   Rpg-platformer?
  HiIm thinking of doing some rpg platformer in the mix of Mario World, Donkey kong country and wonderboy 3 (large project i know). Just add features i like and still trying to balance it out. For example wonderboy 3 (and also old link) has cool adventure/rpg features but is boring in the platformer department where mario excels.So my idea is to have many linked worlds maybe using something like the overview map of mario to get between worlds and let the player collect items, gold, experience, jumping and flying, fight bosses etc, you know, the good stuff:)Now for some Qs:1. Two players are fun (same keyboard, no network). Any ideas on how this can be done? In Mario world the players simply takes turns. Any example on a good game where they both play at the same time?2. If collecting xp and gold is a part of the game, should i lock completed levels to avoid grinding? Or just make gold and xp-need exponential like in diablo and wow? Maybe i can assign each world a level and give less bounties to a high-level player scewing around in a "weak" area (like wow actually...) That seem nicer.3. Any typical traps i should avoid in game design of this type of game?ThanksE   
  I personally think you'll struggle to maintain an audience if the platform part of the game is anodyne or repetative. I think keeping worlds and scenery fresh will give your game the longevity it needs as an RPG. I would personally try to obtain some of the outlandishness and hilarity that made the Metal Slug series so fun to play. This way, a player will feel compelled to play because the meat of the game is fun - not the usual reasons of character advancement. However, the question that needs answering is why must it be an RPG? How will the stats, weapons and other augments come into play in the platform segment of the game?   ;  still working on that, but i consider metroid an platform-rpg (and it rocks). In that the upgrades lead to unlocking new areas mostly. Maybe both gold and xp isnt needed (as it mostly can "buy" stuff so one is enough).Im mario world each course is pretty much completable with what you find in that level and thats also cool... This obviously needs planningBut i also like in link and wonderboy 3 that feeling when you can get that new sword you want. Given that it also has something to do with gameplay.E   ;  I think it will be difficult to build a great platformer RPG, because the crucial parts heavily conflict. An RPG evolves. The character's abilities change, the tools change, the situations change. And a platformer needs perfectly hardcoded balance. A jump always needs to go a certain height. A fireball always needs to move at a certain speed. Without that balance, the game will lose much of what makes it tick.The Metroid games that I've played didn't toy much with gradual character abilities. Just about everything was an on-or-off deal, for exactly this reason. Zelda is also similar in that way, but not as much so. Zelda has less real-time gameplay elements than Metroid, and they took the RPG aspects a little farther.   ;  Two things spring to mind.  First, Super Mario World had places you couldn't access unless you returned at a later time, after you'd activated one of the P-Block palaces.  That never seemed to be a problem.Second, Sonic the Hedgehog had that Knuckles add-on on the Genesis, where you could play old SOnic games with the new character, and the old levels had content that you couldn't access before, which Knuckles unlocked.  Pretty extreme, but that also incorporated an evolving world into a classic and highly polished platform game.I think it can be done, but it won't be easy.   ;  Yeah i know. Design has to be a bit more thorrough.Super Metroid also had area-unlock upgrades. And lots of powerups (energy-tanks) that where hidden. You didnt need them but they made the last bosses much easier. Im thinking more in the lines of that.But if i have two player action this becomes pretty hard to handle... Just image mario world with two players that needs to find upgrades/keys to unlock stuff... If they play together they can get the upgrades at the same time but i dont think that will work in the jump n run parts of the game. Maybe if they take turns just like in Mario world. But that makes two player much more like one player but different controls every second time...I kinda like the idea of collecting stuff. Maybe thats just me.   ;  You should check out 'An Untitled Story'. It's a great platformer, with exploration and collecting upgrades as it's key factors. There isn't much grinding to it, either, since upgrades don't depend on 'experience' but on exploring. Granted, there is a currency system and in order to buy everything in the game, some harvesting is required, but that's totally optional.As for coop gameplay, you could allow players to travel freely through the world, so they can play in separate levels if they wish, but add mechanics into levels that require 2 players to pass, so playing together in the same level allows them to find more stuff or unlock new levels. Or perhaps you can create systems that require players to be in separate levels - as long as it's obvious enough towards the players, of course. Heh, how about showing one level in the background of another, including a small, far-away second player jumping around there? :)I don't know how this would work out in reality, but this might give you some inspiration.As for experience and gold, how about removing them entirely, or making their role far less significant? Or allow players to replay previous levels, but only reward them experience and gold for enemies and items they didn't defeat or collect the first time. However, to me, it seems that the very nature of these systems invites grinding, so I'd leave them out or replace them with a less generic reward system - such as giving unique items or abilities.   ;  Try looking at an obscure game called castlevania: Symphony of the night.It did a mix of XP, Gold, Weapons, and platforming action.The main thing I would avoid in an RPG Platformer are very long platformer climbs where if you slip and fall you return practically to the bottom.  Its always frustrated me alot.   ;  i will skip xp and maybe gold also, we'll see. Cool game, that untitled story.2 player: But the play freely in the world, what does that mean? Is it mario world style, that the players take turn? But that doesnt work well with upgrades, since the other player then also has to find the silver key. And since the first one already did, they know where it is and getting is becomes a boring shore. Or maybe they share everything? At least keys/vital object needed to progress. Another good thing is to affect the world (like switch palaces in mario world).If i have gold i need to keep track of what they've picked up, otherwise you could repeat same levels to 'grind' and thats boring. But its fun to go back and look for that little extra you missed the first time. Especially since you now have the jumpboots you got from the SwampMonster:)This works if gold only can buy you permanent stuff. Maybe likecan buy/ found or awarded in levels: (effects both players in coop)1. Permanent Powerups, like better weapon, more hearts etc2. Keys or items that unlocks new areas3. "Gold" is shared between the two players.Each player has its own1. Lives. Like in mario3, if player 1 dies, the levels he completed will be locked but pickups taken do not come back.2. Temporary, level-specific powerups (like stars, mushrooms in mario)3. Less important items like coins that give extra lives (like in mario)This might be a good thing... Any obvoius flaw with this plan?E   ;  May I suggest modifications to the plan?First, have a look at older games. Ice Climbers, to some extent, had a TWO players platformer. I'll grant you that it was in fact one player controlling TWO avatars, but something could be taken from here. The original Donkey Kong Country  on SNES, along with DKC2 had the same use of the partner. You could team up and perform special moves. If you insist on having two players play at the same time, then maybe the timing of both players come into play for team-up actions. Like in Mario Kart : Double Dash, where the double dash starts were performed by both players at once, or the swapping of driver to copilot seat had to be accomplished by both players.now, about the RPG-platformer part, well, maybe you can look into "Gargoyle's Quest", an old Game Boy game, which used "power-ups" to open new zones in old levels.If you make use of the suggestion to only grant either XP or Gold for the enemies you didn't previously kill when crossing the level AND add on top of that optional power-ups that can only be bought through, well, extensive exploring, then you've made completists happy. You can finish the game at 50%, and the rest of the game is only platforming to find new equipments and NEW AREAS... Potentially a second Big Boss...Also, DO remember that RPG means Role Playing, and that you should play a role, not only go number-crunching... Quests should be a part of the game. Maybe you can only achieve some quests after finding all gold coins, or buying some stuff? What if you had TWO main quests? You try to save the kingdom AND regain the affection of your baby brother by buying him some extravagant new toys? You should have to choose whether to buy a power-up or a useless toy which only use would be to further your secondary quest? What if you REALLY needed to buy power-ups anyway? Would it be possible to achieve both goals in a single game?Let's say, for the sake of the story, that you were three brothers once, but the third one fell from a rooftop while adventuring with his elder brothers, and broke both legs. What if the reputation of the three brothers came to the ears of someone important who needed their expertise, but now, there're only TWO of them running? Would the two elder brothers feel compelled to save whatever needs to be saved? Would they try to lighten the mood of their brother as well? Could you manage to buy stuff that would allow him to move on rooftops again?Maybe your whole secondary mission is to buy the power-ups for yourself, as well as find objects scattered around the game, in order to create in the end a sort of rooftop attraction for a broken man? The reward for accomplishing all that would be to play an extra level with the third brother? Maybe in a wheelchair?   