Recently I decided fish are very pretty, so it would be fun to make the sprites for some sort of single-player 2D game involving fish. And gameplay-wise, I am interested in how their genetics determine their shape and colors. Beyond that I don't want to retread the same ground already covered by EVO (start as a fish, eat monsters to get energy to evolve) or Fish Tycoon (breed ornamental fish and sell them in a pet shop). I want to think outside the box and brainstorm some creative possibilities for a fish game, so please lend me your brains! [grin] Random things I've thought of: - Like playing a hunter in WoW, or a monster rancher/pokemon trainer, the player could be a merman or mermaid who tamed fish and turned them into fighting pets. A minor variation would be a monster-summoner who could summon different kinds of fish, or a shapeshifter who could transform into different kinds of fish. - Fish are kind of like birds; in a low-gravity setting one could have 'air fish' which basically are birds. Also the pinnacle of fish evolution could be something like a sea dragon or a phoenix. - Real fish are kind of boring because they aren't very smart, so how about a fantasy version of fish that are more intelligent? This could lead to a Creatures/SIMS style babysitting game, or to a Lemmings-style puzzle game. - An RTS is probably beyond my design abilities, but an army of fish with a genetic tech tree, something like Zerg, might be very amusing. - The game could be a Harvest-Moon type where breeding the fish was more like growing vegetables and provided the main source of income for a character whose other game activities involved courting NPCs. Probably also the fish could be cooked and crafted into gear or potions. So what are your ideas?

Oooh, this reminds me that now I've got my Windows PC set up again I really need to try out Aquaria. Have you tried it, sunandshadow? From the limited amount I know about the game it sounds a lot like the sort of thing you might be interested in. And it has fish. [smile]

Ooo no I hadn't heard of it before. *downloads the demo*

Why not make a politically motivated fish game? There is plenty of talk about how our oceans will have no life left in x number of years. Why not a game set at that time where only a handful of each species still exists.

The game could be focused on breeding fish. You have to balance their entire ecosystem as one fish needs to eat other fish to survive. You will also have funding issues to deal with as you clean up the oceans and shut down oil companies and set other restrictions (e.g. fishing limits).

Your restrictions may get ignored and you have to spend money on patrolling the oceans.

It could be quite an in depth game if done right.

John

How about a sort of fish adventure game/RPG? YOu could have lots of cool, mysterious environments like sunken submarines, caves and lost cities.

The benefit of this sort of project could be that you get the fun of coming up with the art and story for each of the environments (each of which could be its own screen) and you can add puzzles and environmental challenges based on the type of animal.

How about a low-gravity platformer where you're an octopus moving through treacherous territory (shipwrecks, underwater caves, the bottom of the ocean, etc), and you move your character by clicking in the direction you want to squirt some water, which moves your character in the direction opposite of the click. Gameplay could be spiced up during some parts of levels by requiring the octopus to climb out of the water and crawl, jump or swing through parts of the level.

Eat different fish for different abilities. Red fish for health. Blue fish for squirty power. Black fish for inky power. Other fishes for upgrades or invulnerability or mario-style underwater fireballs!

Perhaps the objective of the game could be to herd fish through dangerous levels. Use your ink to create pathways that guide the schools of fish to the finish line and scare away predators. Of course you could eat some of your fish to gain powerups, too.

:)

I have just been playing "Endless Ocean" () on my Nintendo Wii. In this game you swim around exploring a reef and giving guided diving tours to tourists (it is like a SCUBA RPG).

One of the "quests" you do is take photos of fish, but to be able to do this reliably you need to know where to find the fish, and a bit about them.

You also have various other quests like exploring underwater caves, ruins, reefs, deep chasms, locating sunken treasures, etc. It is one of the most relaxing games I know, and I like to just spend time drifting around the various locations.

Actually, the first time I explored the deep see chasm, it was quite spooky as these strange and alien looking thing emerged out of the gloom.

If you made a game like this it could be quite a hit especially using the more powerful graphics of other consoles or PCs.

fish

how about an evolution game with a little twist?

you start out as a big sea monster and try to survive through the ages gaining mutations along the way. The goal is to survive as long as possible and maybe bonus points to stay in 1 form for as long as possible.

ex: There are a lot of big creatures in the sea so food is plentiful but then the temp(or something) changes and the big slow fish are replaced with smaller agile fish. The player may to choose to evolve a smaller size to match their speed (also require less food) or to evolve special organs/features (like baleen in whales) to cope or maybe switch food diets, go deeper, etc. The player can also eat the little fishes by using his skill in herding the little fishes to avoid mutating. It might be cool to try and keep your loch ness form until the present day while avoiding human sonar, boats, etc.

another cool but probably very hard to implement feature is the game evolves you depending on what you do in the game.

ex: hanging out in shallower waters might make you become flatter like a stingray or something, going deeper and deeper might evolve you into those weird deep sea fishes.

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Original post by Wavinator How about a sort of fish adventure game/RPG? YOu could have lots of cool, mysterious environments like sunken submarines, caves and lost cities. The benefit of this sort of project could be that you get the fun of coming up with the art and story for each of the environments (each of which could be its own screen) and you can add puzzles and environmental challenges based on the type of animal.

I like this idea.

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Original post by Trapper Zoid Oooh, this reminds me that now I've got my Windows PC set up again I really need to try out Aquaria. Have you tried it, sunandshadow? From the limited amount I know about the game it sounds a lot like the sort of thing you might be interested in. And it has fish. [smile]

It is going to be hard to top the graphics of that one.^^