The Grand Battle Video Game (and Soundtrack) Discussion

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:

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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




<MrGuy> quantos boss fight: hit him with a car