HUD, combat..

Menus and Health:

I'd say having things on the screen is helpful- you need to see some kind of map (I was thinking a small circle portion just to show what path you're on and maybe some up-coming items: save points, buildings, destinations..) But you don't always want to have to press pause and look at the entire map.. so a small one on screen is great. I was thinking a compass was a good idea too, attach that to the on-screen map.

Merle needs to have a health bar.. I think thats the only way to go because how else would you do it? I know its over done but it DOES WORK. No need fixing what isn't broken right? And that when you level up, the player wants to see improvement not just with armor and swords and stuff- but health bar is huge for that. diablo didn't do that, they just had the health bubble thing.. it was a numbers games as you remember- that wasn't so great. You knew you were stronger and could take more damage but you couldn't SEE the change right away you know? Like we said before: seeing the character physically change while upgrading is huge.

So for all the HUD stuff- I'd say keep in minimal: Health, map, current level (still deciding on this)... thats all. Unless you can thinking of something more. but really all you need to see is the character in his world. Thats the beauty of it.

Combat:

I like the idea of charging up to fight- but i think it should also go away after, say, level 15. It is interesting, but I feel like it would get old. But its a good idea for someone learning (such as Merle) and once you get a strong hold of how to deal out a lot of damage- you would no longer need to warm up. Like once you reach a certain lvl, ...say... 15.. a prompt comes up explaining Merle no longer has to "charge up his strength" or whatever it is. that would be badass.. it would be a relief to the player and would make combat more natural.

I think dodging and properly timed blocking is essential to fighting.. it can't be all offense. and If you are good at it, then there should be rewards. Maybe there is a counter-system: for example, you are fighting a a guy with a sword- you swing and he blocks it and you lose your momentum, now he swings and you block his swing and that throws him off and now there is a window to counter attack him, but it only lasts a short while before he recovers, but if you do it right its worth a lot of damage and maybe you get then unleash a whole combo- of attacks. that would be ill. Anything that enhances Merles abilities as a fighter and makes it "look cooler" is good. so I'd say yes- we need blocking and "roll-evading" because that just makes it that much more dynamic.

Magic? Hmm..

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Also: Machu Pichu is ideal for the hidden city.. its so remote and badass and appears untouched by humans.. "grown in" comes to mind. like maybe there was a big city there, or it was attempted.. but the planet took it back and now it is governed and run by the planet. thats interesting.