Harvest Moon in completely different settings/gameplay, Don't take it seriously Options

[Darth-Paper-Boy]

So it's the 15th Anniversary of the series and that got me thinking... Five years ago was when Marvelous decided to go nuts and try something different with Rune Factory and Innocent Life... with a bit of lopsided success. Either way, both games took the series in completely new directions and introduced new concepts to the series. If you were going to have a complete departure of the HM setting to introduce new gameplay elements, what's an idea you would go for?

I think a post apocalyptic RPG could be fun, and also take the "futuristic Harvest Moon" gameplay to a stronger idea. Though don't let the "post-apocalyptic" bit throw you off. Though the genre is mostly known for dark humor and general grittiness, it's pretty easy to do lighthearted as it should be for this kind of game. For gameplay, I think it could introduce a different brand of farming by maintaining a semi-automated hydroponic farm to produce crops in an area with a suffering ecosystem. Instead of upgrading your tools to make the daily routines go by faster, you would explore ruins to find new modifications to the system to make it more efficient... which is basically the same, just done differently. In the ruins you'd likely fight mutations, gangs, and other such fighty things as Rune Factory presents it except with more abundant albeit smaller dungeons that may or may not yield reward and maybe even other settlements who's population you could absorb as your farm gets more efficient at maintaining a larger population.

So, what weird ideas do you think might be interesting?

[Noviwan]

I like that idea I don't know why they dont ever go towards modernization I know we love our tools and upgrading them as well as our barns, coops, stables, and home but seriously they could expand things keep the original feel without turing into a farm business simulation

alos the post apoca idea I like it