Time-Based Puzzles and Monsters

I came up with a map idea that I'm beginning to develop which is centered around the player's ability to navigate through time, specifically being able to backtrack in time a certain number of seconds. The map is based in the dungeon tileset with custom lighting to give it a more cave-like feel.

The map-type is RPG/Adventure, but it is very light on story. Each player controls 1 hero, and there are up to 5 players. Every hero has these two innate abilities:


The map is linear, and is filled with traps, puzzles, and unique monsters which require use of the two aforementioned skills to get past. The map has several difficult bosses at the end of certain zones.
Since I'm not the most creative person, I'm going to need some help brainstorming traps, puzzles, and enemies which take advantage of the time-traveling aspect of the map. To get some creative juices flowing, here's a few examples that I've come up with.

Examples Puzzle: There is a closed door which you need to get past, and a foot-switch in front of it. While there is a hero on the switch, the door remains open. When there is nobody on the switch, the door becomes closed. You need to get all 5 heroes across with nobody left behind. Solution: Hero 1 stands on the switch, and heroes 2-5 move through the door. Hero 2 activates his Time Beacon, then goes back through the door and steps on the switch. Hero 1 steps off the switch and goes through the door. Hero 1 activates his Time Anchor. Hero 2 deactivates his Time Beacon, shifting time back. Boss: The Boss starts off with about 20% hit points, and its health regeneration increases over time (starting at a rate which makes it impossible to kill him at the start of the fight). For every 200 damage the boss takes, he sheds a power crystal. When a hero picks up a power crystal, he gains damage and bonus power to his spells. If the boss reaches 100% hit points, he deals 10x attack damage. Solution: Create a Time Beacon as soon as the fight starts. Deal as much damage as you can to gather many power crystals and keep the boss from reaching 100% hit points. After you've gathered enough crystals, All 5 heroes activate Time Anchor (Except maybe a healer who would go back to 100% mana if he went back in time), Deactivate the Time Beacon, and use the bonus damage to quickly defeat the boss.

I'm not sure if this is the proper forum for it, but I figured it was the best place since this is a discussion/brainstorming thread for a map in its very early development. Please post feedback about the map premise, as well as ideas for traps, puzzles, monsters and bosses.

This seems both fun and unique. I don't think I'm too good with ideas but for a puzzle, what about ... more gates and TIMED levers? Like:

LC GA LA LB GB GC

where g = gate and l = lever. So say each lever opened it's corresponding gate, and they only lasted for 5 seconds. It takes more than 5 seconds to move from LC to past GC, so you would need to make a time beacon in between LA and LB so that you can port back to it. Maybe add a few switches to spice it up (eg. activates a boulder which falls and if it hits a hero, stuns for 2 seconds BUT it must be passed while moving through a path so the players need to time their movements)...ya that's pretty crap but I hoped it helped in some way.

EDIT: Oh I forgot to mention to the RIGHT of GC (the last gate) is where the heroes are trying to go to.

Depending on how fast the time reversal is, you could create a puzzle by creating a pathway which has some obstacles in it, flames, doors, spikes w/e, which only allow movement in the false direction.
| . . | | where | is blocked and . is open
. . | | . and youd have to get from left to right
. | | . .
| | . . |
So you would have to activate that time anchor in front of it, reverse time and run through it while the obstacles are still moving backwards in time.

How about a third ability? [Channeled] Speeds up the time within the aoe.
This way you could create some more puzzles and bosses. One boss could be a "very" old warrior, which is the way he is when you face him still to agile to beat him. So you have to cast that Speed-Up spell on him so he gets even older and moves slower/gets weaker until you can kill him. Or if you don't like the idea of having a third skill, you could try to do the same effect on the boss by travelling back in time without the boss.

The opposite boss would be some rookie which becomes a baby if you make him travel back in time n-times.

Another puzzle would be having twice as many switches as there are heros (seems like you wanted 5 heros, so youd have 10 switches) that need to be activate at the same time (1-3secs time to activate all of them) so you would activate the time beacon, activate one half of the switches, travel back in time and activate the rest.

It seems to me that you could never get 5 players to coordinate enough to solve more intelligent puzzles (like the one you gave as an example). I think two or three heroes is enough, and perhaps it should be just a single-player map with one player controlling all the heroes, instead of having one player per hero.

Nah, give us BNet assholes our multiplayer. Who gives a shit about random morons not liking it, I'd play that map with my buddies.

Disturbing.

This map idea sounds really fun. Don't design it for random pubbies, design it with the idea that a group of people who know each other (and aren't retarded) will play your map. Make it challenging.

Alright thanks for the ideas everyone. I'll design it for 3 friends, where each hero has its own special role and each one is important in its own way. I'm thinking one Support Mage/Healer, One Paladin-esque blocker, and a ranged damager.

Oh...and sorry Dusk but it looks like this is my new project >_<
Maybe after this map I'll go back to Dominion...

Uh huh, and maybe after your next new project, you'll go back to this one. :p