My goal is to create a very standard, single-player turn-based RPG.
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Any feedback would be appreciated!
then just make a computerized version of classic edition tabletop d&d rules and be done with it.
RPGs are about role playing - being someone else in some other world. To do that you need to simulate a world to play in. So you need to model how everything in the world works - combat, experience, magic, etc. Game mechanics are how one models these things. Modeling in simulations can be accurate or inaccurate. Which leads to game mechanics that are realistic and make sense, or game mechanics which seem contrived. Game mechanics are merely a way to simulate things in the world. As PCs become more powerful, the fidelity of such simulations can be increased. Now there's enough processor power for realtime combat. turn based simulation is no longer necessary. So turn based is not required, in fact its a sub-optimal game mechanic (way of modeling time in combat), which you only had to settle for when the PC couldn't do realtime combat, or when you were playing a tabletop rpg where realtime combat can't really be modeled at all - except as a turn based approximation of what you're trying to simulate.
loot - most rpg's model treasure / money in some form.
XP - most rpg's model the gaining of knowledge, skill , and experience over time. various means of modeling this include general xp, skill specific xp, classes, levels, and skills.
some games have classes, some have skills, some have both. some have xp, some have levels, some have both.
Story is not required in an RPG. the player actions define the story. any storyline in the game is basically an optional or mandatory quest.
Acting - the idea in role playing is to give the player the opportunity to behave as their character would. Whether they choose to do this is up to them. As dungeon master, its your job to set the stage and present the situation, its the player's job to act accordingly to their character.
(FYI: i've been playing RPG's for 38 years, and have been a ref and DM for 37 years).
Turn based battles - a less accurate way of modeling realtime combat, which is no longer necessary given the power of today's PCs.
Party - common, but purely optional.
Lone hero - do they mean "hard coded protagonist" (you play mario, and only mario, every time) or "no other party members" (character creation, but no henchmen).
as part of "role playing", its common to let the payer choose the role they wish to play. this leads to things like classes, or specialization in specific skills (like magic, sword, SMG, Communications, Heavy Weapons, or stealth) that let the player customize their character. other ways its done is letting them choose from a fixed set of hard coded characters, or no choice (in Zelda, you play Link!).
Exploration - pretty much all RPGs have this. You can't go places in the world without exploring (except for stuff like fast travel between hold capitals in skyrim). a typical dungeon romp includes exploration, even if you've cleaned out the dungeon before, you still need to explore it again to find new badguys that have re-populated it.
arena combat might be the only place where you don't explore. but then again, an arena combat only game might not even be considered a RPG.
you've determined your setting already:
"the seven countries of the world (each based on a particular element)."
it looks like you've opted for a mandatory main quest:
"the player's goal is to form a party and collect the most coins within 90 days"
now all you need to do is decide what you want to model in your world, and how to model it (select a mechanic).
the key is to remember that game mechanics are means of modeling things in a simulation. not an ends in themselves.
if you want a better model, lose arbitrary things like turn based, classes, and levels, and go with more accurate continuous (vs discreet) modeling such as realtime, skills, and xp in specific skills.
for some strange reason, folks seem to think that games are about game mechanics. and that good mechanics makes a good game, and if only i can find the right combo of game mechanics i'll have the next big hit.
games are simulations, good simulations (of something the player wants to do) make good games.
