Let's Design a (video)game!

[alexeduardo]

Okay, so I've seen this type of thread in many other forums, but not on this one. So I guess it's about time someone started it.

So basically we're going to design a game. It can be any kind of game, and we're gonna decide what we should include in it as the teamworking commune of geeks we are.

So, to start, let's decide what kind of game would make us look the most creative and/or loved by the critics.

I propose: side-scroller beat-'em-up

[Setra]

I propose: Western RPG

[Corrupted One]

I propose: Western RPG

Seconded. But add samurai and dragons and a few other desert related mythical creatures and make it a sandbox type affair.

[alexeduardo]

Seconded. But add samurai and dragons and a few other desert related mythical creatures and make it a sandbox type affair.

hmm...intersting.

first or third person camera?
(or something else?)

[MCerberus]

Let's make ammo somewhat expensive and add a useful and interesting melee system while keeping guns deadly.

[ufo]

Let's make ammo somewhat expensive and add a useful and interesting melee system while keeping guns deadly.

Which time period will this take place in, and will it be a completely fictional world, real history of alternate timeline?

I propose late middle ages, at the dawn of gunpowder in a fictional world. Not many RPGs are in this time period.

[Sneak]

Third person. And, as long as we're going for Western RPG, why don't we just go the whole way and put it in a good ole Western setting? :smallwink:

Seems to me that there haven't been enough fantasy RPG westerns. :smalltongue:

[alexeduardo]

Let's make ammo somewhat expensive and add a useful and interesting melee system while keeping guns deadly.

I agree completely. The Oblivion-esque "press right trigger to punch" system needs to be replaced. In which case, a third person perspective would be best.

Also, maybe we could set it on good ole western japan. Y'know, like in Seven Samurai or sumthin'

[MCerberus]

You know, we could do a third/first perspective where guns are either and melee is third.

As for setting let's do old west alternate universe where swords never stopped being used as primary weapons. Katanas and some eastern ideas have been introduced via trade.

what about magic?

[Triaxx]

Can we eliminate magical guns right here though?

Magical Artillery I'm okay with.

And mounted combat.

[alexeduardo]

I say nay to the impurity of magic! it would take all the plausibility of the setting, let alone the story




And mounted combat.

It wouldn't be a westrern wthout horses, now would it.

As for the interchangeable views, I'm okay with it being left for the player to decide (a la SW: Battlefront), but, IMAO, buttons should do one thing and one thing only.
Speaking of which, platform of choice?

[Inhuman Bot]

I propose: Western RPG

I agree.

How are you going to program it?
Make sure you know exactly how to do everything you think you'll need, because some of those programs can be nightmares../

[Corrupted One]

The 360 and ps3 with a terribly inferior one for the wii that is released a year and a half later and is bought by tons of people expecting it to be as good as the first two but is actually a sad attempt to milk the franchise.

[alexeduardo]

The 360 and ps3 with a terribly inferior one for the wii that is released a year and a half later and is bought by tons of people expecting it to be as good as the first two but is actually a sad attempt to milk the franchise.

nah, that'll be too generic.

but to answer slanish's question, we're just designing it right now. Quite frankly, I'd be surprised if any of us actually got off this website and started coding

[Durp]

We should make it Steampunk too.

[Inhuman Bot]

It's Slaanesh, not slanish. I am, in fact picky like that.

And also, what are you using to make it? and how experianced are the people? Thanks, if possible.

[alexeduardo]

We should make it Steampunk too.

now, we cannot be all at the same time. That's what brought down mexican cinema.

I think the western setting and third person/first person mechanic is fine, but we should decide wether we want it to be fantasy or steampunk.
Besides, I believe another steampunk western is coming out shortly.



sorry, demon lord of pain, for mispelling yer name, I know how frustrating it can be.
And, are you actually expecting us to make an actual game? I mean, I don't know poop about coding, much less puting it together

[DraPrime]

How linear do we want this thing to be?

[alexeduardo]

How linear do we want this thing to be?

well, most are proposing somethin open-ended, like oblivion and Fallout. But I'm not sure GitP Productions can top any of them.
So I propose something a little more story-driven, like KOTOR or Mass Effect

[DraPrime]

I wonder, has a good platforming RPG been made yet?

[alexeduardo]

I wonder, has a good platforming RPG been made yet?

...
you sir, hast grabbed mine attention

what do you propose?

[DraPrime]

Well I was thinking of some platforming like in Prince of Persia. But I realized for that to work we would need to rip off the time control stuff, and we want to use some imagination here. But I do think that there should be a good deal of climbing and jumping around. Maybe like in Assassin's Creed, which had very intuitive climbing.

But the general idea here is that we have sections of the game involving platforming, and maybe special combat moves that are triggered by doing certain things in platforming. For example, if you jump on a horizontal pole and swing around, launching yourself into the air, you do extra damage to an opponent you hit with a melee weapon, or maybe you knock them back, and possibly off a platform.

edit: And since this is an RPG we could have specific stats for platforming, special combat moves you can learn at higher levels, etc.

[Sneak]

Consoles, eh? I say N-Gage. No one will see it coming!

And will the player be able to create his/her own character, or will he/she play a preset character?

[DraPrime]

I say that we have a set name for and voice actor for the character, but the main character can be customized in everything else, such as in Mass Effect.

[alexeduardo]

Consoles, eh? I say N-Gage. No one will see it coming!

And will the player be able to create his/her own character, or will he/she play a preset character?

As I said, KOTOR would be my main inspiration, so I would give the players the choice to both create their own persons or use premade ones. Now that I think about it, in Mass Effect there is an option were you choose your character's background at the beggining of the game. Maybe we couild do a more complex versionof this.

and dragonprime, your idea is awesome, but I wonder if anyone has a different one. I, for example, propose the platforming is part of one of many skill trees (a la saga edition) that the player can choose to follow

[alexeduardo]

I say that we have a set name for and voice actor for the character, but the main character can be customized in everything else, such as in Mass Effect.

yes, I say we use an up-and-coming broadway actor, since they usually need the money and have great voices.
Also, for he name I propose something radical and challenging, like Ahmed or Lenin

[DraPrime]

We need to compile a list of stuff we've agreed on, just so we don't forget anything. Naturally a lazy bum like me won't accept this duty.

[Enlong]

I wonder, has a good platforming RPG been made yet?

Super Paper Mario.


The 360 and ps3 with a terribly inferior one for the wii that is released a year and a half later and is bought by tons of people expecting it to be as good as the first two but is actually a sad attempt to milk the franchise.

Oh, how about a release on the 369 and PS3 that sucks, followed by a different game in the same series on the Wii which is a refreshingly good game and a return to form, but is ignored by the fans who prefer to be very vocally disappointed by the first game and consider the good one to not count!
Oh wait, that's already been done too...

[DraPrime]

yes, I say we use an up-and-coming broadway actor, since they usually need the money and have great voices.
Also, for he name I propose something radical and challenging, like Ahmed or Lenin

How about my last name? Biedrzycki. That should screw anyone who has no familiarity with slavic languages.

[alexeduardo]

Super Paper Mario.

shhhh! we creative geniouses aknowledge no other creativity but our own!

as for the list

RPG with platforming elements
setting: some sort of fantasy western were sword are still in
character's last name: Bierdzycki


I'm still not lear on wether anything else has been Ayed or Nayed

[alexeduardo]

How about my last name? Biedrzycki. That should screw anyone who has no familiarity with slavic languages.

That's my kind of scum


btw, pronunctiation?

[Sneak]

and dragonprime, your idea is awesome, but I wonder if anyone has a different one. I, for example, propose the platforming is part of one of many skill trees (a la saga edition) that the player can choose to follow

When you say that, do you mean that depending on the character's skills, the game will be more or less like a platformer, shooter, etc.?


How about my last name? Biedrzycki. That should screw anyone who has no familiarity with slavic languages.

Actually, I like that. There could be a running gag where no one can pronounce the main character's name. :smalltongue: Some humor is always nice.

[DraPrime]

Pronounciation? Prepare for an in-depth guide!

Let's start with the first syllable. Bied. That's simple, it's just pronounced Byed. Now for the "rzy" part. The letters "rz" form the sound that the letter s makes in "vision". They "y" sounds like the "i" in sin. So we finally have cki. Seems simply, but the "c" is pronounced like "ts". So it's pronounced "tski". Writing it out phonetically it looks like Byedzhitski.

edit:

Actually, I like that. There could be a running gag where no one can pronounce the main character's name. :smalltongue: Some humor is always nice.

Oh god, I could associate with the main character so well.

[Enlong]

shhhh! we creative geniouses aknowledge no other creativity but our own!

Genii.


Do you think we can implement some form of gun kata for when a gun-wielding character goes up against another? How would we do ammo? Do you buy and pick it up, or do you have botomless magazines? Or something else?

[alexeduardo]

-Sneak, I agree copletely on the running gag.


-gun kata??? And no, no bottomless magazines please (not even on the first gun, and that's final)

-And, Sneak (again), your interpretation is nice, but I was thinking something more like in the current version of the SW roleplaying game. you know of it, right?

[DraPrime]

Well before we consider anything else about guns, I have to ask what kind of guns are we gonna have? Do we have the blackpowder kind? Or do we have something more modern, with some guns having semi or full automatic capabilities?

[alexeduardo]

Well before we consider anything else about guns, I have to ask what kind of guns are we gonna have? Do we have the blackpowder kind? Or do we have something more modern, with some guns having semi or full automatic capabilities?

I say we go for a classic western handgun/huntingrifle mechanic. Now that I think about it, a system where you could modify your gun would be nice.
(reminds me of a scene from The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly)

[Enlong]

-Sneak, I agree copletely on the running gag.


-gun kata??? And no, no bottomless magazines please (not even on the first gun, and that's final)

-And, Sneak (again), your interpretation is nice, but I was thinking something more like in the current version of the SW roleplaying game. you know of it, right?

Gun Kata (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/GunKata): It's a (fictional?) martial art made for use against another gun-user, invented for the 2002 movie Equilibrium. There are two forms: one in which you dodge bullets and reduce your exposed body mass by assuming various trained positions while firing upon your enemy, or one in which you are fighing your foe at close range, attempting to fire on them at point blank while constantly using your free hands to bat away their gun. It looks really cool. I call it gun-fu.

[DraPrime]

So we're gonna have revolvers for handguns, and single shot action rifles? Sounds good. Now how effective are we gonna have these things be? We can't have them be too powerful because we still are gonna have swords. And does what kind of world this is gonna be? It seems pretty crazy since it has swords and revolvers.

[Kiren]

what about the Too human mechanic, a bit hard to work at first but it has both melee and guns to the point where you need both. It may be hard to implement so its just a though

*Edit* How would you go about making this.

[DraPrime]

I've never played Too Human. What is this mechanic that you speak of?

[alexeduardo]

It seems pretty crazy since it has swords and revolvers.

not crazy, just very, very improbable.

And as for the gun kata, I would like to have it as a separate skill tree.
And as for the power of the guns, not much more that what they actually have in RL (except for a handful of avaible magical enhancements(another skill tree?)).
Up to now the world is a generic western frontiery setting, or at least, that's what has been proposed

still, we havent agreed on a platform.

[alexeduardo]

I've never played Too Human. What is this mechanic that you speak of?

It's a fiendishly brilliant way of using the analog stick to swing your weapon and the triggers to shoot. But I think it is a wee bit too epic and over the top for our game.

that reminds me, title?

[DraPrime]

Title? How about "The Adventures of a Badass with a Polish Last Name". Alright, I joke. I think we should know what the hell the plot is going to be before we come up with a name.

[Kiren]

Give me a sec to type in the control scheme

Also, Char gen, where you can change your char, Im not sure how experienced we are at programing *Zero knowledge here* I like the xbox system, Ps3 doesn't care about player made content and good luck with wii controls lol.

[Kiren]

Pilgrimage to the New world

Thats my just thought up idea for a title

[alexeduardo]

Also, Char gen, where you can change your char,

Well, KOTOR and Mass Effect are my main inspirations. I say we go for a plausibly detailed char creation system and a more complex and expanded backround creator

[alexeduardo]

Pilgrimage to the New world



well, it could work.
Also, any ideas for the plot?
If you're running low on 'em, dont be afraid to PM a good writer itp and shamelessly begging for help

[Enlong]

I think that the tech can be One Piece style, where guns are invented, but are not as reliable as today's guns. Bullets are still round lead pellets rather then flying drilling spikes of doom, making swords quite viable still.

Maybe the main enemies could be members of a corrupt government, or a highly powerful crime syndicate? I'm not sure.

[Kiren]

Real time fighting, Im not as much into turn based. Of course only if its possible.

[alexeduardo]

I think that the tech can be One Piece style, where guns are invented, but are not as reliable as today's guns. Bullets are still round lead pellets rather then flying drilling spikes of doom, making swords quite viable still.

Maybe the main enemies could be members of a corrupt government, or a highly powerful crime syndicate? I'm not sure.

well, as I said before KOTOR rocked my world and I would like a semi-open story like the one in that game. As for the bullet thing, Gun kata is just to awesome to singlehandedly discard, so I say we keep it as well as handguns and hunting rifles.
If anyone has an argument against that stance, speak now or STFU forevermore

[DraPrime]

Well as far as plot goes (which is something we haven't discussed yet) I say we have Biedrzyci show up in some sort of place with 3 (or more) factions. Biedrzycki (from now on referred to as B) must join one of these factions. Plot then circles around the interaction between these factions. I made this vague on purpose so that everyone could add something. So for a beginning, what do you think?

edit: And I support gun kata.

[alexeduardo]

Well as far as plot goes (which is something we haven't discussed yet) I say we have Biedrzyci show up in some sort of place with 3 (or more) factions. Biedrzycki (from now on referred to as B) must join one of these factions. Plot then circles around the interaction between these factions. I made this vague on purpose so that everyone could add something. So for a beginning, what do you think?

I like it, but 3 factions are too little for me. Also, there has to be an overarching plot.
His origins could be specified in the complex backround creator I propose

[Kiren]

I dont support gun katana, just wield a sword and a gun in each hand

[DraPrime]

Also, before we get onto the plot, what tone is this going to be? Dark? Mild? Humerous? I vote that we have a serious game with some funny moments, such as the mispronounced name joke that we'll have going.

[alexeduardo]

I dont support gun katana, just wield a sword and a gun in each hand

...
well, that's slightly more over the top than gun kata isn't it?

[DraPrime]

I dont support gun katana, just wield a sword and a gun in each hand

Read back to the explanation of what gun kata is, because it isn't what you think it is.

[alexeduardo]

I vote that we have a serious game with some funny moments, such as the mispronounced name joke that we'll have going.


yeah, kind of the pirates of the caribbean movie (there is only one, you'll never convince me otherwise!)

[Enlong]

yeah, kind of the pirates of the caribbean movie (there is only one, you'll never convince me otherwise!)

More like Tales of Symphonia style. You've got your Regal Bryant-style story (deep and painful, and really reall cool), and then you've got your Zelos moments (hilarious and savvy)

[alexeduardo]

More like Tales of Symphonia style. You've got your Regal Bryant-style story (deep and painful, and really reall cool), and then you've got your Zelos moments (hilarious and savvy)

Is that a japanese RPG?? 'cause I don't recall playing it

[DraPrime]

Updating the approved list of stuff. Tell me if I missed anything:


RPG with platforming elements
setting: some sort of fantasy western were sword are still in
character's last name: Bierdzycki
A running gag involving mispronunciation of Biedrzycki
Gun Kata
We'll have handguns/rifles
Real Time Fighting
Serious with some funny moments
B has to join some faction at the start of the game, and then has plot that centers around interaction between said factions
Backstory creator
Some sort of face generator

[Enlong]

Is that a japanese RPG?? 'cause I don't recall playing it

Gamecube JRPG. Yeah. They released an updated version on PS2, but only in Japan...:smallmad:. I like it, it's got a nice story, with more twists then a pretzel.

[alexeduardo]

don't forget "complex backhistory generator" and "plausibly varied face creator"

right?

[Ichneumon]

I was thinking about some king of RTS in a "used future" setting without any kind of real physical combat.

[alexeduardo]

Gamecube JRPG. Yeah. They released an updated version on PS2, but only in Japan...:smallmad:. I like it, it's got a nice story, with more twists then a pretzel.

hmmm...I'll look into it. Is there anything you can preach about the story? (i.e. elements we could definately use)

[DraPrime]

don't forget "complex bachistory generator" and "plausibly varied face creator"

right?

Added to list.


I was thinking about some king of RTS in a "used future" setting without any kind of real physical combat.

We've already agreed on a platforming RPG. Sorry :smallfrown:

[Enlong]

I was thinking about some king of RTS in a "used future" setting without any kind of real physical combat.

We've sort of settled on a few things already.

However, if you wanted to make an RTS, may I suggest a Super Mario RTS? Press me for details if you like, it's an idea I heard on a podcast once that sounded really awesome.

[alexeduardo]

I was thinking about some king of RTS in a "used future" setting without any kind of real physical combat.

Ouchie, we're kind of already made up (parts of) our minds.
Maybe you could start a differnet thread?

[Ichneumon]

Sure, I don't mind. Just told you what came into my head when I read the thread title.

[Kiren]

I meant a gun in one hand and a sword in the other, wasn't paying attention to my post.

[alexeduardo]

okay then, any ideas for the plot?
(variations/reinterpretations of existing stories acceptable)

[Enlong]

hmmm...I'll look into it. Is there anything you can preach about the story? (i.e. elements we could definately use)

Let's see... The beginning starts out looking like a fairly clichéd story, with the Chosen One, a daughter of angels, becoming the savior of the world and unlocking the Elemental Seals (tm). However, about 1/4 of the way into Disc 1, (which is the end of the Chosen's Journey) the story takes a hard left into subversion town, dropping several story bombs at once, shattering your view of the world religion, the Chosen One's Journey, the people you've been fighting, and the fundamental nature of the world as we know it. One of your party members betrays you, you are exposed to a lot of ugly truths, and you end up going to a whole new world. And that's not even the end of disc 1, my friend.

Basically, my favorite part about the story is how ti strings you along nicely, and then drops the bomb that shatters all your preconceptions. It's a pretty wild ride when it's at its best.

[Setra]

Let's see... The beginning starts out looking like a fairly clichéd story, with the Chosen One, a daughter of angels, becoming the savior of the world and unlocking the Elemental Seals (tm). However, about 1/4 of the way into Disc 1, (which is the end of the Chosen's Journey) the story takes a hard left into subversion town, dropping several story bombs at once, shattering your view of the world religion, the Chosen One's Journey, the people you've been fighting, and the fundamental nature of the world as we know it. One of your party members betrays you, you are exposed to a lot of ugly truths, and you end up going to a whole new world. And that's not even the end of disc 1, my friend.

Basically, my favorite part about the story is how ti strings you along nicely, and then drops the bomb that shatters all your preconceptions. It's a pretty wild ride when it's at its best.
That sounds like Final Fantasy Tactics

Edit: This means I support it fully

[alexeduardo]

it strings you along nicely, and then drops the bomb that shatters all your preconceptions. It's a pretty wild ride when it's at its best.

that's my kind of scum.

I'm definately for having B grow attached to the world and suddenly realizing that god is an alien or some poop like that

Who's with me?

[DraPrime]

I like the idea of the god being something else, but let me put my own spin on it and see what you all think. The god has in fact 2 personalities, both which are fighting for control of the godly powers. The god is driven insane by this internal conflict, chaos ensues.

[Kiren]

uh how about this

A guy, starts a journey to the west with his caravan, he gets seperated then gets mixed up with crime and the local governments.

[alexeduardo]

I like the idea of the god being something else, but let me put my own spin on it and see what you all think. The god has in fact 2 personalities, both which are fighting for control of the godly powers. The god is driven insane by this internal conflict, chaos ensues.

hmm...
could work, maybe there is some sort of catholic-y church that teaches that god is perfect and that you must do your best to fight the Demon King.
and suddenly you realize
THEY'RE THE SAME DUDE!!!

[Kiren]

uh how about this

A guy, starts a journey to the west with his caravan, he gets seperated then gets mixed up with crime and the local governments.

Then gets into feuds or allies with different gods

[alexeduardo]

uh how about this

A guy, starts a journey to the west with his caravan, he gets seperated then gets mixed up with crime and the local governments.

good, much better than the generic "you wake up in a dungeon" thing

[DraPrime]

Maybe this church could have a split, each side fighting for one personality of the god. I think that the personalities should not in fact be good/evil opposites. That seems cliche. How should said god split? Any ideas people?

[alexeduardo]

Nature and Technology?

Nature and Nurture?

Waiting for the conflict to erode and War?

[Enlong]

Maybe this church could have a split, each side fighting for one personality of the god. I think that the personalities should not in fact be good/evil opposites. That seems cliche. How should said god split? Any ideas people?

Oooh! How about one side is the loving, ever-forgiving Creator side, and the other is a fire-and-brimstone, punish the wicked with death Destroyer?

[alexeduardo]

Oooh! How about one side is the loving, ever-forgiving Creator side, and the other is a fire-and-brimstone, punish the wicked with death Destroyer?

isn't that kind of generic?

[Corrupted One]

well, it could work.
Also, any ideas for the plot?
If you're running low on 'em, dont be afraid to PM a good writer itp and shamelessly begging for help


Maybe just a split? The god's personalities are shaped by the followers, who, unknowingly, caused the split when their different interpretations caused a split in the church which affected the god? Now the conflict between the god's sides can be settled by either reunion of the two sides, or one side wiping out the other ( which ever side the hero is on), or both sides being wiped out by the hero. And if one of these doesn't happen armageddon caused by the feuding god?

[Setra]

Oooh! How about one side is the loving, ever-forgiving Creator side, and the other is a fire-and-brimstone, punish the wicked with death Destroyer?
I like this one

[DraPrime]

So a lenient side, and a really strict side? I like that! Now then, how does B get into all this? Does he start out the way Kiren suggested? Also, are we going to have multiple god, or is this the only god? I see an advantage to each possibility story-wise:

If we do have multiple gods, then we can have other religious organizations try to take advantage of the situation and attack the followers of the split god

or

If we have only one god (with two personalities) then this would be so much more important to the world. Their only divine being has gone insane, the church is fighting itself. It would create a lot of turmoil.

[Enlong]

isn't that kind of generic?
Well, you mentioned the story bomb of the Demon King or whatever being the God everyone loves. I say the Destroyer side gets so overzelous as to want to destroy everything, and as such becomes demonized by the population, which just makes him more angry, seeing the ones who hate him as evildoers to be destroyed. Or, I dunno. it seems like an appropriate split for the time period, somehow.

[alexeduardo]

Maybe just a split? The god's personalities are shaped by the followers, who, unknowingly, caused the split when their different interpretations caused a split in the church which affected the god? Now the conflict between the god's sides can be settled by either reunion of the two sides, or one side wiping out the other ( which ever side the hero is on), or both sides being wiped out by the hero.


hmm...but wouldnt giving the player the option to either wipe out or unite faith fall into the "baby eater vs. mother theresa" school of rpging?

[warty goblin]

For a token PC port six months after release you'll get my sage gaming wisdom.

In order to convince you that you in fact want my sage wisdom, here's my idea on incorporating gun kata into the game.

1) Have two sorts of movement in combat, light and heavy dodges.

a light dodge is your basic evasion and makes you somewhat harder to hit. You can still use items and attack in a light dodge. Basically you want to be doing this about 90% of the time. Think of all of the positioning moves that the Clerics do in Equilibrium while still staying on their feet. Light dodges are also basically free movement, that is apart from collision detection it doesn't interract with the enviorenment at all.

a heavy dodge is a very good evasive maneurve, ala a swan dive or doing a backflip or something. In general while performing a heavy dodge you cannot attack, but are almost impossible to hit. Most heavy dodges are also triggered off of various pieces of the enviorement- for example Preston's diving role to pick up those two clips he tossed in the middle of the floor. Most of these enviorenmentally linked heavy dodges would also gain you some other benefit- like an instantainious reload, or a knockout move or getting behind cover or something. You would also have a more readily accessible heavy dodge move, but it wouldn't gain you anything except not getting shot. Like light dodges it would be free movement.

For all of this to work I'm envisioning a sort of Tomb Raider like camera and lock on system (although better, obviously), along with a heavy dodge lock-on system, which would allow you to perform heavy dodges off of the enviorenment with the press of a button when close enough. When in combat by default you would move in light dodge mode, so pressing "Left" would move you left in an evasive yet awesome sort of way. Similarly pressing "Left" and the "Heavy Dodge" button would move you in that direction via heavy dodge.

2) Have three weapon modes for ranged weapons, full ranged, mixed range/melee and full melee.

Full Ranged just allows you to shoot people, but you can't make melee attacks or block.

Mixed Ranged/Melee allows you to make basic melee attacks and very inaccurate ranged attacks, and also gives you a rudimentary block.

Full Melee Basically allows you to beat people to death with your gun, and block other people trying to do the same to you.

The idea would be that you want to use full ranged in a gunfight, full melee in a swordfight at close range if you don't have a sword of your own, and mixed to score very high damage hits at close range without allowing a person in full melee to beat your skull in too easily.

3) Integrate all of this into the leveling system. Have two sides to the combat tree- attack and defense. Moving up the defense side gets you better light dodge moves and cooler and more effective heavy dodges. The attack side of the tree gives you more accurate fire, more damaging melee attacks, faster blocking, and the ability to fire your weapons during some heavy dodge moves.

Hope you enjoy!

[Mr. Zook]

@ enlong, thats still pretty cliche, how bout new v old, eg guns v swords, & depending on the faction you get access to different upgrade trees or what ever you want to call them, but you can still use sword if you join the gun faction, just not as well
i dont like gun kata, or at least make it a high level since it seems incredibly overpowered
great idea 11/10

[DraPrime]

Maybe just a split? The god's personalities are shaped by the followers, who, unknowingly, caused the split when their different interpretations caused a split in the church which affected the god? Now the conflict between the god's sides can be settled by either reunion of the two sides, or one side wiping out the other ( which ever side the hero is on), or both sides being wiped out by the hero. And if one of these doesn't happen armageddon caused by the feuding god?

I don't like the Armageddon bit. I think that the RPG genre has had the end of world at hand way too many times. No doubt a god with 2 warring personalities will cause a lot of turmoil, but the whole "the world is at stake" thing seems cliche.

[alexeduardo]

Well, you mentioned the story bomb of the Demon King or whatever being the God everyone loves. I say the Destroyer side gets so overzelous as to want to destroy everything, and as such becomes demonized by the population, which just makes him more angry. Or, I dunno. it seems like an appropriate split for the time period, somehow.

maybe that could happen midway through the game.

also, are we gonna have a plot in which B is in constant contact with angels and devils? I certainly wouldn't like it that way, it would take a lot of density from it.

also, I'm all for having minor spirits and the like, but nothing like a rainbow pantheon please

[Enlong]

hmm...but wouldnt giving the player the option to either wipe out or unite faith fall into the "baby eater vs. mother theresa" school of rpging?

Oooohhh. Yeah, that's a problem. Perhaps the Destroyer is not truly evil, just overzelous and viewed as evil by the people, which leads to the story of the Demon King and such. I dunno exactly how to strike a choice balance. I'm not that good.

[alexeduardo]

I don't like the Armageddon bit. I think that the RPG genre has had the end of world at hand way too many times. No doubt a god with 2 warring personalities will cause a lot of turmoil, but the whole "the world is at stake" thing seems cliche.

yeah, especially ehen the player has the option to either stop the universe from imploding or going on a fed-ex side-quest

[Corrupted One]

hmm...but wouldnt giving the player the option to either wipe out or unite faith fall into the "baby eater vs. mother theresa" school of rpging?


No. Not if we made it so that he sees that the church has become so strong it affects that god itself ( perhaps it could be that the people's view affects the god and the church has been slowly altering that to suit each side's individual needs) and he sees that, for the greater good, the church's destruction is what is best. If we stressed that I think the moral issue would balance itself out.

[DraPrime]

Well here's the inevitable question. Does B get to decide which side he fights for? Does his side win? Does anyone even win? How is it all resolved?

[alexeduardo]

Oooohhh. Yeah, that's a problem. Perhaps the Destroyer is not truly evil, just overzelous and viewed as evil by the people, which leads to the story of the Demon King and such. I dunno exactly how to strike a choice balance. I'm not that good.

Yes You Can!

I mean, if no one is truly good or evil, then we're at a more "han vs. indy" kind of scenario aren't we?

[Setra]

I wanna try a plot idea...

The young man was raised in a monastery etc. and was sent on a routine exorcism, everything seems normal and he kills the ghost.. only for it to leave some dying message that uncomforts him somewhat.

This escalates into a full blown "OMG I am evil and so is my order" type of thing, cliche I know.

Then in the end it turns out the ghost tricked him and his order was good. So when he wipes out his order there is chaos, and the world is doomed or something.

[DraPrime]

Yes You Can!

I mean, if no one is truly good or evil, then we're at a more "han vs. indy" kind of scenario aren't we?

So basically one side is really tough on enforcing rules, while the other side is really lax?

[Enlong]

Yes You Can!

I mean, if no one is truly good or evil, then we're at a more "han vs. indy" kind of scenario aren't we?

But both Han and Indy shot first...

Edit:
Yeah, I suppose that's what it boils down to.

If any of you have watched Justice Leage: Unlimited, the Destroyer side would have the personality and ideals of the Justice Lords. Or that guy from Serenity.

[alexeduardo]

Well here's the inevitable question. Does B get to decide which side he fights for? Does his side win? Does anyone even win? How is it all resolved?

Yes, he definately gets to choose. That's the point of an RPG.

-Setra: have you played Mass Effect? if so, you shoul be familiar with the backstory generator I propose. Former Exorsist could be an option, but certainly not the only one

[alexeduardo]

So basically one side is really tough on enforcing rules, while the other side is really lax?

Exactly!!!

[DraPrime]

I wanna try a plot idea...

The young man was raised in a monastery etc. and was sent on a routine exorcism, everything seems normal and he kills the ghost.. only for it to leave some dying message that uncomforts him somewhat.

This escalates into a full blown "OMG I am evil and so is my order" type of thing, cliche I know.

Then in the end it turns out the ghost tricked him and his order was good. So when he wipes out his order there is chaos, and the world is doomed or something.

I just had an idea on how to add this into the entire "split god" thing. B is the exorcist, and when he performs it he finds out from the ghost that the god is split. This information troubles him for the beginning of the game until he reveals it to others. With that information revealed, the church doesn't believe him at first. But gradually more evidence shows up, and all hell breaks loose. Maybe we can have it turn out to all be untrue and the god was fine, or maybe not? What do you all think?

[Corrupted One]

Which raises the question do we want the hero to be able to choose? And if we do how much can he effect it? Is the overall ending good or bad based on him? Or can he just influence it to a very small degree?

[Corrupted One]

I just had an idea on how to add this into the entire "split god" thing. B is the exorcist, and when he performs it he finds out from the ghost that the god is split. This information troubles him for the beginning of the game until he reveals it to others. With that information revealed, the church doesn't believe him at first. But gradually more evidence shows up, and all hell breaks loose. Maybe we can have it turn out to all be untrue and the god was fine, or maybe not? What do you all think?

Or maybe we could make it so that more spirits are coming through or monsters are beginning to come through as a result of the god split. Not full blown armageddon, but enough to cause a lot of trouble.

[alexeduardo]

Which raises the question do we want the hero to be able to choose? And if we do how much can he effect it? Is the overall ending good or bad based on him? Or can he just influence it to a very small degree?

Aghk!
Can someone repost the list at the beggining of eacg page, please?

[Enlong]

B, an exorcist? Sweet!

I'm thinking some choices could be:
Allow the Forgiver to come into power
Allow the Destroyer to come into power
Attempt to restore the original personality of the god (probably leads to a temporary fix)
Kill the god
eliminate the church, limiting the god's influence in the world
etc.

[Mr. Zook]

If he causes the church to split, someone, possibly a party member should blame him and try to kill him

[Corrupted One]

Aghk!
Can someone repost the list at the beggining of eacg page, please?

Noted. But how much can he influence i?. In some games the ending is always good, but the characters action change certain things. Like his own personal ending may be good or bad based on his actions, but the overall world is save/doomed no matter what he does.

[alexeduardo]

B, an exorcist? Sweet!

I'm thinking some choices could be:
Allow the Forgiver to come into power
Allow the Destroyer to come into power
Attempt to restore the original personality of the god (probably leads to a temporary fix)
Kill the god
eliminate the church, limiting the god's influence in the world
etc.

okay, I can agree on the exorcist thingie but only if it is brief, like the first level in Mass Effect.

oh, and he must recieve many offers to leave exorcism

[alexeduardo]

Noted. But how much can he influence i?. In some games the ending is always good, but the characters action change certain things. Like his own personal ending may be good or bad based on his actions, but the overall world is save/doomed no matter what he does.

Well, I certainly don't want the player to have the ability to fuvking blow up the ****ing universe, but some big influence in the mortal plane is acceptable

[DraPrime]

I'm gonna try to summarize the plot (as I'd like it to be) so far as best I can. Tell me if I missed anything.

B is an exorcist. While performing an exorcism he finds out from a spirit that God has had a split in personalities. One is very strict on the rules, while the other is very lax. This troubles B greatly, and he eventually informs somebody. At first he isn't believed, but eventually more evidence (possibly an increased amount of monsters and spirits) shows that he's right, and people believe him. Full blown war in the the church starts. B has the option of doing the following:

Allow the Forgiver to come into power
Allow the Destroyer to come into power
Attempt to restore the original personality of the god (probably leads to a temporary fix)
Kill the god
eliminate the church, limiting the god's influence in the world

Any suggestions on how to improve this?

One little suggestion I have is that B might even be excommunicated for even speaking such heresy. How B reacts to this later on is decided by the player.

[Mr. Zook]

ignore it all and kill everyone (for the blood thirsty ones out there)

[Corrupted One]

B, an exorcist? Sweet!

I'm thinking some choices could be:
Allow the Forgiver to come into power
Allow the Destroyer to come into power
Attempt to restore the original personality of the god (probably leads to a temporary fix)
Kill the god
eliminate the church, limiting the god's influence in the world
etc.


I like that last one. But let's make the endings tough to chose from. that is to say there is no real " good everyone's happy ending". Let's make them all a matter of personal preference. That is to say He may have the option of wiping out the church so the god's powers are severely weakened, making the split of no consequence and restoring order. Or allow one side to come into power, but seeing that both are flawed as each lacks the true harmony that only the combination of them brings. i.e. Destoyer coming into power = inquisition. Forgiver coming into power = umm... Ok I have no idea what the consequences of having an extremely lax god are.

[Corrupted One]

Well, I certainly don't want the player to have the ability to fuvking blow up the ****ing universe, but some big influence in the mortal plane is acceptable


Well maybe some people wanna blow up the universe!! :smallfrown:

[Mr. Zook]

forgives everyone, so the whole thing is forgotten setting up part 2

[alexeduardo]

well, I would certainly like t to be bit less like Mass Effect's plot.

oh, and we need tons of sidequests if we want this to be a true RPG.
And I aint talking about crappy "get this letter to my grandson and tell him I miss him" side quests.
I mean, movieworthy choosable plots like the cockroach-infected base in Mass Effect or the whole mystic wookie sword subplot in KOTOR

[DraPrime]

No matter what the ending is, I think we should show the benefits and consequences of B's choices. If the ultra strict side wins, then we can show that there is more order in the world now, but the church is also too eager to punish people. Possibly some killing of "heretics". But if the lax side wins then the world falls into quite a bit of chaos with the central power that held stuff together being very weak. However, there is more freedom now in general.

[alexeduardo]

I like that last one. But let's make the endings tough to chose from. that is to say there is no real " good everyone's happy ending". Let's make them all a matter of personal preference. That is to say He may have the option of wiping out the church so the god's powers are severely weakened, making the split of no consequence and restoring order. Or allow one side to come into power, but seeing that both are flawed as each lacks the true harmony that only the combination of them brings. i.e. Destoyer coming into power = inquisition. Forgiver coming into power = umm... Ok I have no idea what the consequences of having an extremely lax god are.

yes. i like your way of thinking.

As for the consequences of laxness. Crime!

[Enlong]

I like that last one. But let's make the endings tough to chose from. that is to say there is no real " good everyone's happy ending". Let's make them all a matter of personal preference. That is to say He may have the option of wiping out the church so the god's powers are severely weakened, making the split of no consequence and restoring order. Or allow one side to come into power, but seeing that both are flawed as each lacks the true harmony that only the combination of them brings. i.e. Destoyer coming into power = inquisition. Forgiver coming into power = umm... Ok I have no idea what the consequences of having an extremely lax god are.

Continuing my DCU references: Under the unmitigated influence of the Forgiver, the world becomes Gotham city. Overrun with crime and no-one doing anything about it.
Run by the unmitigated Destroyer, the place becomes the Justice Lord's Gotham; no crime because violating any law has horrible consequenses.
Both have good ideas, but are too extreme in their execution.

Edit: Ninja'd by the bazooka goblin! Curse you metaphors!

[DraPrime]

Now that we have a plot mostly made, what should the name of the game be? And make it something original, yet completely badass.

[alexeduardo]

Now that we have a plot mostly made, what should the name of the game be? And make it something original, yet completely badass.

Blood of the Old God
?

[Mr. Zook]

maybe those at lower levels and huge gang fights once the plot has moved on and the player is powerful enough to stand out
@ corrupted one,
yes please

[Corrupted One]

So have we decided what the cause of the split is? Is it because of a split in the church? Maybe the player himself is the cause? The cake split is a lie?

As for names... Hmmm... Let's make it not sound like a traditional RPG... Dunno. I'm stumped. But Blood of the Old God sounds pretty epic..

[Enlong]

The Good, The Bad, and the- *shot*

[Mr. Zook]

the god got bored

[DraPrime]

While we try to come up with names for the game, let me throw this one thing out. What consequences come from half a god being effectively killed? I mean, you don't eliminate a bunch of divine power like that without anything happening. Would it be bad? Would it be good?

[alexeduardo]

yes, it s a split in the church because some corrupt archbishop's desires did not match some corrupt archbishop's desires

[alexeduardo]

While we try to come up with names for the game, let me throw this one thing out. What consequences come from half a god being effectively killed? I mean, you don't eliminate a bunch of divine power like that without anything happening. Would it be bad? Would it be good?

Maybe you create a new pantheon?

[DraPrime]

So have we decided what the cause of the split is? Is it because of a split in the church? Maybe the player himself is the cause? The cake split is a lie?

I actually like the whole "split is a lie" idea, but I think that would completely ruin any feeling of satisfaction for ruining the game. I mean, you just won a massive civil war, and thought that you killed half a god, and all of it for nothing?

[Corrupted One]

yes, it s a split in the church because some corrupt archbishop's desires did not match some corrupt archbishop's desires

Good. I like that. Which gives the option of wiping out the church/god for sanity's sake, trying to re-unite the factions, or siding with one and eliminating the other.

[alexeduardo]

I actually like the whole "split is a lie" idea, but I think that would completely ruin any feeling of satisfaction for ruining the game. I mean, you just won a massive civil war, and thought that you killed half a god, and all of it for nothing?

Hey, it's better than waking up at the end, isn't it?

[Corrupted One]

While we try to come up with names for the game, let me throw this one thing out. What consequences come from half a god being effectively killed? I mean, you don't eliminate a bunch of divine power like that without anything happening. Would it be bad? Would it be good?

Maybe you don't kill it so much as elimanate it's sentinency that is to say it gets absorbed by the remaining side. And how do you kill a god? Since the split is caused by the church wouldn't you have to eliminate the side serving that god?

[alexeduardo]

Now that I think about it, what will our target rating be?

T would limit us a ot, but AO would certainly not sell much

[DraPrime]

Hey, it's better than waking up at the end, isn't it?

Doesn't mean it doesn't suck


Good. I like that. Which gives the option of wiping out the church/god for sanity's sake, trying to re-unite the factions, or siding with one and eliminating the other.

Oooh political intrigue! Just what this game needs.

[alexeduardo]

how do you kill a god?

you make him mortal?
You open pandora's box?

[warty goblin]

I actually like the whole "split is a lie" idea, but I think that would completely ruin any feeling of satisfaction for ruining the game. I mean, you just won a massive civil war, and thought that you killed half a god, and all of it for nothing?

What about a third ending- kill both halves of the God? Then put likable characters on all sides, the pro first half, pro second half, and pro no half factions, and really give the character a difficult choice.

[Mr. Zook]

maybe hell boyish gun capsules or proving that god cannot exist , destroying its power

[String]

I like all the ideas so far. Er..well...most. I liked that Western RPG was brought up so quickly, but I feel like the thread has floated away from the Western aspect. I mean, you can't just drop any story (no matter how well thought out) into a western setting and make it a western, You know? If we want this Church-plot to work, then it needs to come FROM the setting, ENHANCE the setting, not fight against it. Which isnt to say it CANT work, but that it has to have more than a superficial tie in with the setting.

I like Enlongs Gun Kata leveling system. Not having played Mass Effect, I cant comment on things regarding it. But I do like the Gun Kata system. As an addition to it, perhaps wielding different styles of gun (revolvers, rifles, dual revolvers etc) would change your Heavy and Light Dodge Animations or options? Also, I dont think it would be too overpowered if it were level-based, and restricted to only being in use when using Full Ranged mode?

[TFT]

Being the lazy person I am, I don't want to look through 4 pages(unless I have to) Can someone summerize what this western plot entails?

[alexeduardo]

What about a third ending- kill both halves of the God? Then put likable characters on all sides, the pro first half, pro second half, and pro no half factions, and really give the character a difficult choice.

and somethin I like to call Replayability

[Corrupted One]

What about a third ending- kill both halves of the God? Then put likable characters on all sides, the pro first half, pro second half, and pro no half factions, and really give the character a difficult choice.


Perfect. Like each side isn't just made up of hateful corrupted archbishops, but families and people who really believe in their god.

Or maybe remove the families and just have to kill certain priest but make some of those priest Mother Teressa type people who just wanna help and believes that religon helps.

[DraPrime]

Being the lazy person I am, I don't want to look through 4 pages(unless I have to) Can someone summerize what this western plot entails?

Of course my good man.

I'm gonna try to summarize the plot (as I'd like it to be) so far as best I can. Tell me if I missed anything.

B is an exorcist. While performing an exorcism he finds out from a spirit that God has had a split in personalities. One is very strict on the rules, while the other is very lax. This troubles B greatly, and he eventually informs somebody. At first he isn't believed, but eventually more evidence (possibly an increased amount of monsters and spirits) shows that he's right, and people believe him. Full blown war in the the church starts. Corrupt church members on each side will attempt to manipulate this to destroy opposing factions, and to gain more power for themselves. B has the option of doing the following:

Allow the Forgiver to come into power
Allow the Destroyer to come into power
Attempt to restore the original personality of the god (probably leads to a temporary fix)
Kill the god
eliminate the church, limiting the god's influence in the world

Each decision has consequences of it's own. This will of course get more complex.

[warty goblin]

Now that I think about it, what will our target rating be?

T would limit us a ot, but AO would certainly not sell much

I call M here, if we want good sword fighting and gun duels. I mean, whacking somebody with a claymore as hard as you can and have them flinch a bit and lose some HP just isn't that satsifying or verisimilitudenous.

Also, if you give me gun kata, I wanna be able to have the fights look like a gun kata fight, which I recall having significant, but not over the top, amounts of blood in them.

[alexeduardo]

I like all the ideas so far. Er..well...most. I liked that Western RPG was brought up so quickly, but I feel like the thread has floated away from the Western aspect. I mean, you can't just drop any story (no matter how well thought out) into a western setting and make it a western, You know? If we want this Church-plot to work, then it needs to come FROM the setting, ENHANCE the setting, not fight against it. Which isnt to say it CANT work, but that it has to have more than a superficial tie in with the setting.

I like Enlongs Gun Kata leveling system. Not having played Mass Effect, I cant comment on things regarding it. But I do like the Gun Kata system. As an addition to it, perhaps wielding different styles of gun (revolvers, rifles, dual revolvers etc) would change your Heavy and Light Dodge Animations or options? Also, I dont think it would be too overpowered if it were level-based, and restricted to only being in use when using Full Ranged mode?

Well, What I liked about mass effect is that you could choose the backstory of your character and that it actually affects the gameplay. As for the setting not working, well, can you help us? please? you're my only hope
(not really, but I caouldn't help myself)

oh, and, cats, I believe there's a list we're supposed to keep on reposting somewhere

[Enlong]

you make him mortal?
You open pandora's box?

You make the main character an exorcist, and utilize the power of angry spirits? Think about it.

[DraPrime]

An important question. What will having an insane god do to the world? God is presumably omnipotent, or at least close to it. His insanity must have some changes on this world. Maybe not immediately, but perhaps later on in the game certain things in physics get screwed up?

[alexeduardo]

An important question. What will having an insane god do to the world? God is presumably omnipotent, or at least close to it. His insanity must have some changes on this world. Maybe not immediately, but perhaps later on in the game certain things in physics get screwed up?

The twisting hills from Nightmare Before Christmas!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Corrupted One]

Of course my good man.

I'm gonna try to summarize the plot (as I'd like it to be) so far as best I can. Tell me if I missed anything.

B is an exorcist. While performing an exorcism he finds out from a spirit that God has had a split in personalities. One is very strict on the rules, while the other is very lax. This troubles B greatly, and he eventually informs somebody. At first he isn't believed, but eventually more evidence (possibly an increased amount of monsters and spirits) shows that he's right, and people believe him. Full blown war in the the church starts. Corrupt church members on each side will attempt to manipulate this to destroy opposing factions, and to gain more power for themselves. B has the option of doing the following:

Allow the Forgiver to come into power
Allow the Destroyer to come into power
Attempt to restore the original personality of the god (probably leads to a temporary fix)
Kill the god
eliminate the church, limiting the god's influence in the world

Each decision has consequences of it's own. This will of course get more complex.

And it turns out the split was caused by the church splitting. Two corrupted archbishops fought for power, caused a rift in the church, and as a result the church split and the god, whose personality is shaped by his believers perception of him, split also. Which leaves to the interesting choices of how to end the game none of which leave you with a particularly warm and fuzzy feeling.

[Corrupted One]

An important question. What will having an insane god do to the world? God is presumably omnipotent, or at least close to it. His insanity must have some changes on this world. Maybe not immediately, but perhaps later on in the game certain things in physics get screwed up?

Maybe animals become monsters? Cthuhlu type madness ensues.

[alexeduardo]

none of which leave you with a particularly warm and fuzzy feeling.

but a HUGE sense of power

[DraPrime]

You make the main character an exorcist, and utilize the power of angry spirits? Think about it.

WHOA I just had another idea. Getting a lot of them recently. Why not have B perform and actual exorcism on God, removing the part that he chooses to remove. We could have exorcism show up a few times during the game as sidequests or something. Anyone have any ideas on how an exorcism would work? I got my own ideas, but I want to see what others come up with first since I already kind of made the central idea of the plot.

[Corrupted One]

Well, What I liked about mass effect is that you could choose the backstory of your character and that it actually affects the gameplay. As for the setting not working, well, can you help us? please? you're my only hope
(not really, but I caouldn't help myself)

oh, and, cats, I believe there's a list we're supposed to keep on reposting somewhere

I have beaten mass effect several times and I loved that option also. Well I will list a few and tell me if you like them.

Exorcist (specializing in magic if we have it): You are exorcising a spirit when it informs you of the split god and the danger it presents.

Paladin Type Foot Soldier ( specializing in sword and other melee weapons): You are investigating all the recent appearances of monsters and after destroying a particularly powerful one and before it dies it tells you of the split and you notice it and some of the other looks strangely human.

And one more variation of the palading that specializes in guns.

[alexeduardo]

WHOA I just had another idea. Getting a lot of them recently. Why not have B perform and actual exorcism on God, removing the part that he chooses to remove. We could have exorcism show up a few times during the game as sidequests or something. Anyone have any ideas on how an exorcism would work? I got my own ideas, but I want to see what others come up with first since I already kind of made the central idea of the plot.

okay but only as one of many options

[Setra]

Well an exorcism minigame ... hmm.. I imagine this on the Wii..

Use the Wiimote to shoot the dark energies that come out while using the nunchuck to dodge projectile vomit.

This was mostly intended as humor of course :smalltongue:

Edit: How does one Exorcise a God?

"The power of .. oh wait."

[DraPrime]

okay but only as one of many options

Or we could have multiple ways to perform an exorcism? I'm kind of clinging to this whole exorcism at the end idea because I just like the whole idea of it coming straight back down to what B did, exorcise.

[Corrupted One]

okay but only as one of many options

Would mine work? It could easily serve as the several different openings and I could come up with the endings if you like them.

[alexeduardo]

Exorcist (specializing in magic if we have it): You are exorcising a spirit when it informs you of the split god and the danger it presents.

Paladin Type Foot Soldier ( specializing in sword and other melee weapons): You are investigating all the recent appearances of monsters and after destroying a particularly powerful one and before it dies it tells you of the split and you notice it and some of the other looks strangely human.

Yes, we need more of these.

oh, and as for childhoods:

Rich Kid: your family was well conected and influential, as a result you didn't see much of the world and had a lot of trouble leaving the family bussiness (which could very well be a mob)
Proletariat: Your fathers and you worked on the big city as repressed workers, as a result, you know a lot about fighting and humility. You eventually left, though, after the revolution stroke and liberated you all, but took yourparents and your job with it

[DraPrime]

Well an exorcism minigame ... hmm.. I imagine this on the Wii..

Use the Wiimote to shoot the dark energies that come out while using the nunchuck to dodge projectile vomit.

This was mostly intended as humor of course :smalltongue:

Edit: How does one Exorcise a God?

"The power of .. oh wait."

Thank god that was a joke. I think players would be pissed off by having the final fight be a minigame.

[alexeduardo]

Would mine work? It could easily serve as the several different openings and I could come up with the endings if you like them.

yes, let's try to come with as much content as possible. We'll later bother with the editing

[DraPrime]

I'm going to repost the plot

Of course my good man.

I'm gonna try to summarize the plot (as I'd like it to be) so far as best I can. Tell me if I missed anything.

B is an exorcist. While performing an exorcism he finds out from a spirit that God has had a split in personalities. One is very strict on the rules, while the other is very lax. This troubles B greatly, and he eventually informs somebody. At first he isn't believed, but eventually more evidence (possibly an increased amount of monsters and spirits) shows that he's right, and people believe him. Full blown war in the the church starts. Corrupt church members on each side will attempt to manipulate this to destroy opposing factions, and to gain more power for themselves. B has the option of doing the following:

Allow the Forgiver to come into power
Allow the Destroyer to come into power
Attempt to restore the original personality of the god (probably leads to a temporary fix)
Kill the god
eliminate the church, limiting the god's influence in the world

Each decision has consequences of it's own. This will of course get more complex.

And it turns out the split was caused by the church splitting. Two corrupted archbishops fought for power, caused a rift in the church, and as a result the church split and the god, whose personality is shaped by his believers perception of him, split also. Which leaves to the interesting choices of how to end the game none of which leave you with a particularly warm and fuzzy feeling.

Don't forget to repost this along with any additions on each page!

[Corrupted One]

Yes, we need more of these.

oh, and as for childhoods:

Rich Kid: your family was well conected and influential, as a result you didn't see much of the world and had a lot of trouble leaving the family bussiness (which could very well be a mob)
Proletariat: Your fathers and you worked on the big city as repressed workers, as a result, you know a lot about fighting and humility. You eventually left, though, after the revolution stroke and liberated you all, but took yourparents and your job with it


I'm on it.

Priest ( specializing in.. um... anyone wanna help me out on this one?): Similiar to the exorcism but instead a lady runs to the church. Asking for help. She looks to be in a great deal of pain and has trouble speaking. She says something about the split and then mutates into a monster. In a painful realistic way ( come on guys let's earn that M rating!).

I'll come up with more and start working on the endings right away.

[alexeduardo]

thank you, dragoncousin.

As for the backstories/childhoods/traumas(oh yes): We need Moar!! Don't be shy to propose one, as long as you state what effect it will have on the character it's okay

[TFT]

another class type thing could be a gun for hire. He is famous across the lands for his use of a gun, and both archbishops contact him, telling him of what they think is a split personaility from god and need protection from the monsters(with the possibility of assassinating the other archbishop, or other important members of the church)
Magic could be power from god, with 3 trees: one for each personality(chaotic magic and holy magic) with a third tree for a mix with the origional god(don't know how you would explain the third tree, but there is probably a way. Those are just my suggestions.

[Corrupted One]

thank you, dragoncousin.

As for the backstories/childhoods/traumas(oh yes): We need Moar!! Don't be shy to propose one, as long as you state what effect it will have on the character it's okay

Traumatic experience with a spirit is one possibility.

Being a proliteriate and having to see hundreads around you starve and your family itself coming to the brink of starvation is another one.

[Sneak]

I like all the ideas so far. Er..well...most. I liked that Western RPG was brought up so quickly, but I feel like the thread has floated away from the Western aspect. I mean, you can't just drop any story (no matter how well thought out) into a western setting and make it a western, You know? If we want this Church-plot to work, then it needs to come FROM the setting, ENHANCE the setting, not fight against it. Which isnt to say it CANT work, but that it has to have more than a superficial tie in with the setting.

I agree with String. The plot you guys have so carefully constructed seems viable, but completely unconnected to the original idea. That's not a problem, and we can scrap the Western theme if that's what the consensus is, but if we want to keep it, we have to join the plot and setting together to form one cohesive game.

[alexeduardo]

another class type thing could be a gun for hire. He is famous across the lands for his use of a gun, and both archbishops contact him, telling him of what they think is a split personaility from god and need protection from the monsters(with the possibility of assassinating the other archbishop, or other important members of the church)
Magic could be power from god, with 3 trees: one for each personality(chaotic magic and holy magic) with a third tree for a mix with the origional god(don't know how you would explain the third tree, but there is probably a way. Those are just my suggestions.

the famous gun for hire thing is a good option.

As for traumas, I was thinking of something more along the lines of seeing your father beat up our mother, have a mentally challenged sister, be mentally challenged, rape...

[alexeduardo]

I agree with String. The plot you guys have so carefully constructed seems viable, but completely unconnected to the original idea. That's not a problem, and we can scrap the Western theme if that's what the consensus is, but if we want to keep it, we have to join the plot and setting together to form one cohesive game.

hmm...seems as if we need a new seting. We need ideas! Open the gates!

[Corrupted One]

the famous gun for hire thing is a good option.

As for traumas, I was thinking of something more along the lines of seeing your father beat up our mother, have a mentally challenged sister, be mentally challenged, rape...

But having a mentally challeneged sister isn't necessarily traumatic. We could have you and her going on some kind of ill advised adventure ( which she was against going on but you forced her to) and she ends up banging her head and becomes mentally challenged. Something along the lines of climbing to the top of the abandoned church or looking for gold in the condemned mine. Maybe the mine collapses/she falls and death ensues.

Maybe we should alter the Western theme. I'm pretty sure we could come up with one that meshes with the story better.

[String]

Sweet jesus I was PAGE NINJA'ED.

Anyway, i'm gonna be ninja'ed again, but I might as well try. So. I like the idea of Some sort of Church split thing, and the ideas of re-uniting them, and monsters and whatnot. It's looking like we're sliding slightly towards a more ...Horror-ish setting. Not quite the Survival Horror RE game, not quite the "Ooh look Vampires arent we cool" Darkwatch game.I think a good source for the serious-with-laughs tone and the Western-horror genre is Deadlands. Except without the Steampunk. I may be way off base.

Anyway. I think a good thing would be to ground this church, and lower the amount of...medieval ness. Have several Churches throughout the game, each with varying levels of grandness. And I don't know, but the idea of having B be a man of the cloth just...rubs me wrong. Maybe it's just an aversion to anymore violent holy men that are protagonists. I'm not sure how to fix this. Perhaps having him be a drifter (wasn't that the first idea? Having him wander into a town and having this problem forced on him?) who stumbles upon the first town in the midst of a problem with a possession. After some introductory stuff, The Church in this town (possibly mostly 'Destroyer' following) accosts B for some minor thing (maybe a bar fight?) and ropes him into assisting the local exorcist in his attempt to free a townswoman from a possessing spirit. When they succeed (through either cutscene or some sort of Skill Challenge-esque thing), thats when the leaving spirit reveals that the God is being torn into two opposing gods by the Church's own squabblings (that was the idea we were going with, yes?). Perhaps the Priest is killed in the process of freeing the girl, or not. B goes to tell the church what happened, they denounce him as a heretic, and he's forced to move on for a bit. therein starts the main section of the game.


Also, I vote for the Tutorial to take place on a train that falls prey to a Train robbery on it's way to the first town.

[Mr. Zook]

maybe an urban setting wich puts the churchs close together causing the fighting to be fast and furrious

[Shades of Gray]

Sweet jesus I was PAGE NINJA'ED.

Anyway, i'm gonna be ninja'ed again, but I might as well try. So. I like the idea of Some sort of Church split thing, and the ideas of re-uniting them, and monsters and whatnot. It's looking like we're sliding slightly towards a more ...Horror-ish setting. Not quite the Survival Horror RE game, not quite the "Ooh look Vampires arent we cool" Darkwatch game.I think a good source for the serious-with-laughs tone and the Western-horror genre is Deadlands. Except without the Steampunk. I may be way off base.

Anyway. I think a good thing would be to ground this church, and lower the amount of...medieval ness. Have several Churches throughout the game, each with varying levels of grandness. And I don't know, but the idea of having B be a man of the cloth just...rubs me wrong. Maybe it's just an aversion to anymore violent holy men that are protagonists. I'm not sure how to fix this. Perhaps having him be a drifter (wasn't that the first idea? Having him wander into a town and having this problem forced on him?) who stumbles upon the first town in the midst of a problem with a possession. After some introductory stuff, The Church in this town (possibly mostly 'Destroyer' following) accosts B for some minor thing (maybe a bar fight?) and ropes him into assisting the local exorcist in his attempt to free a townswoman from a possessing spirit. When they succeed (through either cutscene or some sort of Skill Challenge-esque thing), thats when the leaving spirit reveals that the God is being torn into two opposing gods by the Church's own squabblings (that was the idea we were going with, yes?). Perhaps the Priest is killed in the process of freeing the girl, or not. B goes to tell the church what happened, they denounce him as a heretic, and he's forced to move on for a bit. therein starts the main section of the game.


Also, I vote for the Tutorial to take place on a train that falls prey to a Train robbery on it's way to the first town.

Seconded.

B needs a trench coat, you can't be badass without a trench coat.

[Corrupted One]

Sweet jesus I was PAGE NINJA'ED.

Anyway, i'm gonna be ninja'ed again, but I might as well try. So. I like the idea of Some sort of Church split thing, and the ideas of re-uniting them, and monsters and whatnot. It's looking like we're sliding slightly towards a more ...Horror-ish setting. Not quite the Survival Horror RE game, not quite the "Ooh look Vampires arent we cool" Darkwatch game.I think a good source for the serious-with-laughs tone and the Western-horror genre is Deadlands. Except without the Steampunk. I may be way off base.

Anyway. I think a good thing would be to ground this church, and lower the amount of...medieval ness. Have several Churches throughout the game, each with varying levels of grandness. And I don't know, but the idea of having B be a man of the cloth just...rubs me wrong. Maybe it's just an aversion to anymore violent holy men that are protagonists. I'm not sure how to fix this. Perhaps having him be a drifter (wasn't that the first idea? Having him wander into a town and having this problem forced on him?) who stumbles upon the first town in the midst of a problem with a possession. After some introductory stuff, The Church in this town (possibly mostly 'Destroyer' following) accosts B for some minor thing (maybe a bar fight?) and ropes him into assisting the local exorcist in his attempt to free a townswoman from a possessing spirit. When they succeed (through either cutscene or some sort of Skill Challenge-esque thing), thats when the leaving spirit reveals that the God is being torn into two opposing gods by the Church's own squabblings (that was the idea we were going with, yes?). Perhaps the Priest is killed in the process of freeing the girl, or not. B goes to tell the church what happened, they denounce him as a heretic, and he's forced to move on for a bit. therein starts the main section of the game.


Also, I vote for the Tutorial to take place on a train that falls prey to a Train robbery on it's way to the first town.


This I like. Maybe have the church blame him for the death of the priest? I think the priest needs to die as well as the girl so B is the only witness. And if B is a drifter maybe he could have used to be whatever he is. That is to say if you start out as a exorcist/gun for hire/whatever you have to unlock skills and gain levels and whatnot because this is what you used to be(this would also explain why you have such a predisposition towards it). Maybe this traumatic experience could be why you are not longer whatever it is that you were. It would explain why some random drifter is able to influence the world so much.

[alexeduardo]

Well, string, I like your ideas, they were my original ones (most of)

oh, and a first level atop a train robbery has always been a dream of mine.

but no, I don't think we should de-catholizise the church

[alexeduardo]

This I like. Maybe have the church blame him for the death of the priest? I think the priest needs to die as well as the girl so B is the only witness. And if B is a drifter maybe he could have used to be whatever he is. That is to say if you start out as a exorcist/gun for hire/whatever you have to unlock skills and gain levels and whatnot because this is what you used to be(this would also explain why you have such a predisposition towards it). Maybe this traumatic experience could be why you are not longer whatever it is that you were. It would explain why some random drifter is able to influence the world so much.

oh, corrupted one, you are like jesus and mohammed morphed together and then taught to play videogames!

yes!
yes!
seconded!
thirded!!!

[Mr. Zook]

trench coat leads its self to a matrix like scene which would be cool, if done right

[alexeduardo]

trench coat leads its self to a matrix like scene which would be cool, if done right

well, I think the initial clothing would be influenced by the backstories the player chooses. But you could also change it later on.
Maybe the trenchcoat gives a bonus to intimidation?

[Mr. Zook]

cut scenes, it needs cut scenes to be complete
edit: not my idea originaly, just a thought

[String]

A quick question that affects the plots progression possibly:

Do we want a Party System?

[Corrupted One]

well, I think the initial clothing would be influenced by the backstories the player chooses. But you could also change it later on.
Maybe the trenchcoat gives a bonus to intimidation?

Or a bonus to just plain badassery! But yeah, no really, trench coats are pretty awesome. And it would give him that "myterious drifter" aspect. And it would give him a place to hold all his items. Not literally but when you pull up his inventory it could have him reach in his coat. I always hate how some games just have billions of items with character who don't even have fanny packs.

[alexeduardo]

A quick question that affects the plots progression possibly:

Do we want a Party System?

Gah! the question of the century!
I say:
It depends on backstory/traumas

who seconds the motion?

[Corrupted One]

A quick question that affects the plots progression possibly:

Do we want a Party System?

Excellent question! What about it team? Does he travel with a group of lovable misfits? Can he swap party members? Are the party members pre determined? Are the only avalaible companions a familiar/animal compainion and/or hired guns?

[Mr. Zook]

exelent point, o corrupted one, also anyone else ever wonder why a guy running around with three million rounds of ammo can't just blow a lock of a door

[alexeduardo]

excellent question! What about it team? Does he travel with a group of lovable misfits? Can he swap party members? Are the party members pre determined? Are the only avalaible companions a familiar/animal compainion and/or hired guns?

As I said, It could depend on the backstory/traumas the player chose.

oh, and
online co-op!!!!

[Corrupted One]

exelent point, o corrupted one, also anyone else ever wonder why a guy running around with three million rounds of ammo can't just blow a lock of a door

I have. Forget the lock, he can simply demolish the whole door with all the ammo he has! Let's try to avoid logical fallacies like this one.
No matter what the cost!

[Mr. Zook]

everything is better with your friends

[Corrupted One]

As I said, It could depend on the backstory/traumas the player chose.

oh, and
online co-op!!!!

FORGET CO-OP!

GET THE WHOLE GROUP!! We could make it so that the group ( if we chose to have a party system) could be made up of each person's individual character. Perhaps super high level dungeons impossible without backup?

[Setra]

Exorcist.. With guns.
http://sean-murray.com/billysta.jpg
Win.

[Mr. Zook]

that could po some people unless you post some tag, (I've spent 10 hours on one level and i still cant beat it, i quit)

[alexeduardo]

FORGET CO-OP!

GET THE WHOLE GROUP!! We could make it so that the group ( if we chose to have a party system) could be made up of each person's individual character. Perhaps super high level dungeons impossible without backup?

*Gamerasm*

[String]

That's ambitious.

I for one am for the party system, with around 12(maybe) total slots, and 3 or 4 whom you cant NOT get, one or two whom you need to go out of your way to get, and some who join if you just go with the flow, etc.

[Corrupted One]

Exorcist.. With guns.
http://sean-murray.com/billysta.jpg
Win.



Seconded.


It's the slighly feminine insanely manly trench coat that seals the deal for me.

[Setra]

That's ambitious.

I for one am for the party system, with around 12(maybe) total slots, and 3 or 4 whom you cant NOT get, one or two whom you need to go out of your way to get, and some who join if you just go with the flow, etc.
Star Ocean?

[warty goblin]

More thoughts on combat/leveling etc.

1) Don't have character classes. Have different skills/proficiencies, but allow the player to distribute them as they see fit. That is if I want to be a gunslinger type character who also specializes in diplomacy, I take the skills that allow me to do so. Or if I want to be a diplomatic medic, that's cool as well. The background choices would simply determine your starting characteristics, so your choices would effect what your character started out good at, but not neccessarily what they ended up good at.

For skills I'm seeing three major branches, laid out below.

1) Spiritual. Allows you to perform better exorcisms, resist demonic/divine forces better etc. Probably split into sub-trees focusing on exorcism and spiritual defense, respectively. One thing that could be interesting to do is to tie progress up these trees to factional progress, that is if you follow the Destroyer faction they give you access to books and materials that allow better forms of spiritual attack, and counter attacking defensive powers or something. Moving up the spiritual pregression would give you access to new spiritual powers, as well as the ability to use higher level Bibles/other religious texts.

2) Physical. The killing stuff tree. Split into guns and melee weapons, each of which would have an offensive and defensive path. Moving up these would grant you new weapon moves, more damaging attacks and better defenses, and the ability to weild better weapons.

3) Social. The talking to people tree. Pretty much allows you to get people to do what you want, preferably via a Mass Effect type Paragon/Renegade system. I'd tie progress up this chart to in game actions.

Combat: Keeping melee weapons relevant.

1) Make ranged weapons very inaccurate, particularly at low levels, giving melee characters a chance to close.

2) Enforce reloading: Since everybody's gonna be packing single action revolvers and rifles, this should take considerable time. Make the gunfighters worry about each shot hitting, not just blazing away.

3) Give melee characters access to the light/heavy dodge system as well. Make backing up much much slower than moving forward, again allowing a melee character to effectively close the distance unless stopped.

Keeping ranged weapons relevant:

1) Allow a character to wear armor that is effective at blocking melee attacks, at the expense of mobility. Thus when fighting melee characters you want armor,when fighting ranged, you don't, since the armor will offer little to no protection against bullets. This would also be an additional incentive to use the mixed melee/ranged style, since you would be reasonably proof against melee attacks between armor and blocks, and also have access to firepower.

2) Make particularly damaging shots (say those that do at least 75% of maximum damage) stagger anything they hit, slowing them down. Make extremely damaging shots(<90% damage) knock the target over completely. Allow skills to lower these numbers as well, so a skilled gunfighter has a good chance of knocking someone over or staggering them if they empty their revolver into them.

[alexeduardo]

I for one am for the party system, with around 12(maybe) total slots, and 3 or 4 whom you cant NOT get, one or two whom you need to go out of your way to get, and some who join if you just go with the flow, etc.

Just like in KOTOR!!!!

then again, I prefer it so that a raped proletariat has trouble making new friends

[Corrupted One]

That's ambitious.

I for one am for the party system, with around 12(maybe) total slots, and 3 or 4 whom you cant NOT get, one or two whom you need to go out of your way to get, and some who join if you just go with the flow, etc.

Sounds good to me. Lets cement it and say 3 people who you pick up regardles ( assuming we having 4 classes they are the 3 that you didn't choose so your party is fairly balanced) 3 who you need to go out of your way to get but become permanent one you have them. And 4 other slots that can be filled with hired guns,ect. (This would bring it to only 10 though)

[alexeduardo]

More thoughts on combat/leveling etc.

1) Don't have character classes. Have different skills/proficiencies, but allow the player to distribute them as they see fit. That is if I want to be a gunslinger type character who also specializes in diplomacy, I take the skills that allow me to do so. Or if I want to be a diplomatic medic, that's cool as well. The background choices would simply determine your starting characteristics, so your choices would effect what your character started out good at, but not neccessarily what they ended up good at.

For skills I'm seeing three major branches, laid out below.

1) Spiritual. Allows you to perform better exorcisms, resist demonic/divine forces better etc. Probably split into sub-trees focusing on exorcism and spiritual defense, respectively. One thing that could be interesting to do is to tie progress up these trees to factional progress, that is if you follow the Destroyer faction they give you access to books and materials that allow better forms of spiritual attack, and counter attacking defensive powers or something. Moving up the spiritual pregression would give you access to new spiritual powers, as well as the ability to use higher level Bibles/other religious texts.

2) Physical. The killing stuff tree. Split into guns and melee weapons, each of which would have an offensive and defensive path. Moving up these would grant you new weapon moves, more damaging attacks and better defenses, and the ability to weild better weapons.

3) Social. The talking to people tree. Pretty much allows you to get people to do what you want, preferably via a Mass Effect type Paragon/Renegade system. I'd tie progress up this chart to in game actions.

Combat: Keeping melee weapons relevant.

1) Make ranged weapons very inaccurate, particularly at low levels, giving melee characters a chance to close.

2) Enforce reloading: Since everybody's gonna be packing single action revolvers and rifles, this should take considerable time. Make the gunfighters worry about each shot hitting, not just blazing away.

3) Give melee characters access to the light/heavy dodge system as well. Make backing up much much slower than moving forward, again allowing a melee character to effectively close the distance unless stopped.

Keeping ranged weapons relevant:

1) Allow a character to wear armor that is effective at blocking melee attacks, at the expense of mobility. Thus when fighting melee characters you want armor,when fighting ranged, you don't, since the armor will offer little to no protection against bullets. This would also be an additional incentive to use the mixed melee/ranged style, since you would be reasonably proof against melee attacks between armor and blocks, and also have access to firepower.

2) Make particularly damaging shots (say those that do at least 75% of maximum damage) stagger anything they hit, slowing them down. Make extremely damaging shots(<90% damage) knock the target over completely. Allow skills to lower these numbers as well, so a skilled gunfighter has a good chance of knocking someone over or staggering them if they empty their revolver into them.


wow, that is...rad

but I would like to have a more complex system than just a "social" skill tree.
I would like thius to be as intituitive and complex as possible

[Mr. Zook]

it should definately be possible to f up your interaction and provoke a fight or get shunned by a social circle (maybe temporary)

[alexeduardo]

it should definately be possible to f up your interaction and provoke a fight or get shunned by a social circle (maybe temporary)

hmm...I can already imagine a player trying to pull a Mass Effect on another party member andhave her pull a gun at him

[Corrupted One]

More thoughts on combat/leveling etc.

1) Don't have character classes. Have different skills/proficiencies, but allow the player to distribute them as they see fit. That is if I want to be a gunslinger type character who also specializes in diplomacy, I take the skills that allow me to do so. Or if I want to be a diplomatic medic, that's cool as well. The background choices would simply determine your starting characteristics, so your choices would effect what your character started out good at, but not neccessarily what they ended up good at.

For skills I'm seeing three major branches, laid out below.

1) Spiritual. Allows you to perform better exorcisms, resist demonic/divine forces better etc. Probably split into sub-trees focusing on exorcism and spiritual defense, respectively. One thing that could be interesting to do is to tie progress up these trees to factional progress, that is if you follow the Destroyer faction they give you access to books and materials that allow better forms of spiritual attack, and counter attacking defensive powers or something. Moving up the spiritual pregression would give you access to new spiritual powers, as well as the ability to use higher level Bibles/other religious texts.

2) Physical. The killing stuff tree. Split into guns and melee weapons, each of which would have an offensive and defensive path. Moving up these would grant you new weapon moves, more damaging attacks and better defenses, and the ability to weild better weapons.

3) Social. The talking to people tree. Pretty much allows you to get people to do what you want, preferably via a Mass Effect type Paragon/Renegade system. I'd tie progress up this chart to in game actions.

Combat: Keeping melee weapons relevant.

1) Make ranged weapons very inaccurate, particularly at low levels, giving melee characters a chance to close.

2) Enforce reloading: Since everybody's gonna be packing single action revolvers and rifles, this should take considerable time. Make the gunfighters worry about each shot hitting, not just blazing away.

3) Give melee characters access to the light/heavy dodge system as well. Make backing up much much slower than moving forward, again allowing a melee character to effectively close the distance unless stopped.

Keeping ranged weapons relevant:

1) Allow a character to wear armor that is effective at blocking melee attacks, at the expense of mobility. Thus when fighting melee characters you want armor,when fighting ranged, you don't, since the armor will offer little to no protection against bullets. This would also be an additional incentive to use the mixed melee/ranged style, since you would be reasonably proof against melee attacks between armor and blocks, and also have access to firepower.

2) Make particularly damaging shots (say those that do at least 75% of maximum damage) stagger anything they hit, slowing them down. Make extremely damaging shots(<90% damage) knock the target over completely. Allow skills to lower these numbers as well, so a skilled gunfighter has a good chance of knocking someone over or staggering them if they empty their revolver into them.

Brilliant. But should we devote an enitire branch to social? Maybe we could include more skills under than branch. Like have it make bartering more effective, ect.

[alexeduardo]

Brilliant. But should we devote an enitire branch to social?

yes, and maybe more

[Mr. Zook]

just a thought, if we include a day-night cycle (which i support), make it neccesary to sleep, it makes it more realalistic and gives a time window for plot to develop

[alexeduardo]

just a thought, if we include a day-night cycle (which i support), make it neccesary to sleep, it makes it more realalistic and gives a time window for plot to develop

well...duh

[Enlong]

Brilliant. But should we devote an enitire branch to social? Maybe we could include more skills under than branch. Like have it make bartering more effective, ect.

I think so, and the Social Branch can split off into various branches of social interaction: diplomacy, intimidation, bluffing....
wait a minute...

[Mr. Zook]

no one mentioned it so i thought i should
yes, i thought, try not to faint

[Corrupted One]

yes, and maybe more


Then let's add more benefits to it. Besides simple persuasion ( and those certain key events when it makes things easier i.e. wrex right before the attack on saren's base) let's add more effective bartering, recruitment of certain characters easier, more money for certain quest, certain quest needed to join certain factions can be skipped via your smooth talking ect.

I guess most if not all of those fall only persuasion but I just wanted to flesh it out a bit more.

[alexeduardo]

Then let's add more benefits to it. Besides simple persuasion ( and those certain key events when it makes things easier i.e. wrex right before the attack on saren's base) let's add more effective bartering, recruitment of certain characters easier, more money for certain quest, certain quest needed to join certain factions can be skipped via your smooth talking ect.

I guess most if not all of those fall only persuasion but I just wanted to flesh it out a bit more.

secondereided

[DraPrime]

Wow, Warty came up with some awesome stuff. Since we've thrown in so much stuff, I wonder, should we keep the platforming or is it becoming kind of unnecessary?

[alexeduardo]

Wow, Warty came up with some awesome stuff. Since we've thrown in so much stuff, I wonder, should we keep the platforming or is it becoming kind of unnecessary?

well, I say we make it a skill tree.

[Mr. Zook]

unnecessary, in my opinion

[Corrupted One]

Wow, Warty came up with some awesome stuff. Since we've thrown in so much stuff, I wonder, should we keep the platforming or is it becoming kind of unnecessary?

I'd forgotten all about it.... Maybe e should scrap it? And are we still using a western theme?

[Setra]

Physical_________________ Spiritual_____________________________Social
Platforming - Killing----Defensive/Healing - Offensive -------Smooth Talk - Bartering

[Enlong]

We could involve a freerunning system like in Assassin's Creed. That way we could make fights happen all over cities, rock formations, and buildings. Imagine hopping up the side of a building, gallavanting from rooftop to rooftop as you try to find cover or high ground. Maybe, I dunno.

[DraPrime]

Here's the thing about the platforming. If we have a party then we can't really platform, since the party members will have to follow. And it's going to be really irritating if the AI is screwing up, so if we do have platforming, we gotta get rid of the party. Honestly I kind of feel that platforming is kind of unneeded now that we have so much more, including the whole "split god" plot.

[Setra]

We could involve a freerunning system like in Assassin's Creed. That way we could make fights happen all over cities, rock formations, and buildings. Imagine hopping up the side of a building, gallavanting from rooftop to rooftop as you try to find cover or high ground. Maybe, I dunno.

Sounds good to me

[alexeduardo]

unnecessary, in my opinion

well, so is healing powers if you want to play a hired gun, but that doesn't mean we should drop them

[DraPrime]

We could involve a freerunning system like in Assassin's Creed. That way we could make fights happen all over cities, rock formations, and buildings. Imagine hopping up the side of a building, gallavanting from rooftop to rooftop as you try to find cover or high ground. Maybe, I dunno.

Genius! In fact I remember mentioning AC in the original platforming suggestion.

[Battlefield]

Will there be different options of meleeing? (like punching, hitting with gun, lead pipe, fence post) or will it be mostly-ranged-but-here's-a-crowbar-in-case-you-run-out-of-ammo-or-you-like-to-melee-occasionally?


And would being Friendless count as a trauma?


IDEAS:

Guns do high damage, and have great range, but are slow to reload. (you can fix it with clips and revolvers.)

Melee weapons do okay damage, last a LONG time, and are fast. (differs between kinds)

Dual weilding lowers accuracy of guns and damage of melee weapons.


I vote for PC, 360, and a port to PS3.

EDIT: Make the party members follow your example (using your footholds to get up)

[Corrupted One]

Here's the thing about the platforming. If we have a party then we can't really platform, since the party members will have to follow. And it's going to be really irritating if the AI is screwing up, so if we do have platforming, we gotta get rid of the party. Honestly I kind of feel that platforming is kind of unneeded now that we have so much more, including the whole "split god" plot.


Seconded. Maybe some ladder climbing and basic jumping but nothing on par with AC. For reasons already stated by Dragonprime

[Corrupted One]

Will there be different options of meleeing? (like punching, hitting with gun, lead pipe, fence post) or will it be mostly-ranged-but-here's-a-crowbar-in-case-you-run-out-of-ammo-or-you-like-to-melee-occasionally?


And would being Friendless count as a trauma?


IDEAS:

Guns do high damage, and have great range, but are slow to reload. (you can fix it with clips and revolvers.)

Melee weapons do okay damage, last a LONG time, and are fast. (differs between kinds)

Dual weilding lowers accuracy of guns and damage of melee weapons.


I vote for PC, 360, and a port to PS3.


As far as melle goes are we keeping the swords? Or getting rid of them in an effort to tone down the influence of the Dark Ages?

[DraPrime]

I think we need to get a comprehensive list of the backgrounds we have so far. I wasn't around when they were made, so I wont do it. Instead I'll re-post the plot.


I'm gonna try to summarize the plot (as I'd like it to be) so far as best I can. Tell me if I missed anything.

B is an exorcist. While performing an exorcism he finds out from a spirit that God has had a split in personalities. One is very strict on the rules, while the other is very lax. This troubles B greatly, and he eventually informs somebody. At first he isn't believed, but eventually more evidence (possibly an increased amount of monsters and spirits) shows that he's right, and people believe him. Full blown war in the the church starts. Corrupt church members on each side will attempt to manipulate this to destroy opposing factions, and to gain more power for themselves. B has the option of doing the following:

Allow the Forgiver to come into power
Allow the Destroyer to come into power
Attempt to restore the original personality of the god (probably leads to a temporary fix)
Kill the god
eliminate the church, limiting the god's influence in the world

Each decision has consequences of it's own. This will of course get more complex.

And it turns out the split was caused by the church splitting. Two corrupted archbishops fought for power, caused a rift in the church, and as a result the church split and the god, whose personality is shaped by his believers perception of him, split also. Which leaves to the interesting choices of how to end the game none of which leave you with a particularly warm and fuzzy feeling.

[DraPrime]

As far as melle goes are we keeping the swords? Or getting rid of them in an effort to tone down the influence of the Dark Ages?

I thought we were going for a dark ages feel. Or at least I was. I kind of want some sort of Dark Ages/Baroque world.

[alexeduardo]

oh, and some more ideas:

Traumas


Sister died because of you: self-explanatory
Rape: intense distrust/hate of others (maybe you could choose which way to channel it)
Molest: whilst not as intense as rape, it certainly gives you a lot of hate. Maybe in this case the perpretrator was a close uncle?
War: well...war
Domestic violence: hate/distrust of men
Friendless: Bonus to int, minus to cha

[DraPrime]

Also we don't need to have a tragedy in B's past. I just feel like we're cranking up the angst too much. We could have it as an option when designing character past, or maybe we could tone down some of these things. I mean, we have domestic violence, molestation, and rape as suggestion.

[alexeduardo]

Also we don't need to have a tragedy in B's past. I just feel like we're cranking up the angst too much. We could have it as an option when designing character past, or maybe we could tone down some of these things. I mean, we have domestic violence, molestation, and rape as suggestion.

well, you could not have all the bonuses assosiated with a trauma in exchange for extra cha.
but why would you ever do that?:smallamused:

[Corrupted One]

I think we need to get a comprehensive list of the backgrounds we have so far. I wasn't around when they were made, so I wont do it. Instead I'll re-post the plot.


I'm gonna try to summarize the plot (as I'd like it to be) so far as best I can. Tell me if I missed anything.

B is an exorcist. While performing an exorcism he finds out from a spirit that God has had a split in personalities. One is very strict on the rules, while the other is very lax. This troubles B greatly, and he eventually informs somebody. At first he isn't believed, but eventually more evidence (possibly an increased amount of monsters and spirits) shows that he's right, and people believe him. Full blown war in the the church starts. Corrupt church members on each side will attempt to manipulate this to destroy opposing factions, and to gain more power for themselves. B has the option of doing the following:

Allow the Forgiver to come into power
Allow the Destroyer to come into power
Attempt to restore the original personality of the god (probably leads to a temporary fix)
Kill the god
eliminate the church, limiting the god's influence in the world

Each decision has consequences of it's own. This will of course get more complex.

And it turns out the split was caused by the church splitting. Two corrupted archbishops fought for power, caused a rift in the church, and as a result the church split and the god, whose personality is shaped by his believers perception of him, split also. Which leaves to the interesting choices of how to end the game none of which leave you with a particularly warm and fuzzy feeling.

We don't really have a definite list but I will re-post the few I suggested earlier.

Exorcist (specializing in magic if we have it): You are exorcising a spirit when it informs you of the split god and the danger it presents.

Paladin Type Foot Soldier ( specializing in sword and other melee weapons): You are investigating all the recent appearances of monsters and after destroying a particularly powerful one and before it dies it tells you of the split and you notice it and some of the other looks strangely human.


Priest ( specializing in.. um... anyone wanna help me out on this one?): Similiar to the exorcism but instead a lady runs to the church. Asking for help. She looks to be in a great deal of pain and has trouble speaking. She says something about the split and then mutates into a monster. In a painful realistic way ( come on guys let's earn that M rating!).


Help would be appreciated along with any critic you guys think I need to make.

[DraPrime]

well, you could not have all the bonuses assosiated with a trauma in exchange for extra cha.
but why would you ever do that?:smallamused:

It's just that I feel like the game is getting TOO dark. While we agreed to have this game to be serious, it shouldn't be too serious. Otherwise it's gonna clash way too much with the occasional humor we plan on having.

[alexeduardo]

Traumas as of now
Sister died because of you: self-explanatory
Rape: intense distrust/hate of others (maybe you could choose which way to channel it)
Molest: whilst not as intense as rape, it certainly gives you a lot of hate. Maybe in this case the perpretrator was a close uncle?
War: well...war
Domestic violence: hate/distrust of men
Friendless: Bonus to int, minus to cha

Childhoods

Rich Kid: your family was well conected and influential, as a result you didn't see much of the world and had a lot of trouble leaving the family bussiness (which could very well be a mob)
Proletariat: Your fathers and you worked on the big city as repressed workers, as a result, you know a lot about fighting and humility. You eventually left, though, after the revolution stroke and liberated you all, but took yourparents and your job with it

[Sneak]

Now that I think about it, actually, I think we can make the Western theme work. The beginning of the game takes place in a less populated, more deserty and small-towny area, perhaps with the majority of the people as followers of the stricter side. They at first don't believe the split and denounce the player as a heretic. But as the player gains influence, he makes his way across the country eventually to the capital, the forefront of the religious schism, where the two sides of the church have their HQs. In the capital, there will be much more political intrigue and opportunities for the player.

And damn, this thread is moving fast! :O

[Corrupted One]

Also we don't need to have a tragedy in B's past. I just feel like we're cranking up the angst too much. We could have it as an option when designing character past, or maybe we could tone down some of these things. I mean, we have domestic violence, molestation, and rape as suggestion.

Let's tone it down a bit. Make the trauma slightly less traumatic?

[alexeduardo]

It's just that I feel like the game is getting TOO dark. While we agreed to have this game to be serious, it shouldn't be too serious. Otherwise it's gonna clash way too much with the occasional humor we plan on having.

It's not gonna clash, it's gonna enter a territory seldom used.
the dark humour zone

[DraPrime]

Also, what sort of setting is this world? I've already stated that I want a kind of dark ages/baroque look to it, but what do you all want?

[alexeduardo]

Now that I think about it, actually, I think we can make the Western theme work. The beginning of the game takes place in a less populated, more deserty and small-towny area, perhaps with the majority of the people as followers of the stricter side. They at first don't believe the split and denounce the player as a heretic. But as the player gains influence, he makes his way across the country eventually to the capital, the forefront of the religious schism, where the two sides of the church have their HQs. In the capital, there will be much more political intrigue and opportunities for the player.

And damn, this thread is moving fast! :O

I agree, would be even better if a proletariat character had a lot of contacts and bonuses on the city.

btw, you do agree on the background generation thing, right?

[Enlong]

It's not gonna clash, it's gonna enter a territory seldom used.
the dark humour zone

I fully support this option, mainly because that is the path taken by Portal.

[Corrupted One]

Also, what sort of setting is this world? I've already stated that I want a kind of dark ages/baroque look to it, but what do you all want?


Me too. With a decent dose of western and the slightest hint of inquisitional insanely powerful church times.

[DraPrime]

It's not gonna clash, it's gonna enter a territory seldom used.
the dark humour zone

But how far will we go? Jokes about rape or domestic violence just seem inappropriate.

[alexeduardo]

Make the trauma slightly less traumatic?

like what?

[String]

I was under the impression that we were still on Western.

[Sneak]

In my opinion, things like rape, domestic violence, and molestation are very dangerous territory, and honestly, I'd rather not go there. It has the possibility to offend MANY people if not written correctly, and I don't think it would really bring anything to the table that we need.

Trauma is okay, but something that serious is a VERY delicate matter, and I think it'd just be best to steer clear.

[alexeduardo]

Jokes about rape or domestic violence just seem inappropriate.

Well, it's what I came up with. But then again, my sick, sick mind can only go so far. do you have any ideas??

[DraPrime]

I fully support this option, mainly because that is the path taken by Portal.

But portal was a silly game to start. Yes, there was a computer trying to kill you, but you never take it seriously. This however involves a god going insane and causing a massive civil war. That's pretty serious. I'm not saying no to dark humor, but we really shouldn't do it about traumatic experiences such as being raped.

[Enlong]

But portal was a silly game to start. Yes, there was a computer trying to kill you, but you never take it seriously. This however involves a god going insane and causing a massive civil war. That's pretty serious. I'm not saying no to dark humor, but we really shouldn't do it about traumatic experiences such as being raped.

Woah. I only agreed to the dark humor aspect. Nothing else.

[alexeduardo]

we really shouldn't do it about traumatic experiences such as being raped.

okay, let's hear your ideas then!

[Setra]

But portal was a silly game to start. Yes, there was a computer trying to kill you, but you never take it seriously. This however involves a god going insane and causing a massive civil war. That's pretty serious. I'm not saying no to dark humor, but we really shouldn't do it about traumatic experiences such as being raped.
I fully agree with this.

However just because it is in game doesn't mean it is to be joked about.

[Battlefield]

MORE IDEAS:

Make HP relevant to how good he does an action. If B has his hand chopped off and internal hemmoraging, he'll probably fail jumping over a 20 ft ravine.

I agree with having a party, but no automatic allies. If you want help, you have to go find it. and Yes to Online Co-op


Also, Death. and Tutorials. and the DUNGEON OF 1000 LEVELS.

[Sneak]

If there really MUST be trauma, perhaps it could be that B was trying to exorcise someone but was unable to, and they had to be "put down," and he/she blames himself for the death.

Honestly, though, I'd rather have the main character be trauma free. Wangst is not really my type of thing. I feel like humor in a dark world can be a good thing, but if the main character is full of angst, there's not much possibility for humor, unless you're looking to parody angst-filled characters.

[Corrupted One]

like what?


Well let's make them more in synch with the storyline. Any past is of course going to effect the storyline because they affect the hero, but maybe we should make them having to do with spirits,the church, monsters,ect.?

[alexeduardo]

other sidequest ideas:

-some nymph wants you to take out a high-ranking spirit that has no interest in her

-you find out that the one who raped/molested you...is the mayor of Capital City

-you enlist in the army...as a mercenary

[DraPrime]

I'm saying that traumatic experiences be left to the player's imagination. I only played Mass Effect a bit, but if I recall correctly the background was fairly vague, and left a lot to your imagination. That's what we should do here. Have some specific stuff, but not much. And do we really need trauma? We have an omnipotent being going INSANE, and an ending that isn't really at all that happy. So I think we should leave any trauma up to the player's imagination.

edit: Sneak said what I was trying to say. We really don't need an angsty main character in an already dark world.

[alexeduardo]

Well let's make them more in synch with the storyline. Any past is of course going to effect the storyline because they affect the hero, but maybe we should make them having to do with spirits,the church, monsters,ect.?

ok then. No rape.
(you whiner)