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[rivon]

Some nicely looking platformer with an original movement method (something different from double jumps, wall jumps, grappling hooks etc.).

[Pineapple]

A rougelike in a modern setting where you can do essentially anything you want. 

[BoxedLunch]

a rogulike with customizable weapons and encounters with enemies are played through shootouts rather than just a boring, still, fight.

[PogueSquadron]

I feel like there still has yet to be that epic platformer (or any genre really) that takes you through each generation of video gaming.  I feel like it's been attempted a couple times (or a game like Super Meat Boy that has homages to old games)...but I really want it to factor into the gameplay/story as a whole....or even has the generations flipping back and forth constantly (maybe the character has different abilities in each generation?).  Maybe you can go into 8-Bit NES mode, where you have the ability to case lag - everything but your character starts flickering and slowing down, allowing you to more easily navigate obstacles.  Maybe the 16-bit generation lets you hold a button to let you speed through areas (a 'blast processing ability').  Then you go into the 32-bit generation and beyond, where you can move into the background or something like that (or use load times perhaps to freeze enemies, haha).

I just want to see a game that branches over all generations of gaming, makes fun of them, and glorifies them at the same time.  Haven't we all dreamed of that one game...you know, "THE MARIO GAME WHERE YOU START OUT LIKE THE NINTENDO AND WORK YOUR WAY TO THE WII." 

THAT game, haha.  I'd love to see that.

[Noyb]

Have you played Genetos? You should play Genetos.
http://www.tatsuya-koyama.com/software/wg002_genetos_eng.html

[Guillaume]

I feel like there still has yet to be that epic platformer (or any genre really) that takes you through each generation of video gaming.  I feel like it's been attempted a couple times (or a game like Super Meat Boy that has homages to old games)...but I really want it to factor into the gameplay/story as a whole....or even has the generations flipping back and forth constantly (maybe the character has different abilities in each generation?).  Maybe you can go into 8-Bit NES mode, where you have the ability to case lag - everything but your character starts flickering and slowing down, allowing you to more easily navigate obstacles.  Maybe the 16-bit generation lets you hold a button to let you speed through areas (a 'blast processing ability').  Then you go into the 32-bit generation and beyond, where you can move into the background or something like that (or use load times perhaps to freeze enemies, haha).

I just want to see a game that branches over all generations of gaming, makes fun of them, and glorifies them at the same time.  Haven't we all dreamed of that one game...you know, "THE MARIO GAME WHERE YOU START OUT LIKE THE NINTENDO AND WORK YOUR WAY TO THE WII." 

THAT game, haha.  I'd love to see that.

Have you played Game Center CX on the DS, and 3D Dot Game Heroes on the PS3? I have a feeling you'd enjoy these.

[PogueSquadron]

Have you played Genetos? You should play Genetos.
http://www.tatsuya-koyama.com/software/wg002_genetos_eng.html

I'll have to try that if I can get back on my PC at some point.  That's kind of what I'm talking about, although (and maybe this is just my gaming history giving me a bias), I think a different genre would make the concept much more relatable.  There was also a WiiWare game where I think this was attempted, but it just didn't look like any fun at all.  They also seemed to confuse "old graphics" with "bad graphics" which I'm sure we can all agree isn't the case at all.  That shooter looks pretty sweet though (I'm new here if you can't tell haha).

Edit: Just watched a quick YT video of Genetos.  Really cool idea.  I guess my thoughts were, that maybe a slower paced kind of game might be more conducive for the idea?  The player would more easily be able to appreciate the graphical change if they could stop and smell the roses a little (perhaps a game that starts out looking like NES Megaman, then looks like Megaman X, and then looks like a 32 bit or 3D Megaman game).

Some games have let you toggle old and new graphics, like Tecmo Bowl Throwback and I think it was R-Type Dimensions?  I think they were really good examples of having both graphical styles, but unfortunately it was all superficial.


Also, I have heard of both Retro Game Challenge and 3D Dot Game Heroes.  I think they're both great throwbacks to gaming's history, but it's not exactly what I'm talking about (unless 3D Dot Game Heroes' visuals change drastically throughout the course of the game).

[Razz]

I've always wanted to create a huge RPG similar to Final Fantasy, mainly because developing a huge world with interesting characters sounds incredibly fun ... but of course, I lack the knowledge and patience needed.

Hey, maybe someday


nah no probably not

[Okenido]

A 4X where the computers control the nations and the player controls an individual stuck in the middle of it.

It has been done before, (Mount & Blade, a few of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms games, Sid Meier's Pirates!, and Space Rangers.) but either nothing progresses without the player, or the game lacks an option to be a mercenary.

[Paint by Numbers]

I've always wanted to create a huge RPG similar to Final Fantasy, mainly because developing a huge world with interesting characters sounds incredibly fun ... but of course, I lack the knowledge and patience needed.

Hey, maybe someday


nah no probably not

Hey, don't say that. Those games have a lot less programming than they seem to have. The hardest part of pulling it off would be the graphics, and you could just team up with someone else to do them.

[s0]

Yeah, but the content creation for these games requires amounts of time and dedication most solo indie devs don't have.

Supershigi has been working on Melolune for I-dunno-how-many years even though she partly uses standard RPG Maker graphics.

[tsameti]

huge RPG

Yea. Unless you've got a twelve person team all on the same page, don't. I mean, if you're aware of pseudolonewolf, the guy behind Mardek you know it's possible to do it by yourself.

But be aware that the guy is clearly hardcore Aspergers, lives with his folks, and brings in enough income to feed a guinea pig. Good guy, but he's capable of doing what he does because of driven obsession.

Make a tiny RPG instead. Itsy bitsy. Teeny weeny. It'll still take you forever, but at least it becomes a surmountable goal.

[Razz]

Well, I think it's definitely one of those things that requires high amounts of dedication. And, well ... I lack dedication a lot of the time, so it's rather fitting that I don't make them.

It's just ... the idea of making this huge interactive world is so intriguing. I don't know what it is about it; It's kinda similar when I think about designing a game similar to Knytt Stories or An Untitled Story, and then I actually sit down, think about it, and I realize that the games must have taken the developers ages to create.

Hey, don't say that. Those games have a lot less programming than they seem to have.

Largely you're right, I mean ... all I'd have to do, is program a turn-based engine (Probably easier said than done), a text engine, a simple grid movement engine, then probably some other things. It's definitely lightweight, but I think the planning and other things required (Art, music, design) are a lot less forgiving. I'd also have to make sure the framework is stable, which might be troublesome.

Hey, but you know, maybe someday I'll just go "what the hell" and start it. I mean, that's one of the cool things about being an indie developer! If I want to spend ages making a game like supershigi, I can. There's no stopping me.

[Paint by Numbers]

Hey, but you know, maybe someday I'll just go "what the hell" and start it. I mean, that's one of the cool things about being an indie developer! If I want to spend ages making a game like supershigi, I can. There's no stopping me.

This is a wonderful attitude and I hope that you can do it someday.

[jwk5]

Well, I think it's definitely one of those things that requires high amounts of dedication. And, well ... I lack dedication a lot of the time, so it's rather fitting that I don't make them.

I wanted to make a "huge RPG" as well (and I am actually in the process of doing so, sort of), but I've decided rather than going the usual RPG route of one main storyline and then jam-packing the rest of the game with barely-related sub-quests I am going to create the game like comic book issues.

Most comic book series build up their universes issue by issue gradually covering more ground and the stories are fully contained within the issue (usually), so you are not generally bombarded with a bunch of plot-lines going every which way (unless we are talking Marvel or DC which have so many fractured and broken plot-lines that will make your brain bleed).

If you ever get the chance read the Usagi Yojimbo series by Stan Sakai, his pacing and plot-lines are amazingly solid (probably because most of his inspiration comes from Akira Kurosawa movies, speaking of which watch Seven Samurai as well). Dragon Quest 8 really had that kind of pacing too. Even though it was one huge story you were really playing a bunch of short stories that each wrapped up nicely while subtly advancing the major plot-line.

Anyways, you can make a huge RPG a lot more manageable if you build it up in "issues" or episodes and let the world grow out as necessary. 5 episodes in and you'll have a pretty good-sized RPG world. As an added bonus, you won't need to create as many resources to make one episode as you would making one huge story-branching RPG (and I believe there are means of transferring data from one RPGMaker game to another, i.e. between episodes).

[Razz]

This is a wonderful attitude and I hope that you can do it someday.

Well, gee. Thanks! I'm flattered (Really! )

Also jwk5, that's a really good idea, and something I'm actually pretty intrigued by. But I have one question ... when you say "issues / episodes", do you mean distributing the game episodically, or designing the story around that structure? Or both?

I could easily imagine it working both ways, actually, which is why I said it interests me so much; It's a lot easier to design a story around episodes or "chapters", kinda like a book. It also gives the story a lot of structure.

That's definitely something I'd consider if I ever undertake the project. It's an interesting idea

[jwk5]

Also jwk5, that's a really good idea, and something I'm actually pretty intrigued by. But I have one question ... when you say "issues / episodes", do you mean distributing the game episodically, or designing the story around that structure? Or both?

Either way, though I myself prefer the idea of releasing the episodes as individual games. While it would lead to shorter games it would also lead to shorter development times which would allow you to release them more frequently and pretty much indefinitely (like a comic book series).

With comic books I am always eagerly looking forward to the next issue to see where the stories will go next, but with video games I find myself very leery of sequels which tend to rehash the story of the games that preceded them rather than adding to their continuity and very often ruin what was good about the series in the first place. Plus with episodic game structure you can cycle in and out NPCs, revisit locations, etc. without having them feel like they're tacked on or just there for fan service.

I would love to see a good commercial RPG released like that where you just pay $10 or so for each 15-20 hour episode and have them released on a regular basis, like a comic. By Episode 30 you'd have a really refined setting with plenty of legitimate story directions open to you (the developer) and more than likely a solid fan base eagerly waiting for episode 31. You wouldn't have to resort to "sequel syndrome".

[SundownKid]

It's episodic if the games revolve around a single character or group, but I think releasing smaller "chapters" with wildly different main characters from the same world is a far better idea. You could have the gameplay stay similar, with minor changes, like in Dragon Quest IV, or make major gameplay changes for each character, similarly to Half-Minute Hero. And of course, who could forget Live-A-Live, which had even greater time period differences. Seriously, has there ever been a bad RPG with that format? Another added bonus is that if they eventually team up, you won't need an introduction.

After the debacle that is Half-Life 2, I am kind of iffy about commercial episodic games, though...

[jwk5]

It's episodic if the games revolve around a single character or group, but I think releasing smaller "chapters" with wildly different main characters is a far better idea.

It doesn't have to. Take the Usagi Yojimbo comics (or even X-men and the like), most of the time the issues are centered on the main protagonist(s) of the series but some issues will center around other characters to round them out or show the setting from a different perspective.

Episodic games would also be very effective when the player is able to create their own character and gradually evolve them over the course of the advancing episodes. If the major choices the player made each episode were logged there would be all kinds of opportunities to reward longterm players with different outcomes resulting from choices they made many episodes back (and in a way it would give the series a retroactive replay value).

P.S.

And of course, who could forget Live-A-Live, which had even greater time period differences.

SaGa Frontier (PS1) was a pretty neat game that felt almost felt like a spiritual successor to Live-a-Live.

[SundownKid]

Hmm, interesting. It looks like the supposed non-linearity actually hurt the game, but it is still a viable idea - to let the characters visit the same places in different capacities. The unfocused plot seems to make the fact that they share the same universe somewhat needless, though, as far as I can tell. I would say, make the world smaller, like a city, so that you could comfortably fit everyone's stories in it while still making it nonlinear.

A problem with the episodic choices you mentioned is that they become exponentially more complex as the episodes pile up, each with their own selection of choices. In a complete game, they are self-contained.