I actually quite like that, for example the way it works in nethack, where for each playthrough the potions/scrolls are randomized and you have to figure out what they all do. It adds an interesting dimension to the game. Plus, it kind of makes sense to me. There isn't really any in-game reason why an arbitrary PC should know what every potion they find does, without having had some sort of training, put skill points into 'Alchemy' or whatever. I'd like to see more of those roguelike elements being implemented in other CRPGs.

I would make something smaller and more simplistic, because how inexperience I am. Maybe a classic fps that plays like Duke Nukem 3D with a lot more monsters to shoot at and a lot more blood/ gibs. Or an open world vigilante game that lets the player to play as someone like the Punisher.

They're older console games.

Apparently, The Alliance Alive, which is available on GOG, was developed by people who worked on the SaGa games and has a lot of similarities. I have yet to play it, however.

As I mentioned before, I think it works for items with multiple charges (like Shiren's pots) but not for consumables.

Even then, it doesn't work too well with save anywhere games, since the player can just reload, making the mechanic largely pointless. (There's a reason this mechanic basically disappeared over the years, except in roguelikes.)

Obviously I understand that the focus is on RPG like games.

Mi guessing is that a game needs to be long. The longer the best. Run, run from "short but sweet" defenders. specially in crpg games

The game should make feel the player involved, smart and under control, but should deny the player break the design. So the fine tuning should be important.

An open world is not mandatory, but it should be a big world, so, the "open" or "not open" label should not be so important in the big picture/design. If needed, at the first stages, a player kindergarden is not evil

Party management, user friendly micromanagement fun. Group inventory, stats, and fine tuning. party optimization. Obviously it should not be mandatory for the standard gameplay. just a mandatory feature for the rest.

Diablo like loot

Grinding, alot of. beware of the grinding haters. Grinding is what made old games pure classic and pure fun even today.

Tactical combats and sense of danger. alot of them. No puzzle like. Real Tactical instead. The randomness needs to be a real focus of the design.

Differenciated body armor like in morrowind. left right pauldron etc. Different materials. etc

Visual appealing. I mean, no hdr or bloom.

I'd say more but today is new year. XD

Actually:
* This topic doesn't need to just be about RPG and RPG-like games. Other types of games are welcome here.
* I would actually prefer there to be more shorter RPGs. One of the things I like about SaGa 1 is that it's so short, and hence I can easily replay it the instant I finish it. Also, if a game has irreversible choices (like skill points), then having the game be shorter is a good thing, as it allows one to try out different builds and choices faster. I could also mention that (global) time limits and permadeath are less of an issue the shorter the game is, though I still dislike these mechanics (except when time limits can be easily reset).

I'm not so sure about this.
I'd rather have a small, dense world than a big world with a lot of nothing.

I think it's ok for consumables, as long as they are ones that the player encounters fairly frequently. For example, there is a mod for Morrowind that shuffles the effects of all of the alchemical ingredients, which I find interesting for repeat playthroughs.

But yeah, if it's some sort of one-off rare potion or scroll that you're unlikely to see again, I see your point. There can be other means of identifying items, other than by trying them though.

That's a good point about saving/reloading. I don't like save-scumming in RPGs in general. One idea might be to limit each player's game to one save and not allow reloading unless a character dies in combat, to prevent players from undoing in-game roleplaying choices they have made.

I'm ok with long RPGs, as long as there is enough quality content to justify it. I don't like it if a game feels like it has been 'padded out' for the sake of making it longer. It feels like a waste of my time.

I don't like it when a game tries to put any sort of restrictions on saving/reloading. When there's in-game roleplaying choices to be made, I would like to be able to reload and see the other paths that could have been taken. Also, I like to sometimes experiment, and I like to be able to reload (or quit without saving) after I do the experiement.

(Also, why should having a character dying in combat be any different, particularly when there's still a character with a revive spell still alive?)

By the way, I've also thought of maybe trying to make a Celeste custom map, and here are how I would answer the questions with respect to that:
* Biggest influences: Aside from Celeste (which doesn't really count), I'll cite Syobon Action as well as Mario Maker 1/2 troll levels and Super Mario World troll hacks.
* Genre: Obviously would be a platformer, but within that genre classification this would be a troll level (if you couldn't tell from my answer to the previous question).
* Difficulty level: Relatively low. Yes, the player will die (ideally in funny ways) to things they couldn't have anticipated, but they shouldn't have any trouble if they remember where all the trolls are. In particular, it's not going to require any advanced tricks not required for reaching the normal ending of the main game. (I did see a troll map, but it wasn't that good and did require advanced tricks; I'm aiming to be better.)
* Yes, if I make it and release it, it will be labeled as a troll map.

I'm a big fan of the Hulk so I really want to see a game featuring the current version of him which is the Immortal Hulk. It would be like the Splatterhouse games but in 3D. Full of gore and body horror. It'll have some puzzle elements where you have to switch between Hulk, Banner and Joe Fixit. And a boss fight between him and the Thing. Read the comic featuring that fight and found out that despite the orange exterior, the Thing is pink on the inside.

biggest influences: flappy bird ,minecraft, fall guys , among us , phantassometing, cod and fortnite + some whale milking mobile games ,so the most popular games
genre: family competitive game with teams, those sell so well
difficulty nonexistent even noobs should be able to press some buttons and win

relevant extra question :
nudity in game? yes it should be full of boobs and nice looking women just get the pegi for kids mark
money model: free base game , dlc skins etc hugely pushed and expensive + a lot of micropayment and i mean a lot lot
os: every os
store: every store
graphics: something basic , it should look lame and crippled kids love those + very cheap and easy to make skins for
cats: yes people love those
marketing: 60%+ of budget to marketing , pay teachers to let kids play this game during school time
name: Are you cool enough?

Does this include less common ones, like Alpine Linux (uses musl libc, so binaries linked against glibc won't work), and the BSDs? Does this include obscure ones, like Redox? Does this include long obsolete ones, like MSX-DOS (which would mean it would have to run on the MSX), or Apple's GS/OS (which means running on the Apple 2GS)?

Also, does this need to be on stores that don't sell the type of game you're thinking of, or don't sell games at all? Does it need to be sold in places like Boston Store (which is problematic for multiple reasons)?

yup those too, if they would sell it in the bingo clubs thats even better , those grandmas and pas probably would buy a lot of skins to play with Billy

I want to make a Maniac Mansion and Day of the Tentacle fangame sequel to learn about making games. I have some art done and the music theme, here's attached a mock-up screen. :)

If I ever complete that project, I would work next on another adventure game, this one would be based on the wreck of the Medusa historic tragedy.

I will be using GameMaker Studio 1.4, which I got on a giveaway by _Slaugh_ here at the GOG forums.

As for your questions:

* What games would likely be your biggest influences?
The Lucas Arts adventure games would be my main influence for these projects.

* What genre would you be looking at?
Point and click adventure games.

* What difficulty level would you aim for (at least initially)?
I would focus more on story than puzzles, my games wouldn't be too difficult, I think. I would only add difficult puzzles if the story requires it and they make perfect sense.