Four unlikely heroes face off against an omnipotent foe who had beset the land with evil creatures. They must journey to the lair of this foe. defeating all in their way, and break the source of it's power, for only then will the land be rid of evil.4v1 (name subject to change) is the idea for a game that spawned from a discussion my brother and I had. Harboring this idea since 2008, I decided to finally go ahead and devote time to it. I plan on creating it using Love2D. Essentially, 4 action/adventure (read: Legend of Zelda) players compete against an RTS player in a fantasy setting. The team of 4 has to make their way to the Overlords base to win, solving puzzles and defeating enemies that the Overlord sends at them. The Overlord must simply kill the heroes in order to win, as nobody else can stop him.
Before I continue into greater detail, I would like to point out that so far, anything below is completely subject to change, along with any names. If you feel you have a better idea than any of the ones I present, please tell me and I'll consider adding it.
The map. Right now, I have really no idea what this will look like. I'd like it to be rather big and Zelda-ish, but I have no idea how to make that happen right now. I'd also like there to be either multiple maps, or randomization, so that it makes it a little more interesting.
The Heroes. The idea I currently have in my head is that of LoZ: 4 swords, where the players play identical characters. Items would be the only things that separate them. However, I am open to a possible class-based system or any other systems that would work just as well. I'm also not sure what to do about the character's appearances. I could have each player look exactly like a stock character, differing only by color (like LoZ). Or I could have each stock character look different (more like Final Fantasy 3 for the DS). If I do a class-based system, I could have each class be a different character, and multiples of the same class would differ by color. The final appearance idea I had was for that of custom characters. The options on this could range from minimal customization to total customization. For example, the player could simply choose a character, then recolor. Or the player would have the option of changing every detail of their appearance. As far as gameplay goes, the controls would be that of LoZ. This team would need to solve LoZ puzzles while fighting off any of the foes that the Overlord throws at them. They can venture into houses, dungeons, secret areas, etc. as well as speak with NPCs and the like.
The Overlord. Controls would of those found any any RTS game. Select/Action with the mouse, hotkeys for other things. The Overlord has control of basic minion units who, on their own, are weak. However, their main purpose isn't to fight, but instead, they are used to construct things. By joining these basic minions together, the Overlord can make advanced minions (Melee, Ranged, Speed, and Miniboss), each type having different stats and requiring different amounts of basics to make. In addition to advanced minions, basic minions can be used to form structures. This includes resource stuff, traps, and other things, as well as a few special buildings. As an omnipotent being, you have complete control of your minions, as you are able to see everywhere they might be. However, you are able to directly interact with them on a minimal scale. One of these special buildings would be to create a body for yourself. Having a super high basic minion cost, once completed allows the Overlord to use a MOBA style character. Until this body is defeated, the Overlord temporarily loses direct control of all minions. Instead, the Overlord has a skill that will call all minions in a certain range to follow it and attack whatever it's attacking. If this body is defeated, however, the Overlord is disoriented and loses control of everything for X seconds. Once that time is up, the Overlord is played as normal. The resources system I currently have worked out would be similar to LoL's gold system. The Overlord receives X minions every Y seconds, where X is however many minion spawns he controls (think of the minion spawns in games like Gauntlet). The Overlord is able to build more of these spawns. Final thing I'd like to mention is that of appearance. The original idea I had for this team was enemies that look similar to
the phantom blot. I'd really like for this idea to stay, so I'm not sure about customization. I guess this team could be recolored, but I feel like that'd take away from the original feel I intended.
Balance. Probably the most important element in this entire game, yet it's the one I'm struggling with the most. I already have a few ideas in place to help balance things out, but I'm not sure exactly what to add.
First issue: A team of very good players could, in theory, rush to the lair and easily defeat the Overlord before he has a chance to set anything up. Solution: At the beginning of each game, the players are put into a 3-5 minute mini-dungeon. This dungeon has some incredibly hard challenges that the players aren't expected to pass. If the players make it to the end, they will unlock some sort of buff that will help them out. What that buff is, I'm not entirely sure, but my current idea is that of a secret shop found towards the end of the game that will grant the players some sort of special weapon or buff. While the players are trying to beat this dungeon, the Overlord has about 3-5 minutes to set up, making things a bit more fair.
Second issue: Even with that time, it's still possible for the players to rush through and defeat the Overlord. Solution: The map will have some neutral puzzles that will slow the progress of the heroes. The Overlord also has the ability to make these more difficult by setting up traps and surrounding them with enemies.
Third issue: Minions might be too strong for the heroes at the start of the game and too weak for the Overlord at the end of the game. Solution: The farther the minions get away from the tower, the less powerful they are.
Connectability. When I first had the idea, I originally imagined that each player would need their own computer. However, after talking with a friend, we concluded that this game would also make a fantastic arcade game. After finishing it, I'd love to be able to build a cabinet, stick this in it, and play it with my buddies. With this in mind, the number of systems needed to play should be 2-5, at least 1 for each team.
Now that I've pretty much wrote down as much as I can think of, I need your help! Please, help me out with this project. The thing I want the most right now are ideas, which requires little to no work on your part, so this should be easy for you. However, if you'd like to take a more active approach, scripters, spriters and mappers are welcome. I have a reputation with my friends as always having plenty of ideas, yet I am never able to finish them. Help me lose this reputation!
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