This is a game I've been working on for quite a while (almost a year). I'm hoping to have a preview build up and running in about a week. (To people from the pav: this is nothing new. You probably have seen this already).

Title: The God Gene, or "Genetically Engineered Super-humans and You: You May Already Be Obsolete"
Platform: RPG Maker 3
Genre: Sci-Fi/Supernatural/Dark Comedy
Suitable For: ages 17+
Release Date: Winter 2007/2008

Story: A somewhat inconsequential sort of tale,
told from the mind of a 25th century asylum resident
(who would like you to know that he isn't crazy, but soon will be),
about how he saw spirits, battled government conspiracies, and might have accidentally killed God.

"There ain't no shortage of fecal matter or rotating blades in this world."

Gameplay: The God Gene features a groundbreaking new dynamic battle system that ensures players never grow bored of enemy encounters. Enemies will constantly change their tactics, forcing players to do the same. Players and enemies will swap blows, both building momentum to the battle and increasing their MP stores to unleash powerful special attacks! Will you unleash stored energy now to power your attack? Or will you risk further harm to build energy for that massive finishing blow?

Battles that are actually fast and fluid. Yes, it is possible to do on RPGM3. I will prove it.

Think you've won? Think again! Boss encounters often find a second or even a third wind, dramatically altering the conditions of the fight as the do so!

The God Gene features NO RANDOM BATTLES! And on top of that, relatively fewer battles. Lead man Ivan isn't concerned with random minions throwing themselves at him to get cut down--almost every fight is a boss fight.

Trigger Commands! Enemies can turn the tables on you in the blink of an eye--fortunately so can you. In certain battles, you can use trigger commands to turn the tide! Often times, Trigger Commands will take the form of a fourth party member on your side of the battlefield. He'll generally have 0 attack power and only 1 Magic Skill. That one skill will be a specially designed ability usable only in that situation. Say a boss has such a high Defense Power that you can't touch him. Using the Trigger Charge skill on that character's turn, you will charge his MP gauge by 1 point every turn (Trigger Commands generally only cost about 5 points) and then unleash an attack that blasts the foe's Def down to 0, opening him up for the hurt. There are more applications for this feature, but I want the players to discover those.

[Edit: Some changes to core gameplay have been implemented. THese are not last minute changes, I just never got around to posting about them as I prepare to release the demo]

Unique attack type system.
While I originally had an element system, I abandoned this for something more interesting. Now, all characters have a specific attack type that works against specific enemies. The attack types are: Slash (generally good against biological enemies and Male humans), Pierce (generally good against Machines, living things with tough armor, and Female humans), and Spirit (generally good against spirits, dark creatures, and Animal characters).

For instance, Ivan's attacks are slash-based, because he uses a short-sword. His damage is quite good against humans and other biologicals, but they practically bounce off Machines and his physical attacks tend to go right through Spirits. Comparatively, Rhannie's attacks are long range and Piercing. She can fire her weapon away from enemy attacks, and they are able to pierce tough armor whereas Ivan can't.

In addition to attack types, elements still exist, though it may take trial and error to see which element works best on a foe. The five elements are: Fire, Earth, Wind, Water, and Beam. If a foe is an elemental (as are most spirits) then simply using the opposite element will be effective (i.e.: Water beats fire, fire beats water, ect.)

Elemental attacks are generally included on weapons, or in a character's special attacks. They also tend to stack. For instance, most of Ivan's weapons are beam-based. Meaning you can do damage up to 3x the normal amount with physical attacks if the enemy is weak to both beam and slash. Special attacks work similarly, only that all enemies have a 1.5x weakness to special attacks as it is, so the damage multiplier can reach up to 4.5x damage if correctly exploited. You will need to master stacking weaknesses in order to deal the most effective damage.

Playable characters also have weaknesses. Refer to their equipped armor for weakness information.

Character Upgrade System
In addition to being able to spend INT points won from battles as you please (learning attacks divided into categories based on what stats you choose to increase) you will also obtain "Class Levels" upon reaching a certain HP level. When a character levels up his or her class, a number of things can happen:

*Base damage of special skills increases.
*Bonus HP increase.
*Effect of Buffers and Debuffers increases.
*New Passive Skills obtained.

Most of that is self-explainitory, but one I feel I must explain passive skills. They are defensive skills that are always active no matter what you're status is and help to differentiate the characters. For instance, being a guardian-type character, Michael learns "Enrage" at Class Lv. 2, which diverts most enemy attention towards him. At Lv.3, he learns the ability to block some special attacks, adding to his effectiveness as a defender.

Jerome's technology skills increase in range and effectiveness as he levels up his class, and Ivan eventually learns how to block enemy physical attacks with his beam-shield weapon.

Adrenaline Rush
This is, perhaps, one of the most game-breaking ideas I've had, as it actually effects the battle system itself. In battles, all characters will have an item called "Adrenaline Rush". When a character is damaged to 1/4 of their max health, the item will activate, completely filling their MP gauge, allowing them to use special techniques (learned in various ways throughout the game) that cos 999mp, and are far more effective than their normal skills. This is my version of Final Fantasy's Limit Breaks. The item is replaced after the battle, regardless of whether or not it was used, and I have come up with a system that makes it do that without giving anyone an extra one.

Example of Adrenaline Rush Techniques:
Ivan - "Storm Waltz"
Ivan attacks three times with his sword before firing a blast of beam energy at the foe from his shield-blaster.

Rhannie - "Angel Arrows"
Rhannie attacks all foes by firing multiple arrow shots into the air, which rain down on the enemy.

Jerome - "Take Aim"
Jerome 'takes aim' at one foe, causing that enemy to take an extra 1.5x damage from all of Jerome's attacks.

Steel yourself for a most interesting adventure through reality and beyond. But be warned: If you fail in your quest...nobody will give a damn anyway.[/i]

Argh, this sounds VERY promising! Way to go, Ivan.

Damn, that sounds tight!

It's definitely gonna be something to see when it's done.

There are a few things I've changed about the game since I posted this so long ago (the demo is ALMOST DONE I CAN TASTE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) but I've decided to post it all since this is it for changes once the demo is out.