Gameplay idea: Throwback Sections

I was thinking about how variety can be achieved in MML3, and this is what I've come up with. In certain areas in MML3, there could be NES consoles hooked up to TVs in random areas in the game. When the player would interact with the NES console, a throwback mission would happen. Whether the throwback would be in 8 bit or 3D is up in the air, but basically you would be doing sidescrolling classic Megaman NES style gameplay. I'm not sure what stages from Megaman games we could use, but as I recall Eric Ruth (makes awesome fan games) tried to make Megaman 9 in 16 bit and got a C&D letter, so I'd say our levels would have to be original. Still, the reward for beating the challenges would either be currency or weapon upgrades, and would be completely optional to the player, but required to get 100% completion. Again, this is conceptional, and I realize it may be hard to execute, but I know if we do it right, we could really please classic Megaman fans and give them an incentive to play MML3. Sorry this is worded poorly, I'm tired, but I hope my point came across.

I don't think that this is the best way to ease in fans from other parts of the fandom. To wit: we'd have to make another whole fan-game, one completely different from Legends outside of theme, maybe. It would feel like a contrivance in design to Legends fans, and it wouldn't be enough for Classic fans.

—A better solution is to simply make the current game design for Legends more appealing, while still retaining a distinct feel to everything. Faster pacing and more challenge, playing off of the player's own skills and enhancing the immersion factor of pure adventure, exploration, combat—that's what I want to do with this game. Giving the fans more of what they want—we're here to please an audience, after all.

Not the worst idea, but I have a beef with it.

General Specific wrote:I don't think that this is the best way to ease in fans from other parts of the fandom. To wit: we'd have to make another whole fan-game, one completely different from Legends outside of theme, maybe. It would feel like a contrivance in design to Legends fans, and it wouldn't be enough for Classic fans.

—A better solution is to simply make the current game design for Legends more appealing, while still retaining a distinct feel to everything. Faster pacing and more challenge, playing off of the player's own skills and enhancing the immersion factor of pure adventure, exploration, combat—that's what I want to do with this game. Giving the fans more of what they want—we're here to please an audience, after all.

Not the worst idea, but I have a beef with it.

Haha, you summed up my main point in bringing this up. I feel that MML plays sluggish nowdays in 2011, so I figured it'd be good to have some fast paced action to break up the main storyline. It'd probably be better to have challenge rooms using the main engine. As soon as I typed it I realized for 8 bit that'd double the load of work. i was just thinking that the random levels in Mario Sunshine were so fun MML could use some as well. I'd be happy with a classic boss rush.

All of that can, of course, just be integrated into missions and ruin design. It's not hard to come up with these great ideas once you realize that—immersion is necessary to preserve the Legends charm, and ruin exploration, combat, and pacing is important in that respect.

General Specific wrote:All of that can, of course, just be integrated into missions and ruin design. It's not hard to come up with these great ideas once you realize that—immersion is necessary to preserve the Legends charm, and ruin exploration, combat, and pacing is important in that respect.

Ah true, I guess I jumped the gun on this one. All I'm really looking for in this game is bringing variety into it, but we're gamers, we're not going to stand for boring repetitive gameplay. Really, I just want this game to as fun as possible. Boss rush is going to be something that better make it, I love boss rushes.

I share those sentiments too—a lot of games bore me to tears these days, and I hope that the next one to suffer that fate isn't this one.

Developing a whole new fan game with this fan game would be too stressful I believe. However, I do like the idea of have a retro easter egg. It would be much easier to create a retro animation and have that play instead of another working game.

We could pull it off if they were very small games. Thinks like Pong and Snake. We could always beef them up with artwork.

It's still breaking immersion, unfortunately—that could be liable to mess with the charm of Legends, which is centered around an immersive, 70s Tatsunoko-style anime world. And nailing that charm is paramount, in much higher priority to something like this.