Hello I am fairly new to these forums as far as being a poster goes, but i have looked around on various threads and I have seen such good feed back, that i have decided to jump in and get some of my ideas public. Let me start out by saying this is not an ORPG or an MMORPG, but a single player RPG with many NPC's I have already started on the game itself so i will be able to give some screen shots, but the main idea behind the game is a group of 4 heros (freinds) and their journy to find the sword of the ages. (i know that sounds like a cookie cutter name but for lack of a better name, thats what im calling it for now) The sword of the ages is a map, which gives the formula for sucess regarding goverment, civics, and commerce! The idea is that whoever finds it, will rise to power and greatness. Still with me so far? So thats the snap shot of the goal of game. Here is some of the things can be done in the game. Players can add NPC's they meet along the way to the "party" or the group of four freinds, they can find and forage items along the way that may be sold for money or kept for personal use, and they can do side quests to make money, improve skills, and level up. This is only some of the features of the game. I hope many more to come. I am thinking about making this a chapter game. Sorta like a book instead of releasing it all at one time. Im not sure though. I think it may be a better arangment if i release it all in one shot. (NOTE: feed back on this subject is quite appriciated!) I will post some screen shots as soon as I figure our how? I am hoping the beta version will be released in about a month or so. I know this may have been a confuseing, but any feed back is appriciated imenssly!

That's nice, but what makes the game unique, and more importantly, what is the combat like?

When you say "add NPCs", do you mean as you progress the story people will join you, or do you mean that you can pick ANY character and have him fight for you?

Sounds like you're talking about having every npc be recruitable and having every one have their own skill set and personality (well, you never said anything about personality, but otherwise you'd have boring drones following the player around through the entire game)

It'll be a lot of work to detail all the npc's, but if you could pull it off it'd be worth it. It would make for a very open game. Especially if you can work in story arc's based on who you have with you.

As far as the npc's doing side quests, it sounds similar to Final Fantasy Tactics and its outsourcing system.

And with the story, you're going to want a lot of backstory to make it sensible. Who crafted the sword? Why did they craft it? Why is it where it is? Why does it have those specific magical properties? Why are the main characters after it? Is anyone else after it?

Quote:Original post by H4rb1ng3r
"Sounds like you're talking about having every npc be recruitable and having every one have their own skill set and personality."

I dont think every NPC will be recruitable, but certainly a few of the NPC's. I do want this to be an open game. Not just another RPG our there with the same old features that all the other RPG's have. I think this feature will assit that.


Original post by H4rb1ng3r
As far as the npc's doing side quests, it sounds similar to Final Fantasy Tactics and its outsourcing system.

The NPC's will not do the the quests themselves, as that would mean scripting knowledge, somthing that I have a hard time learning, but they will, acompany the player on the quests, assist in battle. ETC.

Original post by H4rb1ng3r
And with the story, you're going to want a lot of backstory to make it sensible. Who crafted the sword? Why did they craft it? Why is it where it is? Why does it have those specific magical properties? Why are the main characters after it? Is anyone else after it?

Wow, you brought up some points that i had never though of. You are right, there needs to be a storyline/backstory introduced fairly early in the game. How to go about that is the challenge. Im not sure if I want their to be a star wars like intro movie in the begining. Or possibly have the main character meet an old timer, who gives the backstory/storyline. But either way, i know it will need to be clear, and understandable/beliveable.

Thank you so much everybody for the feedback.
I know i still have alot of planing and brainstorming to do, and you guys are really helping me along with that. Thanks alot!

Hmm so the sword is really more like a book, like Machiavelli's "the prince".

As far as who made the sword, make it a race that no longer exists, a utopian society that was destroyed by the gods for striving to become gods themselves or something

linking something to dwarves is also always a good choice. I always like to see dwarves in a rpg

Yes, the sword is like a book, except i was thinking all the information would be mapped into the blade. I know, I like to think crazy.

You say there would be four party members, ok, but what is the combat like? There are basically 5 styles of rpg combat systems.

Turn Based, as in Final Fantasy
Turn Based Strategy, as in Fire Emblem
Real Time Delayed, as in MMORPGs
Real Time Non-stop Active, as in Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance
Real Time Strategic Active, as in Oblivion

[Edited by - falconhunter2020 on April 11, 2007 2:55:22 PM]

I'm interested in your idea of the sword "which gives the formula for sucess." Is this a formula that leads to one person's personal success or the success of society, or can it be either or both? Perhaps selfish individuals will want to use the information for their own personal gain, and the hero wants to use the information to better society in general for eveyone.

Another question I had is why is this information contained in this sword? Or, why is it limited to the sword? Can anybody look at the sword and understand the information it contains or does somebody require special knowledge or abilities to understand the formula? Why and how has this information remained hidden or limited to the sword?

Also, of course, where did the sword come from?

The whole idea reminds me of Isaac Asimov's Foundation novels. In the story, a scientist develops a science to predict how large groups of people will progress through time, and the science helps to determine the best course of action for society. Some people see to it that the optimal path for society is followed, and parts of the story concern how some people want to use the information for their own gain.

I think a strong story component such as this can add a lot even a simple action game.

Keep us updated on your progress!