What would you do different if you got to design a sequel in a series?

If you were put in either the director's seat, or co-director's seat, what would you do differently if you were put in charge of the next game in a series that you like? Or a series that you used to like, but which you think could use some new ideas to make it fresh?

I have several ideas I'd like to see done with various series:

Kingdom Hearts - For one, I'd make the worlds bigger and not be room-by-room in their design, but instead, freely explorable and feel connected. I'd also have the characters occasionally chat with each other as you roam around, kind of like what they do in many Western-developed games (such as Dragon Age, for instance). It would be cool to have Sora, Donald and Goofy remark on the looks of different worlds, or casually talk about unrelated things. It would go even further to giving the game a personality. Finally, I'd modify the magic system. I like the cooldown mechanic of Birth by Sleep to some extent, but I think the cooldown is way too quick, and you can just swap through all the spells on the list. I'd instead have total MP, but individual spells may or may not require cooldown depending on what they are. That would probably help strategy.

Super Mario Bros - A level editor! Keep the 4-player multiplayer. Add online. Of course, these are hardly unexpected!

Silent Hill - I'd add a cover system similar to Uncharted, but used for hiding rather than shooting. Add some stealth/hiding mechanics and reduce ammo considerably, and only allow the player to carry one or two weapons at a time, like in Siren. Also, have the game change between the real world and the Otherworld at more random times, rather than only specific places, so it's more unpredictable. Maybe have it change back randomly as well.

What are your ideas for how you'd change your favorite series?

Dynasty Warriors: Make it so bottom-tier enemies will actually attack you. They should do Scratch Damage that doesn't make you flinch, meaning you have to keep the combos going to make them stagger about so they don't whittle your HP down to nothing via Death of a Thousand Cuts. Suddenly barrelling through a dozen soldiers at a time will actually have meaning.

Halo: Why not add some RPG Elements? The games allow you to customize your spartan in a myriad of ways, but it's all superficial. Why can't i make my spartan have increased shield regeneration speed, perhaps sacrificing total shield strength in return. Or how about upgrading armor abilities? My Jetpack might work a bit differently from your jetpack. Giving people a real sense of progression is always good. Considering all the enemies are already Color-Coded for Your Convenience it almost seems like a logical step.

edited 25th Oct '10 11:04:22 AM by ShirowShirow

I would list off the games and the changes, but...

I honestly wouldn't know where to begin when it comes to Final Fantasy II and Lunar: Dragon Song.

"All you have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to you." -Gandalf

inb4 historical revisionism.

I would add defiliality in Mortal Kombat, where you just continue to mess up the opponent's dead corpse.

In GTA I would add animals like horses that you can jack and ride.

edited 25th Oct '10 12:39:39 PM by shinfernape

A wish is never free.

Give Mass Effect 3 an evolving attacks system like you see in Namco's Tales Series. That is, you use your squad point each level to buy access to a new ability or talent, and the abilities actually level up themselves the more you use them. You could also use squad points to buy talents like "your HP/Weapon Damage/Whatever you want to boost increases by X% every time ability Y levels up".

edited 25th Oct '10 11:52:08 PM by RadicalTaoist

Share it so that people can get into this conversation, 'cause we're not the only ones who think like this.

^TES IV: Oblivion had a similar system and what resulted was that some talents went completely unused because they were difficult to level up. I'd recommend sticking to what has worked so far.

If I could design Metal Slug 8, it'd feature 4-player co-op, redrawn graphics (think Wario Land: Shake It!), 15-20 stages, orchestrated music, and fully-animated cutscenes (without dialogue, though. More fun to tell the story thru action than words), and the plot being that General Morden double-crosses the Mars People.

Oh, and the final mission will be in a space station and our heroes go through a Boss Rush of the previous games' final bosses before facing a Morden-operated Rootmars.

Weird in a Can (updated M-F)

I remember Oblivion. It wouldn't work for all the noncombat stuff, and that was Oblivion's problem, but for a Mass Effect game where all the abilities are combat related, it'd be easier.

Share it so that people can get into this conversation, 'cause we're not the only ones who think like this.

Next Duke Nukem game: platformer. Can't go wrong with Duke Nukem in a platformer game.

Commander Keen: 2.5D platformer, complete with similar 2.5D remakes of the first 7 games.

As for Star Fox, I'd want far more than just making a sequel. I'd redo the whole series, including adding a prequel, making the unreleased Star Fox 2 into a full-blown game and making Krystal fully playable in Adventures.

In all cases, I'd make sure the game ended up available on Steam.

Accidental mistakes are forgivable, intentional ones are not.

Lucky for you, Canada has a law in which a prisoner who finishes his sentence is given a horse to ride out of town with.

ᐅᖃᐅᓯᖅ ᐊᑕᐅᓯᖅ ᓈᒻᒪᔪᐃᑦᑐᖅ

Halo: ...

Actually, I won't go there.

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Mass Effect 3: Make the omnitool capable of Hyperspace Arsenal techniques, allowing the player to rapidly switch weapons and mods in the field without going through a crapload of menus in the pause screen.

I am a proud member of the Western Federation's Anti-Japan Media Task Force. My work is very important.

GTA IV would have more weapons, proper car dealers you can actually buy things from, more available boats + helicopters (the locations of many boats were outrageous), more properties, and more skyscrapers to explore. I felt it lacked alot of the things that made previous GTAS -even San Andreas- great.

Requiem ~ September 2010 - October 2011 [Banned 4 Life]

GTA IV would have more weapons, proper car dealers you can actually buy things from, more available boats + helicopters (the locations of many boats were outrageous), more properties, and more skyscrapers to explore. I felt it lacked alot of the things that made previous GTAS -even San Andreas- great.

Requiem ~ September 2010 - October 2011 [Banned 4 Life]

If I were making a Sequel to Metroid Other M...

Nah, that would be going too far.

edited 27th Oct '10 7:11:51 AM by MrW

I say, go ahead and give your thoughts on how you'd change series that people have divisive opinions on. After all, people have strong opinions on Silent Hill, and yet no-one expressed anger at my idea of limiting you to one weapon at a time, limited ammo, and the use of an Uncharted-like cover system.

I echo Shirow Shirow's idea for Dynasty Warriors, provided you're given a way to retreat and heal up (that doesn't amount to free regeneration.)

Let's see... I guess I have a few ideas here:

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Disgaea

• Shoot for more differentiation between the classes, so that having a Barbarian, Ronin and Warrior doesn't feel as redundant. Maybe the Evility/Mability system could be expanded.
• Do away with monster weapons and give each monster class a series of mutations (or whatever you'd want to call them) you can buy from a mad scientist character, which grant increased attack power or new moves. (Would they carry over between transmigrations? I dunno.)
• Implement a Class World-like feature that allows you to send whole groups through at a time; that is, you pick ten characters and guide them through the dungeon, and at the end of it you can buy evilities/stat increases/whatever for all of them. It's just a huge pain to have to go through hundreds of floors to build up a single character, you know?
• Impose balance on the endgame, so battles doesn't become ludicrous everybody-is-a-glass-cannon 1-hit-KO fests after a certain point (or at least push that point further back.)
• Feature evil angelic dimension-raiders, just because I think they'd be fun characters.

edited 27th Oct '10 8:47:38 AM by Durazno

I'd make The Elder Scrolls 5, and I'd make it Like Morrowind, but with better graphics and a different plot.

UN JOUR JE SERAI DE RETOUR PRÈS DE TOI

I just thought of another I'd do.

If I was in charge of the next Legend Of Zelda, I'd add some features that would probably be considered "Western", but which I feel might breathe some more life into the series.

For one, I'd make it more open. The first few Zelda games on the NES and Super NES were very open and not as linear as the series became later on, which now limits you to one new area per dungeon, and has a totally linear progression forced by the story. I'd ease up on that considerably, and go for a style most like the SNES Zelda.

Also, I'd have tons of sidequests, and when someone gives you one, you'd actually have the sidequest show up in a log that you could pull up at any time. They'd pretty much be Zelda-esque sidequests, definitely not the "kill X number of Y" type. But they could give players things to do and additional goals to be aware of as they explore and play.

One idea I wrestled with in my mind is the idea of online play with creating a character. But I don't know if that could work. Maybe a free-roam where all sidequests are available, or randomly generated dungeons to work through together, or heck, both combined together! A free roam through a modified version of the same world, with randomly generated dungeons. It could be fun.

Well I ain't squeamish! GANGWAY!

1. After several minutes of playing As Samus, the game will suddenly switch to the real main character - a bunny. Everyone loves bunnies, therefore everyone will love the new main character.
2. Outsource the game to a studio in Kazakhstan to ensure a fresh, uniquely Western perspective not before seen in any game to date. JAGSHEMASH!
3. Release two editions, Metroid Varia and Metroid Gravity, and require that all players intending to get 100% completion must trade with each other ad hoc. Several good items will be withheld, forcing people to attend Nintendo Events to receive them.
4. The player loses health from running too fast.
5. The last level will require the player to fly through a series of intricate hoops. Missing a single hoop will kill them and force them to start over.
6. All dubbing will be outsourced to Ignition Entertainment.
7. In the games final moments, the bunny will turn into a Werebunny.

Obviously, I've created the greatest Metroid title ever, nay, the greatest GAME ever.

Those points are take thats to which series?

edited 27th Oct '10 5:49:41 PM by Marioguy128

You got some dirt on you. Here's some more!

Hmm...

• 1. Metal Gear Solid 2.
• 2. Either an asinine attempt to replicate the Prime games or a shot at Capcom(?)
• 3. Pokemon.
• 4. I can't quite put my finger on it...
• 5. That could be just about anything.
• 6. WTF?
• 7. Damn first half of the sentence keeping it from being Sonic Unleashed... Besides, Komodin would have shown up by now.

Also, what in the world did I just read?

edited 27th Oct '10 6:31:24 PM by SpellBlade

Think 5 was a Take That! to Superman 64.

You got some dirt on you. Here's some more!

I think 6 was a reference to Deadly Premonition. Which I thought didn't really have bad voice acting at all.

Okey-dokey, spoiler tagged for those who want to guess :)

1. Metal Gear Solid 2.
2. Okay, not this one because it wasn't a shot at one particular studio, but more of a trend to just randomly outsource Japanese franchises this gen without any real rhyme or reason. Note that since Retro is a second-party developer owned by Nintendo, it's not really outsourcing the way, say, Team Ninja was outsourcing.
3. Pokemon, of course. Also will award points to Mega Man Battle Network, which adopted the same mechanic for no rhyme or reason with the third game.
4. Specifically, Lunar: Dragon Song, though I think there's a few other games that have done this.
5. Superman64, only somehow even worse.
6. Arc Rise Fantasia, though Ignition has a reputation for terrible localizations in general.
7. Sonic Unleashed just for the hell of it! With apologies to Komodin.

edited 27th Oct '10 8:00:29 PM by Rebochan