game basics

We really need to nail down the story before we start getting into the mechanics of game play. Of course, it doesn't hurt to brainstorm for possible solutions and executions, but I still don't know what actually happens in the game. SO.... I say from here on out we focus on where the story goes, who are the people.. and the Villain, its huge. It is all to easy to get carried away with ideas that might not have real relevance to the stories path of missions and only act as a hindrance, rather than constructive game building.

OK...now this is really hard to do over the internet, it would be much better and easier to talk about it one on one, so we need to revert back to the "skeleton" of the game, like we had talked about.

SO the main character starts on an island= first major step. Merle is introduced and the player gets a feeling about how he is as a person and whats going on in his head. The island is definitely explored to a high degree, maybe not the WHOLE thing for the story's sake, but the player can decide if he wants to hang around and scope out every possible thing(this is great because if we can make each area in the game both enticing and with enough to do that the player wants to search every possible space and nook, then we have a longer and more satisfying experience, it also builds a "acclimated feel to the land, only to change drastically to the next region with a whole new set of obstacles and opportunities.

SOMEHOW, the character leaves the island behind, in search of bigger and vastly different cultures that shape the world and support the name of the game(Hmmmm)= step two.

I say that the story really starts to reveal itself after you leave the island, this is were the villain(s) is first showcased and the real threat introduces itself and the player fully "gets" the game now, or at least has a solid feel for the characters, game play and story. We have established that the story features different groups of people and different landscapes that are engaging to the player, not just that you "can" explore the surroundings kinda like fable , but more importantly that you "want" to explore the surroundings. This includes places you can climb, run, jump and so on, interaction is a no-brainer.

OK so i have thought up a couple of story ideas to help shape the game more and give it more of a starting point. What do you think about this...

First, and this is a small thing, the starting point of the home island fosters locations(although small) that mimic the areas that are to be explored more in depth later in the game. SO we have the cliffs of rock and stuff on the island, foreshadowing the area of stone in the north, we have the center area of the island, somewhat giving the player that a tundra area is going to happen, and the beaches and forests on the Island giving an example of the..lush greens and coastlines of the mainland. So maybe we could play with that a bit.

Second, maybe you are whisked away on a ship that comes to recruit you to go in search of their king. Kinda like the old idea we had about the three kings that go to meet, maybe you help this people find out what happened to the king, maybe it turns of the villain has him hostage or locked away somewhere. Just a thought.

We have so many choices here...whats unique, what is basic, what is fun and whats not. Again, its hard because if we want to do technology with swords it becomes a whole different thing, But if we stick we just swords and shields, old fashioned style, its not very interesting and has been done to death. We need a really healthy balance of what we want to see in the game and how that relates to the games themes and outlook. Something about high-tech and swordplay is so sick so i think we would have more freedom if we were to just put our own spin on that idea, coupled with the vastness and epic scale of lord of the rings. We need to discuss why the game is different than the others.