PHQ-Nickname:
EskimoBob
Halfquake:
Sadistic Eskimo INC
Level:
5
Total kills:
6,719
Birthday:
September 21st 1985
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| Mood: | silent |
| Type: | Diary entry |
| Added: | August 24th 2004, 09:55:30 |
| Visits: | 2952 |
| Rating: | Not rated yet. |
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Description:
This was done on a boring break period during a day at uni. The idea has been festering in my head for a few days and it finally grabbed me by the ear kicking and screaming all the way down to the library and onto a free computer (which is a very rare thing, I've never EVER gotten there with a spare computer just sitting there) and scribed it down. Like it? Tell me. Hate it? Go to hel... err... I mean, tell me. Ingrate. |
I was thinking about mmorpg's. I had an idea for one, but it just came up feeling, well too similar to others that were out there. I wanted to have an individual style as well as game play to other mmorpg's. It's part of what frustrates me about mmorpg's in general, everyone is so content to use the same formula over and over again, and we the general public are keen to gobble up a new game with little to no innovation. It is disheartening to me, to watch as one of the game "types" with amazing potential is slowly eroded into little more then a cash cow. Not wanting to add my new yet similar world into a young yet already tired genre, I gave up on the idea.
However it did not leave me discouraged, only clueless as to what to do. I was mindlessly playing "Golden Sun the lost age" when an idea hit me. The reason why most console RPG's are more fun is because they require more tactical decisions. Think about ff7 for a second and some of the tactical decisions you may have faced. Do I bring cloud out with his insane attack strength, or do I bring out Tina with here healing abilities (Don't go nuts if I got things wrong, it's been so long since I've played that game). If I could bring tactical decisions akin to that, but with a unique spin to it, I may have a game idea with the potential to be new AND interesting. It still left me with a problem, how was I to provide a unique feel to this game?
I guess it was a dream or something, I saw people floating through the sky, some distorted and inhuman while others were normal and almost happy. I thought about that dream for a while and came up with the idea, what if everyone on the planet was connected to these beings, each of them sustaining those that are connected. It leads me to this story. On a side note, this story isn't finished and if I go ahead with it, names will change and more will be added. Any important names were thought of on the spur of the moment and will most likely be changed to something more meaningful. The story will be very important in this game, and there are things that will be important that I've already thought of that I haven't added (things like "the little girl" This is more of an introduction speech to the game, so in essence it's supposed to be like you've just awakened in this strange, yet familiar world.
Another fun fact is that good music helps me think. Alright onto the story.
Are you awake? Just nod if you can hear me. That's good, the first steps into this world can be rough, but it seems like you've come through okay. You must have a lot of questions, but we need to take things slow. Can you move anything else yet? Oh great your fingers are twitching, your doing fine. Don't try to open your eyes yet! Just relax. You do seem to be recovering faster then a lot of others. I guess that is the way it is nowadays; maybe I should introduce you to "our" world. You cannot talk, but you can still listen.
First understand this and there is no easy way to tell you, the world you knew is gone. Everything. We still don't understand what happened, not even the Nagi know. I will talk about Nagi later, but needless to say, you will have a lot to do with them. Sooner then you think. What we do know is, there was no struggle, no resistance on our behalf, no epic battle or even failure, we were just… gone. There have been many theories thrown around as to what actually happened, but there is no proof. Proof is hard to come by now, even I as long as I have been here, I still do not understand much of what goes on around here and have very little to prove what I do know.
Relax a moment, you will tire yourself out and then, well just relax; trust me. If you stop struggling to move I will tell you about the Nagi. Good. I suppose you will find out about this as soon as you open your eyes, but from experience I've found it helps to prepare people for what they are about to see. The Nagi were the first to return to this world, how? We do not know. This world is populated by seven Nagi, each of them holding a separate and distinct personality. The Nagi populate the sky of our world, floating through them gracefully, yet they appear to be unable to react to anything below them â€" instead they can only talk and it is indeed a rare thing for them to talk. However everyone in this entire "world" â€" (if you can call it that) is linked to them.
Everyone now supports six transparent "tendrils" each located on your back â€" yes even yours â€" now don't be alarmed, the most important thing is that you rest. You still have yet to make a connection, which in this world is important, lest you flow into the plane of the dead. That name always stops people struggling… Anyway where was I, oh yes, the tendrils. These are growing on your back, even though you can see them and feel them, they are not physical, they are spiritual. These will connect you to one of the Nagi, which will in turn feed your spirit, allowing you to exist in this world. The connection so far appears to be one way, strengthening only us, but some assume that there is something that the Nagi are taking from us. The Nagi that you become linked to is also very important, as the energy they feed you also allows all of us to preform great feats.
The link between us and them must be severed before we can use their energies in other ways, as the tendrils are required to gather energy, as well as expend it. Disconnecting the tendrils is also not something to be taken lightly, as with out a connection to the Nagi our physical bodies slowly fade. Once they have faded enough we can be captured by the shadows and taken to the plane of the dead.
Perhaps I should explain this plane of the dead, as I can see the worry on your face. It is known as the plane of the dead, because in this plane the Nagi appear dead, and lifeless. When we are taken there connections to them are forced upon us, we cannot break them (It is for this reason that some even believe that we are slaves or even prisoners to the Nagi, though for what purpose no one can say). We are forced to escape into one of the other planes, which at times is easier said then done.
You seem to have made a connection with Alaria, but do not worry about that now, you still need some rest. As I was saying, you will need to escape into another plane, should you ever find yourself trapped in the plane of the dead. There are many different planes, each requiring you to become more "Physical" to resist the pull. You will find out about these things later. However you are currently inside the plane of peace, an area that all have dedicated to making a place that is as much like the old world as we can possibly achieve, given the state of things. However even in this plane there are still dangers to be wary of.
You seem to be fully recovered â€" at least to the point where physical activity won't put you at risk. Here I'll help you get up. Oh you should ask me any questions if you still have any. Also it would be a good idea to seek out someone to get your bearings in this world; most people are more then willing to help. Okay, you can open your eyes now…
Now onto a few game play ideas.
Game play centres on the connection to the "Nagi" â€" these provide both a tactical advantage and a disadvantage. Each of the seven has skills associated to them and each will recharge your spirit and your body bars at a certain rate. Your body bar never actually grows as you progress through the game, only your spirit bar. To use the more powerful skills you will need to sever the connection, in doing this it also begins to drain your sprit. Your body will also begin to be drained after a short while of not being connected to the Nagi, so it's a good idea to reconnect to the Nagi before one or the other is depleted. The Nagi you re-connect too doesn't necessarily have to be the one you were connected to before, in fact, using this method you can effectively use skills that require two types of energy by absorbing different Nagi energy. The only limit is, that much like being disconnect from the Nagi, that the energy from the Nagi that you are not connected to is slowly depleted at the same rate as if you were not connected. If your spirit reaches critical levels, you run the risk of being dragged to the plane of death, which is something that players will want to avoid (It will hopefully be enough of a deterrent to those who want to die for a free teleport home.)
I also hope to include "Wario ware" usque mini-games for using powers and even death. Failure in these games won't necessarily mean the spell casting is failed, it just means that the power is used at the minimal level. It could also be used to make crafting much more interesting (i.e. the difficulty of the game depends on crafting skill, and you must reach a certain "score" to successfully craft something.
Body, is your resistance to the pull, when it is completely gone you have zero resistance to the pull. The pull is caused by the connection to the Nagi, so in effect if you are not connected to the Nagi you can avoid the pull, but then you cannot regenerate your spirit bar and run the risk of being pulled into the plane of death. However should you have a party about they can connect to using their tendrils, in an effort to keep you from being pulled away â€" but they too run the risk of being pulled. Items are not as important in this game as other games, but they do help bring a set resistance to the pull. You are slowly pulled backwards by the pull to a point where you may be sling shotted to somewhere you don't want to be.
Being connected to the Nagi makes you essentially weaker then you could be if you were not, however don't think that being connected isn't useful despite the disadvantage of the pull. You can use skills that effect yourself and any weapons you may be carrying, but only one skill at a time. It may sometimes prove to be more efficient to use your trusty gun then to disconnect and leave yourself vulnerable. However a gun will be the same as any other gun, unlike other games (where a crossbow can be + 1 and make all the difference in the world. I've never understood this, as I don't understand how it can be â€" I mean being shot by an arrow is going to hurt either way, right?). Instead the size of the gun will add weight, but the skills used because of your connection to the "Nagi" will help boost effectiveness. Switching between weapons also provides players with another tactical decision.
This game will also be about puzzle solving as well as the tactical dilemmas mentioned above. I would hope to add many bosses, each requiring different ways to defeat them, also with a scalability depending on those fighting them. (IE a "Level 2" (I want to avoid levels but this is an easy way to explain it for now) and a "Level 14" can fight the boss together just as well as a if it was a two "Level 14" people, it's just that the task requires different things from each other.)
Hopefully all this will all create an environment that is not like the "Look it's a monster" Auto attack, rinse, repeat, so common in mmorpg's today, I want this to be a game where skill truly matters, not your stats. A "level one" can be a valuable asset as long as he is connected to someone else (Sort of like the side-kicking function of coh) and knows what to do. Also the fact that there *is* no classes and everyone is able to switch between the Nagi at will, will provide an interesting experience and decisions, especially in group situations.
Most of all, everything needs to be fun and interesting.
This is just the first stage of the Idea, there is a lot more to this I could addm but I think I will leave it there for now...
Thanks or reading my rambling. |
TheAwake
August 26th 2004, 01:32:38
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Sounds great!...but you think u could create it? I hope you can one day....Im tryin to make a Hl² mod with Swartz...could join us if u want  |
muddasheep
August 26th 2004, 09:49:42
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I totally agree with you eskimobob.. first of all: interesting story, I really enjoyed it .. I especially liked the part with the fingers twitching.. I almost felt inside your world already 
I've got to agree with you on the level thing.. I hate levels and I try to make a new system for PHQ without levels too.. levels are a limitation.. in almost every mmorpg (RPGs in general) you KNOW that it's gonna end on level 99 or even 50! I mean, why call a game infinite when it in fact isn't? I'd actually prefer a skill based system, just like in older games or in Eternal Daughter (BlackeyeSoftware, go and get it!).. you don't gain level ups, just power-ups which give you new skills (double jump, super shot, walljump, etc.) or additional life points.. but still this will end sometime because you can't add infinite content, unless it's randomly generated..
btw, squidi said some interesting stuff about randomly generated worlds, check it out here:
http://www.squidi.net/blog/04.08/14.php
providing new content is also a neat and common idea, but making the new content not based on your level, but on puzzle solving, it'd be just great! in fact I believe that something like that already exists: Uru Online. I heard that it's kinda like an MMORPG and they add new levels and puzzles every now and then..
but nonetheless, your idea is great and I can't wait until you finally release your first game, eskimobob |
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TheAwake
muddasheep
