For a class at school, I am required to, over the course of the semester, release the first episode of a series of RPGs that I'm making.
Below was the original "One Sheet" Design Document that I wrote to get the game approved by my proctor, spoiler'd for your convienience.
The basic idea of the game is that you play from the perspective of nine individual college students, traversing through 10 episodes of game, plotwise, to be light hearted and funny while still having a sense of mysterious and a dark edge.
Unfortunately, there are a few things I'm having trouble trying to figure out.
Characters
I have no idea what to do as far as the nine characters- what archetypes to use, how to implement them, ect. I figure that the protagonist has to be relatively balanced, but the other characters should be specialized somehow. I have some general ideas, but I figure tht asking people who are either IN college or have graduated would be able to provide better insight to the stereotypes.
The Combat System
While I am tentatively using RPGMaker VX/XP to create the game, I do want to use a Side Battle system similar to the one found in the original Final Fantasy games, and while I know this is do-able, My familiarity with the scripting is very poor. Are their tutorials or examples of the sidebattle script that are avaliable to be looked at?
The other issue I have is with the Overdrive system. Essentially, as characters attack they generate points which fill the Overdrive meter which lets them use specials. This is also in part with the Addition System that I'll be using to generate the multiple attacks.
Example: Character A attacks and has attack options A, B, and C. Each triggers a different reaction command to continue a chain of attacks depending on the specific attack. For each successful hit, Character A gains +X Overdrive points that are put towards special abilities. If the character misses a step in the combo, the combo ends and the next action occurs.
The best way I could think of doing the points would to have abilities replace the generic "Attack" option and Overdrive replace the SP driven abilities, with attacks generating SP for the character. But this doesnt solve the issue of getting the reaction comand system to work either. Are there examples of this, and if not, is it even possible?
Sanity
Because this game has no real "physical" component, Character's health is measured in Sanity. A throwback to Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem for the Gamecube, the game will shift slightly depending on how much sanity the characters have. High Sanity is good, with no changes being made, but lower sanity may hide non-vital items, hopefully causing the player to go "Wait, I thought I had those... weird..." or, at extreme levels, causing a Yume Nikki type "Screamer" to pop up on screen, or the controls might reverse suddenly. Is it possible to code in these effects and tie them to the health of characters?
Travel
Because this is a rather casual RPG, I intend to keep "World Map" travel to a minimum. Is it possible to restrict travel to set linear paths instead of a free roaming environment?
If you have any criticsm, please share it- I've got a few weeks to mess with the ideas and change any factors, and if you can help, thank you in advance- any help I can get from experienced developers would be much appreciated.
-Korias
Below was the original "One Sheet" Design Document that I wrote to get the game approved by my proctor, spoiler'd for your convienience.
Title
(CRAM!)
Genre
Role Playing Game, Single Player
Version
1.4
The Big Idea
A satirical dig at the machinations of high school and college, players are thrown into a world where players take the role of a group of college students during exam week. However, somehow the world is slowly becoming twisted and misshapen due to the interference of a desperate student summoning a disproportionally large number of Shoggoths to help him study for a report on the Necronomicon. As the game progresses, players go from battling pop quizzes and tests to creatures of the Lovcraftian Mythos, a slow descent into sanity while still maintain a light hearted outlook, as characters still use their various skills of Trigonometry, Biology, Chemistry, Philosophy, and other school subjects to defeat the horrors.
Category
Dark Humorous RPG
Platforms
Computer and DS Via 3rd party storage card
License
Designed to be an Episodic series, CRAM: Mindbreaker gives players a chance to experience a break from the tedium that school creates while still giving players a sense of danger and urgency that would otherwise be absent from a game without a dire element. The entire game is focused on a psychological fight, so traditional elements and statistics are eschewed for more esoteric aspects. The game can release a number of sequels, either detailing how the story progresses after sealing away the Shoggoth or from the different viewpoints of other characters. Part Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem, part Final Fantasy A+, and part Legend of the Dragoon, it combines the best elements of various RPGs and adventure games to create a unique experience.
Technology
The game’s engine will be created in RPG Maker VX, with graphics being created in Photoshop, Anim8tor and Carrara 6.2 3D Modeling software, as well as (Sprite Editor). Audio will be created and recorded through both Garage Band and Samplitude 10.
Target Audience
CRAM is targeted towards college and highschool students that want a few laughs while still making fun of a subculture not often featured in games. Ideally, it would be dropped into the Case Western campus and be propogated as a downloadable game through DLC managers such as Steam.
Play Mechanic
Cram: Mindbreak functions as a traditional RPG would, featuring three different views- an Overland view, where the party moves as a group along predetermined routes to new areas, a Field view, where players can move freely within an environment from a top-down 2D Perspective, and the Battle view, which takes place in a retro Final Fantasy style side view. While the player has access to a grand total of nine characters, the player may only field three in each battle. If a character becomes incapacitated, then the player may select a replacement from the other available party members. Each party member also gets EXP even if they don’t participate in the actual combat.
Combat works similar to the way it did in Legend of the Dragoon. Characters attack using an “Addition” system, where players may score extra hits if they press the action button when an icon flashes on screen. Each successful addition adds a number of Overdrive points to the character, and when the character has reached a certain threshold of Overdrive points, they may enact a more powerful attack. These Overdrive attacks vary from character to character ranging from “Cogito Ergo Non Sum”, where the player convinces his enemy that it simply does not exist, to “The Abyss Gazes Also”, where the character transforms into his enemy for a few rounds. There are different tiers of Overdrive that can be achieved- the player is not required to activate the Overdrive mechanic, but rather save it for a later use. The higher tiers of Overdrive are unlocked over time, through gaining experience in combat.
Instead of a Health meter, players instead use Sanity to measure their character’s well being. Some characters have higher Sanity maximums, while more instable characters have less. Also, if a certain amount of sanity is lost from the party at any given time, the game itself starts enacting certain events that are designed to make the player question his own sanity. These events include, but are not limited to, “Shock” images that pop up on screen at random and switching controls on the player, reversing the directional pad, to more subtle changes such as making no change to a monster’s health when the player hits or making certain items disappear for a room (These items will always be “nonvital” items, such as revival or recovery items, but direct attack or equipment changes might disappear, causing the player to go in to a situation not at their highest possible strength).
Characters may not have to be in battle to lose sanity- later on in the game after the player begins to encounter the Lovecraftian Horrors, the player may be required to solve puzzle segments- these range from “Rolling Log” puzzles, in order to clear a path by rolling and moving objects out of the way, to timed puzzles with a collapsing floor- and if the player falls through, they are sent back to the start of the room, the fall attributed to an atrocious vision that the Horrors cause. More often then not, however, these puzzles will have no real danger element to them and be there to simply challenge the player mentally.
Key Features• Intuitive combat system designed to keep players engaged and focused while still giving players room to strategize.
• Involved storyline focusing on keeping a light hearted pace while ensuring a connection between player and character
• 4th wall breaking mechanics designed to engage players themselves beyond their role as an omniscient being.
(CRAM!)
Genre
Role Playing Game, Single Player
Version
1.4
The Big Idea
A satirical dig at the machinations of high school and college, players are thrown into a world where players take the role of a group of college students during exam week. However, somehow the world is slowly becoming twisted and misshapen due to the interference of a desperate student summoning a disproportionally large number of Shoggoths to help him study for a report on the Necronomicon. As the game progresses, players go from battling pop quizzes and tests to creatures of the Lovcraftian Mythos, a slow descent into sanity while still maintain a light hearted outlook, as characters still use their various skills of Trigonometry, Biology, Chemistry, Philosophy, and other school subjects to defeat the horrors.
Category
Dark Humorous RPG
Platforms
Computer and DS Via 3rd party storage card
License
Designed to be an Episodic series, CRAM: Mindbreaker gives players a chance to experience a break from the tedium that school creates while still giving players a sense of danger and urgency that would otherwise be absent from a game without a dire element. The entire game is focused on a psychological fight, so traditional elements and statistics are eschewed for more esoteric aspects. The game can release a number of sequels, either detailing how the story progresses after sealing away the Shoggoth or from the different viewpoints of other characters. Part Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem, part Final Fantasy A+, and part Legend of the Dragoon, it combines the best elements of various RPGs and adventure games to create a unique experience.
Technology
The game’s engine will be created in RPG Maker VX, with graphics being created in Photoshop, Anim8tor and Carrara 6.2 3D Modeling software, as well as (Sprite Editor). Audio will be created and recorded through both Garage Band and Samplitude 10.
Target Audience
CRAM is targeted towards college and highschool students that want a few laughs while still making fun of a subculture not often featured in games. Ideally, it would be dropped into the Case Western campus and be propogated as a downloadable game through DLC managers such as Steam.
Play Mechanic
Cram: Mindbreak functions as a traditional RPG would, featuring three different views- an Overland view, where the party moves as a group along predetermined routes to new areas, a Field view, where players can move freely within an environment from a top-down 2D Perspective, and the Battle view, which takes place in a retro Final Fantasy style side view. While the player has access to a grand total of nine characters, the player may only field three in each battle. If a character becomes incapacitated, then the player may select a replacement from the other available party members. Each party member also gets EXP even if they don’t participate in the actual combat.
Combat works similar to the way it did in Legend of the Dragoon. Characters attack using an “Addition” system, where players may score extra hits if they press the action button when an icon flashes on screen. Each successful addition adds a number of Overdrive points to the character, and when the character has reached a certain threshold of Overdrive points, they may enact a more powerful attack. These Overdrive attacks vary from character to character ranging from “Cogito Ergo Non Sum”, where the player convinces his enemy that it simply does not exist, to “The Abyss Gazes Also”, where the character transforms into his enemy for a few rounds. There are different tiers of Overdrive that can be achieved- the player is not required to activate the Overdrive mechanic, but rather save it for a later use. The higher tiers of Overdrive are unlocked over time, through gaining experience in combat.
Instead of a Health meter, players instead use Sanity to measure their character’s well being. Some characters have higher Sanity maximums, while more instable characters have less. Also, if a certain amount of sanity is lost from the party at any given time, the game itself starts enacting certain events that are designed to make the player question his own sanity. These events include, but are not limited to, “Shock” images that pop up on screen at random and switching controls on the player, reversing the directional pad, to more subtle changes such as making no change to a monster’s health when the player hits or making certain items disappear for a room (These items will always be “nonvital” items, such as revival or recovery items, but direct attack or equipment changes might disappear, causing the player to go in to a situation not at their highest possible strength).
Characters may not have to be in battle to lose sanity- later on in the game after the player begins to encounter the Lovecraftian Horrors, the player may be required to solve puzzle segments- these range from “Rolling Log” puzzles, in order to clear a path by rolling and moving objects out of the way, to timed puzzles with a collapsing floor- and if the player falls through, they are sent back to the start of the room, the fall attributed to an atrocious vision that the Horrors cause. More often then not, however, these puzzles will have no real danger element to them and be there to simply challenge the player mentally.
Key Features• Intuitive combat system designed to keep players engaged and focused while still giving players room to strategize.
• Involved storyline focusing on keeping a light hearted pace while ensuring a connection between player and character
• 4th wall breaking mechanics designed to engage players themselves beyond their role as an omniscient being.
The basic idea of the game is that you play from the perspective of nine individual college students, traversing through 10 episodes of game, plotwise, to be light hearted and funny while still having a sense of mysterious and a dark edge.
Unfortunately, there are a few things I'm having trouble trying to figure out.
Characters
I have no idea what to do as far as the nine characters- what archetypes to use, how to implement them, ect. I figure that the protagonist has to be relatively balanced, but the other characters should be specialized somehow. I have some general ideas, but I figure tht asking people who are either IN college or have graduated would be able to provide better insight to the stereotypes.
The Combat System
While I am tentatively using RPGMaker VX/XP to create the game, I do want to use a Side Battle system similar to the one found in the original Final Fantasy games, and while I know this is do-able, My familiarity with the scripting is very poor. Are their tutorials or examples of the sidebattle script that are avaliable to be looked at?
The other issue I have is with the Overdrive system. Essentially, as characters attack they generate points which fill the Overdrive meter which lets them use specials. This is also in part with the Addition System that I'll be using to generate the multiple attacks.
Example: Character A attacks and has attack options A, B, and C. Each triggers a different reaction command to continue a chain of attacks depending on the specific attack. For each successful hit, Character A gains +X Overdrive points that are put towards special abilities. If the character misses a step in the combo, the combo ends and the next action occurs.
The best way I could think of doing the points would to have abilities replace the generic "Attack" option and Overdrive replace the SP driven abilities, with attacks generating SP for the character. But this doesnt solve the issue of getting the reaction comand system to work either. Are there examples of this, and if not, is it even possible?
Sanity
Because this game has no real "physical" component, Character's health is measured in Sanity. A throwback to Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem for the Gamecube, the game will shift slightly depending on how much sanity the characters have. High Sanity is good, with no changes being made, but lower sanity may hide non-vital items, hopefully causing the player to go "Wait, I thought I had those... weird..." or, at extreme levels, causing a Yume Nikki type "Screamer" to pop up on screen, or the controls might reverse suddenly. Is it possible to code in these effects and tie them to the health of characters?
Travel
Because this is a rather casual RPG, I intend to keep "World Map" travel to a minimum. Is it possible to restrict travel to set linear paths instead of a free roaming environment?
If you have any criticsm, please share it- I've got a few weeks to mess with the ideas and change any factors, and if you can help, thank you in advance- any help I can get from experienced developers would be much appreciated.
-Korias