Feedback What kind of games do you like? Deciding on Gameplay style.

[DistressedGhost]

Hello!

I've kind of run into wall gameplay design wise- I want to make something nice and story oriented but I'm nto sure what kind of game mechanics work with that. I have the visual style down:

But gameplay wise, I'm still not sure what I want. I want it to be fun and casual, with the focus on story advancement.

I thought about point and click- but I'm not sure I'd enjoy making this. The formula pretty much comes down to 'Click x at y time at z place' . On the other hand, if I really want to focus on story, then it isn't a bad choice- it would keep the narrative flowing for the most part.

Puzzles/minigames seem like an interesting direction but what kind...? And integrating them in a way that wont bring the story to a jarring halt would be a challenge.

I like shoot 'em ups but I'm afraid I would be taking to much influence from Undertale if I go in that direction.

Thoughts and opinions welcome. Or just respond saying what kind of games you like personally! Who knows, could spark an idea.

 

[Yal]

I would have to say metroidvania games... you can explore just fine in a platformer perspective, and you always know exactly what the player will see at any given point with a 2D view, so it's easy to make epic storytelling in the background, where it won't impede the player if they know about it, but still be effective. The makers of Limbo and Inside basically built their entire games around this premise... small details you can't miss, but won't realize is important unless you stop and think about them.

The great thing with metroidvania games is that your main way to challenge the player is by leveldesign, and you can do some really powerful alterations of difficulty just by changing the way you design levels. If you want your game to be casual, you could have every single main goal (bosses, new items and powers needed for progression, and so on) be placed next to a previously inaccessible passage and just dump you back on the main path through the area again without having to backtrack, so that the levels basically are built up as a series of circles topography-wise. (Doesn't have to be OBVIOUS circles as long as they loop back). If you want a more difficult experience, you should connect things haphazardly and have plenty of dead ends so that finding the path to go becomes a challenge, going more for a 'tree' structure with branches from the critical path at various points. And you can of course combine them, such as making later areas less interconnected.

Also, going for platforming exploration and action is a more 'work-sustainable' approach IMO. If you go for minigames or puzzles, you'll more or less have to spend an equal amount of effort on each new thing you add. With exploration and combat focus, you can just reuse old mechanics in new situations instead of code new ones, and adding in new unique mechanics in each area helps keeping the game fresh, and it can also help the storytelling aspects in some cases.

 

[DistressedGhost]

Thanks for the response Yal! Yeah I considered Metroidvania style too, but I don't think a platformer is the style of game I want to go for for this project- I really like more open world games like the old pokemon games and fantasy rpgs. I'm thinking about going in that direction, just on maybe with a smaller scale. Thinking in the vain of To the Moon, Ib, Corpse Party and games like those...

Please feel free to suggest more on that or another style of game mechanics though! A friend of mine suggesting perhaps making it a rhythm game of some kind but that sounds a bit out of my cope at the moment... and also I have no musical skills haha.

 

[dphsw]

Is it required for the definition of 'metroidvania' that it be a platform game? I'd say metroidvania is any game where the world is open, but new area's get opened up due to your character gaining new abilities. I don't see why that mechanic can't fit in to the game type shown in that video. Some of the character abilities gained might be the ability to hover across gaps, or the ability to swim, or the ability to stun a guard, and so your character could still gain access to new areas by gaining new abilities without it being a running and jumping game.

 

[DistressedGhost]

@dphsw
That's true, the definition is pretty broad and I didn't think of those possibilities.... I'll think it over it again! Thank you for the input!

 

[The Reverend]

Well I love Exploration, I love Metroidvanian, I love RPG, I love puzzling. And a combination of all of those is the perfect game for me.

And dude, I love your art style. That's just awesome.

Edit: and I love Turn Based Combat

 

[anomalous]

That looks like a point and click. I would do point and click. You have a chance of finishing it too since point/click can be done solo.

You may consider doing a day or two of research on the very best point/click games. I only played old ones, so bear with me.
Maniac Mansion I remember being blown away by, it was tense/scary, very interesting to uncover what was going on, and at least at the time I found it engaging.
Another more complex version of that was Neuromancer. It was point and click but very RPG-like. You upgraded items, got money, hacked shops, but the coolest was that you could access systems from the point/click scene and "enter" cyberspace, to defeat AIs blocking your access to their network. Even without the mini-game aspect, the RPG feel of it to me, was engaging. And Devo music playing while you did it...just wonderful

I would not do a traditional RPG or large room platformer personally, unless you want to hire a team and spend a lot more time on it, and change the art layout, etc.
I did an RPG, and to do it right takes a small team, or a fool (me). To do a platformer right, you focus on the design/levels a lot more than the art/story, which seems like a waste of what you started.