RPG/Adventure design team
by Mare Kuntz · in Jobs · 03/08/2004 (10:35 am) · 5 replies
I am a writer/game designer/concept artist with several years of game design (and similar project) experience - please see my profile for more details. I've been looking for a game design project to join for two weeks now and have been very frustrated to not find one I liked enought to commit to, or one where there was still time and room for me to add my ideas to the game design.
I'm not particularly interested in being a lead designer - I did that once and discovered it's a bit more responsibility than I want, but I would make an excellent assistant designer because I'm very good at critiquing design ideas, writing, and art. I am also good at brainstorming and figuring out how to combine interesting but apparently unrelated ideas into a game.
This is a unique opportunity for you designers out there to get in at the very beginning of a project, becase I haven't yet come up with a solid design or story - I'm waiting for your ideas.
I do have an idea of the kind of game I want, though; let me describe it to you so you can see if our visions are compatible.
Atmosphere: I don't do horriffic or tragic. I like elaborate (possibly alien) culture, artistic architecture, and an attitude of potential and growth.
Plot: It absolutely must have a romance. I'm a fan of ren'ai (dating sim) games, and would like to have that dynamic in an RPG/Adventure game with a deeper story and world building.
Also, the plot must be driven by the characters wants, desires, and other emotional and psychological motivations; it can't be an adrenaline-soaked fear-and-running kind of plot. No big bloodbaths. Bonus points if the climax is something _other_ than saving the world. We're looking for psychodrama, romance, scientific exploration, and/or social humor here. Something very creative, unique, mature, literary, philosophic, and with lots of character development and character dynamic. "Better plot than FF7!" that should be our catchphrase, lol. :)
Game elements: I want the game to have a 'game+' ala Chrono Trigger and Vagrant Story where when you finish the game you can restart it, keeping some of the things you have earned and gaining access to previously locked plot options and levels. I want the game's combat system to combine RPG-style menu choices with timing-dependant combos. Again, Vagrant Story is a good example, although you should also keep in mind Mortal Kombat, Golden Axe, and that sort of game. E.V.O. is also a neet game to look to for examples, because your equippage choices actually affect your on-screen appearance, and you actually have a reason for fighting, namely that you're hungry and want to eat the monsters.
Graphics: Gotta be anime style. Anthro/alien elements optional. Minimal machinery, unless it has a nice alien/steampunk/art noveau feel like Myst and Lighthouse. See my profile for a link to my sample art page.
So, does this catch anyone's imagination?
(Note: this is crossposted at www.gamedev.net for a bigger response.)
I'm not particularly interested in being a lead designer - I did that once and discovered it's a bit more responsibility than I want, but I would make an excellent assistant designer because I'm very good at critiquing design ideas, writing, and art. I am also good at brainstorming and figuring out how to combine interesting but apparently unrelated ideas into a game.
This is a unique opportunity for you designers out there to get in at the very beginning of a project, becase I haven't yet come up with a solid design or story - I'm waiting for your ideas.
I do have an idea of the kind of game I want, though; let me describe it to you so you can see if our visions are compatible.
Atmosphere: I don't do horriffic or tragic. I like elaborate (possibly alien) culture, artistic architecture, and an attitude of potential and growth.
Plot: It absolutely must have a romance. I'm a fan of ren'ai (dating sim) games, and would like to have that dynamic in an RPG/Adventure game with a deeper story and world building.
Also, the plot must be driven by the characters wants, desires, and other emotional and psychological motivations; it can't be an adrenaline-soaked fear-and-running kind of plot. No big bloodbaths. Bonus points if the climax is something _other_ than saving the world. We're looking for psychodrama, romance, scientific exploration, and/or social humor here. Something very creative, unique, mature, literary, philosophic, and with lots of character development and character dynamic. "Better plot than FF7!" that should be our catchphrase, lol. :)
Game elements: I want the game to have a 'game+' ala Chrono Trigger and Vagrant Story where when you finish the game you can restart it, keeping some of the things you have earned and gaining access to previously locked plot options and levels. I want the game's combat system to combine RPG-style menu choices with timing-dependant combos. Again, Vagrant Story is a good example, although you should also keep in mind Mortal Kombat, Golden Axe, and that sort of game. E.V.O. is also a neet game to look to for examples, because your equippage choices actually affect your on-screen appearance, and you actually have a reason for fighting, namely that you're hungry and want to eat the monsters.
Graphics: Gotta be anime style. Anthro/alien elements optional. Minimal machinery, unless it has a nice alien/steampunk/art noveau feel like Myst and Lighthouse. See my profile for a link to my sample art page.
So, does this catch anyone's imagination?
(Note: this is crossposted at www.gamedev.net for a bigger response.)
#2
03/10/2004 (7:09 pm)
I really don't think my requirements are that specific. I mean, I said nothing about what I want the plot to be about, or who the characters might be, or what the game's physical and cultural setting should be, or any of that. If you're not personally interested in doing a ren'ai like game, that's fine. I suppose that the ren'ai aspect is rather vital to the concept of what I want to do, although I don't want it to be the main thrust of the game, I want the game to be an RPG first. FF7 (that game's the universal example, isn't it?) has some ren'ai elements; I would want to have more than that, but the game wouldn't be all about 'getting' tha NPCs. I do have a definite attachment to anime art, you're right, but anime art is practically the standard of the RPG genre, so I doubt anyone will consider that a particularly restrictive requirement.
#3
Anime is standard on console games, but it seems to be pretty rare in PC games that are available in English. Then again, I don't look specifically for anime games, so I've probably missed alot of them.
Since you're willing to do a game like FF7, that opens up alot more possibilities. It doesn't seem to me that FF7 has anything to do with ren'ai, but I've never done more than play a short freeware ren'ai game - so I basically know nothing about them.
Anyways, good luck finding a team.
03/10/2004 (8:56 pm)
I'm sorry if I sounded a bit harsh.Anime is standard on console games, but it seems to be pretty rare in PC games that are available in English. Then again, I don't look specifically for anime games, so I've probably missed alot of them.
Since you're willing to do a game like FF7, that opens up alot more possibilities. It doesn't seem to me that FF7 has anything to do with ren'ai, but I've never done more than play a short freeware ren'ai game - so I basically know nothing about them.
Anyways, good luck finding a team.
#4
Gotta break some serious eggs before you snuggle into a scene like that. Everyone can imagine the perfect setting. Reality is comprimise and working with a team making major concessions on everyones part and hope that all stick around till the end to see the project through.
And besides anime is teh suk
sorry,, heh, just my take
2 weeks? sheeeit try years bro
03/10/2004 (9:42 pm)
Holy mama I really hope you were out downin some brews and a doob with your buds to lay down a vent like that. Assistant designer sounds like a real cushy job I'll take it..Gotta break some serious eggs before you snuggle into a scene like that. Everyone can imagine the perfect setting. Reality is comprimise and working with a team making major concessions on everyones part and hope that all stick around till the end to see the project through.
And besides anime is teh suk
sorry,, heh, just my take
2 weeks? sheeeit try years bro
#5
I am a programmer who could use someone to help me with a "proof of concept" RPG demo (non-Anime) but what I need is someone who can do art from concept to skins to 3D Models. From your profile you state "I DON'T: color or do 3-d art, skins, tiles, or draw machines" So its only concept art, which I can muddle through myself.
Best of luck to you.
03/11/2004 (5:14 am)
I also wish you the best of luck. I am a programmer who could use someone to help me with a "proof of concept" RPG demo (non-Anime) but what I need is someone who can do art from concept to skins to 3D Models. From your profile you state "I DON'T: color or do 3-d art, skins, tiles, or draw machines" So its only concept art, which I can muddle through myself.
Best of luck to you.
Steve Fletcher
Personally, I have almost no interest in working on a ren'ai-like game at this time. And I have no particular attachment to anime art. But those seem to be your main interests. So you would probably have been better have posting a ren'ai RPG team search thread.
Alot of the other things you mentioned are more about features of a game, whereas a ren'ai RPG is more descriptive of what you want most.
Anyways, that's just my 2 cents.