Alright, I've decided to post all of the gameplay ideas I have for WeaponSoul, the game project I am working on. This will be a great entry for those who want to be introduced to this project, and would like to know more. If you're interested, then read on~


WeaponSoul Quick Information:
Genre: Action RPG
Platform: Download
Language: English
Engine: DirectX 9.12.589 (9c) / Acknex 6
Feature: 1-Player, Keyboard, Mouse, Joypad optional
Release Date: Episode 1 - June 15th, 2008
All of the above information is subject to change and can differ from the final product.


Overview:
WeaponSoul basically is an Action RPG where you explore each map throughout the episodes. There are going to be many side quests in this game that take the form of hidden areas on the map, or from NPCs in the game. There is the main quest story which spans over each episode of WeaponSoul as I make them. This way, I can release the game as fast as I can and add more episodes to the main quest as I make them. I have no idea how I'm going to have each episode easily work with the game engine so it can update

Graphics:
The game will use the 3D engine Acknex 6 SDK, which is based off of DirectX 9. The engine is very stable and easy to work with, and I'm using it as an SDK so the game will be written in C++. It's a pretty stable platform and it makes it so I don't have to worry about the basic 3D engine itself working on many machines since it has already been tested throughout the years

The characters themselves will be rendered in old school 16x16 pixel glory~! The effect will be kawaii and I really like it so far, hehe~

Note that each gameplay element described will be introduced gradually, so I don't overload the player's mind

6-Element System
Each character has 6 elements, and they each increase in level as the character uses skills that are based on those elements. Use stronger skills to level the element it's related to faster. The status of the character changes with the elements, and varies with each character. To simplify things, the following display will be used:


[icon of element] <Innate Skill ranked from S to E> LV.
Name of status: Strength of that status.


Here's an example sheet.

Fire (S) LV. 3
   Strength - 12

Earth (C) LV. 2
   Endurance - 8

Lightning (D) LV. 1
   Power - 3

Ice (B) LV. 2
   Resistance - 5

Emerald (C) LV. 2
   Accuracy - 7

Darkness (D) LV. 1
   Speed - 4

So it keeps all the information as simple as possible, and all in one place~

Here's a list of elements, and status in the game.

** ELEMENTS **
Fire, Ice, Lightning, Earth, Darkness, Emerald

** STATS **
Strength - Increases physical attack and maximum HP.
Endurance - Increases maximum HP much more than Strength can.
Power - Increases special attack and maximum EP.
Resistance - Increases special defense and maximum EP more than Power can.
Accuracy - Increases the ability to hit the enemy in the first place, and the chance for critical damage.
Speed - Increases actual movement speed, and the ability to dodge attacks if they are about to hit.

Skills:
Each player can equip skills, they can equip any skill as long as they have the right element level and previous skills learned to equip it. The level of the skill stays with the skill so that LV. 4 Sword Mastery will still be level 4 if it is equipped on a different character.

Each character has 4 skill class ranks, and after reaching a specific level in the game, they advance to the next rank and can equip more advanced skills. There are 4 skills, one for each rank, that the character is born with, will always have, and no one else will have that same skill. It will be a skill from the kind of skill they do best, such as using weapons or special attacks.

You can practically customize the character by equipping skills you buy or find. It pretty much effects their elemental levels which effects their status, and allows them to do things.

Controls:
The player can manage the characters by moving the mouse to bring up the menu, and by interacting with the GUI in order to do anything. When playing, the arrow keys move the player, and the ASDZXC keys correspond to the action skills the player set for battle for each character. You can put items instead of skills so the items can be used during the battle. When not in battle, Z is examine and X is jump. That's it, I didn't want to make it any more complex.

That's pretty much it~ it sounds so simple? Well, there are side quests that have different outcomes depending on how you complete them as well as little things here and there the player will encounter on their journey. You can explore freely, but you will know where to go next if you want to go on with the main story.