Originally, the game started out as a turn based combat JRPG-esque game that I was making for fun since that is the type of game that the RPG Maker engine series is tailored towards. After a while however, I realised that I wanted to seriously develop this game into my first true solo project as a game designer. In order to do that however, I had to change the genre. I have barely any experience whatsoever in turn based RPGs and it's not a type of gameplay that I personally enjoy, know how to replicate or build upon effectively at all. Due to my limited experience and inability to program anything, instead of going down the messy path of installing a plugin that adds real time combat, I decided to convert the game into a pure stealth game and design levels around the core mechanic of avoiding enemies instead of fighting them. Additionally, I feel this alteration will allow for my game to stand out among others.
Stealth Gameplay
Stealth is supposed to form the core of the challenge of this game. I faced a great deal of restrictions from working in RPG Maker MZ, but there was still a great deal of potential for implementing varied and challenging stealth encounters. The first most basic obstacle I thought to implement was patrolling guards. The idea is simple, the player avoids the gaze of roaming NPCs, slowly charting a path through them to reach the end. Unfortunately, this was not simple to implement. I needed a way for guard events to detect the player and run a script when they do as well as visually communicate their detection radius to the player.
With help from an AI, I managed to program a view cone system for enemy guards that follows them and projects forwards from them in whichever direction they're looking. Using a plugin called Psychronic Rave Lighting, view cones are represented and visually communicated to the player with red flashlights projecting from guards. This flashlight also follows guards wherever they go.
Due to technical and skill limitations, getting caught in a guard's flashlight is a hard game over. You don't enter combat and you don't get chased. This presented a unique design challenge for me to overcome because I had to find a way to make the core gameplay of avoiding guards at all costs a fun challenge for the player. Instead of attempting to improve the core mechanic, I opted for complimenting it with level design that focuses on player choice. This felt like the right direction considering my specialty in level design and experience modding Half-Life.