Tower Crisis (WIP)

Hosted Games Works In Progress
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Tower Crisis (WIP)

Though I have another WIP thread for a different title already, I’d like to share another WIP idea I have kicking around inside my head.

The idea is fairly recognizable if your familiar with JRPG’s. Its the story of a rookie adventurer who wishes to climb ‘the tower’, a monolithic pillar impossibly wide and reaches the stars. As old as history itself ‘the tower’ existed along with the city at is base which served as home for those brave enough to enter and scale its floors.

There is a great deal of lore I already have written for the world building as well as secrets behind the tower and its purpose. The game itself will be about the rookie adventurers attempt to rise from rags to riches, but there will be many paths to take that could lead the character in very different directions. Maybe they fail as an adventurer and settle down as a merchant, maybe they become a support for other adventurers in the tower, or maybe they even become a bandit.

Beyond the setting and general story, I am entertaining the idea of ‘visible’ gender over true gender. Meaning you can play as a man who appears female to others (cross dresser, or simply a feminine face), this will effect how other characters react and treat you… and of course what backlash you might receive if theses characters feel deceived by you. Its a great opportunity for comedy if you play the part of a character who hates being mistaken for the wrong gender, or it could be a serious motivation such as a girl who wishes to be treated and respected like a man. There are also many in-betweens which I’d try and fulfill as well.

Another idea which I have yet to decided on is something along the lines of Zodiac signs. Just like how we associate certain signs to people born on certain dates, and who each sign has specific qualities to it (ex: Leo is Ruling, Warmth, Generosity, Faithful, Initiative)… this world will have its own governing Zodiac signs. Unlike our world however theses signs are far more evident in personality and compulsions. They are a stigma that those born under the certain star must bare. An example would be being born under the thief’s star which would give a character a compulsion for wealth, or to steal. Or someone born under the lovers star to be kind and generous, or a very amorous individual. In many cases people embrace their sign as fate, while others feel they have been dealt a raw deal and curse their sign. There are also a very rare few cases where a person can resist their signs influence and are commonly refereed to as abnormal.

Over all the idea of Zodiac signs is just a way to add an extra level of depth and character to the world and at this point is not entirely vital. Any feedback on it would be greatly appreciated, it will help me decide to go along with it or pass it over for other things.

At the moment I am also deciding on if I will have multiple playable races(3 maybe 4), ages(teen, adult, elder), and if I will have class’s at all. As you can see there is quite a lot already with just those options in mind and I don’t want to needlessly complicate the game when simpler options would be just as rewarding. Please let me know what you think.

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Wow. I’m speechless. This game could be huge if you stick with it! It could be the Elder Scrolls of CoG’s! It could be to CoG’s what SAO is to animé! Just promise you won’t abandon it like so many other WiP’s.

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This is a really cool concept you have a lot of interesting ideas with this wip

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Very interesting idea! Will the tower be randomized except certain floors or pre-built? (I.e, entrance, top.)

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interesting idea, but i dont think it will work well exactly due to forcing character to act certain way, even if you choose it.

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Is interesting, and what is the reward if you reach the end of the tower? Personally i want to become a god if i win!

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That seems to be your goal for every game. You should buy a game called From Dust.

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The basic concept sounds fantastic, and I love the idea of including visible gender, as a lot of games lack that. While the Zodiac signs sound interesting, I’m worried they would cause a fair amount of railroading.

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Nothing is more important than power! This is what i want in every game. Thanks for recommendation but i want to be a god of evil, From Dust is for creation no?

This is what i want to do with my power! :joy:

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Have you put aside Mech Mechanic for now or are you doing some amazing multi-tasking thing?

From what I’ve skimmed, this sounds like the webcomic the Tower of God, but with Zodiacs. (Have you read it, by any chance? I stopped on chpt 187, or thereabouts.)

I was even reminded of a few male characters who dress and look like females when you mentioned your visible gender concept. Anime-esque works are so unconventional that it’s a wonder how so many foreigners enjoy it. Then again, there’s something interesting and new about the unconventional, and not all anime is the same ‘kawaii-eguuuu’ stuff, at any rate. Ah, but I’m going off on a tangent now so I’ll end my post here.

P.S. I forgot to mention, nice Re-L picture!

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Look up a game called Black and White (I think) you can play as a God of order or chaos. Back on topic, I am kind of curious to see what’s at the end, perhaps you could add a cheats system and at the top of the tower, there is a bunch of artifacts, and you can only choose one before the tower starts to crumble, but in addition to in-game stuff, the artifacts could each have a different code.

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Thanks for all the responses and to answer a few questions…

@Zane_Hiam As for abandoning it, I have yet to truly start it!

@Hell_Satan Liked the anime, but all tower climbers share a lot of concepts. As for Zodiac’s think elder scrolls stars, they will be unique to the world and have no relation to ours.

@TechDragon610 Well since I’m not actually building an RPG simulator, the story will be predefined so I guess I’d have to say the floors are not random? In the world itself they certainly can be reset every time you enter a floor, but from writing it, there will not be a random encounter like system.

@CaesarCzech I don’t understand why you say this as most of the options simply effect how other NPC’s treat and respond to you. I am not going to force the MC to act a certain way, but more along the lines of able to manipulate how others see them. If you can understand that line of thinking…

@Abyss Thats a common trope with tower climbers and it is certainly true here. The tower is in its 13th age, meaning 12 climbs before have reached the top and become gods which advanced the age. Theses gods are influential even today. However with each new Age the tower remakes itself and this 13th age has lasted longer then any before it because the tower is far more dangerous then in the past.

@Shawnheatherly Glad you like the visible gender idea, and you may be right for what the zodiac signs may do, but at the same time they create a pretty solid character conflict. The signs are more the flavor NPC’s in the world, but the MC would be an abdominal and not be bound by their signs influence. So they could act anyway they pleased, and doing so might make others unhappy with their sign resent the MC for their ability to fight fate.

@Abyss >_> The other 12 gods will stop you from committing such an act! Well maybe 8 of them would stop you the rest would either join you or laugh and the conflict.

@ThisisSymbolic Mech Mecnaic is as on hold as this WIP, I haven’t committed to either one just yet. I want to pick the idea that I feel will keep me most motivated. Right now its a tie between the two… As for Tower of God, thats a decent web comic, but its probably the furthest from the actual concept I am working with. My original inspiration for a tower climber came from the very old playstation 1 game Azure Dreams, however a far more modern and accurate picture of the type of setting I’m going for would be the manga (or recently airing anime) Dungeon NI Deai WO Motomeru. Theses sources are just influences though as examples of the over all niche genre, my own world is quite unique onto itself.

Also yes Re-L is awesome! I had to use her pic, to bad i can’t say much for her choice in men though snickers.

@TechDragon610 At this point I don’t know if the story will progress far enough for the character to reach the top. This has the potential to become a series… especially with how dense it is already looking. Still its not a bad concept I will keep it in mind!

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So i can play as a god? or becoming one will be the end?

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I know the feeling. A little while ago I got the idea to write a book, next thing you know I started having to co-ordinate 3-5 to fit the scope of it.

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This game sounds amazing. Especially if I can become a god at the end. I hope you keep with it when you begin writing it.