What do you want in a RPG
Author
I''ve been working on a 2d RPG, it''s kinda a SNES Final Fantasy look, but has classes and randomized weapons kinda like Diablo. Basically waht I was wondering is what type of things you guys would like to see in a 2d rpg. I''m still beuilding the design doc and the basic system behind it so I can still incorporate pretty much anything. Any ideas would be great.
Jonbca@hotmail.com
Lead programmer for Primeval Journey
a trade skill system or some kind of system that would allow you to say sew like a dragons hide with a needle to make armor and stuff like that.
1) Full refunds on items you buy within a certain time period
2) Not linear - I hate linear RPGs - don't make the player follow one single path throughout the whole game, have a world, and an overarching story, but let them wander and do mini-quests, and things like that - think Fallout
3) Fun battles. this is a must - if it's turn-based, incorporate enough strategy to make it fun, and don't make players sit around watching spell effects - keep it fast. If it's real-time, make sure that it isn't just a click-fest. Again, include variety and strategy. Even a warrior class should have special abilities to execute.
4) Rewards for actions - a happy player is a rewarded player. Make sure you don't give out health potions or equally minor items for complicated mini-quests - give them a cool new weapon or spell to wield. The frustration of the newbie quests in EQ comes to mind when thinking o this.
5) Good dialogue. If you don't think you can write it yourself, have someone else do it for you so it doesn't sound cheesey. Let's just face it - some people are good writers, some are not.
6) Remember that every player's focus is character-building, even over progressing through the story. Provide a constant stream of rewards (although don't do it so much that the fun of getting a reward is taken away - find the right balance).
7) Let the player do what they want. This is paramount. Let them customize their character, his/her name, gender, race, class, etc. Don't make them do it, though, because some people don't like to bother with it - ideally provide pre-made characters as well as the ability to customize those characters, or create a character from scratch.
8) As with any game, provide the right type of challenge for the player. If they fail in some action, they need to feel like it was THEM that failed, and not the game that failed them. If they think it was too impossible or too random of a failure (IE they get killed without knowing where the death came from until after that death), then they'll close the program right then. If they fail but feel like they weren't being skillful enough or paying enough attention, they're likely to come right back for more (IE you leave signs of imminent danger in several obvious spots but they ignore them and proceed to die).
9) Remember that in good RPGs, the player is one character, and anyone else that joins is just tagging along. They might get killed or leave the group, but your player's character will always be there. Even if you have full control over the group, it needs to be obvious which is the player's personal character - the one they identify with the most. I don't like console-style RPGs simply because of the way they often force you into a pre-determined role and give that role equal weight with other members of the party that join later.
10) Graphical variety is very important. Don't just tint new monsters a different shade than the last one, give them new models and new looks fitting with where they exist. This also applies for weapons and armor - a very nice touch is if you make armor that the player character wears actually show up on him when equipped - same goes for weapons.
Phew, that was a lot! And there's a lot more to think about when designing an RPG, those are just some random thoughts that came off the top of my head, gathered from my own mind and other various sources.
Edit: Formatted so it's less threatening and easier to read.
[edited by - AeroBLASTER on August 11, 2002 11:50:01 PM]
2) Not linear - I hate linear RPGs - don't make the player follow one single path throughout the whole game, have a world, and an overarching story, but let them wander and do mini-quests, and things like that - think Fallout
3) Fun battles. this is a must - if it's turn-based, incorporate enough strategy to make it fun, and don't make players sit around watching spell effects - keep it fast. If it's real-time, make sure that it isn't just a click-fest. Again, include variety and strategy. Even a warrior class should have special abilities to execute.
4) Rewards for actions - a happy player is a rewarded player. Make sure you don't give out health potions or equally minor items for complicated mini-quests - give them a cool new weapon or spell to wield. The frustration of the newbie quests in EQ comes to mind when thinking o this.
5) Good dialogue. If you don't think you can write it yourself, have someone else do it for you so it doesn't sound cheesey. Let's just face it - some people are good writers, some are not.
6) Remember that every player's focus is character-building, even over progressing through the story. Provide a constant stream of rewards (although don't do it so much that the fun of getting a reward is taken away - find the right balance).
7) Let the player do what they want. This is paramount. Let them customize their character, his/her name, gender, race, class, etc. Don't make them do it, though, because some people don't like to bother with it - ideally provide pre-made characters as well as the ability to customize those characters, or create a character from scratch.
8) As with any game, provide the right type of challenge for the player. If they fail in some action, they need to feel like it was THEM that failed, and not the game that failed them. If they think it was too impossible or too random of a failure (IE they get killed without knowing where the death came from until after that death), then they'll close the program right then. If they fail but feel like they weren't being skillful enough or paying enough attention, they're likely to come right back for more (IE you leave signs of imminent danger in several obvious spots but they ignore them and proceed to die).
9) Remember that in good RPGs, the player is one character, and anyone else that joins is just tagging along. They might get killed or leave the group, but your player's character will always be there. Even if you have full control over the group, it needs to be obvious which is the player's personal character - the one they identify with the most. I don't like console-style RPGs simply because of the way they often force you into a pre-determined role and give that role equal weight with other members of the party that join later.
10) Graphical variety is very important. Don't just tint new monsters a different shade than the last one, give them new models and new looks fitting with where they exist. This also applies for weapons and armor - a very nice touch is if you make armor that the player character wears actually show up on him when equipped - same goes for weapons.
Phew, that was a lot! And there's a lot more to think about when designing an RPG, those are just some random thoughts that came off the top of my head, gathered from my own mind and other various sources.
Edit: Formatted so it's less threatening and easier to read.
[edited by - AeroBLASTER on August 11, 2002 11:50:01 PM]
1) Don''t make it repetitive! Diablo for instanse is a game that i liked in the begining, but after sometimes, after you have finished it with some characters, it''s just too boring. Also, sometimes I get stucked in areas that are too hard, I hate when I''m forced to stay in a same area becouse I get crushed in the next harder area. (of course this is a very hard thing I''m asking, so you shoudn''t be bptering with this right now).
2) If possible, have a map editor. It''s aways cool to have an map editor. Again, this is something very hard to acomplish, so I think I should kept my mouth closed, again.
3) hum... I really hate when I die, so make one were I don''t :D
Seriously, try to make bein killed a rare event (only to happend when the person is really stupid or something like that), i know it can become a very hard thing to do, but there should be some ways of punishing the player, like having the monster reseted when he runs away, stuff like that (I don''t know how to do that either)
4) Make itens a little more valuable and rare, I hate to be forced to get back to town every ten minutes. Of course, this has to be balanced, items too rare would be boring, and to valuable would be to easy.
5) I really like the skill sistem of diablo, but you could try to improve this, perhaps making points spent in one skill alterate another (there is something like this with the druid, but it could be used a lot more).
6) Good monsters. in diablo everytnig looks like centered on you, it''s kind of lame. Make less, more elaborated monsters, they are cooler. Well, you said it would also look like final fantasy, wich I don''t know very well, perhaps it allready is this way. Anyway, that''s what I would want in a rpg.
7) Can I have mercenaries, minions, this kind of guys? I would like them at the point of almost bein a leader rather then a hero, maybe I''m playing too much warcraft, we are talking about an rpg here, sorry (but I still think that''s cool).
I know what I just said are very dificult stuff to be done right but... you asked to know what people think it''s cool, right?
Hey do you have a team or you are on your own?
2) If possible, have a map editor. It''s aways cool to have an map editor. Again, this is something very hard to acomplish, so I think I should kept my mouth closed, again.
3) hum... I really hate when I die, so make one were I don''t :D
Seriously, try to make bein killed a rare event (only to happend when the person is really stupid or something like that), i know it can become a very hard thing to do, but there should be some ways of punishing the player, like having the monster reseted when he runs away, stuff like that (I don''t know how to do that either)
4) Make itens a little more valuable and rare, I hate to be forced to get back to town every ten minutes. Of course, this has to be balanced, items too rare would be boring, and to valuable would be to easy.
5) I really like the skill sistem of diablo, but you could try to improve this, perhaps making points spent in one skill alterate another (there is something like this with the druid, but it could be used a lot more).
6) Good monsters. in diablo everytnig looks like centered on you, it''s kind of lame. Make less, more elaborated monsters, they are cooler. Well, you said it would also look like final fantasy, wich I don''t know very well, perhaps it allready is this way. Anyway, that''s what I would want in a rpg.
7) Can I have mercenaries, minions, this kind of guys? I would like them at the point of almost bein a leader rather then a hero, maybe I''m playing too much warcraft, we are talking about an rpg here, sorry (but I still think that''s cool).
I know what I just said are very dificult stuff to be done right but... you asked to know what people think it''s cool, right?
Hey do you have a team or you are on your own?
quote:Original post by AeroBLASTER
2) Not linear - I hate linear RPGs - don''t make the player follow one single path throughout the whole game, have a world, and an overarching story, but let them wander and do mini-quests, and things like that - think Fallout
Agreed, but it''s a matter of skill and time how complex it can be.
quote:Original post by AeroBLASTER
10) Graphical variety is very important. Don''t just tint new monsters a different shade than the last one, give them new models and new looks fitting with where they exist. This also applies for weapons and armor - a very nice touch is if you make armor that the player character wears actually show up on him when equipped - same goes for weapons.
Again, different models are fun, but there is a matter on how much space you have to spare for model data and how much time you''ve got to design them.
No offense intended AeroBLASTER, your points are very good, just wanted to point out a few things.
As for my own points..hm..
1) Depth. That''s pretty much the same point as AeroBLASTER did. IF there is a story, you want the player to be absorbed by it. IE Diablo didn''t have a story and was fun because it didn''t concentrate on the story but on the action. (I don''t really consider Diablo a RPG but as an action game, but that doesn''t matter)
2) Skill points based on experience (ie. using a bow will increase your dexterity and skill with bows, like in Dungeon Siege) can be pretty fun, but it depends on what the gameplay in other respecs look like.
..can''t really come to think of anything else
-Luctus
just a quick few from me...
1,
don''t allow any of the user-controlled characters to get too powerful... it shouldn''t be possible to destroy all opponents with a single spell or a flurry of sword blows (or whatever) - victory should be down to the player''s skill and good use of their weapons and abilities...
2,
similarly, don''t have any enemies that are too difficult to defeat but instead, as with point 1, allow you to defeat them with cunning and guile on the part of the player... obviously, there should be instances where you''re simply not prepared for a fight (if you manage to go through the game very quickly) but it should be possible to return to the battle later on once you''ve improved your skills a bit...
3,
if you''re going to have multiple characters that you can choose from at the start (following on from this single lead character idea) then they need to be varied enough that they allow for different playing styles (some people may like to use spells while others prefer to get up close and personal) but not so different that they can''t employ a combination of styles with each character - always have one well rounded character who''s pretty good at everything... also - make sure they can all get to the same overall standard (though there should still be differences in their individual attributes)...
4,
the idea of being able to do stuff like "sew dragon''s hide to make armour" is a good one... if you can have interesting little things like this in the game then it''ll encourage experimentation and people will spend time hunting around for bits and pieces to see what they can manufacture...
5,
try to limit the number of random battles that you get involved in - if you''ve played ff7, wandering around the landscape only to be stopped every couple of steps for a ruck can be very annoying...
good luck with the game...
1,
don''t allow any of the user-controlled characters to get too powerful... it shouldn''t be possible to destroy all opponents with a single spell or a flurry of sword blows (or whatever) - victory should be down to the player''s skill and good use of their weapons and abilities...
2,
similarly, don''t have any enemies that are too difficult to defeat but instead, as with point 1, allow you to defeat them with cunning and guile on the part of the player... obviously, there should be instances where you''re simply not prepared for a fight (if you manage to go through the game very quickly) but it should be possible to return to the battle later on once you''ve improved your skills a bit...
3,
if you''re going to have multiple characters that you can choose from at the start (following on from this single lead character idea) then they need to be varied enough that they allow for different playing styles (some people may like to use spells while others prefer to get up close and personal) but not so different that they can''t employ a combination of styles with each character - always have one well rounded character who''s pretty good at everything... also - make sure they can all get to the same overall standard (though there should still be differences in their individual attributes)...
4,
the idea of being able to do stuff like "sew dragon''s hide to make armour" is a good one... if you can have interesting little things like this in the game then it''ll encourage experimentation and people will spend time hunting around for bits and pieces to see what they can manufacture...
5,
try to limit the number of random battles that you get involved in - if you''ve played ff7, wandering around the landscape only to be stopped every couple of steps for a ruck can be very annoying...
good luck with the game...
that was the thing i hated about baulders gate. you would collect all these gems and stuff and like you couldnt do anything with them but sell them to a merchant.
Author
Thanks for all the posts everyone. I think I''ll clear up how the game is going to look a little more, maybe you''ll get a few more ideas. The game will be 2d, turn based, non-linear RPG. Some of the things that I''ve been working on are:
-map editor with a scripting engine
-graphics editor and importer
-6 vary different classes (knights, socceress, amazon etc.)
A couple of things I was wondering about are how I should do leveling/stat building. The current system I''m planning is to have it that all experience you get goes into a counter and say you have 20 in strength to go to 21 you take 50 experience out of your stash. This makes it that you are constantly trying to level up and get 5 points to throw around, but instead you build your stats as you want/need them. In regards to dieing, one of the ways that I''m thinking of developing the plot is that if you make enough(quite a few) wrong choices in the game that it''s actually possible to get a real game over, not just a game over go to the last save, but a true game over. I think this will make the player try to watch what they''re doing more and think. I know this might be a bit contraversial, building a great character, then loosing, so what I was thinking was to make it kinda like diable I were you can start over at any time. I''m going to be setting up all monsters damage/defence to be modified based on the players character level. This will make it easier to see all different routes of the game, but still keep your character being built. What do you think?
-map editor with a scripting engine
-graphics editor and importer
-6 vary different classes (knights, socceress, amazon etc.)
A couple of things I was wondering about are how I should do leveling/stat building. The current system I''m planning is to have it that all experience you get goes into a counter and say you have 20 in strength to go to 21 you take 50 experience out of your stash. This makes it that you are constantly trying to level up and get 5 points to throw around, but instead you build your stats as you want/need them. In regards to dieing, one of the ways that I''m thinking of developing the plot is that if you make enough(quite a few) wrong choices in the game that it''s actually possible to get a real game over, not just a game over go to the last save, but a true game over. I think this will make the player try to watch what they''re doing more and think. I know this might be a bit contraversial, building a great character, then loosing, so what I was thinking was to make it kinda like diable I were you can start over at any time. I''m going to be setting up all monsters damage/defence to be modified based on the players character level. This will make it easier to see all different routes of the game, but still keep your character being built. What do you think?
A faction system would be nice for the monsters, if you kill too many Orcs or something then they hate you, or if you kill alot of elfs they like you...
---
Looking for a new gaming experince? Want something new that deals with everyday life. Ever wanted to be a theif, banker or a cop? Then come visit the newest thing in gaming today: Lejendz!
---
Looking for a new gaming experince? Want something new that deals with everyday life. Ever wanted to be a theif, banker or a cop? Then come visit the newest thing in gaming today: Lejendz!
This topic is closed to new replies.
Advertisement
Popular Topics
Advertisement
