/agdg/ - Amateur Game Development General★

The Lunar games are good examples of JRPGs where the random encounters don't get mindlessly boring. Here is why I think this is so:

In the Lunar games, MP is a scarce resource. MP restore items are somewhat rare, and (at least in Lunar 2) you can't buy them at shops until you get to the final city, and then you can only buy the low-grade MP restore item. In each dungeon, you have to conserve enough MP so that you still have enough to beat the boss at the end, while killing random encounters quickly enough so that they you don't kill you.

It also helps that the battle system is turn-at-a-time, meaning that you lock in each of your characters' moves, and then everything is resolved based on the initiative order. Ideally, you try and coordinate your characters attacks so that a) you kill enemy monsters before they get a chance to attack, and b) don't waste MP by overkilling them. If you try and cut it too fine with the damage, the enemy might survive, and can deal fairly serious damage to your characters. This adds an element of risk/reward, which is always good.

You also need to pay attention to the enemy capabilities. Enemies will telegraph what attack they are doing that round, so if you learn their signals, you'll be able to prioritise targets better. If you know your enemies well enough, you will know what the exact turn order will be, how much it will take to kill each enemy, and which targets you need to take out first, and which ones you can leave til the next round. Since there are a number of different combinations and formations of enemies, and each enemy may choose a different attack in different battles, you must evaluate the situation each time, instead of relying on the same optimal strategy.

The Lunar games don't have much in the way of party customisation. Some people may not like this, but I don't think it's a bad thing. It allows for each of the characters to play a bigger role in the story, and it makes it easier for the devs to balance. This doesn't detract from the game much (IMO), because party customisation decisions typically only rarely, usually only in town and not in dungeons, where you spend most of the game.

Games are fun when you get to exercise your game-playing skills and make meaningful decisions. In the Lunar games, you exercise your game knowledge and resource management skills to make meaningful target-prioritisation decisions in each random encounter (the decisions are meaningful because even the random encounters can kill you if you make the wrong decision).

I hope that made sense.

Op here, though on mobile. I've picked up some good ideas here, so thanks a lot.

>>25009

>The decisions would come from stuff like "Is action A worth the cost in this scenario? Is action B worth using now or later?" I guess stuff like that.

I like Persona's system, where every attack outside your basic one costs either HP or SP. It makes you think "If I spend this much HP, will I survive the turn?" Or "If I spend SP here, will I have enough for the upcoming battles?"

>>25014

>Think type advantages in Pokemon, or the ability to dodge/counter in the Mario & Luigi series.

Mario and Luigi's counter only really works if you have a fixed party. My idea is to have you start with one, and eventually go up to four party members. Having that many tells for every enemy would be awkward, I feel. Even Paper Jam Bros had some trouble, so they made Paper Mario dodge differently.

Type atvantages seem doable, though. Maybe similar to Persona's weakness/null/strong system.

I also have in mind a system where you can, with careful maneuvering, dodge enemies on the overworld.

>>25034

> It should start out really challenging and the grinding aspect is tied directly to the difficulty: the more I grind, the easier the game is.

That's a given, but due to the nature of RPGs, enemies have to get harder as the game progresses. No battle should be impossible, unless you're severely underleveled or clearly not where you should be.

>>25042

>Making sure the attack animations look and feel nice goes a long way in keeping people engaged

That's not going to be easy, considering I'm shit at graphic design and sprite work, but I suppose I'll have to learn. Or just throw shit at a wall until something sticks.

>>25047

Having a fixed party won't really work with that. I might try that in a future project.

Also

>Devil Survivor

Great fucking taste, anon.

>>25071

>In the Lunar games, MP is a scarce resource. MP restore items are somewhat rare, and (at least in Lunar 2) you can't buy them at shops until you get to the final city, and then you can only buy the low-grade MP restore item.

I've been wondering how to pull this off well, as the game should not ever be impossible.

My game takes place in a sort of spooky/abandoned setting, so I though of Resident Evil/Silent Hill's system of having items be scattered around the world, but that would make them a limited resource. Considering the fact that battles are infinite, that would be a problem.

My solution was to introduce a store fairly early on, that only sells tier 1 healing/SP restore items at rediculous prices, encouraging players to both be conservative, and explore the world for hidden goodies.

>Enemies will telegraph what attack they are doing that round, so if you learn their signals, you'll be able to prioritise targets better.

That would be rediculously hard to pull off... But god damn, that's a really good idea.

Welp, the year or so I expected dev time to take has been doubled. But it'll be a better game as a result.

I've been writing a plot outline for the past couple of weeks. I'm liking what I have so far, and have roughly 2/3 of the story done.

Been reading up on musical theory as well, as that's been the toughest part.

If anyone has any other suggestions, I'd be glad to hear them. I came here to learn how to just, like, make game and so far it's been pretty good.