Author Topic: Mistborn as a Video Game  (Read 42408 times)

Ledgem

  • Level 1
  • *
  • Posts: 4
  • Fell Points: 0
  • Bow to ledgem, god of darkness
    • View Profile
Re: Mistborn as a Video Game
« Reply #15 on: September 02, 2007, 09:05:12 PM »
Whoa, It's been nearly a year since I came here after finishing Mistborn... (in the middle of the 2nd one, Still really great, I just really miss a certain character ;_;

I thought a lot about this as a game, and really, if anything it would have to be an action adventure where you get to control multiple characters at different times, or have different modes for each or something. If it was based on the book, easy. Completely new story based somewhere in the Mistborn world, well, that'd depend on a lot of things.

Strength power is easy to add in, senses are easy too. The amount of buttons to use everything though would be enormous 0_0 and it would take a lot of skill to be able to keep your metalsburning in the middle of a fight, flaring when needed, saving them when needed, using the right push/pull at the right time, using emotion abilities in certain situations when an enemy is "weal minded", copper cloud and the sensing one... Atium wouldn't work if it had a multiplayer (who doesn't want to have a full blown mistborn battle in the city at night?) but could be used easily in singleplayer perposes, and some other metals like aluminum could be "trap metals" you can find (you could find metals as you play, and at certain points "reveal" what they are but you could still use them without "revealing" them) and the first new on from MB2 could EASILY implement Final Attack like things.

I say meh to pure RPG style, Mistborn is WAY more than that.
"There is always another secret" Kelsier, Survivor of hathsin
Bow to ledgem, God of darkness

EUOL

  • Moderator
  • Level 58
  • *
  • Posts: 4708
  • Fell Points: 33
  • Mr. Prolific [tm]
    • View Profile
    • Brandon Sanderson dot com
Re: Mistborn as a Video Game
« Reply #16 on: September 03, 2007, 06:47:35 AM »
Ha!  Thanks for stopping by again to say hi.  Glad you're enjoying the book.

Video game talks never went anywhere on this.  I'd still like to do one someday, but we'll have to see what happens.  I agree with you, though.  Straight RPG would be a poor choice here. 
http://www.BrandonSanderson.com

"Technically, I don't even have a brain."--Fellfrosch

demented_yam

  • Level 2
  • **
  • Posts: 24
  • Fell Points: 0
    • View Profile
Re: Mistborn as a Video Game
« Reply #17 on: September 05, 2007, 08:43:15 PM »
First off: don't be too eager to see a good book  in VG form.

Anyone here play the Wheel of Time video game?

yeah.


the magic system doesn't exactly lend itself well to a controller.

Imagine running along, halo style, with a videogame controller in your hand.  you see an enemy ahead of you, and press the "Steel/iron" button.  a dozen blue lines appear on the screen.  you want to pull on the one attached to the target's sword.

right now, as you are reading this, put your hands in front of you and try to imagine the complexity in the controls of trying to select a single blue line out of the dozen.  would you use the stick to select it on the screen?  would you use the right and left shoulder buttons to cycle through all of them?

now imagine doing it in combat, where you have a split second to burn the metals, select the thread, push the "pull" button, and react to the outcome.

this is assuming the most intuitive control scheme, where the left/ right sticks are for moving/looking, the d-pad is for burning/deactivating different metals (grouped in twos: the metal and its alloy) A/B are for pushing/pulling the current activated metal, and X/Y are for "jump" and "ready a coin"

if you can think of a better control scheme, tell me.

unless this will be made for the wii, where the point& click interface makes  it natural, but you would run out of buttons to assign things to very, very quickly.


the MMORPG is pretty much right out, unless you don't mind destroying the world you've created and replacing it with one where 1/3 of the population is mistborn.  do you really think the players would choose anything else?  the other 2/3 would be (presumably) hazekillers and Inquisitors.

last thing: atium in multiplayer? impossible.  in singleplayer, it would work a lot like bullet-time, but atium is supposed to tell you what will happen in the very near future.  the only way for the computer to know that (and display it to you) is if it's just for NPC's


[edit] this might sound a bit disparaging, and don't get me wrong: I'd love to see a good Mistborn videogame, but don't be too optimistic.  the magic system is incredibly complicated to convert to a playable form, and in the end, I'd rather see no videogame than a bad videogame
« Last Edit: September 05, 2007, 08:45:43 PM by demented_yam »

GnosisPhoenix

  • Level 1
  • *
  • Posts: 4
  • Fell Points: 0
    • View Profile
Re: Mistborn as a Video Game
« Reply #18 on: September 06, 2007, 04:06:49 AM »
I got into Mistborn when I worked for Barnes & Noble.  Since my departure from the company I moved on to greener pastures.
At the Art Institute Online, as an employee.
I can see if any of the students I have spoken to who are nearing graduation have read your work (and if they haven't, make it a requirement for the degree...   ;) ) and I can also see if anyone in the career services department can give me some contacts that may be able to move the process along.
Even if all these possibilities fall through, I'm about halfway through my game art and design degree, and if you haven't gotten a game in the works by the time I graduate, I'll design it for you myself.   ;D

Serif

  • Level 1
  • *
  • Posts: 8
  • Fell Points: 0
    • View Profile
Re: Mistborn as a Video Game
« Reply #19 on: January 09, 2008, 04:53:37 AM »
Mistborn would make an awesome game in my mind a third person action adventure ( assassins creed ect) it would be good for x box 360 like this
use right bumper and triger for iron/steel
A jumps, B selects your coinbag, X  physical attack, Y action ( grab, open, ect)
left bumper flares, left trigger for pewter
press  L thumb stick for atium if you have it R thumstick for Dhurilium ( my books are with my friend)
D pad L and R allows you to use your emotional powers - which become a quick minigame
Bronze is your warning system that enemy allowmancers are nearby
D pad Down raises your Coppercloud, D pad Up  allows you to use Tin
RPG element of EXP comes in for your control of your powers ( Zane has alot of EXP in iron and steel evidenced when he floats above the coin a few feet off the ground) and your ability fight doing more damege ect also with skills  ( DnD or WoD based preferably with other skills needed for this world)

MMO would be fine but people would have to be only Mistings other wise it would be unconsistent with the mistborn world for thare to be somany mistborn's running around i think City of Heroes/Villains is a more suitable basis for Mistborn and have Mistborn and Feruchamcers as the reward classes ( like warbringer's ) and if it does goe MMO it'd have to be online and the LV system/ XP system would have to be more or less like what i've stated above

VegasDev

  • Level 10
  • *
  • Posts: 395
  • Fell Points: 1
    • View Profile
Re: Mistborn as a Video Game
« Reply #20 on: January 09, 2008, 09:28:54 PM »
This one keeps popping up from time to time so I thought I would give my 2 cents.

My game development team and I have discussed at length the possibilities of Mistborn in video game form, which has been an interesting conversation to say the least. There are so many hurdles in game development the way it is, trying to make one based upon a popular book series can be a difficult endeavor.

Wheel of Time failed miserably, however there were many underlying factors. First, the release coincided with HUGELY popular FPS game titles in Unreal and Quake. Second, most people were expecting to relive the books but instead were transported 150 years before the books started. Third, there were just too many inaccuracies compared to the books. One thing we know, Robert Jordan fans know those books in and out and any discrepancy stuck out like a sore thumb. Despite the failings of the game, many gaming websites consider it a very good albeit underrated title.

Refocusing on Mistborn, there are three primary concerns with regards to the book in video game form.

First, but possibly least important, is what genre to develop the game under. The ultimate goal of the video game is to tell the story, which can be done in any of the game genres using cut scenes, quests, etc. In our opinion, Action-Adventure>Shooter>3rd Person Perspective was the logical choice, very similar to Assassins Creed.

Second, the decision needs to be made whether the game should follow the book, or just take place in the game world. Do you play Zelda for Hyrule or to solve puzzles as Link and rescue the princess? The great thing about Mistborn is that the storyline lends itself extremely well to mission/quest based levels. 90% of the game would be about starting the house wars, whether by eavesdropping/emotionally manipulating subjects to gather intel or breaking into the houses to cause discord. We don’t hear about all of Kelsier’s actions, so this would leave room to add missions to increase gameplay time.

Third, the most important concern is obviously the controls. Without proper controls, the game would be difficult or unplayable and draw the player out of the game world. I bought 8 copies of Mistborn for the rest of the team mainly so they could get a sense for how gameplay should feel. Those of us that have finished the books have discussed controls and have come up with a partial solution but continue discussions while we await input from the rest.

<<Continued>>
Now you've got all the ones with beards on one side and all the
moustaches on the other.

VegasDev

  • Level 10
  • *
  • Posts: 395
  • Fell Points: 1
    • View Profile
Re: Mistborn as a Video Game
« Reply #21 on: January 09, 2008, 09:30:30 PM »
<<Continued>>

Lets look at the metal pairs to decide which ones are necessary in a video game setting.

Brass
Zinc

Except in specialized missions, emotional alomancy is useless in a video game world. Perhaps you might use it to force an opponent to attack recklessly or put them on the defensive, but Brandon didn’t mention it much in the book regarding combat so why add it to a game.

Bronze
Copper

With emotional alomancy essentially removed from the game, Copperclouding would be automatic whenever you burn any other metal. You could make the case for Bronze being a controllable ability, but in the game world, it would be automatic. Think of it as more of a targeting feature where you would ‘see’ outlines of people behind walls or off in the distance that you must pursue.

Pewter
Tin

How do you emulate touch, smell and taste in a video game? Tin would probably only be controllable in intel based missions and in normal missions would be automatic for sight, hearing, etc. For pewterarms, a rule system accessible through the menu could be created for automatic control. Rules might be stop burning when stationary more than 2 seconds, flare when attacking, jumping, landing, etc.

Atium
Electrum

Electrum is not even mentioned in MB1, possibly not until the 3rd book. Atium is basically bullet time. Fighting another person burning Atium would just throw out a bunch of ghosts that make it more difficult to see the opponent. If you allowed multiplayer, the person not burning Atium would just have their game slow down like if you were playing a game with thousands of people in front of you, but you wouldn’t be able to look at the ground to speed up the computer.

Gold
Malatium

Gold is only used once and Malatium twice so why include them in the game at all? They would be more useful in a cut scene than anything.


Aluminum
Duralumin

Aluminum only used once and wouldn’t want to be incorporated into the game anyway. Who would want to accidently burn up all of their metals? Duralumin isn’t mentioned until book 2.

Steel
Iron

No need to mention these, they are used on almost every page of the book.

So after breaking them down, you would have full control over Steel, Iron and Atium, manage rules for Pewter, unique missions for Tin, Brass and Zinc and everything else would be fully automatic or cut scene material.

<<Continued>>
Now you've got all the ones with beards on one side and all the
moustaches on the other.

VegasDev

  • Level 10
  • *
  • Posts: 395
  • Fell Points: 1
    • View Profile
Re: Mistborn as a Video Game
« Reply #22 on: January 09, 2008, 09:31:35 PM »
<<Continued>>
Using an Xbox 360 controller as a reference, you could map Atium to Y, Directional movement to LS, Kick/Punch to X, Coinshot to A, Knives to B. The right stick would handle which way the character is turned as well as the direction of the push and pulls. You would then break down Steel and Iron to moveable/immoveable objects mapped to left and right triggers/buttons. There would be few moveable objects to keep things easy and immoveable objects would not be seen, using ray casting collision detection instead.

So when I want to fly through the air, I would pull the right trigger and push the right stick in the direction I want to go, which would actually, ray cast in the opposite direction at an angle relative to the amount the stick is moved between 0 and 45 degrees. Since I am ray casting, it would only push if it collided with anything within a certain range. So if I was facing off the side of a building and jumped off of it trying to push on immovable objects in front of me, nothing would work until I was close to the ground or got nearer to another building.

Pushing and pulling on objects would be similar, in that the directional stick controls the area I am pulling/pushing, however if I pull on an object and then push, it would push on the last object I pulled to lessen the confusion.

Now, after stating all of this I must also note that we are only entertaining the idea of a Mistborn video game at this time and while we have started the process of modeling characters and the game world, we pretty much concentrate on our other projects that keep us in business. Who knows what the future holds, there’s always another secret.

<<Finished>>
Now you've got all the ones with beards on one side and all the
moustaches on the other.

Serif

  • Level 1
  • *
  • Posts: 8
  • Fell Points: 0
    • View Profile
Re: Mistborn as a Video Game
« Reply #23 on: January 10, 2008, 03:06:21 AM »
wow... i just got ownd...dam...at least i was on track...
what company you work for??

badmrpotatohead

  • Level 2
  • **
  • Posts: 15
  • Fell Points: 0
    • View Profile
Re: Mistborn as a Video Game
« Reply #24 on: January 10, 2008, 05:46:21 AM »
I second that, what company you work for?  Ive worked on and off several times with Ensemble Studios and a bit with Big Huge Games, both in QA, playtest, and design, but after making a few inquiriries neither comapny is in the market right now for anything like this....well thought out though so far, kudos!

The Holy Saint, Grand High Poobah, Master of Monkeys, Ehlers

  • Administrator
  • Level 96
  • *****
  • Posts: 19211
  • Fell Points: 17
  • monkeys? yes.
    • View Profile
    • herb's world
Re: Mistborn as a Video Game
« Reply #25 on: January 10, 2008, 01:58:01 PM »
Brass
Zinc

Except in specialized missions, emotional alomancy is useless in a video game world. Perhaps you might use it to force an opponent to attack recklessly or put them on the defensive, but Brandon didn’t mention it much in the book regarding combat so why add it to a game.

I disagree. THere are several ways to incorporate it. One is to use it like Force mind tricks in games like Jedi Outcast. Thats if you're going for an action/fps style game like JO was. If you instead make it an RPG, you could use it in conversations. NWN2 had some good examples with their "conversation" skills (Diplomacy, Bluff, Intimidate).

Jhaeli

  • Level 3
  • ***
  • Posts: 41
  • Fell Points: 0
  • Oh the weather outside is frightful...
    • View Profile
Re: Mistborn as a Video Game
« Reply #26 on: January 10, 2008, 03:19:56 PM »
You must've heard of Bioware and the way they add dialogue to their RPGs - actually, they're one of my favourite developers.

At the same time, I completely agree with making it similar to Assassin's Creed; I'm an RPG kind of gal, but I really really love that game. The one thing lacking was the dialogue. You didn't have much input in it.

I think even if you were playing a character from the story, there are ways to have different dialogue options [including influencing through brass and zinc]. For example - you could try to convince a group of Skaa guards to convert (later in the game, obviously) by playing with their emotions. Or you could try to push a group of Skaa to join the rebellion. There's lots of ways that I think those two metals could fit in, in specialized situations, rather than a regular attack.

Looking at influence, persuasion, etc. in games like Neverwinter Nights or Knights of the Old Republic, as an example.
"My task which I am trying to achieve is, by the power of the written word to make you hear, to make you feel - it is, before all, to make you see." - Joseph Conrad

VegasDev

  • Level 10
  • *
  • Posts: 395
  • Fell Points: 1
    • View Profile
Re: Mistborn as a Video Game
« Reply #27 on: January 10, 2008, 06:18:49 PM »
I have worked for a handfull of game development houses but I don't want to get into specifics for reasons. *Edit: Removed information.

Currently, I program automation systems because I can put one up in an hour and still make bank. This helps fund a game development 'company' that I and several others created and are currently in a development cycle. Our modelers have pretty much run out of deadlines on our current project, so we have them modeling from character sketches for Mistborn. If nothing else, the models can be used in a differnt game or sold.
« Last Edit: January 16, 2008, 06:24:47 PM by VegasDev »
Now you've got all the ones with beards on one side and all the
moustaches on the other.

VegasDev

  • Level 10
  • *
  • Posts: 395
  • Fell Points: 1
    • View Profile
Re: Mistborn as a Video Game
« Reply #28 on: January 10, 2008, 06:36:20 PM »
I disagree. THere are several ways to incorporate it. One is to use it like Force mind tricks in games like Jedi Outcast. Thats if you're going for an action/fps style game like JO was. If you instead make it an RPG, you could use it in conversations. NWN2 had some good examples with their "conversation" skills (Diplomacy, Bluff, Intimidate).

We considered conversations falling under specialized missions and a definite part of the gaming experience. Many developers just sprinkle in conversations to move the story along etc. but we feel (at least most of us) that conversations can and should be a very large part of the gaming experience. We consider them missions because manipulating emotions can have both positive and negative permanent outcomes. You could compromise your position as a mistborn trying to overthrow the Lord Ruler, cause the NPC to attack/ignore you, progress the storyline or even unlock secret content.
Now you've got all the ones with beards on one side and all the
moustaches on the other.

Serif

  • Level 1
  • *
  • Posts: 8
  • Fell Points: 0
    • View Profile
Re: Mistborn as a Video Game
« Reply #29 on: January 11, 2008, 05:45:30 AM »
KoTOR + Assassins Creed = AWESOME and mistborn is just the setting for such a game i think it would be fun to play a story that parallels the book series and has some references to the books ( getting info from a scraggely bearded skaa in the middle of the night by a fountain, discovering a spike way to a random noble's house in a nearby city, rumors of the survivors) things like that like if you've read the books you'll get the references
 rioting/soothing in combat would be fun like rioting things like suspision and distrust in your foes while soothing away their calmness and self confadence if no one else makes this game I will ( provided i get permisoin from the right people) if a compony wont let me ill start my own