Arena Mod Modifications.

[Xagor-The-Ninja]

I know y'all are hard at work updating some of the intangibles, as well as building some of the underlying code still, but I had a few suggestions for the area mods. I love the basic premise/idea of the arenas, but it gets a tad boring after a while, since there aren't really any stakes. If you win, you win.. if you lose, you lose. Excepting the increased difficulty that comes with successive victories on the Courtyard map, there isn't really much to motivate you or draw you into it... I think this could relatively easily be changed for the better (and I say this as a non-programmer, but someone who has played a lot of even terrible games that managed this to varying degrees) through the following additions:

.5) The following ideas are meant to be used in conjunction with the current setup, NOT to replace it. The current system could continue to exist as a "quick fight" mode or some such.

1) To implement a system whereby you gain or lose experience/fame/access to weapons and armor with each success or failure, perhaps through even a basic inventory and currency model. This would make players more invested in playing, and have something consistently to work towards/improve/unlock. This also assumes the ability to have save states (perhaps even automatic after each match, to keep things simple, and to reinforce #3 below.)

2) To have a system where you can select the type of match you'd like to fight in; if you have access to swords or spears, and maybe you want to practice fighting with such, you really don't have a way to do it currently, other than making your own level where you start with it, or picking the right arena and getting that type of match entirely by random chance; this would remedy the latter, giving players access to the types of fights they really want to do and/or practice in on demand without having to build levels or use mods, and, in conjunction with suggestion 1 would work to further implement a system that incentivizes playing well, building up a character, and having in-game unlockables that are typically standard in other similar games.

3) Having some system in place that disincentivizes death or dishonor; in conjunction with 1 & 2, perhaps, given the nature of the game including death making individual character advancement somewhat pointless, perhaps the context is that you actually have a "team" of trained rabbit (or other) fighters (which obviously you control as the player when in-match), and that you'd rather have your warrior knocked out than killed - perhaps with some sort of cost to replace. Maybe you forfeit any weapons you brought into a match, if you lose. Maybe you get to keep any weapons an enemy was armed with at the end of a match, with purse to match/reflect the difficulty.

4) Additional creature and enemy selection - as you defeat increasingly difficult enemies (super rabbits, cats, dogs, etc, not necessarily in that order), you unlock the ability to "recruit" (aka play as) them. (Yes yes, I know you can mod your way to that, but this makes it easily accessible to average players, and gives you more unlockables and the ability to practice with and against these races.) Perhaps before you unlock sharp/fatal weapons, you start out with free/cheap wooden variations that don't frequently cause fatality and don't really incur cost. (4.5 On that note: add wooden weapons that only knock you out, so that you can have multiple round weapon matches, as one does with unarmed matches.)

5) Less core to this, but perhaps after the rest of this is developed, some sort of cliche screen where you can view your unlockables, with shadow silhouettes over weapons/armor/races you haven't unlocked (even better if it showed the creature models training, punching/kicking/sparring/striking dummies, with the unlockable weapons on the walls).


Closing thought:I realize some of this could be a tall order, if truly done well and to the highest standard of quality, but I think if introduced/controlled at least initially as a modular set of basic menu options, then later to gain improved ui as the game continues to evolve, this could essentially become a fairly consuming, interesting, and replayable campaign in its own right that could be used as a scalable introduction for new players and real solidly playable content for more experienced players, and honestly, all of the assets and models are already in the game for this. Again, cutting out the flashy/presentation side, the meat and potatoes of this could be, I should think, actually pretty easy to implement, and then expand upon later. Even taken in pieces, I think really any one of these suggestions could be valuable, particularly from the perspective of giving users control, choice, incentive to play and advance, and exposing them to more of the game's assets that you've worked so hard to build, all of which would add value to the game and improve the user experience.

Thank you for reading, and thanks for keeping this game going. You have a real diamond in the rough here.

[Xagor-The-Ninja]

A couple addendums, the result of mulling this over for a couple weeks now;

If the previously mentioned restructure/expansion/(Over)growth of the arena mods were to take place, there is so much more that could be done to further enhance playability and replayability...

In addition to currency awarded for winning matches, which again could be used to unlock new characters/weapons, etc (or even replenish fighter stock, buying from slavers, if you wanted to set up a much more complex system where you could select/line up your team for matches), you could put in an experience system where you gain higher rewards for more powerful enemies defeated or matches won that ultimately allows unlocking tweaks to character stats - essentially talent trees that would allow you to improve your fighters of each race. Stronger dogs, that hit harder, or can take even more of a beating - maybe movement speed increases or better blocking/dodging windows for rats. Maybe you could use currency to buy "claw sharpening" for cats, and make their melee attacks cause additional bleed damage instead of just blunt - stuff like that. Maybe rats could get unlock disease, which makes wounds caused by them not heal (essentially bleed, but different graphic?). Maybe that extra money could be used to purchase sharper weapons that deal more damage for a particularly difficult match, or even some kind of poison for weapon tips. Maybe you could buy first aid skill that prevents the death of allies, or would let you heal on fights with multiple waves (also, that could be a thing......). I'm just saying... there is so so so much that could be done with this that would expand the game so much further than a simple storyline campaign that would add serious value for the consumer, and really give them something to spend a ridiculous amount of time on, all the while really getting to experience and enjoy so many aspects of this next-gen fighting system you've developed. You could even set up matches so you can pick between 3 upcoming matches - prefer a weapons match? 3v3? 1v3? Cat v. mouse? What's on the arena's schedule for the "week"? Just sooo much that could be done with that. I really hope at least some of these things might be considered after the campaign is finished and released. This sort of thing is what sets a game apart from those that're beaten, and then never played again - this is the gift that keeps on giving diverse and changing content out of a stock that mostly already exists, and I really hope you consider going that route once you've released the game (officially) and have some time to develop more content.

Thanks again for reading.