Common Sense Corner

[Bounty Hunter Lani]

I'm hoping this is in the right place!

Anyway...

It's Lani's super novel idea thread-- Something actually game related-- something to excite ALLLLLL THE PEOPLE!!!

It's the Common Sense Corner!

Here, we post something that we could all think about when making our games. If you believe you've thought of something, post it here!

An explanation by Dervy-kun himself: "Basically a thread where people have game-related ideas, plots devices and tricks-of-the-trade they want to share."

I'll start us off


Discussions on Enemies (And other stuff)

Why would Private Squigglesquirt in Area B be stronger than a Sergeant Shinglesplits in Area A? Or why is an Ice Golem three times as strong as a Fire Golem?
Think about the strength of enemies, and possible ranks they may have!

Bonus:
Not every enemy in a volcanic area has to be RED. Maybe they have a slight hue from the surrounding elements and lightings, but not everything in the area would be red! DON'T MAKE THAT MISTAKE!

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Table of Contents:
Discussions on Enemies (And other stuff) / 1st Post
Discussions on Music (And Miscellaneous stuff) *Started by MetalRenard
Discussions on "Ancients" and Magics
Discussions on Tutorials, NPCs and Scenes
Discussions on Repetitive NPC Actions
Discussions on Changing Their Clothes
Discussions on Humerous NPCs
Discussions on Thematic Game Music
Discussions on Villains Destroying Resources
Discussions on Not KILLING off the Character
Discussions on Stupid Trendy Names
Discussions on Revelant Characters

[yamina-chan]

-Can we discuss prior ideas here too?

Private Squigglesquirt could very well be stronger then Sergeant Shinglesplits, based on the fact that he is more reguarly in combat itself, while the Seargeant is usually on the sidelines, coming up with strategys or relaying oders from even higher ups; doing other things then fighting / training as much himself, as the good private is.
But I do get your point. =)


I'll have to think about this for a bit, I know that I have come across similar things a lot, but at this very moment all I can think of are things that may not work on one type of game but are logical in others.

[Bounty Hunter Lani]

Sure, we can discuss prior ideas, as long as the thread isn't hijacked

I do believe I have another one now

If you're going to do some kind of "Ancient Temple", don't make random falls down to other areas that have seemingly no exits but one, with no ways to get up or down, unless the Ancients had wings or something. It's illogical to have to break your legs just to get to where you want to go

Also, random dead ends get irritating for people, and most real places don't have those
(I hope you get what I mean by that!)

[Bounty Hunter Lani]

HERE'S a couple tips that might be helpful!

Don't forget to add optional bosses and minibosses for your game. Not everything has to be a super-hard boss battle that comes out of nowhere!

Also, it IS possible for there to be an area of only one type of enemy. Don't be afraid to make a froggy room!

[MetalRenard]

Discussions on Music (And Miscellaneous stuff)

Wrote a good story for your game? Did you know good music will make it 100% better?
That's the value of a good composer and why you remember the music to a good game. You made a strong connection to the music thanks to the story and you re-live the story thanks to the great music.

That's why I'm learning "To Zanarkand" on piano 14 years after finishing Final Fantasy 10.

[yamina-chan]

(Once you have it it's really hard to replace too. I have two pieces of music that are perfect for something I am wokring one; one is even the base uppon which an entire area was created. ...Turns out it's actually not a free piece of royalty free music as it was claimed to be, but rather is sold by hte orgiginal creator for a price that definately exceedy my budget. And it's impossible to find a good replacement. >> Similar with the second one, which I knew was not royalty free at all but is once again perfect in every way. And I can't use it. T-T)



Not everything and everyone in the world of your game needs to have a purpose for the plot. Also, NPCs deserve more then to be just 'filler' or 'informant'.
Have some people just living their life, put some thought into who this person is that you've placed in House 3 on map 22.
You don't need to go as much into detail as you would with a protagonist of course, but give the people of your world character. It helps those who play to connect with the setting and get invested in what is going on.

[Samven]

Why do villains always let the hero go? Quoth Harley Quinn, when you have the hero at your mercy, "Why don't ya just shoot him?"

The best way around this, I find, is simply to try and make sure that it doesn't happen. Sometimes you can pull off an escape courtesy of the cavalry but a script clearly has a problem if it's a constant occurrence.

[MetalRenard]

Why do games hide useful materials in unusual places? I recently got Alien Isolation and everything is fantastic EXCEPT... I find myself exploring every surface just in case there's a spare battery for my flash light or some materials I can use to build a medkit injection thing. In real life you wouldn't find these materials in all these places.
In the end, it breaks my immersion in a game that tries really hard to make you feel like you're THERE on that abandoned space outpost, alone with the insane remnants of society and a monstrous alien creature.

It feels "gamey".

[Bounty Hunter Lani]

Discussions on "Ancients" and Magics

HERE'S a thought:

Why do "Ancient" potions always seem to be better than regular, modern potions? Did the potion-making technology somehow take a nosedive after years and years of innovation?

I had more ideas, but for the life of me, I can't think of them right now... maybe after I get some rest

[Taylor]

@MetalRenard: I hope to work around this, or with this or whatever, in that the items you find are appropriate for the world. On one world the items you find will basically be 100% food taken from plants around. (Also since they're rotting or poison, they can "fail" to heal. Because of this, they might be numerous and regrow each game-day.) On another world where there's civilisation, you'll probably be taking stuff from cabinets.

Unfortunately I realise that "abandoned" places hit a bit of logical issues and I'm not sure I'll be able to put items there. Heck I even wonder if those places should even have puzzles. I might have to scrap one concept or another just to avoid such weirdness. I have a dungeon plan I've wanted to use for ages but the in-universe location itself might have to be ... left out.

As for "ancient" items, well. I have to wonder how well they keep. Do ancient civilisations have fridges? (You could ask the same thing about normal items in abandoned places, I guess.)