UPDATE 1 6/25/09 - Updates in bold.
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Characters:
Billy (Can be changed, whatever)- Main Character; Age 8~14?; Has never lived at any one place for too long, his mother died a few years ago and was forced to travel around with his father until his father's band broke up. He was never in one place long enough to make friends, and was always quite distant from his father. He's good friends with his sister, and a very well educated kid, since he always resorted to reading and studying while he was traveling around the world, which he loved. He's very smart, very well read, and very well traveled for his age. Never being forced to be social, or stay in one place for too long, Billy starts to imagine things about the city he's stuck in based on his travelings and readings. Which he goes more and more in depth of as he continues to have no friends and continues to be forced to stay in one place.
Concept Art:
Billy's Father - Age ?; Billy's father. A huge punk rock start in his hey day. But when his wife died and he was forced to keep care of his kids he became less and less passionate about his work, and started to want to fully settle down in order to give his son and daughter a regular life. He settles down in the same town his daughter goes to college at in order to be close to her and to start a bakery(which is his other passion in life, baking) - tentatively called Sid Delicious.
P.S. Matt found this:
http://www.thebleedingheartbakery.com/
HAHAHA
Billy's Sister - Age?; Billy's sister. A wonderfully talented artist, by the age of 12 she was drawing all the art for her father's band. Went to college two years ago and has her own place in town. She doesn't like doing traditional artist type art, and prefers doing her art through different means. Such as on a series of billboard, by painting and arranging people in a certain way, and other stuff.
Billy's Cat - Billy will have a cat. Given to him by his sister in the beginning, despite not wanting a cat. Just so he has someone to keep him company. The cat starts talking to him, and ends up leading him to the first world.
Other Ideas for random characters:
-A group of bullies. Each with a family with strong circus roots, one who is from a family of acrobats, the other from a family of fire breathers, and another from a family of clowns.
-A sailor who lives by the port and goes out to sea sometimes, actually afraid of water but was forced into the job by his father. Plays the accordian and wishes to one day be a train driver guy.
-A local DJ who also works as a child celebrity thing (like REPTAR or Barney).
-A mime, all games need mimes.
-A group of people who only speak in specific forms of poetry (one character speaking in haikus, the other in limericks, etc)
The town:
I'll probably try and draw it out but...it's a port town, near a foothill, the town goes up the foothill and has buildings/businesses at the foot between the hill and the port. The homes and rural area is built on the side of the hill, this is also where the school Billy goes to is. The college is in the main part of the city as well as other schools and apartments and stuff are there.
Game stuff:
The game takes place in the real world, well in a more altered real world. Billy is allowed to wander around the town and explore it and work to get money, which can be used to buy items that will help him in his imaginary world. Billy goes into his imaginary world when he gets bored or feels lonely and finds a good place to use his imagination on. Once he does that place stays a part of his imagination unless a part of him changes. If the real world changes and the place is still a part of his imagination, then his imaginary world area changes to fit the changes in the real world. Billy is kind of delusional in the imaginary world, and ends up making up people and things to talk and fight. What he fights is more or less a manifestation of personal demons he fights every day, about his family, about his life, about the people around him. His imaginary world isn't constant, different parts are different types of worlds, like a medieval area, a future area, a ninja area, etc...as he becomes more and more interested in the people around him, experiencing different music from town people, and different types of art from his sister, as well as him getting more and more depressed, his world becomes more and more abstract.
The battle system is similar to Tales of... series. A 2D kind of fighter like battle system. Billy's skills vary on what he has on him in the real world, and what imaginary world he is in. The battles use the battle music to allow Billy to do combos and deal a lot of damage and be an efficient fighter. I assume there will be no leveling in this game, because that would be weird, so he'll have to upgrade his stats by buying new things in the real world and being able to take advantage of the battle system.
The game will be viewed in a style kind of like Odin Sphere/Paper Mario. Not a top view type of game like Final Fantasy. A game sort of like a beat em up, Odin Sphere with depth. I figure when one touches an enemy it freezes the screen you're on, and you fight all the enemies who are on screen, without being able to move further or back. (of course we'd figure out a way to run away). Boss/significant battles would possibly be different.
In the way I am thinking, the game will be sandbox style in the city/real life mode...and very linear in the game/level mode. I have also decided that the game will most likely be done in chapters, like a book or something. I each chapter will probably have one specific world that is important. But other worlds, not all though, will be accessible during the time you're wandering around the city. I think during the those times there will be side quests in the other worlds...maybe.
I am trying not to have a leveling system in this game, because that seems like it would be weird. However I think I have come up with a solution that allows people to level up skills and it fitting in. I think during the city/real life mode you'll be able to do various things to raise certain skills, like skateboarding or playing an instrument or something. Depending on the imaginary world you're in, the skills will be useful or not. Certain skills will be used in certain worlds, and they could be used differently in one world than how it is used in another.
Story Outline Stuff So Far:
Billy and his father moves into the new town. Billy doesn't fit into school much, and his father is too busy starting his bakery up (and even when he is around, Billy wants nothing of his father). He goes to see his sister in order for some social interaction and she is too busy doing art stuff. He eventually starts to wander around town, hating life, and ends up in his first little imaginary world. I am thinking it should be based off of a fairy tale type of world, taking place in a park, maybe, or maybe a foresty area outside of town. In the first imaginary world there is an evil witch in the forest who is harming the animals. So Billy takes it upon himself to destroy the witch and her minions. He beats the witch, and goes home. After nothing going right, he ends up finding himself in another fantasy world...probably taking place somewhere in the city and something totally different from the fairy tale esque world. I think after a bit he goes back to the fairy tale world and he's told of an evil wolf killing the animals, by the animals, so he wanders in the worst until he runs into a wolf and tries to fight it only to be nearly killed and rescued by someone who happens to be wandering around. So then his family starts to get worried, but Billy doesn't care much because it's his escape...but it will show that Billy in his imaginary world has repercussions. And of course at sometime in the game Billy saves one of his classmates without realizing it, maybe a girl he has a crush on or something, and she tries to integrate him into being social with her and friends...which starts making the worlds Billy makes for himself disappear...I assume something tragic or whatever happens, and all the worlds just come rushing back, far more abstract/dark/obscure/than before too...and he learns something and everything is good and happy or whatever.
Worlds:
Fairy Tale - ^as said above.
Medieval World - Possibly towards later in the game, when Billy stops being so imaginary, or whatever the term would be for what I'm trying to say. Possibly taking place in a Renaissance fair type of thing.
Future World - For some reason, Billy thinks his sister gets taken by robots into a club/rave area thing. So he sneaks in and tries to save her. He thinks all the weird raver people and all the fancy lights be like a future world. He ends up in the back room after chasing after his sister and fights the DJ's character's suit for his day job, which in Billy's imagination is a dragon robot, tearing it up and getting in trouble by his sister and the DJ afterward.
Desert/Arabia World - A world that takes place on the cities beach. Not much thought about it...so meh.
Jungle/Pirate World - Takes place on an island right off of the coast. Originally Billy goes there...for some reason, and it is just a junglesque world. He comes back later, being a stowaway on a ship. I am thinking at this point he tries to run away from home, for some reason, later on in the game. The boat goes out to the island because of smugglers or something that has been reported on the island...which ends up being like pirates in Billy's imagination.
