Frequency: The Bemani RPG

[GrooveMan.exe]

I've been mulling this idea over for quite a while, and making notes on my ideas. It's not a living, breathing game just yet, but I figure getting interaction from a game-making forum will be a major assist in this department. If this board requires an existing demo or work for there to be a thread, then I apologise, and you can delete this.

Frequency is a traditional RPG that incorporates mechanics from rhythm games to deliver a deeper, more complex game play experience.


The Game World
Music is a Way of Life!
In this game’s universe, music and sound is tantamount to human progression and survival. Everyone from retailers to warriors harness sound and its raw elemental properties for everyday life. There are 6 main ‘Stations’ that all sounds are divided into:
-   Latin: Station of Strength. It’s used to produce heating in houses. In battle, it can cause large amounts of damage. It’s said that the performance-enhancing drugs on the market are exposed to energy from this station.
-   Jazz: Station of Intelligence. It’s used to purify water, and it’s said to have an effect on weather patterns. In battle, it can lock down the abilities of opponents, along with the weakening of their attributes. It’s not uncommon for students to listen to nothing but Jazz, in preparation for exams.
-   Hip-Hop: Station of Trick. Seemingly useless as a practical energy resource, it’s rare to see it put to common uses such as heating and lighting, but it’s rumoured that Hip-Hop Station energy is really beneficial to plants and animals. In battle, it causes foes detrimental ailments, and allies stat boosts.
-   Rock: Station of Resilience. Anything reinforced with energy from the Rock station becomes as hard as… well, rock. In your face and straight-forward, in battle wielders can survive the harshest of blows. It’s just a shame that many who use the Rock Station are a little… hard-headed.
-   Dance: Station of Speed. It supplies the entire continent with electricity, as an almost infinite power source. In battle, the damage done will be light, but executed super-fast. It can alter the speed of both your Band and the foe’s. Some of the hardcore Dance Station fanatics are a little… unhinged. Or at least rather excitable.
-   Classical: Station of Life. One of the first sounds in Oratoria. To master Classical is to master Sound (such is the general consensus, but Jazz has proven to be more complex). Classical music has the power to heal almost any ailment, and in some cases, cause immense damage; but usually to the self-harm of the user. Some say that the Classical Station can reverse death, but those people are idiots; and you should point and laugh at them.
These all have their own Sub-Stations; the complex diversity of them all making the world what it is. The Stations all have Radio Towers – a mixture between shrines and power plants, which create resources from the Stations, and distribute them worldwide.

The Continent of Oratoria
Oratoria is the largest landmass in the known world; a continent split into two countries, Analogue and Digital.
Analogue is very traditional in their ideals, and solid in their ideas. Their cities and economy have held strong for centuries. Their government runs the largest Marching Band found anywhere. They have the Latin, Jazz, and Classical Radio Towers established there.
The country of Digital was barren for the longest time; until there became issues of overcrowding in Analogue, and a Band of pioneers set out to build and colonise this new land. In an ugly issue of civil unrest, the Radio Towers of Hip-Hop, Rock and Dance were torn town in Analogue, and transported. This was eventually resolved, and now free trade of all Station Sounds is done between the two Countries. It’s something of a taboo to bring up the incident, these days.

Fight with Music at Your Side
In this world there are Wave Warriors, musicians who can utilise the Stations through their instruments to their own use. Everyone has this ability to some degree, but only some to a useful capacity; and even fewer as a career choice. Wave Warriors can use their abilities in everything from Detective to Mercenary work. Clans of Wave Warriors are called ‘Bands’.
In recent times, the two countries of the world – Analogue and Digital – have fallen under political dispute, and talk of war has been thrown around - a Battle of the Bands. No one is truly certain what will become of it; but something big is going to happen. Oh yes.

A Seventh Sound?
In addition to the 6 main Stations, there is indeed a 7th –The Static Station. Static is to the other Stations as what Anti Matter is to cheap science fiction novels; It’s rare, extremely powerful, and has absolutely no practical use. But as with most dangerous phenomena, you get the choice idiot who hears ‘powerful’ in the description, and will become completely obsessed with it. Here, that would be White Noise. His motives for wanting to harness Static is so unclear, it’s debatable he knows himself. He’s popular though; his Band, Shattered Resonance is gaining new members every month. They’re hardly a threat at the moment, but if they really do mean to start using Static, someone’s going to have to set them straight.

Situations and Scenarios
At this stage, there is no solid progressive plot, but situations within the game have been considered.

Birth of a Wave Warrior
The main character is a rather generic, 18 year old Airon Shayne; friendly, fashionable, but otherwise ordinary. Interestingly, in a world of music, he isn’t much appreciative of the power sound supplies to the world. As far as he’s concerned, sound it nothing but a tool to supply your house with heat and light – nothing more.
Coming back from classes one afternoon, a friend offers to take him to a music concert. Having not attended a concert before, he agrees. The band playing (to put it bluntly) rocked him to his core. The underground rock ballad everyone in the arena bobbed and swayed to left a sizable imprint on his mind. Within a simple 3 minutes, he understood the true power of music.
After the concert, he walks home in the dark. He parted ways with his friend ages ago, and the streets are quiet. He starts humming to himself, the same tune as what heard at the concert. His humming seems to get louder, resonating with his whole body and the air around him. As he gets to the chorus – at this point in full flow – the ground begins to tremor. He stops, surprised; and the quake ceases just as quickly. Puzzled, he hums the chorus once more; and once more, the ground begins to shake.
It is, of course, him hitting the same frequency as the Rock Station. He has awakened abilities of music he never even knew existed within him. He smiles as he hums once more; as loud has he can muster. People start to turn on lights and look out of the windows of their houses. The tarmac begins to fracture slightly. He wonders to himself if he can afford a Battle Instrument…
He runs home, leaving a crowd of rudely-woken neighbours in his wake. The next morning, he heads to the nearest Battle Instrument store. All of the items are too expensive, even though there’s a sale! However, upon walking dejectedly back home, he come across a black merchant, who offered to sell him some starter Wave Warrior gear and some fake registration documents on the cheap.
Now, a more just man would have denied the offer, and set hard to work to earn some money, but who the hell is just these days? In short order our hero (or should that be villain now?) struts home with a Battle Instrument, a Sound Machine (a pretty old model, but who cares?), and a shiny, tiny, extremely illegal Wave Warrior licence.

The Sickest Lyricist
The Band of musicians come across a club – Flow ‘n’ Go – the owner of which is holding tryouts for new lead performers. They go in to see a rapper – going by the name of Trick-Master S - trying out.
“I’m the sickest lyricist
With more brains than an astrophysicist
And in the thick of it
I throw my verbal twist into tha’ mix…”
The judges panel doesn’t look to impressed.
“That flow was wack, yo. Where’s da gangsta image? Where’s da bling? Where’s da hoes? Get yo’ broken self off my stage. Daymn.”
Dejectedly, he shuffles off stage, and encounters the Band. At first he’s rather uptight and more than a little annoyed, but after some dialogue (and a battle against him), he loosens up.
It turns out that he’s something of a travelling poet from a small village on the Analogue side – one of the few Hip-Hop establishments that hadn’t migrated to Digital. He’d been slightly successful in his exploits, but the money had run out, and the desire for regular meals and a place to stay had overridden the need to spread the word of his people. The Band agrees to assist him in some training to get him a slot at Flow ‘n’ Go.
Problem is, someone else is trying out; Suga Shaniqua, a young yet horrifically buxom girl with a Pop routine so sugary, you could get cavities just listening to her. But she looks hot, and that alone is more than enough to sway the club owner. In a desperation attempt, the rapper decides to have a war of words against the pop-princess-going-rap-diva. After a heated match, the rapper is victorious, but instead of taking a place at the club, he decides to travel with the Band – providing they can supply food…

Game Mechanics and Abilities
The Band
You start the game with a single Wave Warrior, and recruit more to form your own Band as the game progresses. Eventually, you will have 10 Band Members.

Stats and other Number Crunching
The stats in game are as follows:
-   Volume Points (VP): This is the HP of traditional games. You start out at maximum Volume (full health), and as you are dealt damage, your volume decreases. Some events may cause a character to fatigue, and their maximum volume is reduced temporarily. When a character’s Volume reaches 0, they are Silenced, and unable to battle. As you’d expect, if all members of a Band are Silenced, they are defeated.
-   Rhythm Points (RP): This would be the Magic or Technique Points in traditional games. In order to use character special abilities (Called ‘Riffs’), Rhythm Points must be consumed. Many Riffs require an Action Command to execute; and successful attempts drain less RP than unsuccessful ones. Falling out of Rhythm can be dangerous, at it leaves you only with a basic attack! But don’t worry; your Rhythm slowly recovers over time.
-   Offence: What you would expect, this stat is used to determine how much damage is done by attacks. Of course all attacks and Riffs have their own damage value, but the damage done to the opponent is calculated from this base stat.
-   Defence: Again, a no-brainer. This determines by how much damage from enemy attacks is reduced by. Some Riffs and items can cause modifiers to your overall defence.
-   Speed: Hmm. Yeah, you’ve guessed, the speed decides the turn order when there are multiple characters in one battle (which is almost always the case…). It sounds unimportant, but landing the first hit could be vital in most cases. There’s no real calculation; the character with the highest speed goes first.

Status Effects
-   Silence: When you run out of VP, you are silenced, and unable to battle. When the battle ends, you’ll get a reduced amount of experience, and will be revived with 1 HP outside of battle. That said, if all participating Band members are Silenced simultaneously, it’s Game Over…
-   Groovin’: Sometimes an attack will force the victim to start dancing helplessly along with the beat. While in this state, you can’t act. It’ll wear off in a few turns, however, and if hit, you’ll snap right out of it.
-   De-Sync: Sometimes, an attack will disorientate a victim, raising their Rhythm consumption rate significantly, and attacks may go astray, hitting your fellow Band Members.
-   Noise Cancel: Sometimes, an attack will block a victim’s sound. They can still act, but they’re completely unable to inflict any damage, and Riffs can no longer be activated. It’s a nasty status effect, but it will wear off after a while.
-   Fatigue: The stronger attacks can cause Fatigue; either in the user or the victim. Being hit by fatigue will lower your Maximum Volume temporarily, by about 10%. This figure is cumulative, so if you use too many fatigue-inducing attacks (or get hit by them…), you’ll find yourself rather easy to Silence. However, nearly all consumable food will remove Fatigue by varying degrees. At the end of a battle, all Fatigue is cleared.

Riffs
Riffs in this game are the Magic and Techniques of other games. Riffs are not learned through levelling up of characters, but are found, bought, or made in the game world. There is an overall Riff Library where all Riffs obtained are stored, but each character has their own Sound Machine (usually located within the instrument they wield), where the Riffs are arranged and utilised.
Each Riff sounds unique, and when used in conjunction with others, they sound impressive! Collect many riffs, and not only will you be powerful in battle, you’ll sound great, too!
To begin with, the number of Riffs a character can hold won’t be very large, but it will increase over time. Some characters have a naturally larger Riff Capacity over others.
Riffs may change and become stronger if they’re used often enough.

http://img408.imageshack.us/img408/5086/frequencyan9.png

The process for equipping Riffs is simple. There is a menu screen called the Sound Machine, where you can create the Riff sets for your Band members. Upon choosing one, you get a grid, and an index listing of all Riffs you own. There is a ‘Palette’ window showing what Riffs you have selected for this Band Member. You can fill up as many or as few as the Palette slots as you like, but be aware there’s a finite number. Once in then Palette window, you can drag and drop the riffs onto the grid. Each Riff has a sound, and if you hit the Play button next to the grid, it will play the riffs in the arrangement you have selected, from left to right. Each square is a second long, so you can have 8 seconds of Riff Mix. The Riff Mix will play at key points in battle, so make sure it sounds good!

Weapons and Armour
Armour in this game behaves as you would expect, but Weapons are slightly different. All weapons in this game are instruments, which transform into a more traditional weapon in battle.
-   Lead Guitars turn into axes.
-   Bass Guitars turn into halberds and spears.
-   Microphones turn into staves.
-   Woodwind instruments turn into one-handed swords.
-   Brass instruments turn into heavy swords.
-   Drums turn into hammers.
-   Viols turn into bows.
Armour in this game is clothing. With Wave Warriors being in vogue this season, the latest outfits are all reinforced to some degree, so don’t worry about your outfit getting ruined in the heat of battle. Different shops around Oratoria will stock different clothes; usually suited to the most popular music genre in the area. These clothes will give you some resistance against a Station, so don’t be afraid to cover your bases, and mix that Classical Tuxedo with those Hip-Hop hi-tops. Clothing is split into Headgear, Tops, Bottoms, Shoes, and Accessories. Anyone can wear any item, although it might be argued that not all clothing is suitable for all Musician types.

Battles and Special Attacks
Battles operate in a standard RPG fare; your Band of characters is pitted against a Band of enemies, and combat takes place until one Band is Silenced or flees. The battle is turn-based, the fastest character going first.
On a character’s turn, they have the option to use their weapon’s standard attack, an equipped Riff, or a Symphony.
With any attack, an action command must be used to make is successful. These are similar to the action commands in Paper Mario, with timed button presses, direction tilts, or some combination of the two. More powerful attacks require more complex action commands. The sounds that Riffs produce give something of a clue as to what kind of rhythm you need to perform the commands.

The Symphony Command
A Symphony is a special attack that can only be performed if 2 or more characters are able to battle. They can’t be previously engaged in any other moves (you can’t perform a Symphony with another player who is casting a spell, or defending, for example).  The Symphony can only be instigated by the Band Leader (which is defaulted to Airon Shayne, although you may change this if you wish).
Symphonies are learned from Scores, which are found all over Oratoria. You only need to have a Score in your Inventory, and you’ll automatically learn the Symphony. When one has started, a cinematic of the attack takes place, along with a more unique action command minigame, longer and more complex than the standard ones. The more characters participating in the attack, the harder the action command minigame gets, but the damage output will be much higher.

Characters and Locations
Band Members
The initial character you play as will be the one described in Birth of a Wave Warrior. The game will let you choose your initial instrument type, and Station. Later in the game, you will be given the option of learning a second instrument.

There would be say, 20 scenarios in the game, around 15 of which revolve around a character that will join your Band once the scenario is completed. You band roster caps at 6 (10 is a little high in retrospect), so you can't have them all. You don't have to accept them into your party straight away, but once you've committed a member to your party; you're in for the long haul. Maybe you can switch them around in the endgame.

Party members have a preset Station, and usually only a single weapon type, although some can use two. On very rare occasions, a character will have a unique instrument that cannot be upgraded, or switched.

Band Leader: Airon Shayne
Instrument: Variable
Genre of Choice: Variable
http://img513.imageshack.us/img513/2411/aironshaynekk1.jpg
18, from Bakersfield, Analogue. Very much the easy going guy, and more or less completely disinterested in music. That is, until he sees a Band perform live, and gets some Wave Warrior gear on the cheap. Now he’s all about getting the most kickass Band in all of Oratoria. Thing is, he’s not totally sure why. Will he get himself embroiled in the war of the two countries? Despite not looking androgynous per se, his choice of attire has had him mistaken for a girl once or twice.

Member 01: Keith Steelmaw
Instrument: Bass Guitar
Genre of Choice: Alternative Rock
http://art1.server06.sheezyart.com/image/172/1724920.png
27, an unemployed ex Band member of Screamin’ Typhoon – a fairly decent Death Metal group. He was ejected from the Band, under a strategic decision (They decided to replace him with a second drummer. Completely unnecessary music-wise, but they liked the extra attack power. There’s also the issue of him diverging in genre, but he’d gloss over that if you asked him.); so now he hangs out in a rather… unkempt apartment downtown in Candlemass, playing out old riffs from back in the day. He seems rather content, but surely there must be something that can rekindle his sense of adventure?

Member 02: Wallace Slade
Instrument: Microphone
Genre of Choice: Rap
http://img151.imageshack.us/img151/4074/goateedudedk3.png
21, although he looks around 16. Hails from East Coast, on the Analogue side. Charged with imparting the tales of his ancestors to the rest of Oratoria (they do this with one choice individual every generation; interestingly, they don’t return…). He started out with great gusto, but distance and lack of money has made him a mixture of irritable and hungry. Hating his given name, he insists on being called Trick-Master S, but most just call him Slade.

Member 03:
Instrument: Drums
Genre of Choice: Salsa

Member 04:
Instrument: Brass
Genre of Choice: Jazz

Member 05:
Instrument: Lead Guitar
Genre of Choice: Electronica

Member 06:
Instrument: Viols
Genre of Choice: Neo Classical

Members 07 – 15 are as of yet unconfirmed.

Enemies and Bosses
During the journey, Airon and his Band members will encounter some fores, who will (obviously) try to hinder progress. With nothing else for it, you must fight them! Many foes use the same kind of instruments your Band can wield, but there are other, more unique instruments that you might encounter.

Enemy: Violent Violinist
An Orchestra member with a seriously bad attitude. Someone must have spilt his caviar. Despite having a long-range weapon, they favour straight-foward, powerful attacks, as opposed to sideline fighting. As they take more damage, their attacks get more ferocious to compensate the diminishing volume. Take them out in as few blows as possible!
Station: Classical, Latin Influences (While their main station is their 'element' per se, Influences allow them to use abilities normally reserved for other stations.)
Instrument: Violin Crossbow

Enemy: Cymbalina (Tambourina)
Wielding her instruments with deadly grace and beauty, the Cymbalina foe subverts her opponents with dainty dance moves, then follows up with a super-sharp CymbalChakram attack. If you want to survive, you're gonna want to stop her from dancing. Any misgivings you may have about hitting girls may hold you back... Her big sister, Tambourina, is also one to watch out for.
Station: Dance, Rock Influences
Instrument: CymbalChakram (TambourineChakram)

Enemy: Mr. Mariachi
There's no time for a siesta when fighting this jolly gent - completely true to the Latin Station, this guy hits for high damage with his Maraca-Tonfas. He'll try to boost his attack before landing a blow sure to send your Volume packing. There has to be a way to turn his sheer attack mentality against him...
Station: Latin
Instrument: Maraca-Tonfas

Enemy: Tricksta
Not everyone in Oratoria wields an instrument as a weapon - some use even stranger items. Take the Tricksta, for example; who abuses and ensares his foes with a razor-edged Yo-yo. He lacks a Station (He doesn't play an instrument, but his musical preferences give him some slight resistances), but that doesn't make him a Pushover by any means. A well-aimed shot can incapacitate a Band Member easily.
Station: N/A (Slight resistance to Dance)
Weapon (Not Instrument, hurr): 'Bleedin' Edge' Yo-yo

Enemy: Home Run Thug
The Varsity Baseball team has gone bad. Having spent all their funds on sporting equipment (and purchasing illegal steriods), they don't have the cash to buy Battle Instruments. Instead, they fall back on their set of re-enforced Baseball Bats. A hit from one would hurt a whole lot, but thankfully most lack the strength and speed to cause too much damage. Using projectile attacks would be ill-advised; they'll smash 'em right back at you!
Station: N/A (Slight resistance to Jazz)
Weapon: 'Bases Loaded' Aluminium Bat

Enemy: Nosegrind Thug
A very clique group of individuals, NG Thugs don't warm kindly to anyone on their turf. Thing is, they consider EVERYWHERE as their turf. The skateboards they ride make them swifter than most; it'll be an effort to outspeed them. That said, a good hit will knock them to the ground; a sitting duck for your well-composed punishment.
Station: N/A (Slight resistance to Rock)
Weapon: 'Shred Devil' Skateboard

Enemy: Fashionista
A mobile phone in one hand, a multitude of rings and bracelets wrapped around the other; the Fashionista is always in the know. Whether she is actually stylish is a different matter. Being so involved in the fashion world, she's developed a very sharp tongue. So sharp, she can use it as a weapon. Indeed, her insults take physical form, and claw away at your self-confidence (and volume). However, she's not especially resilient, so hit her hard before she cusses you on your hairstyle.
Station: N/A (Some resistance to Hip-Hop)
Weapon: 'Silver Server' Sharp Tongue

Boss Band: Royal Flush
A Jazzy Rock 'n Roll band, employed as the main attraction at the Gambit Stave Casino in Swing City. The band members are simply known as Diamond, Spade, Club, and Heart; refusing to divulge their true names. They work best as a team - their signiture move, The Shuffle - does more damage with more participating members. Cutting down one of them will reduce their effectiveness, so focus your attacks!

Diamond is the band leader. Confident and headstrong, he has a major adoration for all things expensive and shiny. His custom-built (read: diamond-studded) Schmitar Sax is always kept shiny and sharp. Try not to get cleaved in two.
Station: Jazz, Rock Influences
Instrument: Schmitar Sax

Spade is something of a dark horse, but his straightforwardness, and his apathetic attitude to everything but himself makes him popular with a lot of (foolish) young women. Too bad he's dating Heart...
Station: Rock, Jazz Influences
Instrument: Stratocaster Spear

Club is very quiet, but few can drum louder; his Volume is extremely hard to reduce. Because of this, he tends to fade into the background on many occasions, but has a certain... aura about him that drives his fellow band members onwards. Underestimating him would be unwise.
Station: Rock
Instrument: Great Gaia Drumkit

Heart is very much a femme fatale, but more than a little grouchy and miserable. Her good looks and stunning voice has netted her many previous boyfriends, but they all get swallowed up in her personality (This may or may not be literal). Spade appears to be getting on just fine, however.
Station: Jazz
Instrument: Phono Whip

Boss Band: Popul'aire
An ambient electronica duet, taking the Analogue indie scene by storm (albeit a little slowly), all the hottest clubs are playing their music right now... just not at peak hours. Phillip Trille and Gustav Santur have been partners for a good 5 years on this project, and although they're only surfacing now, they've at least enjoyed each other's company.

Phillip is the ambient side of the duo. His flute has been passed down in his family for generations, but Gustav gave it a technical tuneup, making it capable of producing synth-generated sounds. In battle, it turns into an electrified rapier. A good jolt may short-circuit your Riffs...
Station: Classical
Instrument: Rapier Flute GS2

Gustav is the electronica partner. From a background of a family working in an electronics repair company, he's always been good with gadgets, but the firm always had a No Battle Instruments policy, so there was no real work; except from some of the more shady jobs he did on the down-low. He was eventually found out by his father, and essentially kicked from both the family, and the business. Down and out, he met up with Phillip, was offered lodging and food in return for company and his handiwork (hey, we all get lonely); and they've been tight ever since. His portable keyboard converts into a laser rifle. Despite it being portable, it's a little heavy, so it's Phillip's job to cover him while he takes shots.
Station: Dance
Instrument: KeyShot 3000

Boss Band: Ghetto Rainbow
Just a solo artist, but that doesn't mean she should be underestimated. The sound is admittedly rathe unique, but whether it's to everyones' tastes remains to be seen.

Suga Shaniqua, a pop princess/urban diva looking for employment at the Flow-n-Go Bar. What she lacks in musical skill, she far makes up for in DELICIOUS CHOCOLATE BOOTY. This makes her rather popular - provided she doesn't start singing. Her microphone is attached to a set of blinged-out Brass Knuckles; so she really packs a punch. If she thinks she's winning, she'll finish it with the 'Suga Rush'. In which case you can just kiss your butt goodbye.
Station: Hip-Hop, Dance Influences
Instrument: 'One-Two, One-Two' MicrophoneKnuckles

Boss Band:
We know next to nothing about this band, except one thing. At least one of it's members is Death. Yeah, I'm scared too.

Soul Shinigami (A.K.A. Opereaper); the Groovy Grim Reaper, a Funky Fiend with powers over death. Not a whole lot is known about this entity - mostly because those who encounter Soul tend to die horribly. No, I don't mean Silenced; they actually DIE. It's baritone voice is a real killer. Really real.
Station: Classical, Jazz Influences
Instrument:

Locations
Oratoria is a large, and diverse place, with many sights and features; both natural and human-influenced. Explore everywhere and make discoveries both musically and geographically!

Bakersfield Suburbs
Home to Airon Shayne. It’s a small area, with only a couple of residential buildings; but it has a cafe/grocers, a general store, and a high-school. The university is in Folk City, to the south. To the north are the Bluegrass Hills. A bus route runs through the area, and can take you to a couple of locations in the vicinity, but if you want to leave the province; you’re going to have to find your own mode of transport.

Folk City
As cities go, it’s pretty low-scale. It has all the amenities you’d want or need; it’s just not done in a particularly flash manor. Hey, it’s not like it matters; the residents are nice enough. Although recently there’s been something of a crime wave, with small gangs surfacing here and there. They might be good targets to practice wielding your Instruments on.

Bluegrass Hills
Gentle, sloping grassland, completely un-ironically tinted blue. That’s the nature of Station Energy for you. You can take the main road that runs through it to get to the next town, or take a side-road, and leave the province. It’s a popular meeting place for rookie Wave Warriors, so you won’t be alone (or out of practice).

Swing City
An expansive mass of concrete and skyscrapers, home to some of the snazziest entertainment venues this side of Oratoria. You won’t want to pass up visiting the Gambit Stave Casino, where you will surely be parted from your troubles. And your wallet. Hey, it was weighing you down, anyway.

East Coast
A stretch of buildings, parks, and temples in a pleasant maritime setting. The town’s people have a tradition of sending a vessel out into the world, so he or she can impart the wise knowledge of their people to others. No one has ‘failed’ in this task per-se, but none of the candidates they send out return. Where on earth do they all go?

Candlemass
To say the general feel of this town was ‘morose’ would be something of an understatement. All of the residents you’ll run into (that is, the ones that care enough to venture out into the sunlight) will be some of the most depressed-looking people you’ll ever meet. They have a well-developed sense of style and comfort, however. There’s a large range of shopping facilities and restaurants, a couple of their fashion labels have taken nearby cities by storm, and the apartments (no standalone houses here. It’s high-rise or the highway, my friend) redefine ‘luxury’.

[A Forgotten Legend]

"Member 06:
Instrument: Viols"

Do you mean Violin/Viola/Violoncello?

This is an amazing concept I wish you the best of luck! ^^.

[GrooveMan.exe]

Wikipedia tells me that 'Viols' is the blanket term for all instruments in the same family as the Violin, so yes, you'r right.

And thank you, I really do hope to turn this idea into a reality.

[aboutasoandthis]

You have no idea how much I wanted to do something like this! I LOVE IT!

[GrooveMan.exe]

I also did an in-battle sprite for Airon, although I'm not sure if RG maker does PC chars of this size...


I haven't made any weapon designs, so he's unarmed. D=

[Prpl_Mage]

I suppose that it would be a bit too large for the ordinary battle chars(But I don't know which maker you're using) but it will fit into a battle animation(Rpgm2k3) like Bluhman did in The Alpha Force.

Good luck with this, sounds interesting.

[GrooveMan.exe]

I'm using 2k3 also. If it's too large, I'm sure it wouldn't hurt shaving off a few pixels here and there.

On a slightly off-topic note, I thought I'd give Alpha Force a spin to get a good idea of how RM worked, and I'm pretty damn sold on using this over RPG maker. Bluhman's scripting made me groan, however. :V

[lilsniffs3]

Sounds awesome.

[Dominicy]

Sounds alot like a few games I've played/heard of.  Which ones, I'm not sure.  Either way, other than Pong, this is the most original game evar.

[GrooveMan.exe]

OH SHI- MORE ENEMIES

Enemy: Cymbalina (Tambourina)
Wielding her instruments with deadly grace and beauty, the Cymbalina foe subverts her opponents with dainty dance moves, then follows up with a super-sharp CymbalChakram attack. If you want to survive, you're gonna want to stop her from dancing. Any misgivings you may have about hitting girls may hold you back... Her big sister, Tambourina, is also one to watch out for.
Station: Dance, Rock Influences
Instrument: CymbalChakram (TambourineChakram)

Enemy: Mr. Mariachi
There's no time for a siesta when fighting this jolly gent - completely true to the Latin Station, this guy hits for high damage with his Maraca-Tonfas. He'll try to boost his attack before landing a blow sure to send your Volume packing. There has to be a way to turn his sheer attack mentality against him...
Station: Latin
Instrument: Maraca-Tonfas

Enemy: Tricksta
Not everyone in Oratoria wields an instrument as a weapon - some use even stranger items. Take the Tricksta, for example; who abuses and ensares his foes with a razor-edged Yo-yo. He lacks a Station (He doesn't play an instrument, but his musical preferences give him some slight resistances), but that doesn't make him a Pushover by any means. A well-aimed shot can incapacitate a Band Member easily.
Station: N/A (Slight resistance to Dance)
Weapon (Not Instrument, hurr): 'Bleedin' Edge' Yo-yo

Enemy: Home Run Thug
The Varsity Baseball team has gone bad. Having spent all their funds on sporting equipment (and purchasing illegal steriods), they don't have the cash to buy Battle Instruments. Instead, they fall back on their set of re-enforced Baseball Bats. A hit from one would hurt a whole lot, but thankfully most lack the strength and speed to cause too much damage. Using projectile attacks would be ill-advised; they'll smash 'em right back at you!
Station: N/A (Slight resistance to Jazz)
Weapon: 'Bases Loaded' Aluminium Bat

Enemy: Nosegrind Thug
A very clique group of individuals, NG Thugs don't warm kindly to anyone on their turf. Thing is, they consider EVERYWHERE as their turf. The skateboards they ride make them swifter than most; it'll be an effort to outspeed them. That said, a good hit will knock them to the ground; a sitting duck for your well-composed punishment.
Station: N/A (Slight resistance to Rock)
Weapon: 'Shred Devil' Skateboard

Enemy: Fashionista
A mobile phone in one hand, a multitude of rings and bracelets wrapped around the other; the Fashionista is always in the know. Whether she is actually stylish is a different matter. Being so involved in the fashion world, she's developed a very sharp tongue. So sharp, she can use it as a weapon. Indeed, her insults take physical form, and claw away at your self-confidence (and volume). However, she's not especially resilient, so hit her hard before she cusses you on your hairstyle.
Station: N/A (Some resistance to Hip-Hop)
Weapon: 'Silver Server' Sharp Tongue

Boss Band: Ghetto Rainbow
Just a solo artist, but that doesn't mean she should be underestimated. The sound is admittedly rathe unique, but whether it's to everyones' tastes remains to be seen.

Suga Shaniqua
A pop princess/urban diva looking for employment at the Flow-n-Go Bar. What she lacks in musical skill, she far makes up for in DELICIOUS CHOCOLATE BOOTY. This makes her rather popular - provided she doesn't start singing. Her microphone is attached to a set of blinged-out Brass Knuckles; so she really packs a punch. If she thinks she's winning, she'll finish it with the 'Suga Rush'. In which case you can just kiss your butt goodbye.
Station: Hip-Hop, Dance Influences
Instrument: 'One-Two, One-Two' MicrophoneKnuckles

Boss Band:
We know next to nothing about this band, except one thing. At least one of it's members is Death. Yeah, I'm scared too.

Soul Shinigami (A.K.A. Opereaper)
The Groovy Grim Reaper, a Funky Fiend with powers over death. Not a whole lot is known about this entity - mostly because those who encounter Soul tend to die horribly. No, I don't mean Silenced; they actually DIE. It's baritone voice is a real killer. Really real.
Station: Classical, Jazz Influences
Instrument:

I'd love to show you some spritework, but doing the tileset is taking AGES, and I've not even really started on any character sets yet. ;_;

[Red Fox]

Sounds sweet. All the luck to you and I hope you finish it.

[Moosetroop11]

Really cool. Anything that's heavily rooted in the music has my vote.

Just make sure you know how much work you're letting yourself in for.

[ZeroKirbyX]

I dig. I dig I dig I dig I dig I dig I dig I dig I dig I dig I dig I dig I dig.

[Ben]

sounds freakin awesome.

Please find a place for metal

[GrooveMan.exe]

Originally posted by Moosetroop11
Really cool. Anything that's heavily rooted in the music has my vote.

Just make sure you know how much work you're letting yourself in for.

I'm relatively aware of the groundwork I have to do for this, but IMO, once I get some kind of a system going, it should be a lot easier. The hard part now is just finishing up the initial sprites I'm using. :V

Originally posted by ZeroKirbyX
I dig. I dig I dig I dig I dig I dig I dig I dig I dig I dig I dig I dig I dig.

I'M DIGGIN' IT
I'M DIGGIN' IT
I'M DIGGIN' IT
(Man, The World Ends With You is my new favourite game)

Originally posted by gemini
sounds freakin awesome.

Please find a place for metal

Due to logical constraints in the number of main stations I can have, Metal goes under the Rock Station, as it would do. The Boss Band (and Keith Steelmaw's ex-Band) Screamin' Typhoon is a metalcore band. :3