ability brainstorm

ability brainstorm

Postby Dread Knight » 21 Jan 2014, 04:19

Hello guys! I spend a lot of time thinking about unit abilities. I have lots of files around my pc and also part of my room and furniture is covered with sheets of paper filled with ideas related to the game.
Sometimes I change an unit a few times completely before or after it has been coded and tested during gameplay. The game intends to have at least ~50 units for the first set and more sets will eventually come if things go well. I'm basically trying to get the most out of each unit and maybe you can help me out with that a bit, hopefully it will make a difference. I'll be providing some guidelines and if you get any inspiration, feel free to contribute something.
Remember, this is a brainstorm so no idea is "stupid".

Image

Each units has 4 abilities, first one being passive, so you have no direct control over how it's being used, the second one is a basic attack, which is usually done against adjacent foes, this attack does some damage, can be of multiple sources and requires low amount of energy. Medium and large units have some dead spots on the sides, so they might not be able to attack foes sitting there. The last two abilities tend to be more unique and it matters more how they're being used, they also cost more energy so they should be used optimally. They require a target area or unit and might only work in certain patterns. They can be offensive, defensive, strategic and so on.

Even if the game is turn based, all abilities should be described pretty clearly with rather little text, almost tweet like. I hate it when I see real time strategy games and mobas that have very complex abilities, basically forcing you to be rather idle for a few minutes while reading a lot of text and trying to figure out what the ability actually does, at times only to find out you basically wasted your time as you're confused even more.

The abilities should be related to the unit's equipment, characteristics or natural weapons. The game is Sci-Fi, so no magic stuff. Think of X-Men and how the super powers of mutans are somewhat explained through science or pointing at it.

Sometimes I get inspired doing abilities by browsing this collection http://game-icons.net - it's the same icon collection that's being used by the game.

So look around this page http://AncientBeast.com/units/#creaturegrid , think of what you would see a certain unit doing and let me know about it, even if it's just an animation or ability. It doesn't matter if that unit already has it's ability made and it's available in game, though I would prefer ideas for the units that don't have much going on on the website atm. If you associate an ability with an icon, even better :)
AncientBeast.com - Battle other players by materializing and controlling awesome creatures, each having unique abilities!
FM Patreon page - Support the free open source game development foundation and creation of high quality free assets!
User avatar
Dread Knight
AB Moderator
 
Posts: 103
Joined: 17 Feb 2012, 12:00
Location: Freezing Moon

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 1 guest

cron