Good evening everybody! A little while ago, you may remember I made a thread asking for some ideas for creating a hypothetical video game. Well, since then, I've hammered out the idea a little bit more, and come up with some more solid ideas, so I thought, let's throw this thread back out there, and see what else we can come up with! Here's the premise: [b][u]Steampunk Mages[/b][/u] EVIL CORPORATION is trying to DESTROY MAGIC using BIG ROBOTS. But you, as a STEAMPUNK MAGE won't stand for this. So you use MAGIC to fight BIG ROBOTS and stop the EVIL CORPORATION. The game will be a boss battler, meaning there are [b]NO[/b] regular enemies in this game. Only bosses. Said bosses are usually giant robots. As giant robots, they will probably have individual components on them that can be destroyed. Destroying components may stop them from doing certain attacks, or put them in a state of vulnerability. Destroying a component will also probably do a burst of damage, however, your DPS will generally probably be higher by not destroying the components. Ideally, this should create a strategic decision of whether or not to, say, destroy a missile launcher that keeps hitting you to make the fight easier, or to focus down the main boss to try and get a better score. Some Medal challenges (see below) may also revolve around destroying all or none of the components. Generally speaking, all that's needed to win any given encounter is to defeat the boss before the time limit*. Faster times lead to better scores, better scores may lead to better drops(?). Besides just winning, though, each fight will also have a certain amount of Medals to earn, which generally involve beating the boss with some condition; such as beating them within a certain time frame, destroy all or none of the components, using certain weapons or team formations, or inflicting a certain number of debuffs. The only way to unlock new bosses is to get enough medals. [spoiler]*It's also possible there may not be a time limit at all, and rather faster times just reward better scores.[/spoiler] Bosses will then drop materials, which can be used for crafting. You can craft new armors and weapons which will, of course, boost damage and defense respectively, though some equipment may have special passive effects. Aside from materials, you can also craft meals, which can be used to attract Faeries. Faeries act as passive buffs, and you can take up to 5 with you into any given battle. Some Faeries are able to be upgraded by making them better meals (though you can always use the weaker versions if preferred), and some Faeries can even fuse together (though again, the weaker versions are always available). The Faeries would act similar to Terraria's Accessory system. Finally, the game would be a class-based top down twin stick shooter. Each class has four abilities: a primary ability which has no cooldown, and then 3 other abilities which do require a cooldown. Each class also has a unique debuff they can inflict. You can take any combination of the classes into battle that you wish (with a party size of 4), and likewise you can play as any class as well. I'm not sure how hard it is to make local co-op, but any party members not controlled by players are controlled by coms. And the classes are: [b]Elementalist (DPS)[/b]: A mage specializing in elemental magic. They're good at dealing damage, and lots of it, but that's also just about all they're good at! [spoiler]Primary: Firebolt - A simple "aim and shoot" spell that fires quick rapid-fire projectiles in a straight line. Hitting enemies will build a Burn debuff. Ability 1: Thunderstorm - Summon a targeting ring, and then rain thunderbolts inside of it. Deals damage over time to a wide area. Very effective against large, slower bosses, not as great against smaller, quicker ones. Ability 2: Ice Blast - A quick fire shotgun spread of ice shards. Deals high damage up close, but not as much from a distance. Ability 3: Gale Shot - Charge up a powerful wind blast, and then fire it for a single high-damage shot. Best used at a distance, as you're vulnerable during the charge. Debuff: Burn - Deals damage over time to enemies afflicted.[/spoiler] [b]Chrono Mage (Offensive Support)[/b]: A mage specializing in time magic. While their damage isn't anything to scoff at, their main role in the team is to support their allies, by helping them deal even more damage! [spoiler]Primary: Distortion - Slow fire rate with a short charge time, but deals high damage per shot. Ability 1: Time Beam - A blast of magic that will build the Stop debuff. Has three levels of charge. Higher levels inflict more damage and Stop, but you're vulnerable during the charge time. Ability 2: Reverse - Create a small bubble around you for a split second. Any projectiles caught in the bubble are redirected back at the boss. Ability 3: Haste - Buff your team, and increase everyone's fire rate for a limited time. Debuff: Stop - When the Stop gauge is full, the boss freezes in place, unable to move or attack. This also pauses the timer.[/spoiler] [b]Photomancer (Tank)[/b]: A mage specializing in light magic. Medium damage output, but with a lot of skills to help prevent their allies from getting hurt. [spoiler]Primary: Glimmer - Generate small bolts of light that automatically home in on the boss. Can select a target for easier aiming at components. Ability 1: Barrier - All allies gain a barrier over their health bar, effectively doubling their health. This barrier slowly drains over time, in addition to taking regular damage. Ability 2: Wall - Create a wall of light that block projectiles. The wall has a health bar, and will shatter once depleted. Only one Wall can be active at a time. Ability 3: Darken - A close range burst of darkness. Inflicts the Darkness debuff. Debuff: Darkness - Temporarily weakens the attacks of any enemy inflicted.[/spoiler] [b]Healer (Defensive Support)[/b]: A mage specializing in healing magic. Though their damage output is abysmal, they excel at keeping their team alive. [spoiler]Primary: Leech - Fires a continuous beam that restores your health based on damage dealt. There is a healing cap. Ability 1: Heal - Immediately heal all allies for (X)% health. Ability 2: Restore - Create a pool of light on the ground that will steadily heal any allies standing within over time. If the boss enters this field, they'll steadily gain the Clear debuff. Ability 3: Cure - Cleanse allies of all debuffs. Debuff: Clear - Enemies afflicted with Clear have all buffs removed, and cannot gain any new ones until it wears off. They receive a bit of damage for every buffs that are cleared this way.[/spoiler] I was also playing with the idea of having alternate versions of each class, that would probably be unlockable, but I never came up with anything. They'd be things like the Elemenalist using ice magic as a primary instead of fire, or the Photomancer primarily using dark spells instead of light ones. There will be a few game modes to play: 1. Would be story quests. These are generally easier than the next category, and help advance what minimal plot there will be. Ideally, this can be completed without grinding whatsoever. 2. These would be extra quests. Generally a bit tougher than story quests, and something you'd probably need to grind a bit to complete all of. 3. Ultra quests. These would be a postgame thing, meant for players who have maxed out their stats. it would include a rematch of every enemy from story or extra quests, but with beefed up stats to match endgame players. These probably wouldn't unlock any new gear (the whole point of them is that players who have maxed out can take on any boss in the game and have fun), but would probably unlock some sort of vanity thing, like trophies in the lobby or something. In any case, though, shoot me with any ideas you may have for this project, Offtopic! They can be gameplay related, story related, or even just about aesthetics. Do bear in mind, this is something I'm actually planning on making, so do keep suggestions reasonable. I'm hoping to get a new computer hopefully sometime in the next couple months, and once I do I'm going to start trying to get into game development. I have two projects I'm planning on taking on; this is one of them! [b][u]Tl;dr? Here's my point![/b][/u] I'm thinking of trying to make a game, hopefully getting started in just a month or two. Above are the details for the game in question. Help me come up with ideas! :D But that's all for now folks! Jambuhbye!