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[lucasblucas]

Hi everyone,
I'm designing a free roaming game world and would like to incorporate a bounty hunting or monster hunting system. The idea is to give players some self directed goals, provide upgrades as rewards, and give some added meaning to different zones in the world. Still not sure how far to go into things like tracking or hidden monsters (a lot is up in the air).

Right now I'm channeling games I've played like the hunting system in FF XII or oddly an old mac game, Escape Velocity http://www.ambrosiasw.com/games/evn/. Does anyone here have some favorite hunting systems that they'd reference for something like this? I'd like to make sure to do my research before diving too deep into design.

[yeahjim]

Love EV and have been hoping against all odds that there would be a worthy inheritor some day. Probably not.

One guy's opinion: most of what is missing from hunting missions in video games is "the thrill of the hunt." Learning about the target, following it, catching your first glimpse. Something in there that appreciates the majesty of the thing you're about to kill. I'm not a hunter IRL, but I live in the southern US and there's a paradoxical "love" of the target that is missing from most hunts in games, though it was definitely there in Shadow of the Colossus, and there are glimpses of it in Monster Hunter. I guess the key is - give reasons for players to learn about what they are going to kill, and in doing so create empathy for the thing they are killing.

(edited for teh gramar)

[SirNiko]

I felt like The Witcher had a pretty good setup for monster hunting. You could only have a limited amount of potions active at a time, so the player had to consider what they were going to fight and craft the appropriate potions. It fit really well with the theme of the character as a highly specialized monster hunter.

Unfortunately, in the late game you would get powerful enough (even on hard mode) that you could power through any monster with a generic strategy. The idea was good though, and worth revisiting.

[lucasblucas]

Thanks to both for the thoughts. Sounds like I'll need to go back and play the Witcher.

Love EV and have been hoping against all odds that there would be a worthy inheritor some day. Probably not.

Me too. I've heard great things about Elite Dangerous from people who haven't played EV. If you've checked it out I'm curious how it stacks up.

[yeahjim]

I've been intimidated. A 3D sandbox space sim is the 24-inch submarine sandwich of gaming. These days I game in 30 minute to 1 hour bursts and I don't imagine that I could enjoy the game without dedicating serious chunks of time to it. My average amount of time I spend playing a game is probably long enough to learn how to vent my exhaust and adjust the reticule, and I'd have to quit just as I undocked from the space station. This is *exactly* how a space sim should be, but the game would also be wasted on a poser like myself...

Some day when I am divorced and working at McDonalds, though... Elite Dangerous will be my solace.

[YellzBellzDotCom]

Awesome idea. Something not really taken advantage of in most games and a very addictive idea. I only remember a few games that implemented anything like that, and they were some of the best games out there!

[Dragonmaw]

Monster Hunter
Phantasy Star Online
FFXIV

[valrus]

One guy's opinion: most of what is missing from hunting missions in video games is "the thrill of the hunt." Learning about the target, following it, catching your first glimpse. Something in there that appreciates the majesty of the thing you're about to kill. I'm not a hunter IRL, but I live in the southern US and there's a paradoxical "love" of the target that is missing from most hunts in games, though it was definitely there in Shadow of the Colossus, and there are glimpses of it in Monster Hunter. I guess the key is - give reasons for players to learn about what they are going to kill, and in doing so create empathy for the thing they are killing.

That's good thinkin'.

It'd be pretty cool if you were just given clues about it: its footprint shape, what it eats, things like that.  Maybe not even a picture, just a silhouette or a description.  Or a drawing.  And not like an accurate one: one from a confused or scared person, or one working from hearsay, or a child's drawing.

(I've never been interested in playing hunting games, but if one came along where you have to hunt down monsters based solely on children's renderings of them, then absolutely.)

[s0]

Maybe not even a picture, just a silhouette or a description.  Or a drawing.  And not like an accurate one: one from a confused or scared person, or one working from hearsay, or a child's drawing.

that's kind of exactly what monster hunter does. before you ever see a monster's actual 3d model you see it as an abstracted icon rendered in a style similar to mayan glyphs in the quest selection screen. you only see the model once you actually encounter the monster ingame.

http://monsterhunter.wikia.com/wiki/Category:Monster_Icons