For a while now I've been thinking about what I would want to see in my perfect game. I think I've got it all played out and it just happens to fit right in with this months Monthly Musings.

This is not a game that fits into any one category however, this is a game that is a two dimensional platformer and an open world game all in one. You may be thinking right now "WHAT! That' doesn't make any sense!". Let me explain it to you:

You start by taking an open world game, the one that is out at the moment that works best for this is Crackdown. If you ever stop jumping on buildings and blowing stuff up long enough to notice the art direction in the game, everything has a black outline and everything is a bit more colorful then the oh-so-common Silver and Brown games we've gotten used to lately. That black outline is key to making this work.


Now let's add some more color and make the black outline a bit thicker. What you have now is a game that SHOULD look like a cartoon or animation that you can control. I'm well aware this has been done before but for some reason the character models always seem to turn out ugly (imo), so let's assume the character models actually look good for this.

Mid-way-racap for TL:DR'ers: What we have now is an open world game with special powers/abilities/equipment that will allow them to get from roof top to roof top, a animated art style with a thick black outline necessary for making the transition from 3D to 2D.

Now when it comes to the platformer element of this game I want to say one thing: FUCK 3D CHARECTER MODLES IN PLATFORM GAMES. It didn't work for the Sonic DS games and it's not going to work here, if you have a two dimensional platformer you character models need to be drawn and colorful, now some 3D, out of place, clunky looking thing. Your sprites should look like this:

(Though not necessarily in that art style)
Not this:


This is why I went with an animated art style for the 3D dimensional portion of the game, so that way the transition from 3D to 2D would be smooth.

How you would use the 2D space in the 3D world would be simple. There would be select building tops or areas in which you would make the transition from 3D to 2D. Once in 2D you could go back to 3D at any point so long as it's not a 2D specific area (not located in the open world or on a building top, but rather for a particular mission or game goal). Some higher buildings would only be accessible by going into 2D mode and wall jumping between two higher buildings.

Both the third and second dimension will have their uses, and I think if implemented correctly it could be a very fun, unique experience.

Scratch the Dr.Boa part, I don't see how this could work with an RPG aside from character creation and customization.