(just to let you know, this is about game design, despite the strange thread name
)
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Part 1: If I had some mithril...
A long time ago, I once stated (though others have said it before me) that since weapons were so expensive in the old days, wouldn''t it be easier to upgrade your sword rather than buy a new one?
I''m taking the idea a bit further. Many of you are familiar with FF8''s method of upgrading and remodeling weapons. I think that there should also be a feature of custom "tweaking". If the player wants, they should be allowed to make their own modifications to the weapon, either for special purposes or they just think they''re better than us at designing weapons.
Taking the idea even further, we could let the player forge his own weapon. How many of you read the
Dragonheart novel? Remember the peasants forging their own blades? Well, what if we let the player gather materials and create their own weapons. Heck, you never know what they could come up with (hey, if we let them do alchemy... and in the Elder Scrolls they can make their own spells). For instance, say the player has some iron or mithril on hand. And then a phoenix feather in the other. They can be combined to create a flaming sword (like in Exile III).
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Part 2: But I don''t wanna gossip...
I''m sure some of you have though of implementing an AI similar to
The Sims at one point or another. It would allow more socializing among NPCs (remember, NPC''s are people too!), and enhance the depth of the game.
For instance, say you have NPC Billy here, and he''s a good friend with NPC Bobby, but he thinks NPC Jimmy is a jerk. When you talk to him about Bobby, he has a pretty good attitude about him. Of course, if you discuss Jimmy with him, he probably mumbles something about Jimmy being a pain in the rear.
For the technical among you, you could probably pull this off with a linked list. I''ve never actually tried (still busy studying my Graphics APIs... studying both DX and OGL at the same time can be a pain in the rear
).
Now, don''t read too much into the Sims AI thing, you don''t have to implement hugging and kissing (but hey, whatever enhances depth...
)
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Part 3: Joe Lieberman, The Democrat Pack, and heaven knows what else
One of the coolest features, in RPGs, I believe, is the ability to exist in an entirely different world, and to experience a different reality.
However, as cool as many RPGs are, there is one thing a great many of them lack... total freedom. I''m talking Morrowind style freedom here. The ability to stray away from the main storyline, and experience the world on your own terms.
What does this have to do with Lieberman? I''m not sure, actually. Well, he''s a politician, and I once had a talk with a friend of mine (the designer on my former game team). Somewhere in the conversation, the topic of "wouldn''t it be cool if we could run for office in an RPG" came up. That spawned a series of ideas in my brain. What if you could do pretty much anything you wanted? Sure, being an adventurer is cool, but being an assasin or politican would be kind of interesting too.
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Part 4: That''s my life story
Those of you who''ve played Daggerfall have, at one time or another, probably tried to generate your own character biography. This, in my opinion, is a truly brilliant feature (and people wonder why I want
Morrowind so much
). You can, like with any idea, take this one step further. I''ll leave it to your imagination to figure out new and undoubtedly interesting possiblities, but what if you could generate your own status in society? Noble, peasant, etc. Or generate your own childhood, your family, and your town?
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Epilogue
And thus, Darkmage came to inherit the kingdom... oh wait, sorry, I drifted off there for a moment. Anyway, these are just some cool RPG ideas, and one of many that have popped up over the years in the quest to create a richer world.
And now, it''s getting pretty late (actually it''s 2:05 AM... my mom would kill me if she knew I was up this late
). See you another day...
- DarkMage139 (
Neokatana Software)
++++++++++++++++
"Shut up and give me the freakin code" -unknown
"Ask and you will be shot" -snes16bit
"Not again!" -SHilbert (upon being assimilated)
"Nazrix is cool." - Nazrix
"You''ve only seen the beginning" -The Dark Lord of RPGs
"I''m gonna go get high on Squaresoft games" - ILoveNataliePortman
