I think Arc is looking for something a little more polished than that.
In a different manner. Barkley Gaiden polished itself into a very boring corner. This is a brainstorming session at the moment, folks. I appreciate the concern for expanding our goals too far. You all have very good heads on your shoulders to acknowledge this common trap.
Can't we think of better enemies than 4chan memes? ... I like the idea of The Mayor fighting RPG tropes themselves...
Not only can we think of better enemies than just memes, but we can expand a bit beyond just RPG tropes.
However, as a jumping off point for the artistic style, they could be combined. As in, the boss that can take thousands of point blank shots to the face? Slightly based off the HA! HA! Guy, but
truly a discombobulated floating head.
I'm aiming to register a jolt of twisted familiarity before the slaying begins.
There could be a lot more creative ways to do this than straight up monster battles (like metagame puzzles).
It would have to incorporate upgraded weapons & armor, skills and stats. And the puzzles would have to be enjoyable in themselves, and not just something getting in the way.
My interest in this game died the moment it became the Mayors trip to cliche town. At the beginning I was under the impression this was to be an original work.
I think we can avoid making this 4chan the game, especially since this is our project. A lot of us are creative and can generate innovative ideas.
The cliche route
could be only one of the four paths, but damned if it doesn't lend itself to being incorporated into the entire game. To be honest, around here, I read the critique threads over and over. The storytelling threads? Not so much.