Just wanted to gather peoples opinions, I came up with a story for an ARPG however when it came to planning the game around the story I've come to so many forked roads in terms of gameplay and just wanted to see what people around the forum usually do.
Is it more common to build up the gameplay for a game before thinking of a story to fit in with it? I know this is probably a more common approach, but it would be comforting to know that I'm not the only one!
If you do come up with the story first, then how do you approach the actual design of the game? I'm trying to pull in common elements seen in other ARPG's such as progression based on three possible classes but then end up finding myself trying to decide where to go next.
ID:1991481
 Dec 1 2015, 12:18 pm
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Lummox JR wrote:
If the core gameplay is no fun, the game will be no fun. Gameplay should be your first, second, and third concerns, as well as the fourth through tenth. Mad respect fo' dis. There's a severe lack of gameplay-focused games over the past five or so years, instead focusing on heavy narratives and "complexity" rather than just good ol' gameplay. What you should be thinking about when you make your game, is "Is the minimum viable product fun". If you can strip everything "fancy" away from your game, reduce to to its absolute most basic functioning state, and still find enjoyment, then you're onto a winner. Things like excessive gamedesign and progression and content and story are all padding built around this core element, and if the core element doesn't hold up, rarely will anything else. | |
If by "forked roads" you mean that your story allows for a very non-linear kind of progression, then I think that's a great move. One of my favorite RPGs from long ago, Interplay's Lord of the Rings, did something like this: Many quests could be accomplished multiple ways, or in the wrong order, or even skipped. You could go back to Bree and find things had changed, even recruit a ruffian there. On the bridge in Moria, you could fight the Balrog and likely someone would die, rather than follow the story. Some side-quests turned out to benefit you much later on, like for instance when helping out a spirit early in the game he would reappear in Mirkwood later as a potential follower.
Contrast a Zelda-like game or a Metroidvania: Your progression is generally dictated by what items you currently have, and usually there's a certain chain you need to unlock in a certain order to get everything done. There's nothing wrong with this mechanic, especially if your story demands to be told a certain way, but sometimes there's a lot to be said for allowing players more freedom to advance their own way.