Should I put a battle arena in my game?

[Draygone]

In a game I was planning a while back, as I was trying to fill in the gaps in the plot (they were pretty big gaps at this point), I decided to add a battle arena segment. I'm not exactly sure why I decided on it, but I think I tied it into the main plot pretty well. Now, as I look at the story once more (I want to revive the project), I have to wonder if it needs a bit of reworking, and I decided to start with the battle arena. Since it's tied so closely to the main plot, it would be kinda difficult to remove, so I'm thinking the best thing to do is make the challenges more interesting than simply making a sequence of uneventful battles.

What do you guys think?

[Doan the Nado]

I think that if it is interesting and it ties into the quest well, the battle arena will work just fine. I don't think it necessarily has to be a sidequest, as long as it's fun. I would be very interested in what you could come up with in regards to the oft-used battle arena.

[Neo Samurai]

The idea of a battle arena being used in the plot is pretty cliched. However, I'd be interested in seeing what you could do with it. I would like to see some good challenges in it. After all, I always like a good challenge ;D.

[Jugem]

The battle arena idea may be used often, but it's used often for a reason. Because it's usually a fun thing for the player. Who doesn't like to test their strength against a series of opponents?

[Dungeon Warden]

A battle arena would have to be more interesting that the regular battles your characters fight. I thing the area can be both part of the main story and an optional mini-game as well. This means expanding the game with enough extra content that people will want to keep fighting in the area after the important story related parts are done with.

[Deleted]

I have the same thing. I've been thinking a lot of a way to cut it out of the story but I really can't. I think it couldn't ever hurt to have a battle arena on the side, and if it's in the story and can't really be removed then you pretty much have to keep it as something they can do on the side after. By making more challenges do you mean 1v1, 2v2, 3v3, 4v4, survival, etc. or do you mean like 'no magic', 'no fire spells', etc. (like FFTA)? (I don't know what to vote for)

[Draygone]

I dunno, maybe something that isn't directly related to fighting. Like how in Golden Sun's arena segment, you had to race to the end of an obstacle course, and THEN fight in a battle.

[Deleted]

Yes, that was a good edition Golden Sun had to theirs. I think having a few (but not too many) different types of challenges like 1v1, 2v2, survival, etc. would be better than just plain old regular 4vhowever (or whatever) and doesn't take a whole lot of work. Having mini game-esque parts like you said would also be a good addition. I'll vote for 'Good', as long as it's not frustrating for the player in some way (as always), because having something optional the player can do couldn't really be a bad thing, and if it can't really be cut from the story it should be there as an optional thing they can do afterwards anyways.

[Draygone]

Come to think of it, I never planned to make the arena available later in the game. I'll have to remember to put that in. Shouldn't be too hard.

[BloodKnight]

I'm putting a battle arena in my game as well. I'm taking the optional-but could-make-certain-story-related-parts-of-the-game-easier approach.

Aside from the usual single and team battles, I plan on putting in specific challenges, such as less damage=more gold, fighting with poison on etc. Even if it's totally cast off from the main quest, it's still pretty awesome.

[KingSpoom]

<_<
...
>_>

I have a Colosseum in my game, and it is an integral part of my story... but you aren't part of it. Begin speculation.... now!

[Dungeon Warden]

Very interesting. Speculation has begun.

[vespuleth]

in the game im currently writing (PP), i have a battle arena, lol. it seems that we all have a few common themes in our games.

[BlackBoxx]

Who doesn't like a good battle arena? If it's fun, and the prizes are there, I'm there too. Needless to say. I have to put an arena in my game. One of my characters spends a lot of time there. Of course, it will be purely optional in my game. No major events will happen there, but that's not to say no events will happen. Now I just need to figure out how it'll work, what the prizes will be, and how difficult to make it.

[Neo Samurai]

Yeah. Battle arenas are very fun. I especially liked the one in FF7, where, everytime you won a battle, it will randomly select a type of materia and you won't be allowed to use it. Very challenging and fun!

[Dark Knight Of Lodis]

I was going to say it but it seems like everyone already beat me to it. Battle arenas are awesome, whether in a storyline or as an extra part of the game. If they are extra, they can be extremely hard and still be fun because you can stop for a bit, do more of the game, and come back. No matter how cliched it gets, this is always a great addition to any game.

[The Smurf]

i beg to differ.

if it makes absolutely no sense (like a colesseum (sp?) in a sci-fi shooter game) then there's no reason to put it in. if it does make sense (like a colesseum in a mideival (sp?) game) then you're absolutely right, DKoL


-the smurf

[Neo Samurai]

Actually, we still sort of have arenas now a days (ex. baseball). It's just that we don't use them for fighting anymore.

[Deleted]

With boxing, wrestling (non-wwf), etc., etc. we kind of still do have them. I agree most people don't enjoy watching real violence though.

[Dark Knight Of Lodis]

As for Smurf...there's always alternative paths that humans could have taken in Sci-Fi games. Maybe humans in the future are even more brutal than humans in the past, or maybe there's an entirely different race that still uses arenas in a futuristic gladiator kind of way.

[Draygone]

Sort of a virtual reality sort of thing for the future. Or, there's always laser tag.

[The Smurf]

"an entirely different race that still uses arenas in a futuristic gladiator kind of way"

sounds cool to me!


-the smurf