Post by Kami on Aug 22, 2023 7:56:18 GMT -8
OK so, broadly speaking I don't have a lot of feedback about any specific content on your forum outside of the dice battler (see below comments). I think my biggest... confusion(?) is that you're advertising this as a Sailor Moon "RPG", and I'm struggling to get that vibe. I don't inherently think this is a bad thing per se, it's just when I see the term "RPG" when a forum is being advertised, I'm really thinking of / expecting a narrative-driven community with a large emphasis on collaborative storytelling (whether or not dice rolls are utilised). In browsing the available sections of your forum, I see a heavier emphasis on out of character content (OOC chat is prioritised over any gameplay/narrative), a section for some sort of game with heavy mechanical requirements over narrative ones, and then the part of the forum that's supposed to be for RP only has 2 boards with 1 thread between them. I don't really understand what makes this an "RPG" forum, but again, maybe I'm just used to other, narrative-driven, collaborative storytelling RP communities. I don't have suggestions here, and again, this comment isn't necessarily negative, it's just there may be a disconnect between what you're trying to achieve versus what guests / potential members are expecting.
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As far as the dice battler, I honestly don't get what I'm supposed to be reviewing. I would expect, when I go to a link I'm provided, that the link contains some sort of information about how this content is supposed to function, but beyond some basic form information, I didn't see that. I had to back out and dig for the intent -- this isn't necessarily bad (I assume that the new member flow of the forum would necessitate reading other materials before jumping in with a battler thread) but you may want to update your OP on this thread to describe how the battler is supposed to work / what the intent is, or link to a thread on your forum that does, just for a reviewer's ease of access.
Looking at this thread, I am not sure I really understand the concept still. My interpretation (correct me if I'm wrong), is that when you create a post the 'enemy' and your character will be given dice rolls for a few different categories / abilities, and per line higher dice roll wins; writing a 'story' portion of the post will allow you to have bonus modifiers to your rolls, in the event you roll low in a category. Levelling up allows you to unlock more abilities, but also unlocks more abilities for enemies.
If this is correct, the following things come to mind about the gameplay (these are NOT criticisms or things that need to change, but rather questions so you can see the game from the perspective of someone unfamiliar with the forum; what you do with these questions is entirely up to you):
- What is the purpose of showing HP? Assuming HP is being used in the classic sense of 'hit points', I do not see anything in the gameplay that raises or lowers your health, and in this explanation I do not see anything that calls out a consequence for if HP drops to 0. I don't see anything that determines the amount of HP I have, nor do I see an actual numerical representation of it. If nothing impacts HP, then I don't understand why it's displayed; if something does impact HP, I don't understand what that impact is, based on this informational thread.
- What are the win conditions of a battle? I notice you say that each dice roll goes against the other, but what constitutes a "win" if "wins" are broken up per category of dice roll? Is it whomever has the most "wins" per ability? What happens if both sides have 100% equal rolls? How does a stalemate play out gameplay wise? If adding narrative descriptions nets you bonuses / modifier to your rolls, how are those points distributed? Do you have to distribute them manually? If so, are there any rules to how you're allowed to distribute modifiers? Is one post considered an entire battle? Or is one thread consider an entire battle? This sort of ties in with HP being visible: no one's HP goes down, so I'm not sure when a battle is considered "over", which leads to my next question.
- Why are battles decided in sets? You mention that "normal" battles require a best 2 out of 3, or 3 of 5 for bosses; however, because win conditions aren't clear (my HP doesn't go down, I'm unclear on whether or not battles are a per post, or per thread basis) I do not know or understand why I need 2 out of 3 wins to "win". Am I having a rematch the other two battles? Are you perhaps thinking that each post is a "round" and 3 posts constitutes a "battle"? You use the word "battle" to refer to both [fighting an enemy] and [multiple fights in a set], so it's unclear when trying to understand the game mechanics to what definition of "battle" is being used in any given sentence that uses the word.
- What is my motivation to play this game? When playing a video game, players need to understand their motivations. Fighting games like Street Fighter, Mortal Combat, Tekken, etc, motivate players to increase their proficiency in combo execution + improve reflex / timing. In RPGs (whether action-oriented like FromSoft games, or narrative-oriented like BioWare games), players are rewarded by progressing plot, unlocking lore, and/or better gear, abilities, and stats. Since you're focusing more heavily on dice rolls and an actual game system versus narrative, I would expect this to be treated more akin to a video game RPG than anything else; as such, I expect to see some sort of player motivator. But, I don't see any loot drops, any narrative bonuses, and if all senshi are battling the same enemy per Act, I don't understand how my character's actions are important to the game.
- And lastly, where is the explanation for how acts & missions work? I see you have a tutorial mission, and every act has a mission thread, but there's no information within the tutorial board or how to play thread that informs a player as to the purpose of missions beyond "you can level up when you do this". Tying back into player motivation (why should a player WANT to level up? what do they get for doing so? does levelling up provide any bonuses to your dice rolls, or does it simply unlock a new category of dice roll / make the game more difficult?), I can't play a game that doesn't tell me what I'm bringing to the table by playing..
To sum up, my interpretation of the dice battler is that you wanted to try and create a dice-roll based fighting game, while trying to incorporate player-driven narrative as a "bonus" for engaging in the fighting game. Unfortunately, as a new player the first-time user experience (FTUE) is incredibly unclear: I don't know why I should engage in this content (unclear benefits to my character, story progression, and/or tangible items), I am unclear about how to win (confusing terminology, seemingly unused mechanics), and I don't understand why I would do this over, say, playing a Sailor Moon-themed tabletop RPG / another TTRPG, or playing like, Sailor Moon: Another Story, or playing an actual fighting game.
I want to be very clear: my comments above do NOT! mean this is a bad idea. The things I commented on are really questions I would ask in my actual job (context: I make video games for a living) so that the teams can flesh out the player experience better. I want you to succeed, truly, but I think that there needs to be a bit more thought into fleshing out the game experience from the perspective of someone who is not invested in the game already because those are the folks that are going to be the lifeblood of the game. If players cannot understand the mechanics or why they should engage, they will seek out something else that provides those things.