[Tentative Title] Guardian Fate

This game idea started about 4 years ago, but it went through Development Hell as I'm having problems of my own (internet addiction, lack of self-confidence, etc.). Until I played FF4 on the SNES. This inspired to scrawl back into my Game Maker and get the thing started.

My stat system atm is Suikoden-inspired with a pretty simple damage algorithm. Defense is subtracted from Attack for normal attack damage, physical skill damage is simply Base Power multiplied by normal damage, then magic spell damage is (INT + Base Power - MDEF) * Elemental Affinity. Affinity varies by character, enemies have 50% affinity to all elements by default.

Although I'm finding ways to keep magic from overpowering my guys at the start and the enemies at the end, I also want to make sure that offensive magic can still be useful by the end-game. Magic spells cast by enemies are apparently overpowering my guys atm, but I guess it could easily be solved by disallowing early game mooks from casting spells.

Story-wise, I actually thought it's weird to hate my own hero by the end-game because he went Cloud mode after he lost everything in his quest: his love, his king, and his identity.

So how would you handle a pyrrhic victory after the quest?

edited 19th Jul '12 5:48:42 PM by judasmartel

Here's a thought to balance magic while still making it useful: Have the player start with some degree of magic resistant equipment. More games need to do that.

And then what, allowing early game mooks to cast spells?

I noticed that most games don't have spellcaster mooks at the start, so unless it's lampshaded that The Call was Crazy-Prepared enough to actually give the heroes magic-resistant equipment way before things could get nastier, I don't see any sense in doing so when there are no spellcaster mooks around yet.

That said, I'm considering the magicite system. It allows for characters to learn skills naturally and augmenting some more whenever necessary.

edited 19th Jul '12 6:11:34 PM by judasmartel

It would certainly be different from most other RPGs if you had magic fully involved right off the bat on both sides, yes.

I haven't played any of the games you've potholed except for FF 4 and the very beginning of FF 7, so I can't really comment on much else here.

Which is better, elemental spells that do the same thing or elements performing specific roles, like this:

• Fire - Area of Effect
• Water - The Medic with Ice as its Infinity +1 Element.
• Lightning - Anti-Boss Cannon
• Earth - Force Field
• Wind - Jack of All Stats

edited 20th Jul '12 7:57:36 PM by judasmartel

What do you mean by anti-boss cannon? Really powerful but only works on bosses?

I'd prefer the different niches per element over making them all the same.

Really powerful but usually targets only one enemy, thus making it more useful against bosses unless they resist that element.

I see. Now my magic damage system is set. Thanks.

• I now set enemy affinities from 50% to 25% by default so spells won't overpower my guys that much. In exchange, I increased their base powers.
• So how does a Shotoclone look like in a CRPG?

@OT: I think FF 4's Battle Theme sounds more awesome in the DS than in the original SNES. I'm considering making it the battle theme for my demo, just not in the final version, as I might get accused of ripping off music.

edited 21st Jul '12 12:24:50 AM by judasmartel

@Copying FF4's music: Is your game going to be freeware?

I'm not too familiar with fighting game tropes (only fighting games I've actually own are Blaz Blue and Smash Bros), but Shotoclone seems to be extremely simple to implement in an RPG. You'd basically just need a Yang-type character with a fireball attack as his/her only magic spell, maybe with a half-decent magic stat to go with it.

@FF 4 Yep. I'm doing this as a hobby right now.

@Shotoclone You mean no Dragon Punch and Hurricane Kick?

His current skillset from lowest to highest MP Cost:

• Dragon Punch
• Hurricane Kick
• Hadouken

Can't figure out the last. Maybe Shinkuu Hadouken?

edited 21st Jul '12 5:57:31 PM by judasmartel

I recommend spicing it up a bit, otherwise this is just Ryu IN AN RPG!

And the award for reading this as [Tentacle Title] Guardian Fate goes to....

If it's four skills, maybe he enters a mode where his next move is his Hyper variation of the move?

Unrelated, but reading Dragon Punch made me cringe just a wee bit. Hurricane Kick, I can understand, but DP....

edited 21st Jul '12 8:05:16 PM by MetaSkipper

I'm thinking Super Mode.

Still thinking of a name for Shoryuken though. Maybe Rising Dragon is better.

Of course I'm thinking of spicing him up. I wanted to show off his Badass side right off the bat.

To give you an idea of my group, I have given them names and backgrounds:

• Meaira - heroine of the first act and Missing Mom to the hero of the second and main act. Commander of the Storm Paladins. As a Paladin, she specializes in defense and healing.
• Venus - Meaira's Hot-Blooded twin sister. Commander of the Storm Mage Knights. Specializes in wind magic.
• Saturn - Commander-General of the Storm Knights. He's betrothed to Venus but he likes Meaira.
• Voltaire - Crown Prince and commander of the army of Thundara (not the spell). Fell in love with Meaira, much to Saturn's chagrin.
• Ampere - Voltaire's younger brother and chief scientist of Thundara. (I'm considering letting players decide whether to use him for the first cave dungeon in the game, though that's his only time in the party, as Voltaire takes up his spot for the rest of the arc.)

Main Act (1000 years after the first arc):

• Daryl - The Hero of the story. After graduating from Thundara Military Academy with flying colors, he ventures to the Helion Academy of Magic to research about fusing magic into gun ammunition.
• Magnus - The Thundara army officer assigned by the king as Daryl's bodyguard. He died protecting Daryl in the Battle of Helion, but not before telling him who he is.
• Lyra - Daryl's eventual VitriolicBestBud who wields a katana. She's a Storm Squire on her final quest to become a Mage Knight.
• Blaze - A Hot-Blooded classmate of Daryl. Gains Fire Magic later on.
• Serah - A shy novice of the Sun Temple. Blaze becomes smitten to her, and the feeling is apparently mutual (!), but as she gains Water Magic later on...
• Cyrus - The Attention Whore son of one of the academy teachers. Became the resident Ninja of Daryl's group after a failed but horrible sex change attempt on him by a witch, and gains Lightning Magic later on.
• Andre - One of the academy teachers who teleported the party out to... not quite safety during the fall of Helion.
• Helene - A Ranger of the Gaia Forest. She noticed something wrong with the Chief Ranger, but no one else believed her, so she busted the party out of prison, only to confirm her thoughts of the Chief Ranger. Gains Earth Magic.
• Windia - Nicknamed Windy. A Dark Knight who changed sides after the liberation of Thundara from the forces of evil. Gains more powerful Wind Magic than the one she uses.

Storyline Queries:

• How does the call actually call the heroes, in this case, students of a magic academy?
• Is it weird to see a Wind Mage as a Mighty Glacier?

edited 22nd Jul '12 6:14:30 AM by judasmartel

Hmm. Not sure which Super Mode you'd want for Shoto-Man then. Maybe Evil Ryu? Or the "Challange Me!" thing from U Mv C 3.

1000 years? that's a bit.... long. Care to elaborate a WEE bit more?

In fact, I'd need a bit more about the story to help with what The Call should be.

As for Might Glaicer Wind Mage, could work. As a saying I came up with goes:

"You can't cut through a wall of air."

edited 22nd Jul '12 1:25:59 PM by MetaSkipper

Pothole says Time Travel. So Daryl and Lyra were transported to a different time period, but were found in different places. The teleporter used has the prototype invented by Ampere (the cave dungeon quest is a Fetch Quest).

@Shotoman Thinking of either Berserk Mode or a simple attack buff.

Hmm. Can ya give more back story leading up to and through the start of the game?

Yeah, a berserker mode thing sounds good.

So here it is:

The Lord Knight of the Storm Knights of Aera sent Meaira, Venus, and Saturn to the city of Thundara for a trade mission, as the Great Terran Festival is underway. It was the festival of the Thunder God Thorius when they arrived, and so everyone in Thundara got to show off their latest inventions (yeah, they're that kind of people). But the main course of the event is the Portal Door project by the royal family, spearheaded by the king's youngest son, Prince Ampere.

There's one problem: it needs a catalyst to work properly, and said catalyst mine is in a cave guarded by a powerful monster. So the king offered them the prototype, but in exchange the Storm Knights had to fetch the catalyst for them. But of course he won't send them out without some help, so the player can choose who to use: Ampere or his brother, the Crown Prince and Commander of the Thundara Army, Voltaire.

Technically all five of them should be in the party, but I'm still finding ways to make it possible. Otherwise, the player has to choose between them, and Ampere acts as convoy if you chose Voltaire.

With the catalyst retrieved and the Portal Door done, the Storm Knights and Voltaire used it to teleport to Aquaea near the Helion mainland just in time for the festival of the Water Goddess Cleara. Romance Ensues.

They came back to Thundara the following morning using the other side of the Portal Door they installed the last night, then the Storm Knights and the Thundara tech staff (led by Ampere and guarded by Voltaire) traveled back to Aera, but on the way got slaughtered by a more powerful version of the boss monster in the cave mentioned earlier. As a last ditch effort to save themselves, Voltaire grabbed Venus, thinking that everyone else were dead and carved a shortcut through the forest towards the Portal Door.

A thousand years after the incident, a happy family was living quietly in an island near the Terra mainland when a man clad in armor and a huge freaking sword came to their home and searched for the man and woman there. He found them in the woods and asked them to come with him, but they refused. So the armored man planted his sword in the ground and left after stating that they can discover their identities if they could pull out the sword OR he could kill them if they refused because his mission is to take them with him dead or alive.

The couple managed to pull out the sword, and their minds were opened: they finally remembered who they are! The man calls himself Voltaire, the woman Meaira. Turns out that they were from 1000 years in the past and has thus traveled through time, and she switched identities with her sister before they disappeared in the past. So they took their son Tesla with them and traveled to the past with the armored man whom they recognize as none other than the Storm Knight Saturn, who seemed to be... different.

Seven years had passed since they disappeared in the Past. The Storm Knights ruled out that Real!Meaira should stay in Aera while her son Tesla and his father Voltaire should go back to Thundara. Thus father and son were formally shipped off to Thundara on the Thunder Festival. It was about that time when Tesla met for the first time Artemis, the Hot-Blooded daughter of Real!Venus and Saturn, and they eventually had a VitriolicBestBud dynamic going on with them. It even went as far as Artemis giving Tesla half her family heirloom, the Shield and Sword Necklace. Tesla received the Shield, while Artemis kept the Sword.

Now that Voltaire is back, Ampere, who is now crowned king during his absence, is more than willing to offer him the throne, but Voltaire refused, but in exchange demanded command of the army just as he had before. So, of course the then army commander didn't take it too well, but the people of Thundara were more than happy that the famous "Lightning General" will lead the army once again.

All is well during the festival until monsters attacked Thundara but were successfully repelled thanks to the new army commander... and Saturn. After that, a world conference was held in Thundara to discuss about fighting against the monsters led by the Dark Lord Ravana which were attacking every town in the world, but the other nations were suspicious of Aera as they were the only town not attacked by the monsters, but the Lord Knight just shrugged it off.

So came the war against the monsters. The Terran and Helian nations were winning against them until they have realized their suspicions: the Storm Knights were actually on Ravana's side. Well, except Meaira and Artemis, of course. Voltaire and Saturn dueled, and Voltaire was believed to be killed, as he was only heard shouting in pain after telling Tesla and Artemis to escape to safety to the Portal Door where the war will not overtake them for so long.

And that's how Daryl/Tesla and Lyra/Artemis arrived into the present time.

Whew, sorry for the wall of text.

edited 24th Jul '12 12:32:39 AM by judasmartel

BUMP.

So, where are we, development wise?

Don't really have a lot of comments but you should really come up with a new name. "Guardian Fate" oozes generic RPG.

I agree. I can't come up with a more original name yet. That's why it's just the Tentative Title. I might have to look up my plot to come up with a good title.

That said, how do I change a discussion title? If not possible, maybe I'll post a new conversation thread.

My plot and character stats are pretty solid now, but I can't get past the brick wall called mapping. Also, my magic system is still screwed up. So I decided to rest from it a bit, as my health (I'm having a bout with the flu) and my studies are in serious jeopardy right now.

edited 29th Jul '12 7:29:10 PM by judasmartel

You have to holler for a mod to change the title.

Best thing to do when you don't know how to proceed with anything game design, I find, is to step back and do something else creative for a while (or tackle another part of the design first). That said, your health and grades most certainly should come first.

Works should really only be titled when the story has been fully fabricated, and then looked over to get the most meaningful title possible. That's how I ended up with mine.

edited 29th Jul '12 7:33:55 PM by burnpsy

Can somebody suggest a 3 or 4-move skillset for a character with Sword Beam and Razor Wind?

Thanks in advance.

IS the Sword Beam THE Razor Wind, or are they two seperate powers?

Could be two in one, because I only know two variants for my hero's lancer: one single target, one multi-target.

Also, I intend to make her a Glass Cannon compared to the usual Lightning Bruiser portrayal of swordsmen. Of course she can be a Lightning Bruiser because she has better armors than the hero despite having low natural defense.

So, who should be faster, him or her? Do you also mind me giving her low magic potential? Not being sexist here, but being raised The Spartan Way, she does struggle in academics like any other normal person in real life.

The Hero, however, while also raised The Spartan Way, his training in the military academy also included academics, and he's the ace student in his year. The reason he enroled in the Magic Academy is to research on how to infuse magic into gun bullets.

edited 31st Jul '12 3:36:31 PM by judasmartel

• Wind Blade Buffeting- Generic Razor Wind barrage. Multiple hits. Hits one target
• Wide Wind Slash- Hits multiple targets once.
• [Needs Good Name]-Spins the blade like a fan in her hand. Could potentially:
  • Blow opponent out of battle
  • Negate attacks of said target
  • ???
• Hurricane-Spins around with the blade. (Think Link's Up B in Smash.) Hits all targets multiple times. Could potentially apply debuff like [Needs Good Name]