Puella Magi☆Suzuko Magica

[Rolina]

Other than the community hack, I have three personal projects.  I have always limited myself to this number, since I don't want to overextend myself.  Of the three projects, there are:

The Lost Age Remix - adds variety, some balance, and a full class allotment for the second team.  Easiest of the personal hacks.
The Saturn Conspirator - a full golden sun doujin game.  Same art style, so I can use many of the same tiles, as well as music.  Can also take trends and use them.  Middle difficulty.

And finally, there's this one.  Different art style, different music style, different spell layout, different... everything except core battle mechanics.  Easily the biggest undertaking, easily the longest project, easily the most difficult.  This thread will go into detail everything I've built up for the project.  I will be splitting it into several posts, so this post will serve as the table of contents.

Story Synopsis
Character Profiles
Game Mechanics
Art and Music

[Rolina]

Story Synopsis

The story opens up with Suzuko and Hachibey, running away from an unseen entity within a witch's barrier.  While once a powerful Puella Magi, Suzuko's power has been waning, and now is roughly as strong as a fresh puella magi, and is dangerously close to becoming a witch.  She has to keep running, but she also needs a grief seed to drain away at least some corruption out of her soul gem.  They encounter the fledgling puella magi Suzuki Kaoru.  Against the witch, the two team up, and Kaoru agrees to let Suzuko have the grief seed after seeing how dark her soul gem has gotten.  Before thanks can be said, though, the entity that Suzuko was fleeing from appears.  Suzuko takes Kaoru and flees, and they barely manage to get away.

Wanting to know what the entity was, Suzuko and Hachibey explain the situation.  The strange entity was a Magical Girl whom's wish was for 「Destruction」.  However, wishing for such an abstract thing meant that she could only affect the abstract.  This would be things like destroying tension, stress, or even the odds.  It became was a very peculiar power, and while Hachibey was nervous granting it at first, it had appeared that the puella magi in question had found a creative way to use it, support her fellow puella magi by using it to assist them in their fights.  However, because her powers were so abstract in nature, she had no way of directly affecting the situation - it was a problem that often popped up.  The issue culminated when luck turned against their team - two of the six-puella magi team fell at the hands of a witch they'd underestimated, and it didn't look good for the others.  Desperate, and despite Hachibey's urgent pleas, she used her power to destroy 「The Boundary Between Hope and Despair」, trying to tap into the power of the witch she's eventually become. 

It worked - she quickly took out the witch they were fighting... though taking out one of her friends, who was 'in the way'.  Becoming an entity between Puella Magi and Witch, she gained many of the powers of a witch - however, while she retained the consciousness of being a puella magi, she lost her sanity due to the influence of witch form.  Frightened by the form and actions taken by the puella magi, the two remaining puella magi fled - one of whom being Suzuko.  Suzuko had been on the run for nearly three months, pursued by her former friend.  The other puella magi had already run out of magical power, and willingly became a witch to hold off the half-witch and buy Suzuko time.  Hachibey had stayed with her and tried to provide moral support the best he could.

Kaoru decides to help Suzuko, and together they start travelling, trying to keep distance from the half-witch while figuring out how to deal with it.  Hachibey suggests seeking out Kyuubey for ideas, and together they leave for Mitakihara Town.  Upon arrival and explanation of the situation, Kyuubey reprimands Hachibey for granting such a wish, but doesn't have any immediate ideas.  Knowing how much a threat a half-witch could be, he has the new Puella Magi for Mitakihara Town join up with Kaoru and Suzuko, Inoue Maiko.  He also suggests they seek out a Puella Magi named Yamada Harumi, whom's wish was to 「Understand Puella Magi」, as her expertise on how to handle the situation should prove useful.

They find Harumi on her way out of the town.  Boarding the train together, they begin to discuss the situation.  Unsure of their resolve in the issue, she decides to test them first.  The train out of the city winds up within a witch's barrier - one Harumi had planned on taking down on her way home.  She has them assist her in defeating the witch, then after seeing them in battle, decides that she will go ahead and offer her assistance.  Siting an instance of this happening long ago in the past, she directs them to the Puella Magi who was said to have defeated the half-witch... or rather, the witch of said puella magi.  Siting that the witch's maze contains clues about the witch's life as a puella magi, the goal is to get in and get out without attracting the attention of the witch.  The incident does not go as planned, though - and the witch has to be taken out.

After finding out the clues to the relic they need, they seek out and obtain the relic, allowing them protection from the power of the half-witch so that they could fight it on even ground.  They confront it, though before they can finally take her down, she flees.  From here, Suzuko begins to regain much of the confidence she had once lost, knowing now that she could stop her former friend.  They continue to pursue her, and finally wind up cornering her.  After defeating her a second time, Suzuko is about to deliver the final blow, when the half-witch, out of desperation, Destroys 「Limitations」.  Having gone One-Winged Angel form, the puella magi have no choice but to fight, and despite the odds, manage to defeat the half-witch once and for all.

While never outright said, there are plenty of hints in the story itself that this is the same timeline as Puella Magi☆Oriko Magica, after the events have taken place, and after Walpurgis Nacht arrived at Mitakihara Town.

[Rolina]

Character Profiles


Name: Amane Suzuko
Age: 16
Gender: Female

Wish:  「For a strong and healthy body」
Effects: As a puella magi, Suzuko is stronger and a bit more durable than the average puella magi, as her wish had to do with her health.  In addition to strong physical attacks, she also has basic healing abilities.

Personality: Brave and kind.  A big sister in real life, she tends to extend this a bit to other puellae magi, whom tend to be younger than herself.  However, because of recent events, her faith in herself and her confidence have been quite shaken.  She doesn't fully regain her Onee-san/Sempai-esque attitude and personality until about halfway though the story.

Bio: A sickly child from birth, Suzuko was no stranger to hospitals and medicine.  Though in and out of school, she put up a strong demeanor, determined not to let her illness get the better of her.  When she was 13, she was approached by one of the Incubators, Hachibey.  After weighing the pros and cons of becoming a puella magi, she decided to go ahead and become one.  She trained under the wing of another puella magi, and together they got a team together to stop the witches in their town.  Later, she got word that her mentor - away on a trip with her family - had fallen to another puella magi.  The team robbed of their leader, Suzuko rose to the occasion and became the team's new leader.

Later, Hachibey met her again, this time with a new puella magi with it.  Introducing her to Suzuko, Hachibey would begin to stay with the team, informing and preparing them for a witch that recently made its way to japan - Walpurgis Nacht.  Together they fought and trained, preparing for the fight should the legendary witch make its way to them.  However, they never got the chance.  Focused on Walpurgis rather than what was right in front of them, they underestimated a witch during one of their exterminations, causing two of their heavy hitters their lives.  Shocked, Suzuko tried to rally the others and overcome it, only to have the new puella magi - whom had primarily provided support for the group - do something unthinkable.  Willingly transforming partway into a witch, the puella magi struck out and destroyed the witch - along with their healer, whom seemed but an obstacle in the way to the new half-witch.  With only one ally remaining, and her new recruit seemingly on a rampage, Suzuko called for a retreat.

The events had shaken Suzuko quite badly, and others around her could tell.  She, along with her last remaining teammate, tried to stop the half-witch, but found themselves all but powerless against her, their attacks dissipating before they could reach.  Knowing that the half-witch would follow them wherever they went, Suzuko decided they had to flee, since the half-witch would very likely endanger their families if they'd stayed home.  After three months of fleeing, and her last teammate fallen, Suzuko finds herself low on magical power, low on hope, and dangerously close to becoming a witch herself.  She enters a witch's barrier, hoping to buy herself a little more time while she figures out how to stop her former friend...





Name: Suzuki Kaoru
Age: 14
Gender: Female

Wish:  「For marksman skills that will one day get her into the Olympics」
Effects: Kaoru's wish grants her impeccable aim with projectile weapons, which she takes advantage of as a puella magi.  Conjuring magic guns to aid her in combat, she strikes with expert precision.

Personality: Uneasy and nervous, though with great ambition.  She isn't quite able to convey her words very well to others, but it doesn't stop her from trying.  She very much wants to be better at socializing, though her dreams of being a famous sports shooter tend to take priority.

Bio: Kaoru's most precious memory is one of her family's trip to America.  While there, her family watched an exhibition shooter's show, and she fell in love with it.  To her, it signified the beginning of her dream - that for once in her life, she honestly knew what she wanted to be.  Three years later, she began her life in middle school, and with her dreams leading the way, joined the archery club.  She wasn't particularly good, being a beginner, but her upperclassmen said she showed promise.  However, the whole year she seemed to barely gain any progress, and many of the other members in the club were talking about just having her be the manager.  This continued into her second year, where despite originally being told she showed promise, she didn't seem to improve any at all.  It was then that she met Kyuubey, who began to tell her about her latent magical power.  It told her that she could wish for anything she wanted, she merely had to wish for it - though in doing so, she had to become a puella magi, and fight witches.  She was skeptical at first, and leaned at first against it.  However, a month after a storm had struck nearby Mitakihara Town (Walpurgis), it seemed as though she was approached by her fellow clubmates and asked to put down her bow and become a manager instead.  Unable to speak clearly and really convey her feelings to them, she instead fled - distraught and desperate.

Kyuubey found her almost immediately, and again offered her the granting of one wish, in exchange for becoming a puella magi.  This time, she agreed to it.  On the night of her first hunt, she entered the barrier of a witch, and just before preforming her duty as a puella magi, came across another puella magi who was in bad shape, and needed to defeat the witch to survive.  Wanting to make a good name for herself among her fellow puella magi, she eagerly decided to help her out, not knowing the direction this would take her.




Name: Inoue Maiko
Age: 14
Gender: Female

Wish:  「To make her friends, distraught by the recent disasters that struck their school, happy once again」
Effects: Her wish has granted her the ability to support puella magi and make them stronger.  While she still has offensive abilities standard for puella magi, her true strength lies in helping others.

Personality: Friendly and supportive, genuinely wants to help others.  She always tries to be the friend who's there for others when they need her, and generally dislikes it when the mood of a room is negative.

Bio:  Maiko was taught from an early age to be a good person, and a good friend.  Her parents tried to keep a friendly atmosphere, and taught her how to care for others.  After entering school, she took these lessons to heart.  She quickly gained friends, and tried to be a dependable person to them.  However, at the same time, people would wind up confiding their problems in her.  Nervous about it at first, she found that by listening to them and helping them out, she was able to resolve their issues.  The feeling of helping her friends with their problems gave her a great feeling of satisfaction, and she became a counselor of sorts among her classmates.  Her life was good, and this continued when she went to middle school.  Though the problems her classmates approached her with changed, the feeling she got when she helped others stayed the same.

She then found herself approached by a being called Kyuubey.  He told her that she had great magical power, and that she could use that power to help even more people.  However, she turned him down, saying that she didn't want to cheat and use magic to help others.  While Kyuubey seemed to leave her alone at first, occasionally she would see him at school.  Whether he was dealing with other girls or following her she wasn't sure, but decided to give the creature the benefit of the doubt.  She continued to help her classmates, but a few weeks later a disaster happened.  A teacher and several students lost their lives in the incident, and Maiko found that she wasn't really able to help her classmates cope with it.  Soon afterwards, another student died in the storm that struck the town (Walpurgis).  Her close friends new the girl, and now nothing she did seemed to help.  Desperate to help her friends, and with yet another girl having gone missing, she sought out Kyuubey, and made her wish.

While her friends weren't immediately cheery after her wish was made, it did seem that they, as well as the rest of the school, were recovering from the rush of incidents.  Breathing a sigh of relief that her friends were once again on their way to being happy, she turned to her new duties as a puella magi.  Having learned that witches were a source of despair in the world, she no longer viewed magic as a cheat, but as a necessary tool to deal with the depression she couldn't cure without it.  She had already defeated a few witches when Kyuubey appeared before her again, introducing her to two other puella magi, and telling her the that there was an important mission she had to complete for the sake of her fellow puella magi.  She eagerly agreed, though had no idea what it would lead to - the truth of puella magi, of the incidents that struck her school, and of the ordeals she'd have to take.





Name: Yamada Harumi
Age: 15
Gender: Female

Wish:  「To understand puella magi」
Effects: Along with her wish she gained the knowledge of the truth of puella magi and witches.  As her wish was in regards to other puella magi, her powers take on the images typically associated with magic users in modern culture.

Personality: Desensitized and analytical, Harumi often comes across as cold or brash.  While deep down she longs to reach out to her fellow puella magi, she knows how they tend to react when they learn the truth, and has developed the brash personality to drive others away, perhaps subconsciously trying to protect her comrades from the truth.

Bio: Harumi's life changed forever on that day - the day her parents decided that the world wasn't worth it anymore.  At the time, Harumi agreed, and was willing to go with them.  It just made sense, and she didn't know why - it just did.  That's when the girl came and opened her eyes - when she realized what she was doing.  That girl tried to save her parents as well, but unfortunately wasn't able to stop them in time.  That girl was a puella magi, and her family was under the effects of a witch's kiss.  After being moved into a foster home, Harumi began her new life without the family she had loved.  Distraught, she had to ask herself why... why did her family do that?  They had no reason, they were doing well.  Who was the girl, and why did she save her, but fail to save her parents?  So many questions went through her head.  She wanted answers, but didn't know how to get them.  She continued through life, entering middle school, but still knew nothing - nothing she read, either in books or online, seemed to give her answers.

Then she met the girl again.  She seemed different, but it was definitely her - and as an upperclassman, she would be able to have other chances to get answers.  Though the girl pretended not to know her, she persisted.  Finally, she caught a break - she found the girl talking to what seemed to be a stuffed animal... who talked back.  The girl, surprised that Harumi could even see the creature, finally admitted the truth - she was a puella magi, and back then, she had saved Harumi from a witch.  Finally getting answers, Harumi now had a new goal - the witches had taken her family from her, the puella magi had tried to save her.  She wanted to know more, to know everything... and she wanted to take revenge for her family and others whom were affected like them.  After wishing to understand them, she did - she understood everything about puella magi - past and present - as well as the horrifying truth... that Puella Magi become witches...

Harumi immediately broke down, going into hysteria.  She had not only willingly become the very thing that killed her parents, but in some cruel twist of fate, had joined them in suicide - her life now but a stone controlling the flesh puppet that was her body.  It was a cruel, yet cute irony.  Somehow, she accepted it, though.  She knew why the system existed, and it made sense.  If for the sake of the universe she had to be a devil, then so be it - the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few after all.  The puella magi who was with her, though, did not share the same understanding.  Having blurted out the truth in her hysteria, Harumi had sent her former savior into despair - having her ideals, her convictions, and what she saw as the purpose of her life ripped apart just like that, the girl left in a daze, and would become one of Harumi's first hunts a mere two days later.

Having calmed down, and with the experience she had with her past savior now fresh in her mind, Harumi left the foster house on her own, now aware of what she could do.  She could easily survive on her own, and did what she had to do in order to prevent the entropy death of the universe.  This part of her job was fine, she was comfortable with it.  Both the grown puella magi and ascended familiars she hunted, and wound up being a very reliable puella magi as far as Kyuubey, her contractor, was concerned.  It was other puella magi she had problems with - wanting not to needlessly send them into despair, she wound up pushing away what ideally would have been valuable allies.  After over a year as a puella magi, she heard of Walpurgis Nacht's coming to japan.  She knew she stood no chance of defeating the witch, and thus didn't bother pursuing it.  She did, however, follow its trail, her innate desire for knowledge causing her to visit each town hit by Walpurgis to study the effects it had.  She was very surprised when it wound up being defeated by the puella magi team from Mitakihara Town.  Understandably, they died in the fight, but the fact that they took down the strongest of all witches with them was quite impressive.  She remained in the town, studying the effects, and observing the town's new puella magi, though they didn't last very long.  Knowing that this was part of Kyuubey's territory, she knew it wouldn't be long before he contracted a new puella magi again, and after she saw who it was, decided to leave, heading back to her hometown.  On her way back, she encountered the new girl, along with two other puella magi, and learned of the half-witch, a type of being that was particularly rare.  Her thirst to study it piqued, she agreed to help them take it down.





Name: Hachibey
Age: Unknown
Gender: N/A

Personality: Like all incubators, Hachibey has no emotions, but has learned to emulate them in order to relate better with the puella magi they contract.

Bio: Hachibey is one of the incubators whom preform contracts with young girls to prevent the entropy death of the universe.  It, Kyuubey, and Jyuubey are the three incubators whom oversee Japan.  Ideologically opposed to Kyuubey's approach, Hachibey believes that it's important to be more honest with the girls they make contracts with, and let them know what they're getting into.  While it doesn't tell the whole truth, Hachibey most definitely lets the puella magi know what they're in for - explaining that they will become the soul gem, and that if they run out of magical power or fall into despair that they well become the very witches they fight.  However, he spins this in a way to garner compassion from them, explaining that it's the duty of the puella magi to end the suffering of those whom have fallen into an inescapable despair, that one day, should they too fall to despair, they will at least have peace in knowing that their fellow puella magi will end their suffering.

Understandably, Hachibey does not have the contract rate of Kyuubey, as the girls are far more reluctant to make a contract after knowing the price.  After finding out Walpurgis Nacht had come to Japan, Hachibey encouraged many of the girls it'd contracted to work as a team, not wanting to fall behind on its quotas.  They also made contracts they'd normally avoid.  Unfortunately, that backfired quite badly, as one of those contracts became a half-witch, and doing damage greater than Walpurgis Nacht would have.  Taking responsibility for its error, it accompanies the puella magi in order to help them in any way it can before the half-witch causes even more damage.

[Rolina]

Game Mechanics

"Elements"

In place of Golden Sun's elements, the game will instead use four different forms of energy, stemming from the different types of wishes the Puella Magi wish for.  This wish becomes the basis and source of magical power for the Puella Magi, and in their natural state, their attacks and abilities are all of this type.  While the color of a magical girl's soul gem is independent of the wish, for the sake of convenience, as well as getting around hardware limitations, the colors used will be similar to Golden Sun - Yellow, Red, Purple, and Blue.  The respective ability styles will be attributed to that energy type as well.

[img float=left]http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a314/acidadept/PuellaMagiProject/SoulGemPhysical.png[/img]Physical

A yellow soul gem signifies a wish in regards to the puella magi's physical body.  This can range from wishing to be stronger, to change one's appearance, or perhaps to heal an illness or injury of one's self.  Examples of this type of Puella Magi include Tomoe Mami, Maki Kaoru, and Kure Kirika.  The primary style of damage for this type of puella magi is added damage in nature, though particularly strong or wide-area attacks are likely to be multipliers.  Because the wish was physical in nature, minor healing can be done through this energy source as well.


[img float=left]http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a314/acidadept/PuellaMagiProject/SoulGemTechnical.png[/img]Technical

A red soul gem signifies a wish in regards to the puella magi's skills and expertise.  This can range from wanting to be more dexterous, to gaining a new skill, or to having one's skills recognized by others.  Examples of this type of Puella Magi include Usagi Satomi and Misaki Umika.  Primary style of damage for this type of puella magi is defense piercing in nature, though particularly strong or wide-area attacks are also likely to be multipliers.  Only energy type that can pierce through barriers (flash won't save you now!)



[img float=left]http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a314/acidadept/PuellaMagiProject/SoulGemMystic.png[/img]Mystical

A purple soul gem signifies a wish for control, knowledge, or a similarly related wish.  Examples include having others follow certain ideals, having control over aspects such as 'elementals', or having things such as future sight.  Examples include Sakura Kyoko, Akemi Homura, and Mikuni Oriko.  Primary style of attack for this type of puella magi involves added effects, though particularly strong or wide-area attacks are also likely to be multipliers.  Though mainly able to strike with maledictions, they are capable of limited benedictions as well.


[img float=left]http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a314/acidadept/PuellaMagiProject/SoulGemCompassion.png[/img]Compassion

A blue soul gem signifies a wish for the sake of another person.  This includes healing another person, providing wealth or prosperity for another person - anything that benefits a person other than the Puella Magi.  Examples include Miki Sayaka, Chitose Yuma, and Asuka Yuuri.  Primary style of command for this type of puella magi is healing and benedictions, and attacks tend to drain health and energy back into the puella magi.  Again, wide area or strong attacks tend to be multipliers.  In addition to good healing, puella magi of this type are also known for being quite durable.




Character Natures

Each of the four characters has a different nature.  These natures cause them to have different sources of damage.  Furthermore, the soul gem of the Puella Magi serves as the only piece of primary equipment - it takes the place of weapons and armor, leaving only accessories left to customize the puella magi.  The soul gems cannot be removed or unequipped, and as they are the puella magi themselves, they bear the name of the puella magi (Ex:  Suzuko's soul gem is called Suzuko, and is permanently equipped).  Soul gems boost stats via additional multipliers, and have three multipliers each.

Furthermore, each puella magi has different sources of attack power.  This does not affect standard attacks, which will be based purely on strength, but instead the skills of the puella magi.

Amane Suzuko - A physical natured puella magi, wields a large battle ax into battle.  Her primary stat of damage is Strength, though occasionally Agility will be used as well.  Her techniques are primarily physical strikes.  Her soul gem boosts HP, Strength, and Stamina.  Has the largest strength boost of all the puella magi.  Skill names are in German.*

Suzuki Kaoru - A technical natured puella magi, wields a rifle (though can use other firearms).  Her primary stat of damage is Agility, though occasionally strength is used as well.  Her techniques are primarily firearm related.  Her soul gem boosts HP, Agility, and Stamina.  Has the largest Agility boost of all the puella magi.  Skill names are in Italian.*

Yamada Harumi - A mystical natured puella magi, wields a staff.  Her primary stat of damage is Max MP.  Her techniques resemble the traditional video game spellcaster, appearing as a variety of elemental attacks.  Her soul gem boosts MP, Agility, and Stamina.  Has the largest MP boost of all the puella magi.  Skill names are in French.*

Inoue Maiko - A compassion natured puella magi, wields a folding fan.  Uses Max MP, Strength, and Agility in her techniques, though tends to use Max MP more.  Her techniques tend to be buffs and healing, and her attacks manifest as energy waves.  Her soul gem boosts HP, MP, and Stamina.  Has the largest Stamina boost of all the puella magi.  Skill names are in Latin.*

*After doing a bit of research, found out that Mami, Kyoko, and all seven of the Pleiades Saints had skill names in Italian.  As such, Italian is the language that will be used, so as to keep to form.




"Djinni"


Instead of djinn, the djinn system will be handed by "Soul Gem Fragments".  It's said that when a Puella Magi falls in battle - that is, doesn't transform into a witch, but actually succumbs to death via damage, the soul gem is shattered.  Fragments of that soul gem can grant power to another puella magi should she find it.  As with djinn, the energy that is granted to the puella magi is the same as that of the soul gem.  As with the soul gems the four puella magi wield, the "Soul Fragments" are named after the puella magi they used to be.  As this game takes place in the same timeline as Oriko Magica, the Soul Fragments for Mami, Kyoko, and Yuma will be among the fragments found, with the excuse of "they defeated Walpurgis Nacht, but died in their efforts".  The 'unleash' is the signature skill of that puella magi (ex: Tiro Finale for Mami's fragment, Rosso Fantasma for Kyoko's Fragment, etc...).  The damage type depends on the skill itself (Mami's would be Agility based, Kyoko's would be Strength based)

There will be 9 fragments for each type of puella magi in the game, and a similar 'class setup' will be used compared to DCrisis.




Stat Renaming


A minor thing, but some stat renaming will be done.  Names are as such:

HP is the same.
PP will become MP.
Attack will become Strength.
Defense will become Stamina.
Agility will remain the same.
Luck will become Resist

Elemental Power is now Skill
Elemental Resist is now Defense



"Summons"


Summons are not in this game.  Instead, a puella magi can unleash the stored up energy from using Soul Fragments, causing a "magic burst".  Magic bursts come in four tiers of power.

Burst Lv.1:  25 + 2% target HP damage.
Burst Lv.2:  50 + 4% target HP damage.
Burst Lv.3: 100 + 6% target HP damage.
Burst Lv.4: 200 + 8% target HP damage.



Unleashes

Unlike in Golden Sun, unleashes behave differently in this hack.  As the Puella Magi levels up, they will have a chance of preforming a quick skill rather than a standard attack.  This skill is unique to the Puella Magi, and the strength, attack type, and rate of attack differs based on the puella magi themselves.  Unleashes do not have the same power as actual skills, however.

Suzuko:  Strongest skill of the group, strength based multiplier (1.55x?).  Rate is 50% of current level.
Kaoru:  Skill uses agility as basis for power, ignores 30% of target's defense (alternatively, if possible, ignores a percentage of defense based on 75% of Kaoru's level).  Rate is 75% of current level.
Harumi:  Skill uses Max MP as basis for power, low powered multiplier (1.35x?).  Rate is 65% of current level.
Maiko:  Skill chooses random from Strength, Agility, and Max MP based attack (animation matches which base it uses).  Multiplier, likely (1.35?).  Rate is 90% of current level.  As an added note, remember that Maiko is likely 2nd best in these areas.  The higher unleash rate balances the jack of trades nature of the character... or at least, that's the idea.

These skills are not particularly flashy or spectacular, but rather are meant to act as a step up from critical attacks, as well as allow a more reliable attack command for when conserving MP is required.



Damage types

As you may have noticed, I never mentioned base damage.  Because it isn't in this game.  Told you, it's quite a bit different than golden sun.

0 - ? (dummy value, probably has to stay)
1 - Physical Blow, Added Damage (Strength vs Stamina)
2 - Physical Blow, Multiplier (Strength vs Stamina)
3 - Skillful Blow, Added Damage (Agility vs Stamina)
4 - Skillful Blow, Multiplier (Agility vs Stamina)
5 - Magical Blow, Added Damage (Max MP vs Stamina)
6 - Magical Blow, Multiplier (Max MP vs Stamina)
7 - Magical Burst (Summon)
8 - Effect Only
9 - Effect Only, Always Goes First
A - HP Healing
B - MP Healing (items only)
C - Open, may not be used.
D - Open, may not be used.
E - Open, may not be used.
F - Open, may not be used.

Notice how Utility isn't there?  This isn't a Golden Sun based hack.  There are no utility skills.

[Rolina]

Music and Art Direction

The direction I want to take the game should reflect the source itself.  As such, the art style should match the anime and the Oriko manga, both in environment and character design.  I will not link to either a torrent of the anime nor a scanlation of the manga, but will ask that if you want to see the source you seek it out yourself. 

The music, however, I will provide a mediafire link to.  The music should have the same feel and tone as the anime, though modified a bit to work in a looping style you'd see in a game.  I do not think I will have a standard battle theme, rather you will hear the same music you hear in the individual witch's barrier.  However, bosses will receive their own theme.

http://www.mediafire.com/?icq5qpod56si23a


The rest of this post will be reserved for art and audio samples that have been created for the project.



Art Samples
Art samples include sprites, concept art, tilesets, and screenshots



Audio Samples
Art samples include tracks run through a traditional 2-loop cycle, as well as additional sound effects

[Rolina]

This post also reserved for future info

[Rolina]

Final reserved post - I hope I don't need more than this.

[Rolina]

So, any questions, comments, suggestions?  I think I'm done for now, and all the reserved posts I think I'll probably ever need have been posted.  If all else fails, I could cannibalize this post too, but for now, I think I'm good with the basic layout.

But yeah, as I said, this is easily the biggest undertaking of my three personal projects, and I'll be changing more than with any other project I work on.  I hope it works out well, though obviously it'll need both a fully developed editor, as well as a person or team able to create custom formulas and effects before I can even think of getting this off paper.  And since that requires atrius to finish the editor, we've got no clue just when that'll be.  Likely, GS4 would be out beforehand.  However, that won't discourage me.  It's just more reason to pester atrius until he gets it done! :awesomeface:

[Aile~♥]

Wondering how you'll balance Magic-based attacks, since all skills run off of your MP meter, using that also as your damage source for a character will make them stupidly good at dealing damage if you aren't careful.

Also thinking it would be cool to have a move whose damage runs off their Current MP, rather than Max MP, or a move whose damage runs off of (Max MP - Current MP), so your damage is greater the lower your MP.

Lots of cool ideas here, but I have a natural tendency to dislike "Magical Girl" anime/manga, for obvious reasons.

[Rolina]

Okay... not sure where you're coming from here.  How would it be broken again?  If GS is a source of example, that could easily be the weakest of the three types of damage.  In DD, a level 99 Wizard Karis only has 566 Max PP, compared with 738 attack power.  You're saying that using the 566 value for attack power will be stronger than using the 738 value.  And... yeah.  It's not.

While true, I will not be using GS balance methods, I would like to point out the fact that Harumi and Maiko, the two who tend to use that type of damage, are not primary damage dealers.  It's very unlikely that those two will have Max MP that exceeds the Strength value of Suzuko.

As for the magical girl thing, same here.  It's why I love Madoka so much, because despite being a magical girl anime, it was so good at it.  Less Sailor Moon crap, and more "it's not all sunshine and lolipops" mixed with "you are the demons".  Damn good show.

Edit:  To give further examples, here's where I'm coming from:

Suzuko, when she runs out of MP, still has a rather large attack power behind her.  While damage output drops, it's still strong.  In fact, in random battles, you could say that unlike the other three, she may not even need it, her physical blows as strong enough to justify not using spells on lower ranked familiars.

Kaoru naturally has more MP than Suzuko, allowing her to use her spells longer in battle.  When she runs out, she'll basically be 'out of ammo', and her strength isn't close to Suzuko's.  As such, the damage drop is much more severe, as her source of damage otherwise tends to be Agility.  The fastest of the characters (can you strike faster than bullets?), she can strike through enemy defenses, and take out threats before they can act.

Harumi, rather than being a high damage output like Suzuko, or a defense and barrier piercing like Kaoru, instead has sustained damage.  She may not be able to have the sheer oomph of Suzuko, but she can keep it up much longer.  Though her soul gem increases agility, it's probably not enough to overcome the natural agility of the others, and much like Garet, her true value will come not in random battles, but in the more drawn out fights of boss fights, where maledictions and sustained damage have a use.

Maiko is a jack of trades in terms of her layout.  She can do each of the damage types, but is second or third-best in all.  She can hit decently after running out of MP, but it's not a particularly high value, unlike Suzuko.  She can dish out spells for a longer period of time, but will likely be put on support due to her own nature an the needs of the party, so damage output via MP source isn't likely to be much.  She's the third-slowest character, but the modifiers on the agility based attacks of hers keep it semi-decent.

[Misery]

Alright, super cool hack idea, and I'm definitely going to make some designs based on these characters. I'm already loving the style of the series, it's much closer to what I'm trying to do than the style in Golden Sun, and it will give me an excuse to use the clichéd "cute girls with big weapons" theme. But just like this project, that will probably have to be put somewhere in the future. At the very least I'll have to check out the spin-off mangas, which I didn't even know existed before today.

Actually took my time to read the story and character bios as well, and it looks good. Not much to say there, there's a good amount of base material for a short game, I don't think anything should be changed about it.

Now, you have four characters, and they will always have a specific item equipped. The game you want to hack has three pre-programmed class changing items. Using the class changing items as a basis for the Soul Gems would give you a lot of control over the classes, as every  character would effectively get their own exclusive set. I'm not sure how well the game would manage to sort the classes when only choosing from one group, but that can be tested.

You're saying the Soul Gems replace weapon and armor, but all characters have a weapon they use in battle. I don't see what's stopping you from allowing every character to use only one type of weapon, so you could upgrade them as the game progresses. But even if you don't want that, shouldn't every character at least have one weapon equipped that they can't remove?

What would Hachibey look like? I've never seen another incubator, maybe they all look the same. But I think it would be cool to give "it" a different appearance in the same style as Kyuubey.

I think it's strange to rename defense to stamina, even if all types of attacks go against it. Defense should be how well you protect yourself from damage, while stamina feels more like being able to take a lot of damage - HP, in other words. Defense is still defense, it reduces the damage taken.

With utility spells, do you mean stuff like Golden Sun's puzzle solving psynergy? Because I think it would be strange not to have any buffing spells when you have a character who specifically wishes to be able to help others.

Glaring misspelling in the elements section, "techincal". Fix it >:)

Don't see formula tweaks as something that would stop you from getting this off paper, those things can be compensated for in various ways until later on. The biggest obstacle I see is how different the environment would be from Golden Sun, meaning you would need a LOT of custom graphics. Which also brings up another question; what would the characters fight besides witches (which would have to act as bosses)? If you hope to get someone to do it, I suggest you write very specific art direction for all the areas that would be in the game, as well as writing the full script. As for the soundtrack, you could always arrange the OST for the anime in the game's format...

[Rolina]

I'll admit, it's still a general idea.  There's a lot of filler and other plot I have to figure out.  However, I will note that it is very unconventional for an RPG - you don't fight stuff in the real world, typically only in witch's barriers, with few exceptions.  No grinding chances when you're done - it's story time.  And let's hope you're prepared when you go in, too.  Once you go in, you'll not be able to leave.  It's a very tricky balance I'll have to figure out, though I plan to have some kind of post game where you can continue to fight witches that appear, like a proper magical girl team.

As for the characters, all I know for certain is outfit colors - the outfits are definitely color coded for your convenience.  I also know that Suzuko is likely blonde, and I want bells to be part of her outfit somehow, like maybe as a hair accessory.  For the others, well... whatever fits the outfit would be nice.

Hachibey would be different in appearance, yes.  Here:
http://wiki.puella-magi.net/Kyubey
http://wiki.puella-magi.net/Jubey

@Soul Gems:  The trick is, you're not gonna be having a shop selling axes to a middle school girl.  And there's also Japan's gun ban.  Equipment won't work, not the traditional fantasy equipment, not in this setting.  I wanted to have a way for them to still get stronger more than just at level up, some kind of natural equip.  The soul gem working off of a multiplier works very similar in this regards, essentially acting as automatic weapon and armor upgrades for the puella magi.  Because of this, I also only need one sprite set for the group - I can use that to expand the animations they can use, rather than needing one for each weapon.  Look at it this way - the weapon is formed as a manifestation of their magical power.  It's not something they equip and upgrade - the strength of their gear is directly proportionate to their own magic power.

@Defense: The thing here is because I can't use elemental power and resist any more, since they're, you know, not elements.  I wanted to use affinity too, but that wouldn't work in context, which is why I'm using skill over power, and defense acts as their defense against that style of attack.

@Typo:  Thanks!  I'll fix it right away!

@Off paper:  The biggest thing keeping this from happening is that the editor just can't do this yet.  Basically, I'll work on getting the story honed and refined, figure out the mechanics (easily done by substituting attack with expected values for the stats I'm gonna be useing), and stuff like tilesets and art direction.  Testing, prep work, all this is "on paper".  The problem is getting an editor to support the final product!

[Misery]

I'll admit, it's still a general idea.  There's a lot of filler and other plot I have to figure out.  However, I will note that it is very unconventional for an RPG - you don't fight stuff in the real world, typically only in witch's barriers, with few exceptions.  No grinding chances when you're done - it's story time.  And let's hope you're prepared when you go in, too.  Once you go in, you'll not be able to leave.  It's a very tricky balance I'll have to figure out, though I plan to have some kind of post game where you can continue to fight witches that appear, like a proper magical girl team.

Well, there you have a problem. If you don't exploit the game's major mechanics, this will just be a lot of work for a game that isn't all that. Here you have to try to be creative and add something new that works with an RPG-style game, but could still go along with the original concept, since as a player you want a lot of opportunity to fight using your characters. The post game idea sounds promising, although as you probably realized, witches as random encounters would be stupid. Again, you have to come up with a way to get it to work.

@Soul Gems:  The trick is, you're not gonna be having a shop selling axes to a middle school girl.  And there's also Japan's gun ban.  Equipment won't work, not the traditional fantasy equipment, not in this setting.  I wanted to have a way for them to still get stronger more than just at level up, some kind of natural equip.  The soul gem working off of a multiplier works very similar in this regards, essentially acting as automatic weapon and armor upgrades for the puella magi.  Because of this, I also only need one sprite set for the group - I can use that to expand the animations they can use, rather than needing one for each weapon.  Look at it this way - the weapon is formed as a manifestation of their magical power.  It's not something they equip and upgrade - the strength of their gear is directly proportionate to their own magic power.

You're right about the shop thing, I was more thinking about if you would be able to find new weapons, although that doesn't seem very likely either in this setting. I still think you should have a single weapon you can't unequip, even if the weapon itself has no effect. In the details screen, you could repoint the text to a few lines of description for the weapon instead of the usual stat and effect listing. It's just a flavor thing. Again with the setting though, you have to be able to make something you can use to your advantage when designing. The game has a functional system for equipment, and if you almost never use it, it's all wasted. You could try to work something out with those accessories where there isn't a great variety, but among the ones there is they all have some kind of unique effect.

[Rolina]

I'll probably have some element of that in the standard game itself, where you can encounter stray witches and take them down.  My biggest problem, however, is money.  It's not like you get cash for taking down witches, you know?  I may have an errand system, where you can do small jobs and get paid for it a bit at a time.  Nothing too much, maybe 200-500 yen usually, something realistic.  Other times you'd get an accessory for the job.  The idea is still a newer one, but as I try to figure these things out it helps to flesh it out.

Still, I want that clear distinction.  No fights in the real world, no shops in the witches' barriers.

@Equipment:  My idea was to use the extra slots for accessories and the like.  The Weapon slot would be taken by the soul gem, and the others are things you can actually go an buy at shops.  Much like how Mami turned a simple bat into a uberslugger, when turned into a puella magi, these accessories will be blessed by their magic and contribute to their stats as well.  A Yellow Ribbon, for example, could add to Physical Skill.  While the stat boosts are not as pronounced as traditional armor, builds are still very much a factor with accessories, simply because of how many of them you can use and stack.  I count nine slots - so that's two rows of equipment you can have on a character, and still have five slots for items.

For healing items... I'm feeling creative.  I was thinking food.  For example:

Chocolate.  Description:  A girl's delight.  Recovers 300 MP.

Or something like that.

[Misery]

How about making each witch barrier into sort of a dungeon? That would allow for some pretty crazy opportunities in terms of level design, and you could fight the witch's minions as random encounters before you finally face the real thing. If you dislike the idea that defeating enemies or witches would give you money, you could instead make them drop items that you can sell. Witches could drop some expensive item characteristic to themselves, or maybe drop accessories in some cases.

The problem with witch barriers, as you say, is that they go away when the witch is defeated. You want to maintain some challenge in the game, but at the same time make sure players don't get stuck because they're underleveled. Either make an exception/think up some plot device so you can revisit the witch worlds, or make "training areas" at certain points in the game.

About equipment, there are several types of equippable items, more than you are likely to use up on accessories. You could simply leave the weapon slot untouched, use another item type for weapons, and still have item types to spare. It might be a good idea to simply leave the weapon slot unused, since it's the only item type that loads the weapon sprites.

[Rolina]

Well that goes without saying.  The barriers are "the witches' labyrinth", right?  The problem is the generation aspect of it.  I don't know if the game can handle randomized dungeons, but if possible, perfect.  We'd have preset types of pathways and rooms, and a set of tilesets to go with them.  The tileset will match the witch you fight, and because of gameplay limitations you will very possibly run into the same witch multiple times (blame stray familiars, it's even possible in canon, deal with it).  They'd also be on different spots on the map.  To prevent overgrinding, when you hit a certain level over the target (say, target level +5), they stop showing up, similar to how monsters stop showing up in the Sol Sanctum when Jenna hits level 3 or so.

The problem I see with item drops is... well, what value is some random @#$% to some shopkeeper?  Who do you sell it to even, you're a middle school girl!  Once again, real life slaps the idea upside the head.  It's why I figured I'd do some kind of errand thing, at least that's a bit more reasonable, since it's only a few bucks at a time or something.  We'll just need to keep this as a low-econ game.  Nothing crazy expensive, unless we want an infinity plus one broach.  That I can see costing, say, 40,000 in a game where stuff typically is no more expensive than 1,500 yen.  Also, witches will drop a grief seed.  It'd be a non-stacking item that works as a combo of a Potion and the Salt Djinn in GS.  If possible, I'd like it to recover all MP as well, essentially being a "full heal".  Not all witches drop them, so it'd probably be a chance for the drop.  Story witches always drop one, though, save the first one which is automatically 'used'.

The Djinn Killing mechanic will have to go, though.

@Weapon sprites:  Remember when I mentioned that I'd only need one sprite?  I was specifically referencing that.  There'd be no need for the game to load weapon sprites, so that frees up memory to use on things like more attack animations.  For example, Kaoru pulling out a shotgun, firing, and going back to her rifle.  Basically, characters have their standard weapons, and animations serve the purpose of changing the weapon's form if needed.

[Aile~♥]

For some reason I had a sudden mental picture of Ricardo Soldato. "Burutal Hunto! Raginge Hunto! Fleur Lis!" *bangbangbang, bangbangbangbangbangbangbangbang, BANG!*

Other than that, I'd just like to say that the reason I dislike Magical Girl anime isn't because of the lighthearted nonsense. It's because, like the name says, it's ALL GIRLS. And yet for some reason they STILL want — and angst about — teenage romance, despite the fact that all males are clearly automatically inferior to them, on account of being unable to have such awesome magical powers.

[Rolina]

Jamie, if that's why you hate magical girl stuff, then you'll absolutely love this.  I also recommend Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha to you for that matter, as it as absolutely no romance in it.

[Misery]

Randomizing a set of map portals would definitely be possible with a bit of work. I don't think it would hurt to keep the "retreat" ability and use that as a way to exit. But why would you need randomized maps when you can just build an actual labyrinth? Oh well, I guess it could be interesting.

It's easier to prevent overleveling by manipulating the tresholds for exp required to level up.

Also, who said the enemies should drop random crap? Make them drop something that seems valuable, and put out people who would be interested in buying particular items. There has to be some reward for fighting, why else would you fight? And if you don't need to buy stuff, what would you use as a reward? If you only get stuff that is necessary to progress in the game, it kind of feels like you're being cheated.

Yeah, witches should drop grief seeds, obviously. What you're planning for it right now though, kind of makes it too awesome to use. Like psy crystals/waters of life in GS, I don't think I've ever used any of those. If you want to make the game really hardcore, you could make the grief seeds fully restore everyone in the party when obtained, and not have anything resembling an inn. If you want to be more forgiving... it could power up the characters in some way.

@Weapon sprites:  Remember when I mentioned that I'd only need one sprite?  I was specifically referencing that.  There'd be no need for the game to load weapon sprites, so that frees up memory to use on things like more attack animations.  For example, Kaoru pulling out a shotgun, firing, and going back to her rifle.  Basically, characters have their standard weapons, and animations serve the purpose of changing the weapon's form if needed.

...which is why I said you should leave the "weapon" item type unused, so the game doesn't load the weapon sprites. If you want to do stuff like that it doesn't make much of a difference though, compared to the animation editing you'd have to do.

Jamie: just throwing this in, I only looked into the series because I thought it looked cool. It was way beyond my expectations though.

[Rolina]

The random witches have random labyrinths.  The story ones have larger, more complex ones.

@Thresholds:  Never underestimate the power of grinding here.  Besides, the cutoff isn't to keep you from overleveling, it's to keep you from being too overleveled.  Ideally, you'd have to grind a ton of those labyrinths to hit five levels over the target.

@Reward for fighting:  You help to prevent the entropy death of the universe.  There's your reward.  Now be a good lich and do your job.

@Grief seeds:  Well, I was hoping to have it act like it does in canon, or at least be a close effect.  The fact that random witches have a chance to drop it is good too, so they'll be great in a pinch.  As for being forgiving... I don't think we should do this.  Puella Magi is the Dark Souls franchise of the magical girl genre.  We need to have some degree of difficulty here.  I don't plan on making this Dark Souls hard, granted (unless you play on Lunatic.  Your funeral), but the point remains that we should be true to the source.  Juubey had the party heal, while seeds were closer to a full-restore for a single magi.  A better idea would be to actually encourage item use.  Getting your butt kicked?  Got the game over screen of Suzuko going witch one too many times?  What, you don't use items?  lolnoob.

As I said before, items are the only source of MP restoration.  I'm even considering having resting only restore HP, given that it would make sense for a puella magi to be healed at a much faster rate.  MP, though... that's a tricky thing in this franchise, because that's directly tied to a puella magi's magic power, which can run out.  My idea was to have food and snacks work as the in-game healing items.  Something like an apple or bread could restore HP, while sweets and "happy" foods fight off despair and give a boost to MP.

@Weapons:  You know we can change that bit, right?  So that it doesn't call for a weapon sprite?  That's the goal here.  We're already looking into a variation of that for the DCrisis hack, where it doesn't call for the base sprite unless you're actually unarmed, where it'd call an unarmed sprite instead.  Alternatively, we can use the same alternative - base sprite is empty, and we only have to worry about detail in the weapon sprite.