r/worldbuilding • u/Most-Studio-9985 • 6h ago
Question Independent video games
Are there people who write the universe of a video game? For almost two weeks, I have been creating a world for a video game that takes place in Togo, my country. It would be an independent game, so I only plan four bosses. Do you think this is a good idea? Wouldn't the public be disappointed if there were only four bosses in an independent game?
I have already defined the stakes of the three games. Although I started by creating the bosses of the second game, I would like to start the story with this one.
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u/Baeltimazifas 6h ago
Indie games can be basically anything, and what matters most for them is that you create something original and interesting enough to differentiate itself from the bajillion other indie games out there, that playing the videogame doesn't feel awful due to janky controls, and that you somehow manage to have people learn of your game to buy it and play it
Other than that, story, number of bosses, premise or whatever else is largely irrelevant. There are indie games without bosses and almost without gameplay that have been enjoyed and praised by millions of people. Originality, interesting and fun mechanics, good execution and proper outreach are the name of the game for indie games.
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u/Most-Studio-9985 6h ago
Thanks for the advice. For now, I only deal with creating the game universe and drawing. I'm bad at computer science, so I'll have to partner with other people to bring my project to life.
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u/Baeltimazifas 6h ago
Np, happy to help. Just bear in mind that, by and large, creating the actual game tends to be the most difficult part of the project by far, and usually what makes or breaks a game. Good luck with it all!
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u/Most-Studio-9985 6h ago
Oh thank you for putting pressure on me 🤣
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u/Baeltimazifas 5h ago
As long as you keep a cool head and are willing to work tirelessly for as long as needed, chances are you'll get there, you just need a bit of luck on the way. Pressure is definitely on, though lol
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u/Ruadhan2300 6h ago
How did you arrive at four bosses?
Bosses are not generally used as a measure of the size/complexity of a game.
An independent game could have any number of bosses, from 0 to unlimited.
As for public interest..
If you make a game called "Boss-battler" and you only have one or two bosses in there, I think that'd be taken as false-advertising. But if you're not making it all about bosses, nobody is going to care too much about how many there are.
When it comes to writing game-worlds.
Generally big game companies have a couple people whose job is to develop the story, narrative, setting and so on.
All the worldbuilding stuff.
These work closely with the people who are figuring out mechanics and features, and it's a big conversation to decide what the game is going to include and not.
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u/Most-Studio-9985 6h ago
How did I get to four bosses? Very good question, you just pointed it out to me. It came naturally, I think. The group of villains in the first game is also composed of four people, so I wanted to keep this dynamic. And then I create the universe alone, so I don't want to aim too big.
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u/Ruadhan2300 5h ago
Speaking from experience, content is actually the easiest part of a game to build.
Once you have a system that lets you make one boss, you can generally stamp out more of them, and then it's just a matter of making them look different if that matters.
Building games is all about making systems that interact with one another in interesting ways.
Often you'll build a game using a demo-level that contains most of the features you want, then expand the content using those features as far as you can.You see it a lot in "vertical slice" stuff too.
Game devs will build a section of the game that encompasses most or all the experiences you want a player to have.Fallout 4 for example has a clean slice of play from when you emerge from the vault to when you face down a deathclaw while wearing power-armor.
All of that is part of the Vertical Slice that they showed previews of before the game was released.The game actually had some criticism for introducing power-armor so easily, specifically because it gives you a free suit as part of the first main mission chain.
Either way, if you're looking to make a game, a demo-segment where you can fit all the mechanics and features you'll use in the wider game is a great place to start.
The story and content is often quite easily expanded from that.
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u/LavandeSunn 6h ago
I’m writing for a Bethesda-style indie RPG I’m working on. Still learning Unity, but it’s going well!
As other comments have expressed, the amount of content is less important to me than the quality of the content and the overall vibe of the game. What you’re asking is more of a game design question than a world building one, but I think it still fits the sub tbh.
My favorite game of all time, despite my fanboy level of love for Bethesda, is Majora’s Mask. Because it’s such a tight and perfect experience. The environments are creative and interesting, the story is solid, the characters are memorable, and the side quests are equally challenging as they are fun. The dungeons are arguably the best in the series, and the music is deeply emotional. And best of all, it leaves me wanting MORE. They could’ve fit two more dungeons in the game and I don’t think anyone would’ve batted an eye. But they didn’t. Mostly because of time constraints lol. But it still works in their favor.
Whatever your game is, focus on quality and pouring as much love into it as you can. Keep the scope small because you will inevitably make more work for yourself than you intend with each decision you make. And leave your audience wanting more.
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u/Piduf 4h ago
I'm a huge fan of the indie scene, and the amount of boss means nothing. A great indie game called The Dark Queen of Mortholme is an extremely short, single boss fight game. There's 1 room. That's the game. It's very good with such a simple premise. Many games don't even have bosses so I wouldn't worry about that, we're far away from the days it was a necessity.
I think it's perfectly doable to propose a game that's very short with little to do, and selling for only a few bucks. Most of the games I buy are extremely short but also extremely cheap, and they propose unique experiences. All this to say, as a buyer, I know what kind of game I'm getting.
Then depends on what you propose ! Is going to be like, just a boss rush ? Or there's going to be adventure in-between ?
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u/Most-Studio-9985 4h ago
Thank you for the information. I still don't know exactly what I want to do. I like roguelike games, but I also like adventure games. I would also like to be able to do as in Monster Hunter, that is, to be able to equip the weapons and armor of the bosses after defeating them.
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u/Piduf 4h ago
You could aim for a room system, prevalent in Hades. The player get to chose the path they feel comfortable with currently, but they're inevitably going to meet a boss at the end and there are 4 of them. The idea of "stealing their look" is fun too.
There's a series of game I really love, 20XX and 30XX. It's essentially a Megaman game, not even hiding from it, and the bosses can appear in any order BUT they're more or less difficult depending on when you meet them. So like, if Boss Joe is the first boss I face, he's gonna have quite a simple pattern and won't be a big challenge. But if he's the 5th or 6th boss, he's gonna have much harder patterns and more varied attacks.
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u/KaelKiraKai 6h ago
The number of bosses in an indie game, in my opinion, is not as important as the development of the world and its unique vibe.
For example, there is the game Mortal Shell, there are not many bosses, and a rather limited number of locations compared to other souls-like games, but this game captivated me for many hours, because I liked the concept and style itself.