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Original post by Iron Chef Carnage I'm not a big fan of "resetting" my character in an RPG. Suddenly becoming a level 1 vampire or werewolf would be annoying if the levelling process isn't really quick and intuitive. Having it be a failure condition on a quest (get beaten by vampires, become a vampire) would be annoying also, since many players would just reload an old save to avoid it and try again until they win. Secret unlockable player classes are cool, though. Just don't get too hung up on your writing and personal affection for the subject matter, since a designer who has a real hard-on for vampires might put together a shoddy, unpleasant vampire feature and be unable to properly review it because he thinks that the "zomg its vampires!" factor will carry the feature. So get to the bottom of it, and see if it'll be good in the abstract. If it'll work with a town full of lycanthropic werewolves, would it work with a town of vampires? How about a town of cyborgs that break you down and rebuild you as one of them? What if its a town of symbiotic ghosts, and you get possessed by a long0dead warrior? Radioactive spider-bite? Make sure it works.

I was thinking less of resetting the character. You keep what base stats, or whatever level you are at, but just continue as another race. Maybe unlock or lock more quests in the process.

Actually, I'm not a big fan of this subject at all. I'm more partial to the elves of anything(so what I know how to write Tengwar). But I have a few friends who really liked the idea of being able to have that choice in a game. I'm a heavy creative writer, so that tends to come out when it can(which is why it is written to sound attractive).

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Original post by Dasha @Kwizatz and sunandshadow: Thats nice that this sounds like another game, but how do you like the idea as either designers or players?

I like it, but it has to be well done, such a change should be backed up with the whole implications of it, if its meant just as a way to obtain abilities it would seem as an afterthought, you could get the same thing with a side quest for some sort of magic or item that grants those special abilities without changing something so drastically in the character IMO.

Ogre Battle 64 had an item like that, allowing to change one of your troops into a vampire. The character type absolutely sucked, but you could do it. Vampires & werewolfs are a little cliche, don't you think? Though I must confess, Fabels balverines (which are basically werewolves) were pretty awesome.

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Original post by jmau0438 Ogre Battle 64 had an item like that, allowing to change one of your troops into a vampire. The character type absolutely sucked, but you could do it. Vampires & werewolfs are a little cliche, don't you think? Though I must confess, Fabels balverines (which are basically werewolves) were pretty awesome.

Just as cliche as mages and elves. ;)
I think as long as they are used not as super humans who are better in every way, but balance them and treat them like any class, it could work well and make it not so obviously cliche.

werewolves vs vampires is popular culture right now, not much you could do to keep it from being cliche'

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Original post by GninjaGnome werewolves vs vampires is popular culture right now, not much you could do to keep it from being cliche'

True. But by the time anyone could bring out a game with this feature well implemented, the craze should have died down by then. One would hope anyways.

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Original post by mineralwasser Sounds like "The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind" with the "Bloodmoon"-Addon. You can become a vampire and a werewolf in there.

As a player, I appreciated the manner in which TES IV: Oblivion pulled off vampirism; you could contract a precursory disease accidentally when fighting vampires. By embracing it you would be granted varying advantages and disadvantages, or you could quest to remove it. A more in-depth explanation can be found on their wiki page.

It added a great deal of flavor, being potentially useful and definitely tactic-altering without making the player feel constrained to keep or rid themselves of their altered condition.

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Original post by Dasha You awake later to find yourself completely changed, ... then go off on your way to explore new lands. With proper warning, would you mind being bitten and having your character changed forever?

It seems to me that this would be a major fork in the game's story-line. If irreversible, I'm not sure what level of warning warning would be considered 'proper' and am sure that it would differ person-to-person. Another factor to be considered is where in the storyline this comes about. Such a choice fairly early on in a shorter game wouldn't be as much of an issue as one made with dozens invested hours at stake. (Lame pun not intended; sorry.)

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Original post by Dasha Quote: Original post by GninjaGnome werewolves vs vampires is popular culture right now, not much you could do to keep it from being cliche' True. But by the time anyone could bring out a game with this feature well implemented, the craze should have died down by then. One would hope anyways.

If you do it too soon, you'll get people saying, "Geez, again? Didn't we just get over this?"

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Original post by theOcelot Quote: Original post by Dasha Quote: Original post by GninjaGnome werewolves vs vampires is popular culture right now, not much you could do to keep it from being cliche' True. But by the time anyone could bring out a game with this feature well implemented, the craze should have died down by then. One would hope anyways. If you do it too soon, you'll get people saying, "Geez, again? Didn't we just get over this?"

Would they? Especially if it was only a side feature of the game? Its not something that would be expected of them. Just something new to explore in the game after you've beat it.

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Original post by Dasha Quote: Original post by GninjaGnome werewolves vs vampires is popular culture right now, not much you could do to keep it from being cliche' True. But by the time anyone could bring out a game with this feature well implemented, the craze should have died down by then. One would hope anyways.

I don't know, I'd like to think there are certain things that have timeless appeal. Werewolves seem like they've continued to find their way into popular culture one way or another. Werewolf: The Apocalypse, Underworld, Twilight, etc...
Not to mention their popularity with anthro enthusiasts, however small that population is among those that feed the game industry.