A Mon Game/Series not based on Combat?

Okay, so, a short summary of this idea I had...

In some kind of pseudo-scientific fantasy-esque world humanity is bound by an ancient force called the 'Pact': its presence prevents humans from dieing. If someone is fatally wounded they are instantly revived right then and there without any injuries: the result?

No wars, no murder. Humanity is forced to find other ways to settle things, and finds itself forced to be more honest and honourable overall.

Simultaneously, the Pact allows humans to form a subtle telepathic link to the numerous strange animals called 'Creatures' that roam the world. These 'Creatures' also have the Pact, and so cannot be used as weapons.

The result of all of this are 'Conflicts': a Conflict is essentially a 'race' where humans settle their differences by commanding a team of their personal Creatures to overcome hazards and difficult terrain (as well as slowing down or weakening the enemy team temporarily) to reach some kind of goal (gameplay for Conflicts would basically by Sonic Heroes meets Pokemon).

To Be a Master obviously results, but in this case the 'World Champion' is fundamentally equivalent to 'Emperor of the World'. Or at least Emperor of the Region. :I

If people like the idea, I may update it in future posts.

edited 6th Dec '11 1:04:04 PM by Eventua

So it's basically like the Iditarod, with mons?

Sounds awesome. Will you actually make it?

edited 1st Dec '11 10:06:00 AM by Wheezy

This does indeed sound awesome, although I do have one question: tonally speaking, how "serious" is this project going to be? I can see it going both ways, deconstructing, parodying, or playing straight at length. (Devil Survivor is a pretty dark take on the Mons business, for example, but all the more enjoyable because of it.) So in a nutshell, silly or serious?

Also, this concept kind of reminds me of G Gundam without the fighting...which, in my opinion, is a good thing. Coincidence?

I have no idea what the Iditarod is, and I've never watched any of the Gundam series. :I

As for the tone and 'style' (deconstruction, parody or playing it straight) too be honest, it'd probably shift wildly between them, as most of my writings tend to: my writing, especially for video games, tends to be a mixture of drama (sometimes very dark drama) and comedy (both more intelligent character based humour as well as extremely silly monty python-esque humour).

As for if I'll make it... I'd like to one day, but for now my talents are almost exclusively limited to writing and (to a far lesser degree) voice acting. I've meddled in 3D tools like Blender, but the most I've ever been able to program was Pong, and the most I've ever sprited was a very 'meh' stationary sprite of a character in the Tales Of style.

If I gathered a team of volunteers I'd be interested in at least making a demo, but I'm not going to start asking for help here. In the meantime I'll write stories and scripts for things I can publish and (maybe) sell as e-books on Kindle.

ALSO, I will totally still work on this on the side: details about the world, the plot, major characters, gameplay (as well as things like stats, types, items etc.) and, of course (this being a Mon game at its core after all), the Creatures.

In the meanwhile, anyone got any better suggestions for things other than simply 'Creatures' and 'Conflicts' and 'The Pact' (since those terms were kind of placeholders)?

[EDIT]: Just looked up the Iditarod and G Gundam, and I can tell you that yes, I suppose it has plot aspects similar to G Gundam, but with Mons and the whole 'everyone is immortal' thing. Also, 'Conflicts' aren't quite the same as sled races, though the fundamental idea is the same (races between teams of creatures controlled by a human, though the control is telepathic rather than direct).

edited 1st Dec '11 1:31:46 PM by Eventua

I've had my own idea for a mons series not based on combat, but my notions are a little bit more comedic. It's based on capture the flag, and training teams full of monsters to compete in it.

But I agree that non-combat mons series are indeed underused.

Well, if anyone wants to put in suggestions and ideas and things, or you have questions you wanna ask, please do so (we might as well make this a kind of vaguely community thing, right?). Now then, where shall I start? :I

I think I'll start with something simple: core gameplay for 'Conflicts'.

All Conflicts are divided into two main types: 'Wild Conflicts' and 'Duel Conflicts'.

In both cases, you have a team of your Creatures (still haven't decided how many should be on a team, but I'm thinking somewhere between 3 and 6), and you must control them through a veritable gauntlet of platforms, obstacles, hazards and bonuses, as well as having to deal with some kind of opponent. Both have the same fundamental gameplay, but differ in the objective.

In a 'Wild Conflict' you must use your team to chase down a fleeing Wild Creature in order to catch it before it gets past a certain point and become undetectable by the controlling human. If the team reaches it and gets close enough they can 'tackle' it, which lets you use a special item (totally not a Pokeball Expy, ahem. :I) on the Creature: this will lead to the Creature being 'broken' to the will of the human/player and voila, it's now yours. If you don't use the item and instead let the Wild Creature flee, scoring you some Experience Points for your team.

In a 'Duel Conflict' your team is in a race against your opponent's team, and your objective is simple: reach the 'Goal' before them, and you win (usually gaining a mixture of Experience Points and money in the process).

Your rewards in either case are determined by a mixture of how quickly you tackled the Wild Creature/reached the goal, how many 'Style Points' you scored (collected from skillful play, fast-paced Action Commands and just generally 'doing stuff') and the specific Wild Creature/Rival Player you took on.

edited 1st Dec '11 2:14:42 PM by Eventua

EDIT: Nevermind, considering other ideas.

edited 1st Dec '11 9:10:39 PM by PDown

Now then, I think I shall work on those most wonderful things: Types! Yes, Creatures do have 'Types' in this, though there aren't as wide a variety as normal.

In a nutshell, every Creature has one or two Types, and Types affect how well the Creature responds to 'conditions', 'terrain' and 'hazards'. I will go through each in turn, before summarising with the Types.

Conditions

While the term 'weather' might be (partially) more applicable, 'conditions' essentially refers to the overall, well, conditions of the area. These are difficult to alter artificially, and once a Conflict starts the conditions will remain fixed until the end (though certain techniques may temporarily shift the conditions over a small portion of the gauntlet in your favour).

They are Dry, Wet, Hot, Cold, Windy, Stormy, Night, Transdimensional and Monochrome (any suggestions for others would be appreciated, though).

Terrain

This is, simply put, the stuff that Creatures travel on through the gauntlet. Terrain comes in a huge number of types, some with various odd effects. As with conditions, certain techniques may alter these.

They are Dirt, Gravel, Rock, Asphalt, Smooth, Leaf, Wood, Mud, Marsh, Sand, Ash, Snow, Ice, Cloud, Puddle, River, Slime, Slipstream, Gossamer and Essence (as usual, suggestions would be appreciated).

Hazards

These are things your team should avoid: touching them causes various nasty side effects. Certain kinds of terrain may change into hazards under different circumstances, and many techniques trigger the creation of new hazards.

They are Flames, Lava, Frost, Quicksand, Spikes, Electricity, Noise, Traps, Poison, Vines and Distortions (you know the drill: suggestions would be awesome).

Types

Fire, Water, Earth, Air, Nature, Metal and Cerebral. There may well be more (AKA suggestions).

As an example from the aforementioned types, Fire would be more resistent (or perhaps immune?) to Flames, Lava and Electricity, and would get a boost in Dry or Hot conditions or when traversing Asphalt, Sand or Ash.

However, they would be extra vulnerable to Frost, and would suffer penalties in Cold, Wet or Stormy conditions or when traversing Mud, Marsh, Snow, Puddles or Slime.

edited 2nd Dec '11 12:09:42 PM by Eventua

Well, till someone replies I'll make another post. This time about how, exactly, a Conflict will play out.

Also, on a seperate note, I found an existing Mon racing game: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RL9XOHYSWwc

I may consider getting it, actually, hmm. And I will continue to work on this, due to difference is tone and target audience.

Traversing the World

When not in a Conflict, the player moves between areas in a manner similar to Dissidia Final Fantasy, the Pokemon maps or the world map in Super Mario 3: all of the explorable areas are connected on a large map and represented by 'nodes'. When travelling between areas (done by moving between them, simple enough) the player may be 'engaged' by bandits or Wild Creatures, resulting in a Conflict. However, they can only 'instantly travel' between areas they've already visited. Unlocking new ones requires the player to explore the areas currently available.

Inside an area, the player runs around, collecting items and talking to NP Cs. Some NP Cs may be challenged (or may challenge the player) to Duel Conflicts, and others may sell goods or provide other helpful services. In certain 'wild' areas, however, bandits or wild Creatures may run around, and depending on their behaviour in relation to the combined strength of your party, will activate a Conflict with them on contact.

Conflicts

The exact objectives of Conflicts have been previously mentioned: however, I will attempt to give a more decent summary.

Your 'party' of three Creatures is made up of a 'leader', whom you directly control and two 'assistants' who follow you. A single button press switches which Creature is the leader, thus modifying your moveset and advantages (and disadvantages).

You must make your way through the gauntlet set before you, made up of all manner of hazards and platforms, as well as obstacles. In general, they go as follows:

Terrain, which you run and jump along: it displays noticable different properties, further affected by the Type(s) of the Creature(s) in question.

Hazards, which you ought to avoid, and which also display different properties.

Items which litter the gauntlets, providing additional bonuses, money, experience points etc.

Techniques: the current leader of a Party may use up one of their equipped techniques to produce various effects, hinder opponents or provide boosts. Each Creature can store up to three techniques at once, giving you a total of 9 available techniques during any one Conflict.

Man I'd love to play this! It's like pokemon, except interesting and fresh. Great potential for multiplayer too. i'd totally draw the creatures if you want. It'd be fun.

Really? :D Ah, thank you, that'd be awesome! Annoyingly, however, I've only had ideas for two different Creatures, and the base concept for a third.

There would be two 'Starters' to pick between: a pure Nature type and a pure Metal type, with your rival picking the remaining starter (and yes, that is ripped from Pokemon, I never said this game would be completely unique... >:3).

There would also be one Legendary Creature, unique in that it would actually have three types at once (Nature, Metal and Cerebral), but it would also have the problem of, well, only being available to one of the main antagonists (though I suppose you could hack the game to get one, hmm... :I) and having a tremendous impact on the plot.

Anyway, what shall I post about next? The larger setting? The Pact and its effects? The specific region of this specific game? The plot? Type combinations? Items? Specific Creatures?

Please suggest away! :D

Mm... I guess it's workable—though that can be said for (almost) any concept.

Naming needs a lot of work, but...

I would probably play this game.

Now, wouldn't there be ways behind The Pact, like you can knock out or kidnap someone?

Oh! Missions!

Yeah, with me, naming tends to:

A) be really weird and/or original
B) be really 'adjectivey'

Any suggestions for names for stuff? So far, major concepts include:

Creatures
Conflicts
The Pact
The Spires and the Grand Spire
The World
The Regions

That and the game/series itself has no name. :I

Now, just wondering, should I create a thread in Worldbuilding for this? Also, about the Pact...

The Pact is a consistent and tangible thing that governs the world, which all of humanity follows. Its origin and purpose are both unknown, but there are no records of a time prior to it.

The Pact is focused on several laws, as powerful as any physical law like Gravity or Physics, which must be obeyed: that or face the terrible retribution of the Seventh Law.

• The First Law - No sentient being, Human or Creature, may die
  • By extension, they will not age past 30, they will heal from any wound and will shrug off what would be deadly under normal circumstances, and lastly they cannot be killed by (most) forms of sickness.
• The Second Law - All words must be true, all oaths must be kept
• The Third Law - A Human may form as many bonds as they wish with Creatures, though a Creature may not bond with more than one human
• The Fourth Law - If one Human challenges another to a Conflict, the one who has been challenged must accept it
• The Fifth Law - All Conflicts must have 'terms': both competitors must make equivalent demands of the other should they win
• The Sixth Law - The loser must meet the demands of the Conflict
• The Seventh Law - Failure to obey the Pact through intentionally causing harm, lying or failing to accept a Conflict or its terms will result in [DATA EXPUNGED]

edited 3rd Dec '11 9:43:01 AM by Eventua

Right, again, since no one has posted, another update.

I (and some non Troper friends/acquaintances) have currently come up with 28 different Creatures, including 'growths' (Growths, by the way, are essentially 'Evolutions', and are triggered in the same basic way). Don't worry, there will be more. :D

So far these include two Starters (one Nature, one Metal) and two Legendaries (both completely or partly Cerebral).

The Spires

Across this vast World, of note are the Spires, strange, colossal structures. There is one located in each of the main Regions, and they rise from deep below the ground, high up into the clouds: no one has ever seen the tip of one. Intriguingly, no one has ever ventured inside one and returned, so many feel those places are cursed.

However, it is known that they have always been there: as with the Pact, there are no records of a time prior to their existance, which suggests that they have always been there. Further enhancing this connection is the fact that the most rare and powerful Creatures tend to live in large concentrations around the Spires, and that the effects of the Pact are much stronger there. Also of note, those who break the Pact and thus suffer the vengeance of the Seventh Law, all gradually go quite mad: these individuals frequently mumble about the Spire, and become psychotically violent when near them.

New Creatures periodically emerge from the Spires as well, leading to a constant number of new species.

Lastly, there is the 'Grand Spire', a truly magnificent tower that's stated to be about 20 miles wide at the base: intriguingly, beams of bright light can be seen arcing between it and the lesser Spires on a regular basis. The Grand Spire is located in the centre of the largest Region, Calangos.

edited 4th Dec '11 3:35:03 AM by Eventua

So, how do you plan to:

• 1) Differentiate this game from Pokemon in a substantial, intriguing, and at least vaguely original fashion?
• 2) Come up with more varied and more interesting names for things?
• 3) Establish something for the player to do other than pointless mini-games and fetch quests/level grinding... and combat, apparently?

• 1) Well, the primary ways will be the 'Conflict' system mentioned previously as opposed to battles, as well as a more distinct (and probably darker, now that I think about it) setting that's more fantastical and alien than simply 'basically the real world with Pokemon'.
• 2) I may translate them into Latin or some other language. Alternatively, spell them backwards? :I
• 3) The plot (which starts off in a somewhat standard 'To Be a Master' way before turning into a quest to discover the origins of the Pact and the Spires, and to stop the actions of several antagonists) as well as discovering and capturing all of the Creatures (name subject to change). Also, probably multiplayer if the programmers can be bothered with (and I perfectly understand if they don't. :/)

edited 6th Dec '11 2:47:27 PM by Eventua

Oh, I have a question that had been bugging: With the Pact, is Type I Immortality in effect or can people die from old age?

People can still die from either old age (though their life-spans are extended a great deal, with the average life-span being about 400 or so), or from breaking the Pact: doing so results in the punishment of the Seventh Law, which is very unpleasant indeed.

Madness, pain, glowing red eyes and the presence of strange 'colour inverted' symbols all over the person's body, vomiting, nausea, rapid dehydration and ultimately death.

Liars do not last long in this world. :/

Also, still wondering if I should create a proper thread for this in Worldbuilding to turn it into a proper thing that people can collaborate on.

edited 5th Dec '11 2:17:08 AM by Eventua

Personally, since lying isn't an option, if there is a Big Bad, he should try to loophole the Pact when possible.

Okay, so, update: I've come up with names and concepts for roughly 70 Creatures, and some other ones in mind or summat.

I've also decided to stick with the terms used so far. Silly, maybe, but they'll do, at least for now. The problem, however, is naming the game/series...

Any suggestions?

I did think of something, though...

Creatures of the Pact

That's about it, really. :/

edited 6th Dec '11 1:02:03 PM by Eventua

Okay, I like most of it but the 'growths' thing is really pushing it. Why not do something different there? Personally I like games where the subject grows and adapts gradually, and based on how you play it. It would take a crapton of work to do though, I've only seen it done with a single subject. Just something better than "when this creature levels up it turns into a different creature only instead of evolution we're calling it growth cuz we're original. I know that pokemon's not the only game that does those things, but it doesn't give you an excuse to not try and shake it up a bit.

Also maybe not make the effects of pact-breaking so ostentatious. I like the idea of subtle-at-first symptoms that people can still single you out and ostracize you from society by.

Also also, why do you need a rival? I mean really? The rival in the pokemon games is there because he wants to beat you at capturing pokemon; you don't have a plot or goals yet. You don't necessarily need him.

edited 6th Dec '11 3:18:34 PM by piearty

The basic idea of people having Mon buddies that can be used for things other than fighting other people with Mon buddies kind of reminds me of the plot to the Mai HiME anime before it became retarded.

edited 6th Dec '11 3:35:05 PM by Dragonzordasaurus

Will this be turn-based or real time. A Real Time Mon game seem to always appeal to me.

Yeah, like some cross between Mario Kart (the racing aspect) and Super Mario 64 (combat, movement, obstacles)! That'd be totally fresh and cool.

Feel sorry for whoever'll program it if this ever actually happens though.