   RPG/Simulation game idea ("Life Expected")
  [font="Book Antiqua"]Hello,My name is Anna and I have this game idea that won't leave me be. I have a computer game idea (RPG/Simulation) that I’d like some response on. It’s still very rough of course (I have just started developing the concept), but I am confident in the idea, and I definitely lost some sleep over the whole thing.[/font][font="Book Antiqua"]I will spare you many details of game play but try to present this to you in a concentrated and above all comprehensible manner.[/font][font="Book Antiqua"]”Your goal is to live life to the fullest according to your own unique conditions, characteristics and idiosyncratic persuasions.”I’ll be honest with you all and tell you that, the very thing making this game so unique and so brilliantly harsh against obvious seams of the grain, is also the big thing -I fear- people will complain about, or at least be doubtful towards.[/font][font="Book Antiqua"]I find that games today strive to give the player every opportunity to become everything they dream of being, this occurring more times than not in RPGs. This is often good, great even. You carry on about trying to become the best at everything or at least anything. You’re surrounded everybody else seeking their own fortune and triumph with the exact same goals, and with the same preconditions. It always makes you the chosen one, just like everybody else… [/font][font="Book Antiqua"]In the beginning of my game you would be “sorted” to live your life as a wizard/witch, an elf, a human or a rider of dragons. Your destiny (yes, key word: destiny) is based on your choice of a “key item”, your answers to some introductive questions and the worldly balance. This “balance” is one of the most important features of the game as its purpose is to regulate the population of the different species (wizard/witch, an elf, a human or a rider of dragons). Your character, when decided, will also have different traits and abilities. Some are chosen by you, the player, and some are congenital. These will affect your life in the game. For example, if you have chosen the “fast learner” trait, studying and taking classes and lessons will not be as time consuming for your character. There will be approximately 60-70 different traits available, and every character will have a maximum of 3 traits (everyone will start out with 2) although every trait isn't available to everyone.[/font][font="Book Antiqua"]In game you will have the chance to meet other players whom you can build relationships and families with; trade and work with, fight against, team up with or just share likings through your local bulletin board. You’ll have plenty of interactions to choose from but can also always just talk by using the chat box.[/font][font="Book Antiqua"]Whether you want to devote your life to magical animals, slay enemies or pursue a career in teaching, the knowledge obtainable is great and the opportunities available are appallingly numerous. Some of the choices to finance your life would be to: Work in one of the shops available, create your own business, teach your subject of choice, breed/sell animals, hunt and sell, protect the country from invasion and other no-good-doers, service in the magical world or become an interior designer!You will be able to attend classes, learn skills by studying, or you can try your luck understanding the life lessons you just have to figure out by experiencing them first hand.[/font][font="Book Antiqua"]The different types of characters all have abilities that the others simply lack. The in-game experience should be equally enjoyable for everyone and therefore, despite whom you are. Life will sometimes be difficult, sometimes exhilarating and sometimes magical.[/font][font="Book Antiqua"]The ideas for the game continue to unfold and I keep documenting them as they come! For now, this is just an idea, and your opinion still matters to me! I would love your input and thought. Is this an idea I should pursue and try to build on? Will it be exciting? Do you want to play? Will the hope of becoming a specific character lead to a disappointment too great?I won’t post more details here now although I have a lot more, I hope you can all understand the main concept of it.[/font][font="Book Antiqua"]“This makes the game more realistic. Face it; you’re not always the person you would like to be, heck, are you ever? In this game you will be pushed to harvest your potentials and compelled to reach your own destiny. Everyone has strengths and weaknesses. What matters is how you chose to lead your life despite your particularities, and because of your particularities. You will live alongside others who are different from yourself, who have different traits, who don’t share your goals and don’t necessarily share your sets of DNA.”The tital isn't set. I have some suggestions regarding it. Right now, I put down "Life Expected".[/font][font="Book Antiqua"]Thank you so much for your time, you who read all this and heard what I had to say.  I face severe technical adversity with this. But I want to believe for some reason. Maybe it's because I know that financially I have the resources. But to put the quote of the day out there, "money isn't everything".As stated earlier, comments are most welcome![/font]   
  The concept seems like an ambitious Sims style thing. In principle, I think this kind of game would work well - it's the ultimate escapism after all. But beyond that I don't really have much to comment on, as I think, if I've understood the idea properly, it's an unattainable goal. RPGs are big. Life simulations are big. Something that incorporates both is impossible. I imagine the game would require different game mechanics depending on the activities you chose to do? So if you went adventuring it would play like an RPG, if you were a teacher there would be different mechanics to make that work, perhaps something more social.I think you are focussing on the high-level too much here, you have a complete vision which I can get on board with and share, but with something like this try and consider individual mechanics. As far as I can tell you seem to be conceptualising a game which incorporates many, smaller games into one meta-game. That needs to be looked at. A game which gives you these options to pursue could work, but they would all have to share common gameplay elements and interactions.   ;  I think it's a great idea. My interpretation of this is a game a little like Fable, but bigger and more complex, and with no main goal. "You can do whatever you want" kind of game. Work a little , slay stuff, buy houses etc., create a family.I like the fact that the player is not "the chosen one". As you said you face severe technical adversity. At least you are aware of that. There are too many out there who has the best game idea ever, which often is more or less impossible to make.I would love to play this kind of game. Go for it!   ;  Hey Anna. Welcome to gamedev!I've been plagued by / toiling on a similar idea, tho' in a retro single player science fiction context. Some issues I've come across or run aground on that you may find useful:WHAT'S THE GOAL & WHAT'S THE LOOP?An RPG / life sims are nebulous because the subject matter (life) is wide open. You've got the big picture and may already have the details worked out but if not I think it's important to nail down the goal and main gameplay loop. RPGs at their core seem to be a cycle of challenge-reward-progression-repeat (or at worst kill-loot-level-repeat). Life sims have a similar cycle in terms of winning interactions in order to gain resources which in turn open new interactions, usually within a timeframe.In terms of goals I see that you have one pertaining to living life to the fullest it would be far stronger if it were more concrete. Try putting it in game terms. For instance, "Each player has a hidden game goal called their Destiny. Players use their skills, abilities and encounters with one another to determine what this Destiny is and how to fulfill it, all within a limited time. At the end of their time (life) players are scored based on how close they came to fulfilling this Destiny. Players receive different game endings (Epitaphs) based on this score."WHAT REPEATABLE, SCALABLE ACTIVITY WILL THE PLAYER DO THE MOST?This is the nuts and bolts of the main gameplay loop itself. Most RPGs are sustained by monster murder, often because its easy to vary and provide increasingly difficult challenges. For a life sim this may not make as much sense (at least not conventionally). If you stray from this formula, though, you'll have to provide an activity that's as viable. I'd like to add a few more observations but I'm pressed for time at the moment. I'll try to reply again a bit later. For more inspiration if you haven't done so already I'd maybe check out games from the Princess Maker and Cute Knight series as well as Spirited Heart and Kudos 1 & 2.;  A Tale in the Desert might also be a good one to look at for reference. It incorporates some similar ideas to yours, and is fairly successful.My one quick comment though is that I am extremely unlikely to play a game that is pitched to me with a line like "Face it; you're not always the person you'd like to be". Video gaming, for me, is very much about being exactly what I'd like to be, whether that's a legendary wizard or the best thief in the world, or whatever. Video games make it possible to simulate my being the greatest/chosen/legendary whatever. If I want to be just another guy, well, I have real life for that.That's not to say that there isn't merit in trying to avoid the whole "everyone is the chosen one" aspect of video games. But the game experience will need to be awfully compelling to compensate for losing the epic scale of my legendary hero saving the world from the ultimate super-villain. Especially since it will still be true that tons of other players are doing essentially the same things as me, whatever they may be.A lot of people play Second Life, and if it had just a bit more structure, maybe even more would do so. A lot of people play WoW or EvE, and there's not much chance that you can pretend that you are the chosen one in either of those. Your idea has merit and potential, but it may be hard to replace the admittedly cheap thrills of things like combat and delusions of grandeur and still attract enough players to really fill out your game concept.   