What Would Be Your Perfect BE Game

Tinn · 10-02-2009

Hmm... this 'Process High' concept has some potential, I think.
The mostly-social context means that there's plenty of room for the social ramifications of process to be explored. Plus, I could see some quite interesting game play possibilities while searching for 'cures' to particularly debilitating effects that could make the game a little less linear than might otherwise occur.
The high-school background means that 'bad-end' scenarioes can be experimented with without being 'game over' situations. Indeed, they could be an important part of the plot and/or strategy.
The limited environment of a high school could really help with the possibility of having a small number of well-developed (no pun intended) characters, which would be valuable for any strong storyline.

There are really only two potential concerns I'd have about the idea.
The first is that it could seem limited and highly linear if prepared as written. It sounds like a series of minigames with a plot. Now, I don't mean to dismiss minigames: I believe that the only difference between a well-designed minigame and a well-designed game is the scale. But if the subgames appear too disconnected and different from one another, switching between them can seem jarring and artificial, and knock the player out of enjoying the game's plot and world. Fortunately, it's easy enough to avoid the problem. For example, just devise events such that the events in one game mode provide bonuses and penalties that carry over to the others, like in PuzzleQuerst or the Total War series.
My second concern is that while including a variety of processes increases the variety of play, it could be a bit of a turn-off for players with less broad interests than others. Again, this is easy to fix - just make processes optional, maybe making compulsury any too plot-crucial to avoid.

Pokerus, I think your idea has potential. Please elaborate on it - I'm sure there's a dozen lurkers wanting to hear more.

Co-incidentally, if the player character can be male, it may be advisable to put the TG process into the game. It's not everyone's kettle of fish, but on the other hand, one could say the same about almost anything.

Oh, and I reckon this idea could work well if combined with the 'Princess Maker' concept, so that between plot events the player character could prepare (or relax) by improving their abilities - or just putting them into practice on members of the student body. Practice makes perfect, they say, and it could help reinforce the 'high school' setting by having attending class be part of gameplay, as well as part of the plot.

View Poll Results: What would be the perfect type of BE game?
Platformer	60	10.42%
Shooter	56	9.72%
RPG	342	59.38%
Puzzle	56	9.72%
Stealth	37	6.42%
RTS	23	3.99%
Flight	10	1.74%
Sim	151	26.22%
Adventure	177	30.73%
Something Else	32	5.56%
Multiple Choice Poll. Voters: 576. You may not vote on this poll

10-02-2009	#11
Tinn Process Fan Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Some city somewhere Posts: 74	Re: What Would Be Your Perfect BE Game Hmm... this 'Process High' concept has some potential, I think. The mostly-social context means that there's plenty of room for the social ramifications of process to be explored. Plus, I could see some quite interesting game play possibilities while searching for 'cures' to particularly debilitating effects that could make the game a little less linear than might otherwise occur. The high-school background means that 'bad-end' scenarioes can be experimented with without being 'game over' situations. Indeed, they could be an important part of the plot and/or strategy. The limited environment of a high school could really help with the possibility of having a small number of well-developed (no pun intended) characters, which would be valuable for any strong storyline. There are really only two potential concerns I'd have about the idea. The first is that it could seem limited and highly linear if prepared as written. It sounds like a series of minigames with a plot. Now, I don't mean to dismiss minigames: I believe that the only difference between a well-designed minigame and a well-designed game is the scale. But if the subgames appear too disconnected and different from one another, switching between them can seem jarring and artificial, and knock the player out of enjoying the game's plot and world. Fortunately, it's easy enough to avoid the problem. For example, just devise events such that the events in one game mode provide bonuses and penalties that carry over to the others, like in PuzzleQuerst or the Total War series. My second concern is that while including a variety of processes increases the variety of play, it could be a bit of a turn-off for players with less broad interests than others. Again, this is easy to fix - just make processes optional, maybe making compulsury any too plot-crucial to avoid. Pokerus, I think your idea has potential. Please elaborate on it - I'm sure there's a dozen lurkers wanting to hear more. Co-incidentally, if the player character can be male, it may be advisable to put the TG process into the game. It's not everyone's kettle of fish, but on the other hand, one could say the same about almost anything. Oh, and I reckon this idea could work well if combined with the 'Princess Maker' concept, so that between plot events the player character could prepare (or relax) by improving their abilities - or just putting them into practice on members of the student body. Practice makes perfect, they say, and it could help reinforce the 'high school' setting by having attending class be part of gameplay, as well as part of the plot.