iPhone Project: The In-Game Plan

[Silverwind]

How about Knight, Marksman and Sorcerer?

[Gan]

That sounds quite a bit more original. This is probably going to be the largest and longest system to implement. I'll have to make 3 distinct battle engines for each, add in naming support, beginning intro/tutorial, and a bunch of other stuff I can't quite remember at the moment... So... lunch's over, gotta run.


-Gandolf

[Swamp7hing]

This is so cool.
once we get the bones to the project build, can we work on polishing up the interface/text/menus?

[WarHampster]

How about we actually be kind of unique and don't have classes? Instead you become more proficient in different abilities as you use them. That makes things more interesting, as your character isn't forced to go along a certain skill tree. It would make the game much deeper, as you could kind of dabble in everything, or chose to practice different abilities that complement each other, ect.

[Xiphos]

I like that idea, more of an RPG, you can really let your character grow as his skills grow.

[Gan]

This is so cool.
once we get the bones to the project build, can we work on polishing up the interface/text/menus?

Yeah, of course.

How about we actually be kind of unique and don't have classes?

That would be a bit more unique but depending how we do so could affect replay value.

Instead you become more proficient in different abilities as you use them. That makes things more interesting, as your character isn't forced to go along a certain skill tree. It would make the game much deeper, as you could kind of dabble in everything, or chose to practice different abilities that complement each other, ect.

Like in the Oberin B.C.(Before Classes) era? People were able to be druids, wizards, fighters, rangers, and clerics all at once without needing to pick a skill and go with it. It's an online game and it created an isolated and negative effect on gameplay due to people not needing anyone to help them. They could take the whole cemetery by themselves.

So how would this work in the game without making it too easy or complex? There'd be certain items distinctly for the knight, marksman, and sorcerer class. You can only carry one armor, weapon, and trinket. Would this get in a character's way as he thinks he is picking up a fighter's weapon when in reality he chose a sorcerer's weapon? Or possibly would the player get different armors mixed up and have a weak one of the sorcerer when intended to have a knight's armor? Would they be able to cast spells on the enemy while dashing them to pieces with a sword?

Could you go a bit more in depth with this idea?


-Gandolf

[Silverwind]

A relatively simple midway would be to make character classes obtainable as gameplay progresses. I'm thinking something simple, like paying a tutor. Obviously the player could only be one class at a time too.

[WarHampster]

Well I guess that this wouldn't work if you're only allowed to carry one weapon and one armor. If you can expand that, then here's what I was thinking:

When you start the game, you have an equally low level in all the game's skills. Sticking with Silver's idea of knight, marksman, and sorcerer, lets say you start off with a basic sword, bow, and fireball spell. Then you go off and do quests, ect. You use your sword most of the time, your magic some of the time, and never use your bow (it counts as "using" a skill when you kill a monster with it). On level up, the amount of skill points that it is possible to distribute to each skill (swordsmanship, archery, magic) reflects how much use used that skill. For example, in this case you might have 5 points available to put into swordsmanship, 3 points to put into magic, and nothing to put into archery. Of course, the total amount of of points you can distribute is limited (let's say that you're allowed to distribute 4 points in total). So you need to think about how you want your character to progress - if you want to focus on swordsmanship, put all four points into it, if you want to focus on magic put 3 there and one in swordsmanship.

So this forces you to think about how you want your character to develop, as if you want to be good at two skills you need to use both of them actively. When you get out of the starting area and starting delving into tougher dungeons, you really need to be strategic. You might want to get better at magic, but your magic isn't strong enough to take out the demons you're battling, so you have to use your swordsmanship to weaken them and then your magic to finish them off, and then gain points to add your your magic skill.  

[Gan]

That's interesting, at the moment I don't plan on expanding to a full inventory style but this would be an interesting concept. Though, a full inventory is troublesome on a screen as small as the iPhone as it'd need the game paused or would just be in the way. Now if there was a bigger screen such as a tablet...

Yeah, so two choices. Would you guys like the player to choose the class up front or pick it later in the game?


-Gandolf

[Xiphos]

Later in the game

[Gnome]

Or we can be super original in that you are amazing at the start, just so each player has a taste of each types power. Then it turns out it was just a dream...


come to think of it... what is the current battle system?

[Gan]

Colliding with the enemy causes an attack to occur.

So, at the apparent challenge of trying to program classes obtained later in the game wihout a storyboad framework or maps to hold it, I will start coding it in the front for now. Then it can be moved if wanted when we figure how we're going to set it up with the story and actually stick the story in the game. I have another programming class tomorrow and this seems to be the easiest way to get the 3 classes made with their battle systems. I hope this won't be as daunting a challenge as the save system was.


-Gandolf
P.S. If we are to set class choosing later in the game, than what class will the player originally be when starting? At the current system, he/she is a fighter. If the player starts as a fighter, they have already experienced a class.

[Silverwind]

I'm still entirely fearful of anything complicated, so I suggest (if we go with classes at all) that the player starts out as an Explorer/Adventurer and can later pay NPCs to learn the secrets of their trade. For example:

Mrágin the Mystic: Hail and well met young lad! If you pay me for the time, I'll teach you the secrets of sorcery to assist you on your quest.

This adds to the choice aspect of money spending. Will the player invest in a new weapon or learn a trade?

[Gan]

That sounds pretty good, though when the player learns sorcery, he/she turns his/her back on plain sword fighting and the chance to become a marksman?


-Gandolf

[WarHampster]

If you're a marksman or a mage then there will be ranged combat, right?