Concept: The Almighty Sidebar

Long time no see! This time we're discussing the Sidebar, a little bit at the left that shows a character's thoughts, ideas, icons, internal conversations, and other things. This is a way for the player to see the interactions between Party Members in the Real World. This shows off the quotes that happen whenever a spectating Party Member remembers something, how the Party Members feel about different choices the player makes in conversations, how they feel about things, etc. It scrolls by automatically as messages come in, sort of like a chat room of sorts, so you don't have to worry about skipping through a ton of text boxes. Something fun that can happen is how they respond if you check something over and over. Take a barrel, for instance, with the Main Character checking it a bunch.

1) M: A barrel. There's nothing in it, sadly.
2) M: Same barrel. Still nothing in it.
3) M: Yep. A barrel.
4) (High-Affinity Party Member): Hey, it's the same barrel. You're interested in it, huh?
5) L (If found): Yo, stop this nonsense. It's still empty.
5) M (If Lloyd's not found yet): Something's drawing me to this empty barrel. It's so boring, though...
6) [You've checked this enough. It's time to stop.]

It'll work similarly for most objects.
In battle, you might get different Party Members responding to different actions. Those not spectating, when hit, might exclaim "Hey, you doing alright out there??" Other examples, to keep this shorter, are...

Not Spectating
Low Health: Hey, is everything alright? Things are shaking...
Low Energy: The lights are flickering. Please don't pass out...
Low Stamina: Why is everything moving in slowwww moootiooonnnnnnnn...?
Passing out: This could be bad... Good night?

Spectating
Low Health: Hey, watch out! You're hurting a lot...
Low Energy: Try to stay awake, just a little longer!
Low Stamina: Go easy on yourself, try to rest up!
Passing out: I'll brace myself. Don't sleep long, please...

In Control
Low Health: Agh! I need to heal...
Low Energy: Sleep could do well for me...
Low Stamina: Whoa, I need to sit down...
Passing out: *Yawn* Mmmm... Don't hit me, please~

Of course, there will be variance, depending on different Party Members and a bunch of other things. Let's just say I hope you won't see a ton of repeats until a decent bit of time spent in-game.
Also, none of this is voiced. It's all text. So no need to worry about having 5 Navis shouting "Watch out! Hey! Listen!" a whole bunch.

Until next time!
-Josh

Design Concept: Armor Ideas

Pretty much none of the following armor ideas will make sense. Some will, but not all.

We'll have separate armor types for every Party Member, with a select few capable of being worn by multiple or even all of the Party Members. This is so each Party Member is still part of their own class, though each "tier" of armor can have multiple versions, with some benefiting one play style more than others.

Anyway, on to the list of what I've got so far!

(Oh, first. Each character has a letter designated to them for speech and labels. Everyone but the Main Character has the first letter of their name (Isaac, Lloyd, Genis, and Rachel.) The Main Character has an M.)

M: Standard equipment. Normally different shirts/jackets, pants, shoes, and potentially hats.

I: Robes. This includes massive endings for sleeves that hang low below the arms, long pants, boots, and potentially wizard hats.

L: Armor. What better way to protect a Machine than with more metal? This includes platemail, chainmail, leggings, boots, and potentially helmets.

G: Light Armor, but not the type you'd expect. Tech Chips are applied to his Apparatus, enabling him to shield attacks with light barriers. These activate automatically, and may show up if necessary. These Tech Chips aren't very customizable, but different Chips can cause different effects. Of course, each one applies a different piece of armor.

R: Not entirely known. All I've come up with that's specific to Rachel is headphones as head pieces. Maybe I'll end up having a similar setup for Rachel as I have with the Main Character, only with different clothes. Maybe different designers?

Anyway, that's that. Figured I should write this down somewhere so I wouldn't forget.

Until next time.

-Josh

Character Concept: The Muted Child (Isaac, Part 2)

I've come up with a bit of an interesting scenario. With the previously mentioned % Story Spoiler %, every Party Member but the Main Character has some form of Amnesia. However, I've decided that Isaac's is a bit worse, and with certain things happening to him during the % Story Spoiler %, he's lost a lot. Not only is Isaac unable to remember any of his abilities, he's actually ended up nearly incapable of speech! Or, sort of.
See, Isaac, along with some other characters, including some that only do this sometimes...
They speak in symbols and motions instead of actual words.
Isaac always does this, while Rachel will go to a playful sort of symbol-speak at times. She can still speak normally, though.
Symbol-speech involves the character creating a speech bubble instead of a text box most of the time. A box may appear for some actions, but mostly it's a speech bubble filled with (potentially) animated images attempting to detail what they're saying. For instance, if Isaac requests one of the Party Members, the letter associated with them is placed in front of a sort of siren light. This ends up making a sound similar to an alarm going off, calling for the person he requested.
Another example of this could just be different faces displaying emotions, or different symbols representing different stats. (Heart for Health, Blue Lightning for Energy, etc.)
On top of this, Isaac now acts a bit younger. Instead of being around 18 like he was earlier, he now acts similarly to a 10-year-old, though he at least knows not to make certain mistakes. He'll end up making some eventually, though...

Isaac's basic stats and Abilities haven't changed much. His speed might have gone up a bit, but that's about it. He's still got an affinity for the Aspect of Lightning, and his Abilities are pretty much the same, with the possibility for a few extras (like potentially a lightning shield??).
He also no longer sleeps throughout all hours of every day.

Hopefully I'll update this post to include a picture, but until then, this is how this post looks.

Until next time!
-Josh

Concept: Q&A

But we aren't asking me anything, no. That's at a later date!

No, instead we have questions throughout the game that may drastically change the final fight, making it easier or harder! Depending on how you answer certain questions, the final fight of the game will be changed. This could mean forcing you to wear only one type of armor or using one type of attack, or maybe changing an item set in your inventory, perhaps getting rid of it entirely! The effects and questions will be random for each playthrough (maybe. Now that I think about it, having a sort of Speedrun mode has been a goal of mine and I'd like to keep that sort of randomness rather low.), causing a variety of effects.
Maybe I could do an entirely separate Speedrun mode, but who knows. I haven't gotten that far into creating it yet, so anything could happen.

Some questions and effects I've thought of so far include...
"What piece of armor do you believe is the best/worst?": Causing the choice to disappear, or be the only armor you wear.
...
Hm.
I'm thinking about how all of this would work, and how maybe this isn't the best idea, to be honest. I mean, it's really cool, sure, but...
It's kind of... Really unfair.
If I were to actually implement this, the effects would be drastically toned down, making only slight changes to the fight.
I don't know.
Kinda depends on how well it goes during testing, I guess.

Til next time!
-Josh

Concept: Abilities

Well, maybe the Dream World isn't the most complex idea...

Due to the % Story Spoiler %, every Party Member, excluding the main character, has some form of Amnesia. None of them remember their Abilities or attacks, yet they all seem to be at the same level. In Reality, you always take control of one of the Party Members, and only ever one at a time. However, there are a few unique things happening.
First, every Party Member gains the same amount of Experience and levels up at around the same time. The thing is, that's it. They level up.
Leveling up means a few things. Every few levels you might be able to choose an upgrade to stats or skills, and every level grants some predetermined stat boosts. That's great and all, but it means you can't just level up and win, because...
The second thing is the feeling of being watched.
While you control one Party Member, another will be able to watch you fight while the others idle about. Though everyone seems to interact with Reality all the time, or at least respond to conversations, it actually takes a decent bit more concentration to watch a fight if they want to get something out of it.
Spectating allows a Party Member to watch a Reality fight and learn from it, because the way you gain Abilities is by either creating them at the Aspect Amplifier, or by seeing a similar action be performed during battle. These are actually set triggers in the game, actually. It doesn't matter what level the Party Member is. If they have an "Unknown Ability" related to shooting a fireball, and they see another Party Member or an enemy shoot a fireball, they'll tell you about that discovery if they're spectating, or exclaim if they're in battle. (Oh, I remember now...)
Like I said, though, only one Party Member can Spectate at a time. This means you can run around with a new Party Member on your back and use all of your Abilities, fight new enemies, whatever, and they'll begin to remember their Abilities.
There's another neat little thing about Spectating. Spectating will increase the Affinity/Cooperation of Party Members. Yes, I know the Affinity thing is in the Xenoblade games, but that covers areas and NPCs as well. I'm going for purely Party Member Affinity, and the more they like each other, the better they'll fight when together, either in the Dream World or with the other Spectating their battles. Of course, there are still limitations.
In Reality, having a pair of Party Members that really like each other won't work in a very different way than two who don't even know each other. The only differences are their quotes in the sidebar (which I'll go over later), and a few stat changes. Certain quotes have a chance to grant minor stat boosts for a few seconds. That's about it.
In Dream World battles, however, and in very specific Reality situations, Party Members can perform "Duets", or attacks that involve both Party Members. These will combine certain effects and are generally rather powerful. However, they can only be performed when two Party Members really like each other, and even then, you have to find the Ability to do so...

-Josh

Concept: Worlds (Dream World)

The hidden safe-haven of our main character.

The Dream World is a strange place, to say the least. With the combination of a few ideas I've seen in the past, coupled with an entirely new play-style and graphical overhaul here, the Dream World is one of the most complex ideas I've had for this game. See, in Reality, all stat boosts, status effects, etc. work in a real-time fashion. Like I said, it's similar to Xenoblade Chronicles, where fights begin by getting close to enemies and starting fights. These fights involve attacks that take time to use, have cooldowns, all  of that. However, the Dream World is completely different.
Energy and Stamina work similarly to a character's Magic Meter/MP/whatever in most RPGs, instead of throwing you down and causing issues when they deplete in Reality. Here, your battles are caused by random encounters you find while traveling. Don't worry, they'll be shadows of creatures. Approach them and you'll start the battle. In the Dream World, all equipment and items have the same stats, but everything works a little differently. Say you've got a Regeneration spell that gives Health every few seconds. In the Dream World, that's changed to give you a bit more Health every turn of combat instead. The Dream World's status ailments are enhanced or worsened for balance reasons.
Similarly, weapon attack times are changed to effect Speed in the Dream World, changing the order of attacks. This will be made obvious in menus and in battle, where the turn order is placed on everyone.
Another major difference is Party Members. Because you're fighting inside the main character's head, essentially, every Party Member can fight at once, instead of having to be switched out. This greatly changes how battles will pan out, and instead of being rushed over to the closest resting place when you run out of Health (or being forced to run and find an Inn), a Game Over is instead caused by everyone running out of Health.

Oh, no. I just realized something about Abilities...
But that's for later.

Finally, probably the biggest difference is how the story works here. Upon finding a new Party Member or Aspect, the player has to go into the Dream World to "activate" them. But that won't be the only reason to head to the Dream World. You're able to head into the Dream World most of the time when you rest at an Inn. When you do this, some things might change. The first thing is being able to freely access the Aspect Amplifier, as well as being able to enter a sort of "Training Room." (Possibly.)
The Training Room will allow you to test out different Abilities and such in both Reality and Dream World scenarios. You won't gain experience or Abilities like this, but it's good practice for learning how things work.

Also, a word of warning about the Dream World: Dreams tend to mimic Reality. So having a great day, not passing out, winning a lot of battles... That'll be nice.
But start screwing up, taking a lot of damage, getting negative status effects, and overall doing poorly?
Well, you know the opposite of Dreams... right?

-Josh

Concept: Worlds (Reality)

Lots of posts today, all of them long.

Reality, or the Overworld, is where everything resides at the beginning of the game. This world, which still needs a name, resembles Earth in a way, but with four continents instead of seven. These continents, or Regions, are rather different in appearance. Starting with Josh's home Region: Wesnoth.

This place sucks. No better way to describe it. With very few areas like Redhaven, Josh's peaceful hometown, Wesnoth is a Region of destruction. Most children are actually taught very early on, "If you want something, but can't have it, blow it up! The nobody can have it!"
Most Wesnothians are vile people, selling things constantly that may or may not be real, stealing from others, even fighting the other Regions. This Region houses some of the most violent people in the world, and is the start of most wars, especially with Quetzalquartz. But... was it always like this?

Next is Quetzalquartz, the exact opposite of Wesnoth. At least, on the surface.
The massive crystal buildings of Quetzalquartz are blindingly bright, almost as if every city in this Region wants the world to know what Region they're in. With many of the rich and powerful people residing here, Quetzalquartz is the place to be if you're high up in society. But underneath all this beauty (and endless musical puns) lies something rather disturbing. Maybe this place isn't so great, honestly...

Zynchronus, the secretive Region. Not much is known about this Region, but it always seems to be covered by a massive wall of smoke. Some say that there's nothing but factories running there now, but those who say this have no idea what they could be producing. It's strange, though. And to add to that, there have been rumors of different colored lights that seem to be staring at those who dare pass too close to the Zynchronian shores...

Finally, Palovus. This is the Region of peacekeepers, a Region where everyone tries their best to make sure no more fights break out. It's been said that long ago, shortly after yet another war with Quetzalquartz, something terrible happened to another Region. Through process of elimination, people believe Wesnoth attacked Zynchronus, but nobody knows why, or even how, they got over there...
Palovinians always seem cheerful, and they seem to enjoy being the only "normal" Region in this world. With a "palace of destruction", a place of endless lights, and a mysterious factory being the other Regions, Palovinians seem to pride themselves on their rather "standard" RPG town setting. But maybe something else is happening there. I mean, nobody can be happy all the time, right? Especially not an entire Region...

These Regions are all surrounded with water. It's like a massive ocean between every Region. Nobody really knows what goes on in this ocean, or even if something actually is happening. However, storms seem to be a bit more common as of late.
Hm.

"Hey, wait..."
"I'm not the only one who saw that figure, right?"



-Josh