Driftmoon Adventure RPG

Some thoughts

mbelassie 13 years ago

Hello!

I've played the alpha through to the end, and I have some thoughts for you.

Do you have a plan for the skills you get when you level up? I think it would be good to have a 'skill tree,' rather than just a bunch of skills you can collect when you get to a certain level. The advantage of that is that you have to specialise; you're forced to make permanent decisions about your character's development. I always find RPGs much more immersive and interesting when I can craft my character, and have to take him down a particular path.
For me it's a weakness of games like Final Fantasy XII that you end up with generic uber-characters, who can fill any role. Those that force you to attain excellence in a particular niche, like Baldur's Gate, Deus Ex, Final Fantasy IX, Sacrifice and Diablo, draw you in and you find yourself caring about your character's development so much more.

I like that I can move around while my character fires arrows at the enemy. It seems a bit too powerful though - as long as I have arrows I'm pretty much invulnerable. If arrows are going to stay pretty rare throughout the game I guess that's fine. Another way though would be either to slow movement speed while firing or decrease accuracy while moving. I think either would be good, and add some intensity and crisis rather than just running around keeping the enemies out of range.

Part of what I really dug about the original demo (the one with Velvet the Panther) was that the dialogue was engaging and entertaining. I actually enjoyed clicking through finding out what NPCs were going to talk about. In the latest version of the game I find myself less interested, and become bored before I've seen everything someone has to say. I think it's because you've given them a lot more to say, and the tone may be a bit less light and playful. It would be interesting to see if people feel the same, or if it's just me.

I'm excited about this game (I've never pre-ordered a game before - you've got me!). You're doing a lot right; it's simple, fun and well-paced, and I'm really looking forward to the next alpha release

Thankyou,
Marcus Hello! I've played the alpha through to the end, and I have some thoughts for you. Do you have a plan for the skills you get when you level up? I think it would be good to have a 'skill tree,' rather than just a bunch of skills you can collect when you get to a certain level. The advantage of that is that you have to specialise; you're forced to make permanent decisions about your character's development. I always find RPGs much more immersive and interesting when I can craft my character, and have to take him down a particular path. For me it's a weakness of games like Final Fantasy XII that you end up with generic uber-characters, who can fill any role. Those that force you to attain excellence in a particular niche, like Baldur's Gate, Deus Ex, Final Fantasy IX, Sacrifice and Diablo, draw you in and you find yourself caring about your character's development so much more. I like that I can move around while my character fires arrows at the enemy. It seems a bit too powerful though - as long as I have arrows I'm pretty much invulnerable. If arrows are going to stay pretty rare throughout the game I guess that's fine. Another way though would be either to slow movement speed while firing or decrease accuracy while moving. I think either would be good, and add some intensity and crisis rather than just running around keeping the enemies out of range. Part of what I really dug about the original demo (the one with Velvet the Panther) was that the dialogue was engaging and entertaining. I actually enjoyed clicking through finding out what NPCs were going to talk about. In the latest version of the game I find myself less interested, and become bored before I've seen everything someone has to say. I think it's because you've given them a lot [i]more[/i] to say, and the tone may be a bit less light and playful. It would be interesting to see if people feel the same, or if it's just me. I'm excited about this game (I've never pre-ordered a game before - you've got me!). You're doing a lot right; it's simple, fun and well-paced, and I'm really looking forward to the next alpha release :D Thankyou, Marcus

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ville 13 years ago

Thanks for the comment Marcus!

At the moment I haven't really paid attention to the skill progression. My plan is to have at least some skills require a previous skill, it shouldn't be difficult to implement. But we'll have to see about that later - right now I'm eager to get more levels into the game.

Currently my plan for the archery is to make the arrows rare. I tried making the movement slower, and I tried making the targeting weaker, but both felt more like punishing people who use archery. So right now my design philosophy is to make bows fairly powerful, so you'll be more inclined to try to find some arrows.

I agree some of the NPC's have a lot to say to you, the start of the game is pretty heavy on the plot. We're still tweaking the conversations, so I'm very interesting in hearing if you have any specific characters that come to mind.

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