The Beauty of Determinism: Quick-Time Mechanics in a Tactical RPG
Format
SOECS Senior Project Demonstration
Faculty Mentor Name
Michael Canniff
Faculty Mentor Department
Computer Science
Abstract/Artist Statement
Typical combat mechanics in turn-based RPGs (role-playing game) end up having the player make decisions and just playing the consequences out on screen, while the player waits and hopes RNG (random number generator) works in their favor. Our idea to make gameplay more interactive and reduce RNG is to include quick-time mechanics similar to games like Paper Mario. For instance, typical RPGs have a percent chance to hit and can either miss, hit, or get a critical hit resulting in more damage than normal. Our solution is to remove the chance to hit and instead replace it with a mini-game using quick-time mechanics, so if the button(s) in the prompt are pressed at the correct time, depending on if the player is attacking or defending, the damage will be increased or reduced respectively. Missed button presses when attacking would have different effects based on the attack like simply losing the extra damage or missing the attack completely. The finished product will serve as a proof of concept to demonstrate our ideas for turn-based gameplay.
We were inspired by our appreciation for video games and sought to make our own game that would use similar mechanics, while adding our own touch to make gameplay more interactive and less RNG-based. We hope that others that don’t like too much RNG will enjoy the gameplay more, since it’s more interactive. Through these ideas we would be able to express the characters more as well giving them custom attack animations that would add to their personality. Our other goal is to integrate gameplay with story, so our ideas will hopefully make a game more fun, while adding to story and character development.
Location
Virtual
Start Date
25-4-2020 2:00 PM
End Date
25-4-2020 4:00 PM
The Beauty of Determinism: Quick-Time Mechanics in a Tactical RPG
Virtual
Typical combat mechanics in turn-based RPGs (role-playing game) end up having the player make decisions and just playing the consequences out on screen, while the player waits and hopes RNG (random number generator) works in their favor. Our idea to make gameplay more interactive and reduce RNG is to include quick-time mechanics similar to games like Paper Mario. For instance, typical RPGs have a percent chance to hit and can either miss, hit, or get a critical hit resulting in more damage than normal. Our solution is to remove the chance to hit and instead replace it with a mini-game using quick-time mechanics, so if the button(s) in the prompt are pressed at the correct time, depending on if the player is attacking or defending, the damage will be increased or reduced respectively. Missed button presses when attacking would have different effects based on the attack like simply losing the extra damage or missing the attack completely. The finished product will serve as a proof of concept to demonstrate our ideas for turn-based gameplay.
We were inspired by our appreciation for video games and sought to make our own game that would use similar mechanics, while adding our own touch to make gameplay more interactive and less RNG-based. We hope that others that don’t like too much RNG will enjoy the gameplay more, since it’s more interactive. Through these ideas we would be able to express the characters more as well giving them custom attack animations that would add to their personality. Our other goal is to integrate gameplay with story, so our ideas will hopefully make a game more fun, while adding to story and character development.