[New Game Idea] Fitmon: Role-Playing Game motivating players

[delta_duck]

Just want to judge interest and get ideas for such a game (questions below description)...

Game description: Fitmon, a mobile monster role-playing game (RPG) where you get to rear monsters, go on epic adventures in the story mode, and build the strongest party in the world with PVP battles. Train your pets and level up by battling your enemies using special skills. Double your fun! Fitmon also tracks your steps on your phone! Besides in-game battles, you can level up your monsters by walking or running. The more your walk or run, the more in-game experience points and item rewards you get. Don't just play the in-game battles, get on your feet and stay active for your pet and they become stronger to battle and beat your foes!

1. Target audience: Mobile RPG players. Teenagers and above

**Is it suitable for this target audience?**

**If you are a mobile RPG player, will you be interested in the extra 'activeness features' at all?**

2. Art style: Fantasy RPG

**What do you think of the art style?**
**Which countries you think will be interested in such art style?**

[charlie]

Sounds commercial. We are an open source game dev community.

[Vandar]

* Step tracking won't help with my styles of sports/activity. I I'll not go for extra walks just for a game. I have too little time for all my activities during a day already.
* I have no idea what the "Grandblue Fantasy" style looks like. An example will be helpful to give better feedback.
* I'm not very fond of being emotionally tied to virtual things. Such just increased the chances to develop sort of an addiction, and it also causes real emotional pain if the virtual being is hurt - emotional pain which is completely unneeded. Real life delivers enough bad emotions already, I don't want to put my emotional well being at risk for a game.

E.g. I begun to avoid emotionally damaging games, books and movies. I am usually happy if I finally find some inner peace, and it's hard enough to keep it. A game that will bind me emotionally to a virtual construct, I consider it dangerous for my inner peace. For me, it says "stay away from this, you'll be hurt."

I'm also biased against PvP games. IMO it's better to let players team up against the computer, not against other players.

[Danimal]

I like the idea, its no doubt targeteed at teens-young audience, what graphic style will you use? 2d or 3d?

[Akien]

Sounds commercial. We are an open source game dev community.

Commercial and open source is quite fine. But indeed, judging by the first post with 0 mentions of free software or licensing, we can assume that the "free" in "FreeGameDev" once again lacked clarity. RMS should have called his movement the "Libre Software Movement" from the start, this would have spared us much pain.

[delta_duck]

Hi all

Thanks for the feedback

* Step tracking won't help with my styles of sports/activity. I I'll not go for extra walks just for a game. I have too little time for all my activities during a day already.
* I have no idea what the "Grandblue Fantasy" style looks like. An example will be helpful to give better feedback.
* I'm not very fond of being emotionally tied to virtual things. Such just increased the chances to develop sort of an addiction, and it also causes real emotional pain if the virtual being is hurt - emotional pain which is completely unneeded. Real life delivers enough bad emotions already, I don't want to put my emotional well being at risk for a game.

E.g. I begun to avoid emotionally damaging games, books and movies. I am usually happy if I finally find some inner peace, and it's hard enough to keep it. A game that will bind me emotionally to a virtual construct, I consider it dangerous for my inner peace. For me, it says "stay away from this, you'll be hurt."

I'm also biased against PvP games. IMO it's better to let players team up against the computer, not against other players.

What we're trying to just do is not purely getting people to go for extra walks, but more like getting people to find meaning in walking and eventually walk more because of the game. However, this 'ideal behaviour' is something we want to find out more about. Would people actually do it? So far, from what we've gathered some won't, some might. So its great that you've shared your POV, it helps us understand players better.

Grandblue fantasy style is something like this GB STYLE.

Here's some images of our current monsters:



Noted about the 'emotional backfiring' that you mentioned. We are trying to create an emotional bond in a way but not sure whether that will be the case for players. Good to know about how to truly feel!

Yes, we will be doing a test for PVP or Co-Op battles against computers.

May I know which country you are from?

I like the idea, its no doubt targeteed at teens-young audience, what graphic style will you use? 2d or 3d?

2D on mobile. Some pictures of our monsters are shown above

Sounds commercial. We are an open source game dev community.

Commercial and open source is quite fine. But indeed, judging by the first post with 0 mentions of free software or licensing, we can assume that the "free" in "FreeGameDev" once again lacked clarity. RMS should have called his movement the "Libre Software Movement" from the start, this would have spared us much pain.

Sorry, I'm still new here. Hope my posts are ok even though its a commercial product, we want constructive feedback that would help to create a game for the masses to enjoy, can we 'open source' ideas and feedback also?

[charlie]

Moved to off topic.

[Vandar]

May I know which country you are from?

I'm from Germany, but I don't think I qualify as stereotype for german culture. Some things I mentioned came from very personal experience, e.g. becoming addicted to games, and the emotional damage, because I seem to become very empathic even with fictional characters, and a trait that can make me feel almost physical pain from descriptions of violence. It's a thing between a curse and a blessing - it makes me avoid movies and books which other people enjoy, but if I need to help people, I can do that well, becuase I can feel like they do, and therefore have an easier way to "do the right thing".

The graphics style should be perfect for teenagers, at least to my understanding of what teenagers like these days (and what I see posted on art communities).

Tamagochi and the like had (and I believe still have) big fan communities, so people can enjoy taking care of virtual pets, also to "develop" them (what is happening in Pokemon, I believe). So the idea should have the potential to create a fan base - particularly a very involved fan base, which should be a good thing for a project.

I honor the attempt to make a game that fights unhealthy lifestyles. And for people who don#t walk a lot, getting them walking is the first step. Biologically humans are walkers/runners, and the long-distance races show that we are very capable in that field, the longest distances which are run with only breaks for eating and sleeping are like 5000km. Trained humans are very good long distance runners, also very good cross country runners, due to our long legs, and biped walking style. You are on the right track there, that walking is important for our bodies, it's what nature made us for.

I dislike the single link from creature development in your game to walking step count. After a second thought though, I wouldn't have a problem with that, because I walk a lot during the day, and so I would get a good step count by doing nothing else but having my usual daily routine.

I see that you need such a "real" link to keep track if people are really working out, but personally I'd like more of a subtle influnce to teach people about healthier lifestyles, e.g. healthy food, healthy sleeping habits, dangers from chemicals/food addons/drug abuse and the like. It's a huge package that contributes to our health, and maybe you should make the creatures in your game live as examples, e.g. make the player take care that they get enough physical activity, proper food, sleep and such, and the idea of "do this to be healthy" will manifest in their minds, furthermore influencing they decisions which they make for themselves.

On the other hand, this is conditioning of people by subtle brain washing, implantinmg ideas and rules into their minds which were not their own in first place, but which they adopt due to the way of taking care for virtual creatuzres, and the line between virtual and real will blur eventually.

It's difficult.

Well, just try it. I see potential in the idea. The artwork that you showed will make an emotional bond between the player and their creatures easy, they are loveable.

[delta_duck]

@Vandar

Thanks for your perspective. Haha, glad to know that you are stereotypically. Being yourself and giving a different perspective is great.

Yes, we are trying to make it as subtle as possible. One thing we are also exploring is whether players will actually enjoy both the in-game mechanics (such as the battles and progressing through battles) and the 'tracking to progress'. We aren't sacrificing one for the other but want to allow players to choose, if they battle more in-game, they will get rewarded and can still progress. If they choose to walk, it accelerates progress but we won't punish you if you don't walk, just that you might get 'extra' stuff from walking/running.

Regarding art,
Here's a mockup we recently did, glad to have feedback about how appealing it is to you. Its one of the monsters with an environment (see below)



Thanks a lot!

[Vandar]

The artwork looks nice. I triggers the thought "For the children" in me, which is roughly what you want, regarding the target audience, I assume. I'm somwhat sure that the artwork will trigger interest in teenage girls more than in teenage boys.