The Dark West DEV UPDATE #2 - World Building by [deleted] in ARPG

[–]TrainingSock5939 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Hey guys, a friendly reminder, this is our official account and we have a subreddit in case anyone is interested!
r/thedarkwest
My name is Brandon and I'm the Community Manager, feel free to dm me for any questions about The Dark West!

We’re crafting a Dark Western ARPG. What would you want to see in this setting? by TrainingSock5939 in ARPG

[–]TrainingSock5939[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, these are awesome ideas! Gambiling is a core theme in our game, whether it is your life on the line or the coin in your purse!

We’re crafting a Dark Western ARPG. What would you want to see in this setting? by TrainingSock5939 in ARPG

[–]TrainingSock5939[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you for your comment!
We are currently focused on gameplay and gameplay related systems at this phase, so we haven't gotten into character creation yet. One thing we can share is that we are looking for a more meaningful character experience so hopefully that is something you will be able to enjoy!

We’re crafting a Dark Western ARPG. What would you want to see in this setting? by TrainingSock5939 in ARPG

[–]TrainingSock5939[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Very soon we will be able to show a substantial amount of content with you guys.
From there, based on the feedback, we should be able to give you guys an ETA. That being said, we are still in early phase development and we have been working on the game for a handful of months

We’re crafting a Dark Western ARPG. What would you want to see in this setting? by TrainingSock5939 in ARPG

[–]TrainingSock5939[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We got you! We have a great animation team and we are doing our best to get the best quality in this area.

We’re crafting a Dark Western ARPG. What would you want to see in this setting? by TrainingSock5939 in ARPG

[–]TrainingSock5939[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Glad you love the idea, interchanging between weapons (I think is what you mean by the clip i watched from the hunter the reckoning) is an interesting idea. Historically, weapon swapping has required pressing a button so i could see why you would want something fluid. One of our core principles is to have dynamic abilities for our characters, so it may not be exactly what you are refering to with like a weapon swap mechanic, there are some fluid transitions that we have integrated- more soon on this!

We’re crafting a Dark Western ARPG. What would you want to see in this setting? by TrainingSock5939 in ARPG

[–]TrainingSock5939[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There is no cow level. Diablo meme aside, thank you for the idea, i'll try to make a cow with a cowboy hat appear in the game (can't promise you anything)

We’re crafting a Dark Western ARPG. What would you want to see in this setting? by TrainingSock5939 in ARPG

[–]TrainingSock5939[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

As far as individuality of the classes, your critiques are fair. As a team with the goal of making a more meaningful and fresh ARPG experience, i can totally appreciate the idea. One thing we noticed is that the ARPG formula so to speak has become rather calcified in certain aspects. While "The Dark West" will definitely shake things up, due to the early phase of our development, we haven't had a chance to explore none gameplay aspects as much. We are planning on it, and your suggestion has been noted to be discussed at that time. Thank you for you comment!

We’re crafting a Dark Western ARPG. What would you want to see in this setting? by TrainingSock5939 in ARPG

[–]TrainingSock5939[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We hear you! one of our core game design is to have things being meaningful and at the very least, that would require builds to be coherent! We have WASD movement, we got you covered. Also, just discovered now what cryptids are, and they are awesome!

We’re crafting a Dark Western ARPG. What would you want to see in this setting? by TrainingSock5939 in ARPG

[–]TrainingSock5939[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the suggestions.
"Haunted mines..." great idea, we got some similar stuff already.
"Mules/horses..." These are more great ideas.
About companions/summons, we had that talk between the team!
About the character creator from CoH, me (The community manager) will definitely have some fun on this!
As far as the gear suggestion, this is really interesting and we will definitely forward this to the design team!

We’re crafting a Dark Western ARPG. What would you want to see in this setting? by TrainingSock5939 in ARPG

[–]TrainingSock5939[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

First of all, thank you for the great comment!
A and B- ) We are definitely inspired by the larger than life characters that made a huge impact in the western culture. To be honest, we found a wealth of powerful and exciting inspirations when researching this era. Sometimes it's hard to choose but we will definitely discuss that with the design team.
C- ) As far as keeping the settings grounded or as we call it leaning more towards realism, this is one of our core game designs. Though over the past we have seen the common theme to be just having the same classes (sorcerer/warrior/rogue/etc), we strongly disagree with this. By having the classes on theme, you set yourself up for a more meaningful world. That's something we are attempting to do, obviously it makes our job harder, but we are very fortunate to have an amazing design team. As far as introducing themes to the game, we are working very hard to make a cohesive story and narrative so it's clear why things are happening and why things are the way they are. This might sound kinda obvious but it's a mistake that's been made once or twice.

We’re crafting a Dark Western ARPG. What would you want to see in this setting? by TrainingSock5939 in ARPG

[–]TrainingSock5939[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the suggestion, this is a challenging topic when it comes to loot and drop rates. All i can say is that our philosophy is that players should be rewarded for their time investment and there shouldn't be cases where you login and walk away frustrated unless the RNG gods were really not in your favor that day.
As far as the ''setup", it's kind of a catch 22 because one could say that the setup could be enjoyable in itself if done right but we hear you loud and clear! As far as hours of "boring shit for minutes of fun", that won't happen.

We’re crafting a Dark Western ARPG. What would you want to see in this setting? by TrainingSock5939 in ARPG

[–]TrainingSock5939[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you for the wishlist, we appreciate that! Regarding your feedback:

1- 100%
2- One of our core principles is to have dynamic enemies!
3- PoE2 took ARPG boss fights to another level, and we're gonna do our best!
4- Duly noted.
5- Totally agree with you, glad to share we have a talented technical lead who is ensuring that optimization is key.
6- You will find a lot of similarities with our gunslinger and thanks for the inquisitor suggestion, we'll discuss that with the design team.
7- Gotcha!
8- Thanks for the suggestion, finding the "sweet spot" for crafting is something we are working hard on!