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Frontier Reaper/Boomtown R.I.P.(game concept, ideas appreciated)


minespatch
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Frontier Reaper/Boomtown R.I.P.

A reaper is thrown into the middle of nowhere by god's hand to help souls pass into the light without demons straying the wayward souls. With the help of locals and becoming a sheriff, the reaper will help make this purgatory spread into something worthwhile for him and the souls.

 

 

A big WIP god sim with RPG and Survival elements. Heavily inspired by defunct games such as Misfortune, Frontierville, Grinns Tale, as well as games that are still around such as "Go to hell", Dragon Quest, and Don't Starve. At the moment this page is just for ideas, thoughts, and development. As well as Concept sketches whenever I can get around to them:

Spoiler
  1. frontier reaper 1.png
  2. frontier reaper 2.png
  3. frontier reaper 3.png
  4. frontier reaper 4.png

If any of this interests you, please comment. I would love to hear feedback.

 

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That's fine, Mobb. At the moment, I'd like to hear thoughts on the concepts I've done so far.

 

It'll take me a while to learn how to start coding and other gaming mechnanics before I even try working on anything related to this game. Working on smaller games with one mechanic will help me first to get a idea on where to continue.

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Going to wait until I have the right tools. I have no money or time at hand right now. Going to stick with trying commissions and other means so I don't have to rely on my father for income. Just need to find a second and/or third person to help me with a beta of the town hub before I try anything out. Don't want to get too over-achieving until the beta is out for people to try out what you can use if the game goes further.

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What software do you plan to use?  What kind of budget are you working on / can expect to be working on?  Have you thought about posting the game idea to social media websites to try and spread the word?  Have you done any research into the creation and marketing of a game?  Do you have any past experience?  Have you considered making a few experimental games to try and get the hang of the development process? 

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10 minutes ago, Battal said:
  1. What software do you plan to use?
  2. What kind of budget are you working on / can expect to be working on?
  3. Have you thought about posting the game idea to social media websites to try and spread the word?
  4. Have you done any research into the creation and marketing of a game?
  5. Do you have any past experience?
  6. Have you considered making a few experimental games to try and get the hang of the development process? 
  1. No one has exactly told me to use except for rpg maker but I don't want to use that program. I know people have recommended that to me because of Undertale and Hotline Miami but I'd try to work from scratch or something like the people who work on "Swords and Potions 2" uses.
  2. Donations or such. I'm trying this game with babysteps but anything to help me out would press me forward.
  3. Same with my art, I don't really know where to post or how to advertise myself. So not sure on that end. Not even when I posted the concept on my personal facebook did it draw attention.
  4. No, I haven't, sorry.
  5. No.
  6. I'd like to try but I have a lack of resources. Though experimental games to try out should work so I can test out the side portions to the main game I want to make, like the alchemy sodoku.
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Well, first of all, neither Hotline Miami or Undertale were made with RPGMaker; they both used Gamemaker, the same engine I use.  The free version is a fantastic way to learn the basics of game development (I was able to pretty much teach myself everything to get to the current point I'm at) but it is pretty limited in many areas and you'll eventually want to buy the Studio version, which is very superior.  Starting from scratch is of course an option, but I really wouldn't recommend it, especially for your first foray into game design.  Coding is hard and it's better to start in the easiest medium you can.  Furthermore, design studios like Gamemaker save time and streamline the dev process, and considering your current scenario it seems like time is a premium. 

On the subject of donations, these are a pretty iffy way to run things, but can work out great - if you get people interested in your game.  If you were to start a Kickstarter or really any other form of "give me money and I'll make this happen" post without a single game under your belt (or a successful marketing campaign for the game beforehand) chances are you wouldn't get a dime.  There are so many people with so many ideas all shouting for attention, you'd just be lost in the crowd regardless of quality. 

Now, my strategy for garnering followers revolves around making a few small, easy-to-develop, free-to-play games which will hopefully bring in a few fans, as well as running multiple devlogs on a few websites.  This takes time, though, and so may not work for you.  Therefore, your best bet is to do a whole crapton of research and find a plan that works for your situation.  A few articles you might find helpful;

http://indiegames.com/2013/11/opinion_what_not_to_do_when_st.html

https://gamedevelopment.tutsplus.com/articles/9-tips-for-indie-game-developers-i-learned-at-gdc-2013--gamedev-6591

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1IPUMhchJmaYXeLjJJ9pW-fr8Y5-pasWR1Af_AFnta2w/edit#gid=0

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lets see, it does kind of sounds like some sort of stategy resource game a bit, but wanting some sort of rpg style like dragonquest, and for that i asume special buildings for resource spots are needed, as well as characters that are more special for that

the reaper is the main guy yes? and if its some sort of overview god like thing, i think havin the mouse couror be a scythe would realy fit

musik is propably goin something like wester style so how it sounds like, like how the area is whit the sherif

how ever the people do kind of look like those undead mexicans from that 1 movie whit musik, the name i forgot, so maybe something more like that

1 has to realy think of a games structure, like, how will the game loop be? or whats the goal? whit out those, there will be less focus on what the game actualy wants to be, so one must realy think of how the game will go on

game balance and difficulty is a hard thing to do, and needs much testing to do, before you want to go to the next step of makin the game, and something i belive when makin a game is this, make it a bit more easy then how you personaly tested it, after all, you know everything what to know about the game, but someone else would not know anything, meaning there can be a major spike in difficulty between the maker and the player, and thats something i belive sould be a thing, makin it a bit more easy then what you originaly have done

and i guess thats all of what  i could help you here now, i do hope in some way or another i was somewhat helpfull whit some of those things, and maybe later whit more info, i can try help whit more things, and good luck in makin it

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3 hours ago, Dr.Medic said:

1 has to realy think of a games structure, like, how will the game loop be? or whats the goal? whit out those, there will be less focus on what the game actualy wants to be, so one must realy think of how the game will go on

It's going to be a isometric game similar to Diner Dash with moving dead civilians into hotels or graves to appease them for a short time until a train comes to take them beyond. While they sleep for a short time, you as the sheriff/mayor work with the two npcs to get resources and other tools to expand the void beyond the town to add more resting spots for souls until the train comes. 

Season 1 will be very rough. I want to see how the first mechanics work until I add the first boss which will tempt souls to go to hell that you have to save from.

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2 minutes ago, minespatch said:

It's going to be a isometric game similar to Diner Dash with moving dead civilians into hotels or graves to appease them for a short time until a train comes to take them beyond. While they sleep for a short time, you as the sheriff/mayor work with the two npcs to get resources and other tools to expand the void beyond the town to add more resting spots for souls until the train comes. 

Season 1 will be very rough. I want to see how the first mechanics work until I add the first boss which will tempt souls to go to hell that you have to save from.

sounds like bringin people to the train would gain you some sort of "money" resource, or something like that, like favour god powers in a way

the boss trying to bring them to hell? seems like some sort of defense has to be build, like some sort of walls maybe, to make it take longer for the boss to do bad things, kind of like tower defense style it sounds like, interesting

seasons, in a way kind of like a year, like a chapter of some kind, where the boss comes at the end of the season, as like the end of the chapter your skills have to come into testing of what you have learned during that season, sure seems interesting

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16 minutes ago, Dr.Medic said:

kind of like tower defense style it sounds like, interesting

Kind of. My starting inspiration was frontierville with how the further lands were bought with in game currency which will help you make buildings to give you other tools to make other buildings. The demons would keep the souls away from their goal of ascending which you as the reaper either have to bring the souls back or defeat the demon with a mini-game/battle. The defeat will lead to more land to create more hotels and businesses which will save you time with saving souls but better to build closer to the trainstation. 

 

Yeah, the seasons would be like chapters similar to how Hello Neighbor released Alphas and betas. 

 

Season 1 needs to be successful so I can add more refined details and mechanics since I'd like to add a forest labyrinth mini-game and alchemy sudoku for items to improve shovels and tools.

4 hours ago, Dr.Medic said:

how ever the people do kind of look like those undead mexicans from that 1 movie whit musik, the name i forgot, so maybe something more like that

Book of life. Yes, I love that film. :wilson_laugh:

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3 minutes ago, minespatch said:

 

 

Season 1 needs to be successful so I can add more refined details and mechanics since I'd like to add a forest labyrinth mini-game and alchemy sudoku for items to improve shovels and tools.

mini games to craft something? seems like something that could get annoying realy quickly, since tools sound like something you need to have much for, so im not sure if crafting mini games sould realy be a thing

alsol season chapter 1 does sound like a perfect step for some sort of demo, so others can try it out and give feedback for the future of the game, gettin help in talk and suggestions from others, thats something yoou sould consider

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Just now, Dr.Medic said:

season chapter 1 does sound like a perfect step for some sort of demo, so others can try it out and give feedback for the future of the game

Yeah, that's how Game Kitchen did Blasphemous. They released a "narrative" playthrough in the earliest releases of the game.

1 minute ago, Dr.Medic said:

seems like something that could get annoying realy quickly, since tools sound like something you need to have much for, so im not sure if crafting mini games sould realy be a thing

I love sudoku but you're right. Might be better to just implement the labyrinth system for foraging ingrediants for tools.

Just give the ingredients to the spider character and they give the item to you.

I was assuming the fly would be the guy to sell tools but he might have to be a different npc.

Not sure what the role of the worm banker would work right now.

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14 hours ago, minespatch said:

 

Not sure what the role of the worm banker would work right now.

well i got an idea, what if instead of the worm being a banker, he would build tunels for you to move faster in a way? his name would be wormhole, as some sort of pun, since hes a worm makin holes into the ground, and a wormhole being something that moves you fast

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One thing that could be very helpful when developing ideas for...well...anything, is to look at pre-existing things for inspiration. This can include books, video games, TV shows/movies, real life mythology/legends/events no matter how good or bad. One game in particular that I think would help a bit with the afterlife idea is "Grim Fandango"; a lot of what they deal with is death (figuratively and literally), afterlife and the journey to it, as well as the culture. There is a train in Grim Fandango that takes people to the afterlife in express time if they have a ticket, otherwise people have to wait a long time to get there, but you find out that people have had their tickets stolen and they are stuck. Themes like that can be reworked to fit your narrative in your own style.

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25 minutes ago, Owlrus said:

"Grim Fandango"

I'm familiar with that game. Yet the sherrif isn't leaving, he's allowing souls to leave while maintaining the hub. Like I said, I want season 1/alpha to be really rough to figure out gameplay. 

Simplifying mechanics would probably be the first thing to do.

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