Submitted by Chainsaw Aardvark on Fri, 2008-05-23 09:51.
What you have is a decent start for a standard CRPG. However for either an MMO or a table top game, you're much too specific. In the later two media, character and motivation is something the player's create, while as the designer, you are to be designing a world for them to explore. At the moment, emphasis should be on where are the characters and what might they be doing than who they are. Script and setting come before actors and without a plot they don't matter. Also bear in mind that there would be more than a singular character in an MMO/PnP game and everyone can't have the same exact story at the start - right?
After some thought, I had an idea about the style of magic and why there might be such an emphasis on tournaments. So, consider this:
Magic is something akin to shamanism/cargo cults - the character is asking spirits to help, and to get any effect they need a representative piece of the animal/monster. (pelt, antler, tooth etc) However one needs to earn these bits - simply purchasing or giving away sacred objects would be a great insult to the spirits - and hence the magic would either stop working, or have an undesired effect. Thus tournaments act as a sort of swap meet - a chance to earn spirit trophies from others so you don't need to wander the entire world for bits you need.
Most effects would presumably be enhancemnts - speed of the deer, eyes of the eagle etc. rather than calling lightinng upon the enemy - unless you slay some fantastic demon or dragon.
People from different areas would grow up with different fauna and thus spirit guides/morals etc - so countries/realms can substitute for the rather tired elf/dwarf/gnome etc. paradigm
Of course, there is still plenty of room for elaboration, and at least a few words of artificial language are needed. (While Fetish would be the correct technical term - its also picked up some undesirable meaning that will be abused by players... rules of the internet...) Plus interesting terms make it seem less like postmortem pokemon. (gotta skin em all!)
So what is there aside from combat/questing? What technology is available?
Game design is a lot like cartography. You need to decide what you want to model (ie type of game) then establish a few benchmarks of major concepts to guide you. From there you refine the details a bit and decide major features. Then you just pass over and over filling in a bit more of the resolution each time.
You're off to a fine start. I've been doing this for years so don't worry, have fun.
There is a fine line between hobby and obsession. I seem to have lost sight of it some time ago.
Game Type
What you have is a decent start for a standard CRPG. However for either an MMO or a table top game, you're much too specific. In the later two media, character and motivation is something the player's create, while as the designer, you are to be designing a world for them to explore. At the moment, emphasis should be on where are the characters and what might they be doing than who they are. Script and setting come before actors and without a plot they don't matter. Also bear in mind that there would be more than a singular character in an MMO/PnP game and everyone can't have the same exact story at the start - right?
After some thought, I had an idea about the style of magic and why there might be such an emphasis on tournaments. So, consider this:
Magic is something akin to shamanism/cargo cults - the character is asking spirits to help, and to get any effect they need a representative piece of the animal/monster. (pelt, antler, tooth etc) However one needs to earn these bits - simply purchasing or giving away sacred objects would be a great insult to the spirits - and hence the magic would either stop working, or have an undesired effect. Thus tournaments act as a sort of swap meet - a chance to earn spirit trophies from others so you don't need to wander the entire world for bits you need.
Most effects would presumably be enhancemnts - speed of the deer, eyes of the eagle etc. rather than calling lightinng upon the enemy - unless you slay some fantastic demon or dragon.
People from different areas would grow up with different fauna and thus spirit guides/morals etc - so countries/realms can substitute for the rather tired elf/dwarf/gnome etc. paradigm
Of course, there is still plenty of room for elaboration, and at least a few words of artificial language are needed. (While Fetish would be the correct technical term - its also picked up some undesirable meaning that will be abused by players... rules of the internet...) Plus interesting terms make it seem less like postmortem pokemon. (gotta skin em all!)
So what is there aside from combat/questing? What technology is available?
Game design is a lot like cartography. You need to decide what you want to model (ie type of game) then establish a few benchmarks of major concepts to guide you. From there you refine the details a bit and decide major features. Then you just pass over and over filling in a bit more of the resolution each time.
You're off to a fine start. I've been doing this for years so don't worry, have fun.
There is a fine line between hobby and obsession. I seem to have lost sight of it some time ago.