Help this concept artist develop a world!

[Zpookies]

Hello folks, I am a RPG enthusiast and a concept artist (as the title says) and I am in the middle of planning a new project, currently brainstorming ideas for designing an open-world fantasy game. 🏹

I would like suggestions of those who are fond of any of the following games (or similar):

NieR: Replicant/Drakengard series; Elden Ring; The Witcher 3; Skyrim; Monster Hunter;
Zelda: Breath of the Wild; Shadow of the Colossus; Dragon's Dogma series; Horizon Zero Dawn

I have type a few questions for those who are willing to answer them, with hopes to spark a discussion of what an ideal open-world RPG could be. If you are interested, please check them below and give me your opinion! Please feel free to answer any (or all).


1. What type of character do you enjoy playing? Are there any specific favored classes or story-related roles? (Maybe you wish to be an important hero or a common wanderer?)
2. What are some features you have greatly enjoyed in other RPGs you've played and why?
3. What is a feature (or features) you would wish on your ideal RPG, yet have never seen them before?
4. What is something that helps you get immersed in the lore, to feel that a fictional universe is real?
5. Which of these things do you enjoy doing the most in a RPG (pick two at most): Combat, exploration, crafting, gathering? Collecting? (Spells, recipes, lore items such as books, etc) Doing the main story?

 

[ZedClampet]

I'll give this a try (groan from the audience).

1) As far as what type of character, I'll just say flexible. I like trying different play styles, and I want to be able to do that without having to start the game over. If I'm a level 20 fighter, and I suddenly wonder what it would be like to be a necromancer, I would like to be able to easily convert my character--as many times as I want.

2 and 3) I like crossover features from crafting/building games. I might want to take some time off from the questline grind to build and decorate a home. I also like collecting NPCs that move into my home/facility to work and live. This makes the game much more immersive and enjoyable to me.

4) If another intelligent race has their own kingdom/country, then going there should be truly like visiting another culture. Their buildings, clothes, houses, background music, food--everything should be consistent with this different culture. I should feel I'm somewhere strange and wonderful.

5) Exploration and crafting, but if the combat isn't good, it ruins the whole game.

Extra Credit: Here's what I think is some great advice that RPG devs rarely, if ever, follow. Go to the user-made mods for the RPGs that you admire and pull up the top 50 most popular mods. You are going to see a lot of similarities from one game to another; for instance, a lot of games with inventories will have "unlimited inventories" and also stack size mods. Basically, any mods (not counting the horny ones) that you see are popular in multiple games, build them naturally into your game. The best way to integrate these things might be through the settings. You could have "Unlimited Inventory" with a checkbox next to it. Etc.

 

[Zpookies]

I'll give this a try (groan from the audience).

1) As far as what type of character, I'll just say flexible. I like trying different play styles, and I want to be able to do that without having to start the game over. If I'm a level 20 fighter, and I suddenly wonder what it would be like to be a necromancer, I would like to be able to easily convert my character--as many times as I want.

2 and 3) I like crossover features from crafting/building games. I might want to take some time off from the questline grind to build and decorate a home. I also like collecting NPCs that move into my home/facility to work and live. This makes the game much more immersive and enjoyable to me.

4) If another intelligent race has their own kingdom/country, then going there should be truly like visiting another culture. Their buildings, clothes, houses, background music, food--everything should be consistent with this different culture. I should feel I'm somewhere strange and wonderful.

5) Exploration and crafting, but if the combat isn't good, it ruins the whole game.

Extra Credit: Here's what I think is some great advice that RPG devs rarely, if ever, follow. Go to the user-made mods for the RPGs that you admire and pull up the top 50 most popular mods. You are going to see a lot of similarities from one game to another; for instance, a lot of games with inventories will have "unlimited inventories" and also stack size mods. Basically, any mods (not counting the horny ones) that you see are popular in multiple games, build them naturally into your game. The best way to integrate these things might be through the settings. You could have "Unlimited Inventory" with a checkbox next to it. Etc.

Thank you for your response, this helps a lot!
Especially the advice about mods. I've always talked about how it's a shame that the players have to be the ones to find ways to implement something important in a game with mods, yet somehow never really thought about using them as a guide. I will also use your advice as reference for another game I am developing on the side.

I've been thinking of the first class being a free choice from character creation and the rest being unlockable by acquiring different weapons, while magic-related ones would require: things such as unlocking your first spells through the finding of a grimoire, or acquiring magic runes... Then switching between already unlocked classes would only take the act of switching weapons.

 

[Kaamos_Llama]

Hello folks, I am a RPG enthusiast and a concept artist (as the title says) and I am in the middle of planning a new project, currently brainstorming ideas for designing an open-world fantasy game. 🏹

I would like suggestions of those who are fond of any of the following games (or similar):

NieR: Replicant/Drakengard series; Elden Ring; The Witcher 3; Skyrim; Monster Hunter;
Zelda: Breath of the Wild; Shadow of the Colossus; Dragon's Dogma series; Horizon Zero Dawn

I have type a few questions for those who are willing to answer them, with hopes to spark a discussion of what an ideal open-world RPG could be. If you are interested, please check them below and give me your opinion! Please feel free to answer any (or all).

Ill give it a go.

1. What type of character do you enjoy playing? Are there any specific favored classes or story-related roles? (Maybe you wish to be an important hero or a common wanderer?)

I much prefer melee combat, so a good combat system that takes learning and a bit of skill is important to me.

2. What are some features you have greatly enjoyed in other RPGs you've played and why?

Exploration. I really like when the world has features that catch the eye and invite to go there and find out what happening. Surprises like in Elden Ring are great, weird creatures and ambushes to keep the player on their toes. Boss fights, well designed and fun ones, make them varied.

3. What is a feature (or features) you would wish on your ideal RPG, yet have never seen them before?

Make it open world, but dont make it too big. Every part of it should have a point to the game and story outside of padding the hour count. If theres not an interesting or unique encounter there it doesnt need to be in the game. Not to say some things cant be repeated, but not more than a few times.

Also if possible, dont make enemies the same with the same movesets and just give them more health as the game goes on.

4. What is something that helps you get immersed in the lore, to feel that a fictional universe is real?

Aside from games which are part of an older IP like D&D which gives a feeling of depth and history not really possible in original IPs? I'd say leaning into the shallowness of the world, make it dreamlike and surreal. Generic Tolkien derivative number 47890 isnt interesting anymore.

5. Which of these things do you enjoy doing the most in a RPG (pick two at most): Combat, exploration, crafting, gathering? Collecting? (Spells, recipes, lore items such as books, etc) Doing the main story?

Combat and exploration. I dont enjoy collecting or crafting for the sake of it much at all. Everything you find in the game should be significant to progressing to the end of the story or the character in some way, including any side quests. Collecting a billion Donkeyweed to make potions or killing 20 Wolves for the old shepherd isnt interesting to me at all.

 

[PointnClicker01]

I am propably not part of the main target group (the only game I have played from your list is Horizon Zero Dawn)… but I will also have a go at it:
1. I am a hunter class player as I prefer to have my combats from a distance (preferably none at all) and I would try to win a fight by preparing the surroundings with traps or finding the best spots where I would have an upper hand from the beginning. What I liked about HZD was that the main figure felt very real… You see her growing up (even play her as a child for a short while) and I could really sink into her perspective while playing.
2. I am an explorer. So what I enjoy most about the games is explore its full layout and finding interesting side quests. The side quests of HZD and Hogwarts Legacy were real highlights for me.
3. I am not sure if it already exists, but I have always wondered how it would be to have multiple generations in one gameplay. For example a father and his son, and at some point, the father dies and you take over as the son, getting new possibilities and a change of perspective in the middle of the game.
4. I am this type of player who needs a very good introduction into his main character in order to accept the full world around it. Once I can relate to my game character, and the main character reacts appropriate to the surroundings, I‘m in.
5. Exploration and collecting.

 

[Brian Boru]

3. I am not sure if it already exists, but I have always wondered how it would be to have multiple generations in one gameplay.

There are plenty such, altho I haven't played any. They're probably all strategy or RPG, eg Old World and Crusader Kings III.

 

[SHR-51]

1. What I enjoy the most is an established character — someone who seems like a real person in the context of the world, who has flaws, and wants things. I like a mage\wizard archetype where they don't use weapons, wands or staffs. They just have a spellbook. And they wear practical attire instead of robes and flowing mantles.
2. I don't know if it's considered a feature, but I greatly enjoyed swords having sheathes in Witcher 3 and Skyrim Also, navigation through environmental clues instead of UI clues.
3. The exploration of space. (Starfield doesn't count)
4. Smart writing is the most important part about this. Characters talking like they are part of the world, not devices to give me quests.
5. Main story and exploration.