A Distant Memory
(Working title, of course).
Inspiration
I've been using RPG Maker for years now, and RMXP since near enough its release.
However I've never been able to commit myself to a project, probably because I was young, and impatient. And mainly because I had no ideas, and when I did occasionally get an idea, it was cliché or uninteresting.
However, when I had the idea for this game, I realised that this was what I'd wanted to do for so long. Although I can't use RPG Maker XP really well, I can get by; which in a way makes this project both a challenge and feasible at the same time. So what exactly is this project? Well, I'll tell you...
The Project
The project itself is designed to primarily take place from the point of view of an unnamed female heroine, whom adopts the name Lurker. Lurker has no memory of anything from her life, not due to amnesia or anything of that sort. She simply has nothing to remember, as all of her life prior to the games beginning was devoid of anything. She simply recalls an endless abyss when she tries to remember anything from her past. The project is about Lurker trying to figure out both the meaning of her existence, and unravelling the past of the disturbing, warped castle she now finds herself trapped in. And as she ventures deeper into the mazelike castle, she finds herself slowly descending into a horrific vortex of chaotic madness.
Setting
The project is set in and around a huge, ancient castle, which used to be a thriving citadel upon the borders of two countries; but a strange occurrence took place on a midsummer night, where upon all the citizens of the castle disappeared.
The locations within the game would include:
Two watchtowers, one much larger than the other.
A small village nestled within an expansive forest.
A large gatehouse, at the castle walls.
An island within a large lake, and an underground mining network.
A hedge maze, within the castle gardens.
And of course the castle itself.
I've created a basic plan for the schematics of the first three areas you encounter in the game: (And when I say basic I mean basic)
Warning. Big image is big.
The map is to scale within itself (In the sense that the room size for one area, is at the same proportion to another).
The areas go in the order that you'll play them (Left to right)
And as you can see they gain more complex and 'mazelike' as they go along. The doors obviously won't all be unlocked from the start, but they are all the usable doors. As the Northern tower would be highly impractical if its doors were as they are marked. But the doors that have broken or are simply unusable have not been marked.
Tomorrow I will add in a history for each of the locations and possibly do more maps. (It depends on the weather :thumb: )
Of course this is no substitute for real mapping; but Alas, this is merely a concept; and I would like to design my game before I begin making it.
How would the game work?
Well, as I'm sure you can imagine the game would feature fair amount of Puzzles etc. But one of my main ideas for the game is to have a "Soul Swap" type feature, where Lurker can adopt the souls of the departed, and relive a certain part of their lives. This can be used to solve puzzles within the game, and also to gain a further understanding of the characters back-story. Along side this, would hopefully be some kind of evasion system, in order to survive being caught by a Vengeful Ghost, (As I cannot think of any feasible way to incorporate a kind of battle system into the game, but this will hopefully be overridden by the features I plan to introduce in its stead). I will now summarise the main features of the game.
Fighting Ghosts
'Soul Swapping'
Who would be in the game?
Well character wise, I believe at the moment, the only living character would be the protagonist, Lurker. Having said that, as I've already stated, I think that a feature of the game would be to take control of deceased characters.
Along with the obvious ghost characters, who would try to hinder Lurker's progress and cause her harm; there would also be more passive spirits, who are unaware of Lurker's presence within the Castle. The actual characters who Lurker interacts with, and relives moments from their lives, would be the more influential characters within the plot. Once I have the plot more fleshed out, I could begin on character summaries, but at this stage that would seem futile.
In answer to concerns
Any concerns will be addressed here. (The actual comments can be found in subsequent posts):
So in conclusion
I can't think of much else to put right now, as this is simply just a concept, for what is hopefully a unique and intriguing idea.
I would love to get some feedback, criticism and advice; and hopefully I will one day be able to create a game, which is in essence of my original idea.
(None of the names are definite, and certainly need improving)
(Working title, of course).
Inspiration
I've been using RPG Maker for years now, and RMXP since near enough its release.
However I've never been able to commit myself to a project, probably because I was young, and impatient. And mainly because I had no ideas, and when I did occasionally get an idea, it was cliché or uninteresting.
However, when I had the idea for this game, I realised that this was what I'd wanted to do for so long. Although I can't use RPG Maker XP really well, I can get by; which in a way makes this project both a challenge and feasible at the same time. So what exactly is this project? Well, I'll tell you...
The Project
The project itself is designed to primarily take place from the point of view of an unnamed female heroine, whom adopts the name Lurker. Lurker has no memory of anything from her life, not due to amnesia or anything of that sort. She simply has nothing to remember, as all of her life prior to the games beginning was devoid of anything. She simply recalls an endless abyss when she tries to remember anything from her past. The project is about Lurker trying to figure out both the meaning of her existence, and unravelling the past of the disturbing, warped castle she now finds herself trapped in. And as she ventures deeper into the mazelike castle, she finds herself slowly descending into a horrific vortex of chaotic madness.
Setting
The project is set in and around a huge, ancient castle, which used to be a thriving citadel upon the borders of two countries; but a strange occurrence took place on a midsummer night, where upon all the citizens of the castle disappeared.
The locations within the game would include:
Two watchtowers, one much larger than the other.
A small village nestled within an expansive forest.
A large gatehouse, at the castle walls.
An island within a large lake, and an underground mining network.
A hedge maze, within the castle gardens.
And of course the castle itself.
I've created a basic plan for the schematics of the first three areas you encounter in the game: (And when I say basic I mean basic)
Warning. Big image is big.
The map is to scale within itself (In the sense that the room size for one area, is at the same proportion to another).
The areas go in the order that you'll play them (Left to right)
And as you can see they gain more complex and 'mazelike' as they go along. The doors obviously won't all be unlocked from the start, but they are all the usable doors. As the Northern tower would be highly impractical if its doors were as they are marked. But the doors that have broken or are simply unusable have not been marked.
Tomorrow I will add in a history for each of the locations and possibly do more maps. (It depends on the weather :thumb: )
Of course this is no substitute for real mapping; but Alas, this is merely a concept; and I would like to design my game before I begin making it.
How would the game work?
Well, as I'm sure you can imagine the game would feature fair amount of Puzzles etc. But one of my main ideas for the game is to have a "Soul Swap" type feature, where Lurker can adopt the souls of the departed, and relive a certain part of their lives. This can be used to solve puzzles within the game, and also to gain a further understanding of the characters back-story. Along side this, would hopefully be some kind of evasion system, in order to survive being caught by a Vengeful Ghost, (As I cannot think of any feasible way to incorporate a kind of battle system into the game, but this will hopefully be overridden by the features I plan to introduce in its stead). I will now summarise the main features of the game.
Fighting Ghosts
During the course of the game, the player would encounter a host of different spirits, and will have to use his/her initiative in order to get the best of the attacking ghosts. For example, (And this is a very rough example) 'Lurker' is trapped in a large room, and the only way to get out of the room is through a locked door, to which she doesn't have the key. She isn't alone in the room however, as there is a ghost in the room with her, trying to find her. The player would have to sneak to the door, use the environment to create a loud noise, which would attract the attention of the ghost, quickly hide so she isn't spotted; and the ghost would open the door, thinking Lurker has escaped the room. So I'd hope for there to be many different encounters with the deceased inhabitants of the castle, and over the process of the game the encounters would become more frequent and deadlier.
At the beginning of the game, the player wouldn't have too hard of a time avoiding vengeful spirits; for example One of the first types of malevolent forces she would encounter, would simply be an animated suit of armour (Or something of that ilk) And surely enough, the Armour would be very slow, and unable to track Lurker easily. So you could simply outrun it, or hide if there was nowhere to escape to; and the armour would be unable to keep up with you, or find you, so it will lose interest and leave, giving the player an opportunity to escape. However, the later incarnations of ghosts are much more tenacious and deadly. Even a seemingly harmless character, such as a small child would become a very dangerous adversary, since the threat a ghost poses to Lurker, is not based upon their strength, but the speed it takes it to find Lurker, and has fast it can chase her.
Therefore, Lurker cannot 'fight' with the ghosts, she must merely try and escape or deceive them.
At the beginning of the game, the player wouldn't have too hard of a time avoiding vengeful spirits; for example One of the first types of malevolent forces she would encounter, would simply be an animated suit of armour (Or something of that ilk) And surely enough, the Armour would be very slow, and unable to track Lurker easily. So you could simply outrun it, or hide if there was nowhere to escape to; and the armour would be unable to keep up with you, or find you, so it will lose interest and leave, giving the player an opportunity to escape. However, the later incarnations of ghosts are much more tenacious and deadly. Even a seemingly harmless character, such as a small child would become a very dangerous adversary, since the threat a ghost poses to Lurker, is not based upon their strength, but the speed it takes it to find Lurker, and has fast it can chase her.
Therefore, Lurker cannot 'fight' with the ghosts, she must merely try and escape or deceive them.
Although I say swap, I used that term purely for alliteration. It's more like 'Spirit Hijacking'. This feature would allow Lurker to control a Spirit, in order to either attempt to solve a puzzle, or in an attempt to learn more about the events that took place, prior to the 'incident'. Lurker would only be able to use the ability once per spirit; and she can only perform it on Spirits who are integral to the plot of the story. And in order to use this ability she must first find an object, which is of great importance to the spirit in question. For example, a wedding ring. Once the player has found the item, they would then need to head to a location where the passive spirit of the character they wish to 'Hijack' (The skill does not work on attacking ghosts). Then the player will take on the role of the ghost that they have inhabited, upon an important day within their lives (In relation to the Castle's ending). The player can now attempt to solve any puzzles preventing Lurker from progressing further, or talk to other people, to learn more about what happened. However, this does not come without a 'catch'. First of all, the player must have paid attention to any notes that have been left around the castle, and observe passive ghost encounters carefully; as Lurker must fulfil anything chronicled within the castles history, as she cannot change anything within its history that has been chronicled. For example, whilst she could unlock a door, by using a ghost, she cannot then have that character explore the castle, never having a conversation with that guard, which he'd wrote about in his diary. (Again that was a crude example, but I hope I got my point across). There is also a time limit on how long Lurker has to fulfil the task; alongside anything else the player wishes to do. That isn't the only downside to using the Swapping feature; the spirit automatically becomes aware of your presence, following the channelling, and becomes malevolent. Whilst it would be possible to solve the puzzles within the castle without using this feature, it would make certain puzzles easier, and you'd be able to follow the story of the game more easily. However, it does mean that you'd have more attacking ghosts roaming around the castle.
Who would be in the game?
Well character wise, I believe at the moment, the only living character would be the protagonist, Lurker. Having said that, as I've already stated, I think that a feature of the game would be to take control of deceased characters.
Along with the obvious ghost characters, who would try to hinder Lurker's progress and cause her harm; there would also be more passive spirits, who are unaware of Lurker's presence within the Castle. The actual characters who Lurker interacts with, and relives moments from their lives, would be the more influential characters within the plot. Once I have the plot more fleshed out, I could begin on character summaries, but at this stage that would seem futile.
In answer to concerns
Any concerns will be addressed here. (The actual comments can be found in subsequent posts):
On regards to the location: The game will hopefully have a large variety of different locations. Although all of them will be within a relatively close space. Places such as the village would have existed long before the Castle; and it has reappeared for unknown reasons (These reasons will be established in game; they are just unknown to me at this moment XD) so naturally this environment will differ greatly from the castle environment. I also realise that I use the term "Castle" a lot; although I am not completely educated on every single type of castle; I'd imagine that the castle for this game; would simply be for defensive purposes. As it is on the border between another country, I would think that building a vast city in this location would not be within the best interests of the host country, should war break out. And whilst I intend for a small township located within the castle walls; this isn't intended to be one of the main areas in the game. Now returning to the realm of 'Repetitive locations', as I have previously stated (I think) all the different areas will be set in a different time period; reinacting events leading up to, ultimately the destruction (Not literary in some cases) of that area. Therefore, it will be paramount that I ensure that all different areas have a unique style to them, and so the player does not get bored by exploring very similar environments. Also I really do not intend to use RTP for this game, I hope to be able to get Tilesets, which will fit the criteria much more.
Now onto the topic of plot.
This could be a disastrous choice on my own behalf; but I do not wish to spoon feed the player the storyline. I want to have a sense of mystery throughout the game; and have the player have to explore the locations; stumbling across diary excerpts, triggering relapses of events that occurred in the past and obviously through soul swapping. Not only will the player learn about events that have occurred in the game's history, but also they will also slowly uncover clues as to who Lurker actually is.
I also do not want to make Lurker's past the main driving force of the game; I would hopefully like to make her past, (or lack of) more of a sub-plot. But not a sub-plot in the conventional terms. I don't want to give the players any direct answers as to who she is. I will hint at possibilities throughout the story; but the player will need to analyse (Not to vast extents) different things during exploration, (Without simply following the main story) travelling back to previsited places, searching for answers. And I will not set in stone who she is. I will merely give suggestions littered throughout the game, and it is up to the player to make the decision for themselves.
And now onto the ghosts themselves. Whilst I hate the terms: 'Ghosts', 'spirits' etc. that is what they are; so whilst I will probably refrain from use of that word in game, I will use it whilst explaining the game (If that makes sense).
On the topic of how long ghosts will attempt to follow you. I think that certain ghosts will have the ability to follow you from extended periods of time; until they lose sight of you.
There will also be two types of vengeful ghosts. One of these types will be ghosts who play a role within the story. These ghosts appear at certain intervals; and can be exorcised if a player finds an item relevant to their death. And there are also random spirits; these spirits are more background characters; whom cannot be exorcised permanently, and their back-story isn't nearly as developed. But they are much easier to evade, but they appear more frequently.
And also, In regards to the time limit on Soul Swapping; although I am not a huge fan of that idea myself, I want to create a sense of urgency during this aspect of the game; as otherwise it wouldn't blend in with the rest of the game play, (As the spirit you control isn't in the same peril Lurker is).
Also I hope that having he timer would add some form of replay value to the game. As if I execute the story correctly, hopefully people will replay it to find out more.
I've probably missed out many little points, but I hope I've come up with some form of resolution to all of your concerns. Let me know if you're unhappy by these decisions in any way. After all, if I do make this game; it'll be for you guys, the players, not for me :]
Now onto the topic of plot.
This could be a disastrous choice on my own behalf; but I do not wish to spoon feed the player the storyline. I want to have a sense of mystery throughout the game; and have the player have to explore the locations; stumbling across diary excerpts, triggering relapses of events that occurred in the past and obviously through soul swapping. Not only will the player learn about events that have occurred in the game's history, but also they will also slowly uncover clues as to who Lurker actually is.
I also do not want to make Lurker's past the main driving force of the game; I would hopefully like to make her past, (or lack of) more of a sub-plot. But not a sub-plot in the conventional terms. I don't want to give the players any direct answers as to who she is. I will hint at possibilities throughout the story; but the player will need to analyse (Not to vast extents) different things during exploration, (Without simply following the main story) travelling back to previsited places, searching for answers. And I will not set in stone who she is. I will merely give suggestions littered throughout the game, and it is up to the player to make the decision for themselves.
And now onto the ghosts themselves. Whilst I hate the terms: 'Ghosts', 'spirits' etc. that is what they are; so whilst I will probably refrain from use of that word in game, I will use it whilst explaining the game (If that makes sense).
On the topic of how long ghosts will attempt to follow you. I think that certain ghosts will have the ability to follow you from extended periods of time; until they lose sight of you.
There will also be two types of vengeful ghosts. One of these types will be ghosts who play a role within the story. These ghosts appear at certain intervals; and can be exorcised if a player finds an item relevant to their death. And there are also random spirits; these spirits are more background characters; whom cannot be exorcised permanently, and their back-story isn't nearly as developed. But they are much easier to evade, but they appear more frequently.
And also, In regards to the time limit on Soul Swapping; although I am not a huge fan of that idea myself, I want to create a sense of urgency during this aspect of the game; as otherwise it wouldn't blend in with the rest of the game play, (As the spirit you control isn't in the same peril Lurker is).
Also I hope that having he timer would add some form of replay value to the game. As if I execute the story correctly, hopefully people will replay it to find out more.
I've probably missed out many little points, but I hope I've come up with some form of resolution to all of your concerns. Let me know if you're unhappy by these decisions in any way. After all, if I do make this game; it'll be for you guys, the players, not for me :]
So in conclusion
I can't think of much else to put right now, as this is simply just a concept, for what is hopefully a unique and intriguing idea.
I would love to get some feedback, criticism and advice; and hopefully I will one day be able to create a game, which is in essence of my original idea.
(None of the names are definite, and certainly need improving)