The is a classic top-down RPG in the same style as the older Ultimas, and Exile games. The focus of the game will be on building up the character in levels and equipment, and of course exploration. The game will take place mostly in various dungeons, towers, and caves with entrances scattered around the main town.
Here are the main features:
Randomized maps will be very important in this game. There will be a wide range of map types including: maze, tower, cave, cellar, and a few more. Each will have its own algorithm on what the building structures will look like.
There should also be allowances for certain "themes" of dungeons. An undead theme should be allowed in dungeons, towers, caves, cellars, etc.
What may be developed is a magical door/key system where certain colored keys can open specific doors. The system would have to take into account what keys are available, and what doors need opening. This would be similar to what Vic Slade did for his dungeon game with colored door/keys.
There will be prefab rooms which will not be a typical rectangle but some other shape. This room could be triangular, circular, etc. Some prefab rooms may also contain special items inside such as fountains, treasure, or big bad guys.
Here are the types of Areas (or Maps), all scattered throughout the town. Each kind will have locations in varying difficulty.
Dungeon - This is the typical "dungeon" with rooms and corridors, sparsely lit in places, with a variety of monsters. The map will typically be several levels deep and hold some minor bosses along the way, with a major boss at the bottom.
Tower - The tower is made up of smaller maps which go upward. Towers may have more traps and puzzles than a dungeon, or at least they are put closer together. A typical tower may be 10 levels high, with a major boss at the top.
Cavern - The caverns can have large open spaces or slim winding corridors to explore. They are not lit at all so the adventurer is required to bring light along as needed. Caves will typically go down a few levels, but not as much as dungeons. They hold more animalistic creatures than sentient life.
Maze - The maze will be just that... a maze. It will be winding corridors, with large rooms, and one exit. They may appear within dungeons, or a standalone maze.
What would hopefully be unique in this game is the "leveling" and improvement of NPC helpers. The NPCs could even possibly be "morphed" into more powerful beings after a certain level.
For instance, lets say a Gray Wolf joins the player. This is a low-level animal, but after many combat experiences it gains in levels up to a level 10 Gray Wolf. At this point, the player could continue having the wolf as it is now and keep leveling, or the player could have the wolf "evolve" into a Dire Wolf which is the next stage for this type of NPC. Eventually it could transform into a Fanged Fury, a Spirit Wolf, Master Canine, etc. Up until the most powerful type of wolf which could be a Cerberus. Each of these types of wolf would have different statistics, but it could be assumed that a level 10 Gray Wolf wouldn't be too far ahead of a level 1 Dire Wolf. It might be better to have it a little weaker, so a choice has to be made whether to risk upgrading and building up the pet, or continuing with the tried and true wolf at level 10+. In this way, the player has a choice whether to continue developing the NPC at its current stage or upgrading.
Another feature of having an NPC companion would be the requirement of keeping it happy or it may turn on you. Each type of NPC will have something it wants from the player in return for its services. Intelligent creatures may want gold and other treasure whereas animals may just require fresh meat from time to time. An icon on the NPC profile will show what that NPC wishes to receive in return, as well as its happiness factor.
Maps will be saved while in-game. That is, the random maps that are generated on the fly will be saved to disk so that if the player goes back to those maps they will be the same. If the player starts a new game then the maps will be lost and regenerated on the fly. Players can save in Town only. This is how it is in the Diablo games.
