collecting stuff

I had this idea late last night. This is just one of the many ways we could keep the player moving around and going back to places that they have already explored. I remember playing Ratchet and Clank for ps2 a few years ago and they went about collecting things in a way that makes sense I think. Basically you just had to collect gears that burst out of enemies when they die, and when you had enough you could get new guns. Now, the key is that they made the prices of the guns really high so it took some time to really do it, I found this good because games like fable for instance(if you wanted to buy the castle) didn't take very long to accomplish and it wasn't very rewarding when you did. So I think if we are gonna go the route of giving the player something to collect, it should really take awhile to do and the prize should be worth it, the reward should be on the verge of game changing, like abilities that allow you to make things much easier(like flying in kingdom hearts). Maybe we could have "region based" items in which you need to be in a certain area to collect the stuff and maybe you need a little bit from each region of the game to get the reward, like a cumulative thing. This of course is all assuming that the player has free reign over where he wants to go at a certain point in the game. I think there is something powerful about getting an item or ability and then backtracking through the game using it on places that you had missed earlier when you didn't have it. It's a lot like kingdom hearts but if we could put our own spin on it, might be worth the time.

further

I don't know how i really feel about the transportation of everything. Personally I think that I ship with a mast would be unique and kinda cool to get around if we wanted to go that route, however if the game features a lot of technology it wouldn't make much sense to have a wooden boat as a way to get the player around. Sailing from place to place could be sweet though, and it isn't done to much in games.

There could be a cool element to the game if we wanted to include the fact that he is a builder into things, I'm not sure if it would work well, but there is potential for another mechanic to the game that deals directly with Merle's trade. Some sort of synthesizing, build it with found materials type thing would be kinda neat.

nice scapes to peep

http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/2uJBek/www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1363789/The-cloud-chaser-Amateur-weatherman-follows-sun-compass-snap-stunning-pictures.html%253FITO%253D1490

Pondering of story and castles

Right. So, I have read this stuff a couple times (what you posted) and I know we should have a castle of course. but like you said getting there can be tough.. might not be able to get there in the beginning.. maybe you need to unlock a gate on the pier like a side quest is finding the key and then you can cross it to the castle.. maybe its old and deserted, but perhaps someone lives out there.. or everything thinks he does.. like an old alchemist. lives out in the west wing of the hight tower. something like that would be interesting because it gives the castle purpose besides just having space to go explore. so it can be tied into the games story line but not necessarily crucial for advancement.

I don't know what to think about merle personifying an earlier time. it seems like that would change everything we've got going. unless you mean it to be as a metaphor.. like his weapons and his lifestyle reflect the past and of a civilization that doesn't exist anymore *think Aragorn and the bloodline of Numenor.. something along those lines could be interesting. he has ties to an ancient race.

With the castle.. its going to be sweet. everyone wants to get out to the castle on the island. maybe its one of those things you can see from the beginning of the game on the beach.. but you need a boat to get out to it. so during the course of the game you have to find out why you need to go out the island *something better than curiosity* find someone who is willing to bring you or let you use their boat.. like that. thoughts?


we need a big piece of paper to put on the wall and write out the story line.. all the events we want to have happen so we can piece this shit together.. words.

Castle and game decisions.

We absolutely need a castle somewhere. I'm thinking of one in the sky or placed in a really majestic area. I don't think we should have multiple castles, just one is good. Maybe some old ruin's, but have like dungeons in it to explore, maybe its not part of the storyline just a sweet place to fight things and level. I really want to draw one up, maybe on a island connected to the mainland by a dilapidated wooden bride-pier type situation. I picture it covered in moss and roots.

Ok so I had this idea for the progression through the game. so picture this....Like you are making your way down the beach fighting things and such when you come across the Bridge out to the castle or whatever, and a prompt comes up and asks you "Cross the pier? Or continue down the beach?". SO you can continue but you find out quickly that the beasts get a lot harder and you should have took the other route. Of course only one of the choices advances you further in the game, but the other choice is built to help you level and get better suited. So we have a bunch of these throughout the game. So we need to have benefits of both sides, like the 1rst choice(the one that continues the story) has a sweet cinematic or automatically gives you something new and cool, something that is awesome, that the player is exited to get, like a new summon in ff10 for example. and the other choice, brings you away from the story but gives you a bunch of enemies to fight and cool things to look at and explore, and maybe it gives you something that would make the other route way easier. hmmmmm....

I remember this sort of technique in resident evil or something, maybe it was another game, but it gave you the decision to do something when one way was clearly harder without going the easier route... But i enjoy the idea of departing from the story for a long segment, suited up and ready to go further with supreme confidence.

Story background.

I had an idea for the story line and Merle's place in it. I had mentioned earlier that because we are doing a high-tech and old school type game, It would be cool if Merle was the embodiment of the earlier times. So we have this, no country for old men thing going in the game, were its like the main character is thrown into a world so different from him and he has to adapt and grow used to it. Something to think about