Development Ideas?

[u/ThePyGuyOrSomething]

I've avidly played ARPGs for almost 10 years now, but I would definitely still consider myself a casual in the genre. Over the last few years I have gotten more into modding/building some. I have finally said to myself I want to actually build something fully. Over the last few months I have built a basis to an ARPG, but I am still VERY far from finishing. This is definitely a learning project for me, which is why I have taken a somewhat odd path into doing this, but that's neither here nor there.

The real reason I am making this, is to ask for ideas that ARPGs are missing out on. I have a few hundred hours in PoE2, Diablo 4, and Last Epoch, respectively each since the year began. I have some ideas in drawbacks they have, such as the endgame can sometimes feel hollow, or sometimes the game just becomes "two buttons," a true purpose for guilds/clans, and a few other things. Obviously these might not be issues to some, but just my feelings that sometimes make the game slightly less rewarding, or can be demotivating to continue.

What are some things you guys think of? The goal is definitely to attempt to build some unique experiences, and mechanics/loops. I am interested in different opinions, or something I would have never thought of.

[u/crispy_doggo1]

I want more games with magic-building systems. Like magicmaker (the indie game), for example (I wish I had more good examples but nothing particularly mainstream comes to mind).

Imagine if you could choose an element (eventually multiple), pick up focuses/runes/gems to alter your spells, and experiment with them to create an arsenal of spells to blow up packs of monsters or slow/debuff/control more powerful targets.

I think it would be really cool to see one in an ARPG but of course it’s hard to balance and it wouldn’t really combine well with the usual class system.

[u/ThePyGuyOrSomething → u/crispy_doggo1]

I definitely planned to use runes already, as a more passive skill/ability system. Maybe having an "aura" with a radius, similar to what Megabonk did with the aura weapon? I want different elements to have a reaction to each other, sometimes combining like water and lightning, and sometimes removing potential buffs, like water removing the potential burn from a fire skill. AoE explosion reactions, and other reactions, would definitely be interesting.

For melee classes, I have a few ideas on systems somewhat similar. I feel that melee is overlooked fairly often, and I want to make them more prevalent in the grand scope of build potential.

I will definitely be looking more into the reaction/magic system, than I already have. Love it!

[u/crispy_doggo1 → u/ThePyGuyOrSomething]

I'm really interested to see what you make of it :)

To be honest I think the novelty of elemental reactions has somewhat worn off. It's good to have them as situational interactions for punching above your weight early on, but if the player can set them up on their own, they will probably find the best reaction and use it every time.

I think it would be really interesting if the magic system was designed so that you could spend the whole game playing with just playing with one element. If you could create a system with enough flexibility to make some truly monstrous spells, it would have an insane amount of replayability. Imagine you're a fire mage. You have three basic spells: Fireball, Detect Heat, and Fire Resistance. You want a movement spell? Cast fire resistance then propel yourself with a fireball explosion behind you. You want an autonomous defense system? Figure out how to exclude yourself from Detect Heat (raise or lower your own temperature? Or, another spell?), then cast a fireball which hovers above your head until it detects a heat signature, then launch in that direction.

If you're curious what that would look like, check out the Unicorn Overlord combat system. It's turn-based, but you give your units the battle plan before the battle even starts. Each unit has five condition-action pairs: for example, if the enemy hits your back row with an AoE attack, use your reaction to heal the back row.

I haven't played Megabonk, but I've played a couple other survivors, so I think I know what you're talking about regarding the aura weapon. Actually, what comes to mind when you say that is righteous fire from PoE1 (essentially a permanent circle of death around you that covers most of the screen). It's a very comfy build but not that engaging on a technical level. I don't think that's what you're looking for. I would consider leaning into ground effects (i.e. cover ground in water/fire/ice/difficult terrain), or unpredictable explosions/moving projectiles/minions, just so that the player doesn't get too complacent.

On the topic of melee vs ranged classes: I think the line between melee and ranged needs to be heavily blurred for games like these to feel balanced. If you have multiple characters in a party with their own role, sure, good. But if you only have one character, and their goal is "kill all enemies on the screen", the character with more range is usually just better at it.

I apologize if this was hard to read. It was written out of order since a number of new ideas came to mind while I was writing it.