HI, im working on a FPS Action Fantasy Game. I have 5 Classes for players to choose from and was hoping to get Sudjestions on Possible skills they could have, each class has 7 skills to choose from Classes Are Warrior Ranger Rogue Cleric Wizard Don't Feel pressured to give away your trade secrets but anything you can share would be fun, Keeping in mind this would be a Action game with RPG Elements. [Edited by - Sandman on May 22, 2006 2:00:14 PM]

These are your cliche Dungeons and Dragons classes. I would start off by describing what each role in theis game the players can have (Healer, Main Tank, Artillery, Hit and Run, etc). Then, make sure that each role is uniqie (ie: not just a watered down version of two or more other roles). This will give you your list of classes. You cna then give a name to each to represent the player expectations that match the name and the role. As for the skills you should make sure that each calss only has skills that enhance that classes role.

Another way to go about it is to have all players have access to all the skills but allow them to specialise.

This is from an old game design that I did:
The skill tree has 5 Skill categories (called Afinities). These are:
Fighter
Mage
Cleric
Rogue
Common

Each Affinity has a set of sub-categories. eg:
Mage







Each sub-category had a list of skills. eg:
Astral









The players would be able to spend points in any skill, but it would have a high cost. If a player spen points in the sub-category then the costs for all skill in that sub-category would be reduced. If they spent points in the afinity then the costs of all skills under that afinity branch of the tree would be reduced, but not as much as the reduction for the points spent in a sub-category.

This allowed the player to specialise in a broard afinity and then further specialise in the sub-category for the skills that they want. So a player could play a generalist, but they would be a "Jack of All Trades, Master of None". If they specialised then they would be powerful in only a limited area and need to rely on other players to cover those "gaps".

The trick for this is to balance the costs of specialization against the cost of grneralisation. For instance the costs and benifits of selecting all the sub-categories of an afinity as to just slecting the Afinity its self.

Well.. After reading some other posts ive desided to get ride of the D&D style classes.
And simplify it to

No classes

But all based on the skills you choose.. It was my original idea.. ive just been playing to many MMORPG's i got caught up in the standards.
This way you wouldnt be identified by anything

the real reason i created this is that I wanted to call myself a warrior, But perhaps a player should earn the class title by how they play the game.. of course that would require alot of programing, so ill skip it for the first design,, but add it onto to sequil.

But anyway.. thanks for the post.. it definetly will work its way into the final design.

Ahem.. Sorry after reading your post again I realize thats just what your talking about, No classes but skill's
So you could create anything you can imagine.. thats much better that way.
thank you

Another way is to have a particular set of skills confer a title on the player that could be called a class. So if a player has certain skill levels in combat related skills, then they might be called a Warrior. This might then grant additional beifits and bonuses to the character. You would need to have some leeway in what the skills could be for each class, but it could be a way to allow players to create their own version of a class.

Also you would need a catchall call (like: "Commoner", "Jack of All Trades" or even "Adventurer"). This might not give as much in the way of bonuses as a focused class would, but it would enhance their abilities to be a genralist rather than a specialist.

On regards to the "class name", perhaps you could just have titles that you earn from completing tests.

For example:
You start the game called a "commoner".

If you join a team and complete a dungeon, you get the title "adventurer"

If you go to a temple and compete some tests to make sure you have the proper skils, and perform some tasks (like cure several wounded people and fight undead with white magic spells) then you are called a Cleric.

Save the princess and return her to the king, and the King bestows you with the title of "Hero" or something.

Complete another test at the wizard acadamy to be a Wizard, impress the theives guild to be called a Thief, etc.

Basically, titles are things that you collect by completing tasks, no effect on your abilities, they just lets others know who you are and what you have done.

Earning classes sounds prity cool for a rpg but not a fps.
BUt yeah for a RPG it would be fun. Like to become a Paladin type class, you realy need to do or behave a certain charitable way, And mayby become a Squire first. then a Knight, then through the church a paladin type.

Don't bother labelling the classes. Instead, how about having skills accrue based on chosen activities, so you gain skills by repetition of actions? Let learning rates depend on related skills (synergy) and base attributes (aptitude) so that it's easy to slip into a niche and specialize, thus having a "class".

Divide the skills into categories and sub-categories. Magical/Physical could be a coarse choice, then Stealth/Damage/Precision could be s subcategory, then Axe/Sword/Spear within that, etc. Have training increment skills in each category, so that guys with lots of points in the "Physical -> Damage -> Sword" category would learn more about spears faster than guys that put all their time in learning "Magical -> Effect -> Healing".

Having higher intelligence or strength or agility would facilitate certain skills, and working the base categories, like "Magical", would yield a less tangible immediate effect, but allow you to make rapid progress in a large number of fields.