Fox Eye - Magical/Techno Blend character or Magical outcast.

While the above is independent to the followings, the followings is a game base on the concept above:

Thirteen Tails (mp3):

Synopsis:
After being mysteriously summoned to a world with magics and technologies, the player was rescued by one of the Mephelises (Thirteen Tails). The player will meet other Mephelises, and uncover mysteries through a series of action-packed, multi-scenario adventure. In addition to intense combat, the gameplay also features intriguing puzzles and deeply developed npcs that are romanticizable.

Features:
- Rich world-building featuring magics, technology, and the blending of the two, with intriguing mystery behind the origin of the races;
- Thirteen outcasts from the magicals and techno races, with profound, ironic, and moving reasons for their exiles;
- Deeply developed characters that allows romantic interactions;
- Many branches of magics and technologies to learn and combine;
- Magical and techno 'pets' to raise, which give unique abilities as they morph;
- Customizable player character;
- Mystery of where the player character comes about, and the mystery behind the spiritual race;
- Abilities, pets, and some items are retainable in game+.

Notes:
- The thirteen tails are 'pre-spirituals'. Depending on how the player plays, the player will learn a different perspective about the tails, and each tail will become a good or bad spirituals in different endings.
- Tails that had turn into good or bad spirituals will affect the gameplay in game+.

[Edited by - Estok on December 1, 2004 3:50:06 PM]

Estok - Umm... what relation is that supposed to bear to the game we're designing?

Avatar God - Do you think you could add that donation link to the webpage sometime in the next few days? wickeddelight@cox.net is my username.

Everybody - Well, thanksgiving effectively derailed voting on titles last friday, so how about we move it to this friday? Is anyone planning on adding some more suggestons before we vote?

Quote: Original post by sunandshadow
Estok - Umm... what relation is that supposed to bear to the game we're designing?

Why is it irrelevant?

Quote: Original post by Estok

Quote: Original post by sunandshadow
Estok - Umm... what relation is that supposed to bear to the game we're designing?

Why is it irrelevant?

It's kinda halfway relevant because it's at least the right type of game as far as the worldbuiling, mysteries, and character interaction are described. But where did the 13 tails and raising pets come from? How cheesy and derivatively Japanese. :P And we certainly don't want all RNPCs to be either outcasts or on the way to becoming spirituals - we want characters with a variety of personality types, and that setup and ending are only appropriate to a few personality types.

Quote: Original post by sunandshadow
But where did the 13 tails and raising pets come from?

They are both from you.

The thirteen tails is from the idea that there is something common about the spirituals. In your case it is tendrils. In this case it is tails. And there are many forms of tails, some are physical and visible, some are abstract and metaphorical. For beginners, there is the foxy tail, easily identifiable.

The raising pets part is derived from this in the initial survey:

Quote: mini-game about breeding animals and/or growing plants - s/s

Quote: And we certainly don't want all RNPCs to be either outcasts or on the way to becoming spirituals

I do not think that the RNPC are limited to the 13 tails. It is okay either way. In fact, instead of an actual gang of thirteen outcasts, the 13 tails should not actually know one another in the beginning of the game. Some may be rivals of each other, some may not be outcasts. The PC can gather them and unite them for a common cause. However, the idea that they are candidates to become spirituals is essential. The 13 tails are not the intuitive candidates to become spirituals. They are all black horses, and non of their goals are to become spiritual. It retains the idea that spirituality cannot be reached if it is sought intentionally. The thirteen tails are able to become spirituals because they do not try to fit themselves with the common forms, but to follow their own spirits.

Quote: We want characters with a variety of personality types, and that setup and ending are only appropriate to a few personality types.

What personality types are excluded?

There are many reasons that an individual is stigmatized or misunderstood by the society. The reasons that they are rejected are independent to their personalities. If being an outcast limits the personalities, it is still a fair tradeoff for protraying what the society rejects, and how these outcasts rise above their counterparts reaching spirituality.

In the first game run, the player may not be able to meet all thirteen of them. However, as the player tries different options and play different tails (in different game runs), the player will be able to piece together the events in the whole game world, and figure out how to get all of the tails in the same run or a particular configuration.

After the player finishes a game run that leads to a tail becoming a spiritual, in game+ the player is able to choose a corresponding alternate beginning that allows the PC to meet other tails.

Directly role-playing the thirteen tails would also be a viable option. The player can select one of them to start the game with, and depending on the development other tails are added to the party.

Back on p. 26 I mentioned the idea of Bunny as the major villain. I didn't pursue the idea then because I didn't have a good idea of how to implement it, but inspiration came to me while I was half-asleep (as inspiration often does) so I thought I'd write it up.


3.3.1. Name - Bunny
3.3.1.1. Type of Love – Manipulative (Non-possessive)
3.3.1.2. Story Role – Major Villain
3.3.1.3. Race – Techno
3.3.1.4. Gender – Hermaphrodite
3.3.1.5. Appearance – Bunny is the most blatantly sexy of the characters. Sie is lithe with elaborate hair, caring eyes, kissable lips, long eyelashes, makeup, and perfect skin. Bunny dresses to impress, with revealing clothing to show off hir tattoos and techno accessories. For a reference image see the character Jae from the manga _Model_.
3.3.1.6. Personality and Motivation – Bunny is fascinated by people and studies them through topics such as folklore, psychology, and researching rumors about spirituals. Sie finds something interesting and attractive in everyone and consequently is willing to sleep with anyone; at the same time sie looks at hir lovers somewhat distantly, as if they are instruments for hir to play, not equals sie might give hir own heart to. Bunny is not at all possessive of hir lovers and sometimes worries that this means sie does not care for people enough. But sie is not cold-hearted, sie does love hir lovers and friends and is very nurturing; whenever sie sees someone in pain sie wants to “kiss it and make it better”. One of hir hobbies is to visit the techno kindergarten and play with the children there, and hir fondest memories are of being a child there hirself. Hir other hobbies are people-watching at the mall, dabbling in different kinds of art, and reading/viewing books, movies, and other entertainments (remember that these are all of the indie/fanfiction variety since there is no longer a publishing or movie industry).
3.3.1.7. Dialect and Speech Quirks – Talks to hirself. Tends to give spontaneous lectures, especially about folklore and people's motives and personalities, including hir own.
3.3.1.8. Backstory and Personal History – Prior to the beginning of the game Bunny visited the magical village to study their culture's different mythological perspective on the spirituals. While there, sie adopted/recruited Skew.
3.3.1.9. Abilities – In addition to commanding robots and other technologies, Bunny uses hir body and knowledge of psychology to taunt, charm, distract, confuse, and cause other status ailments.
3.3.1.10. Clothing – Sexy and revealing with lots of cutouts, towards the extreme end of the techno spectrum. Probably includes a corset and platform sandals or boots.
3.3.1.11. Weapon – In addition to the techno robot soldiers, psychology, holograms(?)
3.3.1.12. Purposes – Non-possessiveness, Manipulation Ethics, Sensuality and sleeping around issues, Techno satisfied with techno culture.
3.3.1.13. Possible Changes During the Plot – Bunny is Skew's friend, might get involved as a strategic adviser to Follow's crossdressing, and should talk about philosophy with the PC, trying to persuade him/her to join the villains' side.

what animal traits does Skew have?

Quote: Original post by Estok
what animal traits does Skew have?

Only the fact that he has back and white patches including the odd-colored eyes. I figured that was odd-looking enough without adding anything else. Also, for the human PC to be mistakeable as a magical, the magicals can't all have an obvious animal trait. But I'm open to other suggestions.

Quote: Original post by Estok

Quote: Original post by sunandshadow
But where did the 13 tails and raising pets come from?

They are both from you.

The thirteen tails is from the idea that there is something common about the spirituals. In your case it is tendrils. In this case it is tails. And there are many forms of tails, some are physical and visible, some are abstract and metaphorical. For beginners, there is the foxy tail, easily identifiable.

Bleh. Sounds like earning martial arts belts or something. Way too mechanical and makes all the characters seem less unique. My goal in suggesting the tendrils was to give the already-transcended spirituals a VISUAL unifying element, I didn't want to make them part of the story. I also think tendrils are better than tails becuse tails are too natural, while tendrils are more spiritual, and should hopefully make the viewer think of ley lines and auras and other such visualizations of spiritual energy.

The raising pets part is derived from this in the initial survey:

Quote: mini-game about breeding animals and/or growing plants - s/s

Oh. Well, your description made me think of pokemon and monster rancher and azure dreams, etc, while what I had in mind writing that was that the breeding would be like a puzzle game, and the special mutants you bred would be like money, tradeable for other special stuff. If we did want to put an animal-breeding mini-game in, I would suggest making it part of the human settlement, such that access to the mini-game was something you earned by building up the settlement, then you could use the mini-game to fund further building.

Quote:
However, the idea that they are candidates to become spirituals is essential. The 13 tails are not the intuitive candidates to become spirituals. They are all black horses, and non of their goals are to become spiritual. It retains the idea that spirituality cannot be reached if it is sought intentionally. The thirteen tails are able to become spirituals because they do not try to fit themselves with the common forms, but to follow their own spirits.

Just so you know, the phrase is "dark horses", not black horses. I disagree with the idea that spirituality cannot be sought intentionally - in the taoist tradition spirituality can ONLY be sought intentionally, by fasting, meditation, and studying philosophy. You were the one who said you didn't want to do anything with destiny - would't being a tail be like being destined to becme a spiritual? Anyway, I don't like the idea that they should all become spirituals at all. As I said, becoming a spiritual is not right for some personalities, and I definitely don't want the player to get the idea that becoming a spiritual is THE good ending - in many ways choosing to remain mortal and live life fully is a better choice, and certainly more appropriate to some of the characters. Plus, the game would be so boring to play if the charaters' stories all ended up the same, don't you think? It defeats the whole purpose of the player needing to study each character to fix their unique problems in creative, individual ways. Skew, for example, is essentially passionate - it would destroy his idenity to transform him into a non-pasionate spiritual. What he lacks in the backstory is love, family, and respect from his community, so that's what he needs to get for his good ending.

As for all the RNPCs being outcasts, don't you recall the other team members saying just a little while ago that some of the characters needed to be normal? And I agree with them it is inneffective to show Follow being unhappy with techno society unless we also show Bunny being happy with the same society.

Quote: Original post by sunandshadow

Quote: Original post by Estok
what animal traits does Skew have?

Only the fact that he has back and white patches including the odd-colored eyes. I figured that was odd-looking enough without adding anything else. Also, for the human PC to be mistakeable as a magical, the magicals can't all have an obvious animal trait. But I'm open to other suggestions.

What kinds of traits are obvious and what kinds are not?