Gameplay
Our game is a multiplayer first-person shooter with RPG elements, such as combat classes and skill trees. All gameplay will be organized into matches which occur in a set of levels, and will take place in either real-time PvP Clan Matches or as Stadium Combat, allowing players to build their ratings, advance their skillset, play for fun, and conquer territory while developing their own style of combat.
Story
The future is here--it’s just unevenly distributed. -William Gibson
What do you call a society where economic inequality reaches beyond death? When an experimental cloning technique, powered by a cutting-edge biofuel, reaches commercial viability, practical immortality is just around the corner, but only a few can afford it. The stress to the social system, which must suddenly deal with an elite that seems even more all-powerful, is great, and is only exacerbated by the economic effects of growing increasing amounts of fuel for use by a few.
As social cohesion decays, the walled cities spring up--glowing bastions of a future that, for most, remains a distant dream. Outside the cities, clan rule reigns, as people scavenge retrofitted technology and live off the cities’ detritus. Over time, however, a few clans gain prominence, and when rudimentary replication begins to appear on the black market, the primacy of the cities is threatened. Where will the future lie--in utopia, or on its margins?
After waiting for years for the funds for legal replication, you reenter the land of the living, on the condition that you work on behalf of the city with one of the many clans outside. Once established in a prominent clan, however, will you choose to remain loyal to the city, or pursue your own agenda?
Items and Classes
Guns will be the primary weapons in the game, and a wide variety, from refurbished ballistic pistols, rifles, and shotguns to futuristic power weapons, will be available. Guns can be one-handed or two-handed, with advantages and disadvantages to each--a one-handed gun may have a faster reload time and faster aim speed, but will suffer in range and power. In addition to guns, melee and auxiliary weapons, such as knives, turrets and grenades, will be available, and players can choose to specialize in these weapons. The wide variety of weapons, combined with limitations in how many can be equipped before each match, will force players to coordinate strategically with teammates to plan for matches and develop unique strategies.
The player’s Heads-Up Display is their Personal Operations Device, or POD, which will be used extensively throughout the game. Among other things, it displays the player’s vitals--not just overall bodily health but also energy, adrenaline, and fatigue, all of which will affect your performance in the game. Health can be restored through medical stations or simple bandages and painkillers--if your character dies, they’ll be replicated at the nearest station, for a price.
As a player participates in matches and combat, they will gain Performance Points, which help increase their ranking and skills with a weapon or item. As a player uses a weapon, they will develop skill with it, reducing recoil and reload speed and improving aim. Each weapon will also come with a unique ability, which can only be unlocked as the player increases their skill with the weapon.
Before each match, a player can also choose two of several auxiliary classes, which provide special skills and benefits to the player while they are active. As the player gains ranks, and makes permanent progress in each class, the classes will provide them with progressively better and stronger abilities.
Clans and Matches
Outside the cities, clans are the only law, and a player will likely join or form one or more over their time in the game. When a new clan is formed, they will be given a choice of starting locations. From there, the clan can gather equipment, battle for resources, and eventually take over new territory. Keeping a clan properly equipped is an important part of the game, and will take regular expansion of resource hubs and territory.
Clan battles will take the form of matches between two clans--a clan might be defending territory, attacking supply lines, or mounting pitched battles for a resource location. A battle will continue until a clan surrenders, or until one group has exhausted their players and the replication resources they brought.
As a result of the battle, Performance Points will be given, and the rankings of the clans will be adjusted based on the outcome of the fight. Eventually, a clan will be ranked based upon the skill of the players in it, the number of territories taken and defended, and any ranked Stadium Combat wins with clan-formed teams.
Stadium Combat
Unlike Clan Matches, Stadium Combat does not affect territory or clan affiliation. They can be entered at any time, and at many different locations. As they are sponsored by the cities, there is no cost for equipment or replication, and different modes and levels will be available.
Combat will be divided into two types: rated and unrated. Rated Combat is composed of tournament-style matches either between teams or individuals, culminating in a championship with in-game rewards and Performance Points. Unrated Combat is composed of ongoing matches that players can join at any time.
Core Feature Overview
-Multiplayer in-story battles
-Stadium combat
-Multiple combat classes: Pick before each battle
-Performance Points and Ranks unlock new class skills
-Join and form clans
-Ally with and betray other clans
-Collect resources and expand over new territory
Written By: thedextriarchy
My main concern would be your "scope". There's a lot of features that you want so you would need to be very clear with your priorities. Have you made a content list? If not, then you should. If you have, then sort the list. I would focus on the arena gameplay first and wait with the clan and territories -stuff and implement it later.
I might have misunderstood you. But are the clans and territory battles meant to be a form of qualification to enter the arenas? Or are they to improve your chances at arena games? If not then I think that people would ignore that whole part of the game and only do arena matches. So yea, your priority should be focused on the arena/matches and the weapons systems. Once you have the framework completed for that (so that all there is left to do is to fill it up with content) you can move on to the second part of the game. Another good reason for this is that you would be able to release an alpha earlier if you narrow your scope. And alphas are a great way to get publicity and fame.
Yes, it has been my plan from the beginning to implement Arena/Stadium Combat first and use it as our alhpa.
And no, the Arena/Stadium Combat is just intended to be a way for players to play the game w/o any consequences, or if they just want a quick game or 2. The world clan fighting is intended to be similar in structure to WoW's world structure, but with the focus entirely on pvp combat, and not as one big world but a collection of persistent levels.
Some gameplay questions:
Adrenaline and fatigue? how would they work?
My experience with fatigue-systems is that they are annoying. If you've played Diablo 2 then you know about those white pots and annoying fatigue-pauses at the start of the game. You don't want to punish the player for not doing something wrong (and running around is nothing wrong). But if fatigue were to be linked with say, health, then things become a lot more interesting. Many games have implemented the if-you-take-damage-you-move-slower -style of gameplay - and it works as long as it's not "too" taxing on the player.
I assume the adrenaline would be like it is in games such as Left 4 Dead: increasing movement and reload speed. But how would the adrenaline be aquired by the player? And would it be an all-positive effect or are you aiming for realism as well? (adrenaline makes you shaky -> messes up your aiming).
Players replicate using money -Wwhere does money come from? How much do you have at start? What happens if you run out of money and everyone else is still playing - do you have to wait for everyone else to finish? No player likes to wait. Keep that in mind.
I like the idea of performance points and how they affect the weapons system - it seems like a fair system similiar to how it is in Battlefield Bad Company 2. But how are PP given "during" combat. Kills? Or by other means as well?
What does ranks do? Are they just a symbol of your skills or do they have any other feature? Are they linked to performance points?
Also, last but not least:
If you pull this off, you have a lot of balancing to do. Having a flexible weapons system is great, but it's a lot harder to balance.
Good luck!
We've not completely nailed down how energy, fatigue, and adrenaline will work, but I dont intend for it to be drastic, just noticeable after several minutes of intense combat. Also, yes it will be loosely tied to 'health'.
We've not spent much time working on the balances of money in the game because we're focusing on getting Arena/Stadium Combat working before we start to implement the world clan fighting.
PP would be given for kills, kill streaks, completing important objects, winning matches, etc.
The ranking system will be similar to character levels in typical RPGs, but there will likely only be 5-10 ranks to start with. Right now we're thinking that players will advance classes 2 at a time, and have PP and rank for each class, gaining PP and ranks for whichever 2 classes are active while playing.
Yes, I assume we'll need to get a lot of testers to try to balance everything out before releasing anything for play.