I have two questions regarding a game concept I'm forming. Actually, I'll probably add more, but I figured I'd start with two.

First and foremost, I suppose I should state that this is an idea for an open-world RPG. They're where all of the energy that I spend often flows into. From Fallout 3, to Oblivion, to Dragon Age: Origins, to a multitude of others in the genre. I have a great love for these kinds of games and could easily see myself spending years on a project, and if other people are necessary to help me out, which I can see teamwork being a necessity after I get at least a basic game engine running, I could easily work in a team to get it done. If it does end up forming, I wouldn't label myself the "Leader" just the "Starter", because I'd want everyone to feel that their views are equally important and no one should not voice their opinion or get a choice to include something in a game. And if it's a bad idea, majority rule as well.

But, enough of my direct democracy, here are my current concept problems:

1. I don't know if I should plan on voice acting or not, and if so what form of it. What I'm highly considering is an advanced gibberish language in the game, and I really like making up languages. It'd obviously have subtitles to explain what the people are saying, and the voice actors would have to record a few times for different tones/personalities conveyed by the same phrase. But, in doing so, I could make the amount of actual spoken dialogue significantly smaller so voice acting wouldn't have to be such an issue. They could greet with the random gibberish, say a little bit of gibberish in the dialogue to convey emotions across, etc. It'd be very useful in that way.

However, voice acting would give a more... authentic feel to it. If people are listening to gibberish they're probably going to think of the Sims, which could be a good or a bad thing. I want to be able to convey a sense of seriousness in the voices, at least sometimes, and listening to somebody say "Anta-sa, kamaten fritsi!" for "Look, beautiful goods for sale!" may not convey the right way, you know? You could easily use the same phrase for "Best goods in all the land!", "Best goods in the city!", etc. You could use it multiple times without people hearing and reading conflicting words or having to record each and every line of dialogue...

Another option is having no voices at all and simply having text. However, I find that would probably be extremely annoying, since the voice is another instrument in which we use to convey and receive emotions.

Your own personal opinion on the matter would be great, I don't have any concept art entirely finished, but I want this game to convey a feeling of... well actually I have a phrase I keep going back to:

A game in which you can be and do nearly anything you want. Period. No questions asked. You want to be a noble by day and a master-thief by night? You can do it. You want to try to take over a city? Go ahead! Want to hunt down and experience rare and beautiful sights in this land? By all means, do as you wish.
It's your life to choose in this land, so start living![/quote]

Given that, how would you take voice-acting, or therefore lack of?

Which, keeping the same atmosphere in mind, what do you think of this magic system I have in mind?

It's a 3-word system that works in the way that the more words you learn, the more you can achieve. This will reward book-scroungers who go into the deep parts of libraries to find out more, to find out more root words. The word system works like this:

Strength-Form-Rootword

So, you could choose three words like... "Ant-Contant-Magmus" which would translate to: "Strong-Touch-Fire". It would enchant your weapon (or body) with the ability to deal a strong fire spell when you hit, so long as you have it active. I'm wondering if this would be too advanced, or if you think it would be possible. I'd have an experience system with that so the more you use the spells the stronger you can make them, and a whole entire system for spell failure in place. Nothing too advanced with any of them, but it would feel more like magic than "You can't cast that spell because it's too advanced." If it's above your level you may be able to pull it off (Would have to do with Luck and some form of Willpower), but it'll be much more tasking and you may collapse. If you don't pull it off, BOOM, internal magical explosion. Nothing lethal, unless you're trying to like... blow up a huge area or something, but you'd fall down, all of your magic would be drained, and you may take some damage. It would almost never happen at your own skill level, and below that is entirely safe, no mistakes, that's "baby stuff" to you now.

I'm wondering if this conveys enough of a sense of "Magic" rather than: go to a store and buy a spell (how is that even possible?) , casting rather works or it doesn't and you just have to click on an icon, or even worse you randomly gain skills by leveling without having any previous knowledge that you could do that with magic.

I also want people to choose a simple: Magic or No Magic for their character. It's a rare skill in this land, and all people won't exactly all treat you well if you're a mage. There are ups and downs to it.

With that aside, I'm wondering what you think of a few more of my ideas?

How Advanced is TOO Advanced when it comes to socializing and communication in-game?

In Fable, you can use social skills, and I liked that idea. I think it'd be a great gameplay mechanic if done right. Make your character scream in terror, strong/brave people or people with high dispositions to you come running and one or two ask you what's wrong. You could say something along the lines of "I'm in danger!" "Follow me!" "I was attacked." or you could just stay silent with a "..."

I was thinking about this, and I think it would work well if you had, what I'd like to call, an "Air" or an "Aura" about you, and the actions you can use would be effected by each "Air". So with a scared "Air" equipped your running animation would be more frantic, your character can scream for help or just plain scream in terror, etc.

If you're mad, you can Punch/Slap, grumble, stomp around, scream angrily, and other things. I think it'd work pretty well if I gave people a multitude of options without getting too deep into it. Unless I'm already far too deep? I'm the kind of person who can find a creative solution in coding to find a way to make something I want work, so I'm not too worried about it, to be honest.

More interactions: Make yourself laugh evilly while walking towards a person, and brandishing a black robe and a staff made of bones, the person may just take off running. Slap someone across the face, start a fight. Etc. Do what you want to people and make them feel LESS LIKE MENUS. I can't stand how plastic and fake all of the NPCs in games seem, I want to make leaps and bounds in that category. Some games have, I want to try it out on my own.

I have a huge text file on character creation, as well as a drawn-out concept as to how it'll work. So I think I'm pretty fine in that category. But I have a few questions about it.

If you're playing a game in which it's supposed to be you forming a place in this world and doing what you want to do, how do you feel about Background Options?

I'm flipping between wanting them, and not wanting them, and here's what I've got so far:

• Genetic Background (Sub-Race choices. Effects availabilities in Body/Face Creation choices, as well as some background choices) Now, in this world I have a bunch of different races. There are people who look like plenty of different things, and come from all over. Pointed ears don't equate to how "mystical" your race is, it's simply an ear shape. There are a people of nomadic desert warriors with pointed ears, and they're huge and scary. Not like elves at all, I'm trying to steer away from it being the stereotypical races and the like, so I'm wondering is sub-races would be a good option to include or not. In the current world information I have, for instance, a race called Dolics look a lot like Ralics, but they're less tall and have a specific eyebrow shape. But they're generally both "Human".
• Family Ancestry (Huge bonus if you don't know where your ancestors come from, the more affluent the less points you get) (Different items/clothing/starting money for people of different family histories)
• *Known Skills (Combat Skills, Magical Skills (if any magical ability), Crafting Skills, Social Skills, The Arts (sub-categories: Music, Dance & Acting (ties into Social Skills), Writing, more), Training Effectiveness, Sneakiness, more)
• Past Deeds/Offenses (Murder, Theft, Service in the Military, Priesthood, etc.)
  * Means that it gets its own point system, independent of the "Whole" Point system.
  
  To prevent people from creating a "super-human" I was thinking that I can make a point-system in which they're limited to what they can do. So they can't be a super-wealthy king, a talented magician, a huge powerful warrior, a people-person, a master-thief, hyper-attractive, graceful, and perfect in every other way shape and form. If they're going to be having some major high points, they may just have to have some major low-points to achieve them.
  
  What do you think about all of this?
  
  I know it sounds grandiose and probably not to well thought-out, but I'm dedicated to doing this and I'll spend years if I have to.
  
  Thank you so much for reading! I know this is long, sorry about that.
  
  I believe I have the creativity to be able to make this work once I buckle down and get to making the engine, I just want to know if I'm dreaming too big with all of these features?
  
  Also, some feedback on my ideas would be great.

Voice Acting:

If you haven't already, go play Morrowind, and compare with Oblivion. While much of the conversation is still very generic and copy-pasted, there is a much greater sense of interaction in Morrowind. Not having every line voice acted allows a lot more different conversation options.
The voice acting in Oblivion received a lot of criticism - many gamers found that everyone sounding the same was more jarring than if no-one said anything at all. Also bear in mind that voice acting costs money, and takes up disc space...

Magic:

I am a big fan of complexity in games, and therefore I'd say make it as complicated as you like! There is a caveat: the game should still be reasonably accessible to those who don't want to put the time in to learn the intricacies. For example, you could develop the system so the player can simply purchase or find pre-designed spells, and use those - but a more dedicated player who is prepared to put the time in to learn the system can also develop his own, perhaps more inventive and powerful spells.

Background Options:

One thing that I felt was missing from the Bethesda games was a real sense of background - with the exception of Fallout 3 where it's predetermined, you start (usually in prison) without any kind of back story. I think something like this would be a good addition for the RPers out there.

Dreaming Big:

If you are not already a fairly experienced game developer, then yes you most likely are dreaming far, far too big. And if you were an experienced game developer, you would not have needed to ask that question

I would strongly recommend working on some small, simple games first, test out some of your ideas and gain an understanding of some of the issues you are likely to face, both in terms of implementing your ideas, and implementing games in general. How about a simple proof of concept game to test out your magic system? A simple magic duel game where you face a number of increasingly powerful opponents and have to destroy them using magic. Graphics can be simple or even non-existent (could even be text based) for example. Completing a simple game, even if it's completely unrelated to your ultimate goal, will probably be a far better use of your time (you will learn more, and achieve more) than trying to jump in at the deep end and start a project that is overambitious.

I would also strongly recommend avoiding making a game engine. You could spend several years on that alone, and never get near making the actual game. The ideas you have here are quite ambitious even with an off-the-shelf engine, to start with your own engine from scratch is madness and is very likely to doom you to failure. I would definitely look into something like Unity 3D, Unreal Engine or Torque (to name but a few engines that spring to mind).

In any case, good luck!

I believe I have the creativity to be able to make this work

Creativity does not make games, it is hard work that makes games. The people with enough creativity to make a game are like sand on the desert. The problem is that very few of them are willing to work hard enough

Voice Acting:

If you haven't already, go play Morrowind, and compare with Oblivion. While much of the conversation is still very generic and copy-pasted, there is a much greater sense of interaction in Morrowind. Not having every line voice acted allows a lot more different conversation options.
The voice acting in Oblivion received a lot of criticism - many gamers found that everyone sounding the same was more jarring than if no-one said anything at all. Also bear in mind that voice acting costs money, and takes up disc space...

Magic:

I am a big fan of complexity in games, and therefore I'd say make it as complicated as you like! There is a caveat: the game should still be reasonably accessible to those who don't want to put the time in to learn the intricacies. For example, you could develop the system so the player can simply purchase or find pre-designed spells, and use those - but a more dedicated player who is prepared to put the time in to learn the system can also develop his own, perhaps more inventive and powerful spells.

Background Options:

One thing that I felt was missing from the Bethesda games was a real sense of background - with the exception of Fallout 3 where it's predetermined, you start (usually in prison) without any kind of back story. I think something like this would be a good addition for the RPers out there.

Dreaming Big:

If you are not already a fairly experienced game developer, then yes you most likely are dreaming far, far too big. And if you were an experienced game developer, you would not have needed to ask that question

I would strongly recommend working on some small, simple games first, test out some of your ideas and gain an understanding of some of the issues you are likely to face, both in terms of implementing your ideas, and implementing games in general. How about a simple proof of concept game to test out your magic system? A simple magic duel game where you face a number of increasingly powerful opponents and have to destroy them using magic. Graphics can be simple or even non-existent (could even be text based) for example. Completing a simple game, even if it's completely unrelated to your ultimate goal, will probably be a far better use of your time (you will learn more, and achieve more) than trying to jump in at the deep end and start a project that is overambitious.

I would also strongly recommend avoiding making a game engine. You could spend several years on that alone, and never get near making the actual game. The ideas you have here are quite ambitious even with an off-the-shelf engine, to start with your own engine from scratch is madness and is very likely to doom you to failure. I would definitely look into something like Unity 3D, Unreal Engine or Torque (to name but a few engines that spring to mind).

In any case, good luck!

Thank you so much for responding and offering your input, it really means a lot. I've been looking into starting with Unreal Engine, and I have it downloaded and am currently getting some tutorials to help me through the starting process.

Also, hank you so much more that magic comment as well, I didn't think about a more simplistic option at first for people who might appreciate more simplicity!

I may just go with your idea and work out the systems first, that was my original intention to begin with.

[quote name='Martut' timestamp='1297120713' post='4771105']I believe I have the creativity to be able to make this work

Creativity does not make games, it is hard work that makes games. The people with enough creativity to make a game are like sand on the desert. The problem is that very few of them are willing to work hard enough
[/quote]

Thank you for this, it was very inspiring.

I know it sounds grandiose and probably not to well thought-out, but I'm dedicated to doing this and I'll spend years if I have to.
I believe I have the creativity to be able to make this work once I buckle down and get to making the engine, I just want to know if I'm dreaming too big with all of these features?

Since you had to ask: yes, you are. But so what? I assume you're going to try anyway.

I only read the title, but the answer is yes.

It's not necessarily the amount of features the game has that might make it too difficult for you to make. It is the complexity of all those features - how they work together, to be more precise - that will work against you.

If you are a good enough programmer and you take your time at first to create a well-thought system of how things will work and in which order to create each and every thing, you will eventually succeed.

But don't expect to have a playable game (even if unfinished) too soon. If you're only motivated by quick results, you'll fail to finish the project.

Oh, and by the way, if you plan on doing it all by yourself, think again.

In a book on game design that I am currently reading, the author makes a very good point regarding voice acting. That is that sometimes it distracts from the experience. He advocates allowing the player to use their imagination wherever possible. The player will imagine what each character sounds like. If a crappy implementation voice acting is the only alternative, it is probably better to just let the user fill in the blanks themselves. Just think about the success of the older Final Fantasy games. They were still able to draw the player into a fantasy world without using voice acting and I doubt the player even noticed that the lack of voice acting.

For what it's worth, i would actively avoid a game with voice acting. I find it annoying. It is, almost by definition, repetitive and unrealistic, and usually bad. Heck, even Leonard Nemoy's voice acting in Star Trek online was annoying and he's not only a great actor but has been playing that role for decades. A game would have to have some pretty darn good other features to attract me to it if I hear it has voice acting. Text is much more expressive because it uses the power of the player's own imagination.

Thanks everyone for posting and expressing your viewpoints!

I'm interested in game design, not because I want to quickly make a game and get it out and gain approval from people it's sort of an... artistic endeavor of mine, if you'll call it that. I originally wrote a whole, much longer, original post about the reasons why I'm interested in game design, and much of my motivation behind it. The ability to create worlds, although artificial, is a mind-blowing and interesting concept to me that I'd like to give a try.

I hate to complain, and I mean really really hate to complain, because I'd hate to make anyone angry, but I felt like there was some pessimism or at least some negative viewpoints directed at me simply because I was new to all of this. I'd like to think of myself as an intelligent, creative, and motivated person with a healthy dose of common sense. I know that I won't be able to do this alone if I want it to be what I want it to, nor do I have any delusions stirring in my mind that make me think I'm better than everyone else and that only my opinion and drives matter. The truth of the matter is I've been doing this for a long time, just not in anything advanced. I created many things for my siblings and cousins at the age of 10 using Game Maker, I made some simple things in various game engines and had a total-conversion well underway for the Oblivion engine before my CD stopped working. I have plenty of experience with texturing, 3D modeling, various (but non-applicable) scripting languages, concept art creation, etc.

I figured it wouldn't make sense to add all of those things because it didn't apply to Game Design, but now I see that a lacking of explanation gives people a pretty negative outlook on you, which I should have predicted because I too have seen, and even been, that excited young kid on a forum thinking that they could somehow make the best game in the universe. I'm more mature than that now, and for giving that impression I'm truly sorry.

I came back to ask for recommended engines for an Open-World style game. While at first you may think that I should use what I can to create those games displaying the concepts of what I want, like an artwork I need a medium. You can't start with sculpting clay and then pick up a pencil to make your masterpiece, and in a similar method I can't start with one game engine only to move to another one when I want to start to actualize this dream.

I have very basic experience with UDK, none with Unity or Torque, from ones that were mentioned earlier. I downloaded Unity, but it seemed very... simplistic, at least from what I experienced. I don't know which engine I should choose to get working on some of these concepts, but be able to keep the experience I gained to apply it.

I'm highly considering UDK, and I'm currently reading tutorials. What appeals to me about it is the level streaming, which I could use for indoor and outdoor environments so that all that's outdoors wouldn't have to be rendered while you're indoors. But can UDK be used to create a large open-world style game? From what I've seen it seems possible, but would it be able to handle a very large, or at least moderately sized world?