Re: Smirky's and Keonig's Game design thread (TOP SECRET)

[Cybersix]

>Keonig

[smirkytrick]

Question: Will this game have "Dungeons"?  I know it may not exactly fit the exploration feel, but it seems like a given aspect of the game in order to give a real meaning to the on land portions of gameplay.

Hmmmm... Perhaps... If we decide yes then they would have to be very well hidden and have awesome treasure. Sorta like the one in minecraft. Or maybe ancient ruins perhaps. And what do you mean by the meaning of the land portions? Don't forget about the hunting mechanic.

[Koenig]

>Keonig

Lol I noticed that but did not have the heart to mention it.

Hmmmm... Perhaps... If we decide yes then they would have to be very well hidden and have awesome treasure. Sorta like the one in minecraft. Or maybe ancient ruins perhaps. And what do you mean by the meaning of the land portions? Don't forget about the hunting mechanic.

I was mostly thinging mini-dungeons like the caves and puzzle rooms in Twilight Princess. Though many of these could be merged or themed with ruins or temples like those in minecraft. Just something to break up the randomly generated gameplay with more structured design. (Albeit its location still random in the grand scheme of things)

I am curious about Hunting though, I have a general assumption about how sea-fairing hunts would work, but I am in the dark about how it will work on land.

[smirkytrick]

>Keonig

Lol I noticed that but did not have the heart to mention it.

Hmmmm... Perhaps... If we decide yes then they would have to be very well hidden and have awesome treasure. Sorta like the one in minecraft. Or maybe ancient ruins perhaps. And what do you mean by the meaning of the land portions? Don't forget about the hunting mechanic.

I was mostly thinging mini-dungeons like the caves and puzzle rooms in Twilight Princess. Though many of these could be merged or themed with ruins or temples like those in minecraft. Just something to break up the  randomly generated gameplay with more structured design. (Albeit its location still random in the grand scheme of things)

I am curious about Hunting though, I have a general assumption about how sea-fairing hunts would work, but I am in the dark about how it will work on land.

The way I see it, the land hunting will have animal that'll often have valuable stuff like tusk, hide, meat, etc. Some specific one will often have bounties on them because they are often dangerous. So it would sorta be like monster hunter in a way.

P.S. sorry if I misspelled you name all this time LOL

[Koenig]

How will the hunting take place? Trapping or active shooting?

[smirkytrick]

How will the hunting take place? Trapping or active shooting?

I was thinking of active shooting. Like we could put in a crossbow, or a flintlock pistol, or a blunderbuss. Maybe we could also out in a trap or 2. the the bear trap or something.

[Koenig]

How will the hunting take place? Trapping or active shooting?

I was thinking of active shooting. Like we could put in a crossbow, or a flintlock pistol, or a blunderbuss. Maybe we could also out in a trap or 2. the the bear trap or something.

It sounds good, though I still need to wrap it around my head my head a few times to match it with the aesthetic.

Any other points you want to focus on?

[Koenig]

Suggestion:

Considering the vastly different nature of the three ship types we plan to introduce, may I suggest a different control scheme for each?  We have already determined how sea fairing ships will work, but I think a slightly different control scheme for the other two types would add a greater sense of variety.

Submarines for instance might work best from an interior view within the bridge. The player could still control the ship directly, but his view would be limited to the bridge and any perception apparatus, all the while crew members and sounds echo within to add a layer of claustrophobic atmosphere to contrast the high music of a typical ship.

Due to the underwater nature of these ships, combat would probably be best served in ship to ship format rather than person to person (Though being boarded is still a threat)


(Something along the lines of the ship in Atlantis would do nicely, albeit smaller...)

Airships on the other hand would probably benefit best from a hybrid of the former two; an optional bridge view to look at what is in front of and below you; and a over the head/behind view to give a wider vision range to surrounding threats.

In terms of combat, typically cannon fair and maybe a dogfight or (for larger ships that can carry a bi-plane or equivalent) would cover the ship to ship fair, while on foot combat could be initiated after grappling and towing the other ship, (Preferably after disabling its cannons)

A cross between the following two images:








What do you think?

[smirkytrick]

Suggestion:

Considering the vastly different nature of the three ship types we plan to introduce, may I suggest a different control scheme for each?  We have already determined how sea fairing ships will work, but I think a slightly different control scheme for the other two types would add a greater sense of variety.

I agree with everything in that statement. the control setup for the subs might be a bit challenging, we may have to make it similar to the airship control setup.

Submarines for instance might work best from an interior view within the bridge. The player could still control the ship directly, but his view would be limited to the bridge and any perception apparatus, all the while crew members and sounds echo within to add a layer of claustrophobic atmosphere to contrast the high music of a typical ship.

Hmmmm. a First person interior view... That does sound like it has potential. But what has me concerned is the how much the player could see in this view.

Due to the underwater nature of these ships, combat would probably be best served in ship to ship format rather than person to person (Though being boarded is still a threat)


(Something along the lines of the ship in Atlantis would do nicely, albeit smaller...)

I agree, that it should be smaller. But other than that I don't know what it is you're saying here. sorry.

Airships on the other hand would probably benefit best from a hybrid of the former two; an optional bridge view to look at what is in front of and below you; and a over the head/behind view to give a wider vision range to surrounding threats.

In terms of combat, typically cannon fair and maybe a dogfight or (for larger ships that can carry a bi-plane or equivalent) would cover the ship to ship fair, while on foot combat could be initiated after grappling and towing the other ship, (Preferably after disabling its cannons)

A cross between the following two images:








What do you think?

Well, I kind wanted to give the player the option to walk around in their ship and airship. For the sub though, just controlling the sub would do just fine. I'm not totally sold on that crosshair thing that I'm seeing, maybe if you were manning one of the cannons maybe? I'm all for being able to disable parts of the ships, and that grappling towing thing sounds like a good idea. We'll talk more about his tomorrow. That way I'll be more awake and understand better. night.

[Koenig]

Hmmmm. a First person interior view... That does sound like it has potential. But what has me concerned is the how much the player could see in this view...I agree, that it should be smaller. But other than that I don't know what it is you're saying here. sorry.

Essentially i was trying to address the problem you mentioned; visibility. By have a large viewing section in the larger subs, it would allow the player to still control\l the ship accurately.

Well, I kind wanted to give the player the option to walk around in their ship and airship. For the sub though, just controlling the sub would do just fine. I'm not totally sold on that crosshair thing that I'm seeing, maybe if you were manning one of the cannons maybe? I'm all for being able to disable parts of the ships, and that grappling towing thing sounds like a good idea.

We can still retain the option to walk around the ship (After all, we will still be using airships and subs as HQ's from time to time) I just think that in combat situations we should limit any movement to boarding or the cannon range (Mostly due to the fact the submarines and airships are likely to contain multiple decks fro such controls, where as a seaship typically has a single "Flat" deck)

In regards to the cross-hair bit, I was actually referencing the point of view rather than any firing mechanisms, though as you said; such cross-hairs would be a nice fit to some artillery.

[smirkytrick]

You're sub view idea sounds pretty good. It might actually work.

Hmmm.... I don't know about limiting the on board combat that much. Maybe if we put in some of those swinging ropes, where you could swing onto the enemy ship, but this will be like a one shot deal, also it'll be very hard to pull off. Given only whenever you are brushing against the enemy's side. Also jumping on board whenever the ship is disable will result in greater chances of captures.

The POV of what? the sub? Hmmm... I think I see what you mean now. It'll be like a small room where you can see everything out front right?

Also, I been working on that concept again. This time, I basically removed the ears, add some eye shadow, and made the facial features more 2D.

[Koenig]

Yes. Essentially giving the player a view of what is directly in front, below, and to the sides of the ship. While varying from sub to sub, this would be the typically standard.

The face it looking much better, though I suggest forgoing the eye shadow.

[smirkytrick]

Somehow I knew the eye shadow was a bit much.

How about now?

[Koenig]

Much better. Sam feels much more relatable than he did before. There is still room for improvement, but I can clearly see his base model.

[Koenig]

Idea/Suggestion: Do you like the idea of a ship-based carnival? They would visit random ports across world and set-up temporary services at that port; adding additional features and locations to visit.

We could give them their own story segments which could unlock more content. Likewise, players could play a number of minigames at the carnival and trade for cosmetic or easter-egg items.

[smirkytrick]

Idea/Suggestion: Do you like the idea of a ship-based carnival?  They would visit random ports across world and set-up temporary services at that port; adding additional features and locations to visit.

We could give them their own story segments which could unlock more content. Likewise, players could play a number of minigames at the carnival and trade for cosmetic or easter-egg items.

Hhmmmm... that would give us some fun with the creativity. I have the image of a carnival being this one big ship or a group of ships bound together. If we do include minigames, that would be the ideal place that I would put them. We could also through in some fun prizes. Like a fun mask or something like that.

[Koenig]

My sentiments exactly. Additionally we could add some variety by changing some events or prizes based on what city they dock in; and as a story we could improve their fleet or trade maps with them.

[smirkytrick]

Excelent, also I had this one funny idea for one of the music themes. What if the music for controlling a rowboat, was a remix of row row row your boat?

[Koenig]

Sounds rather cute. We should probably limit any such music to a very limited number of boats (As I could see it become annoying rather quickly) but something the player could return to later on. Based on the name sake, it would probably make sense to limit it to row boats.

[smirkytrick]

Sounds rather cute. We should probably limit any such music to a very limited number of boats (As I could see it become annoying rather quickly) but something the player could return to later on.  Based on the name sake, it would probably make sense to limit it to row boats.

That's exactly what I had in mind.

[smirkytrick]

Here's the Captain's concept

[Koenig]

He needs a hat.

[smirkytrick]

How about now: did it come out right?

[Koenig]

I like his character, but i can't help but imagine him with a huge hat.
Something to match his "Charming" nature and/or eccentricity.

[smirkytrick]

I like his character, but i can't help but imagine him with a huge hat.
Something to match his "Charming" nature and/or eccentricity.

Top hat! Got it!

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