New idea concept for an RPG "Active Turn Based Battle System"

11 hours ago, sailorduck77 said:

however my point is that the next step of "Active Turn Based Battle System" for RPG's is already bean done and as far as i can tell no one sees it.

There is hundreds of JRPG games that do use more complex battle systems than the Hit And Return system, you just don't see them because Players actually react poorly to them.

JRPG fans like the Hit And Return system, and will rebel against games that move away from it. Selling a Active System Turn Based System to JRPG fans is like selling Marshmallows to a Vegetarian; wrong audience.

A good idea would be not to call it a JRPG or even to mention the game was inspired by JRPGs; that way the fans won't attack it. Instead allow players to decide what the game is.

11 hours ago, sailorduck77 said:

Watching the characters move forward to attack, then move back to their original place just looks ridiculous.

Looks silly but is a large part if the success of these games. When players play games where they control more than one person, they will try to ghater there units into a group. A JRPG just does this for the player from the start.

By having the game move Units to different positions, the game no longer provides the instant feedback it does. So normally the games that do this also provides a cycling selecter; allowing players to cycle the camera between controlled characters to see the battlefield. From here it is only one or two steps and the game is a Tactics game, instead of a RPG

Remember to keep testing the feedback as you make this system. Some JRPG's only allow 3 characters when using more complex systems like this; to counter the feedback problem.

11 hours ago, sailorduck77 said:

I'm also looking for help and pointers in the right direction

Start by making Pong, then after that try one of the older RPG games. After you have made a few, you will have the skills needed to lead a small team.

Making games is just like anything else; it takes years of practice to make something.

thanks so much for your input Scouting Ninja, and trust me i hear you on the way players can and will react as well as the rejection they could give to something new. being one of those players I've done a lot of thinking over years looking at various other games to try and find something more unique yet familiar to people and as well as player like myself. I believe i found finally found it and when i did it so conceptually simple I could've slapped my forehead for not seeing it much earlier. I'm proposing this idea because the solution i see is in a game mechanics that is already very popular ("very" being an under statement) even among those that aren't so bright, and if it could re-purposed in to an RPG battle system we then i believe we would have the next step in turn based RPG battle systems.

But, again thank you so much for your input, I would like talk more about it if you are interested.

In addition, i'm always studying...

16 hours ago, sailorduck77 said:

currently I'm put this idea into power while looking into how i can maybe copyright it; in doing so, I'm also looking for help and pointers in the right direction, and seeing if anyone wants in the idea.

Just to add onto this, you cannot copyright ideas. The idea itself hasn't materialized. If I had an idea to paint a picture of tigers sitting on a log, I cannot own the copyright for 'tigers sitting on logs in paintings', but I can copyright the painting itself that contains 'tigers sitting on a log' as it has become materialized.

You would be copyrighting the expression of the idea, not the idea itself.

If you're looking at getting into Game Development, feel free to ask more questions about getting started. There are many fields people are involved in, and depending on your skill and ability you may be able to overlap some of the roles. (Programming + Designer, or Programming + Audio, ect...)

You can also look into joining other hobbyist groups for experience.

As a bare minimum I would suggest looking into GameMaker Studio.

https://www.yoyogames.com/gamemaker

Yeah, I kinda thought so, but I felt it might a good idea to try or find some alternative way of owning it such as maybe putting it in some kind of GUI form (like "RPG-Maker" and sell the idea like that or maybe not). how ever, right now I just looking into maybe a contract of confidentiality in which would come with one time initial payment. However, I'm not sure yet on how much that payment should be, but as i said I'm looking into it...

2 minutes ago, sailorduck77 said:

Yeah, I kinda thought so but I felt it might a good idea to try or find some alternative way of owning it such as maybe putting it in some kind of GUI like RPGmaker or not. how ever, right now I just looking into maybe a contract of confidentiality in which would come with one initial payment. However, I'm not sure yet on how much that payment should be, but as i said I'm looking into it...

If you take the idea of your combat system and put it into a game your copyright is for the expression not the idea itself. Your source code, and graphics in your combat system would be copyright-able. Even if you have two people that are across the world and by chance have the same idea and program the same code line by line, each person would hold a copyright for their own expression as it was independent of one another.

Anyone can take your idea and copy it as long as they implement it separately from you. You have to understand that you cannot lock down someone's expression when dealing with ideas. I would suggest you sit down with a lawyer regarding copyright law if you're still unsure.

We all benefit by having ideas free from copyright restrictions. How would you feel if you couldn't even make an RPG because it wasn't your idea from day one? We all pull from other people's ideas, and many of us have similar ideas anyhow.

If you're looking at sharing your idea with other people and/or developers, then you need to create a non disclosure agreement, but keep in mind that if you're unable to enforce a breech in the agreement then the paper is worthless.

Yes, you are absolutely right... I think I used the wrong word being "copyright" or just used it the wrong way do to my lack of experience (because i am also coping from another game and implementing it differently). Still, in the act production one must be able to produce an idea first before being able to call it their own. Because, in the light of history there were many inventors before Thomas Edison who came up with ideas for the "light bulb" but in the end he was the only one to come up with the working one that people could actually use and afford, give him the right to call it his own. I guess my point is that, I still need to at least protect their Idea before someone else takes it and comes out with it before I do.

Or, at least me and whoever helps me in the development of this concept.

38 minutes ago, sailorduck77 said:

I guess my point is that, I still need to at least protect their Idea before someone else takes it and comes out with it before I do.

This can branch out into a very long and big topic so I'll try to keep it as short as I can.

Just an example:

Assuming I've thought about creating a game that was based on drifting cars, how would I protect this idea? Well you really cannot when dealing with copyright in itself. On the business side your goal would be to create a game that builds a reputation in the game industry and among players that your studio was the originator of the first drift racing game, and also the best at implementing this system. The problem is that once you've become popular and other businesses see the money in copying and building on your concept, you will have to fight to retain players. This means you need to be pro-active in many aspects to maintain a top position. You see companies all the time fighting for that spot.

Remember all the WoW clones that came out when WoW was a big hit? There is nothing you can do to stop competition, but you will have to work through different situations and figure out how to retain your player base (following) when other companies start implementing your idea into their own games. This type of competition is also good, it allows either you to improve and build even greater games, or someone else to take the idea and branch out into new and interesting concepts for future combat systems.

Understood, and competition doesn't bother me at all as long as I can be the first one to pull it off. That's why I'm so protective of this concept of mine. knowing that i could or might change the way turn based RPG's are played is almost good enough me, and i have a lot other ideas for features to add the system mechanics. So, as far as staying on top goes;

if I (/we) can stay top? then we do...

if I or we can't stay top? then we don't...

That's the nature of business.

Because being the first to come up with a real solution for an Active Turn Based Battle Multi Character System, would be rewarding in and of itself.

But, I do hear your words and I thank you for your advice and input. I absolutely need to read and consider all of it and more.

5 minutes ago, sailorduck77 said:

Understood, and competition doesn't bother me at all as long as I can be the first one to pull it off. That's why I'm so protective of this concept of mine. knowing that i could or might change the way turn based RPG's are played is almost good enough me, and i have a lot other ideas for features to add the system mechanics. So, as far as staying on top goes;

if I (/we) can stay top? then we do...

if I or we can't stay top? then we don't...

That's the nature of business.

Because being the first to come up with a real solution for an Active Turn Based Battle Multi Character System, would be rewarding in and of itself.

But, I do hear your words and I thank you for your advice and input. I absolutely need to read and consider all of it and more.

If you're going to go all out on this idea for an actual game, you will want to think commercially. The game itself will need more than just a good combat system to make it. You will need good story writers, level designers, artists, programmers, marketing associates, pr managers, ect... There is a hefty cost to all of this, and you will need a good chunk of money for marketing.

Otherwise just keep it under wraps until the time is right.

I wish you the best in whatever you decide to do.

Get rid of the "making money form my idea". If it's a great idea there surely are people and companies that can execute it better and use your idea. There is nothing wrong with that, otherwise we would just have 1 game of each genre right? Everybody has great ideas but in reality once developed most ideas are less good then they where in your brain. If you want to get into game development you need one of the skills to develop ideas into games. Like Rutin mentioned there are a lot of different positions in game development. If you want to develop a game yourself you need a broad skill set and you cannot expect yourself to be good at each aspect when others got good at a specific skill by practicing it for a decade or more. But one skill you 100% need if you want to develop your own game for a low budget is programming. Art can be bought and a lot of fairly simple but consistent art can be bought for a couple bucks like the asset packs from awesome Kenney. But nowhere you are going to find the code snippets to copy paste your game together. Do realise that marketing is another key aspect if you want to develop a successful game, even if you game has awesome graphics, music, sound and gameplay the chance it goes viral by itself is like a lottery ticket. Your best bet is to get really good in one skill, build a port folio and try to land a job at a small studio and go from there.

7 hours ago, sailorduck77 said:

Understood, and competition doesn't bother me at all as long as I can be the first one to pull it off.

This is the main idea behind innovation. The first person to achieve it is the one who made it. That way when people are busy copying your last idea, you are already working on the next. It's like a race.

RPG games make a lot of impact from the indie sector, Darkest Dungeon made a huge impact on the gaming world and inspired many clones.

The important part is to start. No one can partake in a race that they didn't enter. It is difficult like people will tell you over and over, you will learn there is a lot about games that isn't know to the players, but in the end the making of a game is it's own reward.

15 hours ago, Rutin said:

If you're going to go all out on this idea for an actual game, you will want to think commercially. The game itself will need more than just a good combat system to make it. You will need good story writers, level designers, artists, programmers, marketing associates, pr managers, ect... There is a hefty cost to all of this, and you will need a good chunk of money for marketing.

Otherwise just keep it under wraps until the time is right.

I wish you the best in whatever you decide to do.

"Rutin," sorry i didn't get back to you sooner (just got back from work) thank you for your wise suggestions I'll always keep them in mind...

and same goes for everyone... "Scouting Ninja" and you too "Menyo" you are all absolutely right. I always thinking there is not a moment where I'm not running all kinds of scenario and situation through my head. trust me, I take nothing lightly, I'm always listening because I've always had to. I hope you all realize that I'm not brushing off anything you're saying when you give me your input because you are all very helpful. I also realize that some if not all of you have told many others these things as well as being told them by predecessors if you did not find out by yourself. This way you all have my gratitude and respect...

Oh, and just want everyone to know all this input makes me very happy. I always feel I need as much info can get and more...

I will never be arrogant...

On 6/28/2018 at 11:55 AM, sailorduck77 said:

I just looking into maybe a contract of confidentiality

FYI, that's called a "non disclosure agreement" or "NDA". A search with those terms should find plenty of information.

2 minutes ago, jbadams said:

FYI, that's called a "non disclosure agreement" or "NDA". A search with those terms should find plenty of information.

Cool thanks man.

Make a game and implement your idea. It's the best you can do. All the rest is blah, blah...

It's useless to make an NDA if you do not have the economic power to enforce it.

Make a game and publish it. Then your idea is yours.

Big corporations can afford entire departments devoted to patent trolling and even then, very often what they do is finding an agreement because they cannot get their full request through (Apple/Samsung anyone?).

So forget the legalese and make a damn game that we can buy on Steam or whatever other platform.
I'll leave a positive review for it, I promise.

On 6/27/2018 at 10:03 PM, Rutin said:

You would be copyrighting the expression of the idea, not the idea itself.

Then could I pick any book, let's say "The Lord of the Rings" and do my own expression of that book in my video game without copyright issues?... I could call it "The Ring of the Lords" but the story to happen in the middle earth, same character names, etc?

*A bit confused about this subject.

1 minute ago, ramdy said:

Then could I pick any book, let's say "The Lord of the Rings" and do my own expression of that book in my video game without copyright issues?... I could all it The Ring of the Lords but the story to happen in the middle earch, same character names, etc?

*A bit confused about this subject.

I don't understand what you mean by "expression of the book"... Tolkien Estate doesn't hold the rights to making movies, books, or games that have a middle age fantasy setting with goblins, orcs, and elves, nor do they hold the right to "good vs evil themes".

As long as you don't infringe on the IP, you can make a movie, book, or game like Lord of The Rings as it's built on an idea. If this wasn't true why do we see so many action films that hold the exact same concept?

I cannot comment on names because if they trademark a name then you cannot use it if it's within a conflicting category, however just because you use the name 'Sam' in your movie, that doesn't mean everyone else cannot use the same name in their movies.

I would suggest you sit down with a lawyer if you have more questions regarding trademark and copyright law.

15 minutes ago, ramdy said:

Then could I pick any book, let's say "The Lord of the Rings" and do my own expression of that book in my video game without copyright issues?

Ask a proper lawyer if you're wanting to do this for real.

My gut feeling based on what you said is that this would not be allowed. It sounds too much like infringing.

1 minute ago, Lactose said:

Ask a proper lawyer if you're wanting to do this for real.

My gut feeling based on what you said is that this would not be allowed. It sounds too much like infringing.

Yes, if you project the book for what it is and remake it fully into a game, you've just infringed and it's a big no no, but again that's not making your own expression from the idea itself. If you take the idea and concept regarding a medieval fantasy world with good vs evil and it happens to contain wizards, goblins, orcs, and elves, it's not copyright infringement for as long as you don't take IP from the Lord of The Rings. Otherwise the entire entertainment industry wouldn't be what it is today without being able to freely use ideas and materialize them.