Alright, here's what's going on. I am a huge flake. If it will take longer than two or three days of work to complete something, and it's not a matter of life and death, I will not finish it.
I'm tired of that. I am going to make this game, and I am going to make it 100%.
The game is Budgetsoft Presents: The Dragon Returns. I got the name from the
VGNG.
This is the premise. It's going to be a Zelda-esque game, but not as big. You are Budgetsoft, royal messenger of some kingdom. You come to a different kingdom to inform the King that the Dragon has returned. The king, being short on knights, charges you with slaying it.
There will be five or so main dungeons, each containing a key to the dragon's lair. Once you have all five, you may (I haven't decided yet) need to discover the dragon's lair, or it may be somewhere obvious. We'll see. In addition to the keys, each dungeon boss will drop some material which can be given to a certain NPC. That NPC will craft the item into a new piece of equipment. While there won't be a set order to the dungeons, certain dungeons may require equipment you gain in other dungeons, or may just be easier with certain equipment.
In addition to the main dungeons, there may be several optional dungeons with rewards that help, but aren't necessary to beat the game.
There will also be towns and the like, maybe even a few side quests.
I'll be making it in game maker, I have a decent grasp of how it works and I have some experience making similar games, but I flaked out on them.
There will be Dwarf Fortress references, at least one. I plan on making one of the NPCs the Arsenal Dwarf. He was expelled from DF and the King hired him. He'll help the player by selling or crafting new weapons and armor, and maybe give advice on challenges, if they fit his expertise.
That's the basic premise, I'm also working on a more complete design document, but I'm not going to publish it because there will be spoilers and stuff.
I'll be doing most of it on my own, but once it's close to completion I may start reaching out for help with spriting and art, which is my weak point.
What does bay12 think?