3d Indie game - concept and video

[Lucky Hand]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PIvmrM3UNI

So here is a short video of what we got going, and the following is the game concept.
I was looking for some criticism on this project. Do you think my design concept is too lofty to reach?
And do you think that the technical aspect of this project is too large for a small team to handle especially because its 3d
(network code, animation, modeling, special fx, ect) ? I ask these questions because I'm rather new to indie game development,
and don't quite know what to expect. I'm using ogre3d and bullet physics, so with the help of those libraries I've been able to make
decent progress, but I feel that some of the very technical aspects of 3d programming could be rather overwhelming.

This is an online multi-player first person shooter that will let a player make his own class using magic, melee, and guns. The ability to make your own unique class combined with an interactive environment will make this game a unique take on the staid world of the first person shooter genre. A player has the option in this game to make up their own role in battle via the abilities they compose their character from. This game is meant to support every single playing style a first person shooter could have. It doesn't matter if you want to be a ninja, gladiator, jedi, mage, spellsword, sniper, cqc specialist, explosives expert, standard soldier, the FarCry predator, medic, staff chick, general support, chaos mage, or just a general mischief causer, this game will support the style of play you have always desired in an online fps.

Every player chooses 2 primary weapons(guns, staffs, and melee), and up to 4 secondary abilities(small guns and melee weapons, equipment, and spells).
The player will also choose what armor, and armor "mods" they wish to have.
This system is meant to allow the player to have the freedom to choose from a seemingly infinite amount of combinations. When you realize that most abilities that you can do will also in some way affect the environment, whether it be adding force to a physical object, creating a wall in front of you, reflecting spells/projectiles back where they came, or making traps for players to fall into, you will know why this game is called Infinite Entropy. The design of this game is to make an environment where the craziest events are possible and no two games will ever play the same way.

[k1net1k]

wow nice first post, nice video, and good luck with your game.
please feel free to document any development progress, code examples, or things you learn while doing this.
i know i would love to hear how ogre3d is working out for you, and i assume others will be inspired by this too

also dont let the project get out of hand by adding too many weapons or combat modes.

[eatcomics]

Hey man that sounds cool. I'm working on a 3D engine that I hope to have running a decent game. I think the main thing to keep in mind with a project like this is that you won't have a game looking like the newest call of duty. It may look dated or may not have all the flashy things. But what really matters is gameplay and performance. If you can get a fun game that runs on most computers then you can definitely build a fan base. So really just make sure your expectations are realistic, and just have fun with it :D

[christo]

What would you do differently if you believed your current plans were too ambitious?

[Lucky Hand]

I think our art-style is going to be very abstract, so
it'll have appeal without being top-of-the line.
And if anyone needs code for ogre or bullet I could definitely
help them out.

And if this project is too ambitious I really don't know what could
be cut and not missed. But if it comes down to it, I guess I'd be
just trying to cut all the features in a distributed way.

[Van-B]

I like the idea of mixing things up, like having magic and traditional weapons, let people define their own character. My chief concern would be the media aspects, you will certainly have to stylise as already said. Maybe look to Borderlands for inspiration - as that's much more comic book than most games - it actually looks like a comic. The main thing though is you wouldn't want to worry about normal mapping - try and avoid that like the plague, because it drags out media creation time. It probably takes 3 or 4 times as long to make a proper normal mapped model, as it does to make just the standard textured model. Cartoon shaders often run quite smoothly, so I suggest going for that look. Maybe an anime style, DragonballZ or something like that would fit. I'm thinking that there's more anime artists around than most other genre's, and it's just the sort of game idea that get's people interested.

It's been too long since we had a FPS that let the player do cool stuff. Know what I mean? - remember DukeNukem3D... pipe bombs, lasers trips, shrinking, freezing, traps... damn that was a fun game once you knew a level layout - setting traps and flanking camp sites like a pro. I want to pay to have my bullets cursed/blessed by a witch doctor, a vampire cross shotgun, and a grenade full of those ghouls from Raiders of the lost ark . FPS games should be more about mischief, we have enough 'serious' war shooters it would be great to see something different, I hope you get this done.

[eatcomics]

I like the idea of mixing things up, like having magic and traditional weapons, let people define their own character. My chief concern would be the media aspects, you will certainly have to stylise as already said. Maybe look to Borderlands for inspiration - as that's much more comic book than most games - it actually looks like a comic. The main thing though is you wouldn't want to worry about normal mapping - try and avoid that like the plague, because it drags out media creation time. It probably takes 3 or 4 times as long to make a proper normal mapped model, as it does to make just the standard textured model. Cartoon shaders often run quite smoothly, so I suggest going for that look. Maybe an anime style, DragonballZ or something like that would fit. I'm thinking that there's more anime artists around than most other genre's, and it's just the sort of game idea that get's people interested.

It's been too long since we had a FPS that let the player do cool stuff. Know what I mean? - remember DukeNukem3D... pipe bombs, lasers trips, shrinking, freezing, traps... damn that was a fun game once you knew a level layout - setting traps and flanking camp sites like a pro. I want to pay to have my bullets cursed/blessed by a witch doctor, a vampire cross shotgun, and a grenade full of those ghouls from Raiders of the lost ark . FPS games should be more about mischief, we have enough 'serious' war shooters it would be great to see something different, I hope you get this done.

Aw... my multiplayer zombie survival game sounds so much less fun now... Although now that you mention traps that gives me some ideas...

[Lucky Hand]

Aw... my multiplayer zombie survival game sounds so much less fun now... Although now that you mention traps that gives me some ideas...

Well every game has a different appeal to it. I think its all about finding some
fun mechanics, and perfecting them.

But yes i couldn't agree more that the fps genre is the LEAST INNOVATIVE
of all genres of games (in the main stream market). All I want to do is
give the player the tools to create; whether they are making something
physical (minecraft) or creating a new strategy. I want the players of my
game to teach me how to play it.

The hardest part of this game is going to be balancing it. The reason behind this
is it is almost immpossible to compare the different abilities. I have one school
of magic that is about destruction and another about creation and support. So how
is one able to say that it is a better strategy to create a wall in front of you, or
destroy the wall in front of your opponent? Is it better to reflect damage back at a
player, or just run and gun?

So here is my solution for balancing all these diverse abilities:
1. Universal defense:
I was reading about how this game designer balanced this fighting game where each
character had VASTLY different means to attack. So to put all the characters on
a level playing field he gave them all the same defensive moves. Because everything
could be blocked or countered, balance was a more tangible thing.
The defense in my game is not universal; it is a decision. You could choose spells
that make yourself harder to hit, you could choose all aggressive abilities, or a
nice combination of aggro and control(defense).

In this regard I modeled my fps after "Magic: The Gathering." Your "deck" is
the set of abilities you choose before the match. And it is how a player chooses to
combine their abilities that makes the game interesting. So each opponent you encounter
will be using a different strategy, and you must think quickly and react appropriately to
their actions. Some players will try to make their characters quick and use their speed to
get to advantageous positions in the map, or evade danger. Other players may want to
be a slow juggernaut. Its all about creating some new strategy, trying it out, and evolving.

2. Data Collection
I am going to add a simple data collection system that will report to me the
usage of each ability. This way I can determine which are most popular. Assuming
that popularity directly correlated with effectiveness, I can then research the over-used or
under-used ability and balance it.

But yea, this should turn out to be an interesting game when we get it done.