instead there are just links in a menu to different places in the town. Then there would be one to go back into the wilderness.

Upon death, the player loses 20% of money and one random, non-equipped item. They are then rescued by guards and are brought to the hospital of the last city they were in.

Not sure how to do "energy' yet for how many actions a player gets. I may do a hunger/thirst system where players get hungrier/thirstier as they take actions, which will allo people to refill and get more actions, but it generally will have people stop after so many actions and wait for the next 'day'.
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Xaos
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Re: My New Game Idea

Post by Xaos »

I'm at a quandary. I know both Java and PHP, and I feel I'm pretty good at both. For this game, though, I'm not sure which to choose. Ive already coded (and will be coding all throughout the summer) a game in php, so I have familiarity but I also may get tired of php programming after doing it all summer working and working on this project. On the other hand, I've never done Java for a full scale project or web-based. It will also give me one big php and one big java project for my portfolio, I think. But again, lack of experience with java. Should I go with what I'm familiar with in PHP or go with Java? In there any advantage for the game with one language over another?
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Jackolantern
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Re: My New Game Idea

Post by Jackolantern »

The ideas sound cool, particularly combat. It sounds like it could be quite strategic.

Uggh, Java web development just makes me shudder. Maybe if I did Java web development first, I would have a better view of it, but coming from PHP, I just can't help but wonder why so much of it is required. Prepare to feel like you are doing 3x more work for half the results. If you haven't gathered, I would not suggest Java :lol:

If you are getting bored of PHP, you could pick up a nice PHP framework to learn while working on the project. I would suggest Laravel or FuelPHP. They are both great, modern PHP frameworks that are gaining traction. If you want to work with PHP professionally, learn Symfony. It is a deep, complex framework but the professional enterprise world seems to love it.

If you have never worked with a framework before, it will seem like a lot of unneeded complexity at first, but at some point it will just click as to why they are so valuable. Probably the first time you want to change something and you realize it is just a matter of adding the needed logic, rather than trying to break and rebuild a crow's nest of HTML, PHP, Javascript and SQL all mixed together. After I got used to frameworks, I see them as pretty much a requirement for medium-to-large PHP projects. Web development is not the same animal it was 20 years ago when PHP was created ;)

If you really want to step out in left field with something different, try picking up Node.js and ExpressJS. It will take a little while to get used to, but it is awesome and really easily allows true real-time web applications. It is now my web platform of choice :cool:
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Xaos
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Re: My New Game Idea

Post by Xaos »

Jackolantern wrote:The ideas sound cool, particularly combat. It sounds like it could be quite strategic.

Uggh, Java web development just makes me shudder. Maybe if I did Java web development first, I would have a better view of it, but coming from PHP, I just can't help but wonder why so much of it is required. Prepare to feel like you are doing 3x more work for half the results. If you haven't gathered, I would not suggest Java :lol:

If you are getting bored of PHP, you could pick up a nice PHP framework to learn while working on the project. I would suggest Laravel or FuelPHP. They are both great, modern PHP frameworks that are gaining traction. If you want to work with PHP professionally, learn Symfony. It is a deep, complex framework but the professional enterprise world seems to love it.

If you have never worked with a framework before, it will seem like a lot of unneeded complexity at first, but at some point it will just click as to why they are so valuable. Probably the first time you want to change something and you realize it is just a matter of adding the needed logic, rather than trying to break and rebuild a crow's nest of HTML, PHP, Javascript and SQL all mixed together. After I got used to frameworks, I see them as pretty much a requirement for medium-to-large PHP projects. Web development is not the same animal it was 20 years ago when PHP was created ;)

If you really want to step out in left field with something different, try picking up Node.js and ExpressJS. It will take a little while to get used to, but it is awesome and really easily allows true real-time web applications. It is now my web platform of choice :cool:
Tis not that I'm getting bored of PHP now, I'm just worried after spending hours in PHP (and Objective-C....maybe even Java later so it all may become a moot point) and then coming home, I won't have the motivation to get more into PHP on a different project. But I think I'm just being silly.

I haven't worked with a Framework, but I have heard raving reviews about them. I'm gonna look into some.

I also might really look at Node.js and ExpressJS. I'm okay in Javascript, but I've never done anything in it, other than codecademy courses to learn the syntax. I could easily see this game being benefited by real-time application and not refreshes.

WIth this game, I'm really just trying to make something fun that I can really put my creativity into it in terms of the fundamental, core concepts of the game. So that's the main goal. Secondary goal is to have a big project that I can add to my portfolio and point people towards. But really I don't care if it gets big, so long as its fun enough for me to like to play it. I really like browser-based, text-based RPGs, but I can never find one that's super fun and keeps me at it for a long period of time. This is kind of what i want the game to be.
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Jackolantern
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Re: My New Game Idea

Post by Jackolantern »

I don't want to be a spoil-sport, but you will never play your own games. You won't get one ounce of fun out of playing it. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news :P
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Xaos
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Re: My New Game Idea

Post by Xaos »

Jackolantern wrote:I don't want to be a spoil-sport, but you will never play your own games. You won't get one ounce of fun out of playing it. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news :P
Oh, not fun enough for me to actually play, but a game that I would, conceivably, play if I didn't create it ;)
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Xaos
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Re: My New Game Idea

Post by Xaos »

I'm going to try to eliminate the need for grinding. Most games' have quest that are laid out in th structure of "Hey guy, go across the map, find 6 of these random drop items which may lead to killing 50 monsters and bring them back here so I can make the Super Duper Potion of Power!" I'm going to try to of eliminate as much of that as possible, as well as the need to grind to level. There will still be some grinders, but I want to try to cut that out. I'm thinking of creating ways to level other than fighting, and quest that are different. For example, you may get experience for haggling a shop owner (I am thinking about haggling. I'm also considering a more Skyrim set up with skills and an overall level, but he skills are most important) and you get the item for cheaper. And for quest have stuff like "Go spread negative propaganda about the King" in which you could do things like kill people and blame it on the knights or use persuasion to convince them the king is bad,etc. Just have quest that allow people to alter them to how they build their character. If someone wants to create a cunning, persuasive character, why would they have "go kill these powerful things with your all righteous hands" type quest?
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Jackolantern
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Re: My New Game Idea

Post by Jackolantern »

Ohh, I see what you meant now: "a game you would like to play". I read that as in a game you would actually like to play yourself.

Grinding is an inescapable part of themepark MMORPGs, because it is impossible to make enough content to keep players busy for hundreds of hours without forcing them to do the same things over again.

On the other hand, sandbox MMOs actually can come close to eliminating the grind. Not by refactoring the themepark design, but by eliminating most of the trappings of it. No leveling up, no long equipment upgrade path, and often very different quest systems. There is no set design for sandbox style MMOs, and they often come down to a number of unique features that fit a particular concept or way you want the world to work.
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Callan S.
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Re: My New Game Idea

Post by Callan S. »

Jackolantern wrote:I don't want to be a spoil-sport, but you will never play your own games. You won't get one ounce of fun out of playing it. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news :P
Then I'm doomed.

But I'm pretty sure the guy(/people) who invented chess probably actually played it.

It's also why random & procedural scenario generation is important. Because you didn't make that. I'm pretty sure the people who made nethack or add to it play it fairly often as well.
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