A good gameplay mode?

Sn1p3r187

Sn1p3r187

Carolinian Shaolin Monk
Me and NY friends were thinking about making a game. A RPG to be exact. Taking place in a alternate future 6 years from now. The genre we're aiming for is cyberpunk, detective, noir, and a little bit of dystopia. We're planning on the combat to be able utilize companions as well as a cover system that is completely destructable. The setting is going to largely urban taking place around NYC and some areas of Canada. I wanted to know which gameplay mechanic should we put in? An action based combat system like fallout and xcom? Or something more like an action RPG like crisis core, elder scrolls, and deus ex? And suggestions and recommendations?
 
Maybe make it similar to Fallout 1 and 2? Those games still play extremely well in today's standards when it comes to 2-D.
 
Well, personally I think turn-based combat is the best for a RPG. And the best turn-based combat is in Jagged Alliance 2, hands down.
If you want to shake things up a bit, how about a system similar to Darklands, which is sort of a "real time with pause" mechanic? At the beginning of each turn you tell your characters what to do and then the turn plays out in real time, with all characters (including the enemies) on screen acting at the same time? That feels a bit more "dynamic" than the strict turn-based mechanics of Jagged Alliance 2 or Fallout.
 
I would definitely take note of XCOM more than any other title at the present, since it has been the only squad-based tactical game that has been released recently that executes its ideas well.


That infers above other RPGS as of late, Level design and pacing.


Micromanagement is a good aspect of this type of genre, however if it interferes with game-play and becomes cumbersome, most of your game-time will be clicking through menus and organizing character buffs on-top of quest objectives and story-items.


It's much better to play through a level that tells the story itself, rather than having to read a note or talk to an NPC to understand what is going on in the plot. Also, Conversations should be their own reward, not a requirement of memorization towards level objectives.


However, if you want to take the "Detective" theme and extend the subject matter, I would recommend looking at how LA Noir organized their game design.
 
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The Dopamine Cleric said:
I would definitely take note of XCOM more than any other title at the present, since it has been the only squad-based tactical game that has been released recently that executes its ideas well.


That infers above other RPGS as of late, Level design and pacing.


Micromanagement is a good aspect of this type of genre, however if it interferes with game-play and becomes cumbersome, most of your game-time will be clicking through menus and organizing character buffs on-top of quest objectives and story-items.


It's much better to play through a level that tells the story itself, rather than having to read a note or talk to an NPC to understand what is going on in the plot. Also, Conversations should be their own reward, not a requirement of memorization towards level objectives.


However, if you want to take the "Detective" theme and extend the subject matter, I would recommend looking at how LA Noir organized their game design.
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Hmm yeah. But my issue there is I don't want combat to be too slow. While I do like the Action point based combat system, the game itself isn't a squad based tactics game. You could always choose to go solo in it though having companions would be recommended if you want to take on a warehouse full of enemies that are domestic terrorists, it'll just take a lot more time and a lot more thinking involved to jumping to cover and avoid getting shot. But as one said the Action point system is still pretty popular. I just want to know if a pure action based system like one from Elder Scrolls or the newer fallouts versus a action point based combat system would fit best for the game. Though I will take up those recommendations and apply that there.
 
There's always breaking out of the mold. Doing something daring and new. Saying that, of course, is far easier than executing it. You'd effectively be taking disparate examples of very unrelated games to find inspiration to create what hadn't been done before. 15 years ago this would've been easier, like making Fallout Tactics in a world without FOT, but like shooters nowadays in a world saturated with shooters to high heaven, doing something new is incredibly difficult. But like Five Nights at Freddy's demonstrates, it cane be done.

Sorry that this suggestion provides no concrete information to follow up on or examples to take inspiration from. Just hoping the overarching message WILL inspire. =)
 
Like I said, you can have an Action Points based system, if you design the levels correctly.
 
The Dopamine Cleric said:
What type of open world?
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Not on the scale of say Fallout in terms of transportation but something more like Grand Theft Auto and the Far Cry series in terms of open world exploration. New York City will be fully explorable along with some of the Western areas of Canada since it would be required for the main quest that you go to Canada, if you want to keep up with the main quest.
 
Dude, do you have any previous experience making games? Because if you are gonna jump right off the bat into making an open world game you are setting yourself up for failure...
 
Walpknut said:
Dude, do you have any previous experience making games? Because if you are gonna jump right off the bat into making an open world game you are setting yourself up for failure...
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No, right now we're just brainstorming. I've did some classes in designing games in highschool but right now we're just tossing ideas around. My friend is the one who's really rushing it, I've tried telling him to slow down. Lemme get the plot and art figured out and he's kinda jumping the gun. Told him and the guy who wants to work gameplay that we're jumping the gun. But knowing Shawn too well he get's too excited at the idea of making a game he jumps to it. If anything I'm just as concerned as you. But the other guy still wants gameplay ideas thrown around, and then he's so quick to bring up multiplayer. (sigh) sometimes I wonder.
 
Tell him to chill out and better start with something smaller and more focused.

Open world RPGs are extremely hard to do, I mean most AAA haven't been able to do a good one of those and they are more than 3 dudes with the Unity engine.
You could instead opt for an RPG with specific zones but with either a travel map with random encounters or just ditch the open world thing entirely. You can even make it mission based.


Sorry if it's harsh, but It's honest advice.
 
Walpknut said:
Tell him to chill out and better start with something smaller and more focused.

Open world RPGs are extremely hard to do, I mean most AAA haven't been able to do a good one of those and they are more than 3 dudes with the Unity engine.
You could instead opt for an RPG with specific zones but with either a travel map with random encounters or just ditch the open world thing entirely. You can even make it mission based.


Sorry if it's harsh, but It's honest advice.
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Don't worry. I like the honesty there. I think we all need honest criticism. Yeah I guess we could do travel map but we'd have to make the specific locations upon arrival pretty large I guess. But then the gameplay mode we'd be using would still be a thing I'm concerned about.
 
You say you want destructible cover, I would say to look at turn based strategy games like Xcom and the other games the others told you. You can still add your own elements to give them a new spin.
 
I would look at stuff like Xenonauts, Xcom, Wasteland 2, and similar games to start with. You should drastically decrease the size of the game. Open world sounds great on paper, but it can be a real bitch in execution. Take the size you want for the game and cut it in half. Don't overwhelm yourself from the get-go.

The brainstorming phase is always fun, but it is necessary to rein in that creative energy and ground it in reality. Creating your dream game sounds nice, trust me I know, but you will most likely not be able to complete a game of that scope. Procedurally generated terrain would handle the large world you seem to want, so that is worth thinking about.
 
Is Unity capable of handling procedural generated 3D terrain? Maybe you should take a look at other engines too, it might take some time to learn the new one but it might be just worth it. If you and your buddies can spare the money maybe you could try buying a license for another engine, I heard the Unreal has an affordable package. But that's just an idea. I don't know much about the coding portion of it so I might be proposing something much more complicated.
 
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