Ideas... ideas... ideas...
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I've decided to compile a short list. And, then the ideas are not lost for all time. Here is a list of ideas I have for the game. This is by no means comprehensive. I'm not sure if I'll manage to get them all implemented. Some of these could be added on later.
- You can be anything and do any kind of job. And, the jobs are realistic. Essentially a medieval fantasy job simulator.
- Want to work in a tavern? You can! Walk in and apply for a job with the innkeeper and they will put you to work waiting tables. You can take orders, refill ales, bake goods, wait tables, clean up tables, sweep, wash the windows, lock up at night, open up in the morning, and politely greet people or not! Do a good job and get a raise, do poorly and risk getting fired by the boss.
- Want to be a weapon or armor smith? You can! Become a blacksmith's apprentice if they'll have you. You have to gather the firewood, get the kiln hot enough, add the metals and fixers, wait the appropriate timeframe, pour the molten substance into the mold, manually bang it into shape with your hammer in real-time, quench the steel, fit the pommel, sharpen the blade, etc. Do a poor job and the blade breaks on one of your customers in battle getting them killed? Expect to hear from his brother and his friends who would like to sit down with you and have a nice knuckle sandwich.
- Want to be a baker or a chef? You can! Apply and get hired by a baker to produce loaves, pastries, cakes, pies, chocolates and other assorted goods. Fetch water from the local well. Gather the firewood for the oven. Prepare the flour and yeast. Combine with water and knead the dough. Place the result in an oven and wait the appropriate time. Wait too long and it will burn! Customers will be upset if you serve them undercooked or burnt food.
- Have enough money from adventuring in dungeons and robbing the wealthy? Want to own business? You can! Hire and train employees. Manage production and customer satisfaction. Open a tavern of your own, a smithy, an archery training range, a brothel, sell and tend horses, run a bank of your own, etc. Pay taxes and dues to the local government, fend off bandits and hustlers. Acquire loans, goods and services to keep your business afloat.
- Become an adventurer, thief or bounty hunter and post notices on boards.
- Even get into politics, own a fiefdom, tax the peasants, send your knights to put down rebellions, seal the doors and hug your ill gotten gold when they come with the torches and pitchforks.
- Are you magically inclined? Learn spells by finding grimoires, spellbooks, scrolls or being taught by another mage. Spells are one of kind and are unique to how they were written on the parchment. If the item is destroyed or lost and was not learned by anyone it is lost to all time. If a player (NPC or multiplayer human player) is killed before they can pass on their knowledge or write it down for posterity the spell is lost to the ages.
2. Monsters who kill passerby npcs, keep their stuff and wear their favorites. And, they become alphas of their pack by fighting one another and acquiring armor, weapons, potions, trinkets, books, scrolls and magical items from one another. Eventually, when you bump into one of these alphas, taking him down will give you access to amazing loot! And, also it'll be fun walk by and see them fighting for authority and power amongst themselves.
3. NPC painters standing by the road painting villages, bridges, mountains on canvases mounted on easels. The realistic effect of painting the canvas will be created by screenshotting various draw layers via depth from the actual scene from a camera from the npc's viewpoint, using painters algo (back to front), applying an oil convolution filter (like gimp/PS do), and then exposing the Red, Green, Blue components of the canvas image as the NPC picks colors from his palette with a brush. It'll look like the painter is really painting. And, if you as a player stand in front of them while they're doing this, you'll be in the painting.
4. Loot you can trade with other players or sell online. They'd be bound items if used while level and stat restricted.
5. A focus on 1st and 3rd person combat with completely different mechanics and animations for both while also having multiplayer cooperative. It is a big undertaking as developers usually pick one and stick to it.
6. Including unique fantasy themes most games in this genre avoid; merfolk, fairies, naga, manticore, etc.
7. A hardcore death mode where you can lose your character forever with no saving
8. A mode where the other player can set creatures, obstacles and story elements in your path like a Dungeon Master.
9. Ability to play as any of the NPC races in the game even non-humanoid
10. Time travel elements; Cast time travel and kill that NPC's grandfather that is in your way before they were even born
11. Summon a demon from another dimension with a pentagram and question it about arcane lore but hurry because if it breaks free before you send it back you'll have a fight on your hands
12. Re-painting the world in your artistic image real-time (network replicable), e.g. want the rocks around your home to be darker obsidian stone you can go for it.
13. Telepathy and the ability to hear other NPC's inner thoughts and dialogue not normally available.
14. As a parasitic character race, crawl out of the ear of your host and infect another to possess them and inherit their life, abilities, relationships, power and possessions. Your camera is in the perspective of the parasite and you must physically crawl and jump your way onto surfaces and make your way into sleeping or unsuspecting victims. Avoid being stomped, burned, crushed and stabbed by those who are aware of your presence!
15. Persistent conversational AI NPCs with knowledge and understanding that grows over time. The characters will be able to bring up past conversations, events and other happenings. Creating a more lush and interesting storytelling environment.
16. And, a lot more breakthrough concepts not yet introduced in other games.
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