J. Portnow's Game Design Challenge

[Adrir]

Originally Posted by EnSanity

Are we supposed to submit more than one class in one submission? I have several classes with synergy with each other, but the 500-word limit is rather, well, limiting. Should I put them in different submissions?

Oh, is it not 500 words per class?

[james.portnow]

Originally Posted by EnSanity

I'm very excited about this, but I have a few questions.

1. Do I have to have a job title or a school affiliation, like it mentions at the end of the article? I have neither, but would still like to participate.

2. Are we supposed to submit more than one class in one submission? I have several classes with synergy with each other, but the 500-word limit is rather, well, limiting. Should I put them in different submissions?

That's all, and I can't wait to get started.

1. You absolutely don't need a school/job affiliation, though for those of you who do, we'd love to know.

2. Brevity is one of the most important aspects of design writing. Your submissions can actually be as long as you'd like, but make sure that what you are saying warrants it. One of the sad facts of being a designer is that no one will ever read most of your carefully crafted documents, so being succinct is key.

That said, if you need more than 500 words and think you can justify it with multiple classes &c, go for it. Remember there are ways to cut down on your word count (graphs, charts, tables, pictures).

Best of Luck

[james.portnow]

Oh, and for those of you who have submitted...I've read all of yours, so don't worry.

[Ta-Razel]

i've sent one of my design ideas to your e-mail. i hope that you got it

[Bruno D]

Really interesting challenge. I'm gonna wrap my mind around this one.

[EvilLlama]

If we have some artistic ability, are we allowed to submit legible sketches along with the description?

[james.portnow]

Originally Posted by EvilLlama

If we have some artistic ability, are we allowed to submit legible sketches along with the description?

Send whatever you've got, I'd love to see it all.

[der13manner]

From the initial challenge, I think this sort of an idea would be valid.

Mechanic Change - Rythmic Based

Instead of change the sterotypical roles, you change the basic mechanic by which they accomplish thier job, and base it on a Rythem system. It makes sense from a combat perspective, as combat is often described as a dance. You give the class a combination of options such that they have options that make sense based on the actions of the opponent and thier archtype within the group.

Fighters -
Most obvious implementation. Faster fighter and slow fighter (ala tanks and rogues), tanks use combinations of shield manuevers, strikes and tanks. Faster fighters use blow combinations

Magic users -
Range is more difficult, but for example, the monsters could have a universal color system that describes thier actions, and different spells would be effective/usable at the color transitions.

The main basis is music and rythem, so healers would provide a bass beat (Bum Bum Bum di Bum). They would fire of heals to match a beat pattern. Mages and rogues would be a sort of lead melody line, and tanks provide the bass guitar. The game would determine damage based on how close to on beat the damage was being done, with the healing providing that beat, but requiring the rythem to be more complex if it was faster. Each different move would have a different sound, and the players effectively create music by working together to kill the monster.

[Exaggeration17A]

Hey, everyone. I saw a link to this challenge on Kotaku and couldn't resist joining in. I've already sent my idea to Mr. Portnow but I thought I'd post an excerpt for everyone to discuss, just in case he doesn't think it's good enough to put on the main site.

"The Mystic Thespian would be almost entirely defined by what they wear. This would be similar to, but far more versatile than the "dresspheres" of Final Fantasy X-2. If a character found plate mail, a kite shield and a longsword, they would take on the role of a warrior and gain bonuses to their physical attack and defense skills as a result. If they equipped a robe and staff instead, they would act as a mage and increase their overall magic skills."

So in a game like Diablo II (because I swore off WoW), this character wouldn't invest points in Sorceress skills. They'd just pick up a staff and start acting so convincingly like a Sorceress that the spells would actually manifest. But as soon as they put that staff down, they lose that ability... and, they'd still have to be a high enough level character to use the staff in the first place, so things stay balanced that way.

Thoughts and sarcasm are welcome!

[zero1328]

I saw it on Kotaku as well, I wrote up a rough proposal and submitted it this morning, after I saw the article. I've fleshed it out a tiny bit more since then, but I think that the rough proposal's good enough for now.

In a generation full of lackluster reiterations and a mere handful of unique concepts, seeing everyone's ideas could turn out to be really interesting, or dull. I can't wait to see how this turns out.

Edit: The things I've fleshed out in my mind are basically just more details of the mechanics of the class, such as possible ways to use it, and more examples. I stuck a few of them in the email, but overall I feel that, although relevant, wouldn't detract from the concept either way. I've also thought of more comments, including comparisons to existing game mechanics. This could help visualise the class further.

In the end, I won't send additional stuff unless you ask, because I've already sent an email, and I kinda think that all you're really looking at, in the end, is the base concept of the class.