This idea might be a little tricky to wrap your head around, but here we go.
So the basic idea is that the game is an RPG with a story but also one where the player can go on their own adventure with their own character (like Elder Scrolls), but it has 2D characters moving in a 3D environment (like in Paper Mario on the Nintendo 64). Though it also allows you to switch views at “stations” in the game. One view is first-person with fully 3D models (maybe even a possible model for the player for 3rd person view), and the other-other view is top-down 2D like the old Zelda games.
The player character (which can and will change throughout the story) can gain weight and their weight will come in handy for some puzzles but also be a hindrance in some areas, so you can gain and lose weight throughout the story and it will either cost money for food or diet pills (until you get an item which uses magic to help you lose weight but it will need a lot of magic to do so. Though being fatter also increases your magic so you can lose weight by gaining more.
The story focuses on 5 different main characters and the player can also go off on their own at certain stations and have their own adventure in the world. You can explore this world in these various styles and as various characters. Playthrough the main game or make up your own.
My problem is I have no idea how to code. I’m also not really experienced at making 3D models. On top of all of that is I don’t know how to get the game to look like it came from the 90s as I want it to (supposed to look like a Nintendo 64 game). Also, I’m wanting to make this game to run in DOS from CDs (and also made in the Batch language or maybe even not in DOS and made in Basic on the Saturn as that accepts 3D models easily but distribution is an issue as I do want to sell this game).
I’m willing to sacrifice the 3D rendering ability if I can find something that will prerender 3D graphics in the 90s way (like in early 90s CG films/shorts). I thought of a way to trick the 3D effect by using various 2D levels and warp areas that are activated by pressing up and down and holding for a certain amount of time. Meaning you move into another area when you move forward but the player thinks they’ve only moved forward or backwards in the same area.
For my very first game, this is very ambitious but it’s what I’ve been wanting to make.
I don’t want to reveal the story too much but it is a pretty lengthy story based on various games from my childhood all cobbled together. Why is because as a kid I got sick a lot and got to stay home and play games while a little out of commission so I have a very strange memory of how things went in those games through all the medicine and sickness. So now I’m trying to recreate that experience for other people in a way that doesn’t require them to go through what I went through back then.
What that means is that the story is very strange yet also familiar. Esoteric while also being close to home. Though it also has various elements of “fridge horror”, where something that’s scary won’t be in your face but be more terrifying as you realise what it actually is.
The game is also somewhat based on my own life and will deal with some more serious issues, but will treat them with respect of course while also still being a fun experience for all.
I hope all that made sense, I’ll admit I was tired while writing this so I may have messed up here and there. That should be the general idea though. Any help is welcome and thanks in advance.