Elements
Emblem: unknown
Europe: exact setting unknown
Emotion: psionic powers based on emotional state
Economics: character supplies self through faction based trade between underground and official organizations
Setting
The world will be in a post apocalyptic state, probably 20 years in the future.
Visuals
Realistically, the game will have to be 2D and tile based, using sprites and particles. I've never used 3D before...ever. And since I'm essentially going solo on this project aside from creative comments from the forums and friends/family in real life, I don't have the time to model a bunch of stuff either. Creating sprite animations is time-consuming too, but at least it's a medium in which I am familiar
User Interface
I really want to bind the number pad to spells descriptive elements. I'd like for the game to play like a console to eliminate use of the mouse entirely. I know for a fact that most information will be given to the player in context clues. However if you wish to know specific details about your characters status you can hold down 'alt' to bring up a character menu which does not obstruct or pause game play. The menu will surround the character and display all information on the characters emotional state.
Emotional Engine
The concept: Based around two emotions with opposing effects. They are fear (self-preservation/defense) and rage (selflessness / destruction). Getting your emotion bar in either of the states to its maximum level initiates the correlating breakpoint effect. If your fear bar is maxed then you temporarily loose control of your character while he attempts to escape the immediate vicinity, meanwhile abandoning all allies to their own fates. If your rage bar maxes, then you temporarily go berserker, attacking anything and everything that opposes you, endangering yourself and others by exposing them to unnecessary risk.
Breakpoints: Every time you reach a breakpoint (a bad thing) you loose a point representing your characters identity as a human. Reaching 0 Ego points results in permanent insanity. When this happens you loose the game.
Prevention: You obviously must have a means to control your emotions, thus, you many have psychotherapeutic abilities available to you. These abilities are resultant of your mastery of your brain's own inner-workings. The first and most important ability will be called something along the lines of 'mind-purge'. This effect will at the cost of additional 'fatigue', reduce both your rage and fear meters by a significant amount.
Fatigue: This is the culmination of the total amount of stress placed on your mind, body, and soul. It is represented via the alt screen as a silhouette surrounding the player model. It is full of a bright blue when completely rested. The more fatigue you gain the blue begins to dip down vertically leaving a dark gray behind. Visualize pouring water from a pitcher. The amount of fatigue you have determines the capability of the character to cast spells, and the rate at which emotional-state is lost or gained. A fatigued character is more likely to become fearful, where as a rested character is more likely to become enraged.
Varying Emotions: Emotions are things that we never have complete full control over, although it maybe possible for temporary mastery in the later stages of the game. Because of this general lack of control, we must have situational influence over the states of a character. Entering a combat situation increases the fear meter. Taking damage increases both the fear and rage meters. Dealing damage reduces both your fear and rage meters. In this aspect fear is lost more quickly than rage. Taking damage without dealing it creates increasing fear effects. Don't think of fear as a 'whiney whimpering' kind of emotion. It is defiantly more of an instinctual will to survive.
As opposed to 'mind-purge', other psychotherapeutic abilities are available to increase emotional state. These will usually increase one at the cost of another and additional fatigue. Examples would be 'enrage', and 'cower'.
Items may also be used to affect your state-of-mind, for example taking an 'IAM' or 'I Am' pill (slang for Ibotenic Acid / Muscimol - Vikings consumed mushrooms which contained both of these in order to induce their berserker state) would cause you to drop fear and gain rage without fatigue points being generated.
History - rough first draft, another post on it coming soon
All of this emotional variance is representative of the characters mental instability due to the procedures and genetic manipulation done on him. This change he has been forced to undergo has been taking place since childhood. Constant psychological maintenance has kept him stable up until this point, but now that he lacks the therapy, he has to work on maintaining his own balance.
One day during an enhancement session unlocking his potential psionic powers, a rebellious faction sabotages the evil corporation's facility, and the adolescent child is left alone in a ruined building, protected by his newly awakened abilities. The child escapes the facility and lives in the ruins of a once great city where he begins to learn the plight of the city's new occupants.
Interesting things
It'd be neat if the kid could see in the ultra-violet and infrared spectrums. Also, he has an enhanced IQ of at least 220 due to genetic and chemical manipulations, though without his treatment this slowly begins to average out to its natural level, a solid 170-190. This will account for his rapid adaptation to the new environment and quick mastery of his body, mind, and abilities.
Your idea seems like it has a lot of potential to me, but I'm a bit worried about the back story - not that it's bad or anything, but that it suggests that you've got a substantial plot line in there that will take ages to implement.
I'm finding it a problem with this competition that the elements themselves suggest "RPG" or at least "interesting game story", but the few months we have is nowhere long enough to make the content such a game!