I had a strange concept for a game involving what I can only assume was a fever dream induced by rolling Custom Robo Arena, any MMO with a garapon/gatchapon, reading about Evolve (new IP by the guys who did Left 4 Dead), and god knows what else, rolling it into a blunt, and smoking it.
---
There are three "gears" to creating your character- the Main, Class, and Skill gears. Main gears would be the character themselves, including main equipment. Class gears modify a Main gear's equipment, appearance, and grants class abilities and minor equipment. Skill gears also augment Main gears, by improving or changing some aspect of the character, sort of like "perks" from most FPS nowdays.
The gatchapon comes in that most characters are unique- sort of like a MOBA roster, except the game isn't a MOBA (thank god).
You can get any Gear from the gara, but most net you Main gears, whereas secondary gears are easier to get from after-match rewards or specialized Garas. Most of the garas would be similar to DLC in that they cost something per roll, however, to keep wanted Gears in the hands of every player, three garas are randomly selected each week that can be rolled using a Gara Ticket, given once per day and rarely dropped from matches.
Trading Gears is allowed, and there are "contracts" that can get you different things for excess Gears. Let's say you got ten of the same unit, you can trade those in for a Gara Ticket. Maybe a trade asks for five of a certain type, and gives you a somewhat better trade.
Let's go ahead and plot out a couple of characters- Main Gears.
(Medium/onpar/onpar/onpar) //These variables indicate general body shape/size, and if there are shifts in speed, health, or skill cooldown.
Coilgun This is the main weapon- a sniper-like weapon with lower range than a sniper, does heavy damage at closer range and can stun/slow the enemy it hits.
Marakov This is the sub-weapon- a somewhat lackluster pistol with a high capacity.
Shockwave This is the equipment- proximity mines that stun and slow.
Description goes here. In this case, it's meant to be Nikola Tesla.
(Light/Fastmoving/Fragile/Onpar)
Mechanical Backpack v1 This weapon is a mechanical device fitted as a backpack- this version grants a Gatling gun.
Repair Torch Does fire-based damage up close at a steady rate, can be used to buff certain skills.
Switch Mode Changes to a spider-like set of legs from the backpack, lasts for a while or until a certain amount of damage is done to the user. Grants faster mobility, makes the Gatling overall more accurate and easy to use.
Basically Nitori from Touhou.
Class Gears are named by their Main type (there's only four right now), and then their Subtype. Such as:
Medic Ice gives medical skills as well as giving ice affinity to you.
Gives the ability to call in a laser strike from above. It indicates it's position for a few seconds before firing and has a very long cooldown. (one of the Support abilities, each main class can have 4-8 different main skills)
AI Turret Gives you the minor equipment of three relatively weak turrets that can move about. They will follow simple orders.
+AI Companion, Main Gives the main weapon an AI Companion, reducing kick, automating reloading, and occasionally snarking at you.
Gives the ability to cloak and avoid detection from anything but a very watchful eye, at the cost of movement speed. Deactivates when attacking or running.
Audio Spike Minor equipment that can alert you to noises from where you placed it. Four to six.
+Disorient, Secondary Secondary weapons now hamper or prevent skill use, as well as causing visual and audio distortion.
And now, Skill gears. Skill gears are straightforward changes to the way something works, often in percentages.
+20% Movement Speed for 30 seconds after a kill is made
+10% Movement Speed (constant)
Gain the ability to use a skill before it cools down.
Using a "hot" skill resets the timer to double it's cooldown and cannot be used until cooled,
-10% Health, Speed, and Cooldown Rate for 10 seconds when used
I could go the obvious route- Teppa with Support AI and the Skill Trick gears or Nikolai with Hunter Quake and Swiftkiller, but I could just as easily build Teppa to stalk about quickly using her natural skills with Hunter Quake and Swiftkiller, and Nikolai could be used to wall heavily with Support AI and Skill Trick in a pinch.
---
Matches are different depending on mode, and there are certain modes that allow players to be things other than Gears. Each map is populated with some sort of wildlife- imagine Far Cry 3, but multiplayer, and more insane. Space Komodo Dragons might be the reason your team dies and a enemy need not even shoot at you, but generally the wildlife plays a more passive than active role. Sure, some animals are pissed off and territorial, but they aren't as lethal as another player. Unless, of course, a map features lasersharks or something.