NMRIH 2- a character diversity suggestion

[o.Calcifer.o]

Before you lose your ♥♥♥♥ and start screaming bloody murder, i'm not talking about needing transgender mexicans or ♥♥♥♥ like that.

In NMRIH, we fight zombies of all ages, the old, the young and everything in between (but seriously though ♥♥♥♥ the kids). However, we only ever play middle aged adults. In NMRIH 2 we need characters of all ages, with their own drawbacks and strengths. I got the idea for this after seeing the 'this war of mine' game had an expansion that added children as playable characters.

The elderly: Due to their age, they can't run or fight for as long as their younger companions, less damage resistant are more prone to infection. On the flip side, with age comes wisdom. They are more effective with medicine, guns and other such tools allowing for faster and more effective use of said weapons and tools.

The middle aged: Are capable of taking the most damage in one sitting without going down, are skilled but also still have some of the fitness and energy of youth that the elders lack. Are generally good all around survivors.

Teenagers (+early twenties): They are not as strong as the middle aged meaning they are greater affected by weapon recoil, may require more hits to kill infected and weight has a greater effect on their speed. On the flip side, they still enjoy the energy and resilience of youth. They can physically exert themselves for longer without tiring and are less likely to get infected from a bite.

Kids: Life finds a way, these kids prove it. Kids are the least capable of defending themselves; having more limited carry weights, the most affected by recoil, less reach and damage on mellee, unable to shove large infected back and unable to take many hits before dying. Ontop of that, they are highly ineffective with medicine and tools due to lack of a complete education. However, they are by no means hopless. They are the most resiliant to the infection and due to their small size, specilise in ducking and weaving through zombie hordes. Instead of shoving infected away, they instead struggle to break free and slip out of their grasp. They can run without tiring for quite a long time and they have learned fast how to work guns. Kids make themselves useful by fetching items from zombie infested streets easier then their elders and their small size allows them to squeeze through spaces that adults couldn't. Kids can still kill zombies, but for full grown zombies the kid is going to want a gun as the lack of reach and damage makes such combat very difficult and dangerous.

Edit: Copied this to the NMRIH 2 wishlist thread.

[The Darkened Soul]

You know, that is a fanstastic idea. +5

[Maxx]

As neat of an idea it is (and it is a neat idea) we are avoiding systems like this because we don't want to start arbitrarily creating class-based gameplay, which this would be a derivative of. We've always been pretty keen that a player's abilities in-game should be a reflection of the skills of the person playing and not driven by any stat or abilities-based class systems, etc.

That being said this is a very neat idea that could find some form of implementation that would fit with the game!

[o.Calcifer.o]

Originally posted by |NMRiH Dev| Maxx:

As neat of an idea it is (and it is a neat idea) we are avoiding systems like this because we don't want to start arbitrarily creating class-based gameplay, which this would be a derivative of. We've always been pretty keen that a player's abilities in-game should be a reflection of the skills of the person playing and not driven by any stat or abilities-based class systems, etc.

That being said this is a very neat idea that could find some form of implementation that would fit with the game!

Your completely right. Theres no point in wasting time on classes that would take so much time and effort to get properly balanced when everyone would probably just use one of them anyway, that and 'abilities' like special attacks or spawning ammo from nowhere would ruin the feel of the game completely. I mean, this is your first game and your stressed out enough as it is, you wanna focus on things that really matter to the NMRIH experience like the zombies, the enviroments, the soundtrack, the atmosphere and whatnot and i agree completely. Besides, character customization would be a pain in the ass to do for four seperate classes instead of just one. wish you the best of luck with NMRIH 2!




Edit: I'm making this edit more to put my mind to rest rather than anything else.

Normally when a dev says to one of my ideas that it wouldn't fit with what they are trying to do because of X or Y, I often find myself trying to alter said idea so that it better fits in with or avoids messing with X or Y. Here however, i just can't think of any kind of real solution. Seriously, how could such a system be implemented while not runining either the gameplay or the autheticity of the game? Have them as NPC's? Well that just brings to mind terrible escort missions and terrible excuses as to why 'im not moving from this spot' (so it ruins gameplay). Have them as players but minus the differences in stats? A 8 year old kid running around at the speed of a full grown man weilding a sledgehammer and FAL like it's nothing would be hilarious, but would ruin the feel and authenticity of the game.

With that said, I honestly can't see a middle ground or half measure with this idea. At least not without destroying something else that I for one would deem more valuable. So, if i may, would like to make a case for class based gameplay (or atleast the kind/degree suggested here).

"We've always been pretty keen that a player's abilities in-game should be a reflection of the skills of the person playing and not driven by any stat or abilities-based class systems, etc."
If it's true that having different classes available removes skill needed to play the game, they why am i not an instant pro at overwatch? As long as the classes are reasonably blalanced to be at the same 'level', then the demand on skill should be relatively the same. True, some classes would require a bit less skill in some areas but alternatively would require more in others. In trying out different classes, it might also encorage players to try different weapon/equipment combinations and look for different approaches to problems. I'm not even suggesting significant changes to stats, difference between heavy and spys HP in TF2 is the difference between 300 and 125. A middle aged would have like 105, and an elderly would have like 90, kids maybe 75-85, teens 100. By no means significant stat differences that i am thinking of. Enough difference to make them feel unique and fit in with the autenticity of the experience but not so much that they are worlds apart like with other class based games.
If there was a leveling system and i was suggesting that at level 10 a player can regen 5 health for each kill then you would be so right to slam me on this as it without a doubt gives long time players unfair statistical advantages over newer players. But what I'm suggesting here still has every player at the same level whether new or a vetran, the only difference being that there is a choice. (and it means more content, which = greater longevity of the game but you can say that about pretty much anything so...).

And before you say 'arbitrarily', having characters of different ages would most ceartinly fit excellently with the games authenticity and lore. This is the zombie apocalypse, everyone is stuck in this hell, regardless of how vulnerable or unfit they may be for battle. The choice is either take up arms and try to fight your way out or waste away waiting for a rescue that won't come. Kids, the elderly, the crippled, the weak, the cowardly, everyone that values their life will be fighting a relentless enemy for it. Having kids and old people as playble characters displays this perfectly, nobody will be spared by the dead so nobody wants to go unarmed and nobody wants to be left behind.

Alright, I'm overreacting now. With all that said though, I'm fairly certain you and your team have already talked about this subject before, proabably at length too, and have a plethora of reasons I don't know as to why no is the answer. I have never made a game, i can't even do simple modding, and i'm not about to pretend i know better when all i see of games is the finished product. Either way, it's just a suggestion and i wish you the best of luck with NMRIH 2.

[Your bestfriend]

This would make for a decent mod