[Power of 19] 16-bit

[Evan Anhorn]

i]Secret of Mana, Final Fantasy III, Lufia, Lunar, Crono Trigger, Grandia, Skies of Arcadia and many more.  These games had a unique story telling style and setting that traditional RPGs cannot easily relateSecret of Mana[/i], Final Fantasy III, Lufia, Lunar, Crono Trigger, Grandia, Skies of Arcadia and many more.  These games had a unique story telling style and setting that traditional RPGs cannot easily relate.

[Evan Anhorn]

Any problems you guys see, or is that the green light to go forward?  Does anyone have any questions, or any concepts they would like to see in this game?

[justin1083]

Any problems you guys see, or is that the green light to go forward?  Does anyone have any questions, or any concepts they would like to see in this game?

My question is, why am I not playing DnD?  I don't mean this in a snarky way, but if I got a group together to run a DnD campaign in a setting reminiscent of these classic 16-bit games, perhaps with minor house rules (Dark Points), how would it be different than the game you're proposing?

I want to hear about how plot the plot construction or scene framing or whatever in your game provide a unique play experience that makes me feel like I'm playing Secret of Mana.

[Evan Anhorn]

It's a great question.  I have to admit that I don't intend 16-bit to break down any new doors in roleplay.  It has elements that are very similar to games like D&D because those old console RPGs actually took all their ideas from D&D.  The point of a good set of rules is to invoke, in every game play mechanic, the feel of the genre, which is my ultimate goal.  There are a few differences from D&D, however, in the parts that console RPGs didn't cover with mechanics (mainly, the storytelling vehicle).

First, game play is divided into 4 strict parts; Explore, Battle, Dialogue Cutscene and Boss Battle.  Battle (a tactical grid skirmish like Final Fantasy Tactics) and Boss Battle (a traditional battle line set up like Final Fantasy VII) do have mechanics that make them feel like classic console RPGs (like the progress bar) but ultimately are not entirely different experiences.  Explore is also pretty similar to what you do in D&D when you're not fighting monsters (listen to NPCs, shop, explore the area).

Dialogue Cutscenes are part of the storytelling device, and are more divergent from mainstream RPGs.  In Dialogue Cutscenes, the GM frames the scene (say a bad guy shows up, mentions his progress and then exits stage left).  Then for the rest of the scene, narration and authority is shared equally among the players and GM.  You can "play as" any of the characters (kind of like the Troupe-style roleplay in Ars Magica), and your words can even create more plot ("pooled characters and shared-story guiding" is how its described for Ars Magica).

The other major part of the storytelling vehicle is the Forces of Darkness timeline (still working on a better name!).  Basically, whenever the party has to use a Save Point (at the start of every session, whenever they all fall in combat or whenever they want as Save Points restore HP and MP), the progress of evil is advanced one step (there are also other less common ways this is advanced).  As the timeline hits different steps, the story advances by having the pre-scripted disastrous event take place, slowly leading the players with clues about their enemy.  As the plot thickens, the pace of these events picks up so that the characters act the role of fire brigades, forcing them to choose different paths to take through the story (and figure out what is the quickest way to the heart of the enemy).

Those are the two major mechanical considerations that try to capture the JRPG story themes.  Other, lesser ones might include the Light/Dark point system.  There are also tons of little reasons why playing a system built to emulate JRPGs would be better than forcing a system like D&D or GURPs to do it, including but not limited to:  Combat and boss battles, special attacks, professions, level advancement, equipment rules, task resolution, character generation, vital stats, races, magic system, dicing mechanics and free reign to pump your fist repeatedly after every battle!

Also, I have the beginnings of a playtest document, if anyone would like a copy.

[justin1083]

that sounds really interesting, and it's that kind of stuff that would make me want to try this game.  I think since you are working with stuff that shares source material with DnD, you should try and cut back/out all of the DnD-isms that you may have included just because it was second nature--if they're in there, make sure it's deliberate.  I'd love to see a copy.

[justin1083]

Sent you a PM.

[Nathan W]

It sounds like you've got some cool ideas here. I think that pen-and-paper RPGs offer so much more to the players in versatility than computer/video game RPGs, but video games have a lot of appealing features too and I think it is a good idea to explore the notion of porting some of those ideas over to p&p RPGs. D&D 4E seems to be taking this approach to a certain degree, drawing heavily from popular MMORPG concepts. Your "Save Points" idea sounds awesome for this kind of thing. I'd be happy to hear more about this project as it progresses.