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baconman
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« Reply #629 on: April 11, 2010, 11:17:50 AM » |
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EVENTUAL VISION:
A character-developing multi-genre PCG with a threefold approach:
To begin with, the game generates 3 "fresh" characters by mix-matching bodies and heads, colorizing them, adding a quippy "quote balloon," and starting each off with one or two unique abilites (platformer-associated), so they each get a unique approach to choose from. If you have a saved/aquitted game, you can resume that game as well.
After choosing a new character, you also get to choose between 3 fighting styles as your "primary" (there's about 30 styles in total, it randomly picks 3, which determine basic P/K/combos and default specials for fighting portions). You can learn a "secondary style" later, and adapt some special moves from it as well, to make good variety in fighting approaches. You can also choose between different fighter special control schemes (rolls vs. charges vs. other commands), each corresponding with a particular special.
You navigate through a procedurally generated (city/country/whatever) through a series of streets/passageways, to reach "the end/showdown" of the game (and it's fun, unique bonus-game ending). Each time you take on a street, it starts a level. Or, you can call it a day, Save and Quit at this point too, and resume it later.
First part of each level plays something like a procedurally generated "Sonic The Hedgehog + Mega Man" level. Given different abilities (shooting, slashing, whips, head-stomping, double jumping, ziplines, etc.), your characters may have to take different various approaches to the game throughout this part. One game may play more like Metroid, another like Mario, and then the next like Ninja Gaiden or Strider. Sonic and/or MegaMan X is about the pacing I'm going for, regardless of playstyle.
There's a few key goals here, of course... a set of collectibles (or one difficult-to-locate-and-get one... like DKC2's DK/Hero coins), some "rivals" to race to the end, perhaps a specific key enemy to find and take out. Maybe something that pursues you to avoid entirely, even. Every stage like this will have each of the staples, though one may be emphasized specifically, based on your character or randomly chosen for that level.
A few elements involved with this phase may be tied into each of the character abilities, so as to prevent a character from being "trapped" without having the proper ability to circumvent/solve the situation; though most of the elements will appear irregardless, but in ways they can be "worked around" if need be. This way, as you accumulate more abilities, later levels become increasingly deeper and more complex. (You get said powers, now you're expected to ~use~ them.)
There's a "randomizable seed element" to it too, which also makes a particular element or two appear more frequently than others in a particular stage, giving each new level a distinctive "theme" to it; an often overlooked element of classic platformer action game that many games like this often overlook.
The second part of each street is like a boss fight, except at this point, it becomes a fighting game. Again, different abilities will take influence from various popular titles, making the experience different in both movesets and in a technical aspect (like playing KoF vs. playing 3rd Strike, for instance). As forementioned with characters, enemies' movesets are typically hybrids of two more traditional/popular styles, chosen randomly.
Finally, comes the character growth... the "bonus stage," so to say. You can choose one of three (randomly selected) bonus games to increase your skills, score, or simply recover yourself. Some of the item-like ones are like the kind you see on platformers like Yoshi's Island, or Donkey Kong Country (IE: the first one). Some are otherwise immersive... for instance, learning a super move or secondary set of specials by performing/practicing them in a mode similar to ones in fighting games; or learning a new platformer skill by quickly racing through a mini-stage which utilizes it.
By accomplishing key goals, you can also enable shortcuts and bonus "streets" on the main map (think Super Mario World, here); some of which are procedurally "themed" to a fun/popular game element; others are more like alternative game modes (for instance, one "street" may just be 3-5 boss fights, back-to-back, another may be "win 3 bonus/gambling games to pass"). While most streets follow the Platform - Fight - Bonus approach, there will occasionally be ones that deviate from (or add to) that, too.
As characters are continually developed, they're saved (in addition to scoreboard reference) for reuse later as NPCs (or bosses/rivals, for instance), for an ever-expanding world of unique personas (hello, quote balloons!) and styles. Clearly, the better the player becomes, the more levels/skills they'll have completed by their game's end, and the more advanced the (mostly competitive) NPC's become as a direct result.
The main game will have 3 different winnable lengths to it, and each length will save (and use) 20-50 NPC characters at a time. The "short mode" for instance, will use it's 15 most recent ones, and the 5 best-scoring ones. (The first time you win, it will become the next game's "second boss," and then will be replaced with every game-winning character thereafter, although "beefed up" a bit to appropriate "boss" status.) One or two of them will also show up in certain traps or predicaments as "buddies" per game, to give you a hand, should you want/need it.
After you've won at least once, a fourth "Unlimited" length will be enabled, which has no discernable end - you continually develop a character and their abilities in an ongoing, forward-moving landscape, until either you're defeated or you choose to retire. Any and all NPCs can appear in this mode, along with multiple "surprise" boss encounters... and even multi-boss teamups (or boss + NPC combos). Being unlimited, however, it's not winnable, so it just saves high scores for fun.
Finally, achieving certain goals will allow you to play a "loopset" mode, where you can simply loop one aspect of the game repeatedly (like a procedurally-generated fighting game, for instance); and with either a custom-selected set of abilities or with random ones. This will mostly be in place for bug-testing purposes (and plain old fun), however; and top scores won't count here.
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I'm still bumbling around with themes (Ninja? Urban ala Duke Nukem? Classic gaming? Fantasy? Space/Sci-Fi? Random-selection with alternative tilesets from between the entire bunch? That sounds cool if it's workable!), certain details (fights being fist fights vs. weapon fights... or alternate between both, maybe?), and how to factor in a few other gaming elements.
I kinda want a race-game or vehicular element in it too (Robot Ride armor/Land Speeders? Mechas ala Metal Warriors? I was hoping to aim for some NFS influence, though), some "simple but not bland" RPG/magic strategy (even something basic/abstract, like MegaMan bosses/weapons and their weaknesses... but not the boring done-to-death lightning/fire/ice stuff), and some musical/rhythm game elements in it as well (with procedurally generated BGM's? o.O); but without overcomplicating it or dividing the game between too many sub-games all at once.
One idea I tossed around with making a "limiter" which would pick 2-3 "gaming genres" to stick to for each experience... but that would also make gaps where NPC-characters are concerned - there would ALWAYS be something they have ZERO skills/experience in! Score-tracking and saving NPCs per genre would overcomplicate it, too.
I just wish I were better at the execution of this kind of thing. Clearly, the first step is finding a way to make each of the sub-games, though (the platformer, the fighter, etc.).
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