Yello. You may or may not know (or care) that I've been working on MSD2 since April - and still haven't finished even the first "act" of the first level yet. I'm taking my time with the planning, and recently thought of a cool idea.
In older screenshots there was a scoring system, where, to increase the score you'd collect gems and kill enemies, thus encouraging exploration of the level to get the highest score possible. This is the old idea.
And here is the new one. You'd still collect gems, but the scoring system would disappear. Gems would be fairly frequent throughout the level, and you'd have to collect a certain number to unlock the level exit (and of course you'd have to do this in a time limit). Excluding the time limit and lack of scoring, this feature would be similar to Yoshis Story on N64. However, collision with an enemy would make you lose, say, five gems. Some gems would be in secret areas, again encouraging exploration. And this feature would be pretty cool if there was a multiplayer mode (I'm considering it, but nothings been decided).
What would you think of this idea?
PS: Forgot to say, the levels would also have a teleporter near the end, which would transport you to the beginning again, so if you missed anything you could get it.
How about some learned abilities? Double jump etc. Maybe a boxing glove or something? A stick! Yes, Stump Jr. Needs a stick to break over enemies heads.
You speak about exploration, why not the game a bit more open ended. By that I mean have these gems become almost like a currency.
I like the idea of needing a certain number of gems to finish the level, but how about additionally to that, you could have it so that some levels you can only get to with a certain number of gems, or maybe you need some kind of special item.
I'm thinking about something along the lines of something out of the Commander Keen games, with some added adventure elements.
So here's my idea...you have a map, just like in Keen, and on that map are locations which are the levels. Of course, you won't be able to go into each level.
Some you may need to spend a number of gems to get into. But the thing, which is where it becomes more adventureous(sp?) than Keen, you can go back to these levels, and sometimes you may.
Each level there might be secret areas that seem impossible to get to when first played, but you may get a special item in another level, or some kind of event occurs that opens up another area, or you can pay your way into there with gems.
You may even have NPC's of sorts scattered in the levels or on the maps who sell your regular things...health, maybe some kind of little one use powerups like a super jump capsule or invinsibility pill. And maybe they'll sell an item you might need to get to another part of the level or another level in general...say like a rope, like in Commander Keen.
I mean you could even make it quite RPGish and have things that can increase you health, speed, jump height and stuff like that if your willing to spend the gems.
You could also have it that the enemies in the easier earlier levels give you less gems than in the later levels where the enemies are harder. Or alternatively, the more you play the harder all the enemies get, no matter what level your playing in.
Take my idea if you wish...if not...I shall use it and make a rip off game ...as if that'll ever happen.
MUGGUS
Come and annoy me more at
www.muggus69.tk STOUT ANGER!!!
Ah, but the storyline doesn't exactly involve dentures this time.
Basically Mr Stump has died, but before he did so, he auctioned his dentures on eBay and became rich and famous. So he bought an island with the money he had earned, and it came with a treasure map. But then... he snuffed it, so he sends his son, Mr Stump Junior, to collect the treasure and prevent his island from being looted by treasure hunters.
Make an overworld, or something. Where you walk around overhead, but then when you get into the levels, its platformy. And oh, oh, you have to collect pieces of stuff in the levels that unlock the doors to the levels! And you learn moves as you go along, or something.
@Chris Branch: It was written in his Last Will And Testament
@Previousplasma: I thought of an overworld idea, but I figured the player would get bored wandering from place to place. There'll be a grid based system to allow you to choose whichever level you've finished.
@Necropixel: Um... *tries to think of something witty* ... um... your mum