If you were a game designer....

[dragon wench]

I was not sure whether to put this in SYM or the games forum...

So, let's pretend we are all game designers. If you had unlimited skills and resources what kind of game would you create? Would it be an RPG, an FPS, an RTS, include elements of all? What would the storyline be? What would the NPCs be like? How would the player character advance in levels and abilities? What would the fighting/magic using systems be like? Would it have a traditional D&D setting, or would it challenge the conventions?

Fire away, the sky is the limit!

[Galuf the Dwarf]

If I was a designer...

I would make an RPG made from my favorite 80s cartoon of all time, The Transformers. The details I pretty much want to keep to myself so nobody steals them.

Otherwise, I might make a D&D RPG that really make multi-classing worthwhile.

[Vicsun]

I would make an RPG made from my favorite 80s cartoon of all time, The Transformers. The details I pretty much want to keep to myself so nobody steals them.

So, do you actually have plans for developing a game, or do you plan on taking the details with you to your grave? And who, in your opinion, is most likely to steal them from you?

Otherwise, I might make a D&D RPG that really make multi-classing worthwhile.

Umm... isn't that the equivalent of saying 'I'll make a game that is really really good for a change!' Some more detail would be nice

[Galuf the Dwarf]

So, do you actually have plans for developing a game, or do you plan on taking the details with you to your grave? And who, in your opinion, is most likely to steal them from you?

If I was really a game designer, I might not.

I'm mainly afraid of some person with computer skills who lacks ideas will take my ideas as theirs.

Umm... isn't that the equivalent of saying 'I'll make a game that is really really good for a change!' Some more detail would be nice

Yes, yes. If I wasn't pressed for time, I would have already posted them by now. Speaking of which, college and voting call to me, and I must heed!

[Vicsun]

[QUOTE=Galuf the Dwarf]If I was really a game designer, I might not.

I'm mainly afraid of some person with computer skills who lacks ideas will take my ideas as theirs.[/QUOTE]

So you have an idea/plan detailed enough to create a game out of, while at the same time realizing the idea will never come to fruition. So even though you won't lose anything by someone realizing your idea, because you have no plans of developing it yourself, you still don't want anyone else benefitting?

I don't mean to put words in your mouth, I'm just trying to see your position more clearly, because your line of thinking confuses me.

[Xandax]

[QUOTE=Galuf the Dwarf]If I was really a game designer, I might not.

I'm mainly afraid of some person with computer skills who lacks ideas will take my ideas as theirs.
<snip>[/QUOTE]

*Whistles innocent and looks around*


Well - unlimited of all?

Then I'd make a RPG/Adventure game.

It should focus very strongly on character development with a skillpoint system, where the skills actually requiers you to make choices, so one can't become "God" at everything. (anti-Morrowind).
Also each quest/puzzle should have multiple way to solve depending on skills of a character.
Pick a lock on a door, strike it down or find a different route.
Climb a mountain, levitate using spells or find a different route.

Character development should requier a personality incoded into the character, so doing things "out of character" would enforce a personality shift A sophisticated form of D&D Alignment I think one can say, just personality wise instead of moral codes.
Factions should matter as well - because everything you do has to have consequences. For every action there is an equal oppersite reaction. So help a Lord with a problem and you might loose respect amongst the peasents or rivaling Lords.

Puzzles would have to challenge the players intellect - no more dumbed down "Towers of Hanoi" (Thanks SW:Kotor ) and no more simple killtasks withouth thoughts. "So I'm to kill that monster for reward, but the monster just saved a little child that had falled down a well"

Combat should be the means to an end, and not the end itself. So no combat "XP" at all. People shouldn't fight for the XP but because it is what their character would/could/should do.

NPCs should be as complex as the PC himself, maybe even more so (AI), becasue I hate "playing" in a bland and lifeless world. They should all have their own agendas and their own life (which means they move around).


Leveling up should be done either by completing tasks, goals or somesort when you utilizes a skill (ala morrowind but much less cheesy), the leveling should - like combat - not be the goal in the game. No completing tasks to level up or training skills by casting fireballs into a wall. All these things should be done because the PC wants to.

Lastly - the game should not be short. No more 20-30hours completion.

As for details, well - I haven't thought that out

[unregisturd]

If I was a game designer...

MY game would be awesome. It would be like, an RPG I s'pose, and you could do like, anything in it. Even switch gaming-styles to like, an FPS for example. AND... my game would have a lot of horses in it. Ohyes... lots and lots. AND... there would be fluffy turtles that you could capture and train to do your bidding. Such as your laundry. And.. Yeah. My game would rock. There wouldn't really be any storyline. Probly a time-travelling telephone booth that you could hop in and go to different eras like Bill and Ted.

...

Sorry for not really being serious, but... Actually, I was kind of being serious. Games need more horses. I'm almost (repeat, ALMOST) resorting to Barbie: Horse Adventures just so I can ride a horse! Nah, I wouldn't go that far. But games like Morrowind seriously need horses... But I think this is a discussion for another topic, perhaps.

Fluffy turtles are so cute.

[dragon wench]

"I'm mainly afraid of some person with computer skills who lacks ideas will take my ideas as theirs."


"*Whistles innocent and looks around*"





Damn... I *knew* I should have looked into the copyright laws before beginning this thread...

[Galuf the Dwarf]

[QUOTE=dragon wench]"I'm mainly afraid of some person with computer skills who lacks ideas will take my ideas as theirs."


"*Whistles innocent and looks around*"





Damn... I *knew* I should have looked into the copyright laws before beginning this thread... [/QUOTE]

Well, if my secret ideas were stolen, what credit would I be left with? More than likely nothing, correct?

BTW, would you mind checking your PM when you get a chance, DW?

[Vicsun]

[QUOTE=Galuf the Dwarf]Well, if my secret ideas were stolen, what credit would I be left with? More than likely nothing, correct?[/QUOTE]

The way I personally see it:
Case 1: You never develop your ideas. You gain nothing. Neither does anyone else.
Case 2: Someone else 'steals' your ideas and creates something out of them: You gain nothing. The community as a whole gains brilliant game.

So, because you have nothing to gain, or lose, either way, I see no reason for not sharing the ideas. I'm not trying to convince you, I'm just trying to make my own views clear. I see ideas which are never realized as wasted. So if I didn't want to, or couldn't realize some grand idea I have, I would personally not be opposed to someone else doing it, even if I get no credit. I can partly understand the 'if it can't be mine, it shouldn't be anyone else's' mindset, I just don't agree with it

[Galuf the Dwarf]

[QUOTE=Vicsun]The way I personally see it:
Case 1: You never develop your ideas. You gain nothing. Neither does anyone else.
Case 2: Someone else 'steals' your ideas and creates something out of them: You gain nothing. The community as a whole gains brilliant game.

So, because you have nothing to gain, or lose, either way, I see no reason for not sharing the ideas. I'm not trying to convince you, I'm just trying to make my own views clear. I see ideas which are never realized as wasted. So if I didn't want to, or couldn't realize some grand idea I have, I would personally not be opposed to someone else doing it, even if I get no credit. I can partly understand the 'if it can't be mine, it shouldn't be anyone else's' mindset, I just don't agree with it [/QUOTE]

Well, I can really see your point here. Would you mind checking your PM when you get a good moment, though?

[C Elegans]

I would enjoy playing a game made by Xandax You haven't made a NWN module, have you?

[QUOTE=Xandax]Lastly - the game should not be short. No more 20-30hours completion.[/QUOTE]

This I very much agree with! Many games are like American bestseller novels where the writer get paid per page Far too many tedious hours of the same thing. Story driven games seldom have a story good enough to capture me for 40+ hours.

If I made a game, which I never want to do, but if, I'd first and foremost get rid of the stupid, fairy tale good versus evil concept. Also, I would focus on creating an incitament for the player to play the game. All this "you are a young adventurer/pupil to a powerful wizard/blahblahblah out to save the world" is really uninteresting and repetetive.

I also totally support Xandax in the implementation of personality traits, not only "moral alignment". I also would like to skip the idea of more or less static skills like physical strenght, charisma, wisdom etc as you have in AD&D, all such skills should be aquired, not innate.

Focus on problem solving rather than hack'n'slash, nuanced interaction with NPC:s who should also be nuanced, and less blatantly obvious "right" and "wrong", "good" and "evil". No dialogue options where you get a quest to help a poor farmer, and the alternatives are:
1. Yes, of course I'll help you
2. Give me all your money or I kill you! *mwhahaha* (c) NWN

True dilemmas, quests your character gets personally involved rather than running errands and saving people for XP. Development of complex and engaging quests would be my focus, I think.

[Xandax]

[QUOTE=C Elegans]I would enjoy playing a game made by Xandax You haven't made a NWN module, have you?

<snip>
[/QUOTE]

Naa - unfortunally, I have neither the (time) ressources to start learning NwNScript nor the motivation to take on modul building
I'm bussy enough trying to learn two new programming languages, extending the knowlegde of a third while learning new programming techniques

I have thought of it several times, though .... so maybe in NwN2

[fable]

I suspect I would design a game like Hidden Agenda, the 1988 title that was both fun to play and actually provided great insights into another, very different culture. It was a turn-based strategy game, where you were elected leader of a poor Central American nation that had just gone through a period of great violence and disorder. You could appoint ministers to four important posts in your cabinet from three separate parties; however, each party and each person had a different agenda, and the decisions you made would be enforced (or not enforced) to a degree influenced by that agenda. You also had to meet with any of 60 individuals who reperesented different aspects of that culture, and make decisions regarding their requests. It was easy to so upset either end of the political spectrum, and find yourself thrust out of office by a coup d'etat on the left or right.

I think it would be challenging and interesting to create such a game with a Middle Eastern nation as its subject, or an Eastern European one. And given the far greater computational power of modern CPUs, a lot more could be accomplished that would show the effects of decisions you made on your populace, and the outside world.

[Robnark]

well, while I have a few very worthy ideas for nice cerebral games and all that, I have a rather different type that I'm thinking of right now.

it's a small-scale RTS that allows you to control several highly customisable characters. they can each carry a certain amount of, uh, generic token things that allow them to generate, equip and upgrade their squad. the tokens have usage limits, but can be recharged by the squad in question completing certain tasks, holding critical locations and destroying enemies.

basically, I want to introduce an air of those scarily addictive card-collecting games, and combine it with fast-moving, detailed, robot laser death.

[Morlock]

What I'd create? Easy. Baldur's Gate 3. No second choice. I have a billion and one amazing ideas for that one. It's be the biggest game in the history of humanity.