So one of the key features in my game was being able to learn spells from enemies. Cool stuff, right? Strago/Quistis from the Final Fantasy series, Legend of Legaia Seru Spells, Breath of Fire III/IV Examining enemies... The list goes on when it comes to inspiration. The concept of taking something from an enemy and using it against them was always very appealing to me. So if I enjoyed the mechanic, I'd naturally want it in my game. And it should work, right?

Wrong. Dead wrong.

I realized that it doesn't work in my game, and here's why I think that.

The scale of my game won't be nearly as large as a mainstream JRPG. Those games I just mentioned have a crap ton of different enemies and skills. That variety is a key component in keeping the mechanic fresh and fun. It also helps spread things out while still giving the player enough to experiment with throughout the game.

My game won't have nearly as many enemies or skills. So naturally, the player will spend less time being engaged with that particular feature. That's not good.

So now what? Well, I can scrap it. But what can I do instead? Ah-ha! Stealing! People like Stealing mechanics, right? Maybe? Hold on...

No. I fucking hated Stealing mechanics. You want me to spend several turns trying to take something from an enemy just so the RNG gods can tell me to go fuck myself? No thank you. I certainly wouldn't want the player to experience that with my game. But maybe I can add my own little flavor to it?

*tries and fails miserably after several hours of testing and brainstorming*

Ok. So that's out...

Now it's back to trying to rationalize my desire to even add this. Why am changing these mechanics after I've already had so many people play my demo? Why not just stick with what I had and make it work? Here's why.

I want to keep battles interesting by setting goals for the player that go beyond "Make enemy's HP 0". At it's core, that's one of the great things that Blue Mage mechanics do. Same goes for Steal mechanics.

It's a game, within a game, within a game. (Game > Battles > Blue Mage/Theif) The trick is, making it so that the game doesn't become tedious, frustrating, or complicated. But I also want to make something that's fun, engaging, and more importantly, "organic". When I say organic, I'm saying I want something that doesn't break the flow of battle. Something that keeps the player focused on defeating the enemy, but can still reward the player the same way stealing would. I don't want the player to have to stop trying to kill the enemy just so they can engage in the feature I've implemented. Is there anything wrong with that? Well, no. I just think that there's a better way, and it's worth looking into.

So, after two days worth of deep thought and research, I think I came up with something. With this system I have in mind, you increase your chances of getting loot for efficiently defeating the enemy. That loot can then be used to purchase rare items. AND, it ties in with the world lore that I've already established. Sounds simple enough right? I hope...

Stay tuned for another update!