30 réponses à ce sujet

[Lady Artifice]

An RPG designed just for you. What would it look like? How would it start and what kind of themes and gameplay would it involve?

 

Mine would be a dark urban fantasy in a neo-victorian/cyberpunk style, densely populated by fantastical creatures. The combat and gameplay would borrow liberally from from the Arkham series of games, while the aesthetic would borrow from Castlevania: LOS and Deus Ex. The characters would be written in true Bioware style, with a wide ideological range represented in a core group of 10 companions. 

 

There would be a cute robot. 

[Jorji Costava]

The first thing that comes to mind would be a re-mastered version of Planescape: Torment. As much as I love that game, there were definitely parts of it that felt unfinished (what the heck was Fall-from-Grace's diary about, anyways?). Also, PST is one of the few fantasy games that does actually feature a cute robot:

 

 

Other than that, there's this tabletop RPG setting called Eclipse Phase which has a lot of elements that naturally lend themselves to game mechanics. People in that setting make digital copies of their own consciousness, which can then be uploaded into new synthetically made bodies, allowing people to remain effectively immortal.

 

You can imagine how this can be incorporated into the way a game handles death: Your character deaths could be treated as actual in-game events, while re-uploading yourself could be an interesting substitute for reloading from a previous save. There's a lot more I could go into, but my brain's a bit too scrambled right now to organize it all.

[SardaukarElite]

A pulp archaeology RPG.

 

The game would go in cycles of picking an artifact to search for, gathering information about where it is and how it is defended, then trying to raid the tomb it's in while possibly fighting off fascists / rivals / snakes. It'd play like Uncharted or Tomb Raider with ME's social bits on top. Skills and abilities would be largely non-combat, including things like athletics and movement or what languages you know. Companions would take the form of friends and rivals you team up with temporarily for certain quests. 

 

There would be a fight on a Zeppelin. 

[Lady Artifice]

The first thing that comes to mind would be a re-mastered version of Planescape: Torment. As much as I love that game, there were definitely parts of it that felt unfinished (what the heck was Fall-from-Grace's diary about, anyways?). Also, PST is one of the few fantasy games that does actually feature a cute robot:

 

 

Other than that, there's this tabletop RPG setting called Eclipse Phase which has a lot of elements that naturally lend themselves to game mechanics. People in that setting make digital copies of their own consciousness, which can then be uploaded into new synthetically made bodies, allowing people to remain effectively immortal.

 

You can imagine how this can be incorporated into the way a game handles death: Your character deaths could be treated as actual in-game events, while re-uploading yourself could be an interesting substitute for reloading from a previous save. There's a lot more I could go into, but my brain's a bit too scrambled right now to organize it all.

 

That is a cute robot! 

 

As for eclipse phase, that sounds like it would potentially be very cerebral. I dig the concept of having an lore friendly explanation for how the players keeps getting do overs after they die. 

 

A pulp archaeology RPG.

 

The game would go in cycles of picking an artifact to search for, gathering information about where it is and how it is defended, then trying to raid the tomb it's in while possibly fighting off fascists / rivals / snakes. It'd play like Uncharted or Tomb Raider with ME's social bits on top. Skills and abilities would be largely non-combat, including things like athletics and movement or what languages you know. Companions would take the form of friends and rivals you team up with temporarily for certain quests. 

 

There would be a fight on a Zeppelin. 

 

 

Zeppelin fight! 

 

Would there be swords? I'd want there to be swords. 

[SardaukarElite]

Would there be swords? I'd want there to be swords. 

 

I feel there should be an entire skill group relating to improvised weapons, and then lots of fights in places which happen to have swords. 

[Undead Han]

 

Cyberpunk 2077 is probably the upcoming RPG I'm most stoked for. On an unrelated note, I really hope CD Projekt Red puts Mike Pondsmith in the game somewhere. 

 

As far as my 'dream' RPG goes, I'm not sure if I have a preference about setting other than something that hasn't been done a million times before. As much as I enjoy some fantasy-based quasi-medieval RPGs like Dragon Age or the Witcher, I'm sort of tired of seeing the same setting repeatedly in different RPGs. I wish more developers would shake off the LOTR or D&D influences and try something slightly original. Part of the reason why I'm more a fan of the Mass Effect series than Dragon Age is probably the futuristic Sci Fi setting.

 

There are plenty of periods in human history besides medieval Europe that would serve as great inspiration for a fantasy-based RPG. Feudal Japan in the 16th Century, Pre-Columbian Mesoamerica, the American frontier during the French and Indian War, New Kingdom Egypt, ect, ect.

 

Or even just a different period in European history. I'd love to see an RPG inspired by the Roman Republic, Ptolemaic Egypt, and the ancient Mediterranean of the 1st Century B.C, with the protagonist as the scion of one of the more distinguished Senatorial noble houses of the Rome expy. The culture and morality of pre-Christian Europe and North Africa would seem almost alien to a modern person, and the aesthetics of the game world would be very different from that of one based on medieval Europe. It would also be drawing inspiration from a period in history that was loaded with interesting characters, political intrigue, corruption, backstabbing, sex scandals, chaos, war, conquest, slavery, and assassination. It makes a George RR Martin novel look tame in comparison.

 

The Industrial Revolution would also be an interesting period to draw inspiration for a steampunk RPG. On that note, I'd love to see a company like Bioware or CD Projekt Red do an Arcanum sequel.

 

My perfect RPG would also have Bioware's strong focus on characters and be squad-based, have CD Projekt Red's talent for world-building, political intrigue, and quest design, and a soundtrack that fits the game world you're exploring and helps set its mood. Something like this or this for example, if the game were based on the end of the Late Roman Republic and the Mediterranean in the 1st Century BC, or this in an RPG inspired by feudal Japan. Or something like that track that plays in the background during the Mike Pondsmith vid if the game is Cyperpunk.

[Jorji Costava]

I've always wondered why there have hardly been any RPGs with a South Asian-themed setting; actually I don't know of any off the top of my head. It's not as if there's not enough folklore and tradition to draw from, and it would be a refreshing change of pace from the swords, sorcery and English accents fare.

[Akrabra]

Snip!

Have you seen this - https://www.kingdomcomerpg.com/ Might be what you are looking for, i am very Interested atleast. It is a Kickstarter game, but by experienced developers. Some of the team behind Mafia, A Czech production. 

 

Adding a trailer from E3 last year - 

[Serelir]

It's hard to choose! I like everything from the dark ages to the zombie apocalypse. I would LOVE for there to be a new Vampire rpg. 

 

I'd definitely like to explore more historical periods. Years and years ago, I envisioned there would be so many games exploring history. I guess I had the naïve belief that there'd be educational RPGs. 

 

There are certain elements that I prefer:

 

• creating my own protagonist: gender, name and appearance
• having non-violent options or more than one way to solve a conflict
• difficulty scaling - the goal is to win by a hair's breadth, and for good loot and crafts to be a challenge, but not impossible
• skill comes through experience, not through analyzing a bunch of numbers
• surprises, hidden stories, rewards for taking my time and exploring
• gray morality; not being forced into a certain alignment or tone of voice
• not having to spend my precious game time dealing with inventory, uggghhhh
• being able to acquire a home or crash pad
• having companions

 

I was playing an MMO yesterday and feeling completely annoyed at having to compete with other players for materials nodes, chests and stealing stuff. This is an MMO problem, not an RPG one, but it emphasized that I prefer to have real differences between races and classes - not everyone should have the same skills and abilities. It should matter how you design your character.

 

I don't really care about having a voiced protagonist. I could actually do without all the combat, but that requires more writing to fill up the game.

[Undead Han]

Have you seen this - https://www.kingdomcomerpg.com/ Might be what you are looking for, i am very Interested atleast. It is a Kickstarter game, but by experienced developers. Some of the team behind Mafia, A Czech production. 

 

Adding a trailer from E3 last year - 

 

That looks great. 

 

It is interesting to see an RPG that is actually set in the real world, rather than a fantasy one inspired by a real historical period. 

[Steelcan]

Brace yourselves

 

If I was given free reign to design an RPG game/series I have three different settings I have put an inordinate amount of time into thinking about (even as I type this i should be finish a paper).  I'll focus on the first one right now and I'll likely post the others at a later time. I have some of the characters down on what I'd like them to be like, but not so much names and whatnot.

 

One is a setting that would be largely based on late antiquity/the Dark Ages.  Now first things first, there is a distinction between the Medieval period and the Dark Ages.  Obviously it is open to some debate, but the general consensus is that the Dark Ages were over when Charlemagne was crowned Roman Emperor (not Holy Roman Emperor, that title emerged in the 13th century) on Christmas Day 800.  The Dark Ages then are everything between the Fall of Rome in 476 and 800.  Unfortunately there is a tendency in the West to dismiss almost this entire period of history as stagnant and underdeveloped despite the incredible literary, cultural, and political accomplishments of the time.

 

This period saw the fall of Rome in the west, the reconquest of the west by Justinian the wars between the ERE (eastern Roman Empire) and the Persians in wars that would remind many people of world wars in their scope and devastation, the Rise of Islam in the East and the collapse of a succession of Persian empires stretching back to a time before Alexander the Great, the crippling of the ERE though it would survive until the 1400's.  The conquests on North Africa and Iberia by the Caliphate and their defeat at Tours and Poitier by Charles Martel (ancestor of Charlemagne), the rise of the Carolingian State, the origins of the Viking Age, and much more that has been neglected by pop culture.

 

My vision for the setting could be ultimately described as a world where the Western Roman Empire managed to hold onto a sliver of its own territory and is locked in a death match with a rival group with the nominal help of its counter part.  One of the setting that I'd look to for inspiration would be the neglected parts of Tolkien.  I know he has become the standard to which all other fantasy is derived from, but I think there is ripe potential for some of the less utilized plot lines in his lore.  In particular the bits of lore surrounding the fall of Arnor and the state of the North following its collapse.  Essentially I'd be throwing the player into a situation as Arthedain and Angmar enter the last stage of their conflict.  Essentially it would be a fairly historical setting, ie probably no elves and dwarves or orcs, but it would not be set in the real world either.  I have some ideas on what to include to make it more fantasy that I'll get to further down.

 

The bulk of the story I have so far would take place in one of the border regions contested between the two realms (I haven't named them or anything yet).  The opening Act of the story would be based around the ruler of the realm you like in, for convenience's sake we'll call them the "Old Empire" issuing a call to arms to prepare his new offensive against the "New Kingdom"

 

One of the things that I'd love t have for the protagonist would be something similar to the Origins we got in DA:O.  The ones I have somewhat thought out would be "provincial nobility", "attache from the central state", "mercenary fighter", and "legion descendant" I'll go through each one a bit.  Each companion will have their short origin bit, and be introduced to some of the characters that will play a role in the game.  However the origins will be less about detaching your from your roots and preparing you to be a warden or something, and more about establish various characters such as companions, antagonists, and so on.

 

The Provincial Nobility would be a character who is the child of the ruling family in one of the contested areas.  They have a leg up in life over the peasantry and are somewhat educated but are by no means part of the urban elite found further back.  When the call to arms goes out you are charged with leading the detachment from your family's holdings and the surrounding area.  You'd meet up with the general charged with the campaign and set out for the staging ground for the army.  The companion you'd start off with would be the Castellan/Senecshal of your family holdings who has a reputation of unwavering loyalty to you but some coldness owards others they deems below their station.

 

The "attache" origin would have the PC as an adviser to the local nobility with a small garrison of their own loyal troops to ensure the loyalty of the people you are overseeing.  As the call to arms is dispatched, you are ordered to take your garrison and join the main army.  the companion you have with you would be a member of the Imperial guard who was sent as your bodyguard.  This character is a member of the elite from back home and they got their position not through merit or ability (though they would undeniably have some skill) but through family connections.  They would be a more personable character who would likely be one of the more upbeat members of the party.  They don't take their duties entirely seriously and are unaccustomed to the realities of the frontier and campaign.

 

The Mercenary is a quite simply the leader of a mercenary company that has been hired to take part in the campaign.  Having spent many years in the war torn region this company is battle hardened and loyal to you, however the companion in this storyline is your second in command who is increasingly bitter towards you because of your respect from the men and higher pay grade.  However they are torn between this and their own personal loyalty to you.

 

The legionary descendant is rather straightforward.  They are the descendants of soldiers who fought for the Empire and were rewarded with land on the frontier for their services.  Their community has taken on the role of maintaining the string of forts in the area that defend the border.  You are entrusted with the defense of one of these forts but in reality are little more than glorified town guards and basically a peasant.  The companion here would be a childhood friend of yours who is another fort commander but again is still rather green even if many of your soldiers have seen some combat with the enemy in the frequent border disputes.

 

I'll post some more on this later

[Lady Artifice]

Jeez, Steel.  That's comprehensive.

[Steelcan]

Jeez, Steel.  That's comprehensive.

I have too overactive of an imagination and no talent for other outlets such as art or music

[Lady Artifice]

So, more on mine.

 

The premise is pretty fantastical. It begins with inter-dimensional travel and the concept of people with the power to move from one dimension to another (Similarly to Planeswalkers in MTG). Long before the events depicted in the game, one of these people decides they want to break down a barrier between two of these dimension. They manage it, but it means that the two dimensions don't just merge, they're physically crushed into one another. The landscape of each is dramatically and irrevocably changed by the other. It's a cataclysm, a wide scale disaster that leaves the societies of both dimensions in complete disarray.

 

Since one of these dimensions was more technologically advanced than the other, you can find and use plenty of fancy tech in the game, but it's not uncommon to find it overgrown and in ruinous condition. The other dimension was one with blatant magic, so that's where the fantastical elements come in, and why everything in this story universe is deliberately and extremely anachronistic.

 

Centuries after the cataclysm, most societies have achieved a degree of stability, to the point that there are now some luxuries and a functioning government, but the incompatible elements of each dimension still struggle against one another. Wildlife and industrialized society are in a state of constant clash.

 

For example, there's a metro system beneath most cities, but it's ruinous and literally powered by magic more than technology, often overgrown with plant life and disrupted by enduring structural damage.

 

So naturally, there will be a fight scene on board one of the metro trains at some point.

[daveliam]

I've always wanted to see a modern RPG that focuses on a multinational special forces group with real world political settings.  Like a group of special forces agents who pull together towards a large global terrorist threat.  And you'd recruit different characters from different national forces.  And I want it 3rd person.  Kind of like XCOM meets Alpha Protocol but done by Bioware.  I've thought it out more, but don't have anywhere near as much detail as Steel does.  And, of course, there'd be romance in it.

 

Also this:

 

 

A tactical RPG based on Markus Heitz's novels?  Yes, please!

[Dean_the_Young]

Do we only get one? I've sketched out so many I wouldn't know where to start. Different genres do different things for me.

 

I suppose mine would be a Bethesda-style open-world RPG - a fantasy parallel to Afghanistan. Think Skyrim meets Fallout: New Vegas meets Afghanistan.

 

I've got the notes... somewhere. In my Story Corner, I think.

[Biotic Apostate]

I would like a modern day setting (or somewhere close in the future), where regular stuff (technology, weapons, modern media) blends with fantastical elements, like werewolves, familiar spirits, ghosts, elementals, magic wielders. It's rarely done in games, and could be very satisfying. Something in the vein of what the trailer for the Secret World promised. Or if you took the worlds from the Longest Journey series and smashed them together.

 

The game would offer a wide variety of playable characters, with a full creator. Besides that there has to be: story focus, companions, voiced protagonist, varied locations, branching skills, being able to find different ways to solve conflicts depending on skill (for example charisma checks) or companions (ghosts being able to control enemies to open doors, familiars assisting mages, elementals blocking off enemy pursuit, and so on). Anything beyond this would come out in the making.

 

Alternatively, a sci-fi futuristic RPG in the vein of ME, because you can't have enough of those. Something combining human enhancements like in Deus Ex, but without the problems and conspiracies, and focusing the series on galaxy exploration.

[Lady Artifice]

Do we only get one? I've sketched out so many I wouldn't know where to start. Different genres do different things for me.

 

I suppose mine would be a Bethesda-style open-world RPG - a fantasy parallel to Afghanistan. Think Skyrim meets Fallout: New Vegas meets Afghanistan.

 

I've got the notes... somewhere. In my Story Corner, I think.

 

The more the better, actually. As many as you feel like sharing. Your ideas are always fascinating to read. 

 

I know I'm not done talking about mine. I've still got all my ideal types of companions, character origin, and storyline to describe. 

[Sifr]

A fantasy RPG mixed with noir elements, kind of similar to the tone that The Wolf Among Us was going for. Incidentally a game that needs to have Telltale get around to making a second season for, because it was far too good for there only to be one made.

 

(It's why I've always wanted to see some kind of noir tale set in Kirkwall, since the magical craziness, rampant crime and overworked guard, as well as the look of the place would be perfect for it. It's probably one of the many reasons that Hard in Hightown was so beloved in-universe)

 

Alternately, the usual fantasy characters updated into a modern setting, rather than the medieval stasis that we always seem to get. Because the idea of Dwarves riding motorbikes, wearing leather jackets and wielding shotguns makes far too much sense to remain solely confined within my brain! Isn't that the whole reason modern AU fics are so popular?

 

[Serelir]

Alternately, the usual fantasy characters updated into a modern setting, rather than the medieval stasis that we always seem to get. Because the idea of Dwarves riding motorbikes, wearing leather jackets and wielding shotguns makes far too much sense to remain solely confined within my brain! Isn't that the whole reason modern AU fics are so popular?

 

I love that idea! I'd play it.

[Steelcan]

Part 2!

 

This is where all the origins would converge into one plotline.

 

Each character with their own companion would be subsumed into a larger campaign being run as an offensive into the New Kingdom's territory.  This would form the basis of essentially Act 1 of the game.  The general in charge of the campaign would serve as a quest giver essentially sending each character off onto different of preparing for the upcoming battle.  These would likely take the form of sending the player and their companion onto different areas, procuring supplies, the compliance of the local population and so on, each of these would bring in the other companions.

 

At the completion of the preparatory missions, which at some point would bring in the antagonists, the battle would ensue.  I haven't decided if it would be a victory or a defeat.  At this point there would be a divergent bit in the story that would shape Act 2.  An envoy arrives from the Imperial city declaring the general in charge of the campaign a traitor to the realm and orders all loyal men back to the Capital.  This would lead to the player and their companions then deciding on whether to stay with the general, who has declared himself emperor and promises riches and titles, or stay loyal to the Emperor and try to fall back.

 

There would be a big meeting among the various captains and such with the general where they either declare their allegiance to the general or try to get their own troops out.  The General announces that he's received tacit support from the New Kingdom either because they are trying to further destabilize the Empire or to get him and his army away from their now weakened borders.

 

Act 2 would then either cover the retreat back to the capital among a hostile populace that is rising up against the rumored to be insane and incompetent ruler or clearing the way for the main army on the way to the capital. 

 

And this is about as far as I've gotten so far, I'm open to suggestions on how to get between now and deposing the emperor/general or keeping them/putting them onto the throne

[Duelist]

My perfect RPG would be the evil lovechild of Dark Souls and Dragon's Dogma set in a fantasy version of faux Okinawa.

It would shamelessly rip off the epic boss fights from Dragon's Dogma, the emphasis on exploiting attack patterns a la Dark Souls and include karate.

 

Also, ninjas and pirates.

[Serelir]

I was thinking about this some more, because I was considering a new MMO that's coming out. I decided not to buy it. It's PvP-based, and even though you can play it for its other elements, that has no appeal for me.

 

What I would most enjoy (even though it's probably not feasible) is a system whereby you have a co-op area for you and your friends, and then larger public areas. So, depending on the setting:

 

A pseudo-medieval setting would have hamlets for your co-op group, towns for guilds, and cities and wilderness for everyone.

 

A modern dystopia might have an apartment building or a trailer for the co-op part, then a larger encampment for guilds, and city ruins for the world at large.

 

And so on - alien worlds, undersea societies, spaceships, whatever.

 

Dynamic group events would take place - some challenge to be faced, whether it's a fire or a plague in your hamlet, or a dragon threatening the guild town. As an individual or party, you could also take on quests, but you could also just stay in your hamlet and sandbox away if you like, tending your herbs or blacksmithing.

 

Leveling would be hidden from the player. I hate leveling! It's unnatural and gets really boring, and I always enjoy my first levels the most anyway. Instead, you would have to seek out someone to teach you a skill, or find a spellbook and actually practice learning a new technique or spell. There would be an alignment system, but it wouldn't necessarily mean that you would have to be the same alignment to get along with an NPC and convince them to teach you. Depending on how you handled the interaction, they might teach you a different spell or skill. If you wanted, you could even concentrate on crafting and become extremely powerful at alchemy, for example. But you wouldn't be able to do ALL the crafts - you'd have to choose. Some of them might go together, like cooking and alchemy, but your skill would have actual meaning based on the time you invested in it. You might need to barter with other players to learn a new recipe or to acquire some material, and they would likewise need things from you that couldn't be acquired out in the world. Let's say I was an enchanter: I could make scrolls to sell, but I could also buy weapons from the blacksmith, enchant them, and re-sell them. The blacksmith would have to buy wood or coal and metals from other players, and they would have to buy axes or picks from the blacksmith.

 

So it would be a little like a civ game in that a hamlet might have something like wood or metal and the skilled workers to manage and extract it, but they would have to trade with another hamlet for herbs and wool, for instance. A guild might try to convince several hamlets to join them, thereby acquiring friendly traders. But in turn, the guild would risk losing the cooperation of the hamlets if they didn't help out during a crisis.

 

The people who just love combat could become mercenaries, valued for their unique skills when a monster attacks. Or a nature wizard could be hired to call down rain in the case of a fire or drought.

 

In short, what I want is the RP that's missing from so many games. I want each player to matter to the world, not just be another stranger running around gobbling up resources and power-leveling. How you interact with other players would be important. If you're a jerk, no one will want to trade with you. If you're helpful and skilled, you could become a sought-after member of the community.

[Lady Artifice]

Dream writing team?

 

Gaider and Weekes,

 

I think these two do especially great things when they collaborate. Weekes wrote all of my favorite dialogue in the DA series, but Gaider tends to concoct the characters I find most endearing.

 

Joss Whedon

 

He'd do a little of everything. 

 

Paul Dini, Paul Crocker, and Sefton Hill.

 

They wrote Arkham City, so they would handle writing the villains and invoking a sense of duality and contrast where it's most effective.  

 

Rhianna Prachett

 

She worked on both Tomb Raider and Bioshock: Infinite.

 

Quentin Tarantino

 

Yep. In an advisory capacity, he'd provide input when it comes to dialogue and some artistic direction when it comes to combat.

 

Hayao Miyazaki

 

He'd write any children in the story, because it is my opinion that Bioware is not good at writing children. He'd also oversee the friendship arcs.

 

Loretta Chase

 

She's a romance novelist. She is, in fact, the modern romance novelist as far as I'm concerned, and her greatest strength is balancing angst and humor in good proportion.

[Steelcan]

I've long wanted to see what GRRM could do in an RPG world, and if he got to write romances and weddings all the better