In this documentation, we take a step further into the music creation for the Role-Playing Game (RPG) Mechanical Saga: Life’s Ultimate Gamble and its adaptive elements. After exploring dynamic implementation techniques in the previous semester, we now apply and tailor them to best serve the gameplay experience. Firstly it is crucial to understand the game’s concept and how it is played, which will be analyzed in this paper. After understanding the game, there is a better foundation on how to go about the music, what qualities it should have, also having in mind that it should ideally sound cohesive throughout the game, maintaining a sense of unity between different scenes.
What is the game about?
“Mechanical God Saga”is a video game that places a strong emphasis on storytelling, exploration and impactful consequences ofplayer choices. It blends key elements of both Japanese and WesternRPG’s, aiming to revolutionize both genres and craft an immersive experience.
The narrative seeks to explore the themes of totalitarianism, genetic mutation, and the clash between humanity and altered beings in a post-apocalyptic society. It delves into the nature of power, the impact of historical cataclysms, and the potential for coexistence amid oppression and prejudice.
Centuries after a devastating nuclear event, the remnants of humanity are trapped in a totalitarian society that has emerged from the ruins of their former civilization. Genetic mutations, stemming from the nuclear disaster and historical experiments, have given some insects and animals extraordinary abilities, enabling them to coexist with humans as equals.
Among humans, a specific gene continues to manifest, resulting in physical deformities such as wings or scarred skin, which society deems as demonic. This has led to persecution by the God Emperor, who seeks to enslave or exterminate these individuals as a religious campaign.
Amid this turmoil, a mysterious entity known as „The Mechanical God“ observes the unfolding events, while its presence and connection to the nuclear catastrophe remain enigmatic.
The narrative raises critical questions:
- What drives the God Emperor’s genocidal obsession?
- Can humans and these so-called demons ever achieve peaceful coexistence, or will one group always dominate the other?
- What dark secrets link the Mechanical God to the origins of the nuclear disaster and the current societal conflicts?
Through these inquiries, the story examines the possibility of overcoming deeply ingrained prejudices and the quest for truth in a world scarred by its past.
What is the goal of the gameplay?
As a Role-Playing Game, there is a significant emphasis on battles and the evolution of playable characters. The player is encouraged to continually enhance the fighting abilities of the characters, whether by exploring various scenarios to find better items and equipment or by manipulating the flow of battle to maximize gained experience.
Gameplay also serves the narrative (and vice versa) in the sense that the player will constantly have to make decisions, sometimes in dialogues but often in actions during battles, affecting how the game world reacts to the characters. Therefore, on the journey to becoming increasingly capable in battles, the player will inevitably have to decide what kind of character they are building and what actions they are willing to take to accumulate more power. These decisions will be, but not limited to, based on moral and interpersonal dilemmas, prompting the player to seek a balance between the moral compass envisioned for the main character and their insatiable quest for power: essential to overcome and surpass the challenges presented by the narrative.
How is it played?
There are different ways of interacting with the game:
- Exploration
The player will physically navigate the character through a series of interconnected scenarios filled with secrets and hidden optional paths. For players who prefer a more straightforward experience, there will be a linear path available to follow from beginning to end. However, players that take the time to explore and carefully consider clues presented through dialogue and visual context will be rewarded with unique items and abilities that, when used strategically, can significantly alter their gameplay experience.
- Dialogue and Decisions
Throughout the game, the player will encounter numerous opportunities to interact with other characters and the world by choosing from multiple options. These choices not only affect the overall narrative but also have an impact on how characters and the world react to the player. For example, consistently exhibiting aggressive behavior toward a faction will lead its members to share that information and respond with displeasure. This principle applies equally to villagers, city residents, and even allies.
- Battles
The game features a complex and challenging battle system. Battles occur in turns, with each character performing their action in sequence.
Unlike other games with more traditional turn-based systems, where battle interaction is limited to choosing options from a menu, in Mechanical God Saga, the player has the possibility to perform a sequence of inputs to maximize damage to the enemy. Similarly, when under attack, the player, by pressing the defense button at the exact moment the enemy attack hits, can defend themselves, reducing damage by 50%. Thus, actions in battle are interactive and dynamic.
When attacking, the player accumulates a combo counter. By successfully defending enemy attacks in their entirety, they can maintain the combo from turn to turn, increasing it each time. Increasing the combo also proportionally increases the damage the player inflicts on enemies. Consequently, by increasing the damage done with each action, the player also proportionally increases the experience points earned when executing their turn. In this way, the defense mechanism is not only suitable for reducing received damage but also for increasing the maximum potential damage to be dealt and for gaining experience points more quickly, efficiently, and intelligently.
This combo counter is retained from battle to battle. This requires the player to always be attentive and carefully execute their actions, even when facing weaker enemies on the path to a challenging enemy, as maintaining this combo can be the difference between victory and defeat.
