The Grand Battle Video Game (and Soundtrack) Discussion
11-12-2011, 05:36 AM(This post was last modified: 03-24-2012, 04:38 AM by Not The Author.)
THE GRAND BATTLE (The Video Game)
I figured why the hell not make a thread. We talked about it at length in the IRC, so if anyone wants to fiddle with this idea feel free. Remember, this is a discussion thread! Feel free to offer new ideas, argue for or against existing ones, and... y'know, discuss things.
This post is reserved for how the game will ideally work: features, mechanics; in essence, The Big Picture. The information contained herein is liable to change, though if it's in this post it's probably a good idea.
High Concept
Several beings of varying origin and ability are forced to fight through a series of environments that change as they die off.
Game Summary
Adventure RPG (a la Mass Effect, The Elder Scrolls, Fallout 3, etc)
Real-time, 3rd-person
Real-time combat? Turn-based? Instanced?
Realistic or semi-realistic art style (?)
3D? 2D?
Equal focus on Conversation, Combat, and Exploration (individual characters may have a preference)
Proposed Features
All classic characters playable (include Non-canons? Unlock requisites?)
Branching dialogue system (again, like Mass Effect) for ease of being a huge asshole, but only to some people
Custom character/Grandmaster/round creator/generator (how would this even)
Mode: Grand Battle ("canon" set-ups, or a "campaign mode" of sorts; would probably need to play through these to unlock other modes of play)
Mode: Custom Battle (Pick the contestants, pick the Grandmaster, pick the Rounds - or just set everything to random, if you're The Organizer prefer)
Mode: Grand Clusterfuck (This would be a very late unlock - throws all characters and rounds into a single long-ass battle)
Mode: Big Fite (Everyone (else?) is a god-moder)
Here's a list of all the shit everyone else already thought of, in no particular order:
Show Content
Spoiler<DragonFogel> I think the way the hypothetical game would work is, you'd pick a character, then the battle would start in Round One.
<DragonFogel> There would be multiple paths through each round, and depending on which path you took, you'd fight a different character as the round boss.
<DragonFogel> And the battles would be different depending on which round you fought the character in.
<DragonFogel> (Hence the Grand Battle tracks, for the toughest battles with each character.)
<DragonFogel> The only question is how you'd translate battles with fewer than seven rounds to that system.
<DragonFogel> (Or "Ninth Contestants".)
<Anomaly> sequential boss fights
<Anomaly> naturally
<NotTheAuthor> I keep imagining it as an RPG (It already is, derp)
<NotTheAuthor> Where you'd have that sort of generalized response system
<NotTheAuthor> A la Mass Effect
<NotTheAuthor> I think
<NotTheAuthor> You wouldn't level up
<NotTheAuthor> But events would give you "mementos" which would alter your stats or moves
<PickYerPoison> Fight Kracht
<PickYerPoison> "Oh god it's psycho mantis all over again"
<PickYerPoison> "/He knows my moves/"
<Anomaly> how do you even fight a character like the convolution
<MrGuy> Make people stop thinking about it.
<Anomaly> SUDDENLY, PROPAGANDA SIMULATOR
<DragonFogel> I'm kind of thinking along the lines of the Prinny games; the way those work is you have six stages, but the stages and their bosses change depending on the order you visit them in.
<DragonFogel> Except the stage order doesn't change, just what you do in each stage.
<DragonFogel> I was thinking about a thing with a battle against Scott.
<DragonFogel> Every so often, another Scott with a lower health meter would pop in.
<DragonFogel> The game would be hard-coded to stop the other Scott's health from going below that point.
<DragonFogel> When his health hits that point, he disappears.
<Pinary> You'd also have bits where he just vanishes for a bit
<DragonFogel> Then at low health he vanishes for like a minute, and then a whole slew of Scotts show up.
<MrGuy> You'd basically need crowd control abilities to stand a chance.
<MrGuy> Although come to think of it, most GradMass characters do have skills that translate well to crowd control.
<TimeothyHour> Kratch's theme would probably some familiar tune played backwards
<MrGuy> You know who'd be an incredibly annoying fight for most characters
<MrGuy> Ouroborous
<Godbot> ouros would make a good boss that you can only beat with a special item that they don't tell you about
<MrGuy> Hahaha, Holly would probably be a bullshit fight
<MrGuy> She'd just keep pulling new attacks out of nowhere
<MrGuy> ( because I am an awful writer )
<Schazer> I imagine
<Schazer> depending on the round boss
<Schazer> levels are either puzzle-y or action-y
<Authorange> There are lots of characters who don't transition well into RPG form
<Authorange> Like Convy and Getsalt and Vyrm'n and Simphonia and so on and so on
<NotTheAuthor> Convy's a Summoner
<MrGuy> Convy'd be a fight against a shitload of mooks, I imagine
<MrGuy> Maybe a few minibosses
<TimeothyHour> But you can't kill convie
<DragonFogel> Yeah but you can't exactly give him a health meter as a playable character.
<MrGuy> That's true.
<TimeothyHour> unless you kill the /ideas/ of the convolution
<Sanzh> I think fighting Convy'd be a conversation boss
<NotTheAuthor> Gestalt would have a wider range of Mementos to collect, and his moves would change with the terrain
<DragonFogel> Gestalt would be able to select an object and add it to him.
<Anomaly> Quantos (or Time Cailrinn if you do things in the right order) would probably be a fight through TIME ITSELF
<Schazer> so basically, you've got minimum eight playthroughs of any one game
<MrGuy> Nine on some!
<Anomaly> and probably a lot more
<Authorange> Anyway there's lots of characters that are like "How the heck do you kill this dude"
<Authorange> But the writers always come up with something
<DragonFogel> Arnold Scarlet would probably be a miniboss in Round One on GradMass no matter what.
<DragonFogel> Unless you were allowed to play with him.
<MrGuy> Arnold Scarlet would basically be an instant win if you could unlock him
<MrGuy> And as a miniboss, it'd probably just be "survive until he's dragged away by a spear through the stomach"
<NotTheAuthor> Ooh
<NotTheAuthor> I know
<NotTheAuthor> You pick the Grandmaster, too
<NotTheAuthor> The stages wouldn't be set in stone
<NotTheAuthor> But each GM would tend to prefer certain environments
<NotTheAuthor> And people like The Controller would be more prone to Bullshit Twists
<NotTheAuthor> (That would be an actual stat they have)
<NotTheAuthor> ("Bullshit Twist %")
<Authorange> You can't pick Organizer on your first run
<Authorange> There's nothing for him to model things after
<NotTheAuthor> Organizer is the "Random" option
<NotTheAuthor> But you'd have to unlock him by unlocking enough other GMs
<Schazer> I imagine some enemies plotwise you'd consign to someone else to kill
<Schazer> or have to stall them until the envrionmental hazard dropped
<MrGuy> Do a no damage run, you get to fight the grandmaster
<MrGuy> They are all but impossible to beat
<Anomaly> nah Guy
<Anomaly> you just have to do things in a very specific manner
<MrGuy> Actually, maybe it varies from GM to GM
<MrGuy> I know Heddy would probably be disappointed with a no damage run
<MrGuy> ( "That was way too easy! CRUMB FETCH MY SCIMITAR" )
<Sanzh> Guy you could prolly grind the Apprentice to a meaty pulp
<Anomaly> The Grand Battle you can probably get the best ending by actually succeeding in the Library of Lies puzzle thing and killing the Director
<Anomaly> it occurs to me that GB1 would have a "normal" round 6 as opposed to the Library
<Anomaly> since that wasn't exactly supposed to be a round
<Schazer> Noms: Only if you play as Nathan
<Anomaly> i don't remember exactly what happened
<Anomaly> how'd they end up in the Library anyway
<Anomaly> something with the demon?
<Schazer> Nathan done got possessed by a demon which acquried Battleopolis' key
<NotTheAuthor> Yeah, Natty made a wish
<Anomaly> oh, right
<NotTheAuthor> And they got sent somewhere helpful for killing The Wreck
<Anomaly> well i suppose if you kill Nathan before round 5 you also wouldn't go there
<Schazer> and then yeah he used the key to send them "somewhere they could find a way to defeat the Director"
<Schazer> which was his library
<DragonFogel> The Subconscious wasn't intended as the final round either, for that matter.
<Schazer> it's either that or Nathan dies Round 5, regardless of who you play as (unless you're playing Nathan)
<Anomaly> i'd assume that the Library would basically be a secret round or something
<Anomaly> so would the subconscious
<Anomaly> have to do things correctly to unlock them
<DragonFogel> Now this is sounding more or less like an adventure game with battles in it.
<Anomaly> an adventure game with battles in it would be fitting
<NotTheAuthor> Adventure-RPGs, yeah
<NotTheAuthor> Fallout, Mass Effect
<MrGuy> Yep
<NotTheAuthor> Half the game would be Not Fighting
Woffles Wrote:Terribly disappointed that Battle!! Xeno Photon is not from anything Naruto.
If a song for a character has already been proposed, and you have a different idea of what that song might be, don't be afraid to suggest alternatives! Or, if you feel the current song doesn't appropriately reflect the character it's supposed to represent, tell us why.
This is a discussion thread! Please use it to, y'know, discuss things. Again, nothing is set in stone at this stage. Not even the things mostly set in stone are set in stone.
Speaking of which, I gotta edit up that OP a bit...
Re: The Grand Battle Video Game (and Soundtrack) Discussion
11-12-2011, 10:17 PM
This concept is pretty great.
Unlockables:
GB: Library of Lies (unlocked by beating Nathan in Battleopolis) / The Subconscious (unlocked by beating Amethyst in The Library of Lies)
GBII: Dimensional Speakeasy (unlocked by finding Clara in Value City Mall and ensuring her survival through Doomish Temple)
IS: Super Robo City (unlocked by saving Robo City in FC) / Frozen Destinies (unlocked by beating GB as Eximo)
BM: Iris (unlocked by causing Wolf to have a spiritual experience in Firestar)
GBS2: Water... Place (unlocked by beating GBS2 as Kracht) (alternately after you've beat GBS2 as Kracht Round 3 is always randomized)
BRS2: The Entire Battle (unlocked by being as silly as possible in Round 0, otherwise DE happens for real).
FC: Infinite Playground (unlocked by completing optional boss encounters with Zaire in Robo City)
GBe: The Rainy Place (unlocked by beating A Nameless Manikin in The Garden of Shades in PC)
Re: The Grand Battle Video Game (and Soundtrack) Discussion
11-12-2011, 11:10 PM
Oh, wow. I like Ix's idea of "canon" rounds being partly conditional. I suppose if this were to enter development, doing it one character at a time would be suitable?
So, start with GBI, Eximo the only playable character. I reckon for convenience, the plot remains largely unchanged other than accommodation for the necessary "what if" scenarios that leads to the playable character winning. If that were the case, the first "release" would pretty much follow GBI's original storyline, and unless you g'over'd or something the "canon" rounds would unlock pretty much automatically.
This'd guarantee at least one different plotline with Nathan as the playable character; potentially more with Amethyst. Because the pre-requisite for a "good end" relies on Nathan being the Round 5 endboss, this might make it possible to prevent "good ends" for certain characters (such as if Dorukomets always had to fight Lutherion in Round 5 instead.)
I think what I'm getting at is eight more-or-less linear plots per Battle; one for each character. If it were more of a sidescrolling beat-em-up type dealie I could see some sense in round-end "boss" contestants being more randomised, but the linear storylines would probably make the whole project a bit more manageable. I think.
Re: The Grand Battle Video Game (and Soundtrack) Discussion
11-13-2011, 10:03 PM
Since this is also a discussion thread, I've replaced my embedded videos with links to save on loading times for people checking in here. I'd like to request that others do the same.
Re: The Grand Battle Video Game (and Soundtrack) Discussion
11-14-2011, 03:17 PM
SO NANCY WHAT'S UP
I kinda find it silly to name these songs when we're just taking them from video games and blah but it's also fun.
Battle!!Nancy: I don't really want to fight - I always liked imagining this as a battle song, but it would have to be slightly arranged. A bit faster, and cut out a lot of the middle, calm bits.
Grand Battle!!Nancy - FIGHTING ALL THE LUCK - Hopefully this something with a full orchestra and good quality. Hopefully it's the right rag. Ragtime doesn't really lend itself well to battle music, honestly, but I've always liked this one. The bass part is really fun to play. And it seems dark enough. As dark as ragtime can get.
As for Encounter!!Nancy (Who wants to deal with this malarkey?!)....uh...I have so many ragtime music in my head that I can't.... really, uh, remember which one actually sounds like what. But I'll just list a few songs I know (and have played) and you all can discuss it? Or I'll look at them later and decide on my own. (Since not many people seem to be discussing alternative music to anything.)
There's a song called Stop It! but I can't seem to find it on youtube. Can't seem to find Me-ow either.
In Dahomey And hopefully this is the one I'm thinking of.
Maple Leaf Rag Was hoping to find full orchestra for this or something. But oh well. I don't even remember what it sounds like. I only remember vaguely liking it. This might not fit at all. Oh well.
That Teasin Rag but mostly because of the name. That name's just so silly. And it had a singer? I don't kno what this is. It hsares the sae name but I can't really listen to it right now.
That's, um, probably enough. Um. I knew once I started suggesting music it would be hard to stop.
Re: The Grand Battle Video Game (and Soundtrack) Discussion
11-14-2011, 11:11 PM
That's a substantially cooler battle theme, but now we need a different one for her Grand Battle theme because then they'll sound too different and I don't like that.
And actually listening to everything I suggested for, I would think Maple Leaf would be best for Encounter
But a question about Encounter themes, do they play every time you talk to a battler? So you walk around in the stage, listening to the zone music and then you meet up with someone and talk and then it's the encounter theme? When do you encounter characters? And what determines a transition to encounter rather a transition to battle and thinnnggssss I don't knooowwww
Re: The Grand Battle Video Game (and Soundtrack) Discussion
11-15-2011, 06:23 AM
MalkyTop Wrote:But a question about Encounter themes, do they play every time you talk to a battler? So you walk around in the stage, listening to the zone music and then you meet up with someone and talk and then it's the encounter theme? When do you encounter characters? And what determines a transition to encounter rather a transition to battle and thinnnggssss I don't knooowwww
Well, that's part of the reason we're here, innit? I don't know either!
It'd probably depend on what kind of game-type-thing we're shooting for here. If it's a classic JRPG-type dealie (Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy, etc), then it'd probably play whenever you initiate lengthy dialogue, maybe every (or almost every) time you talk to them? It'd depend on the specific situation, ultimately.
If we go the more freeform route of modern AARPGs (Oblivion, Mass Effect, etc), it'd probably play when you approach someone or someone approaches you. If this is the case, then depending on how said character is feeling towards you at the time, you might hear their Battle!! theme instead. (This to emulate plot armor when fighting dudes who can go invisible or have sniper rifles, etc.)
Though the former is more feasible, the latter is (I believe) more true to Grand Battles and is the concept I am currently designing towards. Anyone who's actually trying to think towards the game-end of things may also wish to clarify what playstyle they're envisioning for this game.