Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Iituem]

Alright, I've been meaning to get back into this hobby for a while, and this seems a grand way to do it.  I don't know if this technically counts as a Forum Game/Roleplaying?  It needs suggestions and is about roleplaying?  I hope so.  If not, I'll move it.

The goal is to design, more or less from scratch, a computer roleplaying game.  Since I intend to do the programming and I want it to be a) easy and b) accessible, I'm going to be doing it in a very simple game making format, the Quest text adventure software.  I'm also imposing several fiat restrictions from the get go.

* This will be a single player game.
* This will be a text adventure game.
* The setting will be fantasy (explicitly not modern or sci-fi).
* I retain a veto, which I will use with explanations when I use it.
* If this actually works and we end up with a finished game, it will be free because that way nobody gets in a tizzwazz about money.

That said, let's start with the basics.  Be vague or detailed, and be aware that the final result might be a strange amalgam of suggestions.

In one paragraph or less, what will the main arc of the game encompass?


Main Arc: The player, a noble, finds a book of necromancy and dark arts and uses them to achieve dominion in a fantasy land.

Running Themes: Mystery & Discovery, Eldritch Horror, Literal Faustian Pacts, A Rise to Power. (Adventure Side Arcs)

[Iituem]

Reserved.

[mastahcheese]

Posting to watch, and add suggestions. I'm bad at writing sections on over-arching ideas, or I'd try that.

[~Neri]

You are a necromancer. Or at least a noble who intends to become one. At the beginning of the game, you get your hands on a fairly rare necromantic book. Over the course of the game, you build up your army and allies and eventually take the throne. How you go about doing this depends on if you leave court and vanish into the hills or keep your position as a noble.

[Urist Arrhenius]

+1 for necromancer

[Iituem]

Any other arc suggestions, or shall we go with necromancer?  A counter suggestion from me:

You are a minor noble who has just begun to discover the techniques of necromancy.  Over the course of the game, you must navigate the dangers of court and magic, suffer terrible betrayal and loss and build up your army and allies to seek revenge, take the throne and master your powers.  How you go about doing this depends on if you leave court and vanish into the hills or keep your position as a noble.

Similar, but I feel a betrayal/revenge element would personalise the game a lot.

[Demonic Spoon]

You are a noble that has discovered a tome of terrible eldritch lore in the tomb of one of your ancestors. As to what you were doing in the tomb at the time... well, ah, your family fortunes have declined in recent years so you were... loaning some death treasures from the family crypts.

But the books promises to change everything! It's pages whispers of unspeakable power, which could soon be at your fingertips! You just need but to perform a few human sacrifices here, cast off the frail bonds of sanity there, spent a few decades immersed in comprehending the incomprehensible secrets of the cosmos and hey presto! Power enough to bring the dead to life to serve you, to summon horrors from beyond to do your bidding, to bend the elements to your will and make reality your bitch.

You're sure the nightmares and auditory hallucinations you've been having are nothing to worry about. Really, the only fly in the ointment is the potential of inquisitorial investigation due to all the missing peasants from the sacrifices.

If that fails to get approved then +1 Kevaks necromancer idea. Not sure how I feel about betrayal though Iituem, its very easy to get it wrong, very badly.

[Iituem]

Fair enough. I quite like the initial motivation of having just inherited all of your father's debts along with the baronetcy, or something along those lines.  What should the main themes of the story be?  This applies to the main arc, obviously you can have side arcs that are different (comic relief etc), but I'm looking at a matter of overall tone.

Possible themes that spring to mind:  Adventure, Mystery, Discovery, Horror, Eldritch Horror, Metaphorical Faustian Pacts, Literal Faustian Pacts, A Rise to Power, Retribution, Immortality.

[AoshimaMichio]

+1 for necromancy. But I prefer if player were a villain right from the beginning. Say you are working your way to <goal>, then one of your apparentice betrays you at key moment and takes everything for himself. Player is either imprisoned or exiled and have to rebuild power from scratches.

fake edit: damn you don't wait for long.
Rise to Power is important. Retribution obviously.

[Demonic Spoon]

Possible themes that spring to mind:  Adventure, Mystery, Discovery, Horror, Eldritch Horror, Metaphorical Faustian Pacts, Literal Faustian Pacts, A Rise to Power, Retribution, Immortality.

Ooh, almost all of those are interesting and it'd be fun to play a demonologist. Mmm, this is gonna take some thinking...

This is probably a silly question, but what exactly would the Mystery and Metaphorical Faustian Pacts themes entail?

EDIT: Discovery is also unclear now that I think about it.

[Harry Baldman]

In a similar vein to AM's idea, I had a thought for a game concept where you spend the entirety of the game confined inside a prison cell for some horrible crime (say, attempting to practice necromancy and then promptly getting caught), and most of the exploration involves finding things inside your cell (things that former prisoners have left, either information or objects), receiving visitors from your disappointed family that are mostly there because they're expected to come over and reprimand you for your behavior (or maybe an acquaintance or two that sympathize with your plight even if they disapprove of your methods), and most of all try to find some way to make time go by faster while you plot revenge against your captors.

For most of the game, the cell is completely and utterly dark, like that one in Game of Thrones where they keep traitors, and is only lit up when visitors come along. You'd have to explore it blind, and learn how to survive within, maybe practice your rat-catching skills, or try to remember exactly what you read in that book. Maybe practice punching the walls for the day you can finally take out your guard and his friends and make a break for it. Or just try to manipulate people from the confines of your cell to get more visitors and maybe wreak havoc on the outside world if you play your cards right.

[Iituem]

Possible themes that spring to mind:  Adventure, Mystery, Discovery, Horror, Eldritch Horror, Metaphorical Faustian Pacts, Literal Faustian Pacts, A Rise to Power, Retribution, Immortality.

Ooh, almost all of those are interesting and it'd be fun to play a demonologist. Mmm, this is gonna take some thinking...

This is probably a silly question, but what exactly would the Mystery and Metaphorical Faustian Pacts themes entail?

EDIT: Discovery is also unclear now that I think about it.

Metaphorical Faustian Pacts are more like making sacrifices 'for the greater good' or making dubious decisions or deals that come back to bite you.  As opposed to literal demon bargains.  Mystery and Discovery I guess blend together.  The idea of literally having to work out magic and the lore of the dark forces you're bargaining with based on scant facts and exploring the world/the library.  That you don't get the whole picture and you have to take some leaps of judgement.  That at times the characters in the game outright lie to you.

Harry: That is a potentially awesome idea.  Kind of makes me think of a jailbird Papers Please.

[Demonic Spoon]

Okay:

> Themes:

Mystery & Discovery, Eldritch Horror, Literal Faustian Pacts, A Rise to Power.

With adventure side-arcs

EDIT: Clarification, by eldritch horror, I mean comedic/black comedy/tongue in cheek or whatever eldritch horror, since it's been at least a decade since I was last genuinely freaked out by bona fide eldritch horror.

[Iituem]

Alright, let's run with those themes.

Mechanics: Broad Strokes

There are certain elements of the game implied by genre and story.  We need to work out what to include and at what level of depth to include it from a mechanics perspective.  The basic format of the game [text adventure] relieves us from needing to worry about graphics or the like, but obviously provides its own limitations.


Magic System

If we want a story about a necromancer, magic is implied.  A couple of theme and setting questions first:

How prevalent is magic overall?  Is it otherwise non-existent, are necromancers/cultists known of but not others, are there other kinds of wizards but they're relatively rare, or are we in a D&D-like setting where you can actually go to university to become a wizard with enough study (in which case the book provides evil shortcuts).

Broadly speaking, how is magic done?

Vancian: You can cast fireball three times a day!  (I'm not a fan for this setting.)

Black Box Spellcasting: When you 'know' the spell 'fireball', you can cast a fireball, either unlimited or limited by mana.

Detailed Spellcasting: You need to know exactly what you're doing, and there are steps you can cock up which cause the spell to have no effect (say the wrong words) or result in horrible side-effects or consequences (make the wrong offering).  [I favour this one.]

Mana Limited: You spend a certain amount of undefined intangible 'essence' to cast a spell, which you regenerate with time or by sleeping.

Reagent Limited: Casting a spell expends tangible resources or has tangible requirements that limit it.  You need sufficient vespene gas, or have the amulet on hand.  [I favour this one.]

Other! (Suggest!)


Combat

How prevalent should combat be?  In a setting in which your primary focus isn't being a tomb-raiding mercenary, how often should combat occur?  Should it be more or less non-existent so long as you don't throw yourself into combat situations?

How lethal should combat be?  Should it be D&D level lethality (you lose 5 hp! you do 3 damage!) or closer to DF or RL lethality (you get stabbed - you are dead!)?

How involved should combat be?  Should it be "You have 85 Swords.  You have a 135% chance of hitting the mudcrab.  You do 6 damage!" or more along the lines of "You are an Expert Swordsman.  Right now you can a) slash at their torso, b) try to disarm them or c) wait for their attack and riposte."?

More systems questions later when I have time!


Also, it's ahead of time for it, but I was thinking about the main arc and thought about the idea that the book is all in unknown writing, but your [great-grandfather?] has pencilled in notes in the margins.  A side element of the main arc could be questing to find his notebooks with translations and notes about his own work with the book before consigning it to the family tomb.

[Twinwolf]

I think it should be a world where magic is indeed a learnable thing, but for most it takes decades. There are the occasional prodegies, but most aren't that lucky.

Maybe magic is done by writing the words to the spell in the air? The longer the spell, the more powerful, and chanting makes it easier but is not necessary?