RPG Concept I came up with.

[blaza]

So, to start off, im the kind of person who is always thinking of way to better or create things. Thats how I came up with the idea.
Setting:

Anyways envisioned it to be an open world rpg (ala Bethesda style) with a steampunk type of setting.People have guns, rather advanced (but a bit unstable) technology, but (kinda like Final Fantasy) people still use swords, and other "outdated" weaponry.There are also mage like scientist called "Crystilics" who use a form of magic/science called "Crystal" which is basicly using nearby elements and focusing them into whatever they need, be is a fire ball formed from heat, or a last second melee weapon from a steel wall.

Story:
I didnt really put much thought into the story, just kind of gave it a bit of a bland story, ill update this section if somone thinks of anything better. Basiclyyou take the role of your character in one of three starting stories (Kinda lik Dragon Age, but lengthier) one starting you in a low class family. Then in a middle and high class. Anyways somthing happens in which you become the leader of a group of rebels trying to over throw the towns governent then eventually leading to unite the nations.

Combat:
The combat will have two options at the begining of the game. An 'old school' option which is based of your skills for your chance to hit (ala Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind) and a 'action' mode (somthing more along of the line of modern RPGS). There will be 3 types of combat. Ranged which uses guns, which will have some unique weapons ill explain later. Melee, which uses swords, maces, hand to hand, etc. and Crystal which uses well...crystal

Weapons:
Ranged: Your usual arsenal, pistols,assault rifles, rifles, shotguns etc. but with a few unique ones (ill update if anyone suggests somthing)

Blackout: A gun that shoots a tar like substance, keeps enemies in place for a certain amont of time, great for keeping distance from your enemies.

Occoms Razor (Cookie if you get the reference): Shoots a whirling triple pronged blade that does massive damage, but its slow to reload and hard to hit with.

Melee: Katanas, broadswords, short swords, daggers, if its sharp Id like to use it to stab people. (maybe some unique ones, didnt give it much thought, feel free to help me out)

Crystal: All depends on your environment. If theres a fire nearby, you use the heat to make a fire ball. Your weapon break? If your skill is high enough make you a quick 'dumbed' down weapon from a metal wall or iron ore nearby.

Competitive Multiplayer:
I know what your thinking "oh God, it was going sooo goood! WHY!?" I wanted to personalize multiplayer and make it unique.You will get unlimited 'character' slots to which you can make differnt characters that will use mainly one style of fighting. You will have a 'personal' rank which will be your level and a character level. Once you get 2 types of characters 'max' level you can hybrid classses and skills.

Thats aboutit, feel free to suggest name changes, and other things. Also, would you play it?

 

[IBlackKiteI]

Seems interesting, but generic.

Multiplayer and the weapons seem pretty cool though.

 

[blaza]

Seems interesting, but generic.

Multiplayer and the weapons seem pretty cool though.

The generic part was what I wanted to change with community suggesions.

 

[waive]

Change your melee weapons to include more then just sharp weapons. Blunt weapons are far better then sharp weapons against armored enemies.

And I'd add bows or something, because if your guns are crappy, then the bow can be used by expert marksman while the gun can be used by any guy. If your guns are good, then melee combat is pretty much unnecesary. So the bow makes it seem like guns aren't quite to the point of murderous super weapon, and more like 'hey its new, but the bow is still competitive'

The Magic Idea sounds cool though.

 

[twaddle]

i too have recently come to terms with how generic my game ideas are the only thing going for my game is playing through it involves a chapter like process where each level is a story of some random npc and how you have to save them-ish. I digress. you need a hook...Actually this is a game that were talking about so you need several BETTER hooks. Almost no one makes a successful game alone so find a team of at least 3-6 people and i hope you have a skill to put into the game besides idea guy. Right now i need a team but i have no skill and hopefully by this time next year i will have at least coding...

 

[Daedalus1942]

Okay, well apart from the multiplayer and the "Modern RPG action mode", this sounds alot like Arcanum, which I urge everyone here to play.
-Tabs<3-

 

[Saltyk]

Interesting idea. But if you're going to work on the story, I'd suggest that you focus on ONE good story rather than three mediocre stories. Or perhaps you could make the origin stories different for each class. For example, the poor story starts you out with melee weapons, the middle class would get ranged guns, and the rich would have the crystal "magic". This would make sense in the world as that is what they could afford. You'd have to make balance an issue. The poor class has great strength and stamina while the rich one would have weak strength and low health, but great power with their abilities, for example.

In combat, stick to one battle system. And avoid "skill based" battle. That's a major complaint I had in Fallout. I could point my gun at someone and miss. Sure it worked well in the V.A.T.S. system, but it was annoying to miss when I shot someone.

As for weapons, I'd like more melee weapons like spears, clubs, and maces. For ranged, I can't think of anything, but the Occoms Razor is an awesome name. It just seems so simple. It must be right. (I'll take that cookie)

Can't say much about crystal. It sounds very situational. It would be hard to use. Perhaps you should let the player buy and carry things like water bottles, lighters, and small bits of metal to allow them full use of their powers within limits.

 

[WanderingFool]

Weapons:
Ranged: Your usual arsenal, pistols,assault rifles, rifles, shotguns etc. but with a few unique ones (ill update if anyone suggests somthing)

May I make the first suggestion here. If you are going for steampunk, I would avoid automatic weapons as those are hand-held murder against melee. Actually, I would avoid most semiauto weapons, or make them late game weapons.

For guns: Revolver (double-action), Rifle (single-action like bolt or lever), shotgun (double-barrel sideXside, lever, and in late stages pump-action). Also...

And I'd add bows or something, because if your guns are crappy, then the bow can be used by expert marksman while the gun can be used by any guy. If your guns are good, then melee combat is pretty much unnecesary. So the bow makes it seem like guns aren't quite to the point of murderous super weapon, and more like 'hey its new, but the bow is still competitive'

Not so sure about bows, but crossbows deffinitly, and whats more, you could make useful CB bolts like in the thief games.

Blackout: A gun that shoots a tar like substance, keeps enemies in place for a certain amont of time, great for keeping distance from your enemies.

Occoms Razor (Cookie if you get the reference): Shoots a whirling triple pronged blade that does massive damage, but its slow to reload and hard to hit with.

Occoms Razor, if I remember correctly, is the simplest solution is the best... so maybe some kind of Oxymoron?

Melee: Katanas, broadswords, short swords, daggers, if its sharp Id like to use it to stab people. (maybe some unique ones, didnt give it much thought, feel free to help me out)

Change your melee weapons to include more then just sharp weapons. Blunt weapons are far better then sharp weapons against armored enemies.

I agree here.

Crystal: All depends on your environment. If theres a fire nearby, you use the heat to make a fire ball. Your weapon break? If your skill is high enough make you a quick 'dumbed' down weapon from a metal wall or iron ore nearby.

The Magic Idea sounds cool though.

Again agree with this, though this make me think Alchemy rather than magic.

Im not really the person to ask about settings and story, both because Im not that good, and I may use a setting I think of myself, so I want to keep tight reign on those >.

 

[Canid117]

Lets add a twist. Make the rebellion evil and become a horrific tyrant after you succeed with the game ending with your Karmic death.

 

[Dimensional Vortex]

The story didn't really seem to capture me to much. The story is everything, you said you wanted a game lengthier than Dragon Age, so you're going to need a hell of a lot of story. Also being the leader of a group of rebels close to the start of the game seems kind of hard to follow with another idea, so make it that you rise through the ranks in the rebellion or something. Personally I prefer old mid evil RPG's, a modern one doesn't appeal to me unless it is Fallout 3/New Vegas, and that only appeals because it is all post-apocalyptic.

Think of a better story is what you should do first, game play and setting isn't too hard to think of, but the story line is probably the most difficult to think of yet the easiest to animate.

This game seems to be a too large of cross between two worlds, that otherwise, would be entirely different. For one, you're saying people have swords, maces and the like but these are so much harder to acquire than guns in a modern society. You have Scientist/Mages which is a bit contradictory to itself, seeing how Science and Magic are (or were) massive enemies to each other a while back, and most Science disproves Magic. Unless this game has a combat similar to Fallout 3, were someone can start shooting at you and you can run up to them and hit them with a sword without taking to much damage from the copious amounts of bullets that hit you when running, it seems ranged will be the easiest choice. It does seem a bit unbelievable to see a bunch of NPC's walking around with Katana's and Broadswords which are rare in a modern society. You could include a building or a few buildings that have Japanese characters on them, and inside are people dressed like Samurai/Ninja's and wielding Katana's who could teach you the art of using the aforementioned weapon, but other than that it seems too ridiculous if a lot of people have a sword or swords.

Also if people were to use a sword there would probably have to be a large array of attacks to keep them entertained, it won't be as easy as point, click and wait like you do with guns.

Please don't get the wrong message about my comment, don't think I am trying to ruin your idea but you have a long way to go before it is even close to being worthy of being made into a game. I'm also just pointing out the large flaws in some of the areas, this is just constructive criticism, don't get the wrong idea.

 

[TragicHero84]

I too had an idea for an RPG... it's set in modern times in an actual US city. Zombie apocalypse is happening. It has Mass Effect style of gameplay, except it's more strategy-based. You have a medic in your party who is actually a doctor, and your weapons are guns and melee weapons like bats, etc. That's about all I've got so far lol

 

[Savagezion]

SNIP (Original Post)

Then add this:

I'd think unique "construct apparati" would be interesting to see too. Robots and other inventions that players could tinker with. On par with Dead Rising 2's weapon system.

You get this:

Okay, well apart from the multiplayer and the "Modern RPG action mode", this sounds alot like Arcanum, which I urge everyone here to play.
-Tabs<3-

Arcanum is my favorite RPG with Mass Effect coming into a close second. It has an isometric view like Diablo instead of Bethesda style as well. But other than that you almost perfectly described Arcanum in all of this. Only it comes with alot more backstories and character customization.

Go check it out if you like this game idea and haven't yet.

 

[waive]

And I'd add bows or something, because if your guns are crappy, then the bow can be used by expert marksman while the gun can be used by any guy. If your guns are good, then melee combat is pretty much unnecesary. So the bow makes it seem like guns aren't quite to the point of murderous super weapon, and more like 'hey its new, but the bow is still competitive'

Not so sure about bows, but crossbows deffinitly, and whats more, you could make useful CB bolts like in the thief games.

The main thing with crossbows though is that there pretty hard to load, I'm a pretty shitty archer but even I can put out 4 or so arrows pretty fast, not very accuratly, but still a lot faster then a gun or crossbow. Unless you go with Van Helsing's route.

I do like the idea of different bolts/arrows though, would make ranged combat more fun then just 'pew pew;

 

[blaza]

i too have recently come to terms with how generic my game ideas are the only thing going for my game is playing through it involves a chapter like process where each level is a story of some random npc and how you have to save them-ish. I digress. you need a hook...Actually this is a game that were talking about so you need several BETTER hooks. Almost no one makes a successful game alone so find a team of at least 3-6 people and i hope you have a skill to put into the game besides idea guy. Right now i need a team but i have no skill and hopefully by this time next year i will have at least coding...

I do a bit of 3D modeling in blender, not the best (especially with the new version) but then again im not the guy makign cofee tables out of default cubes.

Lots of great ideas, guys. Also how in the world did I forget to add blunts and axes, lol.
Ill update the OP if it lets me, not sure of the Escapist editing rules.

Also @ WanderingFool, alchemy was kind of my inspiration for the magic, Full Metal Alchemist alchemy more then the actual practice though.

 

[Angerwing]

Seems very generic. 1 part Morrowind, 1 part Final Fantasy and 1 part Dragon Age do not equal 3 parts awesome. That's being derivative and bland. Look ahead, and do something new.

Also, shouldn't Occam's Razor be a very basic, simple weapon? Seems counter-intuitive otherwise.

 

[Iron Mal]

The main difficulty I can see you having is balancing the three forms of combat you were talking about (innovation is good and so is having interesting ideas behind it but if it's broken and not fun to play then you'll find that people still won't like playing it).

RPG's are particularly hard to balance since you have to take into account things like levelling up (Bioshock 2 failed at this in my opinion, having an extremely limited loadout at the beginning made every battle feel like an uphill struggle becausemy choices were terrible) and oneswith magic especially so (at high levels it's entirely possible for magic to be a game breaker if it's made too powerful or universal).

My way of doing it would be to make each 'form' of combat different in the way it plays.

For example:

Melee should be the simplest form to use (most new players should see melee as the preferable option while they're still getting into the game), in both gameplay and narrative running up to someone and beating the ever-lasting piss out of them is something anyone can get the grip of quickly and without too much difficulty (it's reliable, doesn't require much training or experience and has few other requirements like ammo or 'energy/power').

I would consider giving melee players bonus health and speed to compensate for the fact that their playstyle will require them to close in with an enemy who will almost always have an advantage in range and damage dealing potential.

Firearms should be something that enables one to dish out a lot of damage and quickly but not able to take much of a beating (that's the melee player's job) and is somewhat restricted in terms of mobility (their advantage is range, they don't have to move much), this means that firearm players have the capacity to be devestating but only if they live long enough and keep a track of their ammo as well as their position in relation to other players (people have to play carefully).

The Magic/Crystal method you mentioned should be somewhat unpredictable and situational (and possibly even dangerous), in other words, it should be an unappealing choice for anyone unless they really know what they're doing (I'm assuming that in the narrative people with 'crystal powers' would be somewhat rare, your gameplay should reflect that).

Basically, yes, you could cause the earth to split open underneath someone's feet and send them to the bowels of the Earth but at the same time you could cause yourself to explode into a pretty pink mist/melt into a puddle of gore/be torn limb from limb by the force of your powers/electrocute yourself/get dragged into another dimension/otherwise get killed in a suitably graphic fashion.

 

[Heart of Darkness]

I'll agree with what's been said so far: the story itself is very generic, but by no means is that a bad thing. A steampunk setting, if pulled off correctly, would actually be pretty cool. Perhaps instead of making the story about the overthrow of a government, why not make it a war between magic and the advancing technology of the times? You can still get three stories out of this without changing the early game content at all, and simply change what "path" the player can choose to go down at the end.

As far as gameplay goes, again I'll have to agree with what people have already said. If your firearms are advanced enough to outclass hand-to-hand combat, then consider either removing those weapons from the game or relegate them to secondary weapons once you run out of ammo. There are other ways to balance them out, though: accuracy drop-off (making guns only really useful at short range, but more powerful than melee weaponry), slow reload times, possibility to overheat, small magazines, etc. And if you do keep the medieval weaponry, expand it to also contain blunt objects as well as sharp objects; if you're doing magic as well, why not throw in crystal-tipped staves? Staves are always fun to use to whack people with. [/lies]

As far as multiplayer goes, it sounds like a system that would really only benefit early adopters and penalize latecomers. Either add a practice mode that will also allow you to max out characters' levels (maybe at half experience or something), or allow for the hybridization of classes right at the beginning and get rid of character levels entirely (put them at max level, with all skills available to that class). Multiplayer should be an even test of skill, and time bonuses (even if you don't intend for them to happen) are good ways to put newcomers off the multiplayer.

Also, only stick to one form of combat. Trying to do it two different ways will not only be a nightmare to code, but a nightmare to test, as well. If you start this project with a few people with minimal experience, this project is already waaayy to advanced to even consider adding an extra layer of complexity on top of that. And do make sure you do have a skill to bring to a team, be it in graphics, audio, or programming (writing is...meh. You'll see why in a minute). Just being an "idea guy" isn't going to cut it.

Think of a better story is what you should do first, game play and setting isn't too hard to think of, but the story line is probably the most difficult to think of yet the easiest to animate.

And actually, I'm going to advise against this. While story should be a relatively important part of development, do NOT let it take priority. Priority in games should always be given first and foremost to actual gameplay and making it not break with the frequency of hot or humid days in Florida. Granted, you can't really make art assets without a story, and you do need to make the gameplay fit within its context, but a basic framework, not a fully-developed novel, should be sufficient to develop everything else from.

Make it work first, then expand the story. Even if its generic, as long as it's told well, it shouldn't be a problem.

 

[Caspertjuhh]

I ALWAYS have wanted to see an RPG or other game form, where you slowly progress up the ranks, and become a more important army guy, you slowly change into a RTS game.

Or, a game where defeat is an option.

Say, a LOTR game where you can lose 50 percent of your troops at helms deep, and that it WILL affect the course of the game. And really affect it.

 

[Jezzascmezza]

Sounds an awful lot like Fable...
But competitive multiplayer sounds cool.

 

[WanderingFool]

-snip
The main thing with crossbows though is that there pretty hard to load, I'm a pretty shitty archer but even I can put out 4 or so arrows pretty fast, not very accuratly, but still a lot faster then a gun or crossbow. Unless you go with Van Helsing's route.

I do like the idea of different bolts/arrows though, would make ranged combat more fun then just 'pew pew;

Medieval crossbows did require some... "work" to reload, but one doesnt need to make a crank-powered bow. Actually, the chinese had a repeating crossbow,

A friend tried to make one himself (lets say he learned a valuble lesson in humility).
Whats good about a crossbow is the ease to use, and like you said, you can put arrows down range, but a properly trained archer could put those same four arrows down range faster and with more accuracy. Bows require practice and training to use properly, and I wonder just how many players will have the time to deal with them. Of course, guns are not completely simple to use either; you have to learn how to clean them, theres proper methods to holding, loading, and firing (BTW, im talking about the older firearms, but soldiers still have to train with their weapon, only in videogames can you pick up a new gun and use it like that.) So like most range weapons, they are easy to use, but take time to master. Plus, I beleive one of the arrows in thief was an arrow that exploded into gas, and knocked guards out, so yeah, dont count bows, crossbows, and arrows/bolts out yet.


*Edit*

Also @ WanderingFool, alchemy was kind of my inspiration for the magic, Full Metal Alchemist alchemy more then the actual practice though.

I kinda figured, that is actully what I meant.