Possession as a main game mechanic

[Misaki]

Basically - the main character being able to 'Possess' other characters/animals/objects. I always thought it was a interesting idea so I looked up various games to see if they had it as a main-mechanic.

I found "Geist" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geist_%28video_game%29

It seemed interesting, but it was mostly level-based, which in my opinion wouldn't be as effective as say, a open world.

What do you think about using possession as the main game mechanic?

 

[RoseofCrimson]

Ages ago I made something with RMXP with a mechanic like that. It's quite easy to do and adds more play-ability to a game without taking from the story if you build a character around it.

 

[LeeOccleshaw]

Yes, yes and yes. I've been thinking about implementing it into my game somehow but I'm at the stage where I want to add everything so I'll probably end up giving it a miss for now.

 

[OtakuD50]

Sounds interesting and you could take it in a lot of directions.  Phantom Brave and Makai Kingdom sort of had a possession mechanic, but what items you possessed mostly just affected stat multipliers and didn't have nearly as much flavor as one would hope. 

 

[Wavelength]

Sounds interesting and you could take it in a lot of directions.  Phantom Brave and Makai Kingdom sort of had a possession mechanic, but what items you possessed mostly just affected stat multipliers and didn't have nearly as much flavor as one would hope. 

Call me puerile, but I had a lot of fun possessing "Erotic Bread" and "Techno Weed"!!

I don't have too much to add to the OP besides just saying that I agree - it could be a very effective and cool mechanic in an "open world" kind of setting.  If you don't want to spend enormous amounts of time considering every possible place a person might go with every possible possessed character, you could judiciously include a few "gates" in the open world that restrict who can enter and who can leave.

 

[Towny]

In Dishonored, possessing fish or rats allows you to enter additional hard-to-reach areas, so perhaps possession could be used as a puzzle solving/noncombat mechanic for exploration?

 

[RetroNutcase]

Wasn't there a game called Grey Fox that did this on Steam? At least I think that was the title.

 

[Black Noise]

I had an idea for a mechanic like that.

In my game, one of the characters is capable of Astral Projection. 

In the field, you literally control that character's Astral form while leaving the party behind exactly where they were when you

use the ability.

She can also possess objects and as she levels up, she'll be able to possess mechanical enemies and then humans.

This would also work in battle, where the player can control and access the abilities of a possessed monster

(Anyone used the Manipulate ability in Final Fantasy VII?)

 

[Ishiirou]

Possessing items reminds me of Phantom Brave.

It sounds interesting, just make sure you don't put in silly gamebreakers like super short possession duration.