08-02-2021, 04:20 AM
Hey guys! Hope you’re all well.
I’m currently developing a game with a very small group. Thanks to COVID, I had a lot of free time on my hands working from home and used my coding experience in a manner in which I’ve always dreamt of - game design. I was actually originally inspired by the Shining Force series (more specifically the first two) to create an SRPG with a more “modern” touch. However, as those games are quite old (damn, so am I?) and rather niche I’ve come to the next best place - a Fire Emblem community.
Don’t get me wrong, I love Fire Emblem too. I remember downloading the SNES ROM (uhh… legally playing a backup of my copy) well over a decade ago then going all the way through PoR, RD, Awakening, etc. I even bought a Switch solely for Three Houses!
I look at Fire Emblem as the more “hardcore” version of Shining Force! Well, at least the earlier versions of FE. I’m hoping to create a game that sits somewhere in the middle.
Anyway, regarding the actual game. We’ve laid down the groundworks, the basics of the game are up and running. We’re looking to crowdfund this eventually, probably not a popular choice among some people but we really wouldn’t be able to do it justice without additional funding. We’re currently commissioning a few artists to do some animations so we can get a real “feel” for how the game will look/play in the finished state. Here’s a quick rundown -
Superhero theme - The main distinction between this SRPG and most others will be the prominent theme of the game. It’s going to based around Superheroes and it’s going to play out in a modern (but fictional) setting.
2D - It’s going to be 2D. One thing I absolutely adore is the GBA battle animations. They’re clean, crisp and buttery smooth. Can’t beat them! Also, in all honesty, it’s easier for me to develop with minimal experience rather than jumping into 3D.
Voice acting - We currently have no plans to have voice acting in the game. It’d be nice, sure, but it also costs a lot of money when we’d rather put the funding into art assets.
Roaming - The initial plan was to have the standard story/battle/story transitions. However, I felt it to be a little monotonous at times. As mentioned, Shining Force was the original inspiration and they had a roaming phase where you could walk around the villages, buy equipment, talk to people, etc. We’re not going to be quite that detailed, we’re aiming to keep the roaming phase strictly to your home base. (Basically like 3H, roaming around the school.)
Support - Yes, we’re aiming to implement supports. However, we want them to switch them up a bit. We’re thinking something along the lines of “chemistry”. Meaning that the more they increase their chemistry, the better they fight alongside each other.
Permadeath - This is a bit of a tricky situation. I, personally, turn it off when I play… However, upon researching communities I have found that permadeath is a rather beloved (albeit frustrating) feature in the FE communities. The issue is, this game will have a smaller roster and we’re aiming to have each character play a role throughout the whole game. We don’t want you to recruit a random farmer that adds nothing to the story and if he dies you’ve forgotten about him by the end of the game. Our potential solution is to “de-power” the hero. Basically, if they suffer a near-fatal attack, they lose their powers and are unusable in combat there after. They’ll still appear in the story, though.
Unique units - On the subject of a smaller roster, this game will have unique units. Each character will be different. You won’t have four warriors that have different colored hair or armor and that’s the only distinction between them. Shining Force II had some palette swaps, but it also had a bunch of unique units, that’s something that I loved. It also helps us flesh the characters out a little more from a story point of view, with their powers all being different.
Weapon triangle and durability system - Finally, we won’t have weapons. I guess this might be obvious, but the characters will be using their powers. This system is the least “concrete” of them all, and currently the one that’s still heavily in a planning phase. Our idea is for each unit to have multiple attacks. The general attack would be their punch, kick, etc. However, say someone can shoot energy beams, it would be a ranged attack and instead of the standard weapon durability would cost energy. We’re looking at a cooldown system of sorts.
As for the triangle system, well we’re going to have to rework it. We’re debating two different ideas. One being the fighting “style” of the unit. Say strength, speed, mind, technique, etc.
The other idea is a power-based system. Energy, physical, elemental, etc.
Anyway, sorry for the lengthy post but I just wanted to get some really early, initial feedback from different people. If anyone has ideas, suggestions, feedback, anything at all then feel free to share! If you have a great idea then who knows we might implement it! (If we do we’ll send you a copy of the game and put your name in the credits.)
Thank you and have a great day!
I’m currently developing a game with a very small group. Thanks to COVID, I had a lot of free time on my hands working from home and used my coding experience in a manner in which I’ve always dreamt of - game design. I was actually originally inspired by the Shining Force series (more specifically the first two) to create an SRPG with a more “modern” touch. However, as those games are quite old (damn, so am I?) and rather niche I’ve come to the next best place - a Fire Emblem community.
Don’t get me wrong, I love Fire Emblem too. I remember downloading the SNES ROM (uhh… legally playing a backup of my copy) well over a decade ago then going all the way through PoR, RD, Awakening, etc. I even bought a Switch solely for Three Houses!
I look at Fire Emblem as the more “hardcore” version of Shining Force! Well, at least the earlier versions of FE. I’m hoping to create a game that sits somewhere in the middle.
Anyway, regarding the actual game. We’ve laid down the groundworks, the basics of the game are up and running. We’re looking to crowdfund this eventually, probably not a popular choice among some people but we really wouldn’t be able to do it justice without additional funding. We’re currently commissioning a few artists to do some animations so we can get a real “feel” for how the game will look/play in the finished state. Here’s a quick rundown -
Superhero theme - The main distinction between this SRPG and most others will be the prominent theme of the game. It’s going to based around Superheroes and it’s going to play out in a modern (but fictional) setting.
2D - It’s going to be 2D. One thing I absolutely adore is the GBA battle animations. They’re clean, crisp and buttery smooth. Can’t beat them! Also, in all honesty, it’s easier for me to develop with minimal experience rather than jumping into 3D.
Voice acting - We currently have no plans to have voice acting in the game. It’d be nice, sure, but it also costs a lot of money when we’d rather put the funding into art assets.
Roaming - The initial plan was to have the standard story/battle/story transitions. However, I felt it to be a little monotonous at times. As mentioned, Shining Force was the original inspiration and they had a roaming phase where you could walk around the villages, buy equipment, talk to people, etc. We’re not going to be quite that detailed, we’re aiming to keep the roaming phase strictly to your home base. (Basically like 3H, roaming around the school.)
Support - Yes, we’re aiming to implement supports. However, we want them to switch them up a bit. We’re thinking something along the lines of “chemistry”. Meaning that the more they increase their chemistry, the better they fight alongside each other.
Permadeath - This is a bit of a tricky situation. I, personally, turn it off when I play… However, upon researching communities I have found that permadeath is a rather beloved (albeit frustrating) feature in the FE communities. The issue is, this game will have a smaller roster and we’re aiming to have each character play a role throughout the whole game. We don’t want you to recruit a random farmer that adds nothing to the story and if he dies you’ve forgotten about him by the end of the game. Our potential solution is to “de-power” the hero. Basically, if they suffer a near-fatal attack, they lose their powers and are unusable in combat there after. They’ll still appear in the story, though.
Unique units - On the subject of a smaller roster, this game will have unique units. Each character will be different. You won’t have four warriors that have different colored hair or armor and that’s the only distinction between them. Shining Force II had some palette swaps, but it also had a bunch of unique units, that’s something that I loved. It also helps us flesh the characters out a little more from a story point of view, with their powers all being different.
Weapon triangle and durability system - Finally, we won’t have weapons. I guess this might be obvious, but the characters will be using their powers. This system is the least “concrete” of them all, and currently the one that’s still heavily in a planning phase. Our idea is for each unit to have multiple attacks. The general attack would be their punch, kick, etc. However, say someone can shoot energy beams, it would be a ranged attack and instead of the standard weapon durability would cost energy. We’re looking at a cooldown system of sorts.
As for the triangle system, well we’re going to have to rework it. We’re debating two different ideas. One being the fighting “style” of the unit. Say strength, speed, mind, technique, etc.
The other idea is a power-based system. Energy, physical, elemental, etc.
Anyway, sorry for the lengthy post but I just wanted to get some really early, initial feedback from different people. If anyone has ideas, suggestions, feedback, anything at all then feel free to share! If you have a great idea then who knows we might implement it! (If we do we’ll send you a copy of the game and put your name in the credits.)
Thank you and have a great day!