Nether - What do you think?

[zuhane1]

I've been working on an RPG called Nether. It's based in the Netherworld, the main character is like the lesser of 2 evils basically. He is called Kima, and his best friend is Galath, Kima is a dark knight, Galath is a clown with a scythe. Galath is trying to boost his confidence because he is quite timid even though he is planning to become the ruler.
         Anywho, I've been on this game since about early January and it's coming along. Here's some special features:

400x400 world map jam-packed with secrets.

Rideable fire-bird.

Fire-bird races.

SP to spend on special skills, attribute boosts and more.

Make your own team, tons of characters to buy and customise.

Job center, do peoples jobs.

Hidden tropical islands that get unlocked, full of high level monsters.

Day and night changer.

Arcade games and casino games.

Battle arena.

Library with fully-operating joke-book which tells a random joke. (30 in total.)

Absoloutely lathered in secrets.

Special Zelda-like story items such as: Sun Orb, Blue Lantern, Hackers 1, 2 and 3, Shroud Disperser, Jump Boots, Grapple Hook, Underwater Diving Suit, Monster Translator, Iron Fist, Magic Lens and more.

Bakery and blacksmith, make your own stuff.

Firework shop (weapons)

Respect points from helping people. Gain enough to unlock things.

Collectible items which all heavily benefit you such as AP orbs, Upgrade pearls, Vault Keys and Red Gems.

Appeal Room (Ask for new places to open in your castle.)

Atmosphere Room (Visit other planets and realms to help people.)

Random Room (Visit 5 randomly generated rooms. Fill certain conditions to gain more stats for your familiars and find rare items.)

Beatiful scenery including: Sashari Plains, Sufari Mountains, Penguin Island, Ice Corner, The Docks, Deathrow Palace, Beasts Cave, Paradise Island, Easfings Underwater City, Heroes Dungeon and much, much more.

Tell me what you think of the concept.

Oh by the way, I do in fact have some problems. they are going to sound very bad.

1. I don't know how to take screenshots of my game. Do I restore the game screen down then print screen?

2. Meiscool has to help me with my maps, they're lacking in "Ooomph!!!" If you know what I mean.

3. I may need some spriters to help me do some things.

4. I do my own fully animated cut-scenes, but they're a bit poor. I need an animator if possible. Cheers everyone.

Characters:

Kima- Kima is quite shy, most monsters in the Netherworld are cocky and in-your-face. Kima lacks the confidence to rule with an iron fist. Him and Galath are inseperable friends, even though they have absoloutely nothing in common. (Dark Knight, uses a Cutter)

Galath- A typical demon, always wanting to steal, get drunk and pick fights. He's cool, sly, slick and says all the right things... unless he's talking to a respectable member of the community. He thinks the world of Kima, but still picks at him. (Evil Clown, uses a scythe)

Tetra- A secret. Find out when you play the game.

- A gothic looking man who must kill Kima. Kima is trying his best to find out more about this man, but he keeps his identity hidden well. (Gothic Man, uses bare fists)

Laxe- When Kima saves his life, he pledges his allegience to him. He has vampiric skills like absorbing HP, he may have some other hidden skills. (Typical Vampire, uses Power Orbs)

Ordis- Yet another thing I can't reveal. But it has a great relevance to Laxe.

Zuhane- Ruler of Aikus Mountain. He is a cold-hearted killer who would sacrafice anyones life in order to protect his own. His ghost-like appearance makes him a b***ard to try and hit. (Ghost/Necromancer/Warrior, uses Double-Sided Mace)

I can't reveal too much, but these are some basic characters you meet quite early on.

[Dragoon de Sol]

To take a screen, expland the gaem to full screen, push Print Screen, then paste in paint or any other image editor.

[game_maniac]

Well, you got a very nice list of features there, though some can be confusing. The only thing I dislike so far is the story, sounds "meh" right now, but maybe it will be better after you develop it some more.

[zuhane1]

The story is actually much deeper it was just a taster of it.

[zuhane1]

The story is actually much deeper it was just a taster of it. I just don't want to do that "dark evil spreading, collect 7 magic items, defeat darkness" because it's crap and masked by flashy special effects and long words. I want to make a new stroy for once.

[Moosetroop11]

Well good luck, but is this just a concept or have you actually done some of it?

[DragonBlaze]

Features sound really nice, but yeah, you dont have much down for a story, so if you have a good one, it should be good

[zuhane1]

Yeah Moosetroop, it isn't a concept, it has been going for quite a while. Ummm, I can tell you more of the story but it might ruin it. I don't know how to put a spoiler box up, even if you can... So here goes.

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv*SPOILER*vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

Kima's family actually died a few months before the game begins. The game is set on the day he is going to be crowned king. He goes but a dark cloaked man appears and tries to kill him. Kima and his best friend, Galath try to escape. Long story short, an angel appears, holds off the dark bad guy and says "I love you." to Kima.
          Kima has never met the girl before, and is really confused. Anywho, he travels to Sashari Plains in search of information. Cutting a long story short it's full of time-travel, weird twists and jumps when you don't expect it. It has the twist of the last person you would ever expect being bad. You have to really experience it to understand, and I don't want to ruin it.

[aboutasoandthis]

To me, you should post as much as you can...just as long as you don't give away the best part. This way, your storyline can still be effective while still having players understand it.

My favorite game storylines always have a single defining moment. That climactic event is what makes the entire game memorable to me.

Remember this is just my opinion so you don't have to follow it. My favorite storylines are more like books, but most people prefer a "Game Styled" storyline. These don't really have a climax, but a series of plot twists instead. This style is made to keep the player interested.

If this is the kind of story you are writing, then I wouldn't give away any more of the story; speak instead of the world inside of the game.

[Meiscool-2]

Meh, read my tut if you want help with mapping. That's what it's there for.

[zuhane1]

Originally posted by Meiscool
Meh, read my tut if you want help with mapping. That's what it's there for.

Yeah I have, many times. Still can't cut it.

[zuhane1]

Sorry for the double post but I've made a big change that will make the game better. The random room is nearly complete. Tell me what you think or any ideas about it. Here goes:

There are 5 floors. You cannot save on any of them. They are all 40X40 and have enemies and puzzles etc. There are 2 maps for each floor, I use a random variables generator to determine where walls will be, which maps you will go to, where the exit will be and where you start on the map. Sometimes you start in an akward place, sometimes you are 4 steps from the exit.
     You advance to the next floor by reaching the exit. By level 5, the enemies are extremely powerful and you should just avoid them. Quest items like I mentioned above, come into play. Say you have the Sun Orb, you could grow a vine across 2 platforms, saving you having to battle. You get the basic point. For winning, you get Key Shards. Get 100 and you get a Golden Vault Key which can be used in the treasury. You can unlock rooms full of treasure and secret fighting lessons.

So... What do you think?

[game_maniac]

^Sounds like a pretty original idea, and the quest items you mentioned should add a great twist to it. Just out of curiosity, what is the max number Key Shards you can get in one game? Don't want to make it too repetitive, right?

[Bobb]

Woah! That sounds pretty good I think. Original. I like it! I can try to help, but, really, I'm not that good, haha.

[zuhane1]

Originally posted by game_maniac
^Sounds like a pretty original idea, and the quest items you mentioned should add a great twist to it. Just out of curiosity, what is the max number Key Shards you can get in one game? Don't want to make it too repetitive, right?

Well they are totally optional. You can beat the game without any vault treasure, or if you're hardcore you can get every item on the game and totally max out on everything. Your choice really. There are like 10 golden gates. You can collect more shards if you please but it's pointless. You also unlock a much harder world later on where you gain much more shards. I've also added a new feature to the world. You get a Dark Necklace, if you equip it and walk through 50 escape gates in total, then it breaks off and you gain a new ability from it. There is an Item Checker so you can always tell how much EXP an item has.
 
    You get similar items like the wind bracelet, you get +10 SPD while equipping it, get it to level 20 and it breaks off and dissappears but you keep the +10 SPD. This only works with the accessories which can't be bought in shops. But there's plenty to go around so you shouldn't get bored.