You know what I miss? Old school turn based battles in RPGs. Not to say that there aren’t any games like that now, it’s just I haven’t been playing any games like that. Sometimes I like the pace of action games, rpg or otherwise, but lately I’ve been craving more at-your-own-pace style games.
And so we come to this. A turn based battling game feature touhou characters, in walfas style. Back in the days of Q-basic, the very first game I ever created and considered finished was a turn based battling game. Now I’m going back to my roots with all the knowledge I’ve acquired and am making another one.
Having experience in both making and playing such games, I’m fully aware of some weaknesses in this type of game. For example, there are a lot of times in RPGs where you simply want to skip random encounters unless you’re grinding for xp, and even that’s just a matter of doing basic fight commands. Also, make the battling too complex and regular battles end up too tedious and it too becomes boring for a different reason. Even in many MMORPGs, many people don’t like the grind. So what appeal does a game where battles is the main meat have?
First, we must look at the infamous grind. Grinding usually consists of trivial battles that still reward your character with advancement. Being able to wipe out enemies for xp with simply commanding everyone to do the Fight command isn’t particularly entertaining, but people do it anyway. Why? To tackle on the next challenge and progress the story. The key to getting rid of the grind is to provide players with a challenge that is “just right”. Anything too easy would be trivial, and anything too hard would provide a reason to grind. Though some people simply like to grind, so it may be better to just have all three difficulties there.
It’s not all just about difficulty. After all, if all you can do is fight or defend, it doesn’t matter what the challenge is, you’re still doing the same two things over and over again. So now we look at the next aspect of battle. Character skills are essential in these kinds of games. To keep things interesting, each character should have at least one or two skills that they can call their own. Perhaps it need not even be a skill, but rather a trait. Having a narcoleptic mage randomly fall asleep during battle may be frustrating to some, but certainly sets up for some unique battles.
In Magic: the Gathering, there is a saying that no two battles are ever the same. Magic is an excellent example of a turn based battle game, and it manages to be continously entertaining even without character advancement. The uniqueness of battles in Magic come from the fact that both you and your opponent draw a random set of spells each time. While this randomness successfully creates unique battles, it does also create some very frustrating ones. I personally don’t like betting my success on luck, but I still find Magic enjoyable. The question is, can you have a set series of skills and still have a unique battle each time?
I always keep these thoughts in mind as I design this game. I won’t say I’m being innovative, but rather, I’m exploring the boundries of such a game. What do you like about turn based battles? What do you hate about them?
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