You're given a firm budget and a deadline of November 2021. Somehow, this is plenty of time, so don't think too hard about that one.
Plan the ninth generation realistically. Your career is on the line. Think about financial success and failure. Don't just type everything you want in a hurry — unless you're certain that everything you want is profitable.
What do you focus on? Which aspects do you let fall by the wayside a little in order to improve upon other features? Where do you draw the line? Do you keep the current graphical style, try something new in the 3D space, or maybe even push for a 2D vibe?
Do you try to convince your peers that a more complex world design is necessary or do you not care so much about that part? How do you revamp the online functionality? What kinds of music would you like for the soundtrack?
All these questions are yours to answer. Your very own Pokémon directorial journey is about to begin...
I would make Legendary and Mythical Pokemon be obtainable by doing a series of requirements or by going through a dungeon of sorts like they used to do in Gen 3 and Gen 4. I really don't like how the majority are just given away.
I feel like the franchise is technically to big to fail these days (and I don't mean that in a bad way) so I'd go with another gen 5 approach personally
-remote region, maybe something based on South Korea or Italy
-100+ brand new pokemon excluding regional variants
-20-30 regional variants including cross-gen evo
-map design and camera control similar to Isle of Armor but with actual towns, trainers, etc.
-actual explorable dungeons and forests return
-light on story similar to gens 1-2. Focus is more on the world and the players journey through it
-classic 8 gym format, with the elite 4 being a thing again
- online functionality similar to PSS
I would stop every Pokemon project being made, and put everyone in the company to work on a BOTW-like Pokemon game with a Pokemon Snap mini game within.
Camera control 100% of the game and a seamless single game space
Badge based level scaling on wild mons and generic trainers, who sometimes refresh
Gyms in any order with rosters for each # badge they would be giving you
Render the Pokemon at a farther distance with less pop in
Accurately size scaled models in battles
Ditch the real time clock and have a standard accelerated day/night cycle with time passing ability
Make weather occur across the entire overworld rather than in individual areas, and of course not last all day
Voice acting
Sidequests
Ride on your own Pokemon like Let's Go
Get ride of grass exclusive encounters and spawn everything in the area visibly
More stylized environment textures
Photo Mode camera item
Megas and new Megas
I fire everyone on the creative team and start from scratch.
- I'd give the new team the briefing to provide the largest, open-world Pokemon game to exist on a similar level to Breath of the Wild
- I'd like voice acting for main cut scenes at minimum
- I'd give them free range on the mechanics weather it be turn-based (or sorta turn-based like Ni No Kuni), action or something in-between like FF7 R.
- I would go for an art style and look more like Pokemon Snap in terms of the art style but I would hold back experimentation before making the final decision
More complex (i.e. something around the ballpark of ~40 routes would be cool) and interconnected world design. Something like Hollow Knight would be really cool.
I'd also like more unique world design. Alola and Galar, in this regard, feel really generic and lifeless.
Give us actual dungeons - something like a traditional Zelda dungeon in Pokemon would be really cool. That being said, I wouldn't bring back HMs.
Cut the number of obtainable legendaries from every legendary to around the ~20 that we got in Black and White 2, but have lengthy sidequests to hype up such encounters and add a bit of worldbuilding to the game.
Make legendary encounters, well, legendary. Give each fight gimmicks, a larger health bar, and perhaps give them extra moves when you fight them. Something like the Mystery Dungeon games would be cool.
Leave the Battle Frontier out, but in exchange, have a hard mode where enemy trainers use competitive teams, items and movesets.
Cut the total Pokedex to around 300-350, but in exchange, increase the number of new Pokemon to around 150.
Cut back on the story to something like Gens 1 or 2. Black and White was the only remotely passable story in the series, and I wouldn't even call that good. This would also cut back on the cutscene bloat, which has gotten to frankly unacceptable levels in the past two generations (20-25% of Sun and Moon's playtime is in cutscenes).
NO MORE SHITTY BATTLE GIMMICKS. SERIOUSLY. Keep Mega Evolution, and iterate on that.
Bring back the PSS. It worked brilliantly in Gen 6, and I don't know why Gamefreak keeps giving us progressively worse online systems each generation.
Drop the player in the middle of the region and let them go in any direction they want.
A greater sense of exploration. I would abolish routes and only make counties. As a player you can freely roam around a county and challenge the gym leaders in any order. Wild pokemon, trainers, and gym leader would scale to your current level as you explore the region.
Honestly? A sense of scale. You can never tell how large a pokemon is unless you look at its Pokedex entry, but imagine of Pokemon games were to scale? That would be amazing if done correctly.
Outsife of that, more open and interesting route design would be my priority. A harder game in general would be neat too.
1. Open world
2. Real dungeons within the open world
3.voice acting
4. Octopath Traveller inspired narrative/quest/job system
- basically don't have a main path and sidequests but a few smaller parallel quests linked to jobs and the player can complete as many or as little as they like. Beating 1 = credits
One priority would be improving level design so that exploring the Pokemon world is actually interesting again.
Beyond that I would probably approach the project with the intention to create the "ultimate" Pokemon game. Rather than injecting any major new ideas, gimmicks or mechanics, I would want the project to focus on improving and refining the existing formula. Like making the Wild Area(s) bigger, better and full of secrets and stuff to find and implementing actual dungeons like the earlier games.
Oh, and difficulty options. It's clear Game Freak knows how to make challenging AI opponents as shown by the Battle Tower. I see no reason why that couldn't be a thing in the main campaign.
No New Pokemon, but every single wild pokemon is a regional variant.
Heavy focus on battle animations. Each version has unique idle stances akin to the sprites of old games. Complete overhaul of battle animations with more variety for every pokemon.
Gym Battles, Elite 4 Battles and Online battles are all commentated by the same guy who did Stadium 2.
Every route is a "wild area" with actual things to explore and find and discover.
There are proper side-quests such as a person asking you to catch X pokemon for them, or going and saving a miltank farm from attacking thieves/wild pokemon etc.
Exploration is a huge factor. Caves, Dungeons, Multi-story buildings etc.
I dug this up because I remembered posting it a long time ago, and I remembered being proud of it. I don't remember what it says anymore, so have at it.
My ideal Pokemon adventure will be less streamlined and more focused on personal exploration. There will be a tutorial on how to catch Pokemon immediately after receiving your starter, and you have the option to say "no." (Remember, kids. Always say "no.") After you set off on your journey to be the very best, you can complete gyms (Yes, gyms.) in any order, and the gym trainers and gym leaders will scale their Pokemon to match your level. There are 18 gyms (See what I did there?) scattered across a large and vast region (or the expanse of two connected regions), and you must defeat them and collect their gym badges to gain entry into the Pokemon League and challenge the Elite 4.
The story is somewhat subtle and never detracts from the overall adventure. There may be an evil team or two (or three). There may be a legendary Pokemon to rule them all. You may have a rival who's always one step ahead of you. One thing is for certain: the pace of the adventure will not be linear. You can go about it from any direction you like. Each gym leader will have a story to tell and may have some involvement with the main story. (Think of the Unova gym leaders in Black & White.)
There are three evil teams who are essentially rival gangs fighting for supremacy in the regions. You can see their members scattered about doing their thing, even fighting amongst themselves. You'll even get ganged up on by one of each all at once! (Triple battle, anyone?) Their goal is to rule both regions. However, only one of them is a major threat.
You see, each region is already terrorized by one gang; however, the struggle is stagnant and both gangs are constantly at war with each other. What is the third gang doing? Well, they're not in control of much except a small portion of the underground. Their numbers are constantly growing, however, as their Poke Drug trafficking business gets bigger and better and more people join their ranks to cash in on the success. This Poke Drug is used to enhance the performance of Pokemon to dangerous levels at the cost of long-term harm. In battle, a Poke Drug can make their stats increase but their HP suffer, it can make one stat go up drastically while making another go down drastically, it can make them cause strange weather effects and field effects, or it can change the typing of the Pokemon or the typing of its moves. The scary thing is that these Poke Drugs take effect the moment the infected Pokemon enters the battle. You will find these Poke Drug-enhanced Pokemon used by normal trainers who may have purchased these drugs in back-alley dealings, and you'll especially find them used by members of all three gangs. How did the other two gangs get in on this shady business? That's a secret even for this spoiler!
The third gang's ultimate goal is to get filthy rich and trample the two rival gangs. However, their leader has an even bigger ambition. He/She not only wants to smash the other two gangs. He/She wants to crush them and the people of the regions beneath his/her heel. His/Her master plan is to capture the legendary Pokemon who bind the two regions together and combine and amplify their power with the Poke Drugs to rule the world with an iron fist. If you choose to fight off this massive threat, you won't be alone. Every important character you meet has a role to play in this journey, even the gym leaders, even your rival, and especially the Pokemon who are on your side.
Speaking of your rival, you won't even know you have one until you enter your first gym. You see his or her name etched on the plaque at the entrance, making you aware that you weren't the first to enter and complete the challenge. Sooner or later, you actually catch up to your rival, who has been so far ahead of you the entire time, meeting him or her in person. But, even after your first battle, your rival is still ahead of you. Your rival may even reach the championship before you do.
By the way, you noticed how I've been talking about two regions? Yeah. There are two regions. Nine gyms on one, and nine gyms on the other, with the Pokemon League in the middle. And, since Pokemon's two-game business model will live on forever, each version starts you off in the region opposite the other. Pretty cool, right?
There will be side quests. If you want an idea of how side quests can be done right in the Pokemon world, look at Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon (and Sun and Moon as well). There's a great video giving a very optimistic view on the potential of side quests while listing 10 of USUM's side quests. (Spoiler warning!)
The adventure doesn't end when you defeat the evil teams and save the world. It doesn't even end when you beat the Pokemon League. After the credits, you will wake up at home, and the next thing you will be tasked with is to find and cure the Poke Drug-infected Pokemon that still roam about the regions. As mentioned in the previous spoiler, these Pokemon have been injected with a drug that causes long-term harm which is eating away at their lives. There is a special remedy for curing what has now become a serious infection, and you must track down each identified Pokemon and apply the cure. Don't worry, though. They won't all be the usual battle and catch scenario. There are special events and scenes to go with each encounter to make each one feel meaningful and memorable. Some of these encounters may involve trainers who still willingly drug their Pokemon... If you haven't guessed it by now, my story idea is loosely inspired by the Shadow Pokemon from Colosseum and XD: Gale of Darkness.
There will be at least 200 brand new Pokemon, and for half of the game, you will only see new Pokemon. You will not see old Pokemon until halfway through the adventure, right after you defeat your 9th gym leader. That is when swarms of Pokemon from other regions start migrating and becoming regular encounters among the new Pokemon.
Since the adventure will be long and fulfilling, you will probably think to yourself, "Man, I sure would like to battle right now, but my Pokemon are nowhere near as competitive yet, and I haven't unlocked the Mega Bracelet/Z-Ring either!" Don't fret, young trainer! Introducing... STADIUM MODE! Yes, there will be a Pokemon Stadium-like mode where you can battle against your friends, battle with your friends, and battle against the computer in league championships very similar to the Stadium series, using rental Pokemon! You will also have a rental Mega Bracelet and rental Z-Ring to use with the Mega Stones and Z-Crystals your rental Pokemon may or may not be holding! There will be a variety of customization rules for free battles. You can choose your rentals freely from a roster including every common Pokemon from Bulbasaur to the last legal Pokemon of the current game, or have them chosen randomly for you in a similar fashion to Challenge Cup rules! When you finally have a battle-ready team from your adventure, you can take them to Stadium Mode and battle with the Pokemon you raised on your own. You can also transfer Pokemon from previous games for use in Stadium Mode, but not in Adventure Mode until you have completed the Pokemon League. Each battle composed in this mode will earn you and participating players BP to use on things BP is typically used for, such as Move Tutor moves and held items used for battle!
There is full character customization starting from the very beginning of the game. You're not relegated to only being a 10-year-old kid. You can be a younger kid. You can be a teenager. You can be a grown-ass adult! (See Pokemon Battle Revolution for details.) You can adjust your skin color on a value scale and your hair, eye, and clothing colors on a color wheel, scale, or grid. This character you create will be your avatar throughout the entire single-player adventure and the Stadium Mode previously mentioned. And, of course, you can unlock new clothing, hairstyles, and accessories in the adventure. There may even be some surprise unlockables when completing certain Stadium Mode challenges!
Secret bases make a triumphant return! Since the world is so vast, you can set up a secret base pretty much anywhere. The best part is that you can connect to the internet and visit your friends' secret bases. You can hang out in secret bases and interact with your friends and their toys in real time. No generic trainer substitutes! You can even offer trades and challenge each other to battles. It will almost feel like an MMO!
With all this cool and awesome stuff you might be spending your Pokemon Dollars on, you're probably wondering how to best mine some cold, hard cash. Well, you're in luck! Behold, the return of the VS. Seeker! You want a rematch with a previously defeated trainer? Just pop out the VS. Seeker, press that button near the vicinity of some trainers, and you'll be fighting those trainers over and over again until you're satisfied. Be warned, though. Their Pokemon will get stronger, so you better be prepared. This is also a great method for grinding your Pokemon to level 100!
By the way, did I mention that your Pokemon can walk beside you on your adventure? Well, of course they can! Why wouldn't they?! You can even ride the big ones if they let you! It's up to you to decide if you want to travel with your Pokemon free of their Poke Ball cage. Get excited for the most personal Pokemon experience ever conceived!
I had a lot of fun writing this, folks. Thank you for reading.
only trainer battles. No wild battles. Pokémon are gotten through gifts or "loan" out by friends. Maybe through side quests or story (like Lucario in X&Y). Also all battles are double. None of that single nonsense.
And then get fired when it sells bad compared to current sales. But it'll be a game I'll enjoy so I win. (Pokemon colosseum is my favorite Pokémon game)
- Allow the Pokemon to have moves where they actually make contact with each other properly
- Actual voice acting at last so people arent just reading text
- Put all the Pokemon in from the start
Hard mode please. That's all I ask for. Everything else is a bonus, but pleeeeease give us the option to make the games interesting/challenging for those of us who have been there since Gen 1.
I would have the TCG playable within the game with quests linked to it. Like how Gwent is in TW3.
You can buy and sell cards at shops. You can trade with NPC's and other players. Beating some NPC trainers will reward you with a card.
Gym leaders give you a card of their more powerful Pokemon, but I might get a different card to you.
There are tournaments you can play in both with NPC's and other players, I'd mix it up with different deck requirements.
I think the TCG has been overlooked for a long time with the games
Significantly improve the performance. Target 60fps, but at the very least hard locked 30fps, no drops any where.
Remove IVs from stats, make IVs instead have cosmetic variance.
Improve the social options, connecting with players directly to battle and trade, etc. Allow create a teams that are as easy and straightforward as something like Pokemon Showdown, or you can use your own raised Pokemon as usual.
It's finally time for a goth Pokemon region. 200+ new Pokemon, no new alternate forms, tons of legendaries to hunt for. Also incorporate the Pokemon TCG in the main game, Digimon World 3 style.
And the Battle Frontier goes without saying, of course :)
I would have the TCG playable within the game with quests linked to it. Like how Gwent is in TW3.
You can buy and sell cards at shops. You can trade with NPC's and other players. Beating some NPC trainers will reward you with a card.
Gym leaders give you a card of their more powerful Pokemon, but I might get a different card to you.
There are tournaments you can play in both with NPC's and other players, I'd mix it up with different deck requirements.
I think the TCG has been overlooked for a long time with the games
- Turn it into an ARPG. Pokémon battles would still be in close ambient themed rooms, as the original games, but this time the encounters would requiere a bit more of action skill. The ABXY buttons would have an attack assigned to them corresponding to a different skill obtained through leveling up the Pokémon, R1/L1 buttons would be used to dodge/dash respectively, R2/L2 would be use to enter the item and Pokémon menus. The Pokémon stats would affect the damage and all that stuff, so Pokémon breading, as much as i hate it, could still be possible.
- Properly worked animations.
- An interesting main quest, aside from the "get the 8 badges!" thing, and some side quests sparkled over it.
- Character customization.
Base it on an area that has a central location and moves outward. Allow full exploration of the world based on you and your Pokemon. Certain moves now have use outside of battle- for example fly can get your Pokemon to float you over to a new area or let you get on their back and actually ride.
Limit the amount of new Pokemon. Have only 4 legends- two boxart, one extra and one to come in a free update down the road. Plan for these updates to the game to keep players engaged.
For the world make it so it's alive. There are harder areas with stronger trainers that push you away if you aren't ready. Ditch the money aspect for trainer battles, add a selling aspect that allows you to find and sell items to push exploration. Add caves and areas that open up as you progress.
The story is simplified. You're not the chosen one. You're just another trainer wanting to be champion. The legendaries aren't that much of a legend, but seeing your box one is what pushed you to want to be a trainer. And instead of using in game assets for cutscenes, make it anime ones. This can allow more synergy between everything and setup generation ten to continue this in merchandising and TCG.
3. The protagonist has a Fame meter. More experienced cpu trainers won't battle you until you've reached a higher fame level. These trainers are scattered everywhere, including Route 1. You can increase fame by progressing through the story normally and by completing side quests.
4. No evil team. There are just unaffiliated jerks scattered across the region like in real life. You'll have to smash whoever's enforcing the status quo that enables bad people though.
5. No rival. You're starting this journey alone. The champion and the professor keep the other two starters.
Less walling off areas, but make it possible to escape easily, no matter what, if you find yourself stuck and in over your head.
More clothes. Fuck it, just make the game Style Savvy.
Get rid of the silly ride costumes, or at least make them more customizable so that you don't have to look like a crash test dummy if you don't want to.
Ralts is there. Vulpix is there. Wobbuffet is there.
Two teams again, make their rivalry silly, but their competition fierce and serious. Maybe have them be about being for and against the rights of Pokémon or for and again constantly trying to destroy Pokémon habitats for greedy corporations who hide their true nature behind campaigns of claiming to love Pokémon.
Clothing options don't suck and have variety. You can have a wider range of hairstyles and colors.
No gimmicks when it comes to battling, they always feel half assed anyway, so let's full ass the battle system with new moves, and epic new animations for all moves.
Easier access to your closet and maybe the ability to change your hair from being tied up to being loose, so long as it's long enough. You don't need to spend money every time you want a ponytail. Please. I just want to play dress up.
I would focus all the resources on a single vision: Make Pokémon the perfect open world game it was always meant to be. Maximum emphasis on exploration. Free-roaming Pokémon of all levels, huge cities, vast fields, mysterious forests, deep caverns, underground caves, lakes, the sea. You can go anywhere from the start, except for some parts, where you need to obtain a specific item to progress (think Metroid).
Make multiplayer Soulslike. Trainers can get "summoned" anywhere and help you out for a battle or to catch a Pokémon.
Keep the battle system but make it more fluid so that seasoned players can breeze through them without distracting loading and waiting times.
Make trainer encounters much more rare and make them more challenging and give you a nice reward for defeating them.
Have an actually meaningful story with fleshed out characters. The story should not be the focus at all though. Perhaps you want to go search for your long-lost dad, an explorer, or something. I don't want another "Become the champion" story, so no gyms and no Pokemon league.
Have all Pokémon included as well as 100+ new Pokémon alongside regional variants. I would tend more towards a Gen 5 approach.
Pokémon is now an open world MMO with a tick-tock 6 month cycle. Small updates include mechanical changes and a new dungeon and are free. Big update is moderately priced and includes a few new mons, a new gym with its own quest chain plus a new raid dungeon. Oh yeah there are multiplayer raid dungeons now too. Also BotW-ish art style.
My main strategy to convince the other Devs is that I'm a 6'5" dude who weighs 250lb, have karate and boxing training, and can deadlift over 450lb. Anybody who wants to oppose me can come down for a shirts-off fist fight behind the bike racks at 3pm. I'm pretty sure I can take anybody who works on Pokémon.
