The Perfect Video Game

[Garem]

Howdy.

First, know, this is just a pipe dream idea. Even my wildest illusions of grandeur haven't tricked me into thinking this is anything better than an amusing creativity exercise. That being said, I've been working on this concept for quite some time now. NOTE: I'm not bringing this up here for people to argue if this is possible or not. I don't care, that's not the point. Arguing about what could make this idea even better, however, is very welcome indeed!

As we all know, there's nothing quite like EfU. It has been the foremost inspiration to this idea- a persistent world where stories are told, what happens is done (or sometimes undone!) and player actions have massive impacts on the ever-turning wheel of the plot.

That being said, EfU has limitations. The foremost among these is the game, Neverwinter Nights itself, and therein lies why I began thinking about this (as I'm sure many of you have as well) issue.

Here are some of the many game titles that were an inspiration in one form or another:

EfU
Fallout Series
TES:Morrowind
Minecraft
Dwarf Fortress
Assassin's Creed
Planetside (Pre-Mech era)
CoD:WoW Nazi Zombies!
Global Agenda
Mount and Blade series (and mods)
BioShock


Anyways, that's enough of an introduction to let you know where I'm heading with this. So let's move on to the game!

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The Game has the following characteristics, explained below:

-Story-driven Persistent World
-Massive Sandbox Elements
-Major Survival Elements, with a special emphasis on Horror
-Player skill-based combat (as opposed to character skill)
-Justice System
-Abstract but objective non-religious ethics, individualized and self-generated "personal code"
-Open, Free and consequential PvP; Progressive "Permadeath"
-Relatively small character growth with accomplishment/social growth reaping greater rewards
-Timeframe/Period Elapsement with Genetic Influence
-Various period means of travel; canoe in stoneage, helicopter in modern, jetpack in futuristic?
-Low Magic to No Magic, Voodoo/Witchcraft theme


Story-driven Persistent World

EfU'ers know what this means! The story will drive the world, and anything is theoretically possible with enough input on the part of the playerbase. A notable NPC character killed may have massive consequences, for better or for worse, on the story/world. Assassinate the mayor and the city may crumble to poverty and crime... or perhaps an even greater man will take his place and lead it to greatness. Although this will be explained more later on, not only will this have immediate effects, but the game traverses between significant time periods in the game world so what benefits the present period may have devastating consequences for future generations.

Massive Sandbox Elements

Virtually everything can be customized within reasonable templates, at anywhere, at any time. Yet that which goes up must come down; that what is built can be destroyed.

If you build a storage shed with a lock far hidden in the mountain to hide stolen goods, it will be there tomorrow... unless someone decides to burn it down. The same thing with cities, houses, lighthouses, ships, wagons, walls, even shrubbery. With enough player effort and teamwork, any number of wonderful things can be built.*

There will be some preventative measures that can be taken to prevent things from wanton destruction (more in the PvP section) and griefing (destruction for destruction's sake), of course, from hiring guards to OOC protections for OOC reasons. Admins will be particularly focused on this aspect of the game. If players think it up, it can be done (or undone).

*As time goes on and the industrial era and beyond comes around, the emphasis will move away from player crafting and towards player item design with machines/NPCs doing the work. Players will still have to find a way to acquire resources, however. In terms of weapons, think about it this way- swords are all relatively similar, while modern firearms are much more customizable.

Major Survival Elements, with a special emphasis on Horror

Building castles and creating neat stories is all well and good, but what's the point if the land is just bunnies and snowflakes?

The Game's world will be beset by an awful, utterly inhumane and horrible foe that (apparently) seeks nothing but the destruction of all things human. And unfortunately for the humans, these nasty creatures have enveloped most of the world. It's the players' job to take it back, and gain the resource rich land to further develop and fight back against the menacing legions of evil.

The Game takes place during several periods, during which characters are the "great men" of history who do noble or ignoble deeds to survive this threat and save humanity.

Every game era will end at a loosely preset time during which massive conflicts will occur, the outcome of which will shape the future eras. In the final era, the players will be able to reach a conclusion to this saga with outcomes varying widely based upon both history and, most importantly, outcomes of the final conflicts in the last days. The world of men could die in a flash of flame and blood, or it could survive this ancient threat and move towards peaceful days with a flourishing world... or something in between.

Player skill-based combat (as opposed to character skill)

Most of my inspiration for this is taken from Mount&Blade: Warband as well as all FPS shooters. I've seen it work and it's awesome!

Characters will certainly develop over time as they become stronger and/or faster but the biggest factor in combat will be player skill. With things like directional attacks, directional blocking, and player's choice weapon/combat strategy, combat will be about quick timing and decisions, not questions of who could grind the most mobs and get to the highest level. Arms and armor will be of widely differing importance in various periods, but skill will always matter.


Justice System

All actions will have consequences. Murder and thievery may be quick and easy ways to wealth, but they will never simply go unnoticed. Depending on when, where, and how often your character will be marked for his deeds- to his benefit or to his disadvantage! Some NPCs may not have anything to do with noble knights, and some may hold their noses high unless you are one. Whatever path you choose in life will change the story of the character.

However, paths always run two ways. The fallen can be redeemed and the righteous can tumble into depravity. But remember- what you do in your life will not only effect you, but your future generations! Additionally, characters can receive bounties on their heads after atrocious crimes. If caught, this may even be subtracted from rollover values between generations as the sons pay for the sins of the father.

There will NOT be significant periods of time where characters are "in jail", should that be part of a punishment. Jail will be reflected by character statistic drains or other such penalties.

Abstract but objective non-religious ethics, individualized and self-generated "personal code"

Ethics will play a major role in deciding the story's outcome just as much as the results! Fighting a battle and dying a noble death may yield better outcomes for future generations than lying, cheating, and stealing your way to victory. Or perhaps that victory was key to changing the course of history... you decide, based upon your character!

Characters do not start out as a naked nobody, either. Each must select a series of personal attributes, adhering to which will provide greater character advancement. Say, your character is greedy- he will receive some benefit for this vice. If you give money to some poor starving peasant, however, the character will receive a small penalty. Do this several times, and you'll find your character's attributes change, losing old benefits/penalties and acquiring new ones! So you CAN do anything you want with your character, but there are always costs.

This prevents the "convenience" of totally true do-as-you-please nonsense, where "noble knight" characters burn down a poor lowbie character's house because it got in his way. Again, he can still do it, but it'll come at a cost. This makes the story flow much better when there's at least a degree of predictability to characters and keeps people from always taking the mechanically optimal choice (burning down the peasant's house so you can walk that way faster, for example).

Religion will certainly play a part in the world, and characters may worship or ignore them as they wish. The divine may even play a role in the game (or seemingly so) from time to time. That being said, religion itself will also have its own internal issues for players to hash out as part of the story! Will the different religions compete, or get along? Will they develop into vaguely unified ideologies or a monolithic and uniform faith? Will they turn down the darker sides of faith, or remain a powerful force of good? Or will religion die out altogether? That is up for the players to decide as time goes on!

Open, Free and consequential PvP; Progressive "Permadeath"

You can attack anybody, anywhere, anytime. That will probably be pretty stupid, but it can be done. Defeat an enemy and you can take his belongings, too.

That being said, to permanently kill someone, you must reach a "breaking point" with another character. This point is reached by any number of ways: irreconcilable ideological differences, time "at war" with opponent faction, past exchanges with character or his/her property/allies/etc.

As a period nears the end and in the final days, the permadeath rule will be lifted. A method of returning to enjoy the last major conflicts will be added: playing as a family member, or some such. They may even be able to exact revenge on their brother's/sister's/whatever's murderer while they themselves merely being able to be incapacitated.

Relatively small character growth with accomplishment/social growth reaping greater rewards

Character growth will not be like most MMOs. There will be virtually no incentive to grind up combat skills, and most crafting skills can be acquired rather quickly by being taught by another PC by apprenticing. Of course, that will come at their own costs depending on the demands of your Master! Characters will develop far more dramatically through interacting with others, building strong factions who work together towards goals large and small. Development will be significant in their ability to accomplish.

They say that donkeys can pull a 1 ton wagon. But two donkeys can pull not a 2 ton wagon, but a 10 ton wagon. The same principle applies to actions in game, to appropriate degrees.

Eventually, history will be written at the end of the game time. Whose names are heralded as the greatest, worst, or of highest significance is a matter of accomplishment. Remember- player skill is more important than character skill, and Lady Luck always has a hand in the affair!


Timeframe/Period Elapsement with Genetic Influence

As you've certainly read by now, there will be major time period shifts as the game goes on. However, each time period won't mean (necessarily) creating a whole new character, as you will be able to influence the traits of your former period's character, and therefore his progeny. If your great, great, great grandfather was a famous horseman, you'll probably be good with riding a motorcycle or another similarly synergistic activity. You'll have higher dexterity and thus your driving is more responsive, but maybe lower strength.

Another thing to think about... the world changes. Fortunes are won and lost, but most of this carries over from period to period. Although there won't be any major shift in wealth/affluence in the time between the periods, it may not be "good to be the king" forever...


Various period means of travel; canoe in stoneage, helicopter in modern, jetpack in futuristic?

Going back a little more to the sandbox theme, the world will be a big, big place! You'll need a way to get around if you want to see it all (and beat back the evil, ravaging hordes... but you've still got to get there first). Each period will have their own technology that the players can take control of. Emphasis will go from land, to water, and then to the skies. You'll need ways to move NPCs and goods, too- always things to keep in mind.


Low Magic to No Magic, Voodoo/Witchcraft theme

At first, I wasn't sure if magic would play any part in the game at all. It will not play a significant or major role, and magic alone will be used solely as an enhancement tool to make things (and the story!) more interesting. Magic will never be permanent (no magic weapons or armor), and in later periods it may be totally gone (depending on the players, of course).

The magic that will exist will be extremely shamanistic- voodoo and witchcraft themed, all of which has been taken from the "enemy". This will, of course, raise questions of ethics! By and large, using magic will be a means of doing some odd or evil thing for fleeting power- greater strength, speed, sense enhancement, or even the power to scare off living creatures with unnatural, magical fear.

As always, choices have consequences. Use magic at your own risk!

Alright, alright! What periods are we talking about here, anyways?

Good question! There are many awesome times and places, but here are the six I have chosen. Feel free to suggested more, or tweaking.

Stone Age - Not so much a period, this is the starting era. It will have the least effect on the ultimate outcome of the story, but it certainly effects it! This period exists for characters to experiment with the world, learn its wonders, and begin telling their story in a very basic way. It's also an era meant to be a little goofier than the grim times. The enemy is there, but aren't much of a bother since resources are many and populations are smaller.

Game Notes: Emphasis on running away! Fighting in masses! Basic stone and wood are virtually your own useful materials.

Late Medieval - This is the era when shit gets real. The enemy has been around for several decades in suddenly, significantly greater force. Worst of all, over the past ten years the iron mines and uncleared forests have been overrun. The players must start fighting back, and amongst each other, to acquire the resources to prepare for the final days and survive the bloodshed to come.

Game Notes: Emphasis on brute strength combat and cavalry. Iron begins to play a defining role, but stone and wood remain important.

Renaissance - After the results of the Late Medieval period, the Renaissance has occurred out of either necessity from past failures or by the enlightenments of an era that is flourishing... either way, the enemy is already encroaching far into the frontier lands and may soon take over the heartlands if the players don't rekindle old alliances and fight for their future.

Game Notes: Emphasis on infantry, quicker combat, stone structures; cannons and first firearms introduced. Art and style are important! Ornate objects (buildings, items) add extra wealth to next generation, and are significantly greater accomplishments.

1880's - Technology travels ever onward, and firearms have had a major impact in the everlasting wars. Unfortunately, the enemy has been busy at work themselves and created their own foul styles of rifles and pistols. The cities are safe, but the frontier is a wild, wild place.

Game Notes: Cover begins taking significance. War has lost much of its "art", but the decisions of commanders mean even more in terms of life and death. Guns are virtually the only weapons on the battlefield, of all sizes, on foot or on horse. Metal and wood play the dominant role in material, but saltpeter and other rare resources are in even greater demand for gunpowder.

Modern - The modern era has come, and life is easier. Yet the threat of annihilation has become very, very real. Much of what was gained has been lost, and it's time for humanity's best to stand up to the challenge and fight back once more.

Game Notes: Set in modern times. Battles are quicker and deadlier, but there are wonderful new tools available to the cunning soldier. Guns are getting better everyday. Vehicles enter for the first time, and play an important role. Bear in mind, this "modern" period will not look too much like our own time, given the highly militaristic nature of human life by necessity for survival.

Futuristic - The end of days have come. Humankind, once a group of several hundred thousand individuals between different states, has become a homogenized political group... but only on the surface. Beneath it lies ancient hatreds and mistrusts, competing factions in a world that's up in flames.

Game notes: Roughly Star Wars kind of technology. No resource is in as high a demand as Quavidium, a rare and exotic resource in virtually all electronics and nanotechnologies. Unfortunately, there's only a handful of places to get it, and they're all in the heart of enemy territory. Daring, lightning-fast raids will need to be mounted against the eternal foe in order to acquire this precious material. Cloning technology means that no death is permanent!


Last Section: THE ENEMY

You tell me! What would be the coolest kind of enemy? Where do you draw your inspirations? Aliens, from the movies? Undead from DnD? Mutants from comic books?

The only thing I am certain of is that I want the enemy to develop over time just like humanity. Keep this in mind.

Final Notes

This is almost 10 pages long in Microsoft Word, 2917 words. I wrote it in about an hour.

Ideally, there would be several servers in different periods of the game, progressing at their own speeds towards radically different conclusions. Furthermore, each would be tweaked to be different from one another to see how that affects the outcome (think Vaults in Fallout!). Players and game admins would work together at the conclusion of each period to write a comprehensive story. Each server would host about 4000 players, one character each. It would be recommended that each player take a home server and focus on its story before creating alts.

[GoblinSapper]

Are you talking an MMO? Because, the MMO market is saturated, I believe proof of concept smaller singleplayer experiances are a better way to go, to build up to a larger Online world.

[Porkolt]

This sounds like a Peter Molyneux or Will Wright game on steroids.

[GoblinSapper]

Honestly I feel the multiple era gameplay mechanic should be lost, or it converted to a full on Strat game, otherwise the focus will be too diluted and no one thing will be exceptional.

[Divine Intervention]

This is the game I have wanted to be made for so long.  IMO magic should not exist unless it is discovered.  Something along the lines of sites of magical power or artifacts that need to be found/activate and their secrets unraveled.  If the players get there before the enemy then they are more likely to have a monopoly on magic, maybe the enemy get it first, maybe it's lost to industrial development.  Either way it adds an interesting dynamic and the opportunity for one side to steal etc.  As for your enemy I think the "Vord" in the Codex Alera books are perfect for the role (google it if you need to).

[Garem]

@ GS:

Sort of an MMO. 4000 players is NOT an MMO though, it's somewhere in between EfU and an MMO. I don't mean 4000 players at a time, I mean 4000 players and 4000 characters, of which only a fraction of that would actually be hanging around the gameworld at any one time, 100-400 or so. The number, 4000, is somewhat arbitrary but that seems like a pretty good number to go with.

Then again, try and focus on the creative aspects, not the mechanics. I don't care to argue feasibility. The game won't ever happen, this is just a creative exercise.

As for the multiple era gameplay, that was actually the very last major design change I had, one that I thought up only yesterday. I was looking at my list of possible "eras" and it dawned on me that, especially for the sake of a wonderfully developing storyline, major time shifts would be an incredible benefit. For most gamers, they make a character and he just lives forever. Sure, he'll die in bloody battles and for his cause... but zip zap boom and his body comes right back to life with all his cool shit intact. Yet, as we EfU'ers know all too well, immortality is dreadfully boring. If you've seen the movie "Troy", there's a wonderful scene where Achilles explains to a priestess that the gods envy mortal humans because every breath may be their last, that they'll never be more beautiful than they are at that very moment.

And so it is with this game. Your character, and even the world itself, are dying. How you spend those days in the story are up to you. Nothing is perfectly permanent in anything except for the story. An additional point I should explain- there will be physical representations in the gameworld of the history of former periods. If you build a castle in the late medieval period, its ruins can still be found (and perhaps even rebuilt with some effort!). If you were part of the lawdogs in a shack town for resource prospectors in the 1880s era, you can go find the ravaged, burnt down husk of your great, great, great grandfather's town. There's even the possibility that major and massive player developments can survive the hell that is unleashed at the end of each period- with significant playerbase input towards its defense, that is.

[Porkolt]

Here's something to consider.
 
You've got an excellent setting, game layout, plot ideas, etc.
 
So where's the gameplay? How do you want this game to be controlled? What's the scale, what's the perspective, etc.
 
For example, Mount & Blade continuously switched from a top-down world map view to a third person perspective, including several party management screens.
 
Is that what you want it to be like? Do you want to even have a world map screen? If not, it could play like Morrowind, in which case the logistic aspect of keeping a party together becomes very important.
 
 
If you want to make a huge world, being able to abridge what otherwise would be two hours of walking and not much happening should be abridgable by the click of a button, instant travel should be possible.
 
Who doesn't remember the annoyingly long walks to villages inaccessible by instant travel in Morrowind, during which you are constantly assailed by CLIFF RACERSSSSS SQUAAAWK
 
In a real-time, multiplayer environment, with a large amount of players, where realistic player interaction and PvP is very important, instant travel could become problematic. You'd have to include a realistic method of instant travel, which means instant teleportation, which almost invariably means high magic.
 
 
EDIT: Ninja'd by a message that says you don't give a shit about mechanical feasibility. Okay! Never mind then.

[Garem]

This is the game I have wanted to be made for so long.  IMO magic should not exist unless it is discovered.  Something along the lines of sites of magical power or artifacts that need to be found/activate and their secrets unraveled.  If the players get there before the enemy then they are more likely to have a monopoly on magic, maybe the enemy get it first, maybe it's lost to industrial development.  Either way it adds an interesting dynamic and the opportunity for one side to steal etc.  As for your enemy I think the "Vord" in the Codex Alera books are perfect for the role (google it if you need to).

The Enemy would have a monopoly on magic! That's one of the many reasons it's rather reviled. That, it it may require some gruesome actions-- eating an enemy's heart is one example that comes to mind. Yum!

Magic will be pretty basic though, supplementing other actions more than being a direct means of wielding power. I certainly hope there are cabals of PCs who dabble in the dark and dirty deeds, seeking out more mysterious secrets about their practice from dead Enemies, but they'll suffer problems as outcasts among their own people.

I would imagine that some players would even hunt down PC and Enemy magicians as a sort of Witch Hunter character concept. This gives another interesting option for those who represent the religious aspects of the game- how will they condemn (or condone?) the magicians? Punishable by death, or a time for forgiveness and salvation?

[Porkolt]

Hell, I'ma make a more advanced argument here.
 
See, what's challenging about making a good computer game often isn't at all related to the actual content. Like you said, you typed the above up in an hour. If you needed only an hour to make an immersive gaming environment and leave it at that, why do games often take years to develop?
 
Coming up with a ton of stuff and saying 'yeah, that'd be cool to have in a game' isn't particularly difficult. Incorporating all that stuff into a feasible method of presentation and gameplay is VERY difficult. That's what game design is about. Oftentimes coming up with the actual content is more of a grind than a creative process. That it's a grind is the reason a lot of developers can't keep up a high level of quality and games turn out with a lackluster setting and world design.
 
TL;DR: Making up a setting with cool stuff to do and not describing how to do it isn't very difficult and has nothing at all to do with game design.

[Garem]

Porkolt, sorry for the misunderstanding, it's not mechanical feasibility I don't want to discuss, it's the actual feasibility of making the game. What you're talking about is fine for discussion.

The game would not switch perspective, it would remain a third-person shooter. However, I would like to see some strategy game elements involved, something my roommate and I have been discussing. Yes, cliff runners were annoying. Traveling alone is intended to be annoying, because the Enemy's scouts will harass players until they are driven out of an area. Spawning will work differently than most other games, because NPC presence will beget greater NPC presence, creating "nests" or "buildups" of soldiers in more remote areas. Game Admins, furthermore, will pay attention to these various locations and may shift them when they begin to swell... towards PC civilization. If players do not locate and destroy a war camp, it may lead to a full blown, Game Admin-led assault! This process, however, would span over approximately ten RL days.

Additionally, players would be wise to invest in building NPC scouting towers around important resource locations, or their investments may be overrun before they know it. That, or build lots of very big walls.

As for combat and group management...

Each period would have their own potential benefits for facilitating leaders in combat situations. In the medieval period, observation towers could be quickly assembled before battle so that a commander could see the battlefield more clearly. He sees what he sees, with only brief messages being sent in the form of "flags" over longer distances. Things such as "Reinforcements Needed", "All Secure", "Enemy Sighted", "Enemy Defeated". This would be handled by attaching NPC standard bearers to PC captains (or possibly NPC soldiers as well), giving the players on the ground the ability to use the NPC as a relay, so long as line of sight is maintained.

As technology evolves, spyglasses and radios will open up in-game communication options. By the end game, commanders will use a small, floating battleship and be able to do virtually anything from their eye-in-the-sky locations- make player battle groups, send them to locations, send ammunition via rocket pod, dispatch reinforcement PCs or drones to cover and escape, etc.

[Garem]

Hell, I'ma make a more advanced argument here...

TL;DR

I didn't catch the argument! >.> Are you arguing that setting doesn't matter, mechanics do? Frankly, both do! Great mechanics in a dull world (alpha testing Mount and Blade, for example) is just as bad or worse than crappy mechanics in an awesome world (World of Warcraft seems to do pretty well!). Also, the writing up of the topic, posted on this thread, took about an hour. The formulating of the idea, including a lot of the mechanical questions you raised earlier, have been and are still being discussed. Overall, the idea has been in the works for about a year or so, on and off.

Also, there's no reason to be snide if you don't want to read it all. This is simply a creative exercise.

[Porkolt]

Oh, I'm certainly not trying to be snide.