Everypony: The Game

Sorry about some of the images. I did some rather quickly...Further sorry for making this so long but there's a lot of cover.

[size=+1]Everypony: The Game[/size]​

Location

The most important part of the concept I need to lay down is where everything is taking place because it's informs the rest of the game heavily.

OK. Imagine that the entirety of Everypony.com was a massive building. Threads like the General Chat, The Radio and...I dunno...The Pony Art Threads all have their own space or special room where everything all takes place.

So, how about the General Chat Thread being a sort of bar area filled with tables and ponies chatting away to each other about this and that. There's a bar at the back and lit like a pub. Pictures of previous members and important dates mixed with various pony tat.

The Radio Chat would probably be a sort of nightclub thing with a stage ready for Karaoke and a small room chock-a-block with equipment for DJ's pulling their stints. It would make sense to have a bar here too with a few seats sitting around the edges of the largely dark space with Mods scanning from the perimeter.

Maybe somewhere there's the staff room or maybe Foxy's office...A converted bathroom perhaps? You could keep files in a cistern.

But in the centre of all this is a sort of convention that goes on all year. Stalls are set up for all sorts of purposes to represent all sorts of threads that we currently have. Art Threads, Funny Gif threads, whatever. Somewhere here there is something being displayed while ponies wonder around.

Maybe the Fan Fiction area could be a sort of library, lined with bookshelves and screens where you can read digital copies along side the older fan fics in their hardback covers. Probably a large 'IN' pile for the new additions for Aynine to slowly pick through.

Here, everypony is in the form of their Ponysona. So, taking myself as an example, we wouldn't have a 6-foot something wookie in dirty jeans, we'd get a strange, shaggy fox with two tails. It's something to do with the front door when somepony walks in. The idea is that outside, they are human in a world where they can happily wonder down a road and walk straight into Everypony and change instantly. It's part of the initiation when a new member arrives and they choose their new identity. Of course, it wouldn't be the same if there wasn't the barrage of usual suspects on the welcoming committee.

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Now, I started thinking of all this a long while ago and originally events were to be the result of having no-one in charge of the RP forums, resulting in massive problems because no pony was around to help. And then I was hired as RP Mod so the next little bit might sound pretty self-serving...

Lastly, we bring our attention to the RP Forums. Here, the forums are closer to a cross between a theatre and the holodeck. Sophisticated and stupidly complex technology all funnel into a large, metallic gate just before all the make-up tables, costume racks and prop stores. Anypony can enter an entirely generated world of their creation with the monolithically complex engineering in there. The small problem is that no pony actually understands how it works completely. Enough to run it but not enough to build it all from scratch.

In here, an RP is generated as a physical world that can be entered through the gate. This world is populated with NPC's. An NPC is essencially an android that is capable, through clever additions, of things like flight, acrobatics and even magic. They are run by Pre-Programmed AI's that have entire levels of intelligence to suit how important they are to any sort of story. Background NPC's barely do anything but fill space while actual characters are given entire personalities to run. Sadly, NPC's of established cannon characters don't always have the most faithful voices when created (because I'm unlikely to get the real voice actresses to lend their talents, now am I?). All NPC's can be updated and some can even be remotely dictated, allowing one Roleplayer to play multiple characters. NPC's are manufactured by a separate machine and fed into a generated world.

All very complicated, huh?

Plot

What if someone were to, say, attempt to seize control of Everypony? There's probably only a couple of likely ways to do it, right?

You could try and work your way up the staff positions till you get to be Head Admin. But that takes a lot of time and isn't even a dead cert. You could be asked to leave your position before getting anywhere near your position for a multitude of reasons.

You could also try and find a crack team of attack ponies with guns or something and try and storm the place. But then you'll still have an entire building full of ponies that could try and defend themselves. Some can fly and some can cast spells, after all. And that's without mentioning the non-pony folk that are still here.

So...What else could you do? The second one has promise but it's difficult to find the numbers necessary to truly take Everypony.

The RP Forums is a place where it's possible to create an entire army. In fact, it's done regularly in some RP's that take place. There's also nothing stopping NPC's escape except for the Moderators, of course. Each NPC is easily replaced if broken, when and if it's ever needed. NPC's are stored and data upon how to build more than just ponies is present on the data banks there.

But who would do such a thing?

Currently? We're still working on that. Several ideas have come up but not all seem to fit. One was to suggest that a businessman wanted to take over the site in order to turn it into advertising space. Something like that. The villain would take a group of hackers and attempt to build and invasion force within the Roleplay Systems out of NPCs. They also spread their control to the rest of the site. They take over Radio systems, computers, vendor machines, the coffee maker in the Staff Room and even the little bird that sits on my desk and drinks water. I didn't know it was connected either but there we go. Maybe that's where Foxy listens in...

So, an army and a hacking attempt of the entire building doesn't go unnoticed, right? Well, to put as much distance between Everypony and themselves as they could, the hackers used the RP system to generate an entire labyrinth of worlds constructed from RPs (old and new) and some Fan Fictions too. This multiverse of things is what you'll be exploring.

A Multiverse is probably familar to anyone who's familiar with the oddities of the DC universe's alternate Earths or played Kingdom Hearts. The idea is that every RP is now connected and exists in the same 'universe'. The RP's are allowed to have events, characters and stories bleed into each other to create a larger, over-arching story that Roleplayers contribute towards by participating in their individual RP's.

To make matters worse, the Hackers have turned all NPC's already present within the RP's that have been interconnected, hostile. In there, everything from the Armies of Celestia, to the Everfree Cult, to the Monstrous Dragons of Draconis, to The Order of Golden Lighting has been hastily reprogrammed to attack you on sight, registering you as an enemy that must be dealt with. What could make this situation far more dangerous is if the hostile NPC's begin to co-operate. Armies could grow and Wasteland-hardened hunters could become formidably dangerous when Wonderbolt Scouts circle above. Roleplayers might even have to take on their own characters.

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There are two silver linings though. When an NPC has been reprogrammed to become hostile, it's iris turns red. It's part of a warning mechanism in case of AI uprising. Also, it's possible to correct the programming and turn the NPC into an ally instead, thankfully.

With Roleplayer's still in worlds being held hostage, The Staff and any help they can scrounge together from the rest of Everypony must battle their way into the labyrinth to stop the impending tide of soldiers. Everypony hangs in the balance!

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Gameplay

I take it that you'll all know and be pretty familiar with a turn-based RPG. Here, we'll have groups of up to six characters that'll get swapped around and each have their own abilities, special attacks and unique items. This is all rather standard so I ought to explain the three main types of character class.

Force

Force characters use primarily physical attacks and abilities to cause damage or whatever. Earth Ponies, Diamond Dogs and anything else that throws its weight around comes under Force. What they may lack in either agility or tide changing moves, they make up for in attack strength and defence.

Flight

Like Force Characters, Flight Characters also use physical attacks but prefer to make aerial swoops and dives to attack their opponent while making sure to be as swift and nimble as possible. While lacking in defence, they make up for in speed. They tend to be the first to land a strike and can avoid damage all together. This includes characters such as pegasi and griffins.

Magic

Magic Characters are able to cast spells or use unusual abilities such as fire-breathing and petrification. They rely on magic but when magic is not an option The Magic Character has to rely on other, weaker attacks. Magic Characters include unicorns and alucorns as well as other creatures like dragons. Magic users have little defence and very little attack but make up for it with their spells or abilities. These could be either powerful, elemental attacks or stat-altering moves that can mess with the playing field by nerfing or buffing characters' abilities.

As with equipment, various bits and bobs will be left around and some are even unique to a particular character.

Another idea was to add Telltale Games' style point-and-click segments. Small parts of the story could then be made interactive with a small puzzle and keep the player engaged. So, maybe one could be sneaking past a group of guards and you have to use the items in the inventory to solve each stage of the puzzle.

Other Bits

Other ideas spring to mind. Mainly centring around the idea of each mane character having to collect a special, super powerful item, unique to each character. And, of course, there is a boss guarding each one but I thought it good to try and build entire quests around attempting this. These weapons are required to defeat The Former Mod or whatever is eventually agreed upon and the player must collect them to defeat him. Each quest would be unique to each weapon, of course.

These weapons would have to be something radically powerful to everything else in the game. Other weapons would be basic things like swords or shields or what-have-you that characters can equip in the usual fashion. These weapons would need to be something seriously worth getting all the way through the quest to obtain. Things that spring to mind are things like...I dunno, Soul Edge? The Warhammer of Zillyhoo? a Keyblade? BFG? We needn't worry too much about copyright when this game would be freeware but what about other stuff like the Everypony Welcome Committee Cannon Harley has in his signature picture or Foxy's Washing Machine. Staff of Talos? There's plenty of possibilities for a unique weapon for each character.

Then there's also the matter of what to do for these quests. There'd be side quests within the body of the game to complete where the player completes little tasks around Everypony itself but these would be small deviations from everything, feeling more like DLC than anything else. At least that's what I imagined.

I've only thought of three ideas that might work.

One was a battle with the Wonderbolts. That one still needs work.

Another was a battle with changlings where Foxytail and Flash are separated from the rest of the group. Not only are the changlings attempting to attack them and confuse by transforming into the couple, one keeps attempting to really get at Foxy by taking the form of Ichigo.

I also had some silly idea of time travel. Some unlucky pony gets strapped into a time machine and travels back to when Everypony first started. Unfortunately, they accidentally change history and bring about the end of Everypony, only to be replaced with something else. They'd then have to travel back to put everything right again. So, yes. A Back to the Future homage but it's probably the stupider of the three.

That's all I can currently think of. None of this is set in stone so please, feel free to make as many suggestions and ask as many questions as possible so that this game can be made properly and get all the kinks out, as it where.

Now, let's discuss what you can do to help.

To help, ideas are a must as well as, if you'd prefer, concept art. I did try to get the ball rolling with the above images and there's more at a Deviant Art page I made specifically for this. Here's a link. Anything that get's put forwards will get put up here:

http://poweredwithboredom.deviantart.com/

Other things are needed too. Side missions for the game would be great. Also, voice acting will likely be needed. Not everpony sounds like their OC's. Off the top of my head, Foxy, for example. Anyone familiar with the GUI Library Slick 2D would be invaluable as well. We'll need battle music, or even just regular music. Anything you think would be good, please send it in. Big or small.

Right. I'm gonna go lie down...I'm still open for questions.

 

That was quick...Errrmm...

Jhara, Ovr9000%Cooler, TheBrony925 and B-Dog1996, anything you can think of would be fantastic. The more ideas the better.

*Googles SWKOTOR* Oh! Knights of the Old Republic...

Engine? Currently, It's a bespoke one that uses the Slick 2D graphics library. I'm currently building it all by hand.

As for the side quest, yeah. I think we can add that.

I know. I'll get on it as soon as I find my digipad.

Edit: And It'll have it's own Ballonicorn with a top hat.

Edit 2: Ehyup! He's looking the wrong way though...

That might work if they have any interest at all. Something to chat with them about. Although, they also have a [website name here]: The Game too. Then again, I don't think they made it themselves.

I'll go youtube Palladio now.

(Thank ya kindly.)

Oh! What if the moon was the game over screen? Or maybe there ought to be a boss there too. Hmm....

 

- Discord: Yeah, oughta be in there somewhere...
- Arc Gust: But, I...I don't wanna....*sigh* He gives me no choice....
- Eleven: Could do. Eight Star's character's haven't had much introduction in the RPs themselves...
- The Mane 6: Oh! One better - The Crazy versions of The Mane Six. So, manic Twilight from Shadow Over Ponyville, maybe Cult Leader Rainbow Dash from The Rainbow Factory Fan Fic. Cutting finding a decent version of the others that that isn't too over the top ought the be difficult. But that's just off the top of my head.
- Nightmare Moon: Again, totally got to be there some where.
- Shadow Foxy: Evil Foxytail? Could work...Maybe a Discord Corrupted version?

I like it. Let's go for it.