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[Genetisys] Monster combat- work for genre?

Started by daMoose_Neo, October 19, 2004, 03:55:30 PM

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daMoose_Neo

[Genetisys]"File off Serial Numbers" or originality?

First post up there.

Run Down: Monster Battling, just like all of the sickeningly sweet Pikachu anime out there, but with a little more forethought to the world (see the story). Same basic system mind you, more advanced take on the world and details however.

Basic system: XD6 vs Target Number or Opposing XD6 roll. Max of 4 for X.

PCs and Monsters: Players have an interesting situation here. They not only control a PC but a team of monsters as well. PC they have full creative control of while monsters are simply instances of the breed upon first recieving them. Certain things (Personality, Abilities) may be customized within certain grounds of the breed, but they are fairly well locked in.
Characters also have more options than their Video Game counterparts, of course. They may seek to attain the position of Master, allowing them to run a small dojo for further training of specific breeds or elemental types, work as a member of the Core research facility and help maintain the island.

Kind of rambling here. More about PC and player creation later.
What I have finished now is some chunks on monsters (Genomes) and combat. Also working on an Advanced Combat section which takes more into account but isn't neccesary.

Genome Basics
Story

Initial playtesting on the combat rolls shows that a battle between two monsters of the same or near level (less than 10 levels or so of each other) takes about 6 rolls before one of them faints. Start factoring in Weather and Environment, covered under the Advanced Combat, as well as type weaknesses or strengths, and you have for some shortened battles.
Want to see what people think of the system, if it can match in gameplay the animated battles and everything else that makes the genre so popular with the kids. I can see a fair bit of framing for story and what not may be neccesary (do what the cartoons do- feature a different monster each adventure) for younger groups, but~
Nate Petersen / daMoose
Neo Productions Unlimited! Publisher of Final Twilight card game, Imp Game RPG, and more titles to come!

Shreyas Sampat

Hey Nate,

I think that you need to decide whether you want your game to generate "monster battle video game" play, or "monster trainer television show" play, as the two are, as you point out, fairly divergent.

daMoose_Neo

At the end of my one post though, almost an after thought, I mention including rules for both styles.

What I'm playing with now are some "Advanced" combat rules, takes into account more of the video game, techie, number crunching. I have my bare-bones-basic combat (Roll Attack vs Defense, roll damage if successful), want to build on that by including/allowing some dramatic narration and effects for the "super cool effects" you see in the shows, and also providing some direction for the number-crunching the video games provide (which is A LOT!)
Whats posted is a very rough draft of the skeleton. Formatting as I go with basic stuff lets me see and feel how it pulls together but this is, for all intents and purposes, scribbles on a napkin. Thus far I have my die rolls, I have my modifiers in Personalities, Types, and numerical definition in the Moves. Once I know that works, then I move on.

Something like this could easily appeal to both audiances, those who want a stratigic, combat oriented game and those who like the flash of the shows. I want to try to catch them both.
I want to see that my basics lay a foundation however, what others think I could add to it, and how what I am going to add to it works. Working up the "advanced" features now, going back into it and starting to tack in narration and "flash" details.
Nate Petersen / daMoose
Neo Productions Unlimited! Publisher of Final Twilight card game, Imp Game RPG, and more titles to come!