If a OOTS video game was in development...

[Gamerlord]

What kind of genre would you want it to be? What part of the OOTS universe would you want it to take place in?

Personally I would like a RTS, with game play similar to dawn of war 1(My favorite RTS :smallbiggrin:)....or maybe something similar to Black and White game play(Playing as Thor FTW)

A RPG about Eugens hunt for Xykon might be good too...

[Cleverdan22]

A party based co-op realtime RPG would be fun. Bioware could handle the franchise. Anybody seen Dragon Age? Kinda like that. That would actually be a lot of fun.

[Cizak]

I think Oots would work best as a turnbased RPG.

[[TS] Shadow]

If anything, an OotS game would probably end up being some sort of beat-em-up.

[Draxonicar]

It would be baldurs gate....

[NerfTW]

Well, since it uses D&D rules, I'd think it would be like every other D&D videogame.

[Grey Watcher]

A Baldur's Gate clone seems the most likely, but I'd actually prefer to see at as on old-style adventure game (think LucasArts' Monkey Island series or the various Quest titles under the Sierra banner). Given OotS' roots in RPGs, something a little more stat-heavy might work, too, but I'd still like to see something where plot, humor, and clever solutions takes precedence over raw stat-building. (Let's face it, when do we (or at least I?) cheer for our favorite characters the most? Usually when they find some unusual, creative use of their abilities (Explosive Runes, Control Weather, etc.).

The question is, would you take control of a single character (say Roy), and everyone else would be NPCs or would you control the whole team at once? Would you maybe control different characters at different points in the narrative?

[Comet]

Anybody seen Dragon Age? Kinda like that.
Nah. I don't think OotS would particularly benefit from added gore, darkness, sexual themes or gray morality zones.

An adventure game would be sweet. The Black&White idea sounds fun, too. The graphical style would make for a fun game in either genre, I think.

[Axl_Rose]

Clearly a space combat simulation game would be most fitting.

[Orkl]

Side-scrolling beat 'em up/RPG in the style of the classic Tower of Doom (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dungeons_%26_Dragons:_Tower_of_Doom)

[NerfTW]

Nah. I don't think OotS would particularly benefit from added gore, darkness, sexual themes or gray morality zones.

Are we reading the same strip? :smallconfused:

[littlequietguy]

What about a fighting game like street fighter, super smash bros or maybe even a new installment in the vs. capcom series.

:sabine: b move Shoot a arrow from the crossbow she had in her first appearance.
:sabine: down b move suck the life energy from the opponent.

:miko: down b move throw a tangle foot bag.
:miko: b forward jump on windstriker and charge forward.

:thog: B move Hit the enemy with a door.
:thog: B forward charge at the enemy.
:thog: super move turn into thog hulk and rage

:belkar: B move Throw a dagger forward (10% chance of throwing a lit match).
:belkar: up B jump up with ring of jumping and slice down into the enemy with daggers.
:belkar: forward b throw Mr. scruffy at the foe who lands on them and distracts them similar to what he did with Tsukiko.

:roy: B move throw an animal from the bag of tricks into the opponent. It lands on there face and stuns them.

[zillion ninjas]

"Warrior needs food -- badly!" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gauntlet_(arcade_game))

[RebelT]

In the same style and even graphics of the original Earthbound on SNES.

[FlawedParadigm]

You cannot grasp the true form of Xykon's attack!

(On a side note, I always thought that was by far the scariest part of an already dramatic and frightening battle. I mean, when you break it down in game mechanics, it's a fancy way of saying non-elemental attack, but still..."Hey, I'm sitting here fighting something that can knock me around in ways I cannot even recognise!" That's pure, undiluted awesome and scary at the same time.)

[Gamerlord]

A game about the history of the Sapphire Guard with Dawn of war II-like gameplay might be fun....imagine, controlling the Sapphire Guard from their founding all the way to the battle for Azure City.

[Badgercloak]

I would buy it and play nonstop from now till the dire cows come home.:smallbiggrin:

[chiasaur11]

Side-scrolling beat 'em up/RPG in the style of the classic Tower of Doom (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dungeons_%26_Dragons:_Tower_of_Doom)

What I was thinking.

Ah, violence.

[Blackjackg]

Classic text/graphic adventure game. Like Maniac Mansion.

[EyethatBinds]

It would need to be an FPS or the first game wouldn't sell well enough for the order to get out of the first dungeon.

[Kaytara]

What about something like Commandos? Different characters with more or less unique abilities, any and all of which can be used to complete the mission, whether it is by stealth and clever use of tricks and tactics or direct combat where needed... Sort of a compromise between normal DnD combat game and quest/adventure game, as has been proposed. Heh, I just loved the rattlesnake sack trick in Desperados, which is where I know the gameplay type from. Can't even count how many mooks I've killed by placing it in a passage way or a shadowy corner.

I think it could work rather well... The running gags in particular could make for hilarious abilities. Let's see...

Roy: High-damage hits, can one-shot low and mid-level mooks. Great Cleave: After killing an opponent automatically attacks another one during the same attack. Can knock people out with the flat side of the sword. Meat shield ability to completely protect one person from enemy attacks. Strength to carry one body with no speed penalty and two at half speed. Bashes doors open. Bag of Tricks thrice per mission - send small animals to filch keys, gnaw through ropes or distract opponents with their cuteness. High visibility: big and bulky, so opponents will be quicker to notice him. Solves puzzles and riddles but half as fast as V.

Durkon: Can attack opponents with his hammer and defend himself. Healing, obviously. Dispel Magic to remove status effects from teammates or buffs from allies. Stability - place him in a passageway with his shield out and nothing short of a small crowd will be able to budge him. :D Low height - can hide behind low obstacles like shrubbery without needing to crouch like most others. Dwarven dullness - if he's alone and stands still a bunch of enemies can run by without noticing him. More dwarven dullness - enemies who identify him as an opponent but lose sight of him won't immediately recognise him if they see him again. Likewise, if someone spots him and reports him to another person, the report takes twice the usual time as the reporter struggles to outline Durkon's distinguishing features. Thor's Lightning twice per mission. Thor's Might once per mission - for a very short duration, increased size, can carry up to four bodies, can smack up to five opponents with one hit, but no increase in speed. XD

Haley: Ranged attack, can one-shot an enemy who's not aware of her or is fighting someone else. Can snipe at someone at a long range at the cost of the one-shotting ability. Dodges area blast effects like Fireballs. Picks locks, discovers traps and hidden doors, disarms traps. Twice per mission can freeze the enemy with her frost arrows instead of killing them. Jumping and climbing skills. Can move silently over any terrain and sneak by enemies, even through their line of sight if she's not too close to them. If she's alone, can bluff enemies who discover her into thinking that she's a civilian (if the circumstances fit). Can use rope to tie up KO'd enemies. Can pickpocket civilians and distracted guards for resources. If captured and tied up, can sometimes pull the seduction-headbutting trick to knock out a guard before freeing herself.

Elan: Can attack with his rapier for a small amount of damage. Can use an enhanced pun attack for much greater damage five times per mission, which also causes all enemies who hear it to stop whatever they're doing and attack him just to make him pay for the puns (so it doubles as a distraction). :D Can create an illusion that may briefly stall enemies. Can put on a puppet show (with Banjo) to capture the attention of crowds of civilians. Can use the bardic song ability to lure/distract enemies. Can enter buildings by smashing through windows with no damage. Can strip naked making enemies whom he is facing immediately turn away (making them unaware of what happens in Elan's direction) or just completely cover their eyes. Females or enemies who simply aren't bothered either won't be affected or will quickly recover and take appropriate action. In the case of the females (or, rarely, some males), the action may not necessarily be hostile.

Vaarsuvius: Useless in melee. Fireball for huge wide-spread damage three times per mission, Lightning Bolt to hit a row of enemies three times per mission. Disintegrate twice per mission - essentially one-shotting any enemy except for the BIG ones, who'll be injured and dazed but not killed. Invisibility Sphere twice per mission that briefly renders him and others invisible as long as they stay REALLY close. Works on up to five other people, but the greater the number, the greater the chance of being discovered due to noise. Explosive Runes twice per mission. Can use Blackwing to scout ahead and fetch or carry items, such as sheets with Explosive Runes cast on them to be dropped in the midst of a group of mooks. Suggestion twice per day: briefly gives control of an enemy mook. Fly spell: can be cast once per mission on himself or an ally to briefly give them the ability to fly over obstacles or reach otherwise inaccessible places but also makes them a highly visible target for every alert mook in the vicinity (unless used with Invisibility Sphere). Slim build: can hide in or move through narrow spaces that are inaccessible to others. Can move silently over any terrain. May discover spell scrolls during the mission that either replenish expended spells or provide something new. High visibility: Purple hair and bright red robes make mooks quicker to notice him. (A disguise may be worn in certain missions to prevent this.) If captured, can distract and/or bore the enemies into nodding off with a long rant. Can detect secret doors and traps like Haley, but cannot disarm them. Solves puzzles and riddles, though twice as fast as Roy. Ambiguous gender: If he is spotted by someone and then reported to another character, the report takes 150% the usual time due to pronoun trouble.

Belkar: Can hit up to four mooks (and one-shot any of them who are the weakest level) in the space of one attack. Can throw one or both of his daggers for (usually) an instant kill, but will be unarmed until he retrieves them. Climbing and advanced jumping skills. Very low height: only needs to crouch to hide behind obstacles where others would need to lie flat on the ground. Can sneak past opponents, even through their line of sight, more successfully to Haley due to his low height. Can move silently on any terrain. Can craft traps on the spot if he finds sufficient supplies (like a warehouse). Can toss other objects besides his daggers, like a lit match, a rock, etc. With a campfire or kitchen nearby, can cook a quick meal and leave it there, the smell will attract mooks who may abandon their duties and sit down to eat. If available, poison may be used. Can use Mr. Scruffy to either distract opponents with his cuteness or incapacitate enemy casters. Kissing a female enemy mook or civilian may make them leave him in peace. Can set things on fire.


Gaah, this was way too much fun to come up with. I can practically see the hilarity of using Elan's Invisibility trick to incapacitate mooks! How sad that there is and likely never will be a game like this, after all.

[Skorj]

A Baldur's Gate clone seems the most likely, but I'd actually prefer to see at as on old-style adventure game (think LucasArts' Monkey Island series or the various Quest titles under the Sierra banner). Given OotS' roots in RPGs, something a little more stat-heavy might work, too, but I'd still like to see something where plot, humor, and clever solutions takes precedence over raw stat-building. (Let's face it, when do we (or at least I?) cheer for our favorite characters the most? Usually when they find some unusual, creative use of their abilities (Explosive Runes, Control Weather, etc.).

The question is, would you take control of a single character (say Roy), and everyone else would be NPCs or would you control the whole team at once? Would you maybe control different characters at different points in the narrative?

I thought about this for a while: how would you mix stat-based combat with a good avenue for solving puzzles through humor and clever solutions. Then I realized someone had already turned a webcomic into that game.

It's so obvious in hindsight, I think we have to change the question to: "how would you make a OOTS game using the engine from On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness?" :smallbiggrin:

[Hannes]

A Baldur's Gate clone seems the most likely, but I'd actually prefer to see at as on old-style adventure game (think LucasArts' Monkey Island series or the various Quest titles under the Sierra banner). Given OotS' roots in RPGs, something a little more stat-heavy might work, too, but I'd still like to see something where plot, humor, and clever solutions takes precedence over raw stat-building. (Let's face it, when do we (or at least I?) cheer for our favorite characters the most? Usually when they find some unusual, creative use of their abilities (Explosive Runes, Control Weather, etc.).

The question is, would you take control of a single character (say Roy), and everyone else would be NPCs or would you control the whole team at once? Would you maybe control different characters at different points in the narrative?

Quest for Glory style? Point & click adventure, with stats, but awesomely fun(ny)!

[Kaytara]

Quest for Glory style? Point & click adventure, with stats, but awesomely fun(ny)!

That works as well, QfG is awesome.... But the main difference is that in all of the QfG games you're just by your lonesome self, whereas here we have SIX characters who ought to get incorporated one way or another... I still think Commandos-style gameplay would be best.

[fangthane]

Hehe, how cute, people considering graphic adventures "classic."

You Johnny-come-lately types make me sick. :smallbiggrin:

If OotS were to be a game, it'd almost have to be like one of the following:
1. Zork. Not the newer crappy graphical ones, I'm talking Zork, period. No numbers, no zero. Just Zork. (or AMFV, HHGttG, Planetfall, Witness, etc) Text (and I mean ALL text) adventures give a huge potential for linguistic jokes, hidden messages and all the kind of stuff Rich loves to insert in the comic.
2. Spellcasting 101 (or 201/301, Eric the Unready and so on) - with OotS art for the room pics, adjustments based on plot, etc. Similar to Zork and others, this permits the text interface to keep carrying the bulk of the cues, some graphical cues but still an awful lot of thinking to be done.
3. Old-school Wizardry/Might and Magic style first-person party crawl (similar to TSR gold boxes and a host of other games they just don't make any more) - still potential for popup interjections of text, random and specific encounters both dangerous and risible.
4. X-Com - a combination of realtime "god view" and tactical turn-based combat based around protecting the gates could be somewhat nifty.

A fighting game (Sexy Shoeless God of War would be a great title, as long as that gets past Sony's trademarks) pitting the Order vs the Guild and with unlockables such as the MitD, Miko, Hinjo, Mr Scruffy and the Oracle would be a good second game after the first has made some cash. :)

Maybe a side-scrolly action game where you pick your character to start with different advantages/disadvantages as a third game.

Then, eventually the franchise could be sold to Activision so they could use their 'sandbox' engine (GF, Spidey, Prototype, etc) to make a dull and repetitive character-building game that makes us all so sick of the Order we never want to hear about them again. ;)

[RebelT]

You cannot grasp the true form of Xykon's attack!

(On a side note, I always thought that was by far the scariest part of an already dramatic and frightening battle. I mean, when you break it down in game mechanics, it's a fancy way of saying non-elemental attack, but still..."Hey, I'm sitting here fighting something that can knock me around in ways I cannot even recognise!" That's pure, undiluted awesome and scary at the same time.)



lol, yep.


God, I love that game. I'm going to have to break out my SNES later and relive it.


Best game ever created, and I've beaten it no less than 2 dozen times.

[Ryusacerdos]

How about Final Fantasy Tactics (Turn-based JRPG) style.

[littlequietguy]

It would need to be an FPS or the first game wouldn't sell well enough for the order to get out of the first dungeon.

How could it be an Fps :smallconfused:? There isn't really any shooting in oots.

Also are you implicating that only Fps games sell well? Because that is just ridiculous.

[Allan Surgite]

When I see the title, all I can think of is the forums deciding who the great fan is by seeing whoever hates it the most.

And if there were an OotS videogame? Firstly, I'd ride on my unicorn to the Sherbet Kingdom because I'm clearly dreaming and secondly, I'd place my bets on something RPG-ish. Something close to D&D, you come with the details.

[Cleverdan22]

Nah. I don't think OotS would particularly benefit from added gore, darkness, sexual themes or gray morality zones.

An adventure game would be sweet. The Black&White idea sounds fun, too. The graphical style would make for a fun game in either genre, I think.

Okay, first off I was referring to the more combat and story focuses of Bioware's games, not the exact same game. Next, I'm not saying that it has to be gory, but Bioware games aren't incredibly graphic anyway. At least not nearly as much as games like Left 4 Dead or Gears of War. Not to mention that in any sort of realistic setting, OotS would be fairly graphic. Beheadings and slaughtering all over the place.

PS: I think Elan and Haley have had sex. Roy and Celia. Oh, and Hilgya and Durkon.

[Random832]

PS: I think Elan and Haley have had sex. Roy and Celia. Oh, and Hilgya and Durkon.Don't forget Belkar and Jenny.

[Forbiddenwar]

It would need to be an FPS or the first game wouldn't sell well enough for the order to get out of the first dungeon.

Which is why no one has heard of Warcraft

[Skeppio]

What about a fighting game like street fighter, super smash bros or maybe even a new installment in the vs. capcom series.

:sabine: b move Shoot a arrow from the crossbow she had in her first appearance.
:sabine: down b move suck the life energy from the opponent.

:miko: down b move throw a tangle foot bag.
:miko: b forward jump on windstriker and charge forward.

:thog: B move Hit the enemy with a door.
:thog: B forward charge at the enemy.
:thog: super move turn into thog hulk and rage

:belkar: B move Throw a dagger forward (10% chance of throwing a lit match).
:belkar: up B jump up with ring of jumping and slice down into the enemy with daggers.
:belkar: forward b throw Mr. scruffy at the foe who lands on them and distracts them similar to what he did with Tsukiko.

:roy: B move throw an animal from the bag of tricks into the opponent. It lands on there face and stuns them.

SUPER SMASH BURLEW!!!

[Kaytara]

3. Old-school Wizardry/Might and Magic style first-person party crawl (similar to TSR gold boxes and a host of other games they just don't make any more) - still potential for popup interjections of text, random and specific encounters both dangerous and risible.


Oh, THAT could work! :D And cue full-party dialogues Quest for Glory style (that is, showing full pictures of the characters rather than just the small usual portrait or whatnot... and maybe different modified pictures to represent different levels of injury and status effects....) and inter-party banter outside of combat and quips during combat! :D Gosh, that would be soooo awesome. ^^

[roy_greenhilt]

Two words: Final Fantasy. You get to choose which member of the Order you play as, and if you choose V, you even get to choose a gender! Although gender choice won't change appearance.

[Vaarsuvius4181]

Neverwinter Nights!

[Wikimaster]

Which is why no one has heard of Warcraft

Well, there is DotA...

[Samurai Jill]

There was a flash game developed, once upon a time... link (http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f350/abardam/stuff/ootsgame-15.swf).
It's not terribly polished, but functional. The original thread is here. (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=39431)

[Kaytara]

There was a flash game developed, once upon a time... link (http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f350/abardam/stuff/ootsgame-15.swf).
It's not terribly polished, but functional. The original thread is here. (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=39431)

..That is actually quite awesome. O.O I mean, yes, not very polished and no plot and all, but it's still a game....

...Incidentally, does anyone know whether fan-made games are something the Giant would object to? I mean, I recall him saying that he wouldn't want to have anything like a movie made (yet, anyway) because he wouldn't be able to have the amount of control over it that he'd like, and the same likely applies to games, but if it's fanmade, it's something entirely different, isn't it? (No expectation to make money, for one thing.)

[Lissou]

I would say point-and-click adventure game for the humour of it, and the importance of plot.
One where you can switch between characters and need them to accomplish different things, like Day of the Tentacle, might work.

Otherwise, a RPG might work too, kinda Final Fantasy like, with a solid plot and funny cutscenes, and battles in the middle as filler. And to force you to play the game for 100 hours by making you have to level up for 2 hours between each plot-thing. (Yeah, I dislike that. I'd much prefer the games if they removed all the leveling up thing and you could just follow the story and enjoy the game).

A simulation game where you make some decisions and the plot evolves differently (like the "you're the hero" books, except as a game) could be interesting, but less than the above two options I'd say.

Any game purely about fighting would I think be completely against the spirit of oots, which is a plot and humour based comic.

[Nimrod's Son]

I would say point-and-click adventure game for the humour of it, and the importance of plot.
One where you can switch between characters and need them to accomplish different things, like Day of the Tentacle, might work.
This is the only possible way I would be interested in a video game of OotS. Rich would have to be very heavily involved in its development, though... that kinda goes without saying.


Hehe, how cute, people considering graphic adventures "classic."

You Johnny-come-lately types make me sick. :smallbiggrin:
I think you'll find that most authorities on video games will consider the likes of Monkey Island and Maniac Mansion to be "classics". The Beatles would never have existed without the 50s' rock & roll movement but you can't claim they aren't a "classic" band just because you happened to be there when Chuck Berry and Buddy Holly were first making waves.

Text-only adventures have their advantages in terms of storytelling, sure, but when you consider the amount of time you have to spend trying to guess the correct verb in order to complete a lot of puzzles (not to mention the fact that if you struggle with written English, it makes the whole game literally unplayable), it's no surprise that they evolved into a simpler point-and-click interface.

Besides, you don't seriously want an OotS video game with no stick figures, do you? :smalltongue:

[dps]

What kind of genre would you want it to be? What part of the OOTS universe would you want it to take place in?

Personally I would like a RTS

Turn-based strategy games are better than RTS games.

[Dark Faun]

Roy: High-damage hits, can one-shot low and mid-level mooks. Great Cleave: After killing an opponent automatically attacks another one during the same attack. Can knock people out with the flat side of the sword. Meat shield ability to completely protect one person from enemy attacks. Strength to carry one body with no speed penalty and two at half speed. Bashes doors open. Bag of Tricks thrice per mission - send small animals to filch keys, gnaw through ropes or distract opponents with their cuteness. High visibility: big and bulky, so opponents will be quicker to notice him. Solves puzzles and riddles but half as fast as V.

Durkon: Can attack opponents with his hammer and defend himself. Healing, obviously. Dispel Magic to remove status effects from teammates or buffs from allies. Stability - place him in a passageway with his shield out and nothing short of a small crowd will be able to budge him. :D Low height - can hide behind low obstacles like shrubbery without needing to crouch like most others. Dwarven dullness - if he's alone and stands still a bunch of enemies can run by without noticing him. More dwarven dullness - enemies who identify him as an opponent but lose sight of him won't immediately recognise him if they see him again. Likewise, if someone spots him and reports him to another person, the report takes twice the usual time as the reporter struggles to outline Durkon's distinguishing features. Thor's Lightning twice per mission. Thor's Might once per mission - for a very short duration, increased size, can carry up to four bodies, can smack up to five opponents with one hit, but no increase in speed. XD

Haley: Ranged attack, can one-shot an enemy who's not aware of her or is fighting someone else. Can snipe at someone at a long range at the cost of the one-shotting ability. Dodges area blast effects like Fireballs. Picks locks, discovers traps and hidden doors, disarms traps. Twice per mission can freeze the enemy with her frost arrows instead of killing them. Jumping and climbing skills. Can move silently over any terrain and sneak by enemies, even through their line of sight if she's not too close to them. If she's alone, can bluff enemies who discover her into thinking that she's a civilian (if the circumstances fit). Can use rope to tie up KO'd enemies. Can pickpocket civilians and distracted guards for resources. If captured and tied up, can sometimes pull the seduction-headbutting trick to knock out a guard before freeing herself.

Elan: Can attack with his rapier for a small amount of damage. Can use an enhanced pun attack for much greater damage five times per mission, which also causes all enemies who hear it to stop whatever they're doing and attack him just to make him pay for the puns (so it doubles as a distraction). :D Can create an illusion that may briefly stall enemies. Can put on a puppet show (with Banjo) to capture the attention of crowds of civilians. Can use the bardic song ability to lure/distract enemies. Can enter buildings by smashing through windows with no damage. Can strip naked making enemies whom he is facing immediately turn away (making them unaware of what happens in Elan's direction) or just completely cover their eyes. Females or enemies who simply aren't bothered either won't be affected or will quickly recover and take appropriate action. In the case of the females (or, rarely, some males), the action may not necessarily be hostile.

Vaarsuvius: Useless in melee. Fireball for huge wide-spread damage three times per mission, Lightning Bolt to hit a row of enemies three times per mission. Disintegrate twice per mission - essentially one-shotting any enemy except for the BIG ones, who'll be injured and dazed but not killed. Invisibility Sphere twice per mission that briefly renders him and others invisible as long as they stay REALLY close. Works on up to five other people, but the greater the number, the greater the chance of being discovered due to noise. Explosive Runes twice per mission. Can use Blackwing to scout ahead and fetch or carry items, such as sheets with Explosive Runes cast on them to be dropped in the midst of a group of mooks. Suggestion twice per day: briefly gives control of an enemy mook. Fly spell: can be cast once per mission on himself or an ally to briefly give them the ability to fly over obstacles or reach otherwise inaccessible places but also makes them a highly visible target for every alert mook in the vicinity (unless used with Invisibility Sphere). Slim build: can hide in or move through narrow spaces that are inaccessible to others. Can move silently over any terrain. May discover spell scrolls during the mission that either replenish expended spells or provide something new. High visibility: Purple hair and bright red robes make mooks quicker to notice him. (A disguise may be worn in certain missions to prevent this.) If captured, can distract and/or bore the enemies into nodding off with a long rant. Can detect secret doors and traps like Haley, but cannot disarm them. Solves puzzles and riddles, though twice as fast as Roy. Ambiguous gender: If he is spotted by someone and then reported to another character, the report takes 150% the usual time due to pronoun trouble.

Belkar: Can hit up to four mooks (and one-shot any of them who are the weakest level) in the space of one attack. Can throw one or both of his daggers for (usually) an instant kill, but will be unarmed until he retrieves them. Climbing and advanced jumping skills. Very low height: only needs to crouch to hide behind obstacles where others would need to lie flat on the ground. Can sneak past opponents, even through their line of sight, more successfully to Haley due to his low height. Can move silently on any terrain. Can craft traps on the spot if he finds sufficient supplies (like a warehouse). Can toss other objects besides his daggers, like a lit match, a rock, etc. With a campfire or kitchen nearby, can cook a quick meal and leave it there, the smell will attract mooks who may abandon their duties and sit down to eat. If available, poison may be used. Can use Mr. Scruffy to either distract opponents with his cuteness or incapacitate enemy casters. Kissing a female enemy mook or civilian may make them leave him in peace. Can set things on fire.
I never played Commandos, but this is awesome!

[Meg]

I see it as something similar to Gauntlet: Dark Legacy, but with more Zelda influences than sheer button mashing. I'd also like to see a more strategy based game, taking the role of a major villain, plotting the downfall of the Order.

[cyberpunK]

A Baldur's Gate clone seems the most likely, but I'd actually prefer to see at as on old-style adventure game (think LucasArts' Monkey Island series or the various Quest titles under the Sierra banner). Given OotS' roots in RPGs, something a little more stat-heavy might work, too, but I'd still like to see something where plot, humor, and clever solutions takes precedence over raw stat-building. (Let's face it, when do we (or at least I?) cheer for our favorite characters the most? Usually when they find some unusual, creative use of their abilities (Explosive Runes, Control Weather, etc.).

The question is, would you take control of a single character (say Roy), and everyone else would be NPCs or would you control the whole team at once? Would you maybe control different characters at different points in the narrative?

Why does everyone think of Baldurs Gate first? I mean of course it's obvious but i think Oots would be more like Planescape Torment.

[badam104172]

i'll bet someone here could make a simple text adventure... that would be awesome!

[MrPig]

I play OotS everytime I boot Icewind Dale.

[Weimann]

I'd say an adventure game, Zelda style but with a more complex fight system, or a Final Fantasy kind of thing.

That, or a railroad storytelling game such as the Ace Attorney series, but again with some kind of battle interface.

In both these cases however, I think what would make the game sucessful would be the story it told rather than the gameplay itself. Manuscript and fluff would be vital.

I also think a beat 'em up could work. Preferrably a Super Smash Bros. like thing.

[Shatteredtower]

I'd just go with a fighting game. After all, it would give a lot of people something they really want:

A chance to smack around the character(s) they felt most deserved it.

You just have to make sure you've got the option of different outfits for the characters, even ones that didn't appear in the series. There are at least three available for Celia, for example, but I'm pretty sure a few people would love the option of playing against Miko as either blackguard or death knight. I doubt if anyone cared about whether Eugene gets costume changes or not, though, just as long as he's available to be beaten down.

[Optimystik]

Someone could just make a module for NWN2 or even Warcraft 3 to cover our heroes' erstwhile adventure through the Dungeon of Dorukan. I think that would be fun. It would also answer GW's question about whether we could control just Roy, all the PCs at once or different ones at different points in the story (the answer, naturally, being all of the above!)


You cannot grasp the true form of Xykon's attack!

(On a side note, I always thought that was by far the scariest part of an already dramatic and frightening battle. I mean, when you break it down in game mechanics, it's a fancy way of saying non-elemental attack, but still..."Hey, I'm sitting here fighting something that can knock me around in ways I cannot even recognise!" That's pure, undiluted awesome and scary at the same time.)

And you defeat this boss not with bottle rockets, death rays, yo-yos or your trusty bat, but by praying at it really hard. Not the characters you play in the game, you actually have to do it.

Yeah, Earthbound is pretty awesome.

[tanis]

I thought about this for a while: how would you mix stat-based combat with a good avenue for solving puzzles through humor and clever solutions. Then I realized someone had already turned a webcomic into that game.

It's so obvious in hindsight, I think we have to change the question to: "how would you make a OOTS game using the engine from On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness?" :smallbiggrin:

I am totally with you on this. Great game, great comics and it puts together stat based combat and clever humour.
I would prefer a turn based combat instead of a "almost real time" combat system (and it would work better having to deal with spellcasters with almost endless choices like V and Durkon)

[Random832]

I am totally with you on this. Great game, great comics and it puts together stat based combat and clever humour.
I would prefer a turn based combat instead of a "almost real time" combat system (and it would work better having to deal with spellcasters with almost endless choices like V and Durkon)

What almost endless choices? You have to prepare spell slots, right?

[LurkerInPlayground]

There was a flash game developed, once upon a time... link (http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f350/abardam/stuff/ootsgame-15.swf).
It's not terribly polished, but functional. The original thread is here. (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=39431)
Miko is underpowered. She's slooooow and doesn't appear to have any perks.

Roy is easily the best for passive regeneration when holding still and attacks that cover a broad area.

Haley will murder mobs with her arrows -- assuming she can get them. Her ability to dash is alright.

[tanis]

What almost endless choices? You have to prepare spell slots, right?

Exactly. Try to do it with the On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness engine.

Still, a 14 level magic user can cast... how many... 50 spells/day? More? Try to navigate in a real time combat enviroment through a list of 50/60 spells then tell me if it's user friendly

[The gentle giant]

Turn-based strategy games are better than RTS games.


Clearly you have never tried the sheer brilliance of "Myth 2: Soulblighter"
You need to.

Also, I'd say, for OOTS I'd like something in the lines of KoTOR.
RT, but still with a D&D system.

[FlawedParadigm]

Still, a 14 level magic user can cast... how many... 50 spells/day? More? Try to navigate in a real time combat enviroment through a list of 50/60 spells then tell me if it's user friendly

I can only trust you've never played either Neverwinter Nights game, then? In all fairness, you either need to know what you're up against (sending an invisible familiar to scout, for example) or be very good at improvisational thinking in order to get your spells off as desired, but it can be done. The actual issue I came across wasn't picking spells off of a list (NWN uses Quickslots to mitigate this), but rather aiming my spells in a timely fashion to hit the optimal number of opponents that they would hit in a turn-based environment such as tabletop.

Of course, this was hindered by my own regrettably poor aiming skills, but luckily, they make bunches of wonderful spells which are single target or self-aiming, so I could generally manage to struggle through. Although I still generally played some kind of melee character, just because Knockdown was such a ridiculous weapon

[Meg]

Miko is underpowered. She's slooooow and doesn't appear to have any perks.


Really? I suck with everyone but her.

[KillianHawkeye]

A Castle Crashers style beat 'em up would be awesome.

[Optimystik]

I can only trust you've never played either Neverwinter Nights game, then? In all fairness, you either need to know what you're up against (sending an invisible familiar to scout, for example) or be very good at improvisational thinking in order to get your spells off as desired, but it can be done. The actual issue I came across wasn't picking spells off of a list (NWN uses Quickslots to mitigate this), but rather aiming my spells in a timely fashion to hit the optimal number of opponents that they would hit in a turn-based environment such as tabletop.

NWN can easily be made turn-based by hitting the Pause button, which allows you to queue up actions at your leisure. (cast Invisibility, drink healing potion, move 10 feet to the left, throw Fireball.) This can even be done in multiplayer depending on the server settings.

[kabbes]

Wii Fit.
.
.

[Eloel]

That gives me an idea. Weird, granted, but the single best engine where it wouldn't be TOO MUCH hassle to create the game at is obviously HMM4 (Yes, it's a RPG, not a Strategy game).

I can already see V with Chaos Magic, Haley with some Combat & some Scouting, Roy with lotta Combat and little Nobility, Belkar with lotta Combat and little Scouting, Durkon with some Combat and some Life Magic, Elan with little Combat, little Chaos Magic, little Order Magic and little Nobility.

lotta = 75%
some = 50%
little = 25%

I'd go on and create the map, but no HMM4 on this PC. I'll need access to my desktop, which'll be at least 2 weeks, and then I'll do it, and that is only if I don't forget :)

Level-Ups could be handled by locking the unused skills, so they have to improve the skills they already have.

[Serebii]

It would have to be EXACTLY like Knights of the Old Republic. Minus the space. But keep the lightsabers!:smallbiggrin:

[Surfing HalfOrc]

I'd like to see an MMORPG with Rich's trademark art style. But I've never been into any game like that long enough to bother extending the free play period.

But the big world, dungeons, quests and goofy characters with their own personalities? Yeah, I can see that working in an MMORPG format.

[FlawedParadigm]

NWN can easily be made turn-based by hitting the Pause button, which allows you to queue up actions at your leisure. (cast Invisibility, drink healing potion, move 10 feet to the left, throw Fireball.) This can even be done in multiplayer depending on the server settings.

Well, yeah. You can play Contra with 30 lives too. Or Rugby with padding (and call it "Football".) Or golf with a handicap. But those aren't how real men and women play. :op

[Optimystik]

Well, yeah. You can play Contra with 30 lives too. Or Rugby with padding (and call it "Football".) Or golf with a handicap. But those aren't how real men and women play. :op

Macho exhortations aside, very few people play D&D with the real time pressure of 6 seconds to make a decision. NWN's Pause key is meant to allow PnP players a chance to ease into the game without being rushed to remember which spell is on what hotkey and which tab of the inventory bag had the barkskin potion while the dire tiger charges.

And as "manly" as Rugby is, I'd rather keep my bones intact :smalltongue:


I'd like to see an MMORPG with Rich's trademark art style. But I've never been into any game like that long enough to bother extending the free play period.

But the big world, dungeons, quests and goofy characters with their own personalities? Yeah, I can see that working in an MMORPG format.

Why an MMO specifically? A regular CRPG can easily capture the complexity of Rich's world without needlessly injecting racist homophobic 10-year olds.

[Samurai Jill]

I'd like to see an MMORPG with Rich's trademark art style. But I've never been into any game like that long enough to bother extending the free play period.

But the big world, dungeons, quests and goofy characters with their own personalities? Yeah, I can see that working in an MMORPG format.
Well, there is always the Kingdom of Loathing (http://www5.kingdomofloathing.com/login.php?loginid=136e3ddfc9514429ad761c5380295ee4 )...

[ImmortalAer]

Why an MMO specifically? A regular CRPG can easily capture the complexity of Rich's world without needlessly injecting racist homophobic 10-year olds.

I'd play it. The CRPG, not the MMO. :smallsmile:

You could end up with a varied party, instead of OOTS, and build thier (unoptimized) level-ups yourself. :smalltongue:

[Damon_Caskey]

I've seriously considered making an OOTS based beatem up on the OpenBOR engine (http://www.lavalit.com). Even went so far as to create some sprites (they are stick figures after all) and scripts.

The concept was to cover the orginal Red Mountain quest, with each character having their own unique snipits and abilities. Multiplayer would be especially fun, involving team attacks and non sequiturs to keep the OOTS feel.

As far as character abilities go, it would be mostly beat em' up with some RPG elements here and there. You'd be surprised how well the OOTS members and their opponents translate to the Beat em' up genre. Only Vaarsuvius presents a challenge, given he/she has shown no non use limited ability what so ever. Even the magic user in Shadow over Mystara could at least whack people with his staff, but I had ideas to deal with V too.

The main obstacle has simply been my preference to work on projects related to my own original characters (all of whom predate OOTS by a decade or more). There is also the matter of copyright; the Giant isn't likely to grant me one just to make a non profit game based on his creations.

DC

[Je dit Viola]

I've thought of Miko's Super Smash Bros Brawl special attacks. If it was like Super Smash Bros Brawl.

:miko: B
"Rapid Attack" she makes a series of smite-fluffed attacks in Marth's consecutive B attack style.
:miko: Bup
Summons Windstriker and Windstriker jumps (on air or the ground) and she slashes as she goes up
:miko: Bdown
Sticks her sword in the ground and does a round-house kick around it. Like Chuck Norris, except with a sword.
:miko: Bover
"Smite Evil" Just does a Smite Evil attack, quick, and powerful.
:miko: Bsmashover (similar to B-over)
"Smite Evil II" Does a Smite Evil power attack, with same wait time as Captain Falcon's Falcon Punch. Except with a sword. And Smiteyness.
:miko: SMASH ATTACK
A throne with a jewel comes into the middle of the screen, knocking away all characters and everything else away from it, dealing damage. If Miko reaches the throne in a specified time limit, it explodes and deals damage and blasting-away power, depending on distance from throne. Closer=more damage and flies further. Luckily, Windstrike whisks Miko away just before it explodes. Then she comes back.

And, costumes:
Blue "Guard" (i.e. normal)
Red-flavored normal costume
Green " same "
"Fallen" Grey
"Blackguard"
White "Santified" because she needs a white costume.

[Adeen]

I personally would prefer a turn based strategy style game, such as fire emblem.

[Lord Loss]

There is one search oots flash game, one of the threads has a download. It got locked, an The Giant hasn't authorized it (or said no) bout you can
download it.

[Eloel]

Does a NWN module for OotS exist? Can it be done?

[elliott20]

I can think of several implementations:

1. OOTS the fighting game

Probably the most intuitive for me, though it would capture the least spirit of the group. Using the Marvel Vs. Capcom style screens (where characters can pretty much leap to great heights), use the partner system from other fighting games (i.e. MvC2 itself) and you'd have a reasonable team based fighting game.

If you add a story mode, you'd pretty much play through a bunch of the major battles in the comic thus far.

Roy: would be your standard character of the game, where he can hit hard, hit relatively fast, and can in a short amount of time pump out his damage output via well timed hits. Probably would have surprisingly few precision command moves. If you want to do unlockable content, you could unlock Starmetal Sword Roy after you finish the star metal quest, Female Roy after finishing the Inn sequence.

Haley: Fast range, and lots of it. Probably have some kind of ability to disappear into the background and out to deal large amount of damage kind of like Galford can in Samurai Showdown. She would also be the one who could do all the fancy wall jumps, wall clings, and variable maneuvering. Probably variable outfits to reflect different time periods but beyond that, plays the same.

Elan: Elan would be a clear challenge, since old Elan is... well... not that good. Post Dashing Swordsman Elan would be significantly easier, since it's easier to justify giving him a more variable move set like parries, rolls, and counter moves.

Durkon: Amazingly enough, one of the easier characters to really make distinct. He's one of the few characters who heals in the game, so maybe having him in your team and off screen means your teammates will heal a little faster whilst off screen. And while he's on, he can heal himself for a small amount of damage in the fight. (though I'd say it should have a slow start up) If the game has superbars to limit powerful moves, he could expend super bars to cast Thors Might, Thors Lightning, and Control Weather.

V: Again, amazingly easy to distinguish. Far slower moving than Haley, but can pelt out little bits of magic missiles for faster attacks, and for stronger spells like fireball, it takes a bit more start up, but covers more area. expend super bars to shoot disintegration and do all other sorts of random stuff. Also, flight. Soul Spliced V would be pretty much a slightly waterdowned Xykon.

RC: Plays a bit like V with a bit of Durkon, but does not have a lot of movement based stuff that V would have. Basically, he would have a bunch of strong, close range hits via touch spells, but be a little bit less durable than Haley. Like Durkon, he can help heal characters off screen.

Xykon: Plays very much like V, but is stronger, and faster with some additional moves. If there's a place to have SNK last boss syndrome, here it is.

Miko: Fast, agile combo fiend. Plays like Chun Li with a crapload of combo potential. Smite Evil costs a bar, but does a ridiculous amount of damage and heals.

Hinjo and O-Chul: Basically Roy, but with less raw power, less moves, and instead have smite evil, and some healing abilities. O-Chul will take far more hits while Hinjo will move faster. Maybe give Hinjo a super where he charges with his Wolf mount.

Nale: He would so much like elan he's only inches away from Palette swap.

Sabine: Close range fighter, flight, and as a special move can drain enemy energy to fill superbar.

Thog: Big damage, few moves, but has the ability to rage, making him stun less, and deal a metric ton of damage.



2. OOTS the side scroller


someone said commando style. That would be a very appropriate way of doing it. You play side scrolling adventure game with some growth elements, and then just allow players to switch between characters for various puzzles and obstacles. You could almost keep the fighting game scheme in character control, but add a lot more puzzle solving abilities. i.e. Haley can crack chests, Elan/Nale can charm certain individuals into doing their bidding, V could do a variety of things based on spells available, etc.


3. OOTS RPG


Certainly the most intuitive to most people here and I'm sure there's no shortage of ideas for it


4. OOTS beat 'em up

Much like the fighting game variant, this is actually very easy to envision. OpenBOR is actually a very good tool to do just that.


5. OOTS MMO

Hmmm... not sure about this. OOTS has always been about the humor and character, not so much the universe surrounding it. A game like this would be pretty much an avatar creation engine tacked onto any generic fantasy game of your choosing


I also have a bunch of mini game ideas but they are pretty much smaller versions of what I've listed.

[FlawedParadigm]

On OotS the Side-Scroller...there was a game for the SNES, called, I THINK, Lost Vikings, about three Vikings lost in time, and you could take turns controlling any of the three - each with unique talents and whatnot. I could very well see OotS in a similar vein. Give you the three most appropriate characters for each stage (or even let you choose any three, but recommend Easy, Difficult, and Insane difficulty teams), with whichever two you aren't actively controlling being computer controlled.

[Kaytara]

On OotS the Side-Scroller...there was a game for the SNES, called, I THINK, Lost Vikings, about three Vikings lost in time, and you could take turns controlling any of the three - each with unique talents and whatnot. I could very well see OotS in a similar vein. Give you the three most appropriate characters for each stage (or even let you choose any three, but recommend Easy, Difficult, and Insane difficulty teams), with whichever two you aren't actively controlling being computer controlled.

Heh, I played that game when I was about six or so....

I suggested something similar earlier in the thread. :) Even fleshed out the abilities. Commandos has the same principle, what with the unique talents and sall...

[Gamerlord]

It would have to be EXACTLY like Knights of the Old Republic. Minus the space. But keep the lightsabers!:smallbiggrin:

Probably a great idea, I loved that game...maybe also keep the ability to pick your party members.. this could add a ton of different endings, imagine if you could kill belkar and replace him with miko (But you would obviously gain dark side points- er, evil points) And don't forget the influence system, Acts of Zealous law are good with Miko, nonstop slaughter is "FUN FOR THOG!!!" :thog:

[elliott20]

On OotS the Side-Scroller...there was a game for the SNES, called, I THINK, Lost Vikings, about three Vikings lost in time, and you could take turns controlling any of the three - each with unique talents and whatnot. I could very well see OotS in a similar vein. Give you the three most appropriate characters for each stage (or even let you choose any three, but recommend Easy, Difficult, and Insane difficulty teams), with whichever two you aren't actively controlling being computer controlled.

that could work, but by necessity you pretty much would have megaman style action with elements of this involved, rather than the other way around. the lost vikings all had very exclusive schticks that they could do. the members of oots, on the other hand, overlap.

[Acero]

I believe it would work with runescape-style play & AQworlds graphics

[Finzy]

Does a NWN module for OotS exist? Can it be done?

Very easily done. You can make pretty much any kind of modules you want for NWN; I'm currently making a singleplayer module of my own for NWN2.

The only difficulty would be in deciding the role of the PC. Most likely he/she would be an extra member of the Order, or take on the role of Roy. The rest can all be done, and the systems are already in there for everything, be it dialogue, cutscenes, whatever. Even the 3.5 ruleset is same.

Though I think you'd likely have to ask Giant for a permission to use the copyrighted characters and such. But yeah, Neverwinter Nights 2 would be the best possible option for an OOTS game, hands down.

[elliott20]

NWN module would be good IF you're going for an RPG style game. If you want anything else like say, an action game, NWN wouldn't work.

[Jarwy]

Wouldn't work in 3D or as in stick figures. I would play a text based OOTS RP adventure. Another possibility would be to make characters look more realistic for the game, so it could easily be converted to masses as your standard D&D fantasy game.

Also, Rich would have to involved as the story and humour is a big part of OOTS.

[Needle]

I agree with turn-based RPGs D:

Things like Fire Emblem or Advance Wars, or if you're old like me, Shining Force :smallredface:

Really, I think it's the best, as it'd emulate a "3.5 miniature game" too good ^^ all the "5 feet = 1 square" fits, all the "you can play with 6+ chars at a time" fits, all the "efectiveness/weakness" fits. The only thing that would drastically change is the "first we move, they move second" that these games uses, but, not that hard to implement an Initiative roll system, right?

That and... megasizes stages if needed :smallsmile:

Plus I'd set many "campaings" with their stages :smalltongue:

For example...

Campaign 1 - Dungeon of Dorukan

Stage 1: Crapload of Goblins, the Goblin Cleric, the Goblin Ninjas, and the Ogres. Maybe the Cleric would be "boss", idk... just the begginer stage with what they kicked =P and they go up a level at the final, if Roy let us :smallbiggrin:

Stage 2: the Lizardfolks and Trigak

[movie about Lawyers vs. Mind Flayer :smallbiggrin:]

Stage 3: Crapload of Goblins, then the "17 poisoned door" to go into another crapload of Goblins, and the Goblin Ninja Belkar killed.

[movie about we find a door and Linears :smallsmile:]

Stage 4: Roy, Thog, Belkar and Yik Yik at the Earth Sigil (so we can use Linear for a bit :smallbiggrin: )

Stage 5: Elan, Durkon, Nale and Hylgia at the Fire Sigil

Stage 6: Haley, Vaarsuvius, Sabine and Zz'dtri at the Air Sigil

[we reach the Talisman room and see the betrayal and things until Haley breaks the Talisman and they come back...]

Stage 7: vs. Linear Guild (w/o Durkon and Hilgya)

[Movie about Nale's failed escape, Celia intro and this thing finale]

Stage 8: Durkon and Hilgya vs. 2ed Monsters :smallbiggrin:

[and their movie lol]

Stage 9: Crapload of Goblins after I got a 4.

[The Good-aligned teen Goblins movie]

Stage 10: that Double-Headed Serpentine thing

[and Haley's Kidnapped, then she frees alone, then we reach...]

Stage 11: Zombies, the Door to get into Xykon's lair, more Zombies, Ogre Zombies, Ghasts, Goblins (some with classes), Redcloak, Xykon (Haley would enter as a reinforcement on some turn)

[You broke my sword and the escape]

Yes, geeky >_>

But it's possible to craft ideas :smallbiggrin:

[littlequietguy]

For the puzzle-platformer:

:roy:- More effective against zombies (after you get to starmetal stage), more health than most characters

:haley:- Good agility, long-range attacks, picks locks, cracks chests, grappling hook arrow

:elan:- Good agility, Okay fighting, Can use illusions to distract goblins (this will be hard to implement for the developer)

:durkon:- Healing, Good fighting, Can use the "Thors might" as a hard to come by power-up in the same vein as mega mario and has a turn undead spell with limited usage

:vaarsuvius:- You would have a set number of spells similar to ammo that you would use up but would regenerate after each level.(the game will choose your spells for you)
Spells:

Fireball & lightning= kills enemy's in a group
Magic missile= low-damage and very 2d shooter-like
Invisibility= adds stealth elements of the game, will be use as a tool for the "sneak past the hobgoblins to the boat" stage
Disintegrate= a very powerful version of magic missile

:belkar:- good combat, High jump after you unlock the ring of jumping, throwable daggers

:xykon:- same a V but with more health
Spells:
Lightning= same as V
Maximized Magic missile= Same as V but more like a shotgun then a pistol
Overland Flight= grants hovering ability's for a short time
Meteor swarm= A super powerful version of Maximized Magic Missile
Energy Drain= Health Sapper, Useful for bosses



(will edit this post with more soon)

[Gnome de plume]

I chased a rumor that this game existed, then almost cried when I found it to be just the rumor. I'm working on a turn based RPG that I dreamed OOTS would be like, I'll bring it up once it's ready.

[Dr.Zero]

I must admit I'm a bit surprised that no RPG Maker (partial) game about OOTS is around, yet.

The top-down/frontal/fake-isometric graphic seems (at least to me) similar in taste and appearance to what can be a stick world.

The system can be scripted enough to force railroading and plot adherence, leaving space to free wandering, if desired. A blend between adventure games and free roaming (J)RPGs was quite common.

In the old days, that was quite the thing, at amateur level. There were a bunch of pretty good games around, even if right now I can remember only Laxius Power, Three the Hard Way (it's not a typo), The Blue Dragon (an italian "recruiting" game, but it was nonetheless good with a huge world to explore).

Of course, the system was JRPG, so not exactly D&D, but if we look at the strips, things like AoO or similar technical stuff are mentioned only once in a while. The remaining battles are melee hits, spells, healing, buff/debuff and FLEE (typical stuff which is in the drop down menu of a JRPG).
Maybe counterspell and fizzling could give problems (I honestly don't know if they could be emulated, since I never used the Maker).

Meh, who knows, maybe if the comic started a 5-6 years before, when that community was more active...

[KorvinStarmast]

Someone could just make a module for NWN2 or even Warcraft 3 to cover our heroes' erstwhile adventure through the Dungeon of Dorukan. I think that would be fun. That would be cool. I need to load WC III onto my current PC and see if it works. Original starcraft does, but I have to monkey with the screen res a bit ...

[ChillerInstinct]

Probably something like Baldur's Gate, or, failing that, Dungeons and Dragons Online. Probably the best bet to keep the game closest to its roots.

A beat 'em up like the old Chronicles of Mystara arcade game or a fighting game along the lines of Dissidia might not be too far off the mark, either.

[Hamiltonz]

[...]Also, Rich would have to involved as the story and humour is a big part of OOTS.

This.


Also, "Wizard, has eaten all the food lately"

[Nimrod's Son]

Psst this thread is seven years out of date

[Gnome de plume]

RPG maker is what I'm using to make my attempt.

It's not a game based on the OOTS story, artwork or characters, but I have been trying to set it up in a way that would support a comedy driven story line.

Would any of you guys be interested in it when it's done?

(Dr Zero in particular?)

[dps]

think LucasArts' Monkey Island series

That's the ticket.

[littlebum2002]

In This Thread:

people naming every genre of video game they can think of

[Lacuna Caster]

I've thought of Miko's Super Smash Bros Brawl special attacks. If it was like Super Smash Bros Brawl...

I agree with turn-based RPGs D:

Things like Fire Emblem or Advance Wars, or if you're old like me, Shining Force...

Campaign 1 - Dungeon of Dorukan...
Oh, my sweet cthonic deities- I can't believe I didn't think of this before. Darkest Dungeon meets Fire Emblem but with OOTS characters based in Azure City and venturing out toward the Gates.

It'd be perfect, if you could adapt the stress mechanics correctly. e.g, Elan would be feeble in combat but useful while camping since he could buff and de-stress everyone, while Miko would have awesome stats but drive her team-mates up the walls and maybe go berserk. Celia would be super-mobile and naturally zappy but insist on taking enemies alive. You might have optional redemption side-quests for Therkla and Redcloak, and Belkar could... be there, somehow.

You could simulate relationships based on dis/agreement over mission objectives and tactical support, and modify traits over time. It would be like the ultimate fanfic shipping simulator, only not eye-gougingly terrible and horrifically contrived.

EDIT: And permadeath, naturally, though maybe some form of unusually-arduous resurrection mechanics could be included.

[Nimrod's Son]

In This Thread:

people naming every genre of video game they can think of
Also in this thread: seven-year necromancy that everyone's ignoring even after I pointed it out last week

[Stealth Marmot]

I have to agree with the idea that people have put forth concerning a point and click adventure style game.

Basically, I have to wonder if Rich would consider talking to TellTale games. After all they made Sam and Max, Monkey Island, and Strongbad's Cool Game for Attractve People.

OOtS is a comic about players in a game, but the draw isn't the game, but the character and their humor. Fans of D&D get the references, but they are at best 5% of the humor and just more of a gelling agent to allow the characters common ground.

The heart of the comic is in it's characterization and focus on the interaction between characters and the way they bounce off each other.

A Telltale style adventure game allows for characters to go through a fairly linear set of circumstances, allowing the player to experience the jokes and feelings therein, but also provides an excellant opporunity for exploration of the characters. Clicking on random stuff allows for inner monologues, commentary, and exposition.

The meta humor of the comic also allows for a proper transition into the characters having their own take on the adventure game genre.

A possible joke for instance could be that the player is controlling one of the characters, such as Roy, who is travelling with Belkar. At one point the two of them walk up to Vaarsuvius and ask a question. Normally, the voices speaking would come with a skip option in case you didn't want to hear a particular scene again if you heard it already. In this case however, the scene would have the skip button, but wouldn't actually be skippable, instead Vaarsuvius would start talking in his long winded manner and Belkar would leap to the "Skip" button and just start stabbing it over and over to get past all the Vaarsuvius dialogue. Violently.

The nature of an adventure game is that the interaction is nothing more than a narrative tool to allow for the pacing of a well told story, and that is the nature of OOtS in a nutshell.

Plus, let's be honest, Elan is basically one step removed from Guybrush Threepwood anyway.

[Bedinsis]

What genre? Good question. The thing I come to the comic for is the story and the humour. So I'd pick a genre where these aspects can be translated without losing much in the process.

Although the story is a bit dependent on taking place in an RPG and the humour is also partially dependent on it taking place in an RPG, so the easiest way to translate this would have it be in an RPG.

Therefore the existing video game to base OotS the video game on would for me be South Park: the Stick of Truth. They are already similar in that their art styles are simple.

The problem is that everyone has already pointed out the artificiality of video games(see basically any web comic based on video games) so there would have to be some new spin in order for the humour to feel fresh. Maybe that the initial humour in the game would be to point out the artificiality of video games only to have it later turn out resonant when the game plays this artificiality absolutely straight and the resultant world is taken to its logical extreme.

Like what the back story of Redcloak's Plan actually is.

[elliott20]

it'd faster to think of a list of game genres that the OOTS verse would NOT fit with. It really depends on what you're trying to accomplish as it's really about HOW you do it rather than WHAT you do.

If you're going for the OOTS style narrative feel, with the focus be on narrative choices, Telltale style adventure games would be perfect as the focal point would be about narrative arcs and moral choices. Make it about one of the tertiary characters whose role in the story arc is limited and off you go. i.e. I'm sure you can make a compelling argument to build a side story game about Gerard Draketooth's adventures in this fashion if you want.

If you're going for a game that is all about appealing to the party game dynamics, easiest would be a streets of rage style beat 'em up in the vein of the simpsons arcade game. Build the OOTS characters into different beat 'em up archtypes, make 8 stages with wave after wave of mooks and some bosses, and off you go. Roy would be the newbie friendly character who has a bunch of attacks that have a bunch of safe frames, V would be the glass cannon who can dish out a lot of damage really quickly but runs on limited resources, belkar would be a combo fiend, and so on.

If the goal is to scratch the nostalgia itch of old school RPGs, old school Bulder's Gate or even turn based Ultima style game play would fit swimmingly. This is the one that would probably be the easiest to think about but also the hardest to build simply because of the amount of content you'd have to build for it.

Heck, I can probably think up a couple of management sim games built off of the OOTS setting. It all depends on what you're seeking to achieve.

[Synesthesy]

Oots is clearly a place for a MMORPG. The set is big enough, you just need some new original place, and the story itself name lots of places we never saw. The World of the Stick would be a great success.

An adventure game would be a lot cheaper, of course. The Giant could do it in house, with the help of some coder (I bet that, just like myself, this forum is full of people who could make something like that, if the Giant do the draws).

[hroþila]

Really? I think OOTS is particularly unsuitable for an MMORPG. The setting is paper-thin (by design).

[elliott20]

It's paper thin because of what he exposed to us as he's not trying to make us get distracted by all of the lore like Tolkien did. I imagine that a significant amount of thought went into thinking these places up and it shows through dialogue that there is a lot more there. So I disagree that the setting itself doesn't have enough to support it. I think we just haven't been exposed to it.

honestly, it's a real shame that Rich doesn't have the bandwidth to supervise a project like this. I get why he doesn't want to do it, but I wish he did. He's honestly one of my favorite authors and it would be amazing to see his franchise grow into different media. From a business standpoint, Rich has already built a very strong following here and has a decent distribution network in place to manage this market. He's got the formula right for indie game distribution: focus on his core market, build a following around his own product, and market through his own communities. In addition, his kickstarter raised over 1M, which is phenomenal validation.

Literally the only thing I think stopping him from pushing this further is his own desire to keep it fairly contained. And negotiating all of this stuff is distracting and takes him away from working on the stuff that he loves, which would be his family and his writing.

What he really needs is a Robert Khoo (the guy who managed to turn penny arcade into something more than a webcomic property) type of person to help manage his businesses and help with these things, if the ambition is there.

Obviously, I'm not saying that there is anything wrong with Rich wanting to keep the scale he has. It works for him as a creator and that's important. But the potential is definitely there if he ever wants to pursue it.

Alright, never mind that. Let's make this fun.

Let's say for a second, that you want to actually make an OOTs game, how would you do it? Because we're talking about just genres here, but the sauce is not in the genres, it's in mechanics and aesthetics of it built. It's in the nuts and bolts. So let's try some random ideas just to make this more interesting. I'll start:

I'm going for the easy one. If I were to build a property around this, I would build a side scrolling beat 'em up, a la Simpsons mixed with Castle Crashers. In fact, castle crashers is a fantastic template for the feel I would go for.

The core aesthetic that I would appeal to would be the social play aspect of this. D&D Shadow Over Mystara, the D&D arcade game, was built on this very principle. There's a lot of content to explore on it's own, but at it's core it's a game that is meant to be played with a group of people. And how do they do it? by imbuing each character with their own content to explore, and their own niche that they fill in the party. (As opposed to the early streets of rage style game, where everyone is basically playing a different way of "killing enemies)

I would build it episodically, with each of the major story arcs serving as the primary levels, with cutscenes intercutting it to hook it all together.

Each character would have their own niche in the party:

Roy: the newb friendly fighter with easy to use moves and a lot of safe options for pushing through enemies. He would have simple, but powerful combos. And at a higher level, I would also incorporate "leadership" type skills where he can empower and inspire teammates to fight better. not sure how I would manage the system, but I want to create a dynamic where playing roy is straight forward, but as you move up the ranks, you have skills that also plays well with other players and makes them more effective. (Could be as simple as, "use this move, and your teammates have less recovery frames after attacks)

V: easily, he's (because I'm lazy so I will assume for now V is a he) an AOE character who can dish out a ton of damage fast. But he's also would be the tactical, resource management character. I'm not sure how I would do this, but I would like to see a dynamic where V has to "prep" his spells and pick out what he brings with him. maybe if there's a timed equipment scene between levels he would be equipping spells instead of gear.

Durkon: again, easy. Build his character as you would like the Cleric in the D&D arcade game. Give him spells that make other characters do more damage, fight longer, etc. Naturally, he might end up being the character you speedrun with.

Belkar: Unlike the other characters, he's good at one thing only, and that's dishing out lots of combos and damage. He's basically who you would play if you don't have a party to play with you or if you just want to be a DPS. He would be the only character that breaks the design philosophy of making you work in a team.

Haley: other than the obvious range combat angle, I would also make her be someone who plays well with V's buffs. The way I would do it would be to make Durkon's buffs all be focused on the numerics of it, where as V's buffs would be more about giving statuses to other teammates, and she would be someone who works primarily off of different statuses. i.e. I would want to have some kind of sneak attack mechanic in there where she might have to say, go into "cloaking mode" where she's effectively invisible, and during that time she gets a ton more damage. (or her first hit on a new screen will always be big damage) So with her, you're fishing for getting in one big hit and getting out. And since she's also the one whose got all of the random skills out there, she would be the one where a lot of the content that is usable by V and Durkon would also be usable by her. Think of her like the Elf in the D&D arcade, where she can do pretty much everything, but not as well as the other teammates in different aspects. She might have the ability to also destroy traps and what not.

Elan: he's honestly the hardest one for me to think about. He's role in the comic, while not helpless, is clearly that of a narrative character rather than a powerhouse. He's good at boosting others, just like durkon, but playing as Elan should NOT be easy. It should be the one that is the least straight forward. To be quite frank, he's the one that is the least suitable to a game like this. I would probably make him either an optional character who is more announcer than player character or make him someone who just has a lot of the games content built around that you can only access if you have him on the team.

mechanics I would want to put in here:
- your basic golden axe style combat as the basis, but with item usage built into it.
- there has to be some mechanic that makes buffing easier. D&D arcade did this by requiring you to stand next to the person you're buffing/healing but it doesn't work that well as you often end up casting it on yourself by accident. So that's something I would want to find a fast way around.
- combat, just like early school arcade games, need to be fairly brisk so we'll shy away from having enemies that have ridiculously long lifebars and attacks that do so little that you spend 20 minutes fighting one boss.
- some kind of in between level gearing up sequence where players have maybe 20 seconds to pick out their character load out.
- obstacles all need to have different ways of being solved. Obviously some should be easier than others. i.e. there would be traps all over the damn place so that Haley has stuff to disarm, but you can also just avoid them by walking pass them or have them get activated by enemies or what not. On that same token, I would want to make sure that enemies don't become impossible because you picked the wrong character. (i.e. the Sand Golem in the desert where Elan couldn't even hurt it? probably not what I would wnat to have too much of)
- there would have to be quite a bit of diversity in terms of content, and all of it will be built off of some knowledge and acknowledgement to the source material. i.e. trolls take extra, prolong damage from fire, getting hit while casting spells disrupts it, etc.
- a lot of the mechanics that exists in D&D would have to be streamlined for gameplay. i.e. getting hit while casting disrupts the spell except in special cases. There is no concentration check. That makes the gameplay a lot smoother to move towards the brisk combat pace.

other than that, I would just make the rest a fairly straight forward beat 'em up in inception and keep it fairly simple to focus on the team play aspects.

Heck, if I had the energy and time and Rich's consent, I could easily pull together a team to build a prototype of this using the Beats of Rage (BOR) engine.

[137beth]

I'd personally be up for an action RPG version of OOTS.

[Synesthesy]

Really? I think OOTS is particularly unsuitable for an MMORPG. The setting is paper-thin (by design).

This is a Giant choice. But it's not mandatory: if tomorrow he decide to start releasing an infinite number of details that doesn't appear in the story, he can. And lots of things are hinted, like for example, the country in Western Continent, or the City of Dwarven state, etc.

The fact that the comic doesn't tell anything means only that we, readers, would buy the game just for the added lore.

[rooster707]

Also in this thread: seven-year necromancy that everyone's ignoring even after I pointed it out last week

Uh... guys?

This quote is from two years ago...

[brian 333]

Holy necro-thread, Batman!

I'm surprised an NWN style format didn't get a few votes. In multiplayer mode it's as close to tabletop gaming as any game has ever come.

[PopeLinus1]

Bethesda, activate the Obsidian signal.

*giant light high a dark shape looking like a NCR Ranger appears in the sky*

The Dream team is back.