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Looking for some help on an RPG

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Signature-Skitz
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I've started work on a Mega Man X RPG. Obviously, this won't see a commercial release, but I've got a foundation for something I think could be really fun.

Basic ideas include: Action Point system, multiple customizable parts for your reploid, a level up system that unlocks new modification slots for your different parts, very basic weaponry system, a Reflex Point system that lets you act on other people's turns, and various stats for defense.

I've got some more ideas that I'm looking into but so far nothing concrete. I'd like to implement a basic class system, for example.

If you're interested in helping me out, feel free to reply on here and I'll send you a link to the site. I'm also interested in just talking on here, but I'd still prefer you checked out the site since it has more information on there.

Also, just for the record, this is not my baby. Anything is up for change, even the theme if I eventually want to make it marketable. So don't be afraid to suggest anything.

Oh, and the site isn't fully organized or anything, either.

Thanks for your time!

EDIT 1: Seems this will be easier by just posting the URL for all to see and comment on: http://maverickhunterrpg.forumotion.com/

Midnight_Carnival
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Yeah! Megaman!

I greatly appreciate the time and effort you are putting into creating a game that won't see commercial release. I would love to play it some day and (have the time and energy) to contribute to the creative process even though I'm not so familiar with Megaman lore.

My thoughts/feelings on using copyrighted material are mixed and somewhat incoherent.
1) I value originality and creativity above all else when it comes to making games.
2) I have zero respect for intellectual property laws which I feel are oppressive and disgusting, they are 100% made to benefit large established publishing companies and 0% to protect the rights and creative efforts of individual artists (I'm using the term "artist" very broadly) - when they do work out if favour of the individual it is because the individual is either very lucky or very clever - mostly they exist to keep the powers that be on top and I see them as restricting creativity rather than protecting people from having their hard work poached.
3) I see using somebody else's hard work as disgusting and would never do that myself - however, but this I mean actually stealing, not adapting things and developing something that was never intended by the original artists. For example, a cheap spinoff tcg based on Dungeon Keeper which was no fun to play but rode the game's popularity would disgust me, but a complicated and intricate board game with a 600 page rule book based on this game would interest me.

As I see it, you are not using Mega Man as a "selling point" of your game, the game is more a tribute to a video game series I take it you enjoy. The platform games are difficult (to play and) adapt to become a pencil and paper rpg and I see a lot of creativity going into this effort. If you were writing a computer game which used Mega Man, I'd strongly urge you to consider inventing your own source material, but making a p&p rpg out of a series of platform video games is something I can respect.

Sorry, my random opinions don't really help you finish the project, do they? I hope you do though.

tikey
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Everything can be made into

Everything can be made into an RPG, just take a look at all the implementations of GURPS. When adapting something into an RPG you have to look at what makes it different and look into translating it into your systems. I don't know much about the megaman universe. From what I can recall I see that the modification slots you mention might be a core aspect of the game, how does that impact or how can you make it have an impact within the game world.

Signature-Skitz
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I suppose I should clarify

I suppose I should clarify that I need help with mechanics and what-not. While the theme may be a sticking point eventually, right now I'd prefer making a base system that can be adapted for multiple themes.

I need help with stuff like making different parts, figuring out different rules (jumping for example) and adding a few classes that can refine the level up system.

Don't worry about the theme, for now. Although I appreciate your insight.

let-off studios
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Rune: Viking RPG

A game you may want to research is the Rune RPG. I ended up receiving the rules as part of a bundle when I bought the computer videogame of the same name.

I recommend this because when I play the MegaMan games (strictly speaking from the 8-bit generation here on the NES), I recall the stage leading up to the boss battle being quite the obstacle course requiring dexterity/timing as well as memorization. The boss battles also had patterns to memorize, but depending on the weapon you had equipped the boss could have been a breeze in comparison.

Rune has this innovative challenge system in which players serve as referee/moderator in a round-robin style, developing obstacles and populating the arena/encounter space individually. Different challenges cost a different number of "points," with the more difficult obstacle or adversary costing more. Players who overcome challenges earn points to invest into their warrior as they see fit: equipment, favor of the gods, stat increases, etc. Once an encounter is resolved, the referee role shifts to the next player in line.

It ties in with the theme admirably, and allows for players to switch roles with flexibility that lends itself to an action-arcade feel. I think the MegaMan universe would also benefit from the same treatment.

tikey
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Signature-Skitz wrote:I

Signature-Skitz wrote:
I suppose I should clarify that I need help with mechanics and what-not. While the theme may be a sticking point eventually, right now I'd prefer making a base system that can be adapted for multiple themes.

I need help with stuff like making different parts, figuring out different rules (jumping for example) and adding a few classes that can refine the level up system.

Don't worry about the theme, for now. Although I appreciate your insight.

That's good. As I said the important thing to define is the focus of your game. Left-off advice is great as it shows a game that has a mechanic that really works well to convey a certain type of play experience.
First you need to define what are the core values of your game. Since it's an RPG think of the ways players interact with the world and how the world reacts. What kind of world are they inhabiting and what challenges are the players going to face.
When you have all that stuff defined it'll be easier for you to look for mechanics that work well with that.

Mosker
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Lists

Do you have a list of enemies, powerups, stories? Start grouping them together and asking yourself about the types of interactions you want them to have. Then see how easily you can define them in as few stats as possible. (Atk/Defense value, cost, location)

Remember how the best Megaman games were technically simple, and relied on creative use of components.

Make some rules for yourself to start with (such as d6's or coins only) and see where that takes you.

Think as simply as possible: as few shades as possible. Strong, stronger, strongest. Fast, faster, fastest.

Then, when you're stuck, put away all of the mechanics and start imagining play sessions. Tell stories about games you will have/had. That will give you the feel and the mechanics will fit in. (It was the critical coin flip! We rolled a ton of dice! We talked our way out of it! The dog saved them all...again.)

tikey
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Mosker wrote:Tell stories

Mosker wrote:
Tell stories about games you will have/had. That will give you the feel and the mechanics will fit in. (It was the critical coin flip! We rolled a ton of dice! We talked our way out of it! The dog saved them all...again.)

That is fantastic advice! I'll keep it in mind for future projects.

Signature-Skitz
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That's some excellent advice.

That's some excellent advice. Thank you!

I do plan on keeping it simple. Maybe I should just post the URL for those that want to look?

I suppose there's no harm in people looking and then adding a reply on here.

tikey
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I skimmed over your rules and

I skimmed over your rules and it seems to be ok. Seems to be clear, not too overtly complicated.
I think what you need to do is to playtest a lot. Things might look great on paper but then you'll find out that in practice they don't pan out as expected. By playing you can check if the flow of the game is what you expect. I like that you are going for a dynamic game with the action and reaction points but I wonder if that system will hold up during play.
You can even do some solo play runs to get a feel or where the game is going.

My advice is to get the core of the game working and once you get a good game out of that you can go and add depth. For example character creation could have some limitations regarding wich upgrades can go next to other. Let's say you divide upgrades on typical RPGs atributes. So you have upgrades for speed, strenght, intelligence, energy and resistance so you can create a character focused on one stat using all the upgrades of the same type, or you can mix upgrades but with some limitations, like you can't put a speed upgrade next to a strenght upgrade and the strenght upgrade can't be next to an intelligence one.

This is something that was on top of my mind so take it just as an example it might be a terrible fit with your game.

So to sum up, playtest, playtest, playtest and improve.

Signature-Skitz
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I guess playtesting would be

I guess playtesting would be the best way to get some outside input. I'll see if some of my local friends are interested and I'll get some feedback.

Thanks, guys!

I'll update again once I get some more info!

tikey
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Don't forget that you can do

Don't forget that you can do a few solo runs. It's not the same but It'll help you get an overall feeling of how the game is shaping and anything that's not working will stand out anyway.

Signature-Skitz
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I've got an update! Last

I've got an update!

Last night I finally got some friends over and we had our first playtest of the game.

It's been a long time since I made this original post and I've been spending my time tweaking and updating the game. I've added quite a bit since then, to be honest.

Anyway, the test went great. I made custom character sheets, and printed out everything from the site. I had everyone read through the basic rules on their own and then start making characters. I had to answer a few questions at this point, but honestly nothing beyond what gets normally asked when someone is learning a new system.

Character creation was a blast. They really took their time and got really excited about what they were doing, especially the guy who had never had a pen and paper experience before. He went all in with his character. He made a centaur scientist named Clyde S. Dale. He got really into the skills. One of the other players made a big frankenstein like character with a mortar and called it Punchy. She tried to exploit any mistakes I made and discovered a few I've already had to fix. My wife was the last player and her reaction was great. She made a gunslinger insect like character and got super excited when she thought of the name Pistol Shrimp. She even started drawing her character!

Once we got into the game itself everything kept going smoothly. My players took advantage of their skills, found some exploits, and had fun. I won't get into too many details about it but it was a short game that I feel would fit nicely into a full campaign.

So yeah, I'm very stoked about this. I really think that with a little more work, I could get this thing up and running as a Megaman game easy. It'll take a little more work to get it where I want, as a core system that you can apply templates to, but I'm feeling good about where it is now.

Thanks for the help guys! After making this original post and seeing some of your replies, I got really into tweaking this game and getting ready for a true playtest. I'm pretty happy with how things are right now.

Stormyknight1976
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Thats awesome

Thats so cool to hear your family and friends are having a blast (pun intended) with your game system.

May try to incorporate storylines or levels from the first 3 games. Or from the Zero History or from Mega Man Legend. Bringing back levels in a asymetric feel other than platform would really get the players who they are trying to portray in your game.

I to created a fan fiction Mega Man series. Tons of new bosses, equipment weapons and characters. Even a new Mega Man character and Doctor Villian. This was back in 93.

If you want, I could send you my robot villians for your game seeing that some one else loves Mega Man as much as I do. I am not going back on that game design any time soon even though I have tons of info on my fan fiction. If you want to get some of the monsters and see where they would fit in your game, feel free to message me.

Long live Mega Man now called Mighty NO.9

Stormy

Signature-Skitz
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Stormyknight1976 wrote:Thats

Stormyknight1976 wrote:
Thats so cool to hear your family and friends are having a blast (pun intended) with your game system.

May try to incorporate storylines or levels from the first 3 games. Or from the Zero History or from Mega Man Legend. Bringing back levels in a asymetric feel other than platform would really get the players who they are trying to portray in your game.

I to created a fan fiction Mega Man series. Tons of new bosses, equipment weapons and characters. Even a new Mega Man character and Doctor Villian. This was back in 93.

If you want, I could send you my robot villians for your game seeing that some one else loves Mega Man as much as I do. I am not going back on that game design any time soon even though I have tons of info on my fan fiction. If you want to get some of the monsters and see where they would fit in your game, feel free to message me.

Long live Mega Man now called Mighty NO.9

Stormy

I would love to see that equipment and weapons! And your characters might give me some inspiration!

As for Mighty NO. 9? No way. It's not getting any more games after that disappointment. :P

Stormyknight1976
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Edited

Stormyknight1976 wrote:
Thats so cool to hear your family and friends are having a blast (pun intended) with your game system.

May try to incorporate storylines or levels from the first 3 games. Or from the Zero History or from Mega Man Legend. Bringing back levels in a asymetric feel other than platform would really get the players who they are trying to portray in your game.

I to created a fan fiction Mega Man series. Tons of new bosses, equipment weapons and characters. Even a new Mega Man character and Doctor Villian. This was back in 98

If you want, I could send you my robot villians for your game seeing that some one else loves Mega Man as much as I do. I am not going back on that game design any time soon even though I have tons of info on my fan fiction. If you want to get some of the monsters and see where they would fit in your game, feel free to message me.

Long live Mega Man now called Mighty NO.9

Stormy

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