So ... I'm Making a Game

Hello
Yes, you are not dreaming I am making a Dragon Survival Game.

It's still a mock-up or prototype but let's see what I can do!

Hopefully, you guys enjoyed the surprise

:D

↓ Check my 2º Channel ↓

[KatoGameplays]

▸ Support us on Patreon -> patreon.com/DragonsVeil

👇
[UPDATE VIDEO]

[VlIl]

For big Ai you can use Mammoths, Rhinos and other Ai dragons.
Make everything feel as impactful as possible.
For example:
You should feel the weight of the creatures.
Trees should be breaking when you are big enough and walk through them.
Bushes, leaves, trees should bend in a direction when landing due to wing or walking through them.
Roars should also have an impact on the environment.

Even though it takes longer choose quality over quantity to make the gameplay crisp.

Interaction with the environment could be very important.
Something that would be funny in this case is building. You can knock down a tree and build yourself a layer in which you can rest in and maybe also nest.

You can eventually adapt more features to building layers like creating your own hunting ground in that zone. It will be known to players that these are your grounds and the owner will be buffed in that area, as your dragon is familiar with it. Of course it can be contested.

To stand out from other survival games you can add game modes that encourages realism over the mess we have in current survival games.
Things like a „body down rule“ where you have I frames and are in a passive mode in the body’s area. When somebody contest the body you can leave or accept.
This should be entirly optional for server owners.
Eventually what can also work is you can only fight 1 group of player at a time to prevent mass teaming and have a anti-team system. You can still do 2 v 1 or bigger as long as you are grouped up and you are unable to leave group when in combat. Add combat timer for it, when roughly 5 min pass by you are out of combat or until your enemy is defeated.

[wonder]

For dragon designs I think you should focus on the more unique builds dragons have, like amphitears and Basilisks. In fact you could have one of each type of dragon before creating more of the same type

[lamebubblesflysohigh]

My advice would be: work on core game-play first, add bling later

[Thetacodile]

Duuude, take liberty with the locomotion. You could have some crazy grounded movement that feels good. A trend with these types of games are that they always have the worst movement ever.

[Spider-rd]

I think for the dragon designs that you should stick closely to their mythological counterpart, while still giving them a little something unique. For example, the Asian dragon could be a semi-aquatic species with some electrical powers. I also think that the dragon design should feel more grounded and realistic. In fact, I think that you should definitely lean more into the realism side of things in order to make the game stand out from other more fantastical titles, though these are all only my opinions and you can and should do whatever you can to make this game how you feel it should be.

[rossy]

Woah woah woah!!! DUDE? This is amazing! So exciting! Realistic too? Don't get me wrong, Wings of Dawn is amazing, but a bit far from realistic. Super cool idea to see dragons as realistically as dinosaurs. I was thinking, if you do want it realistic, you may want completely unique creatures, perhaps on a planet with multiple moons or a different colored sun / plants. For our yellow/orange sun, plants use red and blue light for photosynthesis and reflect green, so they look green to us. If our planet had a blue sun, our plants would look red / yellow / purple! This may be very far fetched, but for a planet that evolved to satisfy dragons, would need less gravity, and more oxygen to host larger creatures, that's why insects were so large during the dinosaur age! From this description, creatures would be massive with long legs, due to low gravity and high oxygen, with lightweight frames or exoskeletons. Insects could grow to enormous sizes, and flying animals would be large and efficient, adapted to the planet’s unique conditions. Many might have reflective or metallic features to handle the strong radiation! Of course, this is a LOT and is not at all necessary, I just take any opportunity to boast about this, I do not hold any of these as expectations, i'm just a simple nerd.

[thewitchbasket]

I'm not a game designer, so I don't have a lot of advice to give on actual game design elements, but I am a creature modeler, so I can give a bit of advice regarding your current character model!

I would reference how other winged animals walk on the ground, specifically bats and pterosaurs. A dragon has wings like a bat, so it stands to reason that it would fold them in the same way: curling the fingers into a fist and holding them close to the forearm. As it currently is, it looks rather bulky and clumsy. I'd also increase the size of the wings somewhat drastically, so it looks as though they could actually produce enough lift for the dragon to fly (since it's so large). The stance is also a little wide for such a large creature. Big animals need to place their limbs below their bodies in order to save energy when walking.

Good luck on your project!

[devinlupei]

This is awesome and I wish you luck. Just two things:

1. Do NOT follow Day of Dragon's flight mechanics. Making the world turn and tilt during flight causes motion sickness.
2. Will there be a single player option?

[tydanym]

2 ideas that you might like. Maybe certain dragons like for example western fire dragons require certain minerals in their diet to produce their fire attacks. This would establish key resource areas were different players might interact and battle over.
Also what if you could use the home cave system from path of Titans to make your own cave and make your own horde. Say you get a trophy for killing another dragon or there are shiny gems or gold in human ruins that you find, you can use them to decorate your home cave/horde.

[geraltvonriva]

I would like 2 things to add.

1 : I think it would be better if some Humans Survived ( the war ? ), maybe some camps you can hunt down or just teases that humans hide/fled and could return.
I think it gives the world a more lived in feeling and there is still hope left.

Maybe this idea comes a bit to soon, but you could have a expansion or a sequel where men fight alongside dragons (dragonrider), and return.

2 : I think a core mechanic in a survival Game should be housing/crafting, as as dragon a bit difficult but the dragon could/should take caves (maybe dig them ?) as horts.
I mean a place to sleep, hoard your prey or gold ( Dragons love gold, maybe they gain mana or something from it, for more breath abilities or just to grow faster)

[renem.]

for a good inspiration of a nice physx-based and organic flight-system maybe take a look at dragon game project. they got the right idea when it comes to it on a functional level.

also please do NOT let people spawn in an egg and start initially as a hatchling. one should only be hatchling if they are getting nested by another player. it just makes more sense this way since then that player has parents to watch out for them but to spawn as something dependant on a caretaker without actually having one is an extraordinary exhausting type of experience and people up to this day hate that stuff on DoD.

the idea control-wise to basically W= Nose down, S= Nose up, D= Roll right, A= Roll left, F = Takeoff, Space (in flight)= Airbrakes, LShift= Flapping (acceleration) as DoD somewhat has it is pretty good. hard to learn in the beginning but once someone has the hang of it its really fun like this.
please dont bring in an elder-system like DoD has it. just let an adult slowly become an elder for living long enough.

also please look into flight-properties and differences between smaller and larger dragons since its gonna be important to make aerial combat deep enough to require skill and strategy. for example: smaller dragons accelerating faster yet having less topspeed, less acceleration through diving aswell as faster braking/ turning and lower maximum altitude.
larger dragons therefor being able to reach higher maximum altitudes, loosing momentum slower than smaller ones, reaching higher topspeed, faster acceleration through falling, wider turns, slower braking aswell as slower acceleration through flapping.

and please also make falling out of the sky HURT. a dragon smashing on the ground could potentially kill it or wound it pretty hard depending on the height, speed and the weight of the creature.

got a bunch more ideas aswell going through my head but thats just some i wanted to spit out ^^

[KatoGameplays]

If you have any questions send tem away .

[roarilionheart]

(Sorry for such a long post, it turned out longer than I meant it to be lol)

As someone who kickstarter backed DoD (Day of Dragons) roughly 6 years ago, I really appreciated the open floor plan you are showing in this video. Not every little secret is exposed ofc but its so nice to see essentially a pipeline plan so early in development. I agree with other people in this comment sections, if this is to be a more medieval setting then taking inspiration from not just media and tabletop games like D&D but folklore would be a nice touch. Keeping it realistic is good but have that flair of mystical and awe inspiring fantasy that draws us back to the game. You can include real animals but keep in mind we are playing as mystical catastrophically dangerous creatures, that can fly, who have bested humans in your setting. And by all means create your own creature (especially in the air) to combat a full grown adult dragon.
You can have these creatures be sparing in spawn rate, but something an adult dragon would have to be prepared to fight.

Ex: For a more high fantasy setting some magical creation/abomination that humans mages created to combat larger dragons. Or simple Manticores, Chimeras or Rocs that have been growing in population due to the fall humans.

Of my experience as a long time player of DoD there are currently multiple problems with the game. I like the concept, however it is currently not up to my expectations for the amount of years I have spent waiting for simple implementations and optimizations of basic game play. I currently only occasionally play it because of the people I have met and made connections with while playing. As AI and adequate food is far and few, optimization is subpar, and months in advance promised bug fixes, deadlines are being constantly pushed back so regularly they stopped giving out deadlines, and I stopped getting excited for new updates or additions that just enviably get delayed again. So hearing you say you are focusing mostly on the core mechanics and already have another coder to help you is music to my ears.

Keep in mind though I am mostly a PVE player I am a long time survival player. I would say the best thing to have is a living breathing ecosystem and interactable world to immerse your players into as it makes gameplay 100% more enjoyable in survival games. If you put aside PVP and there is nothing for your players to do or even have enjoyable challenging hunts as you grow then it turns into essentially a waiting simulator that at some point a majority are not going to want to continue to play. Give us challenges and something to build up to or conquer. And please give people the option to enjoy the game as just PVE, or even PVX with some PVP zones at least. As with what I experienced there are a lot more PVE players at all times of the day.

I am looking forward to seeing more of what you come up with ^^

[juanda_]

You should have quests like learning as a hatchling, finding a partner, creating a territory, raising hatchlings and it all goes on until you die of old age

[ottoes]

I think you should have a mix of reality and fantasy. Or in other words "real fantasy". Take inspiration from real world medieval folklore like cryptids. For example: dragons, krakens, basilisks, cockatrice, hydra, unicorn, pegasus, cyclops, ogres, trolls, goblins, leviathans, golems, sea serpents, minotaurs, wyverns, wyrms, gorgons, ghosts, gargoyles, giants, goliaths, automatons, centaurs, pheonixes and many more things that would fit in with dragons. You dont have to invent new creatures like the ones in day of dragons for example because this game is taking place on earth. Imagine this: what if all the medieval tales of fantastical beasts were real?

Remember:
Making a videogame is one of the hardest things you can do with a computer. So dont be too sad if the project crashes and burns. Ill be here supporting you anyway.

[wolf_quill]

This looks amazing I'm so excited! Tho maybe to stand out from other dragon game maybe...

- kill animations on human npcs unique to dragon type and to burn down!

-able to do dueling aerial combat like eagles do

-if players opt to play as humans can make dragon and rider bonds!

-if playing humans you can build castles and make your own kingdom or forge alliances

-players can choose to be prey animals for dragons to make hunting more interactive!

-predation on other dragons

-roars have buffs or a skill trees maybe 3 per dragon: defense, attack, magic(?)

-ability to make custom servers and edit the host of the server can edit terrain

-options for permanent death for a server to get the immersion in

- there is usually health, stamina, and hunger/thirst but what if you added a mineral intake meter? Where if you're low on say fire salts (a fake mineral for place holder) the fire breath does less damage and the less fire salts you have eaten eventually you can't breathe fire until you get more! The more flame breath you use the less fire salts you have

-legacy option: if your dragon dies and it has offspring that's an npc you can take over as it upon death!

-Rage Meter: if activated the more damage a dragon takes the stronger their fire breath is at the cost of getting penalties to hunger and fire salt meter!

-night and day cycles but maybe weather dynamics! Imagine a meteor shower at night or a hurricane during the day!

-discovery of ancient ruins indicating to background lore and within these ruins are things to give skill points or unique colors to your dragon when you go to edit them!

-horns. Lots. Of horns. Yes. Also maybe a feathery wings type selection? Like Saphira from the Eragon movie. I loved the feathery scales!

-scale shape customization

-Fire. Ice. Lightning. Poison. Venom. Maybe those are elemtal types dragons can have and do a gambling system to see if one spawns in with two or one breath types? Certain dragon species are weak against certain types of breath attacks!(venom would come in for biting or slapping with spiked tails hehe)

-ambushing mechanics

-creating draconian layers or areas on the map meant for dragons to roost!

-collecting treasure and gemstones is how you get exp besides combat. Yoy can steal from other dragons hoards if they have a set den! Challenging other dragons for their hoards. So much possibilities! Hence why itd ne a good idea for a dragon to work for a kingdom and get tribute. Or will a dragon subjugate a kingdom to be their god?

-life stages. Egg, hatchling, wrymling, fledgling, mature, prime, ancient, great wyrm

Each stage has its own unique buffs or debuffs!

-if more fantasy route a player who reaches past great wyrm stage can retire their character to be a permanent npc on a server or can keep playing but they become an undead dragon ! Or they can choose to have their dragon pass on to the after life and start anew

- humans can take scales from dragons and make armor or bones for weapons that have magical effects

-a fun quest to kidnap a prince or princess

-different stances and/or calls to indicate intent like agression or peaceful for example

These are some ideas ❤ whatever you make for this game regardless I'm for sure invested !🎉

[zeekodraws]

Yes! I am here to support you all the way! I'd love to help out where I can. This is such a cool idea!

[peasantkyr]

In terms of dragon design, using the classic types of dragon everyone is familiar with is good, but each should still have something unique to set them apart.

Roster is make or break for these types of games, so having visual/playstyle hooks is paramount. Give players, that would otherwise be mildly interested, a reason to "main" each one.

[nicinator]

What I would really like to see in a dragon game that absolutely no other game is doing, is to include all sorts of old mythical creatures that later inspired us to think of dragons. A "dragon" is not actually the clear image of a flying, fire breathing lizard, but rather a summary of every creature that could somewhat fit into the description of a dragon. So it's actually more like a category. No game I have seen to this day implemented the original "dragons" that were all sorts of monsters in folklore.
Edit: Creatures that could kill dragons might also be from folklore. I think that would be quite interesting.