I’m now going to talk about one of the most defining attributes of Final Fanatsy, and indeed a defining feature of JRPG’s in general; Crystals.
Well, it’s not just “Crystals”. Basically, it’s the plot relevant McGuffin that features in just about every game ever made. Whether it be Crystals, The One Ring, or Golden Fyggs (I’m not kidding!), they tend towards being a massive driving force behind the plot.
Now, my game doesn’t really have an item that functions as a McGuffin, but as Jeanné happens to be a kind of Holy Maiden, she’s effectively the McGuffin for my plot. Her awakening powers could be used for all manner of ends, so she fits the bill quite nicely.
That doesn’t mean that I won’t use Final Fantasy style Crystals at all, but they’ll probably take on a supporting role. I’m mentioning this because it could be a nice Homage to the origins of JRPG’s. (I know that Dragon Quest came first, but Final Fantasy is more recognisable in the West)
Now, before anyone gets started about this little post being off-topic or irrelevant, it actually has a purpose. You see, this “McGuffin” thing is prelavent in just about every fictional work out there. It even features in classical mythology, with items like the Trident of Poseidon. It’s a fairly common literary trope, that no-one can truly avoid when writing.
This morning, I’ve managed to get my maps sorted, with transfer events! Actually, to tell the truth, I’m using sample maps and assets at the moment. I’d rather have something that works than something that looks pretty. It’s the first three items on my to-do-list done already, but it does leave a bit of a sour taste in my mouth; I’d rather take the time to properly create and configure the 16-bit assets I want. For now though, I’ll make do with what I have.
Currently, I’m using a sample pack called “First Seed Material“. There are two packs in this series; Town of Beginnings and Woods and Caves. You can guess what’s in each, but just to make sure, Town of Beginnings contains exterior and interior town maps, and the Woods and Caves pack contains, unsurprisingly, woods and caves.
These two packs use a massively high-resolution asset style, which doesn’t really fit my ideas and assets, but I’M ONLY USING IT AT THE MOMENT. I WILL BE CHANING THE ASSETS AS SOON AS THE BETA TEST VERSION IS SORTED.
I happened to have these packs lying around in my STEAM library, as I’ve been collected MV assets for ages now. Finally, they’re coming in handy!
Here’s some images of the difference between the two styles, as well as the links to the asset packs:
First Seed Material: Town of Beginnings – Promotional Image
First Seed Material: Woods and Caves – Promotional Image
Time Fantasy – Promotional Image
Time Fantasy: Winter – Promotional Image
Now, before anyone gets started about me using pre-made assets: I’m not an artist. I want to specialise in technology and programming, not art. I see no issue in making up for my own limitations by getting actual artists to make the assets. That’s industry standard practice after all; each person works to their strengths. If that means that I’m gonna focus on the gameplay, then so be it. Now, back to the images. I’m going to transforming the FSM samples into the Time Fantasy style, as the other thing I’m using the samples for is to get a rough idea of map layout. I’m gonna be adjusting the actual maps to work better for me, the samples are just a good starting point. I mean, you don’t have a go at a chef for using a tin to bake a cake, do you? That’s what I’m using them for; proverbial cake tins. I’m gonna decorate the cake by hand, but the shape of the cake remains the same.
Now, you may be wondering about my earlier statement about specialising in programming. As RPG Maker MV uses a visual scripting system, you may think it’s a bit of a cheat. Not really. Unreal Engine uses a visual scripting system, and Unity has visual scripting addons. Not everyone is good at programming. I have issues understanding Syntax; I know the basics of what code conventions there are, just don’t ask me to try and program in a specific language. At least, not yet. If I can get into uni, I’ll be learning how to use Unity and Unreal, from the very beginning. That includes programming. Luckily for me though, is that all of the Time Fantasy assets are able to be used legally in both Unity and Unreal! So I can still make the games I love, in the style I prefer.
Anyways, I’m gonna go now and start getting everything ready for the first playtest this weekend, so see you later!
I’ve got until sunday morning to create a working gameplay demo, as my Mum managed to organise around fifteen playtesters to check it over. So to get it done quickly, I have an 11-Step to-do list:
Step 1 – Create Exterior Maps
Step 2 – Create Interior Maps
Step 3 – Create Transfer and Door Events
Step 4 – Organise Database and Plugins
Step 5 – Create Cutscenes
Step 6 – Alpha Test
Step 7 – Fix Issues
Step 8 – Export Beta Version
Step 9 – Create Feedback Survey
Step 10 – Create Manual
Step 11 – Share!
In order to save some time, I’ve decided to use the RPG Maker MV stock assets, as they’re already pre-configured. I can (and I intend to) swap out the visual and audio assets once the test version is done. At least that way, I can get something finished for now, and build on it later.
Another thing I want to talk about is what stage my work is at. I’m not sure what I’m working towards, which is making it difficult to gauge how much more needs doing, what needs re-doing, and what’s fine. I only have until the 24th, which is when the project will be submitted for external grading. I’m gonna push this to the ragged edge, and hopefully that’ll give the grade I need to attend uni next year.
So, there we go. I’d better get on with that. I’ll be posting screenshots at certain points, so keep an eye out!
I’ve decided to make my gameplay nice and simple. Instead of having loads of elements, skill types and what-nots, I’m gonna go simple.
I’m gonna have two skill types:
Magick – Elemental Damage, Healing, and Utility Effects
Technicks – Physical skills, such as Stealing or Sharpshooting
I’m also gonna have six elements; three physical and three magickal. The physical elements are: Slash, Crush, and Pierce. The magickal elements are: Fire, Ice, and Thunder. I’m modelling them after the elemental triad from the Final Fantasy series. Although I’d love to add loads more elements, I want to keep things nice and simple right now.
I’m also going to have a total of six character classes. Now that seems like a lot, but they each have individual strengths and weaknesses. The six classes are:
Novice (Which isn’t really a class!)
Warrior
Thief
Hunter
Mage
Priest
Each class uses a different set of weapons, armour, and skills. Whilst some are taught from items, there will be some that are taught as they rank up. The rank-based skills will mostly be passives, gained through specific training.
The aim of the game is simplicity at this stage. I’m gonna try and get this sorted out fast, otherwise, they’ll be hell to pay!
Sorry, I’ve not illustrated it, but I’m vert good at drawing, so I wrote it out instead. Instead of doing a full chapter-and-verse on each cutscene, I wrote the outline of the scene without too much detail. This allows me to adjust the scene as necessary, as well as adjust the dialogue. You see, I’m aiming my game at a PEGI 12 rating, so I have to be careful about what kind of concepts I put into my game.
Have a good look, and tell me what you think in the comments below! Until next time!
Something I’ve touched on before, but never really explored is the character development system. In lay mans terms, its the system that determines how characters grow and change mechanically. There are so many of these everywhere, so I’m only going to concentrate on a handful:
Level System – General
Esper System – Final Fantasy VI
Materia System – Final Fantasy VII
Sphere Grid System – Final Fantasy X
Job System – Bravely Default
Djinn System – Golden Sun
Vocation System – Dragon Quest VI
Skill Point System – Dragon Quest IX
Firstly, I’m going to talk about the oldest method out there: Levelling. It features in just about every game thats ever existed. The basics are that when a character gains a certain amount of “Experience Points” (EXP or XP for short), they gain a “Level” which is a rough indicator of the characters attributes and statistics. In addition, they sometimes gain abilities at certain “Levels“, such as new spells. Personally, I don’t particularly like this system, as I find it way too arbitrary. People don’t suddenly learn new skills, do they? That’s why I’m going to look at varying different systems, to see which one I prefer. I may even combine aspects into something original!
Next one on my list is the Esper System from Final Fantasy VI. Once you unlock the ability to use Espers, you can assign one to a character. Now the “Esper” does two things. Firstly, when a character “Levels“, they modify the character’s attribute increases, such as giving +1 attack power. The second thing they do is teach the character how to cast spells.
Final Fantasy VI – Esper Menu (iOS)
As can be seen from the above menu, the character gains spells from having the “Esper” equipped, with different “Espers” teaching different spells, and at different speeds. Once a character has 100 “Ability Points” (AP for short), they then learn that spell. They then keep that spell, even if the “Esper” that’s assigned to them is changed. The third thing an “Esper” grants the assigned character is the ability to summon the “Esper” itself, which has an effect on the battle, such as damaging enemies, healing allies, or another effect.
The next one I’m looking at is Final Fantasy VII’s “Materia System”. Similarly to the “Esper” system, you assign character’s “Materia”, which grants the character spells, skills, and stat increases. There are some major differences though. First of which is that the skills are not permanently learned; you have to keep the “Materia” equipped in order to use the ability. Secondly, the stat modifications are only whilst the “Materia” is equipped, so the character will lose the bonuses of having it equipped if removed. Interestingly, each “Materia” also imposes stat minuses as well, in order to balance the character out. These minuses are removed in the same way as the bonuses. AP makes a return, but instead of being assigned to the character, each “Materia” retains the AP thats gained. Once the “Materia” has reached a certain number of AP, it grows in power, and once mastered, spawns a brand new “Materia” with no AP, so you can spread abilities around your party.
Final Fantasy VII – Materia Menu (PS)
One other difference this system has is that the “Materia” has to be assigned to the characters equipment, rather than the character themselves. Each item has a number of “Materia” slots, and some items have linked slots. Some types of “Materia” work better when linked to another type. Talking of types, there are FIVE types of “Materia“, each with different colours and properties:
Magic Materia – Materia that grant spells. (Green)
Summon Materia – Materia that allow characters to summon (Red)
Command Materia – Materia that gives new skills, such as steal (Yellow)
Support Materia – Materia that enhances other Materia that it’s linked with (Blue)
Independent Materia – Materia that enhance stats, or have other effects (Purple)
The Materia system is interesting, as it allows the player to chop-and-change the character’s abilities on the fly, without having to commit to having fixed abilities.
Another Final Fantasy system is the “Sphere Grid” from Final Fantasy X. AP makes another return, but this time in a completely different way. When characters battle, if they participate, they gain AP at the end. In this system, AP works more like a traditional XP system, as when a character gains enough AP, they go up a “Sphere Level”. Characters can spend these Sphere Levels to move along the Sphere Grid. The Sphere Grid is made up of various nodes, along a path, somewhat reminiscent of circuitry. Each node requires a certain Sphere to buy. These Spheres are obtained through treasure chests, monsters, and certain other places. A character can buy an ability or stat increase in a node that they’re on, or adjacent to. Each character starts on a certain place on the grid, and they work their way around the grid, growing stronger as they go.
Final Fantasy X – Sphere Grid (PS3)
The main drawback of the system is the need to constantly rotate party members in battle in order to get them AP. This works fine for Boss fights, but for random battles, it’s extremely tedious, especially when you start being able to kill monsters in one hit. One interesting thing about the system comes from the character of Yuna, who has the ability to summon powerful creatures called Aeons. When Yuna unlocks stat nodes on the Sphere Grid, her summoned Aeons gain the bonus as well!
Bravely Default uses a more standard form of level based development, with a twist. Each character does have levels, which influence their stat growth, but these levels are separate from their character class, or “Job“. Each job has levels, which grow by the accumulation of “Job Points” (JP). Each Job can level up until level 14, whereupon it’s mastered. Mastered Jobs only really affect the FreelancerJob’s “Late Bloomer” ability, which provides a stat boost based on how many Jobs that character has mastered. Each Job Level grants access to new abilities and passive skills (called “Support Abilities“), as well as influencing the characters stat growth when they level.
Bravely Default – Job Menu (3DS)
Abilities are learned automatically upon unlocking them, whereas spells must be bought from magic shops. Even if you buy a spell from a magic shop though, it still doesn’t automatically give the character the ability to use it. They have to have the relevant ability from a magic-using character class (such as “Black Magic” from the “Black Mage”Job). This system first originated in Final Fantasy III, further refined in Final Fantasy V, and then perfected in Bravely Default.
Golden Sun has an interesting level-based mechanic called Djinn. The Djinn are elemental creatures that can be assigned to the character (similarly to the Esper system), granting new spells and stats. Only difference is that, whilst each character levels up in the traditional manner, the spells they know are determined by certain quest-gained items, or through having assigned Djinn.
Golden Sun – Djinn Menu (Part 1) (GBA)
Golden Sun – Djinn Menu (Part 2) (GBA)
As you can see, the Djinn menu is broken up into two halves, the first one showing which Djinn are assigned to which character. The Djinn’s names appear in different colours depending on their status; Set, Standby, or Recovery. A set Djinn gives access to spells and stat increases. A standby Djinn doesn’t provide spells or stats, but can be used to call upon powerful summons such as Thor. A Djinn in recovery has just been used to summon, or has been subject to the Djinn Storm spell. They cannot be set to characters or used to summon, until they have recovered, at which point they are automatically returned to being set. The second screen shows what changes occur when the Djinn is being set or placed on standby, including stat changes and what spells the character will be able to use. All the character class in Golden Sun does is tell the player at a glance what kind of abilities the characters now have, based upon the assigned Djinn.
For the final one I’m looking at, I decided to go with the Dragon Quest series. Now these next two are similar so I’m listing them together for ease of reading. Firstly, I want to talk about Dragon Quest VI’s “Vocation” system. It’s like an advanced form of character classing, except that characters retain abilities gained between Vocations. By fighting a certain number of battles, the character gains new abilities by “Ranking Up” their Vocations. Some Vocations are only unlockable by mastering other Vocations. Characters change between Vocations by visiting the Abbot of Alltrades Abbey, Jack (Jack-of-Alltrades, a little bit of a joke, huh?).
Dragon Quest IX – Official Art – Vocation Changing (DS)
Now in Dragon Quest IX, this system is used again with some slight changes, but the only relevant one for here is the Skill Point System. At certain levels, each character gains a number of “Skill Points” which may be spent on specialist abilities, kind of like a talent tree system.
See what I meant when I said there were loads of systems out there? Well, out of all of them, I’m tempted by a combination of the Esper System (FF6), the Materia System (FF7), the Job System (BD), and the Vocation System (DQ). Now this may sound overly complex, but hear me out; I want to use the Job and Vocation systems to influence the character’s stat growths, and use a combination of the Esper and Materia systems to teach them skills and spells. I would use some of the other two’s mechanics, but they would be far to difficult to replicate right now. Using the combination I’ve gone for makes it feel more organic to me, especially given my plot structure of having various “VocationalGuilds” attached to the Adventurers Guild. (See, I’m marrying my plot and gameplay). It also helps me work out abilities, as I can decide which ones could potentially be learned at what point in the narrative.
So there we have it! One of my core gameplay features sorted!
So, I’ve been looking back at both my project proposal and project plan, and I’ve noticed something; I’ve bitten off more than I can chew. My proposal detailed a highly ambitious project, and the project plan was supposed to be followed to make it possible. However, due to unforseen circumstances, it appears that I’m not going to be able to do everything that I wanted to do. So I’ve decided to scale it back a few steps.
Instead of having an epic opening, I’m going to have a more low-key introduction that allows me to properly place in-game tutorials for the players benefit. I’m also going to throttle back the main plot that I had planned. I wanted to include a massive war, castle-building city-sim elements, and a full blown character development system. Instead, I’m going to focus on more of an adventuring party dynamic, inspired by Grimgar, as I mentioned in a previous post. I’m not sure if I’m gonna be able to include any of the city-sim elements, but to be frank, it’s not a great loss. All I was trying to do with that one was show off what systems I could produce using RPG Maker MV‘s eventing system. But now, I’d rather get a solid core gameplay experience set up, and worry about massively complex mechanics later.
I am still going to have a story driven main questline, but I’m gonna use a quest system for the most part. It’s very similar to the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon series, where the main story is interspersed with quests that the player can undertake in order to gain experience, money, and items. By doing it this way, I can keep my storyline simple and effective, without too much exposition or boring level-grinding.
I have three and a half weeks at this stage to get this entire project finished, so this has to work. No second chances.
Nothing like a bit of time pressure. I spoke to mum about organising some playtesters, and she went ahead and arranged around FIFTEEN of them! I’ve now got to get a prototype ready for this weekend! So, I’ve decided on a plan of attack.
RPG Maker MV comes with a library of pre-made assets, which I’m planning on using to quickly map out an area. What I’m trying to do is get the basic gameplay up and working. I can always swap out the visuals later, once the game actually works.
I’ve also got some project files from the paid asset library labelled “First Seed Material“, which has a bucket ton of interlinked sample maps that I could use and modify to create my own world. The maps themselves are incredibly detailed, so they may take some work to re-build in the 16-bit style that I’m using. I have two ways of doing it, first of which is my “Region Mapping” technique that I’ve mentioned before. The other, which I thought of tonight was saving the map as an image, then marking it up with a grid, including co-ordinates, then doing it manually by-eye. Both methods are incredibly time-consuming, but with a few all-nighters, it shouldn’t be too hard to pull off.
Now I know that this project hasn’t gone according to plan. Part of that, I will admit, is my own fault. I sometimes get distracted, and once distracted, I find it difficult to get back to what I was doing. Part of it isn’t entirely my fault, as I’ve had research and technical issues. Personally, I find research quite dull and stressful. It may be that I’m not doing it right. I’m not sure.
Another issue that I’ve been having is with my mental health. It’s not really an understatement to say that it’s been falling apart. Now this may seem personal, but I feel that I need to say this. I’ve been suffering from depression for years, but I can’t handle anti-depressants; all they serve to do is amplify my autism. Because of this, as well as the stress and fear about sorting out my uni application for next year, I’m now not sure that I’m gonna make it. I’m my own worst enemy at times. Also, I’m not sure exactly what’s being expected of me. The course I’m on is in the early stages, and there is no real precendent as to whats achievable or acceptable. I’m just guessing as to what I’m really doing. The grading criteria doesn’t help either. It’s designed to cover multiple disciplines, but because of that, I find it really difficult to understand.
I’m gonna be honest here; I’m bloody terrified of everything right now. I’m scared of not getting into uni. I’m scared of buggering up this project. I’m just scared of change.
I’m gonna get to making my prototype tomorrow, and I’ll post updates as I go. So until later!
So, now for the long-awaited story outline. I know, it’s been a long time coming, especially as I don’t have much longer left of this project, but I wanted to make sure it worked.
I’ve decided to take inspiration from “Grimgar: Ashes and Illusions”, “Final Fantasy X”, and “Gaia’s Melody: Echoed Melodies”. Each one of these sources brings something to the table, which I’ll go through shortly. As this will definitely ruin the plot for anyone who hasn’t watched or played them: SPOILER ALERT!!!
Ok, so let’s start with Gaia’s Melody. Made by Echo607 (a YouTuber who has some amazing tutorial videos for RPG Maker MV), the main character Akira is in fact the reincarnation of the Goddess Melody. During the story, the Dark Lord Agares tries to kill her, but she comes into her power, slays Agares, and uses her newfound divine powers to protect the world (until she later destroys it in Endless Melody: Symphony of the Goddess, by accident!) As one of my main protagonists, Jeanné, is very similar in some respects, having been born with special, unique abilities, I thought it would be a good place to start.
Promotional Cover Art for Gaia’s Melody: Echoed Melodies
Next brings me to Grimgar. Personally, I get annoyed by stories that focus on one character to the exclusion of all others, but Grimgar has a full cast of characters that form an adventuring party. Each has their own story role, special skills, and personalities that are at least somewhat realistic. I’m hoping to have a group quite similar, with their own plotlines in my own work, so I find it a good indication of how to create a believable group dynamic. It’s also massively inspiring my ideas about class-based mechanics, as well as how my world’s structure and realism will work. The series also takes into account perma-death (Permanent Death), Economics, Mental Health (including trauma and PTSD), as well as morality. Overall, it’s been a major factor in my story and world design.
Main Cast of Grimgar: Ashes and Illusions From left to right: Manato (Priest), Shihoru (Mage), Yume (Hunter), Ranta (Dark Knight), Haruhiro (Thief), Mary (Priest), Moguzo (Warrior)
Lastly, I’m looking at Final Fantasy X. As per traditional for Final Fantasy games, it has an earthshaking plot that involves saving the world. What FFX has that’s different is the exploration of religious themes, discriminatory practices based on said religions, and the age-old arguement of Science vs Religion. As Jeanné is supposed to be some sort of “Holy Maiden“, I thought it would be prudent to look at how other JRPG’s handle the concept of religion. I know Dragon Quest has major religious overtones across the series, but it’s not quite as indepth as the Yevonite religion presented in Final Fantasy X. The Yevonites persecute a culture of technology users called the Al Bhed, and because of this, many Al Bhed are killed by Yevonites. This creates some issues for some of the main characters, especially Rikku who is an Al Bhed, as well as Yuna, who is half-Al Bhed. As I’m having Priest as a playable character class, as well as having a Holy Maiden, it makes sense to look at how religion can be accurately portrayed.
Cast of Final Fantasy From left to right: Auron, Rikku, Wakka, Tidus, Yuna, Kimahri, Lulu
Final Fantasy X – Cover Art
Final Fantasy X – Rikku
Final Fantasy X – Yuna
Final Fantasy X-2 – Yuna Notice her eyes? Yuna has heterochromatia, which means she has two different eye colours Only Al Bhed have green eyes, and Yuna has a single green eye, inherited from her Al Bhed mother
Another intersting factor about Final Fantasy X is that Yuna is in fact a priestess (of sorts). She posseses magic that allows her to summon Aeons, being formed of magic and the soul of a Fayth. A Fayth is a human that willingly allowed their soul to be trapped inside a stone statue. Only Summoners (priests of Yevon who have the power to summon Aeons) have a chance of defeating Sin, a giant semi-demonic monster that ravages the world. Later in the story, she discovers that the Yevonite religion is corrupt, and that Sin is in fact at the core of the belief system, being a manifestation of Yu Yevon, the founder of the Yevonite faith.
A truly exquisite scene from Final Fantasy X is when Yuna performs a “Sending“, a ritual that sends the souls of the dead onto the afterlife. As my project is going to utilise religious aspects, I think it would be a shame not to share this scene. It’s also tempting me to make my Priest class a bit more like a japanese Shinto priest, rather than a traditional western Cleric.
Final Fantasy X – Yuna performs the Sending Prior to the scene, Lulu explains about the Sending
There we go! How does that sound. I know it may come across a bit derivative and simple, but that’s only the basic synopsis. To be totally honest, I’m not too sure what I’m trying to create. I don’t want to straightjacket myself, but at the same time, I do need a basic story premise. It’s a very fine line, but it’s one I hope I’ve got right.
Now on to my story concept. The reason it’s taken me this long is in fact listed in the Yanfly video I posted the other day about the 5 Traps that Indie Devs fall into. One of my major issues has been too much inspiration, so I had to spend some time thinking about how I could narrow it down into a more concise narrative and mechanics.
<STORY SYNOPSIS>
The basic premise behind my story revolves around a group of
adventurers who do quests to earn a living, but with no idea that the fate of
the world lies with them. Jeanné, one of
the party, is in fact a prophesised Holy
Maiden, who holds in her the power to save the world or destroy it.
The party must juggle the ancient prophecies with their normal jobs as
adventurers.
Through the course of the story, I’m hoping to explore some of the world background I laid down in my previous game project “Legend of Dragonstone Mountain“. In that game, the objective is rather simplistic; slay the dragon. However, I added a small intro and end scene that showed that this was just a part of a much greater scheme being played out by gods and demons.
<PLOT>
The story will start with Jeanné and her childhood
friend Tommyn leaving their hometown to register for the adventurers
guild. Once they arrive at the town, it’ll be attacked by monsters, causing Jeanné
to uncontrollably use her innate divine powers. This sets in motion a war with
varying factions who seek to control her for their own ends. Trying to juggle
this with being an adventurer, as well as being the target of mortal and
immortal powers will push the characters to their abject limits. The ending
will result in her choices, as she can join the gods, the demons, or ignore
them both. Each ending will be dictated by the players choices.
To be fair, I’ve always been fascinated by the effects of
religion and spirituality on cultural development, so by adding these, I was
hoping to add some context to my very basic narrative. This time, I’m going to
explore my world in more depth, as well as setting up a more complex narrative.
I’ll be back soon with something on my core gameplay. Until later!
Over the last few weeks, I’ve been debating a lot of things; story, gameplay, themes, amongst other things. Right now, I want to talk about the gameplay.
Basically, I want my project to be a sort of “love-letter” to the games I played as a child, which primarily consisted of Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, Golden Sun, and Pokémon. In short, anything I could play on my GameBoy Advance, or that I played on my uncle’s PS2. Because of this, I want to try and take my favourite aspects of the games, and meld them together to create new mechanics.
Here’s a list of mechanics I’ve been looking at, by series and game:
Final Fantasy
Materia (Final Fantasy VII)
Espers (Final Fantasy VI)
Job System (Final Fantasy III, Final Fantasy V, Bravely Default, Bravely Second: End Layer, Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions, Final Fantasy Tactics Advance)
Summoning (Final Fantasy III, Final Fantasy IV, Final Fantasy V, Final Fantasy VI, Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VIII, Final Fantasy X, Final Fantasy XII, Final Fantasy XIII, Final Fantasy XV, Bravely Default, Bravely Second: End Layer, Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions, Final Fantasy Tactics Advance)
Magicite (Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates)
Weapon Proficiency (Bravely Default, Bravely Second: End Layer)
Active Time Battle (ATB) (Final Fantasy IV, Final Fantasy VI, Final Fantasy VII)
Dragon Quest
Vocation System (Dragon Quest VI: Realms of Reverie, Dragon Quest VII: Fragments of the Forgotten Past, Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies)
Skill Point System (Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King, Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies)
Item Creation (Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies)
In-Battle Item Abilities (Dragon Quest VI: Realms of Reverie, Dragon Quest VII: Fragments of the Forgotten Past, Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King, Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Satrry Skies)
Golden Sun
Djinn System (Golden Sun, Golden Sun: The Lost Age, Golden Sun: Dark Dawn)
Out-of-Battle Magic (Golden Sun, Golden Sun: The Lost Age, Golden Sun: Dark Dawn)
Summoning (Golden Sun, Golden Sun: The Lost Age, Golden Sun: Dark Dawn)
Pokémon
Growing Crops (Berries) (Pokémon Ruby, Pokémon Sapphire, Pokémon Emerald, Pokémon Diamond, Pokémon Pearl, Pokémon Platinum, Pokémon HeartGold, Pokémon SoulSilver)
Personal Home (Secret Base) (Pokémon Ruby, Pokémon Sapphire, Pokémon Emerald, Pokémon Diamond, Pokémon Pearl, Pokémon Platinum)
Fire Emblem
Tactical Battle System (TBS) (Entire Series)
Stronghold (Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade, Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones, Fire Emblem: Awakening, Fire Emblem: Fates, Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia)
Suikoden
Rune Magic (Entire Series)
Stronghold (Entire Series)
Skirmish Battles and Tactical Battles (Entire Series)
You see one of my issues here, right? Too much inspiration. As I’ve played plenty of JRPG’s, I know what mechanics exist, but I want too many of them in one place. I have neither the time or the expertise to implement everything, no matter how much I may want to try. The deadline for this project is at the end of May, so I don’t have long to get this ironed out. Whilst I may be running a little slim on time, I can produce my game quite quickly, once I know exactly what I want.
I do feel like I was maybe a little too overambitious in my project proposal, as my plan went out the window quite quickly. They say that no plan ever survives first contact with the enemy; I seem to be living that addage. What I need to focus on now is sorting through this mass of inspirational material to produce something that at least vaguely resembles the brief I wrote at the start. Otherwise, this has just been a wasted exercise.
Actually, this is quite a common trap for indie developers to fall into (apparently). I have a video by Yanfly on FIVE traps that independant and individual developers can fall into quite easily:
Yanfly – 5 Common Traps Indie Devs Fall Into
I’m guilty of at least three of these traps myself, and projects like this are incredibly aggravating because of it. To be honest, I think that I’m massively overthinking this project. What I mean by that is I’m getting hung up on the academic side, and not enjoying the project for what it should be: a chance for me to make something I love. I mean, that’s why I got into game development in the first place.
SLGameDesign FMP 