Math based RPG concept

When I came across this project, I thought it would be interesting to create my own NES game for this system. I've long been a fan of it and enjoy a good challange. The 3 color per 8x8 tile is a new one for me.

So first thing I did beside reading up on nBasic was play around with a few of the sprites I've made for previous games of mine. The one that faired the best, and seemed like the easist game to make was an RPG I created a long while back(maybe 10 years ago) for VERGE.

Lately I've been getting more into coding and have a better grasp of it, so I may be able to make this work. That and the useful examples I've found. One major drawback is that I have other projects and little time to share it with. So progress in that regard will be slow, however all the graphics, basic story and gameplay elements already exist to base it off of. So little modification is needed.

The game, called "7th Ring of the 7th Star' is about a alien world with two dominate intelligent races who are currently in state close to war. In the original you only played one of the main characters, although I had planned to allow choice time constaints didn't allow that back then. However I may include the second choice, allowing players to choose between a male and female character with different storylines.

The game would act like a basic RPG, move from room to room, fight monsters, solve puzzles and perform 'fetch' quest. However the math part gets incoorperated into the combat system, with your basic choices of attack and item use requiring the player to solve math problems depending on the command and difficulty.

For example, allowing the player three modes of difficulty:

Easy = single digit numbers

Medium = double digit numbers

Hard = triple digit numbers

In combat:

Weak attack = addition

Medium attack = multiplication

Strong attack = division

Item use = subtraction

Running away = random problem

Generally the problem will be generated randomly, except for division which will be generated the same as multiplication but swapping the answer with one of the multipliers to prevent fractions.

The graphics were pretty basic, and only a little modification was needed to convert the main character, so it shows promise.

At one point I started remaking it in game maker, but dropped that. Heres a few screens of the GM version, using the original graphics but with shadows and overlays. Of course a NES version would be far less colors and effects, but then it would be closer to the original. I'll have to resort to dithering in some cases.

Here's is the original map

Tags: concept, game, math, rpg

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Comment by Scott A. Williams on August 6, 2010 at 1:45pm: If anyone has a Win98 system you can play the original Verge version too. I don't have such a system sadly, but still have the original disc.
I think I will make a prototype in Game Maker.

Comment by Harrison Lee on August 6, 2010 at 6:37am: That would be great. I'd really like to see the game mechanics in play.

Comment by Scott A. Williams on August 5, 2010 at 10:43pm: Heres a mock up of the overworld I've whipped up.

I may endup creating a simulated version in a simple language or game maker for demonstration purposes.

Comment by Scott A. Williams on August 5, 2010 at 7:20pm: Very nice, although some names might need to be shortened in the end, I like what you've done. I have some additional documents with some events that go on in the game, and other general useful information. I can email them to you if you like.
Also did a little more conversions, redid the character as I felt I changed it too much.

Comment by Harrison Lee on August 5, 2010 at 5:28am: I've given most characters names as well as a name to one or two places. I have also done a little re-working of the narrative. Let me know what you think. Thanks!

On a planet in the 7th ring from the 7th sun, two supreme races once lived. One races, the Aquarians who were of the land and water, and the other, Pisek Lidi who were of the sand and air. Since their existence, the Aquarians and Pisek Lidi have mostly remained ignorant of each other’s presence, with the only form of interaction between the two being trade among small border towns. But of course, time has proven that these things seldom last….

One day, a wise man known as Zechariah came forth to the Aquarians and told their king, Annafiare il Re, of ways to bring water to the land to make it once again fertile and allow the Aquarians to bring prosperity to their people. Annafiare il Re eagerly approved an ordered his people to create great canals that ran through the Dead Plains south of the desert mountains. Water was to flow from the sea through the earth, cleansing it of salt and impurities to make it safe for drinking and farming.

However, all was not well, and soon a long-since forgotten algae was re-awakened. The Red Scourge, as Zechariah called it, spread like wildfire and grew upon the Pisek Lidi, causing them great disfigurement and sickness. Then Zechariah came to the Pisek Lidi and offered the people ways to harness demons of another dimension for revenge against the Aquarians. Soon thereafter, war broke out and no creature was left without the marks of battle.

Two brave warriors were called upon, a hunter by Annfiare il Re, and an outlaw by the border towns. Each had his own mission; the hunter was to bring victory to the Aquarians, and the outlaw was to end the conflict.

Comment by Scott A. Williams on August 4, 2010 at 5:46pm: Heres the basic story:

On a planet on the 7th ring from the 7th Sun two superior races lived. One of the land and water, the other of sand and air.

Since time began for them, they've left one another alone. Boarder towns occasionally performing trade.

One day all this changed. A wise man came forth to the people of water and told their king of ways to improve the fertility of their world, bringing prosperity and riches to all his people. Eagerly the king accepted and had his people construct great canals that ran through the dry plains south of the desert mountains.

Water was to flow through the earth from the sea, being cleansed of salt and usable for farming and drinking.

But the water in the dry lands awoke a long dead algea that began to spread under the earth, rising up and invading the desert region. The algea grew upon the sand people, causing them sickness and disfigurement.

The wise man then visited the sand people to help them, instead teaching them how to harness demons from another world to get their revenge on the water people...

Two heros were called upon, one a hunter called on by the king, and another an outlaw called upon by the boarder villages.

One to defeat them, one to stop the war.

Comment by Scott A. Williams on August 4, 2010 at 1:11pm: Voxels are fun to work with, I wish I knew of them longer ago.

Comment by Harrison Lee on August 4, 2010 at 11:47am: I did try the other RPGs and those were pretty neat. I liked the use of voxels.

Comment by Scott A. Williams on August 4, 2010 at 10:50am: Actually I'll have to send you the story I have, as it is a little different and concerns two main characters. I'll post up the basics sometime later.

In brief though, the two races live pretty much away from each other, however a recent project of one group starts to affect the others environment, bringing plague and diseases to there people.

Comment by Harrison Lee on August 4, 2010 at 7:13am: 7th Ring of the 7th Star
Basic plot (interpretation from images and overall theme)

It is the 7th year since the Atrulescan Cold began. The Cold began with the halting of conflict between the two races of the Elitrea and Zemorti. On the planet Atrulesca, the two races had deemed each other dangerous to the planet’s fragile ecosystem. They were right, but it was both races that had caused damage to the local fauna and resources. The two races waged war for a brief period of two months before both realized the damage they were doing to the environment was far greater than the rewards of victory. So a freeze to the conflict cooled the air and attitude of the populations, and for a period of time, there was peace. However, an unknown and unseen force has been manipulating both races, setting off minor skirmishes between the two races and slowly igniting the old flame of conflict. The most recent flashpoint was on the soil of the Elitrea homeland, Devlin’s Valley, where the conflict has now been escalating. Both sides are massing troops, and it is only a matter of time before one side fires the first round…