Who would play an old-school themed RPG with a deep, open world a la Fallout, Elder Scrolls?

[zircon]

Simple as that. I've been discussing this with people in Space Whale and we're not sure if anyone would really care for such a game. Personally, I think it would be a lot of fun, and it hasn't really been done before. Doing it using text & ASCII (or VERY simple graphics) ensures that there can be a very large scope without being impossible to make.

Part of the appeal of games like Fallout 1 and 2, as well as the older Elder Scrolls games, is the ability to basically do what you want. Build your character how you want, explore an unbelievably massive world, impact events, etc. I would be interested in making a game like this again, focusing on insane depth (should the player choose to explore it) and multiple non-combat options and proficiencies, as opposed to games like Nethack which are pure dungeon crawlers with a largely combat focus.

Think about all we've learned from decades of awesome RPGs, and all the things we yearn to see in modern RPGs that many consider watered down (lack of choice, linear/cheesy plot, small worlds, not enough to do.) Would you sacrifice fancy graphics in exchange for all that stuff again in a NEW game?

[Modus]

Yes, especially if you'll develop it for iPhone.

Just better have some darn good storytelling... nothing like fanfic storytelling.

[Omni-Psyence]

I personally can't get into ASCII games, so I think I would sit out on that one. Simple graphics would be my preference. Even graphics similar to Minecraft would be incredibly easy.

RPGs are nice though! As long as this game can be played casually with no steep learning curve ala Dwarf Fortress, I would check it out.

[Kenogu Labz]

I worry this may hurt the breadth of your audience. While I think this is an awesome idea, many others won't want to wrap their head around ASCII and try to memorize which symbols mean what. Using simple graphics would likely help broaden your base quite a bit.

I do see the allure in ASCII, though. Incredibly high content-to-size ratio lets you provide massive amounts of content at a whim. Just look at Dwarf Fortress!

[Jamphibious]

There would be an audience for this kind of thing, granted I imagine that audience has slowly been diminishing over the years. I would personally enjoy a game like this, deep RPG games seem pretty lacking these days, or at least are much more limited in terms of the choices you make.

If a game can grip me with an interesting story and unique choices that impact anything and everything, then the graphics really wouldn't matter. Text based games can be a real treat when they're done right. I'm sure many others feel this way, even if they may be a minority.

[Koriantor]

Sounds... intriguing. I never was much for nethack style games. I played Castle of the Winds back in the day, but that was about it.

ASCII is also hard to look at. Yes, it has a charm, but I think you'd be better off with simple graphics. I would definitely consider buying it with that description (and without ASCII).

[BardicKnowledge]

Make me a large-scale Castle of the Winds and I will pay handsomely for it.

[zircon]

OK, so based on this (and Twitter), simple graphics would be better. Think old-school PC game like Ultima, or the aforementioned Castle of the Winds, or even the graphical version of Nethack. Absolutely nothing fancy.

Any other thoughts?

[Gollgagh]

Castle of the Winds was my first (semi)roguelike

I would definitely play this

[Nabeel Ansari]

Yes.

nuffsaid

[Doulifée]

simple graphism and deep world like TES / Fallout? i'm your man.

like stated above minecraft level of graphism is enough, even a snes sprites style could work in my book.

[Volt]

Yes, I would definitely play with something like Nethack + graphical tilesets. It sounds like a pretty awesome idea.

[PROTO·DOME]

Yeah, sure. I would.

[Ghetto Lee Lewis]

Text adventures need to be fun and engaging (like any other game). Realism, humor, good story-lines, clever themes and plot-lines are important. Of course, adding good game-play and artwork can also be important. I typically enjoy text adventures much more than games that rely heavily on graphics, so long as they're fun and engaging.

If it's MMO, then communication with other players, messaging, chatting, and game-play elements need a well-developed system. Player-to-player interaction can make or break a large, involving game.

[Capa Langley]

Writing RPG stories has always been my cup of tea, so I am more looking forward to a story for this. And since I prefer to read I would prefer text-based more than any graphics at all. There are more things you can do with words alone and that's what I want whenever I play some sort of RPG-ish game.

[zircon]

At the same time, all-text IS definitely less accessible. It's so much easier to click on an inventory item or dialog option than to literally type in everything you want to do. That being said, text RPGs were my thing back in the day. It's just a matter of accessibility.

So just to talk a little bit about the kind of depth to expect, I've been planning out how you can interact with NPCs. Every NPC will have an intelligence level (mindless, primal, sentient) as well as a host of personality attributes, like "aggressive", "cold", "dominating", "paranoid", etc. These attributes will influence how they behave toward the player. The player will be able to do just about anything with the NPC, from basic conversation, to threatening them, stealing or planting items stealthily, donating items or money, healing/curing (or attacking!), bribing, requesting (or commanding) them to follow, attack, give money, etc... and NPCs will have most of these options as well.

It's entirely feasible that you could enter a town, bluff about your weaponry or abilities and convince the guard to give you his money, then give a hobo all the money you've earned and have HIM plant an item on someone else (removing any suspicion from you.) Stuff like that.

[Torquemada]

Think about all we've learned from decades of awesome RPGs, and all the things we yearn to see in modern RPGs that many consider watered down (lack of choice, linear/cheesy plot, small worlds, not enough to do.) Would you sacrifice fancy graphics in exchange for all that stuff again in a NEW game?

Yes, I would. But then, I love MUDs and text-based adventure games.

OK, so based on this (and Twitter), simple graphics would be better. Think old-school PC game like Ultima, or the aforementioned Castle of the Winds, or even the graphical version of Nethack. Absolutely nothing fancy.

Any other thoughts?

Be careful with graphics, though.

Simple graphics can easily be labeled as crappy. If you're going for lo-res graphics, design them in some unique or quirky way as to let the prospective players know that the look was a deliberate choice and not a mere afterthought.

At the same time, all-text IS definitely less accessible. It's so much easier to click on an inventory item or dialog option than to literally type in everything you want to do...

Well, you could do neat stuff with text too. It depends on the platform; frex, a lot of text input on a console doesn't sound too hot.

Good luck.

[Doulifée]

So just to talk a little bit about the kind of depth to expect, I've been planning out how you can interact with NPCs. Every NPC will have an intelligence level (mindless, primal, sentient) as well as a host of personality attributes, like "aggressive", "cold", "dominating", "paranoid", etc. These attributes will influence how they behave toward the player. The player will be able to do just about anything with the NPC, from basic conversation, to threatening them, stealing or planting items stealthily, donating items or money, healing/curing (or attacking!), bribing, requesting (or commanding) them to follow, attack, give money, etc... and NPCs will have most of these options as well.

don't forget basic trading, in scavenger world or medieval world i always enjoy being able to trade with any people, so you can give a guy some stuff you have in exchange for food or healing item or vice versa, no need to involve money, Stalker and Obitus was using this and that was a nice addition.

[luhny]

I have a thing for the charm of old AGI Sierra games, like Kings Quest.

When I imagine a super huge world with it with less obscure puzzles and maybe adding a more active component... nice.

[WaywardSon]

Or you can make an RPG like this guy.

http://www.ludomancy.com/blog/2007/01/12/an-rpg-without-space-hunter-rpg/

[zircon]

Torquemada, you don't play World of Warcraft on Gorefiend, do you? There was a player by that name when I used to play.

[ocre]

I hope you like looking at text. Cause I imagine you're going to be looking at a WHOLE LOT of it if you undertake this.

But yeah, as someone who enjoyed the "choose your own story" books as a kid, I think this could be amazing.

[PriZm]

i do not believe it is such a good idea. for a very niche audience maybe. i will elaborate if you want

[zircon]

Feel free to elaborate. Any feedback is fine. But the main reason I'm posting is to ask who WOULD be interested - who likes this kind of thing, besides me. I know a lot of people would NOT be interested

[Torquemada]

Torquemada, you don't play World of Warcraft on Gorefiend, do you? There was a player by that name when I used to play.

Nope, not me. Those newfangled graphic MUDs are the work of the devil. Or Lord British.

So, what platform(s) are you going for?