Hello everybody, i do apologize in advance if I'm posting in the wrong section, but I wanted to have some feedback on my idea for a new game.
Since I don't have much experience in developing I'm not expecting to release anything anytime soon, but I'd really like to know if there is something similar story-wise around, because I would have to keep it in consideration while developing.
So, in my story MC would discover a way to clone himself or other people, creating replicants that could substitute him in doing work or serve as sex mates, impersonating people he can't actually get in his bed.
There would be some growth in the character, starting from a frustrated youngster who would do anything to get power, regardless of aftermath, to a more mature individual.
Of course growth comes through pain, because there is a lot that will go wrong with his plans.
How will MC explain his experiments to the people around him? Will he get rid of the clones once they served their purpose? And what if the clones would eventually gain consciousness about themselves and claim their rights against their exploiter?
I think that the movie "ex machina" inspired me a bit to generate this idea, although i'm not limiting myself to that context, where a billionaire scientist crafts intelligent androids in his basement (sort of).
So, the MC must not necessary be male, there could even be some transformation and sex-switching through similar means as cloning.
This leads to: what are the means for cloning? The two main options are "science" or "magic", each carrying its own stereotypes along. As much as I like playing fantasy games, I'd rather not acquire fantasy assets for rendering at the moment, so I'm not favoring a fantasy environiment right now.
Also, the pod filled with green liquid is another unappealing and abused instrument. So i'm starting to think about something "inbetween", like for instance a magic mirror which survived through ages or the discovery of a new biological species that could be cross-bred with humans.
About game mechanics: i think that games with an open world are more appealing than standard VN's, so I'd implement a resource system. Cloning would have a cost, probably not in money directly but in items to aquire to get the experiment or the ritual done. In such a resource system the clones would be perfect for doing repetitive tasks in place of the MC. Those tasks could vary from "gather x herbs" to "take my place at the meeting while i'm fixing this problem" and the clones could perform well or fail if the duty exceeds their skill.
So, resource-wise, the game would quickly transform farming in management, preventing most repetitive tasks.
About game engines the debate lies between ren'py and rpgmaker, the second being a little messier.
ren'py allows to save in any moment and to roll back dialogue, while rpgmaker has only one big plus: explorable maps. One can also make a point-and click environiment in ren'py, but i'm not familiar with how atm.
Well, now the question: is there anything similar around already?
Thanks in advance for recommendations and feedback.
Since I don't have much experience in developing I'm not expecting to release anything anytime soon, but I'd really like to know if there is something similar story-wise around, because I would have to keep it in consideration while developing.
So, in my story MC would discover a way to clone himself or other people, creating replicants that could substitute him in doing work or serve as sex mates, impersonating people he can't actually get in his bed.
There would be some growth in the character, starting from a frustrated youngster who would do anything to get power, regardless of aftermath, to a more mature individual.
Of course growth comes through pain, because there is a lot that will go wrong with his plans.
How will MC explain his experiments to the people around him? Will he get rid of the clones once they served their purpose? And what if the clones would eventually gain consciousness about themselves and claim their rights against their exploiter?
I think that the movie "ex machina" inspired me a bit to generate this idea, although i'm not limiting myself to that context, where a billionaire scientist crafts intelligent androids in his basement (sort of).
So, the MC must not necessary be male, there could even be some transformation and sex-switching through similar means as cloning.
This leads to: what are the means for cloning? The two main options are "science" or "magic", each carrying its own stereotypes along. As much as I like playing fantasy games, I'd rather not acquire fantasy assets for rendering at the moment, so I'm not favoring a fantasy environiment right now.
Also, the pod filled with green liquid is another unappealing and abused instrument. So i'm starting to think about something "inbetween", like for instance a magic mirror which survived through ages or the discovery of a new biological species that could be cross-bred with humans.
About game mechanics: i think that games with an open world are more appealing than standard VN's, so I'd implement a resource system. Cloning would have a cost, probably not in money directly but in items to aquire to get the experiment or the ritual done. In such a resource system the clones would be perfect for doing repetitive tasks in place of the MC. Those tasks could vary from "gather x herbs" to "take my place at the meeting while i'm fixing this problem" and the clones could perform well or fail if the duty exceeds their skill.
So, resource-wise, the game would quickly transform farming in management, preventing most repetitive tasks.
About game engines the debate lies between ren'py and rpgmaker, the second being a little messier.
ren'py allows to save in any moment and to roll back dialogue, while rpgmaker has only one big plus: explorable maps. One can also make a point-and click environiment in ren'py, but i'm not familiar with how atm.
Well, now the question: is there anything similar around already?
Thanks in advance for recommendations and feedback.
