Idea Info Name: Sengoku Jidai Index: Primary Category: RPG Submitted: 2/22/2004 12:08:55 AM Written By: BrimstoneVomit Game Architecture and Design: A New Edition Book Highly Recommended !

      Being the freak over feudal Japan and swordfighting that I am, this is among my most zealous game ideas.  Basically, the only storyline behind this game would be random actions based around the entire province of Shinano (among the largest provinces in the country).  Being as large and valuable as it is along with its position of being the common desired vantage ground for five Daimyo (Takeda, Oda, Tokugawa, Uesugi and Hojo), there are limitless random events that can be made. 

      Having the diversity of five different warlords fighting over the same land, there is already a lot that can happen already.  But the storyline also depends on the many other variants for the random events.  The first detail necessary is where the battle will take place or what areas the troop movement will influence.  From there, numbers will be pre-determined.  Then there will be a randomized grouping of different troop types (archers, yari spearmen, swordsmen, cavalry, etc.) incorporated into that number.  Lastly, the name of the Daimyo will be given to the army, dependant on that lord's stature and if they're even in the province at that time (heck, Shinano could even be completely unoccupied at some point!)  Then the only remaining detail will be the outcome of the battle or army movement.  If your character is not in the area of the event, an outcome will be drawn based on the variants already given to the moving army or contending forces.  Oh, by the way, there will also be the occasional three-way battle, and maybe four or five depending on whether or not all of the warlords are currently in the province.

     Needless to say, this will have to be a huge game in order to fit in five Daimyo and so many different variants.  So large that it may require more than one disk.  The province of Shinano is quite large indeed, and would contain over a dozen gigantic and well-detailed sites, ranging from bustling towns to scarce fields (which won't seem so scarce during a major battle).

     Now I suppose I should speak of the character.  Your role can be as great as you'd like it.  Here's the basics: you start off as a ronin, a masterless samurai.  That is pretty much the only pre-defined detail you have to put up with in the game.  You can choose your character's personality - both as a warrior (aggressive or defensive) and common personality traits (generous, sarcastic, insulting, flirtatious, etc.).  The personality aspect is for the character him/herself (yes, you can also choose gender along with the character's portrait appearance) so they may have a realistic social life within the game's storyline.  Therefore the battles taking place can either serve as a background plot or your primary purpose, whichever you choose.

     The social life will be based on random variants only by the personalities of the computer characters you meet (or no random variants if you interact with fellow characters online).  This social life availability greatly boosts the gameplay value, for with your basic background life (fighting battles or wandering for personal profit and whatnot) you may also acquire relationships with other characters, whether they are computer or online friends.  These relationships include: mere acquaintences, friends, business partners/friends, warrior comrades and lovers.  This addition is mainly to suppliment for those that cannot play online and even add more to online play with the business and love relationships.

     If you choose to be a stand-by player, news of the events can reach you through viewing news signs and speaking to shopkeepers and restaurant owners - even by speaking to people on the streets.

     Yet if you choose to get directly involved in battles, you have the option of presenting yourself to the desired warlord and request to serve them as a samurai.  You may not always be accepted, but chances of being recruited are quite high, especially considering the losses at the end of a battle.  Upon being recruited, you may still live a social life wherever you will, but you will be summoned by a messenger of your lord whenever a random event includes the lord you chose to serve.  Or, he may request you to assassinate someone, perhaps a politician or enemy general.  By the way, if you have fought well within the sight of the warlord you sought to impress from your "introducing battle," you may be given the option to choose your type of service, which will be between three different options: soldier, assassin or general (which is basically the same as soldier only you have tons of support on the battlefield and you get recognition in the towns, which will vary from the reputation you create for yourself).

    As for character development, probably the only improvement you can make on your character is sword skills, which will mostly depend on your ability to master the controls.  Besides that, you will gain moves and combos based on your successes in battle and/or participation in various dojos, each with its own discipline to learn.

     Control-wise, it's pretty basic.  There will be a quick attack button and power attack button, jump button, and evasion.  This will make up the four primary buttons (considering this is for PS2, my personal preference).  Secondary buttons will be comprised of blocking, speech selection, sheathe/and unsheathe and alternative action (open doors, sit down, etc.).

     I suppose I'll cut it off there.  Again, needless to say, this game would be enormous!  So please, any questions or comments would be appreciated.