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Beliefrayth - Structure Musings

1 year ago1,064 words

In an attempt to quell the overwhelming torrent of suggestions coming from the previous post - or at the very least to cement some Monday morning brainstorming - here are some thoughts/decisions about what to do with this still-yet-unnamed game...

I was planning to get back to Atonal Dreams this morning, but after thinking about it over the weekend, I felt I'd put enough time and work into this other thing that I should at least try and sort out this tangle before putting it aside and then potentially never getting back to it due to uncertainty about its direction. Plus it's easier to stick with something than it is to make the mental switch to a different project, especially one I haven't touched in months (kind of like returning to playing a game you last played months ago rather than trying to finish one you just played yesterday).

As I said in ∞ the previous post ∞, while I'm fairly happy with the art style and battle mechanics, I'm unsure about how to make an actual game out of them, as some experimenting with my intended direction turned out less satisfying to play than I'd imagined. I described some potential game structures in that post, though none seemed perfect.

I wouldn't say this new product of a couple of hours of brainstorming is anything like some perfectly decided plan, but here's what I have anyway:



You'd start the game in the hub area, the temple; perhaps you'd literally be an avatar created by the deity, which would speak to you in your mind. I don't really need to bother with some kind of flower attached to the head or anything.

Areas would now be smaller; a grid of 3x3 rooms instead of 4x4 (or 5x5 as in the earliest stages of development). This means that there can be a central room (it bothered me with a 4x4 grid that there was no centre), which in the temple would contain some kind of plant which would be the deity's physical form (kind of). It'd grow larger and more elaborate as you progressed through the game.

The temple would have six flowerbeds (like the ones in Atonal Dreams) around its edges, though all but one would be closed buds at the start. Each would lead to an element-themed island.

By resting on the one open flowerbed, you'd be transported to the Viscereal island. Again the area would be 3x3 rooms - that is, quite small - and would contain three levels in the form of buildings that lead to a separate areas/dungeons. There'd also be a boss level building which would unlock after the others had been completed.

I'm more familiar with older games than newer ones, so I'd compare this structure to that of the Spyro games. There's some choice about which order to tackle the short levels in, but you progress through the hubs linearly, meaning it's much, much easier to balance things.

The shorter levels could also explore specific concepts related to the element, with some CBC-like absurdity. For example, one of the Viscereal levels could be an 'ordinary house' where several of the battles include multiple instances of 'Husband' or 'Wife' or 'Grandmother' or whatever archetypes.

Having these smaller, more focused areas should make things a whole lot easier to design. I could make one a day or something.

Music might be somewhat tricky, as I'd prefer each level to have its own music rather than sharing a track between all elemental areas, but I'm actually excited about the challenge there. I'd probably have a single theme for each element, played in a simple form in the hub with each level an appropriately stylised variation of that theme. I've had the urge to compose recently, but nothing in particular to compose, so I like at least playing around with this. And perhaps only bosses would have battle music, with the other areas' themes playing through battles in those places.

Character archetype designs would also be based on the levels rather than the element as a whole, which should make them less difficult to come up with.

I don't know that I'll bother having a story with other named characters. Or perhaps I could have two or three equivalent to Pokemon's rival and champion characters, with one being the character you face as a Final Boss so there's some direction and meaning to your journey.



I've yet to decide on the exact order of the elemental areas that you'd visit, or the sub-levels that each might contain. Here are some thoughts so far:

1. Viscereal
-- Ordinary House, with a homely family feel to it
-- Shop/Market, maybe like a low-tech fantasy version of a supermarket
-- Gym/Resort, with sporty types and a beach for the Babes and Hunks
-- Boss: Mayor's Office, with a political + office feel

2. Abstral
-- School/University, full of Students and Professors
-- Laboratory, full of lab-coat-clad Scientists
-- (Some kind of spiritual place, but what? Meditation hall?)
-- Boss: Saucer Cult Temple, who worship the downed UFO

3. Gravitoom
-- Theatre, with pretentious poets and artistes and such
-- (Psych Ward?)
-- (Museum?)
-- Boss: Catacombs, with 'undead'

4. Levitality
-- Concert, or music festival
-- (Movie set, with celebrities and such?)
-- (Nude beach, or general hippie/freedom resort?)
-- (Boss: Party, festival?)

5. Harmony
-- I'm unsure about these!
-- ???
-- ???
-- Boss: Seraph's... castle?

6. Discord
-- Hunting Grounds, like a forest where they hunt for prey to eat
-- ???
-- ???
-- Boss: Chief's Tent

I don't know if those register as spoilers!! or anything, since they're so vague and subject to change at this point. Some are more clear to me than others, so I'll need to devote some time to brainstorming ideas. I'm very interested to hear yours, though, if you have any, O two or three people who read these!



Also, I want to post on some indie-dev-related subreddits as I'm no longer anxious about the idea and do want to use this game to practise promotion, but I get the feeling they're full of teens and people in their early twenties, around the age I was when I made MARDEK... though Reddit as a whole feels like that, and I feel like a creepy old man for trying to interact with the communities there. HMM.