My Ben 10 Video Game Idea

• Story and Setting
• I’m hoping that for this game, the story and setting would take into account of only the events and continuity of the 2005 original Ben 10 show and not any of the other shows. Have the story act as a new sequel to the original show while also have it branch off in a different path that is of its own and separate from the other shows.
• The style of the game would greatly reflect and replicate that of the 2005 original show. The art style would also greatly reflect and replicate that of the original show as well with various improvements made to further increase the level of detail and quality of the animations. This is something that I want to try and have the art and animation team members as I find that this could be quite unique to pull of in a video game.
• The game is set in an open world where players can play as both Ben and Gwen and explore many various planets within the Ben 10 universe.
• The story would focus on further developing and improving Ben and Gwen’s relationship as it progresses.
• I’m not exactly sure as to how I could have the story in this game be portrayed as but I do have some ideas.
• Mercenaries and bounty hunters are after Ben and Gwen and they must find as to who placed the bounty on them and shut it down.
• Zs’Skayr successfully manages to possess Ben but Gwen manages to save Ben and they both defeat Zs’Skayr. Due to Ben being possessed for a prolonged period of time (much longer than Gwen), he went through a mutation phase that made him part Ectonurite and Ben and Gwen have Xylene or Tetrax take them to see Azmuth to have Ben go through gene therapy to return him back to normal. The experience of Zs’Skayr possessing Ben proves to be traumatizing to him.
• Vilgax returns and threatens Earth and Ben and Gwen decides to go on the offensive and hunt down and stop Vilgax.
• Kevin escapes the Null Void and initiates a new plan to go after Ben. Ben and Gwen must hunt down Kevin, stop him, and send him back into the Null Void.
• The story would start immediately after the events of the Original Series where Ben, Gwen, and Max would return back home from their summer road trip. It would focus more on the characters growing up and further developing as Ben and Gwen try to adjust to their hero lives while also coming across new and old dangers. (This story would have a more plot and character driven approach and thus would likely have a more linear approach to the gameplay but could progress more and more to a more open world state as the story progresses further. This direction for the story is very much inspired by the Ben 10 fan fiction stories, Little Moments and Breaking Point by shadows59. I highly recommend checking it out.).
• The story would also act as a bridge between the original show and Ben’s future as Ben 10,000 as Ben struggles to face such a future. The game could end with either a tragic event pushing Ben into becoming the more serious, cynical, and obsessive hero that he fears becoming OR Ben succeeds in fighting to not reach that breaking point thus maintaining his old self while also changing his future towards a more positive outcome.
• Gameplay Overview
• Players will, of course, take on the role of both Ben and Gwen in both single player and 2-player co-op (online and/or offline). If playing on single player, players can quickly switch between controlling Ben and Gwen on the fly at any time while the AI takes control of the other.
• The game will incorporate fast-pace and high-octane hack-and-slash/beat-em-up game mechanics in combat.
• Players can travel to various planets within the Ben 10 universe with each planet having various characteristics that would affect the gameplay (enemy types, environments with hazards, weathers, societies, etc).
• Each planet will have sizable areas to explore but even more importantly have greater levels of depth. Each planet will have it’s own characteristics and atmospheres to help make it feel like a living, breathing world that can be interacted with and can interact with the player. Player actions can affect the overall state of each planet (more on that later).
• Players can use a wide and numerous varieties of different weapons (this is a maybe at the moment), aliens, and magic spells inside and outside of combat.
• Enemies will be designed to provide encounters that will require skills, strategy, and experience to overcome. There will be a major reliance on having Ben and Gwen working together inside and outside of combat in order to overcome such challenges.
• Based on player actions inside and outside of combat, enemies will constantly adapt to combat Ben and Gwen, thus keeping players on their toes in regards to their encounters with said enemies (more on this later).
• Upgrades can be made to both Ben and Gwen to improve their capabilities and effectiveness (more on that later).
• Playing as Ben Tennyson
• Ben’s play style relies greatly on strategy, quick thinking and adapting, and improvisation. Not everything will go exactly the way the player plans for it to go (especially in regards to using the Omnitrix) and therefore players will have to quickly adapt to when things don’t go according to plan.
• Ben can transform into many various different aliens that will each suit a specific role and have their own unique characteristics and abilities that can allow players to influence combat and the game world. Each alien will have their own sets of advantages and disadvantages.
• Note: There will be many different aliens that players can use. I don’t have an exact number yet but it can be at least 10, 20, or 30 different aliens that Ben can transform into in the game.
• Also note: I intend to only utilize aliens that are significant and necessary for the game. That means not every alien that the Ben 10 franchise has ever showcased will be used. For example, Humungousaur won’t be used in game since that Ben already has Four Arms. Fasttrack won’t be in the game because Ben has XLR8. Eatle won’t be in the game because Ben has Upchuck. Swampfire won’t be used because Ben has Heatblast and Wildvine. Echo Echo won’t be used because Ben has Ditto and Benwolf/Blitzwolfer and Echo Echo is way too powerful to be properly balanced. Certain aliens, such as Feedback and Big Chill, are…debatable.
• Using the Omnitrix
• Selecting aliens from the Omnitrix will be done like in the show. Players will have to dial either left or right between different aliens to find the one that they want to use.
• In single player, dialing between aliens will temporarily slow down time. This is a maybe though as I may instead go for just having the game run in read time instead as players dial through each of Ben’s aliens, thus encouraging players to find suitable cover. In co-op, dialing between aliens will happen in real time.
• In single player, a transformation sequence will play every time players (playing as Ben) selects an alien to use. This sequence can be skipped at any time and can be turned off in the options menu as well. There is no transformation sequence in co-op.
• There is a percent likelihood that the Omnitrix would transform Ben into any alien that the player did not intend to select.
• After transforming into an alien, Ben will remain in his alien form for 10-15 minutes before the Omnitrix times out. Recharge times can take 5-15 minutes before the Omnitrix fully recharges. Players can use the Omnitrix again if the energy supply is at 50-75% but a temporary bonus could be applied if players wait for the Omnitrix to fully recharge.
• At any time, players can transform between different aliens while Ben is in his alien forms. Doing so will, however, drain some of the Omnitrix’s charge, thus shortening the time in which Ben will be in his alien forms.
• Recharge stations and recharge packs can be used to charge up the Omnitrix faster.
• At any time players can transform Ben back to his normal human form early to conserve energy in the Omnitrix for later.
• If the Omnitrix times out during combat, Ben could have access to a laser/plasma pistol and/or a stun baton to allow for Ben to be able to defend himself without the use of any aliens.
• While in Ben’s normal human form, the Omnitrix can be damaged under certain circumstances. Ben sustaining heavy attacks and being thrown at hard surfaces can damage the Omnitrix. EMPs can also damage the Omnitrix severely. Applying upgrades to the Omnitrix have a chance to fail and further damage the Omnitrix if not every requirement for applying upgrades are fulfilled. Even tempering with the Omnitrix in ways that Ben does in the show can cause damage to it.
• The more damage the Omnitrix sustains, the greater the likelihood in which the Omnitrix would transform Ben into an alien that the player didn’t intend to select.
• If the Omnitrix sustains too much damage, then the transformations will either be almost or entirely random every time the Omnitrix is used and/or players will receive random fusion aliens that will either provide a significant advantage or disadvantage. Most fusion aliens will cause a significant disadvantage to players.
• Repair kits can be used to partially repair the Omnitrix.
• The Omnitrix can be fully repaired either by rebooting it (which will take time to go through, leaving Ben vulnerable/less effective in combat) or players can get the Omnitrix repaired either by going to Xylene, Myaxx, and/or Azmuth with each providing unique temporary bonuses to the Omnitrix.
• Playing as Gwen Tennyson
• Gwen’s play style reflects more of her training and experience with martial arts and intelligence. Outside of combat, she acts as more of a voice of reason and provides guidance to others. Spells and charms can be used inside and outside of combat.
• Gwen can utilize a numerous amount of varied spells that, like with Ben’s aliens, have their own unique characteristics as well as sets of advantages and disadvantages.
• Selecting spells is done through a selection wheel. Like with the Omnitrix, opening up the selection wheel will slow down time in single player but won’t in co-op.
• Gwen can also equip up to a certain number of charms (for example, she can equip a maximum of 5 charms but no more). Each charm can provide a passive bonus to Gwen’s abilities and effectiveness in game with some of the charms even providing Gwen with new abilities. Players can switch between which charms to equip to change up their play styles and strategies when encountering various situations in game.
• Gwen also has access to the Keystone of Bezel. When activated, the Keystone will drastically increase Gwen’s natural attributes as well as make her spells and/or charms even more powerful and effective.
• This is only temporary as using the Keystone will drain its supply of mana. In order to use it again, players will have to charge the Keystone up with more mana.
• Gwen can unlock more spells and charms by acquiring spell books.
• Gwen has her own supply of mana to use to cast spells with. If she uses up too much mana, it will make her weak and unable to cast more spells, leaving her in a vulnerable state until she regains more mana.
• Gwen’s mana will naturally recharge on its own.
• Players can use mana orbs to partially regain mana for Gwen to use.
• Note: In this game, I intend to have Gwen be 100% fully human and therefore not make her a Human/Anodite hybrid.
• Overview of Planets
• As stated before each planet has its own unique characteristics and sizable map for players to explore. Environmental hazards will provide challenges to players when exploring.
• Planets will feature their own societies and civilizations that can interact with the players and can be interacted by players.
• Planets will also feature their own criminal organization that significantly affects each planet in negative ways. Players can focus on shutting down these organizations to help improve the state of each planet as well as gain various bonuses that can benefit Ben and Gwen. There will always be a chance that new criminal organizations can form and take over, having their own set of characteristics that are different from the previous organization that players previously dismantled.
• Example:
• Pyros
• The home planet of the Pyronites (Heatblast). Pyros also acts as its own fully functioning sun. The harsh and extremely hot environment makes life for other species living on the planet difficult.
• Ben and Gwen have to wear their own environmental protection suits in order to be able to explore the planet’s surface. These suits require the use of coolant packs for temperature regulation and or power packs to keep the energy shielding up for protection from the planet’s environment.
• Pockets of civilization act as safe zones for outside species to take shelter in from the harsh environment.
• Due to the planet acting as its own functioning sun, it provides a significantly large amount of energy, making it a big target for criminal organizations to harvest power from.
• The highest number of planets that could be explored in the game is 15 planets. The lowest is 8 planets. A good middle ground is between 10 and 12 planets in the game for players to explore.  I am not exactly sure yet as to how big each planet’s map should be.
• Overview of Enemies
• Enemies should be designed around providing good significant challenges for Ben and Gwen to face in combat but not to the point where players should feel as if they’re being cheated out. Attacks should be capable of avoiding and gameplay should be designed so that it’s the player’s fault for failing and to encourage players to become more skillful in the game as well as to have fun and be engaged in the game.
• (If you played plenty of PlatinumGames’ video games, then you should know what I mean with the gameplay and combat. Mark Brown’s Game Maker’s Toolkit series on YouTube has an episode that covers this very well.)
• Enemies can adapt to the player’s play style in order to find ways to counter Ben and Gwen’s abilities. Players will have to adapt themselves to overcome these very counters.
• Examples in regards to Ben’s aliens:
• If players use XLR8 too often, then enemies will start coming equipped with stasis grenades in an attempt to slow XLR8 down and make him an easier and more vulnerable target. However, Gwen can use kinetic and/or telekinetic spells to launch the stasis grenades back at enemies and get them caught in stasis.
• If players use Four Arms too often, enemies will start coming equipped with exo-suits and/or have Tetramands around to match Four Arms’ high strength and damage resistance. However, the exo-suits are vulnerable to Upgrade and electricity-based attacks.
• If players use Diamondhead too often, enemies will start coming equipped with high frequency based weaponry in order to do more damage against Diamondhead and be able to shatter Diamondhead’s crystals.
• If players use Heatblast too often, enemies will start coming equipped with ice/water-based weaponry and/or will have ice/water-based aliens to counter Heatblast.
• Reputation System
• Planets will each have a reputation system that is affected by player actions and will determine how the inhabitants of each planet view Ben and Gwen.
• Having a high reputation on a planet will have the inhabitants view Ben and Gwen in a more positive way and will even help Ben and Gwen by providing discounts at shops, information on criminal activity, supply caches, support, etc.
• Having a low reputation on a planet will pretty much be the opposite of a high reputation as the inhabitants will view Ben and Gwen in a more negative way and be less willing to help them.
• Performing good heroic deeds with as little collateral damage as possible can increase each planet’s reputation towards Ben and Gwen.
• Depending on how high or low Ben and Gwen’s reputation is for each planet will also determine how much the crime rate will fluctuate for said planets.
• Crime Rate
• Planets will also each have their own crime rates as well that can also be affected by player actions and they will always fluctuate (increase or decrease) over time.
• Depending on how high or low the crime rate is for each planet will determine the state of civilizations within each planet and how dangerous and challenging each planet would be for Ben and Gwen (the players) to face.
• Ways to decrease the crime rate of each planet
• The crime rate can decrease if players, of course, stop criminals and shut down criminal activity.
• Players can also focus on restructuring and improving each planet’s police force to better and more effectively combat crime.
• This will also improve Ben and Gwen’s reputation as well.
• Some police forces may have corrupt officials as well that would need to be removed as part of players’ attempt at restructuring them.
• Having a strong, capable, and highly moral police force can also affect the fluctuation of crime on each planet as well. Even decreasing it.
• Dismantling the major criminal organizations that run each planet will also largely decrease the crime rate as well.
• This will also improve Ben and Gwen’s reputation too.
• There will always be a chance that new criminal organizations can form and/or the crime rate for certain planets can increase again. Players must stay alert for when this happens in the game.
  
• Soundtrack
• What I have in mind for a soundtrack for this very game is one that revolves around setting players into the gameplay while also being set to the player's actions as well while also being very much cinematic and progressive to help drive forward the story and character development.
• By player actions, I mean like depending on what the player does will depend on what piece of the soundtrack will be played in the game.
• This video on YouTube by Raycevick sums up what I'm referring to with this. [link]
• Pretty much like the fast-paced, high-octane action soundtrack of Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance with a progressive, symphonic, and cinematic feel of music by the American rock band, Starset. More so on the Starset side of things for the soundtrack for this game.

Twitter:
twitter.com/Gabrielzm122