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An Idea

Posted: Fri Apr 26, 2019 2:17 pm
by AntiAccess
I have been watching the development of the game for like two years. Usually, I enjoy reading others’ post, but an idea suddenly bumps into my head a few days ago, which I would really like to share with you. This could be a little long, and I apologize for any grammar mistakes.
So the big question is, what makes a player thrilled? I still remember the first time I played the fishing village mission in XCOM. It was terrifying to see chryissalids crawling out of whales one after another when my squad is running out of ammo and time. However, it never feels the same when you play it again. When I first saw the Andromedan in XCOM2 rose back on its feet, I was really surprised. But when the game runs out of new aliens, it feels kind of boring. Through save-scumming and trial-and-error, an experienced player can overcome nearly every challenge. You can’t expect everyone to turn on ironman, right?
Then, what is still unique to the player when aliens have all the big guns? The ability to manipulate time. What if, there is a boss (or endgame crisis, whatever you call it) that can manipulate time just like the player? If Sans in Undertale knows your “determination”, why can’t the alien boss reverse the time and try a new strategy just like the player does? It will be so thrilling to fight an enemy that copies your good old strategy (admit it, we all do save-scumming), and it will never feel the same because the boss is basically unpredictable. Of course, there must be some kinds of limitations and patterns of this “power” so the player can still fight back.
We can go further. Why would the alien have this power? The answer could be that the alien commander, is also a player. To him/her, the solar system is the battleground, and his mission to conquer Earth is just another game. This would justify almost everything as it turns the things that need to be justified (like why not just bombard Earth) into hints. It would be safe to assume that alien game makers also want to give players some challenges. In addition, because this cannot be disclosed to the player until the ending, another motivation must be used during most of the time. This means my idea does not contradict with other ideas, at least that is what I hope.
Basically, it is like playing as the Elder in XCOM2, though the player is still the underdog. I can imagine that in the final standoff, the alien boss would make some comments that break the fourth wall, like “So much bloodshed in the name of Terra, but I know this is just a game on the screen to you, right?” Upon defeat, maybe the alien boss would say “I accept my defeat this time, but I will start again. It will ALWAYS start again!”, referring to other playthroughs.
I hope this would be useful for the development of the game. I really wish I had the money to become an angel investor, but I am just an ordinary player.

Re: An Idea

Posted: Sat Apr 27, 2019 2:11 pm
by Flanker_27
It's true that it sounds interesting, especially the idea of leaning or straight out going through the fourth wall.

If you ever get hired as a scenarist for a game, movie or something, don't hesitate to tell the forum!

Re: An Idea

Posted: Mon Apr 29, 2019 9:11 pm
by johnnylump
Thank you for your thoughts.

If you haven't seen it, I think you'd really like the film Edge of Tomorrow.

Re: An Idea

Posted: Fri May 03, 2019 2:24 am
by asaz989
Sounds like you'd really enjoy playing Achron.

Re: An Idea

Posted: Fri Jul 05, 2019 9:59 am
by tarkalak
Some time ago I was thinking about an X4 game which randomizes research every game. Like one game you would have Laser being strong and the next missiles. And that their relative strengths would change in each research tier again randomly. And the same for everything else. That would force you to search for the "best" path all the time rather than just figuring it out once (or just reading a post about it) and getting bored.

Of course the AI would be a beast to make.

Re: An Idea

Posted: Thu Sep 19, 2019 1:06 pm
by Hadza
tarkalak wrote: Fri Jul 05, 2019 9:59 am Some time ago I was thinking about an X4 game which randomizes research every game. Like one game you would have Laser being strong and the next missiles. And that their relative strengths would change in each research tier again randomly. And the same for everything else. That would force you to search for the "best" path all the time rather than just figuring it out once (or just reading a post about it) and getting bored.

Of course the AI would be a beast to make.
It exists and it's called Sword of the Stars. Every race has weights for certain techs (Liir have a large chance to get shields for example) and get randomized techs every game. It's made so if you didn't get one path, you'd have at least something to balance it out with and even if not that, you can still salvage enemy tech from time to time.