Okay.So My team and I of thinking making an action rpg(in the vain of kingdom hearts but IMO better controls). We are at somewhat of delima regarding the setting. Oh and both would have multiplayer of some sort. Anyway, which would you rather play? 1: I was thinking the setting would an a tropical island,kinda similar to the one found in super mario sunshine or pokemon snap (that way we could use bright and stylized graphics and it would fit). The island would be kinda small, free roaming,and have alot of environment variety. I would also have an in depth tory. 2. Or we were thinking of doing something slightly simpler. The setting would be kind of like a dungeon game. Players could play through make their own dungeons(which are not really dungeons,just environment spaces, outdoors,bunches of themes ,all types of things etc.). I dont really think the story could be as in depth in this setting. So I need some feedback in terms of: Which ideas you like better? Which do you think would be more fun to play? Which one you think would be feasible to make? ow much would you pay for each?

One of my favourite essays is The Art of Computer Game Design by Chris Crawford where he talks about the goal and the topic.

In your case it sounds like you are trying to decide on the topic. However, I'm curious to what is the goal? Knowing that might make the decision for the topic more clear.

With the given amount of information, I can't really answer your questions. Either setting could make a great game.

It sounds like you've identified the first seems to provide a better story and is smaller and more focused. That might be a sign.

If you make your game tile-based and include some sort of map editor, you could actually do both and increase production value. Have main campaign that focuses on story and add a few scenarios. Rest is up to the players to mod.

Personally, I always prefer a good story over unlimited gameplay.

As for pricing, roughly 20$ is normal for an indie shareware game, anything more would require a good production value (acceptable graphics, long game, voice-overs, etc.).

Unless you can make a very high-quality map editor, I would go with a more linear, but incredibly deep story.

I'll have to second Hegemon's motion. Unforgettable Story > Unlimited Gameplay. And it's far easier to implement, especially for a small team.