I was talking to someone on IRC last night, and going over some of my game ideas with him. To my surprise, he didn''t like any of them. Feeling somewhat demoralised, I went to bed, but today it still bothers me.
So I''ve got a few ideas, and I''d like to post them, to see what people think. Am I boring and unoriginal, or were they just not to that particular person''s ''taste?''
OK, here goes. These are all going to be a little vague, I''m afraid, as I don''t have much development on any of them - I just write down the concept for future reference.
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Idea #1 - working title ''Cyber.''
The future. The world is run by giant corporations. There is no unemployment, no crime, as the world has become one Orwellian police state. Everything anyone does is logged in triplicate.
However, you do not exist. One day a group of soldiers attacked you on the street, leaving you for dead. Before you knew it, you were a non-person. With no identity and no credentials, you turn to the only still-profitable work outside of the corporations - hacking.
OK, so the player is a hacker in a futuristic society. They take on ''missions'' for money, with which they can buy more equipment - and all the time they''re trying to find out who sent the soldiers and why they were trying to kill them.
A mission could be conducted completely ''online'' - that is, through the player''s terminal in their apartment - but many missions will require trips to actual locations in order to use terminals, steal/destroy equipment, or to deal with people.
The storyline is composed of 12 parts; the first eleven of which can be started at pretty much any time (depending on the missions which the player chooses to do). Once all 11 storylines are complete, the 12th can begin. At the end, there''s a choice of two endings.
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Idea #2 - Space MMORPG
There''s a war on. Two ideologically different sides - one sponsored by the governments and UN, the other preaching ''freedom from oppression'' (has roots in anarchy). Players are pilots. Upon joining, a player is given a ship, which they keep for the duration of the game, no matter where they''re stationed. Players can form into squadrons and get sent out to do battle against players from the other side.
If you want, you can fly to different space stations. If you want to avoid a battle, say, or if you want to buy a particular upgrade for your ship.
Most of the game is spend in the cockpit of the ship, a 6DOF environment, best played with a joystick. Everything''s 3D. You get money for completing missions, which you can spend on ship upgrades, or food and supplies (if you plan on going on a journey, say from one space station to the next).
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Idea #3 - Moo
Many of you will have heard this before (the ''Fun with Farm Animals'' thread), but for those who haven''t, here it is:
In the small english village of Greater Plinkington, a historic event is about to take place. An alien ship lands in the field next to Farmer Brown''s house. A hatch opens. However, rather than a blaze of light and the sounds of ''take me to your leader,'' two small green aliens run out, grab Daisy the cow (who has been watching as cows do), and run back in with her. The hatch closes.
Farmer Brown, awakened by the noise, gets up and opens his curtains. He comes face to face with Daisy, through a porthole. The ship takes off.
With an enraged cry of ''Ooarh!'' Farmer Brown grabs his pitchfork and jumps onto his combine harvester, and drives down to NASA. After threatening the Spaceship Manager with his pitchfork, he is given a spaceship, and sets off in pursuit of the alien ship.
Once aboard, it turns out that the ship is full of farm animals. Sheep, horses, pigs, goats, bulls... Farmer Brown must use them, and his pitchfork, to complete puzzles, find Daisy the Cow, and get safely back to Earth.
Gameplay is fairly simple. It''s a third-person view, in 3D. You walk up to a sheep, the sheep bleats and starts following you. You come up against an alien that''s in your way, you gather a load of sheep together and stampede them over him. You need to get over a large gap, you jump over it on a horse. That sort of thing.
The graphics style is cel-shaded. It''s not meant to be at all serious.
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Idea #4 - flying cars
To understand this idea, it''ll help if you''ve seen the film The Fifth Element. Remember how the cities looked in that? Mile-high skyscrapers, flying cars.. well, that''s basically the environment this game is set in. You''re a taxi driver (coincidence, I assure you
), at the lower end of the quality-of-life scale. You get jobs through your in-car radio, with pickup points. You go to a pickup-point and collect a passenger, you get given a destination. The faster you pick them up and drop them off, the bigger the tip that you get.
Now, of course, it doesn''t stop there. You start getting interesting customers. A certain important member of the Casa Nostra (Mafia) jumps into your car, and just says ''Drive.'' With the cops after you, you''ve got two choices - you can either try and lose them, or turn the guy in. If you try and lose them, you become an outlaw. The guy isn''t ungrateful - you get given a job as a mafia driver - but you get the cops chasing you. If you turn him in, you get thanks from the police, but the mafia aren''t terribly happy with you.
It really gets going from there. High-speed chases, careful manouvers, large explosions. A continually branching storyline. Shady deals, fast cars. You get to move to different cities, and so on.
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That''s all I''ve got at the moment. Are these good or bad ideas?
Thanks in advance...
Superpig
- saving pigs from untimely fates
- sleeps in a ham-mock at www.thebinaryrefinery.cjb.net
