Hey! Recently I released some concept art for a new video game idea I'm working on (I plan to send it in to Square Enix.)

 

I wanted to get your guys' opinion on something.

 

Seeing as how the game uses a turn based style battle system, I wanted to incorporate a gimmick that would make grinding more fun. What I came up with is the "Critical Cursor."

 

What this means is that when you select the "Attack" command, a picture of the X button will appear on screen. If you look at the pictures below, you'll notice that there is a small part of the X button that is shaded in blue. If you hit the X button just as the cursor is on top of it, you'll release a critical attack. At first, the critical gauge is small, but as you level up it will increase in size. By level 99, it will take up around 1/20 of the area as opposed to Level 1 only taking up around 1/100 of the area. For reference, it's a lot like the rhythm game in Atlantica in Kingdom Hearts 2.

 

I think that this would make level grinding a bit more fun. What about you?

I'm also considering doing a similar gimmick for using a magic command, but I haven't decided what I want to do yet

Edited July 15, 201510 yr by DaxovanHearts

Wow, this is pretty neat!  I really love how you're digging in on the aspects of your game, from concept art to gameplay!  I'm very impressed!  And you know, this little gimmick you demonstrated could prove to be a fun feature in the battle system!  I, for one, totally like it!  When you have more updates on your game, please let us all know!

I think a game called Legend of Dragoon had a similar style battle system. I've only played the first 20 minutes of it so I'm not sure how similar it is to this. Anything to make level grinding less of a pain is more than welcome though!

One thing that could make level grinding more fun, or at least more bearable, is to have battles play out quickly. No long transitions into and out of battle, menu selection should be fluid, music shouldn't get old and tedious (I'd say throw in the option to change the battle music, maybe as a reward for completing a quest or something), when you pick an action it should be performed right away so as to keep the pace up and not have the battle drag on. I feel like this way the only thing that could slow down battles would be the players own level, so once they raise their stats accordingly battles will run a lot smoother.  

I think a game called Legend of Dragoon had a similar style battle system. I've only played the first 20 minutes of it so I'm not sure how similar it is to this. Anything to make level grinding less of a pain is more than welcome though!

One thing that could make level grinding more fun, or at least more bearable, is to have battles play out quickly. No long transitions into and out of battle, menu selection should be fluid, music shouldn't get old and tedious (I'd say throw in the option to change the battle music, maybe as a reward for completing a quest or something), when you pick an action it should be performed right away so as to keep the pace up and not have the battle drag on. I feel like this way the only thing that could slow down battles would be the players own level, so once they raise their stats accordingly battles will run a lot smoother.  

That's actually a great idea. Did you watch the KH3 trailer for E3 2015? I'm thinking of a quick battle transition just like it is at 1:12 - 1:15 here. 

That's actually a great idea. Did you watch the KH3 trailer for E3 2015? I'm thinking of a quick battle transition just like it is at 1:12 - 1:15 here. 

Yep I saw it and if turn based RPG's could adapt quick transitions from normal gameplay to combat as shown in the KH3 E3 2015 trailer then I think level grinding would definitely become less of a chore. It doesn't even have to be as fast as the transition from the trailer, just so long as it's not drawn out. Of course loading times play a factor in this as well so if the transition can't be near instant then I'd say at least focus on making the battles run smoothly by keeping menus simple and easy to navigate and have characters perform their actions right after the player chooses them.