General SRPG Design Tips?

[47948201]

Yeah, so this could almost go in general FE, and it definitely pertains to hacking, but whatever. I'll stick it here.

What, in your opinion, are the top things one should do (and not do) when designing a FE-based game?

[eclipse]

I'm gonna go strictly from a gameplay perspective. If I don't find your game fun, I'm probably not gonna get far enough to appreciate the story.

- I should have a reason to use more than one or two units

- I don't mind a larger cast, but I should have a reason to try the later units

- I don't like having a lot of early game units stuck on the same weapon

- The enemies shouldn't be so easy that I abandon strategy

- The enemies shouldn't be so hard that I have to save state abuse to finish

- Grinding should not be a necessary gameplay mechanic

- I'm a fan of readily available supplies (i.e. the Iron shop in FE), but I think I'm an oddity

- Money shouldn't be so ridiculously tight that I have to get creative to buy stuff

- If you're gonna spam me with stuff, I'd like a convoy sooner than later

- The two things I abuse most in SD were reclassing and merging. The former allowed me to experiment with varying growths and bases; the latter ensured that I never had to sell stuff.

That's all from my end. I'm sure others will be able to explain themselves better.

[Excellen Browning]

If you want to deviate from the FE norm a little, perhaps your characters can be put into squads which then act as your units on the field(or perhaps being placed in the same squad gives some adjacency bonuses if the characters are still individual units). It's honestly one of the things I'd like to see appear in any SRPG game.

Other than that, figure out a way to makes weapon types more balanced than they were in FE4.

Edited October 9, 2011 by Daigoji Excellen

[Agro]

I think having a cast of characters that you actually give more than two shits about is nice. So yeah, having interesting characters for me is a lot more important than gameplay.

[Baldrick]

The most important thing is gameplay; there has to be some strategy or mechanic that differentiates it from the SRPG equivalent of a button-masher. If I don't occasionally spend a few minutes pondering my next move, it's not doing its job.

Story and characters are nearly as important. If I don't want to find out what happens next, or care if the hero reaches his objective, then I'll abandon the game once the inevitable frustrating stage comes up.

The game should, above all, move fast when you're not in control, especially if it's difficult. If I'm going to get thrashed repeatably, I'd rather get it over with quickly.

[Inactive Account]

This probably sounds obvious, but have a plan for what you're doing before you start. Don't start trying to design level maps until you know what you have to put on them. Flailing around aimlessly tends to not go well.

[Celice]

Actually, the map design is one of the most important elements, considering that's one half of the gameplay of an SRPG. If you suck at making fun maps that have good flow, your gameplay's going to be stilted, jarring, and boring.

If you're gonna try and make an FE-like SRPG, you need to know how your playable units are going to interact with the environment around them and develop based off that.

If you want to deviate from the FE norm a little, perhaps your characters can be put into squads which then act as your units on the field(or perhaps being placed in the same squad gives some adjacency bonuses if the characters are still individual units). It's honestly one of the things I'd like to see appear in any SRPG game.

A number of SRPGs have this mechanic, actually. Check out Just Breed on the Famicom (has translation patch, from Enix). It's right up your desired alley.

Edited October 9, 2011 by Celice