P.S. Acharis, you are working on a medieval sim? So wish I could have been in on that, lol. Crazy history major here. Anyway, thanks.

More like finished (almost) working on it, preparing for the big release :) Then (probably) space empire builder I go :)

A practical tip: scale down, always scale down, find one core activity, polish it, make it fun

A practical tip: scale down, always scale down, find one core activity, polish it, make it fun

So true :D

I would also add to break the scaled down core into multiple pieces and work on them one by one.

Okay. So for the most part I think I know what I want. I am still in the conceptual stages, but it's a beginning. Any other feedback or help of any kind would be most welcome. Any comments, ideas, suggestions? Let me know. Thank you all thus far though!!

Question, and this may be a ridiculous one, but instead of having specific "classes" like they do in LOTRO or WOW, what if I were just to offer the player lots of spells to learn and have them create sort of a hybrid class based on what they choose to work with. Whether they choose to use healing and protective spells or melee combat and offensive spells? Or would that be too difficult to implement? Also I don't want to go in the Harry Potter direction and have houses, but I do think there should be some kind of competition amongst "students". Can anyone thinks of a similar system that would be easy to implement?

For classes, maybe do it like a school might, where you have "courses" with prerequisites, and get a "major" and maybe a "minor". Or try to pull off a dual major, except then you lose out on neat electives that don't fit into any particular major.

If you pass a course, you get a new spell/ability/stat boost, but there's a chance that you fail. (For example, your chance to pass might be based on your natural aptitudes, which maybe the player doesn't know. You spend a lot of your first year trying out different things to determine what you might be good at.) But there are things you can do to up your chances: like completing all the prerequisite courses, or buying the textbook, or studying at night. (Or you could spend that study time partying instead: risky for spell learning, but increases your bro network to give you allies later.)

Ah okay. That actually makes a lot of sense. I will try that with what I am currently trying to do. I see this going almost in a Mana Khemia sort of direction, which is not a bad thing. I certainly don't want this game to be rated E, but your idea is a good one and using Mana Khemia as sort of a model might work as well.

if I were just to offer the player lots of spells to learn and have them create sort of a hybrid class based on what they choose to work with.

The Elder's scroll series do that. There is no class, but skills that you chose to up or not to create your own class, in a way. So you might look at it for more informations :)

Or would that be too difficult to implement?

It depends on how you implement it :D (more seriously, I don't think it's more difficult than going with a class system)

Can anyone thinks of a similar system

You can think that house = race. Being in a house (race) give you bonus in some skills and "racial" advantages. For exemple, if you are in the Griffindor house you have a bonus in Charisma, and a bonus when you learn fire based spells. When in the Slytherin, you have a bonus in Cunning, and when learning poison based spells.

If you pass a course, you get a new spell/ability/stat boost, but there's a chance that you fail.

Nice idea, I liket it :D

that would be easy to implement?

Same answer that before :)

but I do think there should be some kind of competition amongst "students"

It would be more works, but having different quest for each "house" would be nice. And each quest you win, you gain new equipment for your quest, equipment that your enemies' house won't have.

increases your bro network

Ahahah, I'm not partying I'm increasing my bro potentiality and networking!

The neatest part of this game idea, I think, is the possibility to see all your magic school friends (and enemies!) ten or twenty years on, grown up and occupying roles in the larger society. And it matters who you were friends with, like maybe it's only members of your "faction" that can give you quests at the outset.

Like if you spend all your time in school hanging out with the "bad" kids and casting hallucinogenic Illusion spells on yourself, you start out in the adult world doing a lot of "underworld"-style quests for your old friends, until you slowly expand your social network to include new friends and get new quests. Or if you hung out in the library with the magic nerds, maybe your first quests are all ivory tower stuff, giving you powerful spells but leaving you woefully lacking in EXP.

.Hi,

Your idea for the story and school is intriguing. Very much to spark my interest. I am also working on a magic based game but unlike you i started with mechanics and stuff that makes it fun. If you want we can work together on this game. Let me know.

Interesting you should say that Valrus. I think the primary reason for choosing to do that is because it gives a player time to really develop their character. This idea brings forth some issues thought, as there would have to be age progression in the game, which may be a difficult aspect to manage. But the idea would be that every time a "student" finishes requirements for a "year", they woud get the chance to go into character creation and tweak their character. There would be default changes, but if a player did not like something in the default, they could change it, within reason.