geography slowly taking form

It's slim now, I know.. but I'll continue detailing the geography section when I return. Hopefully, we can get some imagery on some of those pages soon, too.

stories on the way, in some form or another

whether they're comics or just illustrated short stories.. I want to start working on the first chunk of them soon. Starting probably, with the story of each God escaping. (I have a small story planned for all but the God of Air.. but I'll figure something out or ask for help if I can't.) I will be looking for artistic assistance on that endeavor, when the time comes. More on this when I get home, probably.

the system, in general

We need to have the basic foundation of a system laid down by the end of next month, but I think we can do it faster. I will try again to write a new proposal to consider, tear apart, etc.. ;) Though a lot of what is already on the wiki gives us a great idea what we're shooting for, it doesn't really serve as steady ground to build a balanced game system on.

the crystal conundrum

Here are some quick examples of how the crystal shards might work, in the game.

• they are somehow made to be the backbone of a magic system.
  • examples of magic systems like that can be found in a number of games..
    • ..like final fantasy 6 & 7 .. and Chrono Cross.. and probably a lot of games that I am forgetting or just haven't played.

• just part of a large ongoing quest of finding gems (shards, jewels, stones) for the purpose of modifying your equipment..
  • for an example, each of these items could have some use or application, where they would somehow become part of your equipment. Probably by "equipping" gem-type objects on to your existing equipment, to modify the benefits (and penalties) that you receive from it.
    • maybe you have a long sword with one "slot".. you place a pure red crystal fragment in this slot and now that weapon's elemental damage-type is "fire".. maybe there is even a weapon spell effect that is randomly activated during normal attacks. The same sort of effect could apply to armor; like equipping that same red fragment to the slot on your breastplate, would produce some sort of fireshield effect..

• both of those ideas could work together. Perhaps when you get the spell effect to function for the first time, it begins the learning process. This could also be one of a few ways to learn magic.
  • other more traditional methods can be present as well; books, scrolls, runes.. etc.
    • the latter (script & text) method could be reserved for advanced magic. Maybe the crystal shards can teach you a number of basic spells, but the more intricate ones require actual concentrated study.

• the idea was raised that perhaps it's the unspoken duty of each player to return what crystal shards they find, to the original crystal. These "main" crystals would actually fluctuate in size with the amount of shards donated back to them.
  • part of the idea was that the world's supply of energy could actually be depleted, perhaps to the point where people can't use magic, unless something is done about it.
    • it would be a definite ongoing quest, because of its hindering effect on magic-use.
      • Pauan didn't like that part of the idea as I recall, because it discriminated against magic-users. I suppose I tend to agree. The entire idea is just a little too flimsy, though. I just thought it was worth mentioning for some reason.

• at any rate, the crystal shards should be worth something. Enough that the Gods are seeking to collect them, before Mankind realizes their "true potential" (whatever that ends up being) .. The Gods create monsters to help gather the shards and hopefully, to destroy Mankind in the process.

Concept Art Requests

Anything that's been described so far that anyone feels any desire to sketch, draw, etc.. please do so. I think it'd be ideal to decorate these pages with imagery relevant to the subject-matter.

A large chunk of this will end up being the animals and monsters sections. I think we could start using categorizing flags for each creature, to be used in any number of combinations. The flags could be things like: (diurnal) (nocturnal) (herbivore) (carnivore) (aggressive) (undead) (general animal-types)..etc ..basically descriptives that can be used to group creatures together in various ways, that can also be adapted if need be, to some sort of in game behavioral status.

• example: the creature in the room is an herbivore; lucky for you, you're not a plant!
  • another example: the creature in the rooms is an herbivore but is aggressive! LOOK OUT, plant and meat alike!

Bottom line, we should have a nice full realm of creatures, though I'm all for the notion of using monsters as templates for "new" monsters.

Geographic detail. The map is fine to tell us what type of terrain is where, but I'd like to see some takes on what some of these places might look like and likewise, I'd love to have images to place in each location's article. With the articles for the continent's for example, instead of just cropping the map to show what the area is, it'd be nice to have a mock-photo of it. Even if it's just a sketch and you don't feel like doing the coloring, pass it along.

For the basic elements of each area, we don't need a ton of descriptions to get the lay of the land sketched out with a little more detail. If something is thought up after the fact, like a city or something else noticeable from a distance.. I'm sure it's within our collective capabilities to just add it to the picture later.

Besides that, I'd like some help with ideas for things like natural landmarks in some of these environments.

Other stuff

Names are becoming something of a dizzying task for me. I'm not opposed to using real life names for certain things.. we can't avoid it to a certain extent.. but I'd like to make an attempt to have some original names for just basic things like types of metal and other materials.. obviously, names for original animals, even if they're strikingly similar to something in real life. We're locking the race names down for the time being.

Things that I will be updating when I get home

I'm leaving in a few hours, out of state for a week. I won't be able to work on much of this while I'm away and there's a SMALL chance that I'll be staying longer. In the unlikely situation that I DO stay longer, I will notify Rotonen as quickly as possible, about my situation. Realistically though, I'll be home as scheduled, on the 19th.

The bulk of what I'll be able to work on, if anything at all while I'm gone, will be concept art. Something I've previously not had a lot of time for.

next progress log will be in about a week and a half or so. sorry for the sloppiness (TIRED!) and wish me luck on my journey!

Dabe 09:15, 12 May 2007 (CEST)