Stealth, Protagonists, and Themes

[+ Abscond 149]

 

 

Hello, fellow game devs! We are Abscond Games, and we need a little bit of help. My team and I are designing a stealth, action RPG and we'd like some input into how the game will be structured. We'd like to hear from you about what kinds of mechanics you like in RPG Maker games.

 

The things we want to improve are:

• Our current stealth system; which feels limited. We'd like to add more features that we think players would love. Things like noise and lighting are already being implemented. 
• We want to make each character in the cast feel "real" and relate-able. We're working out motivations for each character to give them a 3D personality.
• The theme of our game is a stealth, action RPG...with ninjas. It will be difficult; lightning fast reflexes are going to be needed! We want to know if people are interested in this concept.

 

Below are a few questions that we think can help in steering us in the right direction. Thank you in advance!

 

 

Question 1
What is your favorite stealth game?

 

Question 2
What did you find most memorable about the stealth mechanics in that game?

 

Question 3
What did you find least memorable? Why?

 

Question 4
If you could, what is one thing you would do to improve the stealth?

 

Question 5
Do you prefer stealth a game with stealth as the sole mechanic or an option to go “guns blazing”?

 

Question 6
How would you rate the stealth mechanic’s difficulty?
1          2          3          4          5
Easy                                                       Difficult

 

Question 7
Who is your most favorite protagonist? Can be a game, show, movie, book, etc.

 

Question 8
What was that character’s goal or purpose? How were they motivated?

 

Question 9
What is one personality trait you would remove from that character? Why?

 

Question 10
Same as before, who is your most favorite antagonist?

 

Question 11
What made that antagonist evil?

 

Question 12
What was their goal? Was it accomplished?

 

Question 13
What would you do differently if you were the antagonist?

 

Question 14
Do you like futurism and cyberpunk themes?

 

Question 15
Do you like ninjas?

 

Question 16
Do you like action RPGs?

 

 

Thank you for participating!

 

 

Edited May 25, 2018 by Abscond

[+ Abscond 149]

Don't be afraid to answer, guys! Your answers will help us greatly!

 

Bump.

 

• Edited topic to explain the purpose.
• Removed the download attached. Made the questions visible in-topic for ease of access.
   

Edited May 25, 2018 by Abscond

[Kayzee 4,032]

Hehe. Okay I will try!

 

Question 1
What is your favorite stealth game?

 

Probably Metal Gear Solid 3

 

Question 2
What did you find most memorable about the stealth mechanics in that game?

 

The survival elements, camo system, and how many options for dealing with things you had.

 

Question 3
What did you find least memorable? Why?

 

Uhhh... I can't remember anything that was not that memorable... but then I wouldn't would I?

 

Question 4
If you could, what is one thing you would do to improve the stealth?

 

Probably make the environment more open world?

 

Question 5
Do you prefer stealth a game with stealth as the sole mechanic or an option to go “guns blazing”?

 

Depends on how it's done.

 

Question 6
How would you rate the stealth mechanic’s difficulty?
1          2          3          4          5
Easy                                                       Difficult

 

4ish?

 

Question 7
Who is your most favorite protagonist? Can be a game, show, movie, book, etc.

 

Hmmmm.... I tend to be fond of cute girl protagonists in general, especially if they can kick ass. Also maybe are sassy or an anti-hero/full on villian protagonist. There was one fanfic I read about a gender bent harry potter who became a voodoo witch and did horrible horrible things. Fun story. :3

 

Question 8
What was that character’s goal or purpose? How were they motivated?

 

Looked out for her the people she was close to more then anything, but woe to anyone else that got in her way. Very practical, but ruthless. Plus Baron Samedi gave her a mission to kill a particular dark wizard who wants to be immortal (being basically Death himself, he was a bit offended)... or else.

 

Question 9
What is one personality trait you would remove from that character? Why?

 

Maybe make her a bit more self aware and less likely to treat her problems as other people's fault? I mean she is a fun evil protagonist type, but it can get melodramatic.

 

Question 10
Same as before, who is your most favorite antagonist?

 

Caliborn from Homestuck probobly.

 

Question 11
What made that antagonist evil?

 

He is just a little shit that wants to wreak everything because he is an emotionally stunted asshole who can't grow up (which is brilliant, because Homestuck is a sort of coming of age story for the heros). He is like a griefer in an online game who stumbled into enough power to make the mods nervous.

 

Question 12
What was their goal? Was it accomplished?

 

To ruin everyone's day any way that he can. And pretty much!

 

Question 13
What would you do differently if you were the antagonist?

 

Not leaving your super weapon juju around? Honesty I am still a bit hazy about that whole ending bit.

 

Question 14
Do you like futurism and cyberpunk themes?

 

If it's realistic and based on real stuff, yeah. If it's just a bunch of nonsense made to look cool, I rather stick to fantasy.

 

Question 15
Do you like ninjas?

 

It's a secret! *wooshes of dressed in a ninja outfit*

 

Question 16
Do you like action RPGs?

 

Eh... In theory? I like them fine. In practice? I find it's not often competently done, especially when RPG Maker is involved...

 

[/spoiler]

 

[+ Abscond 149]

Thank you for your response, @Kayzee! I'm archiving this as I type.

 

Side note, I'm Haitian so I'm familiar with the old Baron  I don't do voodoo, though lol

[+ Novem 344]

Eh, sure, why not?

 

Q1: Assassin's Creed Unity

 

Q2: The freedom of choice of how to approach the situation, the multiple entry points and approaches I could take to the target that I could naturally discover through exploration and experimentation.

 

Q3: Well, I don't know, because I can't remember it Kidding. Uh... I would say the missions which didn't let me approach it my way. I didn't like the more linear missions or the stuff where you have to follow people. It was worth sitting through for the ultimate sandbox missions where I could find different open windows and locked dooors, but I kind of wish the whole game had been just that.

 

Q4: The ability to leap directly from cover to cover, Unity's cover system is pretty terrible, certainly nowhere near as good/smooth as in something like Splinter Cell Blacklist/Conviction.

 

Q5: I like games focused on stealth, where getting detected isn't the end of the world but combat when you are detected is extremely difficult. For example, in Unity if you let a fight go on too long after you get discovered, you can become quickly surrounded and boxed out if you don't run away in time. I also like being able to evade detection again once I am discovered, but I don't like it to be easy. Needing to really make use of the environment to evade pursuit (like how you can use crowds, hiding places, windows in Unity) is the best.

 

Q6: 5, Unity is extremely difficult, especially if you turn off most of the HUD like I did.

 

*Spoiler Warning for scrollers that there be Trails in the Sky FC&SC, the Muv-Luv Trilogy, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II, and Assassin's Creed's Ezio Trilogy spoilers here*

 

Q7: It's a tie. First up, Estelle from the JRPG Trails in the Sky FC&SC. She is initially kind of annoying, but she has masterfully handled character development which is truly something to behold. Second is Takeru Shirogane from the Muv-Luv Trilogy of visual novels. He's initially a bit of a douche, but I really enjoyed watching how his suffering turned him from a bit of bratty kid to a fully grown adult who had truly come to value the things and people he loved because he knew what it was like when they were taken away from him. Finally, Ezio Auditore from the Assassin's Creed Ezio Trilogy who is... initially kind of a douche, but learns from his mistakes and grows into a mature, down to Earth, responsible mentor assassin.

 

I guess TLDR is that I appreciated characters who have well defined arcs. They begin flawed, and become something greater after being put through a series of trials and tribulations that challenge them to change who they are and the way they are doing things. A protagonist who is the same character at the end of a story as they were at the beginning is pretty boring.

 

Q8: Estelle is motivated by her lover, who leaves to avoid sharing his suffering with her. Her goal is to not only get him back, but show him that he isn't such a bad person as he thinks. Takeru is motivated by his strong desire to return home, but also to protect this new world he's come to live in after seeing it meet its destruction and being unable to do anything to stop it. Ezio is motivated by revenge, trying to get it for his family after they are murdered, and eventually motivated by a desire to protect the world at large and live up to his own ideals of justice.

 

Q9: I wouldn't. These characters are great because they have both flaws and strong suits. To remove anything would be to change who they are as people.

 

Q10: Kreia/Darth Traya from Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II The Sith Lords

 

Q11: She wasn't evil, or at least not by or after the time you meet her. That's why she's interesting. Antagonists who are irredeemable villains with no interesting or sympathetic motivations are the least compelling ones. A villain should be the hero of their own story, they need to believe they are doing the right thing, and at their most interesting they have to make points that indicate that they might very well be doing the right thing, but maybe for the wrong reasons or maybe in the wrong way.

 

Q12: Kreia's goal was to destroy the Force, as she sees it as a malevolent entity which manipulates the universe towards war and suffering on an endless, grand scale.

 

Q13: She pursued her goal without a care for the consequences, the enormous loss of life in particular. Her plan was constructed because in The Exile (the protagonist) she saw that some people would be capable of living without the force, and so she hoped to destroy everyone but people like the exile in order to guarantee peace in the future. Maybe in the long run that could've been the right move, but I could never tolerate those consequences.

 

Q14: Yes.

 

Q15: No.

 

Q16: Yes.

Edited June 1, 2018 by Novem

[+ Abscond 149]

Thank you, @Novem! Your input is greatly appreciated!

[+ Novem 344]

No problem.