Audi famam illius - IMPORTANT GAME DISCUSSION

[mansionstaff]

Smash Academy has, for about seven years, been known as a school-setting game. The mods have discussed extensively options for the game's future and what directions it can go in to reflect its current state. We would like to introduce that to you and get your feedback. The pathway Smash Academy can take, is ultimately up to the playerbase, so be honest about what you want and what you think would hold your interest.

As Smash Academy ages, it is evident that it is losing focus on the things that defined it a 'school setting' to begin with. Class logs have become less frequently utilized, we're missing social cliques (jocks versus band geeks, for example), and other 'school' elements like the student council and overall feel of an educational institute. Sometimes there is difficulty incorporating certain "character types" easily into a school setting. Consequently, we're proposing moving said focus away from a school atmosphere and onto something new.

Introducing Smash Manor / Chateau / Mansion / etc.
We propose the concept of an excessively large mansion on the floating island. As you might recall, the Isle of the Ancients was introduced late summer 2014 and has been present since. By doing this, we can continue to hold many of the very popular events like dances, festivals, dormitory logs, blind dates, and kissing / memory mistletoe just as they have been. We would be eliminating events such as graduation and prom, but can easily substitute other appropriate celebrations in their place.



This does not mean we would outright eliminate the academy on the ground. We could leave that present and people looking to satisfy the occasional urge for school antics would be able to do so in either an entirely new and additional dressing room, or in the one we are currently using (which might be better in the long run).

Getting to FDC and its various shops, the contest hall, the bars, and so on, could potentially be relocated to a nearby floating island and become convenient for characters to reach, whereas traveling to the academy itself on the ground would be more difficult (in an effort to more effectively shift our focus off of a school setting).

Topics of Discussion

• Questions: what it says on the tin.
• State of the Mansion: how the mansion and living arrangements could be.
• A Whole New World: how the surrounding area and game environment could be.
• Event & Plot Lotteries: player submitted events (ala the game plotting thread in personals, only better organized).
• Challenge Mode: introducing new ways to spice up your rp, and get rewards and perks for it.
• Game Names: the name of the game is important!

Take some time to think about where you want to see Smash Academy go in the future years. Let us know how you want the game to evolve and change.

Comments

A DAZZLING PLACE I NEVER KNEEEEW

[raw_angel_power]

I was really appreciating some of the backstory elements that were being dug up about Smash's past recently, so maybe we could keep those while reworking them into the new school-deemphasized setting? I'm mostly curious about what the big point is in bringing smashers to this world. Why does Master Hand invite them here?* Is it just to watch them duke it out, or is there a greater underlying purpose that isn't immediately obvious? When it was a school, the reason Smash Academy came into existence was to train smashers to become ultimate fighters because of some war that took place- I think it was Subspace Emissary. Correct me if I'm wrong or not remembering right for any of this.

I think all of that should still be incorporated as far as mysteries go, though with less of a 'this is a school for getting stronger.' Instead, we need to take out the school from that sentence. 'This is a _____ for becoming a better smasher.' Probably not, 'This is a mansion for becoming a better smasher'. It has to be something else. The mansion seems to be mainly a living arrangement, or a key aspect of the setting.

My main concern is, 'so how does smashing fit into all of this? After all, this is a Smash Brothers-based game!'

It might be cool to have tournaments for our characters to work towards. Really big and sensationalized tournaments where everyone in FDC can see it being broadcasted. These would be a staple of the game. I don't know how often these can happen, but it should be done at a frequency everyone is comfortable with. My thought is starting it out bi-annually and adjusting depending on how well it works out. Of course, it's a completely optional event, but still a really big deal. And not just tournaments, but other broadcasted contests. Or... non-broadcasted contests. If motivation for characters to stay is an issue, then maybe the reward for becoming a tournament champion is SUPER HUGE. Oh look, you won your own private island. Not into that? What about a cash prize that's ENOUGH to buy you your own private island? Or maybe you can go all genie on this and they get a wish granted. Any wish. See back for details.

That said, it makes me wonder how FDC fits into this, and how the smashers' relationship to the city as a whole is. I personally perceive it being that smashers are almost like celebrities, or by being a smasher it denotes a measure of prestige among the commonfolk. Kind of like... major sports players who also happened to save their world? Not like, royalty or anything, but depending on how successful the character is or whether they're like, MARIO or someone big-name like that it makes them seem REALLY COOL to your regular old goomba joe. I'm curious about other people's thoughts regarding their status in the city.

I ALSO PERSONALLY THINK FDC SHOULD BE WITHIN EASY ACCESS OF THE MANSION BUT THAT'S MAINLY SO THEY HAVE MORE TO DO WITHOUT NEEDING TO WARP OR MIGRATE OR WHAT HAVE YOU. FDC should still be an important element in the game.

I also thought about a kind of 'tier' system like you see in the tournament community. It seems a bit risky to implement, though, because while it would be really interesting to see IC drama arise when characters are placed into a rank and given different privileges and status (better rooms than lesser tiers, more concessions, more fans, etc.) because of it, there's a high chance that if not done carefully, it can give rise to... OOC drama. Which is not what anyone wants. Still, I think it's worth considering. IF anyone is into this, it can be based off something like individual performance in Smash events. Thoughts? This is a very underdeveloped idea, but it has potential to make things interesting.

*Also, maybe we should address how people arrive to Smash. Do they have to be invited by letter? Magically poofed? Maybe it's seen as an honor?

MORE FOOD FOR THOUGHT: I'm very interested in having focus be given to character movesets, their final smashes, etc. Or customizing their stats, kind of like what was implemented in SSB4. Kind of like ye olde Smash Fundamentals, before I was even around. Maybe a character doesn't think their current setup is working out, so they rework it from the ground up and try new strategies to win in the next tournament? Personally, I think building these sorts of things would be fun, especially for those who don't have a preexisting moveset and want to consider how their character might work if they were in the new Smash Brothers game. Of course, this can also be a completely optional thing that you only have to do if you care about it enough. Forcing it on people is just lame.

I hope I'm making sense. I have a headache that is making me completely delirious. I feel like I still have more to say but can't formulate them into connecting paragraphs. If it doesn't, please harass me until the cows come home.

[alouest]

this is all pretty much what i wanted to bring up!

my only real disagreement is with the tier system, because i definitely think it could give way to a lot of unbalancing issues. instead, maybe we can think of it similarly to smash run? there are no tiers, but characters can do things and earn collectibles to power themselves and their gear. whether they're pieces of equipment, power summons, or strange tokens that, when touched, add to your strength? they can be temporary or permanent, depending on the situation.

SMASH RUN, THOUGH, THINK OF THE POSSIBILITIES THERE. what if we had those in-between tournaments for smashers to 'train' themselves, to get stronger and fight for little money prizes at the end of each smash run? in a way, everyone wins! you get stronger, you kick ass, you chew bubblegum, and you might make a nice sum of cash!

otherworldly doors outside of smash run would be another neat thing to implement, i think. random doors that lead to random places, even some that are just interdimensional islands with treasure like in smash run, or some that lead to undiscovered caves and archipelagos. wouldn't that be cool?

[icequeen_aran]

That's a really cool concept! If we do something like smash run I think it would be best if they were temporary items, if only for the sake of paperwork-keeping. It'd be a lot to ask like, players to keep a page in their journal listing this and that and time to update it and oh no you get screwed if you forgot this thing. Same thing on our end.

Really cool idea, though.

[icequeen_aran]

Yeah! I'm thinking the trophies could play a part! Maybe the trophies at as some kind of spirit totem and are the reason the characters get pulled in. That SSE actually happened in an alternate universe and the Hands created this school to train ~warriors for the future~ should that ever happen again. That the island is a relic from that time and now that it's here it's causing space/time to get all wonky weird and explains all the nexus happenings.

There are so many great ideas in here where to even start, these are all very exciting! I llllove love the idea of bringing SMASHING into this Smash Brothers game, though my only concern is: the fights themselves. I feel like roleplaying fight scenes is one of those RP weakspots for a lot of people that can easily become repetitive, tedious, or worst off, boring. Maybe this is something that can be worked out OOC or some combination of logging and handwaving. Maybe some combination of movesets/character stats/rewards can equate to a number and it comes down to a numbers battle. Or votes. Hmmmmmm. Something. Fair. And easy to understand.

I love the idea of fostering a bi-annual tournament. OR... this just popped in my head, the tournaments themselves can have themes, more than simple "fight to win". Could have the HACKER'S TOURNAMENT and get all the computer tech smart people in some hacker-styled battle royale. Or racing tournament for the speedsters. Something to appeal to those who are not necessarily battle hardened warrior types, I dunno.

And I love the idea of IC drama/character conflicts, but yes absolutely the OOC drama is the thing we want to avoid.

[butteroffdead]

Yeah, that's how I envisioned the trophies. They're kind of like amiibos, aren't they? Whenever I look at my amiibo, I can't help but think of it as though it has a life of its own inside in the form of data. When Master Hand scans HIS amiibos, they come to life! Except instead it's more like they were summoned from their world. They don't think of themselves as trophies or figurines that are part of a giant collection. Master Hand you hoarder.

Personally, I don't find fights boring or repetitive, but I understand I'm just one person with my own set of preferences. We could come up with a way to set up fights in a way that is more fun, like playing a game? Keeping track of damage, maybe involving a bit of dice-rolling, etc.; something involving that 'numbers game' you mentioned so it makes it favor those who have higher advantages in a certain aspect over others, but there is still a chance that the one with the disadvantage manages to overcome it (but with the exception of pre-arranged plots or player desires if they already talked it over and want things to go a certain way; those should override everything else). I think it would be neat to at least test something (in the DR?) if we can come up with a system that's balanced, not too complex, and fun! It can surely be handwaved if someone's not feeling up to it, and the match can be briefed over. And there can also be freestyle fights where there are no numbers involved and the players just run with it, sort of how we've been doing the entire time.

But yes, I wholeheartedly agree! I was thinking personally of things like Mario Kart tournaments, or other "mini-game" events that require different sets of skills. Sushi-eating contest like in Pokemon Stadium. But I think the whole culture of the place is based on: COMPETITION: FOR FUN AND GLORY! So there can definitely be other ways to compete- like Smash Run, yes, where characters run through labyrinths full of monsters to beef up their stats and get goodies then compete in the end, or we could even give Smash Run our own twist. As far as rewards go, maybe they should be more personal rewards, like a new weapon or even a Sprinkletown gift card?

I'm thinking we should abandon the idea of tier lists. Either that, or make them arbitrary and not heavily based on performance. It would stoke drama if someone thinks their character should be in a higher tier but people disagree with them, and then it's not worked out in a diplomatic manner. That's just an example I can think of. Another worry is it would add a layer of complexity no one really asked for.