entropy72 on 29/5/2002 at 15:12
The ability to create and play several different characters in the same gameworld.
I don't mean play them all at the same time, just switch between them. Let me try and explain.
Imagine you have been playing for a while with a fighter-class character, and decide to try something different. So you create another character, say a thief, but the gameworld doesn't start fresh from the beginning. You enter into the same world your other character is in. Get it? So you can even meet and talk to your alter-alter ego, who is now an NPC. And all effects he has had on the world, buildings he has built, people he has killed, etc are still there.
Of course, you will be able to switch from one character to another easily. So you could build and fortify a house as the fighter, then switch to the thief and try to break into it. Because your different characters would not have to be allies. You could even make an arch-nemesis for yourself.
Perhaps you could even ask your other characters to join up with you on a quest, or fight with them for experience (either a practice session or a serious duel, depending on whether you are friends or enemies).
Of course, the process of 'finishing the game' would have to be modified, because it would have to be something you can do more than once. Here's the coolest idea I could come up with: The main goal of the game is to find some ancient artifact or place, and when a character reaches it the character undergoes a 'transcendence', becoming a sort of god. Their game would be finished, and you couldn't play as them anymore, but new possibilities would appear for your other characters. New spells could be cast by 'praying' to the new god, any armor and weapons equipped by the god-character at the time of transcendence would become powerful unique objects (Broadsword of [yournamehere], etc), and a temple to them would be built on the site of their old home.
So howaboutit? Can anyone think of any obvious reasons this would totally not work? The only problem I can think of is that maybe most people just wouldn't want to have several alter egos. Maybe the fact that I find the concept so exciting is just a sign of latent schitzophrenia.:erm:
But if you like my idea, don't hesitate to tell your half cousin who works at Bethesda about it. Come on, I'm sure one of you must have one!
Exodus_dk on 29/5/2002 at 15:23
I've a half-cousin who's a psychiatrist - guess he'd find it interesting :P
What you are proposing is somehow more suited for a multiplayer rpg - or at least a game without an epic scale storyline...
What I think would be the coolest is if the NPC generally were more dynamic - if they changed the world gradually during the game in response to the actions that the player takes and what else happens. Also the possibility of expanding trade and business around your stronghold and such would be very interesting - however way beyond the scope of the game...
Poseidon on 29/5/2002 at 16:06
I think Nethack (or one of the many other Rogue-type games) had something similar. When your character died, any future characters could encounter its ghost on the dungeon level where you died. I think you could also loot the corpse. Kind of a nifty little feature :)
