Ramblings of a Madman - Act 1 - Give and Take

Opening

Let’s do something a little different today. So far I’ve been using my itch page just for version updates of the main game I’m working on and it’s coming along pretty well but leads to infrequent updates here. While the itch page of a project still in the early phases isn’t exactly something that needs constant updates I’d like to work on all aspects of game design. Writing proper documentation as well as putting my thoughts into words is something I don’t do nearly enough of. So without dwelling too long on the intro let’s dive into the topic of today’s article. 

If somehow you’re reading this without being aware of my project ahead of time then I’ll briefly explain my game. I’m working on an NES inspired RPG in the vein of Final Fantasy or Dragon Quest. My goal is to imitate the style and charm of the era but not necessarily find myself falling victim to the pitfalls of the genre. That said, while I’d like to make a game inspired by the greats I also want to make something different, something that’s mine. 

A project like this where I attempt to replicate the style but not the execution of the project is… well an interesting challenge to say the least. There are many steps where I have to ask myself if it’s worth making my game noticeably worse just to replicate a gameplay style of some of the earliest RPGs. Often I find myself giving way to newer gameplay mindsets as honestly while a lot of the older games are great for nostalgia they’re… well less fun. 

Rambling

Let’s use the current leveling system I’m implementing as both the example and the subject of today's article. For the last seven months of my project I’ve been using a fairly simplistic character class progression model. Similar to final fantasy you build a party of four characters out of a selection of classes (5 currently) and that handles most of the character and party management you as a player make. After that it’s really a case of playing through the game with the classes you have and equipping items with bigger numbers. Entertaining but one white mage isn’t exactly different from the three other white mages you put in your party. 

Growth would come from leveling up where a character will gain skills and stats at set levels. I was clinging to this method as a more complicated character progression model would not exactly be reminiscent of the era. But as I press forward working on the second dungeon at this point I find it’s kind of a problem. There’s just not much notable about the characters that really make them feel… well personal. RPG’s have really grown in the last thirty plus years and something as simple as gaining abilities at set levels feels dull. 

I’ve attempted to bridge the gap between new and old but focusing on abilities that are more interesting. The architect class for example has an extremely cheap defense buffing move that also heals allies. I wanted to encourage the use of buffs even in random encounters and while I think this has worked to be distinctive, it’s not enough. While the moves might be interesting there’s just not enough there to really feel an attachment to characters. 

Specifics

Going to be a little more specifically technical for the next few paragraphs… What I’ve finally landed on is a pretty simple choice system. At each level you gain stats as per normal but you also get a choice of different things depending on your level. Every 3 levels you get access to 2 new skills and whatever skills you didn’t pick previously. Building a pool of abilities that really allow you to make some choice for your character but not opening it up in a way that all the classes end up effectively the same. 

Every level that ends in 5 you get access to a… “Weak” passive and every level that ends in “0” you get a strong passive. A weak passive would be something along the lines of 25% more HP while a strong passive would be something like defense buffs applying twice. 

Every level that’s not divisible by 3 or ending in 5/0 is just a simple stat level where I let the player choose some stat to boost. The goal here will be giving options of stats the class doesn’t already excel at so that characters can grow in different directions. I really want to try to make it more interesting than the meta being to put everything into “POWER”. 

Closing

While this system seems simplistic in comparison to… well many games I feel that it’s the most fitting for this kind of project. It adds a level of depth to the game to hopefully engage players to a greater degree while not hitting complexity levels that would honestly be beyond the scope of this project. 

My hopes are to make a game that is actually fun while paying tribute to the roots of the genre.  In the end it really comes down to making something I’m happy with and I think this update is a great step in that direction. 

I don’t think I’m going to overcomplicate my post here. I’m not trying to write a novel here, I really would just like to be able to use this space to help articulate my current thoughts and feelings on the project. Expect to see more of these when I actually get inspired to write far too much about my work. 

Note - The updates to systems mentioned are not actually released in the current build yet, they’ll be part of what I’m preparing as my more official demo build. I’d like to have the second dungeon and up to level 10 for character growth implemented which is hopefully going to be done in the next month if I can manage it.