demagogue on 29/3/2010 at 18:02
Sounds like more in the direction of the old Wasteland or Car Wars style of RPG, rather than the direction Fallout took it. And next we'll get Rage which seems even further away (although I love the possibilities in art-direction; megatextures really let you make grand, immersive environments!). I like this kind of thinking ... survival, resource-management and fighting for resources, going town-to-town bartering, with a vast dangerous wasteland outside the cities' walls. I'm also wondering if it could be still quite FPS, with a minimalist interface and inventory ... It's really just you and your wits out there in the world. Something to think about, anyway.
gunsmoke on 29/3/2010 at 19:57
Do you get out of your car in Rage?
Chade on 29/3/2010 at 21:55
Quote Posted by gunsmoke
Yup, people can be more terrifying and scary than 'mutants' such.
Well, I dunno. They can certainly be more scary/freaky/whatever. On the other hand, it's more difficult to justify making the player a total wimp in combat if he's facing humans.
I also think that in order for the player to feel isolated, humans need to be rare. So assuming you want the player to regularly face dangerous "things", you need to have interaction with dangerous non-humans, whether you call them monsters or not.
gunsmoke on 30/3/2010 at 01:57
Why do you think human 'enemies' necessitate a wimpy PC? I have seen the baddest S.O.B. completely OWNED in a fistfight by a skinny fucker who was properly scared and had something to fight for.
I think nature itself is properly 'Scary'. Ever been camping? Heh. Go piss in the wood 40 ft. from your campsite with no light...you can't see SHIT. Your eyes turn every leaf into a werewolf and every tiny noise is your death creeping up on you.
Your own mind is your worst enemy in these survival situations. I want to play on that properly. I want the Charisma (TM) stat to come heavily into play when I approach survivors. I want to be able to play mind games with them, and they me.
It is late as hell (for me...10pm lol) right now, and I have to get up in 6 hours. I am tired and can't quite get my complete vision out. Hopefully tomorrow will bring it.
By the way, this is the awesomest conversation about game ideas I have ever seen. These thoughts could become at least a PART of a bigger game, oh the possibilities!
Volitions Advocate on 30/3/2010 at 02:07
Quote Posted by gunsmoke
Why do you think human 'enemies' necessitate a wimpy PC? I have seen the baddest S.O.B. completely OWNED in a fistfight by a skinny fucker who was properly scared and had something to fight for.
"Skinny guys fight till they're burger"
june gloom on 30/3/2010 at 02:32
+1 to VA for the reference.
Quote Posted by gunsmoke
I think nature itself is properly 'Scary'.
All I can say is, fuck marine life. Seriously. That shit terrifies me.
demagogue on 30/3/2010 at 13:13
Quote Posted by gunsmoke
Do you get out of your car in Rage?
Yes. They keep saying that *most* of the game is out of your car, and the racing is just one little part of it. Most of it is still a straight up FPS, though I gather it will have to be a little RPG-ish if you're walking around town, talking to NPCs, and entering into races.
Chade on 30/3/2010 at 21:50
Hrmph, I thought I'd already responsed to your post, but obviously not ... :erg:
Quote Posted by gunsmoke
Why do you think human 'enemies' necessitate a wimpy PC?
I don't. I do think that a wimpy player fits well with a post-apocalyptic atmosphere. Human civilisation has fallen from grace: the player should do the same. I dislike this double standard where humans are meant to eking out a living, yet the player is master of the universe.
The question is: how do we convey the player's (and by association human society's) lowly status? One obvious answer is to turn the player into a pathetic weakling relative to other (non-human) enemies, and build the game up around stealth rather then combat.
The other responses from yourself and Angel Dust seem to concentrate less on the player losing power relative to other creatures, and more on the player doing things which would have been "beneath him" before the fall (i.e., scavenging for food). Which, for the record, I think is also a good idea.
I think it would be interesting to have the player character scavenging in a big city, and alternating between his life pre and post apocalypse. We could give the player a different set of actions in each time frame. For instance, before the apocalypse, the character would be around a lot of food, and it would be in the player's interests to store that food in secure places, but food would not be a resource that your pre-apocalypse character would deign to pick up and carry around. After the apocalypse, on the other hand ...
Quote Posted by gunsmoke
I want the Charisma (TM) stat to come heavily into play when I approach survivors. I want to be able to play mind games with them, and they me.
I am certainly interested in hearing what exactly you propose here.
