RPG Design Discussion

[Noadi]

Since this is an RPG forum I thought I'd start a thread to discuss how you go about designing your games. I think it could be useful to know how other people work.

Just some basic questions to think about. You don't have to answer them or limit what you say to the questions they are just here to give you a place to start.

1) Why did you decide to make the type of rpg you are making (mmorpg, storydriven, dungeon crawl, etc)?

2) How do you come up with your storylines if it's a story based game? Was it a story you wrote, just a rough idea, or are you still coming up with it as you go?

3) Why did you decide on the type of game play you have? By this I mean is it quest driven or maybe a mystery to solve or maybe just gaining personal power.

4) Battles? How important? What style turn based real time?

Well that's the start. What do you think? I'll post with my answers to the questions tomorrow, in the meantime is anyone else willing to start before me?

[IsmAvatar]

1) Inspired by pokemon (don't laugh. It's a well designed game, but with jokable childish aspects) and a killer storyline idea [that was shot down].

2) I came up with the storyline first, then i started making the game. When I added the storyline in, i expanded upon it a bit. I may be forced to change the storyline, but that doesn't matter. I was planning to base the game design off the storyline, but it's not far enough along that a change would affect anything, I'd just have to turn a different direction before proceeding.

3) As inferred above, I have none really. It was gonna be a type of power driven quest, in which you can go off in whatever direction you want, and your actions affect the world.

4) I'm a pacifist, so I don't like battles, but I figured if i'm going to sell something, it has to have one. The battle system is Dragon Quest/Pokemon based. I will also have a social interaction, similar to the battle interaction, in which it uses what I call a social bar, like morrowind has, in which the higher it gets, the better friends you are. the lower, the more of enemies.

good idea, Noadi. I didn't make a board for this, i never thought of it. if i can find a way that there can be multiple threads for this, i'll make a board for this. for now i think it's fine as is, though.

[Noadi]

There I've stickied the topic so it stics around and we can see how it turns out.

I've had a long day so I'm not going to make this an long as I had planned, maybe I'll elaborate further later.

1) Well I'm a huge fantasy fiction fan so picking a genre was easy, as for the style I've always been a fan of japanese rpgs like Secret of Mana.

2) Parts of the storyline have been short stories for a very long time, long before I thought of making an rpg. The rest is stuff I've filled in around those stories to make the game flow better.

3) I decided on a more problem/mystery solving game rather than combat oriented because I think that's more interesting. Combat still has a major role but not as much as in most rpgs.

4) Like I said in the previous answer I wanted a game where combat doesn't play as important a role and where experience points can be earned by more than just defeating enemies. And it will be turn based in the way old table top dungeons and dragons is, stats plus a random number will determine order of action.

[Antman]

Here's my contribution:

1) I decided to make a MMORPG with Game Maker about a year after i 'challenged' my friend to se who could make the better game. This didn't last long as he gave up pretty quickly . I realised that a MMORPG would be too complicated and instead started making a story-driven RPG.

2) The story is kind of a rough idea, but i'm adding detail and making up bits as I go along.

3) It's going to be in a style similar to Baldur's Gate, where you have to investigate events and strange happenings, while not knowing what is truly happening in the main plot or who your enemies are until near the end of the game. I found BG's plot very enjoyable, so that's where my inspiration is coming from.

4) While battling will be important for defeating bosses and such, i am designing the game so that those who wish to fight a lot can, but it is just as rewarding to find an alternate route or action to evade combat. So it will be possible to complete the game while only fighting a few battles. Because of my original plan in 1), my battles are real-time, but I prefer this as personally, I don't like turn based battles where it goes into a bttle screen (too repetitive and tedious and a load of other things).

I think you should start a new board for RPG game design. The game maker community has a game design board, so why not us?

[IsmAvatar]

Maybe later. When the boards get a bit more popular, and there's higher demand for it, i'll consider it. Right now, it's fine as a simple topic asking how you did it, and anything you want to go more detailed into you can post in the WIP, or if it doesn't fit, just start a new topic here.
That's the last time I answer that question.

[mayhem]

1) Mine's mainly story driven with a main item trading/creating etc focus. I just like games like that I suppose :/

2) I havn't done any story whatsoever . Basically I've just come up with a theme (Night time) and I'll work around that when I get to it...

3) I havn't really decided on a specififc type of game play. Just minimum action, maximum story and item and spell manipulation.

4) Of course I need battles just not too many... I've thought of making the game beatable without having a single fight

[victor]

The first thing you need to do when you creating a game is decide if:

1)It shall be simple grahpics and will I do them myself?

2)I need a good spriter (Noadi?) for this because i am going to use lot of advanced sprite i will just to the coding myself.

3)I'll pick what i find.

This was what i didn't do last i made an RPG and when i coded all the basics and needed sprite to continue i had a hell finding any...............

Best regards
Victor Ekdahl

[Marthik]

1) I decided to make a MMORPG because, I was playing Dransik alot, and other MMORPGs, but mostly Dransik, and I have always liked the idea of being able to do anything, (choping trees for wood to build houses and what not, forging weapons, mining, farming, blah blah...) and a player based society.

2) Since this is a MMORPG, I just placed it in the world I have been building for the past 6 years or so, and just built the rest of the story around that.

3)It'll be mostly power driven, power for money, physical power, mental power (magic), social power, if I can build the sociatiy I want, and get enough people to play, to where you can rule your own lands. Why did I choose it, because I like options. I'll probably end up making like 20 characters for my game

4) Even though it's a MMORPG, you can go through the entire game with out ever fighting, though you may need a guild to protect you if you want to mine, any of the really nice minerals, or whatever you do.

_{Modified by Noadi for spelling and grammar.}

[LiquidGlass]

1) My Rpg was inspired by the older Zeldas and Pokemon. As well as my love for RPGs.

2)I've never been good at thinking up a storyline all at once, it comes out better if I think of it as I go along. So I'm thinking of mine as I go along.

3) Since the story is still in work, it's hard to tell, but Its sorta leaning toward both. There will be mysterys and stuff, but you have to go on journeys to solve them or even encounter them.

4)Battles, Pretty important for my game. Since part of the story is that monsters have started appearing in odd places of the world that seems to hamper people's lives and such. Real-Time for now, but I'm thinking of maybe adding an option so you can play turn-based if you want to.

[Sicth]

1) i decided to make a mmorpg, though its more of a 'morpg' since the first m is for massive... gm can barly handle 10 people online at once...and why is answered with the next 3 answers....

2) I usually dont have a main story. i try to have a number of quests but i end up forgetting majority of them all. I do whatever comes to mind. I'll let others create a story for what i have.

3) I wanted to make a morpg because i really needed a challenge, and online rpg's are my favorite trype of game. and since all the ones i love are either isometric or 2d, i could recreate them on gamemaker!

4) Battles have to be real-time because i always loved fast-paced fights that all you have to do is start shooting magics like crazy
*thinks about Baldur's gate/Icewind Dale*
ahh good times

[hamalnamal]

1) well my gameplay was inspired by zelda and golden sun.

2) Well it started it out as an rpg for this card game my cousin and I made up, but than we thought of another idea for that. but i liked the story line a lot, so i continued with it.

3) i've decided on a quest because i find those to be the most fun

4) Battles are very important and they are a cross between real time and not. the batlles are in separate screens, but they are fought in real time.

IsmAvatar spelling and grammer: mad = made, me and my cousin = my cousin and I, alot = a lot, 'i find' immidiately follows because, i find those are = i find those to be

[myself]

1) Well I basically took all my favorite RPGs and am trying to put all their good aspects into one game. Not that mine is better than any other yet, it still needs alot of work :-P

2) I started building my game, then thought of a storyline to go with it. It's a bit like terminater III.

3) I always like a game with good combat gameplay. So I'm trying to do it pretty much like Diablo II and all those.

4) I'm trying to have more like dungeons where you know where to go because quests can be bad if you get stuck.

[Flashback]

1)Well, It seemed easier to make a quest driven non linear offline game than an online version of anything

2)I came up with storylines for different quests as i made them

3) I made a quest driven game that doesn't have a singular "Goal" or a defined end because it gives the player more flexibility in what they want to do.

4) Battles are important, but the game is not focused on "KILL ENEMYS" or "ONLY THING YOU CAN DO IS BATTLE". my battle system is a unique one, in which you click on an enemy, and if he is near enough, you attack. when you attack, it takes your attack experience versus the AI's attack experience, and the highest one wins. if your level is lower, you run from the battle but lose n health. n=20-your armour level. your gain attack experience by defeating opponents and practicing on dummys.

[IsmAvatar]

Flashback, for number 4, I like your style.
I think more games should be like that. Very unique, and very Pacifist-friendly.

[Flashback]

Thanks Ismavatar! I hate having violent, gory stuff, and that's what you get with swords, so I just made this system. I usually make sci-fi stuff so I can have the weapons not even leave a mark.