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Extending my poll from the other site in hopes of gathering a few additinal votes.
Any opinions you could give, as well as your vote of course, would be of great help to me. Ultimately my final idea will likely be a comprimise or a combination of my own design not listed here, but I would still like to gather opinions on what people like so I might be able to prioritize some of the more favorable aspects.
So, to sum up the story in the fastest way possible. An ordinary city woman is thrust into a dark fantasy world and must learn to survive.
Now, to the point. I want to use a tactical battle system, but I am having a hard time settling on the finer points of the idea such as enemy styles, weapon and combat themes, magic themes, and other little important details.
So I have this broken down into a few styles and themes for a horror-fantasy adventure with a tactical battle system. Tell me which you think is most interesting at a glance.
1) Basic Strategy RPG
The simplest idea, with a focus on building a very basic, but engaging rpg that mixes an exotic and mysterious world into the heart of the gameplay. The player will face a range of common dark fantasy entities such as ghouls and abominations, as well as a few alternate takes on common fantasy creatures such as monstrous mermaid creatures, and evil spirit fairies.
The game will focus more on the acquisition of exotic multi-purpose weapons such as magic swords, gun blades, and other odd and seemingly impractical inventions that have been produced by the melding of the various worlds and cultures that have been absorbed into this setting. Most weapons come with a combination of abilities and functions that the player can work with; meaning each character fills in multiple roles to some extent.
The player's biggest focus will be mastering the various odd weapons and any magic that comes with them. Each weapon category brings something different to the table and alters the character's role. Enemy troops are fewer and smaller, with each enemy being a real threat that needs its own strategy; almost kind of like an endless mini-boss rush. The ultimate focus is coming up with plans, learning the way the enemy moves, and using your weapons, items, and magics to create solid strategies to overcome monster encounters.
Standard strategy game really, but with an emphasis on big variety and lots of wild and fun combinations.
2) Intense, tricky combat.
This is the hardest game, in a way. This pits the player against similar foes as idea 1, ghouls, monsters, all that. But all enemies are bigger and more powerful than the player. Aside from only the weakest of enemies, most everything can beat the player toe-to-toe save for an absurd level gap.
The game will focus more on swords and bows, in addition to many different attack items like traps, throwing knives, disposable pistols, and grenades. With a sword, the player can perform a couple of different techniques, rather than just 'slash', for different results and effects, and a bow allows the player to load special arrow items for unique damage types. Upgraded or magical weapons come tied with sword magic/magic arrows for even more attack options later in the game.
The player's biggest focus will be figuring out how to manage resources and overcome the enemy's main strengths. Many enemies seem unbeatable, but with the use of special techniques, tools, and traps, the player can gain the advantage over the enemy. The game encourages you to be pragmatic and use lots of items and cheap tactics to level the playing field with overpowered enemies. Coming up with ideas, learning which items work together for extra damage, and figuring out how to formulate plans to eliminate enemies as quickly and efficiently as possible before they get you; all while managing your precious combat items and energy levels.
Its all about how prepared and how quick you are, and this game will not forgive you if you mess up or run out of ideas in a fight.
3) Survival Horror
This is a bit easier of an idea with the main gameplay focus on just trying to stay afloat in a hard world. The game will focus primarily on the undead as far as enemies go. Zombies, ghosts, skeletons, and other creepy crawly things. Enemies are slower, but numerous; with many battlefields being cluttered with shambling horrors of all shapes and sizes.
Weapons the player can collect consist of bits and bobs from various ancient times and dimensions. Anything from stylized guns, to medieval weapons, to magical tools are available to the player. Magic is learned separately through upgrading abilities as well as equipping Mediums as a sort of sub-weapon. Each weapon and spell has its own costs and drawbacks. Guns need ammo. Swords consume stamina. Dark magic costs health. Everything has a demand, and its up to the player to balance the resource budgets.
Fights are not hard when you are ready. Most enemies die in one or two attacks, save for the more powerful varieties that show up from time to time. The main focus here is just managing everything; from health, to items, to ammo, to magic resources. If you run out of ammo for a gun you best hope you still have some mp in your medium. Use too much dark magic and you can burn away all your reserve health. If you fail to manage your distance and get caught you will take a beating. Its all about trying to survive. This game will let you win a few fights easy, but dungeons are long, and enemies are plentiful.
Not so much a question of if you can win, but rather how long can you keep winning? It'll be harder than it sounds.
4) Less adventure and combat, more horror.
This is a slightly different idea. In this, enemies are not physical save for a few. Most enemies in the world consist of intangible things like ghosts, evil spirits, dark energies, and demonic presences. 'Evil' as we may know it. There will be a bigger focus on the omnipresent fear that enemies represent in the cursed dark world, and the game's core will taste more like a horror game.
The player's arsenal will consist not of weapons, but of holy artifacts and tools. Things like holy water, purifying incense, magic bells, baubles, and other demon-warding trinkets will fill the player's tool belt. Permanent equippable weapons like silver swords and staves exist, but since most enemies are intangible those things just serve as warding devices when evil forces get too close, and usually don't deal much 'damage'. Rather than 'killing' enemies, the player will have to use items and tools to seal, banish, exorcise, or purify enemies in different ways. Learned magic consists of things like magic prayers and incantations rather than raw 'spells' (although those do exist to some extent). Everything has an inherently calm and cleansing nature.
The main focus here is learning to master the different types of holy artifacts and learning to defend yourself against the many, many types of evil forces. Each foe is a potentially serious threat that can bring forth things like plagues and curses onto the battle. Each enemy has their own little personality and lore behind them, and its up to the player to figure out what an enemy is weak to. The player will have to manage their cures and trinkets to ward away any evils that they are attacked with while working to corner and seal the evil spirits away. Its easy when if you know exactly what you are doing and have a plan, but most enemies are fickle, and its not always clear what tools are effective against.
So its still a bit of a strategy game, but it won't be built to look like one. Battles will play out more like a classic horror movie scene with evil spirits casting curses and throwing objects around while our protagonists must stay calm and concentrate on defeating the dark powers surrounding them.
-
So none of these really sums up everything that will be present, but this covers the main points.
And also, before anyone gets at me for saying 'horror' a lot: This is not a scary game; at least by my design. It has a lot of horror genre elements built into the setting, but it is not designed to 'scare' rather than just set a dark unsettling mood. I consider horror and scary two different parts of the same genre. Just to clarify my thinking if anyone was being confused.
Any opinion you could give me on these ideas would be of great use. Or if nothing appeals to you, tell me that too. I'll take anything this early on.
Thank you for your time.
Any opinions you could give, as well as your vote of course, would be of great help to me. Ultimately my final idea will likely be a comprimise or a combination of my own design not listed here, but I would still like to gather opinions on what people like so I might be able to prioritize some of the more favorable aspects.
So, to sum up the story in the fastest way possible. An ordinary city woman is thrust into a dark fantasy world and must learn to survive.
Now, to the point. I want to use a tactical battle system, but I am having a hard time settling on the finer points of the idea such as enemy styles, weapon and combat themes, magic themes, and other little important details.
So I have this broken down into a few styles and themes for a horror-fantasy adventure with a tactical battle system. Tell me which you think is most interesting at a glance.
1) Basic Strategy RPG
The simplest idea, with a focus on building a very basic, but engaging rpg that mixes an exotic and mysterious world into the heart of the gameplay. The player will face a range of common dark fantasy entities such as ghouls and abominations, as well as a few alternate takes on common fantasy creatures such as monstrous mermaid creatures, and evil spirit fairies.
The game will focus more on the acquisition of exotic multi-purpose weapons such as magic swords, gun blades, and other odd and seemingly impractical inventions that have been produced by the melding of the various worlds and cultures that have been absorbed into this setting. Most weapons come with a combination of abilities and functions that the player can work with; meaning each character fills in multiple roles to some extent.
The player's biggest focus will be mastering the various odd weapons and any magic that comes with them. Each weapon category brings something different to the table and alters the character's role. Enemy troops are fewer and smaller, with each enemy being a real threat that needs its own strategy; almost kind of like an endless mini-boss rush. The ultimate focus is coming up with plans, learning the way the enemy moves, and using your weapons, items, and magics to create solid strategies to overcome monster encounters.
Standard strategy game really, but with an emphasis on big variety and lots of wild and fun combinations.
2) Intense, tricky combat.
This is the hardest game, in a way. This pits the player against similar foes as idea 1, ghouls, monsters, all that. But all enemies are bigger and more powerful than the player. Aside from only the weakest of enemies, most everything can beat the player toe-to-toe save for an absurd level gap.
The game will focus more on swords and bows, in addition to many different attack items like traps, throwing knives, disposable pistols, and grenades. With a sword, the player can perform a couple of different techniques, rather than just 'slash', for different results and effects, and a bow allows the player to load special arrow items for unique damage types. Upgraded or magical weapons come tied with sword magic/magic arrows for even more attack options later in the game.
The player's biggest focus will be figuring out how to manage resources and overcome the enemy's main strengths. Many enemies seem unbeatable, but with the use of special techniques, tools, and traps, the player can gain the advantage over the enemy. The game encourages you to be pragmatic and use lots of items and cheap tactics to level the playing field with overpowered enemies. Coming up with ideas, learning which items work together for extra damage, and figuring out how to formulate plans to eliminate enemies as quickly and efficiently as possible before they get you; all while managing your precious combat items and energy levels.
Its all about how prepared and how quick you are, and this game will not forgive you if you mess up or run out of ideas in a fight.
3) Survival Horror
This is a bit easier of an idea with the main gameplay focus on just trying to stay afloat in a hard world. The game will focus primarily on the undead as far as enemies go. Zombies, ghosts, skeletons, and other creepy crawly things. Enemies are slower, but numerous; with many battlefields being cluttered with shambling horrors of all shapes and sizes.
Weapons the player can collect consist of bits and bobs from various ancient times and dimensions. Anything from stylized guns, to medieval weapons, to magical tools are available to the player. Magic is learned separately through upgrading abilities as well as equipping Mediums as a sort of sub-weapon. Each weapon and spell has its own costs and drawbacks. Guns need ammo. Swords consume stamina. Dark magic costs health. Everything has a demand, and its up to the player to balance the resource budgets.
Fights are not hard when you are ready. Most enemies die in one or two attacks, save for the more powerful varieties that show up from time to time. The main focus here is just managing everything; from health, to items, to ammo, to magic resources. If you run out of ammo for a gun you best hope you still have some mp in your medium. Use too much dark magic and you can burn away all your reserve health. If you fail to manage your distance and get caught you will take a beating. Its all about trying to survive. This game will let you win a few fights easy, but dungeons are long, and enemies are plentiful.
Not so much a question of if you can win, but rather how long can you keep winning? It'll be harder than it sounds.
4) Less adventure and combat, more horror.
This is a slightly different idea. In this, enemies are not physical save for a few. Most enemies in the world consist of intangible things like ghosts, evil spirits, dark energies, and demonic presences. 'Evil' as we may know it. There will be a bigger focus on the omnipresent fear that enemies represent in the cursed dark world, and the game's core will taste more like a horror game.
The player's arsenal will consist not of weapons, but of holy artifacts and tools. Things like holy water, purifying incense, magic bells, baubles, and other demon-warding trinkets will fill the player's tool belt. Permanent equippable weapons like silver swords and staves exist, but since most enemies are intangible those things just serve as warding devices when evil forces get too close, and usually don't deal much 'damage'. Rather than 'killing' enemies, the player will have to use items and tools to seal, banish, exorcise, or purify enemies in different ways. Learned magic consists of things like magic prayers and incantations rather than raw 'spells' (although those do exist to some extent). Everything has an inherently calm and cleansing nature.
The main focus here is learning to master the different types of holy artifacts and learning to defend yourself against the many, many types of evil forces. Each foe is a potentially serious threat that can bring forth things like plagues and curses onto the battle. Each enemy has their own little personality and lore behind them, and its up to the player to figure out what an enemy is weak to. The player will have to manage their cures and trinkets to ward away any evils that they are attacked with while working to corner and seal the evil spirits away. Its easy when if you know exactly what you are doing and have a plan, but most enemies are fickle, and its not always clear what tools are effective against.
So its still a bit of a strategy game, but it won't be built to look like one. Battles will play out more like a classic horror movie scene with evil spirits casting curses and throwing objects around while our protagonists must stay calm and concentrate on defeating the dark powers surrounding them.
-
So none of these really sums up everything that will be present, but this covers the main points.
And also, before anyone gets at me for saying 'horror' a lot: This is not a scary game; at least by my design. It has a lot of horror genre elements built into the setting, but it is not designed to 'scare' rather than just set a dark unsettling mood. I consider horror and scary two different parts of the same genre. Just to clarify my thinking if anyone was being confused.
Any opinion you could give me on these ideas would be of great use. Or if nothing appeals to you, tell me that too. I'll take anything this early on.
Thank you for your time.
