Pokémon ShinyGem

[ConCept]

Hey there. Some of you may already know me, either by this account or my previous one, Chronic; or as "the guy who goes to the Create-a-Pokémon Events to eat all the chips"...

Since the times when I still was Chronic, I've been trying to pull out this game... But, for a reason or another (incorrect platform, failed by the programmer team, and more), I haven't been able to begin. I've proposed this project at least four times now, each time adding features and rechecking the mechanics for the game...

First "Pokémon Cobalt & Copper", later "Pokémon Azurite & Copper", ROM Hacks; then only "Pokémon Azurite", standalone game in RMXP...

Now, presenting: "Pokémon ShinyGem".

Technical Data

Name: Pokémon ShinyGem
Platform: PC

Developer: Foreigner Productions
Developer Website: Pending

Credits: None at the moment.​

About the Game

Spoiler:

Pokémon ShinyGem is a 2D scratch cross-platform episodic project being developed in Java. It narrates the story of a certain character, you, in his/her voyage through the large and wide world of Pokémon, beating various obstacles, creating new friends, and becoming the greatest Trainer ever.

The adventure will not be easy: many obstacles will be present along the way. However, with the help of your allies and your own creativity, you'll be able to overcome them to fulfill your dream.

The game revives many features from the old original games and fanmade projects while adding many new features available only to ShinyGem, as well as custom graphics, music, and a reconstruction of the Pokémon experience.

Features:

Spoiler:

The game, as mentioned, features many great features from previous games with a twist and new, groundbreaking dynamics, exclusive to ShinyGem. Being a custom engine has it's rewards...

Character Customization: From how you look to what you wear, the player is whoever he/she wants to be. Be the protagonist.
Global Map: The world was never a small place: vast, new regions fill the world map, and is up to the player to explore them all.
Cooperative, Allies and Trainer Group: Need a hand? Maybe more? Battle along your allies and other players in more intense scenarios. Succeed as a group.
Interaction: No need to be a passive player. Affect the outcome with a greater interaction from the player, from small details to the course of events.
Link Move: Realistic combat requires realistic tactics. Combine moves for greater effect and a new dimension in battle. Possibilities are up to the player.
Severe Status: Improved and more powerful: reinflicting a Status condition enhances it's standalone effect.
Following Pokémon: The feature we all enjoyed and loved is back: let any Pokémon from your party to follow you. Watch as it helps you overcome obstacles.
Field Moves: Field Moves recieve a boost: more options to choose from, changes in their individual effects. Build the path as you go.
PokéPAD: Pokémon Personal All-Purpose Device, or PokéPAD, features a portable, general purpose console. From phone to minigames, from map to climate check...
Crystalline Waters and Dive: Ever wanted to see what's inside a river? Or the ocean? Watch if from above... and from below. Any deep enough body of water is diveable.
Changing Time, Climate and Seasons: Time flows naturally in the world of the game. It may be a rainy afternoon, it may be a sunny morning... Time, Climate and Seasons craft the world of the game as never before.
Tournament: Host tournaments against other players: host chooses the rules for the encounters. Prove who's the best between your friends. It's good to be the king.
Adventure Focus: The journey's what's important. The paths are on the heart...
Multiple Saves: No need to delete your progress to start again: game supports up to three simultaneous saves. Saves can be own or be shared throughout players.
Graphic Resurrection: New and old meet in ShinyGem. Select the graphic style between "Retro", a nostalgic graphic palette from GSC; and "Actual", a full-color, more actual graphic style.

And much, much more...

Pokémon

Spoiler:

But what's a Pokémon game without Pokémon? Pokémon ShinyGem features a growing Pokédex, featuring 115 entirely new Pokémon in the base delivery. All Pokémon featured in the game are custom, no originals (that means "Farewell, Pikachu").

Pokémon here also feature certain "feature upgrades", all new for ShinyGem.

Rare Abilities: Nature at play. It is an evident truth no two Pokémon are equal, not even in Abilities. Pokémon may feature a special ability not common to it's species naturally. No event required.
Twin Triad: Rival always chooses the one you're weak against, right? Not anymore. A secondary-type triad allows the player's starter Pokémon to matchup evenly against it's nemesis: the speedy Dark type, the powerful Ghost type or the resilient Steel type.
Moveset: An enhanced moveset with over 75 new moves gives the player a wider hand from which to choose.
New Abilities: Expand the experience. New abilities in Pokémon create new tactics for the player.

Story and Characters

Spoiler:

Your adventure begins in the western half of the island Macro-region Sihma, in a small town named Saltwood. The story begins two months before you actually begin to play...

You have always dreamt of travelling, capturing Pokémon and becoming the greatest Pokémon Trainer ever, reason why you began to aid the local Professor, the eccentric and witty Professor Lily and her clumsy, light-headed assistant, Sybille with their research on Pokémon. You expect that, by helping Prof. Lily, she'll aid you to become a Pokémon Trainer and begin your adventure. Now, two months have passed, and nothing seems clear still. You keep on aiding in the Lab as usual, no actual promise for the future...

One day, you're asked to follow Prof. Lily to the field to capture some Pokémon necessary for research. You go along and succeed at capturing the Pokémon you were requested, a surprise for Prof. Lily, who, incidentally, didn't believe you would succeed at the task and had already done everything herself. Being the Pokémon you caught an extra to what was required, you're allowed to keep it as your own.

The very next morning, you're sent to pick up a package for Prof. Lily. Once the delivery is done, Prof. Lily explains you she believed you had what it taked to become a "decent Trainer", in her own terms; therefore giving you a "Trainer Starter Kit" and a Pokédex, as she doesn't want you to stop aiding her research. After this event, you set on your adventure to fulfill your dream.

During your adventure, you meet new places and people. Some will aid you, some will not. The obstacles seem to worsen as you encounter an international criminal organization called "Enlightment". It will fall to you and a group of four Trainers to decide wether to try to interfere with their unrighteous actions and how. Alongside, legends will rise once again from millenial slumber which can aid you on your quest to victory.

ShinyGem differs from most games by returning to the original RBY concept and giving Legendaries a less important role in the story, serving as powerful aids in your adventure, but having no relationship with the story or the actions of Enlightment. Enlightment is also given less priority in the game, as the main focus is on the player's adventure, not in the "saving the world" stuff. Any of these behave as side-quests, but completion of these gives the player additional bonuses he/she can use throughout the game.

Game Media

Spoiler:

<< Not available at the moment. >>​

Current Progress

Spoiler:

The engine is still being developed. Screenshots, videos or similar will come when the engine is ready to map.

Support the Project

Spoiler:

Signatures

Spoiler:

Support the project and spread the word by using any of these signatures.

<< None available at the moment. In the future, this section will be updated. >>​

Work with Foreigner Productions

Spoiler:

Want to be part of the crew? Check the available positions and sign up to be part of the dream.

<< No positions available at the moment. >>​

Disclamer

This game is free. Foreigner Productions produces this game for enjoyment and for the sake of art exclusively. No economic interest is pursued by Foreigner Productions nor any of it's members.

Unless expressely stated beforehand, all work regarding this project not produced by Foreigner Productions will be given credit in the game credits only. No claims are regarded if not requested beforehand.

Pokémon is a trademark from Nintendo and Game Freak. Foreigner Productions does not own Pokémon nor related intellectual property.​

 

[Involuntary Twitch]

Hm, sounds like an interesting concept. I commend you for developing it in java, too-- that's quite an undertaking and has the potential to be very successful.

However, there's a couple of problems: this seems incredibly ambitious, especially considering this is a game made from scratch. Also, there seems little evidence of actual progress. The presentation is very nice and professional-looking, but the lack of any media at all, not to mention a very vague storyline, doesn't exactly inspire confidence that this will be completed.

Also the name could be a little more memorable.

Nevertheless, I hope to see more!

 

[ConCept]

Thanks for the comment.

We're actually conscious of both the magnitude of the project, which isn't actually small stuff, and I don't believe we'll be able to handle all by ourselves at mid or long term (we're basically three people in this); and the lack of media, which is limited mostly by what the engine is able to output right now, which, at the moment, is limited to code lines, no graphics nor anything fancy.

And, good you've mentioned it. I was actually too vague with the details this time... I'll be presenting some extension to the storyline part soon. But, right now, we're more focused on start rendering graphics with the engine to start adding media.

 

[XxxGoblinKingxxX]

I'm pretty good at drawing and would love if you let me draw they pokes for this :D if you want a sample of my work search "xxxGoblinKingxxx" on deviant art and look at "The Will of Fire" the other two pics I have up are absolute crap and I'm taking them down soon >.<

 

[ConCept]

What I refered to when I said I don't think we'll be able to handle all by ourselves was the fact that we're all programmers in the team. The only one doing graphics is me and, being absolutely sincere, I suck at the pixel art in most ocassions (my appearances in the Create-a-Pokémon Events are normally planned with months of anticipation), and I'm running various projects simultaneously, not only this one. Therefore, we would end up stuck by both graphics and music without help in these specific areas.

I must agree chrome features are for the nice touch, and we're conscious of it. The main objective now for the team is to assemble the battle engine and the overworld engine. The remaining details will be developed once these two segments are operational. That's the overall development plan.

I'm pretty good at drawing and would love if you let me draw they pokes for this :D if you want a sample of my work search "xxxGoblinKingxxx" on deviant art and look at "The Will of Fire" the other two pics I have up are absolute crap and I'm taking them down soon >.<

I'll be checking your portfolio when I can. Thanks for the support, by the way.

 

[XxxGoblinKingxxX]

Not really a portfolio :/ it's just one pic if you need more I've been working on some and I can scan them ASAP

 

[Desukān]

This seems like a really nice project (:
I love all of the ideas and whatnot, tee hee!
I would love to play this :)

~Lani

 

[ConCept]

Ok, it's been a while now (noticed things 'round here moved a little bit)... Anyway, we're now solving the map editor for the custom engine. Not getting much into details right now, but it will allow us to produce the very first graphical output for the game.

As for the story, compelling to previous replies, it was indeed too vague. Now, there is not a that great plot behind the story because we considered to try an "old school method" and focus on the gameplay more than on the story, like in the very first original games from the Pokémon saga. However, there is a story, which I'll be trying to describe on this post, along with some details for the "restated universe".

Spoiler:

As mentioned already, the story begins on the western half of a large region, denoted as Macro-region Sihma. It is called Macro-region because it consists of two areas large enough to be considered regions by themselves but share very similar faunae and history, making the grouping possible.

Pokémon Trainers are individuals which are allowed to train, raise, and battle Pokémon (This is because the vision on Pokémon present in the game tends to a more realistic approach... Being frank, raising a Pokémon is technically the same as raising a lion cub, with the sole difference that, unlike the lion cub, Pokémon can be "tamed" over time.), therefore, if an individual wishes to become a designated Pokémon Trainer, he or she must aquire a certain age and be appointed a Trainer by means of a certain process. The protagonist knows this, and attempts to simplify this with the help of the local Professor.

Prof. Lily is a childhood friend of your mom, but, unlike your mom, who was some time ago a Pokémon Trainer, Prof. Lily kept on and became a Pokémon Professor, studying the spread and adaptation of Pokémon, focusing on the entire Macro-region Sihma. Sometimes, she goes missing (the protagonist discovers why later on in the game), though.

As the protagonist advances through the story, he/she meets people. This people can help the player advance through the game or just be there. However, not all people are that indifferent to you. Certain people, after certain events together, will team up with you as allies, and will be helping you throughout the entire story since then.

These characters are (in order of appearance): Will, brother of the very first Gym Leader of the game, Gym Leader Julia from Meadowburg City; Sonya, a cheerful personality aspiring to become an Idol but with no luck at all; Christine, the only daughter of the CEO of Ashik Solutions, the corporation which manufactures the PokéPAD; and Erich, a beginner journalist who follows the track of the havoc caused by Enlightment far and wide in search for "the ultimate story". Each of these characters will be helping the player throughout his/her entire adventure.

The protagonist, however, has no universal support. Most troubles for the protagonist come from both the Enlightment and from his/her personal rival. Depending on the protagonist's gender, the rival will be either Nathan or Josey. Whatever option results, the rival's background is still the same: he/she is the younger brother/sister of Prof. Lily's assistant, Sybille. After you "gained favor" from Prof. Lily and became a Pokémon Trainer, Nathan/Josey became jealous of you, partly because you became a Trainer before him/her, and partly for the fact that, since you became an appointed Trainer, you've been used as a comparison point by Prof. Lily for Sybille to "encourage her to try harder", fact that hurts Nathan/Josey because of the admiration he/she has for his/her older sister. Therefore, he/she becomes an appointed Trainer too, obtains a Pokémon (why not? the one you're starter's weak against) and seeks out for you in an attempt to prove that you're not worthy of such praising.

The other antagonist, the Enlightment, is basically a machine of evil. This international criminal organization is devoted to only one thing: profit for the group, at the stakes of whoever or whatever stands in the way. Structured as an actual corporation, Enlightment's hierarchy grows by the level of control within the group (in a boss-employee relationship, more or less), being the most powerful on the group the current leader of the Enlightment. They dedicate to "everything profitable enough": from small-scale robbery and smuggling to actual takeovers and bombing.

You encounter minions most of the time, as generally there group considers your actions to be just "temporary impediments to the general plans". However, the greater the plan is, the more importance it will have for the group, and, therefore, high-executives may show up. While minions are the hands of the Enlightment, executives are the backbone. They are twice as strong as any normal minion, sharper and better-prepared. The player does encounter the leader sometimes, but does not actually battle him, as he is protected always by either various minions or executives. Being real evil people, they do actually make honor to their threats, so, the only way to deal them effectively is to actually outmatch all of them.

I hope this little extension gives a wider glimpse at out shot at the storyline section of the project. It is not a hero-oriented storyline pattern, where some kid saves the world from apocalypsis or 10,000 years of darkness, but rather a retaken concept for those who enjoy simple objectives and creating their own adventure rather than following a fixed path all game long. We attempt to make the essence of ShinyGem the very same as what made the original games famous: a vast world, with tons to do, and only one mission: to become the greatest Trainer of all times.

 

[Kubone]

This looks cool, I'll be exited for your media.