Gem System in Dead Gear Part 2

I once hinted about Dead Gear's weapon system, but since then, I've sat down, analyzed it, and completely reworked it. The previous system I had laid out had many good points, but ultimately, I felt I needed to push it in a different direction, and most importantly, design it completely before coding on combat began. Let me give you a few snippets from the game design document:

Illyia has the ability to draw magic out of crystalline stone, and it is her primary method of attacking. Throughout the game, Illyia will find and pick up precious stones and add them to her repertoire of spells, combining them for new effects. She can equip one 'Base' Gem spell, and two spell combinations (fusions) at a time, switching freely. But she can only equip new gem fusions at a save points.

 Gems can be used by themselves, which is called their ‘Base’ fusion. They cost no Anima (mana/MP) to use, and serve as a basic attack for Illyia. Base attacks can also dictate what the general theme of the gem is. Let’s take a look at the very first two gems that the player collects in the game: Diamond and Moonstone.

Moonstone, if fused with itself; equips its Base spell, the ‘Moonstone Bolt.’ Moonstone Bolt is the game’s most basic projectile attack, and it can be held and charged for a more powerful projectile. As mentioned above, the Base hints at what the gem’s defining traits are. In this case, all gem combinations that use Moonstone result in a Fusion that can be charged up for a more powerful attack or effect. Diamond, if fused with itself; equips its Base Fusion, the ‘Blade.’

Fusion matrix example, some names are outdated. Magic Bolt = Moonstone Bolt, Magic Sword = Blade

The Diamond’s defining trait is that it is a melee weapon. All gem combinations that include Diamond will be short-range melee weapons, or involve them in some way.

When two separate gems are fused, they always result in the same Fusion. (ie: both Moonstone+Diamond AND Diamond+Moonstone would both result in the Holy Sword Fusion.) The Holy Sword Fusion takes elements of both the Diamond (melee weapon) and the Moonstone (charge shot), and combines them; the Holy Sword is a melee attack that you can hold and charge for a very powerful attack.

A snippet from the Fusion chart. There are ten gems in all, which means a total of 55 different spell fusions.

To continue the example, Garnet’s Base Fusion is Flamethrower; fairly powerful, but an attack that takes some skill to wield. Garnet’s defining trait is that all its fusions are powerful, but come with a requirement that all of its fusions require skill-based usage. Whereas the Holy Sword is slow, fairly strong and easy to wield; the Flame Sword is fast and powerful, but requires precise timing on the combo, stunning the player if the cue is missed.

Likewise, the Fireball fusion is powerful, but requires the player to input a specific command each time they want to use the spell, instead of just mashing the attack button. Since it is a Moonstone combination, Fireball can be charged for an immensely powerful attack.

Or, as a tl;dr: The player will be able to mix together and equip different gems for a large variety of different attacks.

 Hopefully, players will have fun experimenting and choosing different spell fusions to find a combination of weapons that fit their own playstyle.

-Alex