I am creating an RPG which is designed around the use of multiple characters, and a plethora of races. All characters in the game are also playable, so any monsters created are playable characters. The idea is actually to NOT have a single character, unless you are satisfied with repeating the same type. Characters actually die in the game as well, so it encourages switching races (or at least altering your skill setup to sharpen your play style or get rid of unwanted abilities) upon death.
The game is not focused on items or gear as much as it is about an in depth skill system. This is why I decided originally on 4 armor types (Cloth, Leather, Chain, Plate) or if a monster-- a similar setup (Weak Armor, Light Armor, Medium Armor, Heavy Armor).
I just finished 10 of my 13 playable characters for my RPG.
These are just drafts so the lighting is a bit messed up, so these are actually not the final product, just the first round.
I wanted all of them to be naked to show the model, but didn’t want to see a bunch of ken dolls (the game will have full nudity, but no actual genitalia, lol, and plenty of gore) so I plopped on some clothes-- some (like the Halfling’s or Merfolk) unique to their race.
My actual goal is to have over 40+ playable races, each with their own four sets of styles for each armor type (Cloth, Leather, Chain, and Plate-- or the armor equivalent). For ex. the Merfolk will have “Kelp Armor” which is that breastplate (and I’ll add some more than just the chest piece) but it’s a sparse plate as the kelp is organic and helps product the Merfolk by covering their body with magical bacteria that cannot be seen. This is primarily because I wanted their gorgeous legs to be more visible even with armor. However, there are also the 4 outfit types that any race can wear (Normal Platemail, for example) which they can wear, minus the boots.
So my goal for item content is to have each race to have the universal 4 outfits, plus 4 unique outfits for themselves. The gameplay encourages using different races and characters, and an in depth skill customization system, instead of a single race with tons of armor types. It may be odd for my basic goal to be 8 possible armor sets per race, and 1 environment tile set per race, but when you add in the fact my goal is to implement 52 races (or as many as I can before release, a minimum of 4-8, that means an entire game worth of unique environments (which exist for a reason) and a hell of a lot of graphics.
I think it’s more interesting to have each race have 4 unique race-only outfits and 4 universal plain outfits than for all 52 races to have 8 of the same outfits. The work is the same, so might as well do the unique part.
What do you think as a player? If you were given 13 races to choose from, would you want 8 outfits (two of each armor type) for ALL 13, or would you agree that it’s a cooler idea to have 4 universal outfits and then 4 unique race-only outfits?
The work for me is the same. As each character’s body is entirely (or relatively) different, I have to create the armor graphics individually. So either way I will have to do 8 outfits * Characters. The game is 2D. It’s irrelevant if that’s 4 unique + 4 universal * 8 or not. So I figure since I have to do the work anyway, might as well make each have their own unique set. Some races don’t even use armor, and instead use magic (as armor) or their bodies ARE armor (Forged, who are medieval robots, have different metals which determine their armor) and some will require unique outfits ANYWAY for all 8 because of their race (Centaur’s horse parts, for example).
