GDD: Zephyr Ataxia (Villains & Sub-bosses)

These guys gave me the idea of making the bosses have personalities. 

      I've been changing enemies around a bunch but the bosses are pretty concrete so it's probably fine to show them now. The big bad guys are all members of what is essentially a group of anarchists who want to finish the genocide their leader first started before she was defeated by Clover's mentor Swirllock the Bearded. They are the Zephyr Ataxia (chaotic storm), named after the endless storm raging below the floating isle of Equica.

     They are responsible for all the ghostly minions spawning in the world and defeating them unlocks their special move for you to use, Megaman style. Clover's special ability is quickly learning spells through observation so you get rewarded with new spells if you survive the fight with one of them.
   
      Each member has a specialty magic and 5 of them are very difficult optional fights. I don't want to give away too much about their personalities until I have something to show. For now I'll just list their names, where you will fight them, and the basics of their combat style.

     Check out their descriptions below the break. And if you're curious about how I name nearly everything I come up with, look up synonyms to any word on thesaurus.com and try mashing them together until something sounds cool.

Clearing My Head of The Next Project

     I came up with a very fun idea for a game two nights ago and I spent all of yesterday organizing it into a basic design document so that I can get it out of my head and written down. I was going to start my dragon themed RPG right after Unicorn Quest but an irresistible idea for another pony RPG popped into my head when I watched my girlfriend play a mod. But I won't give any details until Unicorn Quest is done and I've proven I can finish a big RPG in the first place.

      Just know that this won't be the only pony game series I'll work n in my career. Also know that there is a turn-based RPG coming in between Unicorn Quest and my dragon RPG.

     If a game idea pops into your head, just write it down as quickly as you can because you don't know if it'll come back when you wake up the next day. I scribbled thoughts into my iPod's notepad and retyped it in MS Word to make revisions. If I didn't do that the idea would hang over me while I'm trying to make Unicorn Quest which needs my attention right now.

Unicorn Quest Item Ideas

     What would an RPG be without some way to turn currency into a way to strategize when to heal yourself in combat. There is a quick access bar above the magic bar with 4 slots for your four favorite items. Players can assign what four items they are in the pause menu. There are 16 items in the game and each one can hold up to 99 of any given item.

     Some items can only be found in certain shops. Some are more expensive than others. Some cost certain gem types in one town and other gems in another. I'm trying to make each item special and interesting and the list of items changes frequently as I balance things so the item definitions are not final. The general theme is that tonics restore magic and cupcakes heal you.

Check out the list of all 16 items below the break.

The Gem System

     Gems are used in place of coins/rupees in this game. this was inspired by the colorful gems in Friendship is Magic. It seems to be a colorful alternative to regular bits/coins and by using different sizes I can give each a unique value. I can measure the currency in weight instead of having a separate wallet for each. 

     There's Topaz (1g), Beryl (5g), Garnet (20g), Sphene (35g), and Kunzite (50g). Details on how they work below the break.