yup chokki is right, but i would see how the gameplay is influance by the story.... making a story is good, but if it affectthe game isnot a gimmick is better.
in my imagination i see a kind of shenmue lite like, without the mundane, i see character wandering like a rpg and trigger event (mostly combat), the wandering part are short there are mostly transition in which the story is presented and with smooth transition turn into combat (it is a fighting game isn''tit??) actually the setting and previous action affect requirement in a combat, a each character fight according to their relation to each other, as far as i imagine this (i always project me far in a design mentally) i see the story change the way the combat goal, maybe some character has not to win, but to prove that character is no worth for fight, or should protect this character, or want to avoid combat with this one, etc... the story would trigger some kind of mission and objectif in combat that could change during the flow of combat (evolving of relation story or situation), it would be fun to feel the personnality the mood of the character in the combat according to the story that the story would feel really important in the game, this also add up to empathy and identification from player to each character

but it''s just me and my imagination

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
be good
be evil
but do it WELL
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Admission: I didn''t read very much of it. It was too long and I''m out of time. Sorry.

I just wanted to comment based on the feedback given so far. I personally enjoy it when a game has a lot of backstory. Just make sure the game''s interactive enough that there are subtle (read: totally optional) ways to discover every bit of it, if the player is so inclined.

****************************************

Brian Lacy
ForeverDream Studios

Comments? Questions? Curious?


"I create. Therefore I am."

Wow! Great story, Neogoukix!

I read up to where Kris dies because I would rather see the story as it''s meant to be (in a game) then read it all here. I think that your Pride prequel answers too many questions about what happens in the games themselves, and should be mostly revealed by events which unfold in the story. This way you have total control over what the player knows and when they know it.

I have seen everything I wanted from your plot, but no real details about how the game will be played. I know it will be a fighting game, but will it be Soul Caliber/Teken style, or will it be Double Dragon/Final Fight style? Will the player gain EXP for battles and learn abilities, or will the players only gain skill from playing and not actually have their character evolve.

I''ll give you a list of games here that might have some elements that you could include in your game, or ideas of how to implement some of your ideas.

Oni (PS2, Rockstar) has a nice combat system mixing 3rd person gun battles with a strong hand to hand combat system, adding in a good plot just to keep it interesting. This game is highly underrated, but should be easy to find for about $20.

Soul Caliber II (PS2, GC, X-box, Namco) is a fighting game with a mode in which you must travel across a map fighting battles and gaining experience. It''s system isn''t too bad, although you don''t seem to get anything from all the experience that you earn, however you can buy new weapons.

Tales of Phantasia (SNES, Namco) is a great old game which, if you can find an english translation patch (search for Dejap on google), should be easy to find and emulate. This game features a fairly straight-forward RPG layout, however battles occur on a 2D field in which you may use learned abilities, etc.

Star Ocean (SNES, Enix). Once again you''ll have to find a translation for this one, but it has a cool fighting system which is 3D, but works much like the one in Tales of Phantasia. I haven''t played much of it yet, so I don''t know about learning abilities or anything... Maybe I should go back to it soon.

I hope some of the items in this list can help you. Thanks for including me in your special thanks (wow, it really does make one feel special), and good luck in continuing your project.

Richard Veysey, RichardMV

In any game, CPU determination should only be used rarely, since a game is made to get the player involved as much as possible. Let the player decide what kind of battle they want to have, but perhaps have a random option for indecisive people like me .