What about some kind of tuning and circuit board puzzle?

You have a set of stand test tool that is used to send a set of standard memory patterns into the device accompanied by a visual display, and an output screen that displays the output. The active circuit path is also highlighted for that input. Your goal is to adjust tuning settings and replace fault components so that both the input and output match.

Or you could a person as the input source and add dialog choice to the mix.

Thanks for everyone's feedback, this is all really useful stuff.

I sat down and had a talk with another member of the team and we've come up with an innovative idea that suits the situation and the feel of the game. It's not quite what people have been suggesting but maybe that's because I didn't tell you all the minor details of the plot.

Nevertheless I appreciate the advice! I'll keep you all posted about any updates. We should have some concept/promotional art available quite soon and hopefully a website too.

If it's at the beginning of the game, making it into a minigame wouldn't really feel appropriate. At this stage of the game, the player should be learning about the fundamental aspects of the game, how to play and so forth. First guide the player through the most basic actions (moving around, examining something, et cetera), and then move on through somewhat more complex actions. Once the turning point of the plot occurs, the player should be competent enough and comfortable enough to handle whatever needs to be done, without feeling utterly lost or overwhelmed.

So try to work fundamental gameplay into this opening time, while still making it reasonably easy (focusing on only one thing at a time, for example). Don't introduce gameplay mechanics that won't be used very often during the rest of the game.

Sounds to me like you should look at the trama center series for nintendo. Your a surgen yet the game has to be one of the best i've played and there's nothing fun about being a surgen and tearing ppl apart and sewing them back up. Its a similar situtation with minigame puzzle like game play combined with dexterity to keep up iwth the virus and vitals...

of course trauma center made the surgeries exciting by adding viruses that fought back, surgeries on ticking time bombs, and surgeries in the dark with only the flash from a cheap disposable camera to light your way. Also exciting music. Man that was a great game.

something like the old carmen sandiago computer game would be cool you could be following errors that you have fix that give you clues to the story that lead you to one location. of course you could have dead ends though however deep the game goes. you could also have the unknown corp be modeled after the the NWO conspiracies cause i dont think thats been done unless metal gear solid sons of liberty did that