Can a largely non-combat game be good?

[MarrikBroom 1]

The idea is simple; post FPS and Hero leaves there are a bunch of dead bodies and a lot of this that need fixing. Cue our hero going in to gather survivors, get them to where they're needed, and as different people get to different places you have new options pop up and slowly build a survivable location.

 

Story details aren't as important, since if the actual core gameplay isn't fun the writing isn't going to save it.

[Tarq 746]

There are so many great games that don't require combat, whole genres even, that this is kind of a silly question; I dont punch any tetrominoes in Tetris, after all.

I'd also dispute your last claim. While I'm not a fan of the genre, the whole 'walking sim' thing has really taken off in recent years where environmental storytelling is the 'core gameplay'. Ignoring that videogames, as a form, have been progressing at an alarming rate in recent years then, historically speaking, rpgs have largely favoured in-depth storytelling over innovative mechanics, at least compared to other genres.

 

Now, whether a game without combat is easy to make is a very different question. Combat can be both an engaging challenge and a form of displaying progress, as you deal bigger hits to tougher foes. Both of these factors can make combat pretty satisfying, and so make it a safe bet in game design.

 

Personally, I quite like your game concept. I'd say it fit more in that Farmville kind of 'puzzle' category but with an exploration element; the measurement of progress is getting more resources and making your base quantitatively and qualitatively better. If I'm correct in saying this then observe a few games in this genre; see what they do right, see what they do wrong, and adjust your design accordingly.

 

Good luck with the game.

Edited June 13, 2015 by Tarq

[Kayzee 4,033]

Honestly as far as gameplay goes, combat in rpgs is so abstract anyway it might as well be any other activity. That the gameplay mechanics are fun and interesting is more important then what they represent. Combat is just kinda seen as an easy thing to make into abstractions.

[MarrikBroom 1]

Well it's... I don't want to fall in the trap of 'there has to be fights. It's a jrpg.'

 

Hard part is how to make it easy to check on already placed people, how to upgrade locations, and make set pieces feel needed.

 

After all the progression is highly visible.

[Disponi 18]

I always wince when I see someone say that a game has no combat. Combat is merely the easiest way to depict conflict and surmountable challenges in video games. Puzzles, stealth, chase sequences, dialog trees, platforming -- these things are all the same as combat in that they provide the same purpose: they challenge the player.

 

Your game proposal has 'combat': the player has to find survivors and help them. That's the battle the player has to overcome. That's the challenge.

[Kayzee 4,033]

Um... "combat" is not the same as "conflict". It's just not. Combat "is a purposeful violent conflict meant to weaken, establish dominance over, or kill the opposition, or to drive the opposition away from a location where it is not wanted or needed". You can argue semantics all you want but in no way is searching for survivors and helping them combat.

Edited June 14, 2015 by KilloZapit

[MarrikBroom 1]

Narrowing scope of question. Also lots of thread necromancy.

 

Is there anything using RPG Maker that focuses on something other than Combat as the central conflict that acts as progress marker?

[Rezanta 373]

A good example of noncombat comes from "You're not the Hero". Though, I only saw the first third of the game.

[lonequeso 1,921]

Um... "combat" is not the same as "conflict". It's just not. Combat "is a purposeful violent conflict meant to weaken, establish dominance over, or kill the opposition, or to drive the opposition away from a location where it is not wanted or needed". You can argue semantics all you want but in no way is searching for survivors and helping them combat.

I've seen this before... Total deja vu moment. I like the concept too. It does sound like it would be a hybrid of exploration and resource gathering and management.  Kinda like Pikmin minus the combat. As far as how easy it would be to make a game like this in RPG Maker, I suppose it depends on what exactly you plan to feature. The base for example could be tricky. If the base pretty much grows the same way as the player progresses it would be somewhat easy. If the player can pick and chose what in the base to build/upgrade, that could be tough. I think there are scripts out there that allow you to layer maps so you can change the buildings more dynamically. You can use parallax mapping, too, but that's tough to do well and really time consuming or so I've heard. The resource management should be fairly simple. Just a lot of variables and Common Events to set up

 

If there's a crafting system, there's scripts for that. You could even event a simple crafting system if you wanted. Are the survivors going to serve specific roles?

For instance you rescue someone who was a medic in the war. Would he roam the base actively healing the sick and injured, or would the player task him to work in the clinic, and the healing happens entirely through status meters?

 

It would be cool if some of the survivors were skilled at navigation or general survivalism and accompany the MC on missions. There's no combat, but the player would still be responsible for managing food and resources, keep them from getting lost, and avoiding any dangerous areas. If it's a more modern themed game there could be things like roadside bombs and mines the player must be wary of while exploring. 

[Purple Phantom 453]

I have to agree with everybody else, here. A game doesn't absolutely need combat. Games like Myst had no combat in them. Taken an example from my personal favourites, Spooky's House of Jumpscares has no real combat until the very end, unless you want to try and hit whatever's chasing you. Doing it a lot will result in a bad ending, but whatever, right? I, myself, am making some non-combat games. I say go for it!

[amerk 1,122]

If you don't rely on combat, you'll need to probably rely on some clever puzzles. If you're looking for a decent rpg-like game that has no combat but still a lot of fun, I'd recommend trying out Dawn's Light: A Christmas Story. It's made for VX and it's a free game, used mainly to promote his commercial Dawn's Light game. A lot of quests and puzzles, but fairly entertaining.

[Kmany 5]

The first non combat games that come to mind is the Leisure suit Larry series..

I only played them as a kid, tho..

But yeah, sure.. why not..

[Ragnos 122]

Go look at Visual Novels...

[amerk 1,122]

I'd also like to mention some of the earlier NES games, like Adventure of Lolo. While not rpg's in any sense, they had good amounts of puzzles and were popular in that time. No reason why something like that couldn't be redesigned or used as a concept in RPG Maker and given a more detailed story in order to flesh out the game. And then also take a look at some RM2K/3 games like Wither and Absence for more abstract styled games that tell a decent story or provide clear goals without any combat at all.