A lot of this game idea is compared to and contrasted from the original Skies of Arcadia. Those who have not played the game may be a bit lost in the following information. But fear not, the game itself will appeal to both Arcadia veterans and newcomers alike.
I have sort of started the fanfic of my Skies of Arcadia sequel, but this is the story as a game. I have already thought many aspects of the game idea through, including:
-Overall storyline and plot path from beginning to end.
-The main "party member" characters with biographies, statistics, and S-moves.
-The supporting cast of characters and villians.
-World Maps drawn with all locations shown.
-Boss battles related to the story, and a few sidequest ones.
-A few sidequests thought out. Crew members, discoveries, and Bounties still open to suggestions.
-Gameplay differences from Skies of Arcadia.
-Two very different endings.
But, as referenced in the topic, I can't quite think up a title for the game. I was thinking it should have something to do with the story...
Story
20 years have passed since the exploits of the legendary Air Pirate Vyse and his crew. A lot has happened in these two decades, and Arcadia has been seemingly united by trade routes to every continent.
Ixa`Taka is becoming a bit more modernized thanks to these trade routes, but also has a favorable balance of trade thanks to its many resources.
The people of the Nasr kingdom have recently discovered many ancient ruins of past civilizations in their deserts, and have no disputes with New Valua. However, a greedy, selfish sultan has taken the throne of Nasr, and has the final word on trading. He exports next to nothing, and keeps almost everything imported to himself.
Many explorers and archaeologists are eagerly working to discover the mysteries in the Lands of Ice, and have renamed the continent Glacia, after the lost city they are looking for. They hope to find out about the Purple Civilization and what happened to them, and plan to build more settlements and turn them into grand cities, eventually making Glacia a full-fledged populated continent.
Yafutoma's populace now consists of two cities on opposite sides of the continent, and King Daigo is struggling to keep things under control. The smaller city of Suzuki, though, is being led by a warrior named Samahan, who believes that he should take the throne instead of Daigo. Many of Suzuki's citizens are assassins for hire.
New Valua has apparently changed the most, as it has literally been rebuilt from the ground up in the past score. The government is now a stable kingdom led by Good King Enrique and Caring Queen Moegi, and have reformed a powerful armada to ward off invaders. All people in the capital city have an equal standard of living, very much unlike the old Valuan empire. Their rapid growth has called for more power and resources, and Enrique sent the first of his four Admirals, Marco, to the mysterious Dark Rift. There, he found the fabled Black Moonstone and brought it back to New Valua, seeing as it had immense power radiating from it.
But King Enrique soon became more interested in this moonstone than he should, and has seemed to be obsessing over it and its power, leaving Queen Moegi to handle the problems of the common people.
Rumors and stories have been arising in the past few years about a people that live below the sky, beneath the clouds, and have even secretly formed an alliance with New Valua. There are also tales told about the legendary Vyse's fate, as he had seemed to dissapear in one of the last 20 years and no one has heard anything of him.
You watch the story unfold from the view of a young Air Pirate called Cysma, who has grown up with a clan of honorable Blue Rogues along with childhood friend Nira. The leader has finally let Cysma lead the clan on his own mission, and he takes them on a quest to uncover the mysteries of Arcadia's past...and his own.
That's just the beginning of the story.
Gameplay
The actual gameplay is basically similar to Skies of Arcadia, but with some alterations to the battle, party, and field systems:
Party
1. There are six other characters that will join Cysma and Nira throughout the course of the story, plus one secret character.
2. Cysma will always fight in battle, along with up to three others that are with him. Later on, when more than four characters are in the party, you can choose which three party members will fight with Cysma at any save point. Although some characters may be "locked" into the active party in certain events.
3. The seven other characters that join Cysma have a special attribute to one of the moons, according to the continent of their origin. Their defensive abilities will be affected by the rock-paper-scissors system of the moon elements, meaning they will be more vulnearable or more resistant to certain types of enemies.
4. In addition to their unique elemental types, each character with an associated moon attribute will have an advantage in the magic spells of said moon. That category of spells will be more effective, and can be learned faster. They will eventually learn a seventh spell that only they can learn and use.
5. Cysma has 6 S-moves that he can learn throughout the game, and everyone else has 3. Of course, there are also 2 special S-moves that will become available later on when your SP gauge is maxed out.
Battle
1. There are two types of battle styles you can use. There is the classic style of the original Skies of Arcadia, where you choose the actions of your entire party at once and watch the round play out, or choose the action of the character when his turn to move comes up in the round.
2. Button and stick commands may be used when performing S-moves and some magic spells to determine it's effectiveness. Commands including reacting to button press commands on screen or pressing the control stick in certain directions in sequence. Your accuracy will determine the effectiveness of the S-move.
3. The magic system is reversed as far as SP/MP usage goes. Your magic spells will only use 1 SP, but different amounts of MP. Of course, the party's Max MP count will be much higher than that of the original Skies of Arcadia, as will the amount that MP-restoring items will recover.
Other
1. The story will take Cysma and company into Deep Sky, the dark world beneath the clouds, and the mysteries within. At first, you will only be able to enter and exit Deep Sky from a vortex, and cannot reach areas of higher pressure. However, when you get a better ship in the game, you can reach more areas below to discover more locations, and upgrades will reduce the limits up to the point where you can switch between Arcadia and Deep Sky anywhere.
2. When you find your own base, there is more you can do to customize your island. You can set the locations of the buildings, alter the layout as well as the design scheme, and place decorative objects you find on your adventure on the island. More crew members will open up more oppurtunities, and one of them can even build a theater for you to watch the game's past FMVs at any time. One item you can obtain for the island is a jukebox that serves as the game's Sound Test.
3. Cysma has no specific personality of his own. Your actions and words for him can determine what kind of hero he is. Is he a peaceful, calm type that would prefer to talk things over instead of fight? Or does he kill first and ask questions later? Does he speak seriously like a leader? Or are his lines full of sarcastic, witty remarks? What he is like is up to you.
4. I have thought of two very different ways that the story could end, and thought it would be interesting if you could see one of these endings depending on certain choices you made in the game.
Here are the main party members:
Cysma
Element: N/A
Age: 19
Weapon: 2-handed sword
Cysma lost his parents and everything he knew as a young child when his home village was destroyed by an unknown force of people. At that age, he could not live on his own. Fortunately, a band of Blue Rogues known as the Phoenix Clan had found him and offered hospitality. He grew up as a member of the Phoenix Clan as an adventurous Air Pirate. By reading books, Cysma has learned about the legends and stories surrounding the history of Arcadia, and desires to find out the answers to these mysteries, as well as seek revenge on the one who destroyed his home all those years ago. To this day, he still remembers vividly the face of the man that personally killed his parents.
Stats: Well balanced hero with no glaring weaknesses. Can adapt to any situation.
Nira
Element: Silver
Age: 19
Weapon: Staff
Nira is all that remains of the people Cysma knew as a child. She was lucky enough to escape with him and grew up in the Phoenix Clan alongside him. She loves the treasure that is to be found in raids, but also wants to know who she is. She was actually found in a basket on the doorstep of Cysma's neighbor's house. Like Cysma, she too wants to sail the skies for answers, the answer to her true origin.
Stats: HP, Attack, and Defense is a bit inferior to Cysma's, but makes up in MP, Speed, and Magic skills.
Snipakuta
Element: Green
Age: 17
Weapon: Bow & Arrow
An experienced hunter in Ixa`Taka's new capital city of Cetzan. Snipakuta is known not only as the son of the great Tikatika, but also for protecting the city from dangerous creatures lurking about the vast forests surrounding. His father now works part-time in the mines within the Luna Mountains near Cetzan, which is rich with Green Moonstones, but Snipa would rather him not since Tikatika's once excellent vision is now rapidly fading. Snipakuta has the eagle-sharp eyes his father once had.
Stats: One of the fastest party members in the game, and has great accuracy and dodging abilities. HP and Defense aren't so keen, though...
AU-79 "Magnum"
Element: Yellow
Age: Planning & Production started 3 years ago.
Weapon: Minigun
Magnum is one of two powerful battle robots created by the Alliance of New Valua with the mysterious civilization of the Black Moon. It is designed to battle legions of enemies at once, and has been outfitted accordingly. Along with thick armor forged from materials in Deep Sky, Magnum is armed with a Minigun on its left arm capable of firing up to 30 bullets per second, a chargeable Plasma Cannon and Flamethrower on the other arm, and its body conceals a piercing laser and homing rocket launchers. Being a war machine, Magnum was not programmed to feel emotion...just shoot anything that moves.
Stats: Great attack and excellent defense power, high amounts of HP and decent accuracy, but suffers from very low speed, poor MP and Magic, and mediocre Dodge.
Blaze
Element: Red
Age: 32
Weapon: Battle Axe
A musclebound Nasrean sailor whose massive girth alone is enough to intimidate many. Blaze is actually the only legible heir to the Nasr throne, but the current sultan would rather the kingdom die out than Blaze take his place. The sultan obviously despises Blaze, so he sails out on his own, exploring the recently unearthed ancient ruins in the desert. Beneath his tough-guy attitude, he is actually a friendly and caring man.
Stats: The highest offensive skills of them all, as well as rock hard defense that is second only to Magnum, and HP just above it. A very high vigor rating lets him perform many critical hits. Magic is lacking, but not quite as much as Magnum, and accuracy could be better as well.
Polara
Element: Purple
Age: 18
Weapon: Magic Ring
A mysterious girl of the lost Purple Civilization, found frozen in a crystal of ice on Glacia. She and her friend Frigidus, whom is also trapped and preserved, are quite possibly the only key to unlocking the secret of the Purple people, and what had happened to them.
Stats: The greatest magic abilities of all party members, learning all spells quickly and using them to great effect, as she has the fastest growing pool of MP. However, she can't take physical attacks so well, and has a very low amount of HP. Protect her from the enemy, and she can use her magic to destroy them.
Sezutki
Element: Blue
Age: 23
Weapon: Daggers
Sezutki is a Yafutoman ninja assassin for hire, and her sneaking and killing abilities are worth the high price she demands. She can infiltrate any building, no matter how heavily guarded, with ease, deliver the killing blow to her victim, and dissapear like a shadow without anyone knowing she was there. When Samahan places a bounty on Cysma's head, Sezutki is sent to eliminate him, but loses the fight. Upon defeat, she joins her new "employer" before he can protest. How do you know she's not gonna kill Cysma in his sleep?
Stats: Being a ninja, Sezutki has the highest speed and dodge abilities of all party members (With Snipakuta second and Nira third), and her critical hits, when they do occur, are often lethal. Her attack power is often poor, though, not to mention defense, but Sezutki's magic abilities are just a step behind Nira.
The last two party members are in "Spoiler" territory, so I'll skip them and move onto the other important characters. Enrique and Moegi were basically explained in the story above.
New Valuan Armada
Decius
Supreme Commander of the royal armada. Decius uses the power of lightning to control the kingdom's air fleets. He commands the four Admirals directly and receives orders from the king and queen. Decius is known for his loyalty and determination, but can he still be trusted in these times?
Marco
First Admiral of the armada. He has come a long way in his life. Living in the streets of old Valua's Lower City as a child, he later met Vyse and stowed away on his ship, the Delphinus. Marco became a part of the crew for the rest of his travels, and then returned to Valua to rebuild. He now has the honor of being the first admiral and flying his powerful flagship, the Delphinus II. When he retrieved the Black Moonstone from the Dark Rift, he cut a small jewel out of it to place into Enrique's crown to honor him. If only he had known the corrupting powers of the Dark Moon...
Fernando
Fernando is upset that he is the Second Admiral of the armada, because he believes that one as noble as he deserves no less than being First Admiral, if not the supreme commander. Fernando flies the regal flagship Pegasus. He comes from a family of high nobility, succeeding his uncle Alfonso as an admiral. His self-absorbed arrogance masks the cowardice within.
Nekona
The Third Admiral of the armada is in charge of tactics and espionage. Although not entirely human, Nekona got her position for her remarkable skills and charisma. She would rather not fight, but instead seduce and lure her enemy to where her superiors request. An appropriate cloaking device is currently under development for her flagship, the Ocelot.
Dr. Lobon
Valua's leading scientist took the role of being their Fourth Admiral. Overseeing all research and development, Lobon began a series of technological breakthroughs when he and his team began studies on the Black Moonstone. This has lead to many unexpected events...
SE-34 "BlackHawk"
The battle robot that was developed alongside Magnum. Their structures are basically similar, but far different experiments and tests were run on them to compare and contrast results. BlackHawk's energy feeds from a broken off fragment of the Black Moonstone, and its power builds. Both robots were designed by Dr. Lobon, and even Decius is impressed with them. He is even considering promoting SE-34 to Admiral.
The Kaguron Empire
The Kaguron Empire is the lost civilization of the Black Moon, which now resides in the depths of Deep Sky. The civilization was completely unaffected by the Rains of Destruction in the Old World, and its technology had continued to build to this day. As a result, they are literally thousands of years more advanced than the world above, and have recently been able to reach the rest of Arcadia. The Black Moon was said to have shattered in the Rains of Destruction, and the empire is looking for a way to restore it.
Kuron
Supreme Commander of the Kaguron Empire. Under his leadership, the people of the Black Moon have conquered all of Deep Sky, and plan to continue to the world above. In fact, they have already started, as Kuron has formed an alliance with New Valua, and shared his technology with them. Kuron himself is a tall figure with mysterious powers. He can control the powers of the Black Moon to their full potential, which is far stronger than the other 6 moons combined. With powers beyond mortal comprehension, he seeks only to restore the Black Moon...and kill everyone that gets in his way.
Kosmo
Kuron's second in command. Kosmo has looked up to Kuron since childhood, and is eager to serve and learn from his master. However, he suddenly felt guilt and remorse when he commanded his part of the empire to slaughter innocent men, women, and children in Arcadia above, and tried to explain to Kuron that there must be a better method than senseless killing. "Valuing mortal lives is a fatal mistake." Kuron said to him. "Should you even have doubts of eliminating those who are not one of us, I cannot allow a weakling like yourself to command Kaguron, much less allow you to live."
Shade
An enigmatic shadow that no one knows for sure about. Shade has unique powers that allow him to manipulate things by mind alone, and can create visions and illusions to twist the minds of his enemies. Shade can even alter the currents of the Dark Rift, and is said to even be able to bring the dead to life. This figure plays an important part in Kuron's forces, and is full of surprises. Shade now commands a strange Kaguron airship that seems to be everywhere at once, having no shape of reality, the Phantasm.
Supporting Cast
Enrique, Moegi, Tikatika, Samahan, Daigo, and the Nasultan have already been described earlier.
Jacque
The fearless but caring captain of the Phoenix Clan. He chose to help young Cysma and Nira when their home was destroyed, and raised them like a father. His clan's ship, the Firebird, was built by his father, who was also the founder of the clan. Jacque has seen great potential within both Cysma and Nira, and trained them to use the weapons they wield today despite the fact that this captain goes into battle with a gun. His desire to help the weak and needy has made him a natural Blue Rogue, and hopes to see the rest of his crew follow his example.
Montozum
The king of Ixa`taka's new city of Cetzan. With the active trade routes established with the other continents, Montozum has worked to balance the city's trade. Green Moonstones and Sacr- crystals are Ixa`taka's biggest export, and much of them are found within the Luna Mountains not far from Cetzan. The king has set up a complex of mines in that mountain range, and is enjoying the benefits. Unfortunately, the mine's safety record has been declining recently due to more and more cave-ins.
Enigma Bane
A silent figure dressed in an outfit that reveals not a single ounce of flesh or identity whatsoever. This person has been sighted several times, but has never said a word. Its outfit seems to resemble that which was worn by the Zivilyn Bane clan some 20 years ago. As a result, this mystery person is referred to as "Enigma Bane". Appearing and dissapearing with such shadowy technique, it would even be enough to confuse the ninja assassins of Suzuki. Enigma Bane is often seen with a pistol in each hand, and does not hesitate to use them. Can Cysma and friends find out this figure's true identity?
Vinera
A strange shaman dwelling in Cetzan, claiming to be able to contact spirits and foresee the future. She claims that the cave-ins in the mines are a result of digging in the wrong direction, and is trying to persuade the miners in another for some reason...
Frigidus
A friend of Polara that had also been sealed away centuries ago, only inside a statue. He and Polara were indeed good friends long ago, and now encourage each other to stop living in the past they left behind, and live in the present. Frigidus once had commendable Purple Magic powers, but they have gone missing at some point after he was frozen. While Polara may know much about the fate of the Purple Civilization, Frigidus has the second half of the story...
Pan & Chan
Twin fighters living in a hidden palace on what was once known as Tenkou Island. Many Yafutomans travel to their island to be trained as an assassin, and are the man source of the ninjas in Suzuki. Pan and Chan always seem to act as one, and are virtually unstoppable when paired together. But do they know that they are teaching and training heartless killers?
There are at least two more supporting characters, but those are in spoiler territory as well.
I was also trying to decide if the game should have CGI sequences and/or voice acting. If it had a lot of either of these, then development of the game would take more time, money, and disk space...and possibly have to put the game on two disks. If the game were to come out on Revolution or any future console, we may not have to worry about this, but in the case that the game would be on GCN...what do you think would be acceptable for each of these matters?
Another thing, I was thinking about there being a clock where the time passes from day to night. I'm not sure if a day should be 10 minutes like Zelda, or 24 minutes like The Sims and such. The time could only pass while you're on your ship, or it could also pass anywhere. In addition to days flowing by, there could also be days of the week, and certain events and things appear only at certain times. (i.e. Discoveries that appear at night, Shops having sales on a certain day etc.)
After all, since there are two worlds to explore, there would be at least 100 discoveries to find. Having some appear at certain times or days would keep things interesting.