had an idea for a game that combines the themes of undertale/deltarune and In Stars And Time. and possibly others. now going insane about it.
So. imagine a small undertale-like game. You go to a magic place, have a journey with your friends, save the world.
here's twist number one. The playable character- i call her Sorei- is VERY aware that you are controlling them- like Kris from Deltarune.
Here is where the Undertale aspect comes in- just like in Undertale, there are routes. Pacifist and Genocide, mainly. If you go on the Pacifist route, Sorei doesn't really mind you. Only when you keep being nice where she genuinely wants to deck somebody in the face does she have a problem with you- but she doesn't hate you that much.
If your first route is Genocide, however.. She HATES your ass. And horrified from being forced to kill people. So much so, that in an act of hatred, she attacks You.
When you load it up, your run is of course reset. But there's one thing.
Sorei is aware of the crash. Nobody else except you and her are. She can crash the game if she doesn't like what choices you make.
So, you go through with the journey either a willing or unwilling pacifist, because Sorei literally forces your game to crash if you try to do Genocide.
And of course, like any good undertale-like, the game resets.
Now comes in the In Stars And Time aspect.
Sorei is aware of the reset. Nobody except you and her is. You play through the game again, every single piece of character dialogue the same, except for Sorei and the reactions to her dialogue. She still doesn't let you do Genocide.
After about 10 or so runs and a gradual descent into insanity, Sorei fucking snaps, tired of going through the same journey again and again and again, looking at her friends which never remember. Her sprite(which is usually turned at a 3/4 angle) turns to look STRAIGHT AT YOU, and
she asks that the next run would be Genocide.
what follows is Sorei starts caring less for her friends, and more for YOU.
what follows is each run Sorei is different. each run is different. You slowly start to diverge from the usual paths, courtesy of Sorei allowing you, and exploring.
What follows is each run, you and Sorei grow closer.
What follows is the game becomes more "sandbox" than "RPG".
What follows is an attachment so inherently toxic it hurts both parties. Sorei attached to you because you're the only one who remembers. You maybe getting attached because your curiosity to 100% the game dragged you way too deep.
What follows is identity issues, carelessness, nihilistic behavior.
There is no real "end" to the game. I imagine if I was developing this game, I would just be adding new content each patch. endless possibilities. Anything can happen if you're bored enough.
(also, I imagine a little scene that happens mid-game. in the middle of the journey, there is a soundproof room- marked as stress relief. Sorei takes this to her advantage, talking with you in that room. making quizzes for you AKA classic multiple-choice questions so you can communicate. Just chatting to you enough resets in. LOVE this moment!!)
WOULD THAT BE FUCKED UP OR WHAT.
kinda thinking of just calling the concept of the game "Endless possibilities"
I literally have NO coding skills. and I mean ZERO, so this will stay in my dreams unless some guy just strolls up to me like "hey I'm a game dev I like your idea how about we do it" and lets me win at life. I think I can do sprites well enough?
