OK, I think I've done enough of the writing to give people a nice taste of what's gonna go on. I've been, over the last few months, rolling over many ideas, and I think I've struck a nice one to develop. The more constructive feedback the better, so don't be shy with criticism. And don't be afraid to ask questions, as long as they wouldn't give away spoilers.
___________________________________________
I. ~STORY~
___________________________________________
As I gaze at myself within the lake,
A man with no face returns my gaze.
Is it he who is the doppelganger,
Or is it I?
~From the Journal of a Mad Abbot
They say that rumors spread faster than light itself. So, too, does curiousity spread...and a human will perform irrationaly for the sake of his curiousity.
When an ancient prison in East Yestra was uncovered by archaeologists, it became host to the latest rumor...and the latest curiousity. Six scientists of various forensic backgrounds entered the prison, but only one returned.
Rumors said, he killed every last one of his comrades, with his bare hands.
There was a criminal investigation, but the only evidence obtained was blood from the scientist's coat, which tested positive for several, but not all, of the scientists. The bodies of the scientists were still missing, and the search party meant to find them had been long lost. The case was dismissed due to lack of conclusive evidence, as the police force did not wish to send in a team; they were dealing with a major riot and needed all their manpower. When approached by the media, the scientist, Jack Rhuebard, seemed not to be able to speak.
As dust accumulated around the site, it was quickly forgotten. For a rumor is like a breeze; it sweeps through its motions, and then quiets itself.
It is 1023 P.M. (Post-Metempsychosis, the current time period within the world of Dys, a parallel world to our own) Five months have passed since the incident, and the world has moved on to more current issues. However, it was not quite forgotten. This is the story of The Boy who Remembered, and the twisted personage that would send him running through past generations to rediscover his sanity.
____________________________________________
II. ~CHARACTERS~
____________________________________________
(Initial party only, other characters will join and leave along the way)
Samael Lechre VI
The main character of the game. Sam is a mediocre student, and despises sports of most kinds. The only talent he feels he is proficient at is his singing. He is also a third-degree blackbelt, and has developed his own unique fighting style he satirically calls "Owninub". He does not appear to have any plans for the future, yet he is bored of the present and wishes his future to come sooner. Although his name has been passed down through several generations, he feels no pressure to continue a legacy.
Sam, being proficient in self-defence, mainly uses his body as a weapon, wearing various types of gloves to improve his force impact.
Sam's strengths and abilities are based on decisions made in the beginning of the game.
Lynn Barber
Lynn is Sam's classmate. She is not particularly smart, but she is very hard-working and diligent, making her an overachiever. She is a master of anatomy and can send a person to sleep merely by pinching a nerve. She tends to be a bit bossy, but when she is contradicted she often weakens.
Lynn uses knives in battle. Her anatomical preciseness makes her exact on the offensive, but she tends to be quite vulnerable to enemy attack. She is strong in Dexterity and weak in Vitality. Her abilities are based on her talent to strike specific areas of the body for different effects.
Jack "Fatality" Farland
Jack is the school's token angst machine. Nothing gets by him that he doesn't either complain about or poke fun at. Rumors say, he once had a crush on a girl and attempted to become her boyfriend, but because he was forgetful and was poor at communicating his feelings, she slowly drifted away from him. Students speculate that this incident is the reason for his cynicism. Now, he tries to vent his frustration by fencing. His nickname was given to him when he almost killed an opponent who was taunting him with his female failure.
Jack wields dual swords in battle; initially the two lucky wooden swords given to him by a best friend. Despite complaining, he is surprisingly tough and can take many blows. He is strong in Vitality and weak in Intelligence. His abilities mainly consist of complaining at an enemy to make them lethargic.
Doctor Logan
Sam's History teacher and the one who had the idea to allow the class to volunteer a location for a field trip. He did not expect a unanimous vote for the grim prison. Oddly, he majored in Psychology. His personality often shifts from being protective to being cowardly. He has a profound respect for all his students, no matter how often they may piss him off.
Doc Logan wields a large stick found near the prison's entrance. He has some unknown power within him that urges to be released, yet he dismisses it as being "bad gas". He is strong in Intelligence and weak in Strength.
____________________________________________
III. ~GAMEPLAY~
____________________________________________
Gameplay is traditional RPG fare with a twist, with some adventure elements added in.
My vision for systems are pretty grand, but I doubt they will be created; I'm no programmer, and really good ones who would work on a project like this are hard to come by. I'll make due with what I can get.
Basically, in my ideal battle system, a character has PS and MS, Physical Stamina and Mental Stamina.
If PS gets too low, the character's physical traits (strength, agility, vitality) will be crippled, and there is a chance they will develop physical injuries such as "Infection" (No physical skills can be used and damage is taken over time). If PS reaches 0, the character will become Comatose, and will not be able to perform in battle. A Comatose state is healed after battle, but there are also skills that allow a character to be restored mid-battle.
If MS gets too low, the character's mental traits (willpower, dexterity) will be crippled, and there is a chance they will develop mental injuries such as "Insanity" (Only physical skills can be used, and character has chance of attacking party). If MS reaches 0, the character will become Soulless, and will not be able to perform in battle. A Soulless state does not heal after battle and is costlier to restore than a Comatose state.
A character can still be damaged for half normal damage in MS when Comatose and PS when Soulless. If both PS and MS reach 0, the character will be Dead. Death is VERY difficult to cure. The skills for restoring this state are very high-tier and sometimes come with bad side effects (like lowering a stat of the dead character permanently). The only way to be certain a dead character will not awake weaker than before is to take him to an altar. The spirits will charge you greatly to revive your character. Because Death is so tricky, always try to protect characters in a Comatose or Soulless state.
Most skills will cost you either PS or MS. Physical skills, which use a weapon, take up PS, Mental skills, which use mindpower and residual magic, take up MS, and Tactical skills, which are skills specific to a character, use a bit of both. The basic skill in all three categories is weak but will cost you no PS/MS.
Skills are learned by equipping Genochym, substances that add lines of genes to a character's DNA. The Genochym are residue left by the otherworldy residents, and contain fragments of their mind and soul. All Genochyms start out with only 1 skill; but once the skill is Memorized by using it a certain number of times, the next skill in line becomes available. Characters can initially equip 2, but the number increases after certain events. Once all skills in a Genochym have been Memorized, a new skill becomes available. This skill will allow you to summon the Body of the Genochym to merge with the Mind and Soul trapped within the Genochym. They tend to be powerful, but drain a large amount of PS and MS compared to standard skills. In addition, summoning them too often in one battle may cause the Genochym to shatter, making it impossible to summon the being again unless another enemy drops the same Genochym.
This is all just speculation on my part and likely won't happen. However, if I can find a programmer that would be willing to do all this, I'd be extremely grateful.
___________________________________________
I. ~STORY~
___________________________________________
As I gaze at myself within the lake,
A man with no face returns my gaze.
Is it he who is the doppelganger,
Or is it I?
~From the Journal of a Mad Abbot
They say that rumors spread faster than light itself. So, too, does curiousity spread...and a human will perform irrationaly for the sake of his curiousity.
When an ancient prison in East Yestra was uncovered by archaeologists, it became host to the latest rumor...and the latest curiousity. Six scientists of various forensic backgrounds entered the prison, but only one returned.
Rumors said, he killed every last one of his comrades, with his bare hands.
There was a criminal investigation, but the only evidence obtained was blood from the scientist's coat, which tested positive for several, but not all, of the scientists. The bodies of the scientists were still missing, and the search party meant to find them had been long lost. The case was dismissed due to lack of conclusive evidence, as the police force did not wish to send in a team; they were dealing with a major riot and needed all their manpower. When approached by the media, the scientist, Jack Rhuebard, seemed not to be able to speak.
As dust accumulated around the site, it was quickly forgotten. For a rumor is like a breeze; it sweeps through its motions, and then quiets itself.
It is 1023 P.M. (Post-Metempsychosis, the current time period within the world of Dys, a parallel world to our own) Five months have passed since the incident, and the world has moved on to more current issues. However, it was not quite forgotten. This is the story of The Boy who Remembered, and the twisted personage that would send him running through past generations to rediscover his sanity.
____________________________________________
II. ~CHARACTERS~
____________________________________________
(Initial party only, other characters will join and leave along the way)
Samael Lechre VI
The main character of the game. Sam is a mediocre student, and despises sports of most kinds. The only talent he feels he is proficient at is his singing. He is also a third-degree blackbelt, and has developed his own unique fighting style he satirically calls "Owninub". He does not appear to have any plans for the future, yet he is bored of the present and wishes his future to come sooner. Although his name has been passed down through several generations, he feels no pressure to continue a legacy.
Sam, being proficient in self-defence, mainly uses his body as a weapon, wearing various types of gloves to improve his force impact.
Sam's strengths and abilities are based on decisions made in the beginning of the game.
Lynn Barber
Lynn is Sam's classmate. She is not particularly smart, but she is very hard-working and diligent, making her an overachiever. She is a master of anatomy and can send a person to sleep merely by pinching a nerve. She tends to be a bit bossy, but when she is contradicted she often weakens.
Lynn uses knives in battle. Her anatomical preciseness makes her exact on the offensive, but she tends to be quite vulnerable to enemy attack. She is strong in Dexterity and weak in Vitality. Her abilities are based on her talent to strike specific areas of the body for different effects.
Jack "Fatality" Farland
Jack is the school's token angst machine. Nothing gets by him that he doesn't either complain about or poke fun at. Rumors say, he once had a crush on a girl and attempted to become her boyfriend, but because he was forgetful and was poor at communicating his feelings, she slowly drifted away from him. Students speculate that this incident is the reason for his cynicism. Now, he tries to vent his frustration by fencing. His nickname was given to him when he almost killed an opponent who was taunting him with his female failure.
Jack wields dual swords in battle; initially the two lucky wooden swords given to him by a best friend. Despite complaining, he is surprisingly tough and can take many blows. He is strong in Vitality and weak in Intelligence. His abilities mainly consist of complaining at an enemy to make them lethargic.
Doctor Logan
Sam's History teacher and the one who had the idea to allow the class to volunteer a location for a field trip. He did not expect a unanimous vote for the grim prison. Oddly, he majored in Psychology. His personality often shifts from being protective to being cowardly. He has a profound respect for all his students, no matter how often they may piss him off.
Doc Logan wields a large stick found near the prison's entrance. He has some unknown power within him that urges to be released, yet he dismisses it as being "bad gas". He is strong in Intelligence and weak in Strength.
____________________________________________
III. ~GAMEPLAY~
____________________________________________
Gameplay is traditional RPG fare with a twist, with some adventure elements added in.
My vision for systems are pretty grand, but I doubt they will be created; I'm no programmer, and really good ones who would work on a project like this are hard to come by. I'll make due with what I can get.
Basically, in my ideal battle system, a character has PS and MS, Physical Stamina and Mental Stamina.
If PS gets too low, the character's physical traits (strength, agility, vitality) will be crippled, and there is a chance they will develop physical injuries such as "Infection" (No physical skills can be used and damage is taken over time). If PS reaches 0, the character will become Comatose, and will not be able to perform in battle. A Comatose state is healed after battle, but there are also skills that allow a character to be restored mid-battle.
If MS gets too low, the character's mental traits (willpower, dexterity) will be crippled, and there is a chance they will develop mental injuries such as "Insanity" (Only physical skills can be used, and character has chance of attacking party). If MS reaches 0, the character will become Soulless, and will not be able to perform in battle. A Soulless state does not heal after battle and is costlier to restore than a Comatose state.
A character can still be damaged for half normal damage in MS when Comatose and PS when Soulless. If both PS and MS reach 0, the character will be Dead. Death is VERY difficult to cure. The skills for restoring this state are very high-tier and sometimes come with bad side effects (like lowering a stat of the dead character permanently). The only way to be certain a dead character will not awake weaker than before is to take him to an altar. The spirits will charge you greatly to revive your character. Because Death is so tricky, always try to protect characters in a Comatose or Soulless state.
Most skills will cost you either PS or MS. Physical skills, which use a weapon, take up PS, Mental skills, which use mindpower and residual magic, take up MS, and Tactical skills, which are skills specific to a character, use a bit of both. The basic skill in all three categories is weak but will cost you no PS/MS.
Skills are learned by equipping Genochym, substances that add lines of genes to a character's DNA. The Genochym are residue left by the otherworldy residents, and contain fragments of their mind and soul. All Genochyms start out with only 1 skill; but once the skill is Memorized by using it a certain number of times, the next skill in line becomes available. Characters can initially equip 2, but the number increases after certain events. Once all skills in a Genochym have been Memorized, a new skill becomes available. This skill will allow you to summon the Body of the Genochym to merge with the Mind and Soul trapped within the Genochym. They tend to be powerful, but drain a large amount of PS and MS compared to standard skills. In addition, summoning them too often in one battle may cause the Genochym to shatter, making it impossible to summon the being again unless another enemy drops the same Genochym.
This is all just speculation on my part and likely won't happen. However, if I can find a programmer that would be willing to do all this, I'd be extremely grateful.