Recently an action/rpg video game was released called "X Men Destiny" . And according to a lot of reviews (such as this one) it's just shy of awful. That review seemed to sum up best what was wrong with it--a story without consequence and repetive combat.
Back in the previous generations of consoles (The PS2, X Box, Gamecube) a roleplaying game called "X Men Legends" was released to better reviews. That was an isometric style (top down) dungeon crawler action epic with stat mechanics with missions dressed up like school assignments. It wasn't a terrible game but I wanted something a lot better.
To combat my disappointment with that X Men game I came up with my own--and I find myself laughing because in very broad strokes, X Men: Destiny sounds a lot like what I came up with, plot wise. I put the thing together as an exercise to get a feel for trying to wed a story to gameplay mechanics I've been impressed with in other games. No harm, no foul. After all, you have to play with your own toys before you can play with someone else's.
So, to that end, here's a condensed version of what I came up with. With apologies to Bioware and Obsidian for what I've been wanting to steal.
CONCEPT:
You assume the role of a newly manifested mutant whose powers explode in a populated area when you stop to help a bystander from an attack by a gang. When this happens, the X Men come to your aid to get you and the bystander out as you fight not only the gang but The Brotherhood who want you for their own.
Once you and the bystander reach the school you enroll to control your powers and become wrapped in a mystery involving your genetic code, a war between ideologies, your origins, and a romance with the bystander you helped rescue.
Humans and Mutants have been fighting for years. And a tipping point is coming. You are that tipping point. School is in session. Your semester awaits. Try to survive.
MECHANICS:
Before the game starts you chose three things--your gender, your looks and your power set. Your gender determines your romance options and how various NPCs react to you. Your power set determines your faculty advisor.
Combat and exploration is handled from a third person perspective as you explore the world, fight enemies and acquire quests by talking to people. Let's break this down.
Mutant abilities break down into three basic classes.
CLASS 1 is PSIONICS. This is your basic healer/debuffer style of play where your job is to disorient and debilitate your enemies while the others lay down the hurt. For example, mental abilities rip into your mind to plant nightmares and telekinetics use the environment against the enemy.
CLASS 2 is CONDUIT. These are your ranged combatants. Mutant abilities like these take energy from the environment and redirect it another way. Pyrokinetics are a good example.
CLASS 3 is ARMORED/INTANGIBLE. These are the tanks. They take damage and hurl it right back or barely hit at all and enemies get hurt attacking them. Superstrength, armored skin, shapeshifters, and ghost like abilities.
CLASS IS IN SESSION:
The opening mission sets the tone during the run for the school. Your faculty advisor is one of three famous mutants from the comics who takes control of your rescue mission as you and the new student make a run for safety. Conversations play out fully voiced. Those in the crowd you can help are pointed out. Once you interact with them a conversation can't be repeated but the relevant info you need will be on your smartphone. When the school sessions start it's more of the same with the exception of "field trips." Those are the missions that advance that plot.
A STORY WITH CONSEQUENCES:
The curriculum is to survive but you also need to find out about your past. The Brotherhood wants you for your potential but in discovering that potential you find out that you are a threat to not only your fellow humans, but mutants as well. The experiment worked. You are a bioweapon against genetic evolution.
In order to not endanger the others, especially your love interest, you run away from the school and go to the Brotherhood and explain what you are. You take them on in the hope that you'll get killed. The X Men intervene to stop it and tell you they've found a way to rewrite the genetic bomb out of your system. And then it all goes to hell.
The one who financed the successful experiment is revealed. It's a mutant who has the potential to be the most powerful on the planet and is cursed with the inability to be touched. It's Rogue, a former member of both teams. She designed you to cure her of her condition. And your love interest works for her. Everything was going according to plan until they found a way around your condition.
On survival of the battle Rogue and her agent have a moment with you and you have one more decision to make. You can decide if what you experienced with your paramour is worth continuing beyond the game.
WHAT'S IT ALL MEAN:
Full disclosure, I haven't played X Men: Destiny but based on the review above that critic's reaction was the same I had to the previous generation X Men game and I wrote a longer version of the above in response to that.
All this is to say that while a game can just have great gameplay and be a great game in itself, an RPG is a different beast. It's an interactive story, that, when done right makes it about you (or a version of you). So that means the story must be as strong as great gameplay.
There's a lot of wishfulfillment here. I wanted to get an idea of the X Men game I wanted to play. X Men: Destiny sounded like it had what I was after--until that review. But this medium continuously evolves just like the X Men. And my writing better evolve even faster.
