Poll: Would a pirate FPS/RPG work? (Uni research)

[SushiJaguar]

Flintlocks were only really effective as muskets. Hence why pirates used them in close-ish combat. Flintlock pistols would likely be accurate as a shotgun is, lacking in range and accuracy at range, but powerful and on the mark.

I see most flintlock pistols and blunderbuss' being used at ship-to-ship combat to stave off/take out opposing briny ol' seadogs. Privateers, for example, used muskets and smaller flintlocks in equal measure to have more accurate guns so as not to create "a demmned mess, sirrah." Or...something. British pirates ftw, anyway.

Seriously, I think this is a fresh idea, but do not for the love of god include anything like VATS.

 

[Dedtoo]

Well, the pirate team was my favorite in Pirates, vikings, knights 2, so sounds good.

 

[Rblade]

I fear the pirates place of living, a ship, would make it a bit boring. If you make the ships to be raided unrealisticly big it would become fantasy. actuall size would leave little room for differences in fire fights.

finnaly you could let pirates do battle on land but then they would basically just be bandits, not pirates.

Thinking about it I could see it happen as a sort of "total war" style meta game within a bigger more strategy based pirate game. Meaning shootouts on boats and in harbors are optional to play out yourself within the bigger picture of roaming the 7 seas.

 

[LtWiesel]

For a RPG i can imagine several nice stories with pirates/being a pirate but fps....meh

They used many melee weapons, daggers, swords, rapier, and melee combat in fps is always strange and looks stupid. But 3rd person slashing and shooting my way to some treasures shouting YARRRR like a drunken, bearded Dante...this could work ^^

Okay this wasnt rpg like but hey you can take any rpg and put it in a pirate setting, i would buy it

 

[phenity]

Considering that Pirates only used guns on occasion it might not work at all really.

Maybe an overhead game like Assassin's creed on the seven seas. YARRRR, that may work.

 

[TheTaco007]

I forsee problems with pacing. If you're spending months sailing from place to place, it wouldn't be very engaging.

How 'bout a mech game? A customizable one? There aren't enough mech games on the market today.

 

[C95J]

yeah, I think it could work. It would be a nice different genre, and the idea of it sounds good.

 

[Claptrap]

That's a great idea, I only problem i can see is the gun/reload thing, But who said you can't change things around a bit?

I can just see ship vs ship, Bullets and cannons flying everywhere, People chargeing onto your ship with swords...

Do it!

 

[AmrasCalmacil]

For shooting, do what Blackbeard did, rather than a complicated reload animation where you shove the powder into the flintlock pistol, the shot, pack it all up, and such. Instead you take a shot, throw that gun down, (say you have about six shots and can pick up enemy weaponry) take another from your bandoleer, pull the hammer back and you're ready to shoot again. Have a Haloesque melee system, so you can club people with your pistol/musket, and hack and slash with your cutlass or sabre or what have you.

 

[Folio]

Yarrr... No man can deny the importance of tale-telling in an RPG, matey. Yet no man wishes to keep one without bullet-holes in a shooter.

Tell yer Cap'tain to do some historical insight about them real pirates, they are not always what you think they are. Them scurvy dogs think about a kid with arms of rubber, looking for treasure on a place that has no map.

Aye, load the cannons for some tale-soaked treasure hunt or to Davy Jones' locker to ya all!

Yer nothin' but a deck-swab, boy. But you will soon see why there be dragons to yonder seas.

 

[Patty1234]

I like it

however - i think it might work better with third person sword combat, like the sort of thing in Prince of Persia (but without all the stupid QTE's) or the legend of Zelda games

 

[crotalidian]

Flintlock pistols and blunderblusses? Yeah... fire one horribly inaccurate shot every minute... XD
I dont really think it would work. However a 3rd person Dynasty Warriors style slash em up would be pretty cool.
Or I suppose something like Oblivion but labelling it a shooter would be a bad idea.

I like the idea of moving it to 3rd person or over the shoulder game with some visceral fights (there is a cool concept on experienced points but I cant find the article), using a fatigue, skill and one hit kill model for the cutlass battles. maybe option of 2 handed rifle/blunderbuss or a pistol cutlass option for melee. I would buy it I have to say, pirates dont get enough good games and one like thios could be a lot of fun

 

[mayney93]

sounds like fallout 3 crossed with borderlands and set in pirates of the Caribbean, i'd buy it

 

[Zhukov]

Yeah... I guess it could work, why not?

Probably work better with third person hack & slash gameplay though. As someone else pointed out, flintlock pistols, muskets and blunderbusses aren't exactly run & gun material. I'm sure you could still involve firearms somehow though.

 

[guntotingtomcat]

presumably you'd have swordfighting, which I imagine would be pretty hard to implement in first person. Maybe best done in third?
as for the whole old timey gun thing, how about setting it on the U.S.S. Alabama or some such thing. A blockade runner, rather than a pirate. Just as cool but with better guns.
edit: sorry, that's the C.S.S. Alabama.

 

[Super Toast]

Here's the gist: this year at Uni, for my game art course, we have to create a huge design document of a single game idea. Basicaly develop a game but without the whole programming element. I'm still all over the place at the mo, but this idea popped into my head the other day: PIRATES. (The genre of pirates isn't as used as you'd think)

In short: a FPS/RPG which focuses around a pair of lowlifes who get roped into service by some pirates, but then steal a large treasure for themselves and thus begins a story of escape, betrayal yada yada yada. Imagine Fallout 3, but with a larger freedom of movement and environment travesring, co-op with a friend, a quick swtich between sword and guns, and exploration including sailing and treasure hunting, proper pirating and a couple mini-games on the side.

There's loads of other issues such as timezone, art style and whatnot, but do you reckon the gist of what I'm trying to develop works? Would it be better in 3rd person? I'll add a poll. Comments welcome. (By the way the game idea is currently known as "Plunder")

It's a great idea, but maybe you should make it more akin to Condemned. By that I mean, my make it so swords are what you'll mostly be using, and that flintlock pistols and blunderbuss's are a rare, lethal treat. After all, guns weren't exactly easy to use back then, and pirates didn't usually have bandoilers of ammo.

 

[Mr Pantomime]

Flintlock pistols and blunderblusses? Yeah... fire one horribly inaccurate shot every minute... XD

Yeah I did think that would a bit of a problem...

Look at the Metal Gear Solid 4 Tanegashima. Your'e looking at reload times similar to that.

As for the game, Pirates idea seems cool for a base, but id like you to add a lot of personal touches. Some sort of magic would kind of detract from a pirate game (magic you can use that is), but otherwordly forces would really add to it (See Demon King in Sengoku Basara). Weird weapons/gadgets and fighting styles would be cool, and while slightly unrealistic, still keeps with the era, and add flavour to the world (see Date Masamune, Honda, Sasukes Glider flute, all from Sengoku Basara)

A ship would probably be a big part of the series, so give it some character. Coloured sails, cool figurehead, exhaust pipes etc.

For reference:

 

[nuba km]

snip

the main thing I would want in a multi player pirate game is making boat battles feel like a team effort, one person steering, other loading and firing the cannons, others fixing holes and yet more jumping on the other ship to take it over or staying on the ship to defend it. also just to say pirates had one bullet per gun and reloaded after battle so concentrate on sword and ship fighting.

 

[Gindil]

I think it would be better to have it in a steampunk setting. Keep the idea of FPS and 17th century battling with swords and pistols, but give it a healthy dose of updated weapons as you go along.

You can start with the one shot flintlocks that you can pick up on the field with a sword in the other hand, but as you get further that guns hold several chambers (no more than six however), and your cannons can upgrade to be glass shooters or somesuch.