Alright, so I've mentioned in the past that I've been planning of a single player campaign for one of the yugi simulators (preferrably YGO Pro2) where I can have complete control of the cardpool, including my customs and errata'd versions of many of the TCG's problematic cards. I want the project to be called "Yu-Gi-Oh! Elite"
Basic Structure
The game would be basically a combination of a Kinetic Novel (aka a Visual Novel with no choices that diverge the story) with a typical overworld Duel Simulator, like most of Konami's games are. The player can either view the unlocked map parts to have a more controlled experience, OR progress the main story, which is a combination of scripted duels and visual novel-style dialogue. Like Duel Links, the player will be using a specific Player Character (PC) each time, and will not be making their own avatar.
Rule Changes
The game would be using the format changes I have suggested in a previous article. Basically A)starting at 10k LP, B)having hand protection first turn and C)blocking more than 1 Deck Material if it's optional.
Additionally, D)The deck space will be exactly 40 cards. The reason for that will be explained below. E) For story reasons, each character is tied to a very specific card, which they can "destiny draw" anytime they would draw a card (during their normal DP draw or by a card effect). To avoid annoying pop-up option boxes, I am thinking of doing that by holding down a specific button (maybe Control), in the same way the original tag force games asked you to hold the trigger button). If a character "destiny draws" their character-specific card, an animation of some kind will play that will inform both players (essentially only mattering for when opponent characters do it). The cards will be preset, and cannot be manually changed by the players.
Cardpool
A select combination of TCG cards and my customs (and possibly from some other players who make good stuff, I do have a few in mind). I want the experience as controlled as possible so the gameplay is optimal. The player will be unlocking cards very gradually. None of that RNG-based pack-grinding like you see in Duel Links.
Some TCG cards will be including erratas, like giving "Dante" an HOPT or making "Orcust" lock on DARK monsters for the whole turn, not just after their effects are used.
Overworld
Probably the hardest part to program. The idea is big static "map" screens. From here the player can specifically click on icons, to:
A)Have access to a card shop, where they can purchase specific cards through the game's currency (more becoming available as the game progresses).
B)Duel any unlocked character for practice. That can reward some static currency but no more than that.
C)Depending on the currently selected PC, have access to mini-tourneys (like, winning 3-4 duels in a row) that reward specific cards. Probably the easiest way to pull this off would be to have identical copies of the map separate per PC.
D)Edit Decks. Cards gathered are added to the common collection regardless of the chosen PC, similar to the Duel Links system.
E)Switch Player Character.
F)Have access to some mini-stories based on the selected player character. These will appear conditioned on the main story progress, and might not even include duels, just dialogue bits for world-building.
G)A button for continuing the main story, right at its latest checkpoint (aka before or after a duel). There is no need for the overworld map itself to be used in the main story practically.
Card Collection
Unlocking a card once will instantly grant access to all 3 copies. There will be no card rarities (so everything is a common), but there will be alternate artworks, that will need to be unlocked separately, possibly through a mini-tourney using a condition that the basic artwork has been unlocked.
The overworld's shops will separate cards into blocks, starting with only 1 block available (roughly 100-150 cards). The players will be able to purchase individual cards of the block directly, priced accordingly by their metaness. (for example block 1 can include card A (10game currency) and card B(100game currency), so no luck will be involved with pack openings. Progressing the story will give access to more blocks. Completing a block can give a hefty currency boost, or maybe the alternate artworks for the cards of the block, so players will have an incentive to unlock every card. At the start of the game, the player can be given some free currency along with the first playable character's deck, so they can experiment with this.
Story Progression
Character control
The story will progress strictly linearly, demanding a specific character is used for each bit. The player control will always switch to the character that's supposed to win the duel for story purposes, so the character arcs will be controlled, preventing the hero team from just being invincible (which is something that really bothers me in other yugi video games).
Saves
An autosave will happen right before the mandatory deck editing right before the duels, so the player will be able to skip the visual novel bits that they have already seen. (because of how linear the experience will be there is no need for multiple or manual save slots). Failing a mainstory duel will result in an instant game over. That way we can skip programming conditional dialogue for the player's losses. An overwriting autosave will also happen right after a duel is won.
The 27 Rule
Each character will have their own signature archetype that they will be using for the story. The player will be unable to play the main story duels unless their deck contains a progressively higher number of the archetype's cards, cards listing the archetype or cards listed in the archetype.
The idea is that upon initial character unlocking, they will only have 4-6 of the archetype's cards in their decks, so with X3 copies that would be 12-18 of the archetype's cards. If we assume that starting number to be X, then the first story checkpoint will require them to have X of the archetype's cards in the deck. The next one will require X+3, then X+6 and so on. Finishing the character introductions in the story will reach to a maximum of 27 mandatory archetype-related cards in the maindeck, and 9 in the Extra Deck.
Along with the max limit of 40 cards in the maindeck rule, that will mean the player will be forced to learn how these archetypes really play, in their purest forms. It will also give an incentive to complete the mini-tourneys in the overworld, which can give archetype-related cards as a reward (reminder: they will be unique for each selected character).
(Depending on the archetype's size, the number 27 for the Main Deck and 9 for the Extra is not set in stone.)
Story Chapters
The story can be separated into 4 big chapters total. The primary purpose for that would be the devs' convenience, so it can be released in patches. A secondary reason can be separating the story into seasons, much like an anime adaption would. I find that kind of thing helps with organization, as well as allowing plot fluidity (for example changing the tone & settings).
Budget Estimates
This is a rough prediction based on my previous developing experience, but I believe the total cost would roughly amount to 5-6k dollars. Character arts & CGs (roughly 1200$ along with the CGs), music (~300-600$) & voice acting (~800$) are far more affordable than people outside the industry would think, and the linearity of the story can cut on both programming and writing costs a lot. Programming would average a maximum of 500$, since most of the coding already exists from other Yugioh properties, with very few original scripts required. Card art is pretty much an unknown, it will really depend on who I manage to get as an artist and the resolutions of the art I will request. It can range from pocket change to 40$ a piece, so it would require a lot of researching beforehand. I do believe it is possible to get them for around 10$ a piece though. Spritework and sound effects on the other hand tend to be money-sucking voids, and considering I would also like original animations for Ritual/Fusion/Synchro/Xyz/Link/Pendulum Summoning, the number piles up to the 5-6k.
The game will be using limited voice acting, aka small voice files when the character busts appear, depending on their expressions. It will not include full voiced dialogue, but it will include reactions to winning the game, or receiving damage for example. For the character arts, I believe an average 3kX4k resolution will suffice (same I use for my games).
Closing
Again, the above are assuming I finish both the RPG and the horror game first within the next two years or so, and I'm relatively financially stable. If you have any questions, feel free to ask in the comments.
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| I do intend to have some fanservice in the game, though it won't be something that goes beyond what regular anime usually allows. Certainly more reserved than my usual thumbnails and ender-pics. |
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