Most RPGs and (non-action) adventure games are examples of "I have a brilliant idea for a world and story, but I have zero ideas on actual game mechanics."
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@xianc78 that me :D
maybe i'm selling myself short but for real lol i have basically no idea what i'm doing when it comes to battles and they are very basic. as long as they work and are generally balanced though that's all i'm really looking for.
the focus is definitely heavily geared towards the world. kind of what i went into the development for, just to make an interesting world. the plot rests on top of it, and the battles/puzzles serve as a way to justify it being a game.
@beardalaxy The only ways I can think of to change the battle formula is to have Paper Mario style quick time events during attacks or something really unique like Undertale. Games like Earthbound have quality-of-life features like the rolling hp mechanic. Chrono Trigger has battles take place on the actual map with characters moving around during battle. I remember hearing someone mentioned about having items as characters, but to me that sounds a lot like the basic concept of Pokemon.
That's my main gripe with turn-based RPGs. They are way too content focused. They could all run on the same game engine provided that the engine in question has a good enough scripting language (which is probably why RPG Maker exists). The other gripe I have is that they would probably be better as action-adventure games if they actually have solid gameplay, but I don't know if anyone is welling to play a 40-hour action-adventure game.
@beardalaxy Well if it's something like (pre-BOTW) Zelda or Metroid, then you need 40-hours worth of unique items that allow you to progress throughout the adventure and you need to be really creative with said items. The only other way I know how to do it is just to have a complete open-world like GTA or the newer Zelda games where it is completely non-linear or has a bunch of side-quests.
@xianc78 i haven't played dragon age, but i know it is a pretty well received game that is also quite long.
@xianc78 oh, plenty of people are willing to play a 40 hour action adventure game. not many people are willing to make one, though. it's waaaay easier to make a turn-based RPG.