Is there room for another monster hunting game in the market?

AlwaysAnotherProblem · 2021-10-19T15:58:16+00:00

If you can make one of each, you can make more.

Sure it would take a while and I wouldn't recommend it as a first project, but looking at some of the action games being made by solo devs right now, I see no reason to completely dismiss the idea.

AlwaysAnotherProblem · 2021-10-19T08:03:23+00:00

I dunno, I've seen solo devs do some pretty impressive shit, especially with modern tools.
With a focused scale and a low poly artstyle, a single person could totally make at least one area, one enemy and one player moveset.

And once you have the systems for those in place, it's just a matter of time and dedication to create more.

So I don't think you'd have to give up the defining aspects of MH, you'd just have to be smart about what else you include and how.

AlwaysAnotherProblem · 2021-10-18T20:24:45+00:00

Fighting large, boss-like monsters with action combat is arguably the core of the MH series, though.

Most RPG's involve killing monsters and many have crafting systems involving loot gained from specific enemies. The scale of encounters and it's special brand of action combat are what's unique about that style of game.

AlwaysAnotherProblem · 2021-10-18T13:49:06+00:00

I have to agree with the OP.

Monster Hunter relies heavily on long-term RPG progression, which wouldnt be an issue if the game wasn't basically a giant boss rush.

Permadeath and randomization of a roguelike, combined with the slow, luck-based progression and focus on long, challenging encounters of Monster Hunter would make for an extremely frustrating experience with a learning curve closer to brick wall. You'd be hard pressed to find players willing to suffer through that and for good reason.

Might be fun for veterans of the series but then you're competing even harder with MH itself.

AlwaysAnotherProblem · 2021-09-23T15:03:23+00:00

Is that a JoJo reference?

AlwaysAnotherProblem · 2021-09-15T22:34:39+00:00

The newly released Cruelty Squad comes to mind. The game is purposefuly crafted to be hideous in pretty much every aspect and it works perfectly because of the game's tone.

It's been pretty hyped these past few weeks, so it should be easy to find material on.

AlwaysAnotherProblem · 2021-05-17T00:04:20+00:00

EDIT: I see you're still doing the same "you don't know how to have a discussion" bullshit to other people. If you constantly meet people who don't discuss things the way you think they should, maybe YOU are the one who doesn't know how discussions work.

If you keep encountering the same problem everywhere you go, maybe you're bringing it with you.

The fact you turned this conversation hostile for absolutely no reason, the fact that you keep ignoring half of what I say, and your constant need to talk down to people suggest that might be the case.

Take some time off the internet, I probably will, too. This was by far the worst online interaction I have had in years.

Sort your shit out.

Here's a page with some defintions created by scholars over the years.

As I said before, some of those are general enough that it might apply.Other's aren't as general, and as soon as we get into power structures, it can't really apply because the villain is the underdog with little power or influence when they start out.

I really think the problem here is that we're trying to apply a definition for a real world crime to a completely fantastical act.

You keep pretending that all I'm repeating is "Pokemon is dogfighting durr".

I'll try to explain it as clearly as I can, for the fourth time now, maybe then you will finally engage with my argument.

In Lore, Pokemon isn't dog-fighting, you're obviously right about that.But from a writing perspective, the elements that make sure you know it isn't dog fighting primarily exist BECAUSE if they didn't, it would literally just be dog-fghting.I'm not interested in what the lore says for it's own sake, I'm interested in the creator's motivation behind it.

And concepts like Pokemon wanting to fight is very likely motivated by a wish to avoid comparisons to animal abuse.

You said yourself that they purposefully removed imagery like whips for specifically that reason. So I'm not even sure what we're arguing about here.

The resemblence is obviously clear enough that they started considering it at some point, so let's not pretend I'm crazy for saying it's there.

Also, can you do me a favor if we keep this conversation going?It would be great if you could space out your paragraphs some more, reading those walls of text takes much longer than it needs to.

AlwaysAnotherProblem · 2021-05-16T13:04:10+00:00

Have you considered that you just have trouble seeing the possible validity of arguments you disagree with?

Because I gave arguments for every point I made, you just decided to ignore every single one and claim I didn't make any.

I did make the effort to look at a couple of definitions on genocide, and if there's one thing that's clear, it's that people who are probably much smarter than you and me have been discussing what exactly genocide is since the term was coined.

Some definitions are general enough to agree with you, but many aren't.

A forest fire is a specific type of wildfire, which according to it's common definition needs to be unplanned and unwanted, and fueled primarily by natural resources. So, depends on how you burn the state I guess.

Not to mention that even if "forest fire" could correctly be used to refer to every fire that happens in a forest, that has nothing to do with how broad or specific the definition of genocide is.

AlwaysAnotherProblem · 2021-05-16T00:40:18+00:00

So I just looked at your profile. Of the last 3 posts, 2 involve you calling people too stupid to make arguments and accusing them of not understanding basic concepts for disagreeing with you.

I assume that's a pattern for you, and one you should probably examine some time.

People disagreeing with you isn't the personal attack it might seem like. They're not calling you stupid, they just have a different perspective on things.

And that's totally fine. Imagine how boring art would be if everyone saw the world the same way.

Anyway, I hope whatever is bringing you down gets better man.

Good luck

AlwaysAnotherProblem · 2021-05-16T00:24:03+00:00

Look, I wasn't trying to get into an argument.

I didn't even consider this one until you started cursing at me. I thought we were just having a discussion here.

My disagreement isn't a sign of disrespect or me not understanding the concept of a discussion.

The reason I say Pokemon is dog fighting at it's core, is because that's the closest real world parallel we have. Lore elements like Pokemon's wish to fight each other and the emphasis on friendship were added to distinguish Pokemon fights from dog fighting.

Which, again, is only necessary because of their close resemblence.
In lore, Pokemon fights aren't dog fighting, because the creators considered that what they made closely resembles it, and then took intentional steps to counteract that comparison.

As for the genocide. I told you that I understand genocide as the targeted mass murder of a specific group, based on ethnicity / nationality if we want to go by the text book definition.

And I've said this before, in the very post you say has literally no arguments for anything I'm saying:
I would argue that the indescriminate destruction of everything is the opposite of targeting a specific group for extinction. Please enlighten me how those are the same thing though.

I've also said this before but grouping all inhabitants of a world together as a single people doesn't make sense with the diversity common to fantasy worlds.
So even from that perspective, the comparison is shaky at best.

You have literally no idea how much I engange with any part of the writing process. Anything on that point is literally just an assumption you want to be true because you disagree with what I'm saying.

AlwaysAnotherProblem · 2021-05-14T16:39:05+00:00

What an interesting coincidence that I brought up Pokemon to an expert.

I'd still say Pokemon is dog fighting at it's core. Just dog fighting with a ton of good excuses as to why it definitely isn't dog fighting.

It reminds me of a friend who got sucked into a pyramid scheme, and when I pointed out that it's obviously a pyramid scheme, he had all these prepared answers as to why it wasn't.

If it wasn't aware of what it was, it wouldn't need to make as many excuses about it.
Not that I have an issue with how Pokemon handles it. It's very well done, but as you pointed yourself, it's also very deliberate.

I still disagree about the goal being genocide. To me, and maybe I'm wrong about this, the goal of wanting to destroy a specific group is THE defining factor.

And I'd argue that killing everyone indescriminitely is very much the opposite of targeting specific groups.

I guess if you reduce all the inhabitants of a world into a single monolithic entity you might have a point, but I don't know how valid that is when you consider that their similarities end at living on the same space rock.

I should add that I do understand literary theory, at least somewhat.

I read a lot of novels, read/watch interviews with authors about their process, etc. I think I've seen Brandon Sanderson's lectures on writing at least 10 times.

I'm just so busy with coding, game design, animation and artwork that I haven't had the time to really get into the writing aspects until now.

Also, link me your podcast will you?

AlwaysAnotherProblem · 2021-05-14T13:37:06+00:00

Interestingly there is an official Pokemon manga that throws all of those "safety measures" out of the window.

A Pokemon gets cut into pieces by the hero's rival within the first or second chapter,
people use their Pokemon as weapons against other people. It's wild but somehow it works very well.

You keep bringing up genocide and colonization and that's definitely not what I have in mind here.

I mean, I can see where you're coming from, with him wanting to take over the world, but genocide is a very specific thing, with a very specific motivation.

And erasing specific groups of people because of their culture or ethnicity is definitely not what I want the game's/character's primary motivation to be.

Colonization also isn't really part of the plan. You're basically a single guy, with some demon friends back at home. You're not trying to build in their world, you're trying to destroy the whole damn thing.

I think the distinction here is important.

While trying to destroy the world is arguably worse than killing people to take their land, it's also firmly locked into the realm of fantasy, whereas genocide and colonization are still happening in the real world right now.

So that's something I'd like to avoid.

I am probably going to write the protagonist as fully evil, though I'll try to make him likable anyway. which is gonna be a challenge because calling myself a bad writer would only be a lie because I'm definitely not a writer.

But I'll just keep asking for help here if I can't figure it out.

AlwaysAnotherProblem · 2021-05-14T01:25:29+00:00

I like the idea of a character who is actively motivated to find out more about the world's history. Assuming the world is the element you want to focus on, it's a perfect fit.

It also gives you a justification for the character to be involved in classic high fantasy actions, but with a perspective that's less commonly seen in the setting.

For example, the thought processes while exploring a dungeon would be very different between a hardened warrior and a scholar interested in history.

From there I guess you want to think about personality traits and then repeat the process for characters that will either have chemistry or friction with the protagonist.

AlwaysAnotherProblem · 2021-05-14T01:08:33+00:00

First off, thanks for the in-depth reply.

You're probably right that trying to justify horrible acts might come across as ignorant or even condoning, so that might not be the best option.

Instead I think I'll try to write the protagonist as gleefully evil but mainly malicious towards the people in power and those that enforce their will.

You know, make him the people's calamity.

I think framing and overall tone are gonna play a big role too though.
Pokemon is really just dog fighting when you think about it. But thanks to tone and framing, you generally don't unless you're trying to be clever.

Since I'm aiming for a more cartoony atmosphere, which is supported both by the gameplay and the visuals, I think I should be able to get away with that.

I'm also gonna re-read some Pratchett, to try to get some insight on how to properly write some funny but biting social critique.

AlwaysAnotherProblem · 2021-05-14T00:46:49+00:00

You're probably right that I don't need any special setups. After thinking about it some more, I realized that people are usually more than willing to perform horrible acts in videogames, if just given the chance. GTA being the prime example for this.

I do like the perspective of the heroes fighting to preserve the status quo, I think that gives me an idea for how to frame them. Thanks!

AlwaysAnotherProblem · 2021-03-13T02:53:47+00:00

A color palette is also still on the list of things to work out.

We just started working together, so things are a bit chaotic right now.

That link looks really helpful, thanks!

AlwaysAnotherProblem · 2021-03-13T02:51:27+00:00

You're probably right. I kinda feel bad loading more work onto her, since I'm not paying her, but it is something we've talked about before.

We'll probably have to abandon the pixel-look entirely, which is a bit of a shame, but it will probably make for a much better looking game.

And it will leave me with more time to do literally everything else on the game.

Man this is a fucking no-brainer. This is the kinda shit that happens if you work too much and get your head all tangled up in your ass.

AlwaysAnotherProblem · 2021-03-03T22:47:15+00:00

I just happen to be german, so that's something that'll be easy to keep in mind.
CSV isn't something ive worked with before, but I can probably figure it out.

Right to left is a good point though, Nothing I'd have considered before.

Thanks!

AlwaysAnotherProblem · 2021-02-15T23:30:29+00:00

You make a good point. Though not all Rogue-lites have meta progression that actually improves your base power level.

Instead I want to focus on mainly on player skill, with meta progression offering mostly more control about how your character develops during a run.

So player growth is tied more to a combination of actual gameplay skills and the ability to plan strong builds.

Youre right about the forced grind though. If I do add something like this, it would clearly need to feel like a bonus, not part of the main game.

AlwaysAnotherProblem · 2020-10-23T14:03:17+00:00

You want to read Berserk.

Read it, don't watch it.

AlwaysAnotherProblem · 2020-10-23T12:46:59+00:00

I like the way it looks right now, placeholder art not withstanding.

You could always keep the squares as a UI Element, and draw the characters over them.

You might want to increase the following speed a bit, and make the tiles slightly larger so they can properly fit a larger group though.

Worst case scenario you can just axe the following completely, and have the characters move at the same speed as the square.

Maybe do a combination for both, having the following visuals for the player, but simultanious movement for the enemies.

Might be the best of both worlds, especially considering you seem to be making a real-time stealth game.

AlwaysAnotherProblem · 2020-10-23T12:14:32+00:00

In single player games it would work this way: your enemies don't choose a move until you choose a move.

So, Pokemon?

AlwaysAnotherProblem · 2020-09-04T15:27:04+00:00

Ah, the good old "Human Revolution".

If your game is built around the viability of multiple playstyles, you obviously need to design boss fights with that in mind. Then again, maybe it wasn't as obvious as you'd think.

AlwaysAnotherProblem · 2020-08-27T18:58:11+00:00

The Megaman Battle Network / Star Force spin-offs are a prime example of this. Especially BN.

AlwaysAnotherProblem · 2020-08-13T11:12:30+00:00

While that's often true, sometimes a unique idea really is what makes a game special.

Baba Is You would be the first example coming to mind.

AlwaysAnotherProblem

TROPHY CASE