Rarity Rants About Games

[Blightmare]

So this is kinda an odd thing for me to do. I'm putting this in the gaming section but think of this more like a game related journal of sorts. Since I am a game designer (freelance as of right now) I'm constantly trying to think of new ideas, both story wise and gameplay wise, I can use as well as take ideas that have already been done and give them a new twist. Now I'm not gonna post on some of my better ones if I think I can use them (gotta keep SOME things to myself. ) but I figure this would be a good thought dump from time to time. If you'd like to discuss any of the things I talk about feel free.

 

 

 

So I'm gonna start this off with the subject that inspired this, and that subject is about continuity errors in character backstories and how it ties in to gameplay and the current story settings. I've noticed how some games like to portray your character from the start as this really powerful, respected, feared, and/or seasoned warrior, soldier, etc. and then when the game starts you're character is basically a giant child with a weapon that they don't know how to use. I hate when games do this because it doesn't add up. If you're a war veteran with thousands of kills to your name, a squad of 5 people should not be much of a threat. Fortunately not a lot of games do this. in fact, most games come up with a somewhat understandable reason for feeling helpless as a supposedly grizzled veteran(some better than others, naturally)

 

As of now, the games that come to mind would be the Borderlands series and Devil May Cry. Don't get me wrong, I like both series, but they do lose style points for this. In Borderlands it's heavily implied that your characters are either renowned for their skill or at least experienced, yet you start of with barely more knowledge than how to fire your gun and essentially have to "learn" everything you should have already known. In Devil May Cry (at least what I remember of the first one) it is once again implied that you're an expert when in comes to demon killing, and yet all you have is your sword and gun that's currently not much different than most other swords and guns. I probably shouldn't be using DMC as an example because the last time I played the first one my age was only one digit so there's undoubtedly a lot I don't remember.

 

I'm not even going to go into Hack n' Slashes... (stares suspiciously at Diablo 3)

 

Looking at all the games that do and don't do this well, I've been thinking about ways that I could use this. One of the ideas that popped up during my brainstorms; though I haven't really checked if this has been done yet either; involved a currently hypothetical character who was a skilled swordsman. How do we take someone who's backstory has them portrayed as skilled, and tie it into the present-day storyline in such a way that the character can grow through leveling yet doesn't break the continuity of their origins?

 

One thought that came to mind was to give them a disability. For this example, lets use amputation. If their dominate sword arm is their right, Have it get cut off sometime during the start of the game and force them to use their clumsy left arm, making them have to adjust and adapt to a new fighting style. This can directly play into the fact that they know how to wield the sword well enough that one handed attacks are still within their skill range, even in their offhand, but is disadvantaged by being required to use what they have the least practice and comfort in. If the character is one that uses a lot of agility, Have them lose a foot and replace it with a prosthetic. You could be the best athlete or acrobat in the world but you're not just gonna instantly know how to do all the crazy shenanigans you did before when you're forced to use artificial limbs to move around.

 

This can all tie into the leveling for the game if you view the characters level as how well they've adjusted and familiarized themselves with their newly acquired handicaps. I'm not sure what style of leveling would best work with this yet, whether it would be a skill tree style leveling, or if the changes would be fixed and tied to the level. Maybe it can even be a gradient change where the higher the number gets, the easier it becomes to control the character. For example, lets take the athlete/acrobat and put them in a 50 level system. At level 1, they can still run, but they'd probably be slower and stumble often. They would take a longer time to pull themselves up a ledge and their jumps would be limited in height and distance and would even have to stop and regain their footing when they land. Then at level 50 they'd have become so well adapted to their prosthetic that they'd even be able to use it to their advantage. In addition to having regained their agility and speed, they'd be able to use the prosthetic to, say, kick off of a surface that would otherwise hurt. (incredibly sharp, very hot, etc) Probably not the best example since an ordinary shoe should be more than capable of handling such a task. I'd have to think more on the potential of that. For now it remains an example.

 

I can maybe even take the Dying Light approach and combine the 2 ideas. Put in a skill tree that allows new moves and abilities, and then tie in the character's level number to the flow and feel of the characters controls. Dying Light did it differently by having the changes occur in stages, where every 8(?) levels for, say, agility, you start off occasionally tripping when you run and it takes some time to hoist yourself up on a ledge. At level 8(?) you unlock a talent slot that increases run speed, stamina, and stamina regen. From then on the character's a little more agile. Stumbles less and climbs faster. At level 24 there's no longer any stumbling and he'll pull himself up with little effort. My idea was actually have it change as a gradient. As the level gradually grows higher, the controls gradually become tighter and easier to control. At this point I believe I'm repeating myself, but I like to clarify the same point in multiple wordings.

 

 

 

So that's what I've got in a (big) nutshell on that.

Edited April 3, 2015 by Guest (see edit history)

[BTGBullseye]

Sounds well thought out, and possibly very fun. Though you wouldn't need to chop off the dominant arm to significantly handicap the character, even just the off-hand arm would change balance and posture so much as to require massive alterations in both movements and control style. (I have seen this with real-life amputees, so I know it's a genuine issue)

[Blightmare]

That was more for the hypothetical situation. And reading through that again I was more tired than I thought lol. Run on sentences, misspellings, and lack of grammar everywhere(As well as blatantly insensitive example towards the disabled. erf.). Gonna give that an edit.

 

But yeah, in actuality I'd probably choose a different path. A broken bone can cause long term damage if it's severe enough. I'm sure I can come up with a few alternatives if I put my mind to it.

 

Edit: It's a little more readable now. Hopefully.

[BTGBullseye]

A broken bone can cause long term damage if it's severe enough.

Or if it's improperly set... Any game set before modern medicine could pull of an improperly set bone reasoning.