I admit I'm late to the party. I tried to read all of the ideas, but (going backwards) by page 20ish, I realized that a lot of the ideas were more or less the same. There were a lot of ideas that I, too, had, and I'll reiterate them here. Then there were ideas that were implemented or otherwise obsoleted by newer changes.
So, I feel I did my due diligence before making this post. If I reiterate something that someone else mentioned, remember, I'm not trying to get credit or steal credit for anything. Remember, ultimately, our ideas are the property of Glitch anyways. We're all working together to make the game better.
Firstly, my most cherished ideas revolve around implementing more platforming elements. Platform games are hands-down my favorite, and I was sad to see so little platforming mainstays in the game. Though, I imagine that these are planned to be implemented.
So first, 1., add platforming mainstays such as bouncing platforms, running jumps, ducking, crawling, sliding etc etc. Again, I imagine that these are in the works, but I just want to vote for them. Possibly, a skill branch. Possibly, a completely different set of skills. That is, skills for 'economy' and skills for 'platforming.' Maybe platforming skills require not time to learn, but implementation and beating certain levels/tasks.
2. The races are great. I know they plan to add more things like this. Stewart Butterfield explicitly mentioned this in a post. So, again, just showing my support for this. As for ideas in this regard... I hate to say that I have none. Though, I am confident that I will come-up with something, and when I do, I will post it. I am also confident that you guys will as well.
3. More mainstays but on a different front. (And I hate to say that we should implement things that have 'already been done' from classic games, but they really haven't been done in the form of an MMO.) Super Metroid... one of my all time favorite games... and heralded as one of the games that changed the way people play side-scrollers... had this game element where you had to acquire something in order to gain access to another area. So much of this game feels like it could be Super Metroided in this fashion. As you walk around, you discover areas you can't get at. Obviously you want to get there just to get there... so you have to find out. This creates all new ways of discovery.
You know too, this is why Global Chat's going-away will be good. Otherwise people will just ask and get hand held. But, for a long time, and as new areas are added, the collective amount of people will have to figure it out. Each new area can pose new problems and require new solutions.
And sure, you have keys right now, but c'mon... I mean like you need certain skills... items... literal skills, such as wall jumping, or rock climbing... or who knows what. Levitation is already a skill that has potential to grant access to hidden areas. I also think this is something that will feed into more innovation, but I could be wrong.
4. Looking around. I suggest a method where you can Look up-down-left-right without moving your guy. That is, the screen pans in that direction. A mainstay that feels like it's missing.
Again, I just want to say how cool I think a platforming MMO is. Sure, right now, it's just a way to organize avatars and areas. But the engine and potential is there. And I realize I'm not the only one with these thoughts, and it also sounds like the Devs are planning more things like this, but I just want show my support for it. I feel I have a lot of ideas, and I want to get them all on paper before I lose them. I want to show my support and enthusiasm for the game.
Ok. Moving on...
It was mentioned by Stewart that they have animations planned. Currently, they're using a rudimentary method for having the avatar 'show' what it's doing. So, I'm glad this will be changed. I was going to write a long post about how they're 'cheating' right now, and the game should be more animated. In fact, in the post, the instigator mentioned all types of crazy things he wanted to see. So, we'll see what the Devs have in store for us. But, I have a few ideas of my own in regards to how things are done and animated.
5. While I dig the whole drag and drop method, I really feel like it would be more fun to run up to the hunk of rock with the pickax equipped to item slot 1, and hit the 'use' button... maybe enter, maybe left mouse click... whatever it's bound to... and have my guy swing the pickax and get some ore. Think Fat Princess on PSN. In that game you have to equip an axe and run up to a tree and chop it 5 times, and the the chunk of wood falls off. Or think Harvest moon, or Zelda, or whatever you want to compare it to. It just feels like that's how it should be. Maybe I'm too use to console games, and maybe that would be too much, I don't know. Going to play the 'i can dream, can't i?' card on that one.
6. Deleted. Looks like it's being implemented already! (Was type-able amounts)
7. I hate to fall into the 'more x' category of suggestions, but emotes matter. I know more of them are a a planned implementation without even really knowing it. But, I also want to mention, and maybe it's already there and I just couldn't find it, but an emote menu. That is, a pop-up menu that shows you all available emotes and lets you click on them to use. It's a pretty standard thing, and maybe you have your reasons for not having it. And, I do like how if you just type a smiley, your guy does it. As another suggestion, I like how in the game APB, you had to earn emotes. Maybe an emote related skill-tree, IDK. Just throwing it out there.
8. Bumping into each other and blocking the way. Jumping on people's heads, etc. I know that these would become griefer tools more than anything else, but griefing is fun.
Ok, now I'm going to discuss my ideas on the economy of the game. I admit I have limited experience with this game, so I apologize if I seem ignorant with any of these comments or ideas.
Currently, the game is pretty vendor centric. We really don't rely on others to buy or sell or make. GNE was this way as well, so I imagine this was designed this way intentionally. But, I don't think it's good for the game in the long term. I have some ideas to make it better.
9. Vendor-centric is ok... but make the vendors themselves function on their own supply-demand algorithms. That is, the mask guy that everyone trades their ingots to, well, he stops buying them as people oversupply him. That is, he only gives a bit of money for them... or he just flat-out won't buy them. Additionally, he sells them for cheap because he has so many. Also, in this, certain vendors would only buy certain things.
10. Vendor-centric isn't ok... limit everything severely that vendors sell. Make them sell it for a lot of money. This gives incentive to buy from the auction house from people who produce the things people want. The vendor becomes a last-ditch source for buying and selling things. Most things are then sold/bought via bazaars and auction houses.
The above two ideas are pretty rudimentary, and I would be hard pressed to believe that the Devs haven't thought about either. I guess I'm just sharing my thoughts. But currently, as the game works, the Auction seems rather unimportant... and vendor buying/selling 'works' too well. It really shouldn't because players should be interacting with one another and wheeling and dealing. That should be a huge part of a game like this.
Ok moving on to my thoughts on the Gods/Giants. So far, I like the idea, and I realize the Giant section is still in the works. I know that the Devs have mentioned that there are plans to add more lore with the Giants and such. I'm very excited about this obviously. I enjoy reading the history of the world as the animals and plants beckon me to recount their tales. What I have so far, is that each Giant at one point in history ruled the world. Currently, they are vying for power again, correct? So, we will ultimately have to align with a certain giant which will create many opportunities for rivalry, conflict, and glory.
11. Deleted because I guess it's already there! My bad. (Was favor-based leader boards.)
Team Play — Currently, there are a few incentives for team play, but they're not that big of a deal. I helped chicgeek with a quest once, but it wasn't that exciting. Adidas Demon and I did mining co-operatively, and I definitely felt that we were making more money than we would have alone. However, it still doesn't feel like true team play. When I was testing Warhammer Online, I remember thinking the game felt like a single player game... that I played 'around' other people... there were massive amounts of people playing a single player game. Fortunately, this game has a lot of people who like to engage in banter, but banter can only go so far to keep the social atmosphere. I really want there to be more reasons to play together as a team. How to do this though without making dramatic gameplay changes? To be honest, I don't really know, but I wanted to voice my concerns on it. Perhaps team play could be more of an end-game thing that has yet to be added. Also, maybe, I need to experience the game more to understand the projects as I have yet to partake in those.
_16 July 2011 Additions_
12. This was mentioned in another thread, but I want to vouch my support for it. The 'Last Animal Glow' thread details it best, but I'm going to summarize it anyways. When you have 'prepped' an animal/thing by petting/massaging, it will 'glow' to show it's ready for harvesting. Additionally, a thing that is 'done' should be shaded-out to show us we can ignore it.
13. I was thinking about how flying could work. It's so simple. You let people learn it, and it's part of their daily limits. You can fly for 1 min a game day with Flying 1. So simple. I know flying is kinda obvious, but it's the one on my mind. But this already applies to meditation, and it could easily apply to other skills.
14. Also, I was thinking about how items *shouldn't* have in-game bonuses because of the idea that we want players to express themselves freely. It prevents paying players from having advantages. But maybe... *maybe*... a few have hidden bonuses. Such as, the Chef Hat may make it less likely to break your knife and board or something. But, these should be rare. I think the items should remain predominately vanity only.
But then, I get to thinking... it would be cool to see people put on their aprons when they cook... or miners put on a mining hat... even if they only provide a marginal benefit, it would be incentive to wear their job-appropriate item. I'm having trouble leaning one way or the other.
15. Garbara inspired me to think-up more Get X to Access Y parts of the game. I really liked the idea of dark areas that need to be lit. Here are a few more of my own. Just imagining a few ideas for the fun of it.
Rope swinging is fun, requires a special item (rope and hook), and it requires skill to do. Think Pitfall. Falling results in death... or worse... going to an area that forces you to backtrack for a while.
We also have areas that could be way up in the clouds... and while I mentioned flight already, I had it in my mind that flight would be really limited. Possibly like a long-and-high jump. But that's just how I'm imagining it. I wanted to add that with these Really High Up areas, a cloud controlling character could buy/make a cloud and use it to access these hidden areas. Imagine all of the potential for exploration that way.
16. The Get X to Access Y ideas would be pointless in the current game form due to Teleportation. An easy and appropriate fix should be that Teleportation should only work when going to areas you've already been. This is a pretty standard MMO procedure, so, as such, its current inception is going to fall under 'the Devs have their reasons.' But, I still want to voice my opinion.
17. I told my brother Patrick about the game, and he was kinda confused about how there is no entropy. That can create problems in and of itself. So, we were talking at length about it last night. I have to agree with him. And while this adds some destructive (potential grief) elements to the game, I feel that destruction is necessary. Nothing lasts forever.
So here goes...
Axe on Pig = A lot of meat now, but the pig dies and won't respawn. *Heavy* Mood drop to 0. Possible legal ramifications if caught.
Axe on any Tree = Chops the tree down and results in wood. Tree won't respawn. Again, Mood reduction, but not as heavy. Killing a plant doesn't bother someone as much as killing something with a face. Again, could be illegal.
Dynamite on Rock = Rock is gone for a much longer period, half potential ore from mining... but instant results. No mood loss, minimal energy loss. Shouldn't be illegal, but rather, an alternative to how some mine. The problem with this idea, is that there is no way to 'plant' a rock. Though, I do like the idea that a mine can only be mined for so long before it runs out.
Pat's idea: When a rock respawns, it falls from the sky and can crush things it lands on. :D
These are just a few ideas, and I realize they're 'too literal' if that makes sense. Few things in this game compare to reality, but certainly, the Devs can come up with more 'creative' ways to destroy or otherwise implement entropy. This is going to be hit or miss, but it's something that sounds good to me. Would make it a more 'living' world, in my mind. Think Wakfu.
_17 July 2011 Additions/Revisions_
Did a lot of thinking while at work today. Yes, I 'get to' work on Sunday every week. But, anyways, rethought a few ideas. Also, I want to mention a few more things to the Devs.
I may seem like I'm making huge expectations of the game. I'm not. Not that you care. I like the game as-is. If it went 'live' tomorrow, I'd play the game and support it. Having said that, I do want to see the game become more. I know you have plans to do it. I am excited to see where you take it. My ideas are mostly just flights of fancy. Though, if they inspire you, cool. If not, and you think they're dumb, that's cool too. I realize that I have it easy.
I get to sit here and imagine things, and I don't have to spend any work trying to figure out how to program crazy ideas. I can only wonder how awesome it must be to be able to work on a game like you guys are. I'm very glad I can help share and maybe inspire. So thank you for reading and thank you for your hard work on the game.
Ok so my revisions.
14./Hat Bonuses—In retrospect, I actually like how the game keeps vanity/wardrobe outside of the main game. Swapping hats/clothes for in-game bonuses would be clunky. Possibly, though, in-game items that provide a different look on the character could work. I.E. you 'put on' a 'hat' item, and it changes your appearance for a certain amount of time while providing a bonus.
3./15./GXAY & Keys—My brother and I did some more discussion on the idea of keys. I will admit that I haven't spent a lot of time getting keys, but, I did manage to find one in my travels. This is fine for now. But with the GXAY elements, maybe the challenge is getting the key. Rope challenges, Jumping challenges, hidden areas, etc. The end result is finding a key. Make the keys hard to get.
Ok so new ideas.
18. I was thinking about my entropy ideas (17), and I thought about how I use to destroy for the sake of destroying in the Metal Gear Solid 2 Demo. I spent hours on hours in the MGS2 demo just toying around to see what I could do. Seeing what I could shoot, watching it blow up. Messing with the guards. Rolling around. Just, literally, toying around with it. No game here. No end goal. Just simply seeing what the game had in store for me. Cause and effect.
How does that apply to this game currently? Well it really *doesn't*. Each object has, for the most part, a single purpose. You nibble pigs. You squeeze chickens. You mine rocks. If I drag and drop a Shovel on a tree, shouldn't that dig it up? If I drag a pile of dirt on something, shouldn't it make it dirty? What about an Egg on a House? :)
I mentioned in 17, too, that these are 'expected' out comes. And that expectations should be different in a dreamworld, but in hindsight, that's not the case. Really, a lot more things follow expectation than not. While nibbling a pig is odd, it still, kinda, makes sense. Milking butterflies is out there, though. But, we still dig for dirt, mine for ore, water trees, etc etc. I would say largely, things follow reality in the game. So, there would be nothing 'off theme' to have more interaction with objects, and more expected outcomes. Additionally, there's actually a lot of room for more wacky results. Think about it.
What happens when you water a rock? Well, expectation is that the rock would just get wet, but maybe it drinks it and says something. Idk. I'm not inventive enough for this type of thinking. I'm too literal, but that's why I like this game a lot. It forces me outof my usual type of thinking. But, I'm sure as they add tools and objects, and have oddball objects react to oddball tools, the results will go further 'out there.'
19. Pat (my brother) and I were talking more about how cutting up a pig might be illegal. Well, what if players made the laws of their neighborhood? This obviously could be a can of worms idea. In order for there to be laws, there has to be lawmakers, and those lawmakers have to be chosen by elected officials, so on so forth. Well, let's see here.
I really would want to keep this idea as simple as possible and avoid having actual committee members, elected players, etc etc. We know that there are already going to be ways to 'vote' within the game. Subbers get votes. Why not use subber's votes to also have something to do with voting on laws? Seems simple enough w/o having to open the can of worms. Players vote whether or not they want some actions to be illegal. In this case, cutting up trees, animals, and possibly many more things. If an action is dubbed illegal, players can still do it, but if another player spots them, they can be fined or whatever punishment they came up with.
On the other side of the coin, I'm not sure laws mesh well with the game. So, I'm not entirely sure how I feel about it. But, it's still an idea worth mulling over.
20. Fishing? As a mini-game a la Zelda: Link's Awakening, it would be really cool. I'm not a fan of fishing like in Final Fantasy XI or WoW. But, I always had fun doing fishing in Zelda games. I'm not saying copy Zelda, but I mean, make it a fun game rather than make it a 'use pole, wait 5 seconds, get fish' thing. But, even if it was that, I guess it would be ok. But, I mean, how do you make a mini-game outof Mining? There's really no potential there. (Though, refer to idea #5 if you want to see how I think mining *should be*.) FFXIV kinda tried making mini-games outof some of the crafting skills, but it wasn't good imo. But, Fishing just feels like it should have a mini-game associated with it. Heck, there are whole video games dedicated to just fishing.
21. As I thought about fishing, I thought about underwater areas. That lead me to thinking about all types of terrain effects on player movement. The obvious one is slippery ice areas. Maybe muddy areas make jumping harder. This idea falls into platforming mainstays (Idea #1), but going to mention it as a new idea anyways.
22. I almost forgot this idea, but I remembered it at work. Anyways, when I first got the test tube, I thought the way to find elements was just random experimentation. So cool I thought. Sadly it turned out that the test tube is just another 'make' tool. It's actually worse, as well, because you have to input the mixes manually. But, that got me to thinking about the Horadric Cube from Diablo 2. With that, you can put different things in there, and hit the mix button. Sometimes you get new, cool items, and it's fun to try. It can be used to combine obvious things, too. Like you can combine the different chipped gems to upgrade them to flawless gems. So, I guess, I'm suggesting like a big lab kit where you can mix all types of things together and wacky results ensue. Or you could use it for known recipes and get semi-expected results. Sounds like fun to me.
I have this feeling I forgot something else that I thought up, but I'll just leave it at this for now. Maybe I'll think-up some more tomorrow. Thanks for reading.
_19 July 2011 Additions_
23. Remembered the idea I forgot. Thought it would be cool that the more your mood is down, the more pissed-off your guy looks. A furrowed brow. Also, the more you eat, the fatter your guy gets, and of course, the less you eat, the more emaciated. Possibly benefits for either. Like you fall slower like a feather if you're skinny. That might be too cartoony though.
24. This ties into the GXAY idea sets (3., 15.) and Team Play ideas. I was reading about how people have trouble jumping or are not platform game type players. So, this could be an opportunity for helping and teaming up. But, like, as one player 'gets past' an obstacle, he can throw down a rope, or reach down to grab the person's hand and hoist them up. Things like that. Some obstacles might require teaming up to get past at all. Pressure plates that require multiple people. Or block-pushing puzzles/obstacles.
25. Could the game swap to a bird's eye view for instanced content? The instance would be for a mini-game or something. This type of view would allow a lot of game play possibilities. The only issues I see, though, are the need to create a lot of new art for the different views. This is probably the biggest barrier. But, I wonder if there's an inventive way to solve it.
That's all I got for today. Thanks for reading.
_24 July 2011 Revisions/Additions_
Well another test flew by, and I rethought some of my previous ideas while thinking up some new ones. I know I forgot some, but hopefully they'll come back to me. I need to keep a pen and paper with me while I play. Anyways, here goes.
17./Entropy—Apparently you can poison trees. Animals can starve. So I guess there already is entropy. This is good of course.
Stewart's Rotting Food Idea—This idea has been on my mind a lot actually. I am for it. A few ideas. A cooler as suggested in that thread, but you have to keep ice in it which melts over time. Or a mini fridge that can only hold like 4 items. The cooler has more space but the ice problem might dissuade some from using it. The mini fridge should be very expensive as well. I really feel the main idea needs to be tested before being accepted or denied. After it's implemented, we can go from there. (I know a lot of these ideas were already mentioned, but I just want to show my support for the idea in general and these sub ideas as well.)
Races/Coin Grabs/Pig Wrangling—Man I like these. Had an idea for a race though. Teleporter holes that you have to run through and memorize the best path. Like you go in one and get spit-out on the other end.
Ok new 'ideas.' I use quotes because I've noticed a lot of my 'ideas' are borrowings. I guess I'm a pretty convergent thinker. Oh well. We can't all be Stewart Butterfields. :D
Anyhoo...
26. When I was getting 'your papers' completed, I had the opportunity to interact with some of the NPCs in the game. Admittedly, this interaction was rather bland. But it was bland in a way that was mystifying. I can't explain it. I realized at that moment when I was being forced to wait in a virtual waiting room... for no reason at all other than that's what the designers wanted me to do... that I was truly immersed in the game. (Never mind my 11 hour playing streak...) But at the same time it made me really upset that there wasn't More here. I feel that this game has potential to be EPIC, but it's just not letting itself be epic. It's forcing itself into this simple buy/make/sell frame. The buy/make/sell should just be one facet of a much greater game. So what's my idea here?
I don't really have one I guess. But 26 is referencing my desire for EPICNESS in this game. More NPC driven interactions like the ones involved in acquiring papers, but on a grander scale.
So I bought a house. I get it now. There's no need for mules for storage. Cool. I like it. More on houses though. I know that Furni has to be planned. Custom wallpapers are in the works too, I bet. I've seen lawn gnomes, so there's going to probably be more outside one's door furni. it makes me want to have a lawn chair on my front porch, so i can sit and watch people walk by. Anyways, I have a few ideas for houses.
27. Giving someone a key so they can go into my house when i'm not on. Would be nice if I'm not able to get to my PC to tend my junk. Also, so I can share the wealth. Wouldn't mind having a friend able to harvest my spice trees if s/he wanted to. This has probably already been proposed, but consider this a vote for it. It would also solve the problem of how some people want to share a house. Two people pool their resources. One player technically owns it, but the other has a key.
28. (EDIT: Someone else posted the same exact idea, haha, 11 hours ago. In my defense, I did think of it independently. Consider this vouching for support of Old Pea Head's idea of a key ring.) Key ring storage item. It looks like a ring of keys, and it holds only keys. Could be used for house keys as above in 27, or the color/color keys you find on the ground.
29. BNE. Breaking and Entering.
30. Neighborhood rules/regulations a la reality. You know, you have to keep your lawn mowed below a certain height or it's against code. Fence size/shape regulated. Trash procedures. Noise levels. Tree branches. Pets leashed. Etc etc... Ah how amurkans have to have bureaucracy for the most unimportant things. I just envision a lot of Glitch fun to be had here.
Ok away from houses.
31. I was looking at the site's encyclopedia... browsing the skills... looking at auctions... came back and my guy was 'snoozing.' It just seems odd to me that if you're playing the game outside the game... but still playing the game via the page, that your character is snoozing. I think it would be cooler that if you're clearly inputting on other pages, such as auctions, or queuing skills, or reading pages on the 'pedia, or posting on the forums, your guy whips-out a PDA of sorts and looks like he's using it to everyone else. I'm not sleeping or afk, I'm just playing the game elsewhere.
32. Tetra master... in the Final Fantasy universes, there is a card game that everyone plays called Tetra Master. You can challenge anyone to it at any time. This would be cool for Glitch's universe as well, I think.
33. Wouldn't have to be a CCG either. Could be another type of game, or something. Could be already made games like Chess, Go, or Checkers... or whatever. But, you have the item in your inventory for the game. Say a Chess Set, and using it makes you speak-out like a racing ticket offering a challenge. Someone can accept, and the game begins.
Well that's all I have for today. Thanks for reading.
--
Well that's all I have for now. I will come back to this thread and post more ideas as I think of them.
See you there,
MD