Hey guys!

So for a school project (the last year) we have an assignment where we have to recreate a game. For a previous version of this assignment I created a 3D space invaders, to give some idea of the scope of the game.

I'm really stuck on what to choose for this next project. I'm the only one in my class who can create a 3d game (through OpenGL), and I want to play that strength. I was thinking of creating something like the early wolfenstein or doom, but neither of those games interest me enough to do a whole lot of work on them.

What suggestion do you have?

For a previous version of this assignment I created a 3D space invaders

If this is the scope (which sounds like a good idea !), then how about some other classic game in 3d ? Something like pac-man ?

An other thought: what is the goal of the project ? The demonstration of coding skills, of managing a whole project, of making something visual impressive, of creating an innovative game ?

I was thinking of creating something like the early wolfenstein or doom,

Don't underestimate the scope of such a project. It is of much complexer scope compared to space invaders, don't get lured by some early rendering engines into thinking that the game behind it is simple to create.

Thanks =)

As to the purpose of the assignment, it is to test our ability to code and create working, complex programs.

Looking at it, I also agree that Wolfenstein, etc. would be quite hard. I like the suggestion about making 3D classics. FPS pacman anyone?

For a previous version of this assignment I created a 3D space invaders

If this is the scope (which sounds like a good idea !), then how about some other classic game in 3d ? Something like pac-man ?

An other thought: what is the goal of the project ? The demonstration of coding skills, of managing a whole project, of making something visual impressive, of creating an innovative game ?

I was thinking of creating something like the early wolfenstein or doom,

Don't underestimate the scope of such a project. It is of much complexer scope compared to space invaders, don't get lured by some early rendering engines into thinking that the game behind it is simple to create.

Wolfenstein 3D uses ray casting and is essentially a 2D game simulated in 3D space.

While a lot of modern techs will help you make a 3D games much more easily, simulating 3D in a 2D environment basically is still very complex because, well, there is no real reason to do it so no one (as far as I'm aware of) facilitated that process in over a decade.

So as Ashaman said, these games are still big by modern standards, and using a classic instead would be best.

FPS Pac-man sounds like the step to take. Could be fun :)

I would clone Minecraft. Obviously there are lots of features you won't have time to get in, but the simple blocks with textures cover all the stuff you need for a 3D game.

I was thinking of creating something like the early wolfenstein or doom, but neither of those games interest me enough to do a whole lot of work on them.

Perhaps then the question to ask is: what types of game do interest you? Knowing that might help us to provide useful suggestions. ^_^

Additionally: Does the assignment require you to re-create the game entirely, or is it acceptable that you leave some elements out? (For example, would it be acceptable to recreate the combat of Heretic, but with just one weapon and no inventory?) To what degree are you allowed to change the original design?

what types of game do interest you?

Yeah, unfortunately the games I enjoy a the more large scale game like Age of Empires and Civilization series - alll of which are massive games that cannot be easily simplified.

To what degree are you allowed to change the original design?

Pretty much we are allowed to reduce it or increase it to any degree, as long as when we create it we stick to the original specifications that we create.

Before I begin, I'll note that it occurs to me that I don't know what level of complexity this should have; if Pac-man and Space Invaders are good examples of the desired level of complexity, then my first below may not be a good one. ^^;

All right, in that case why not consider scaling down a strategy game like that to a simple tactical skirmish: pre-set units, no base-building, a single level (if you're feeling ambitious, consider randomly generating the level-layout and the locations and strength of the enemy), and simple one-button mouse-control.

A model to scale down might be something like the first Warcraft game, or perhaps a tactics game from that era (I'm afraid that I'm not terribly familiar with tactics games, and so have no suggestions on that side ^^; ).

However, this doesn't (necessarily) utilise the 3D rendering that you mentioned wanting to use, so, moving on from the above idea:

What about 3D missile defence? The player would have a radar indicating direction and height, and have to spin around madly trying to spot and hit incoming missiles from above.

Space Invaders was an Atari game and one of the most popular ones, so you could look at some of the other most popular Atari games like Galaga, Joust, Frogger... Or you could go with a gameboy or NES game if you want to do something bigger this year.

I like the 3d-recreation-of-early-arcade-games idea.

What about 3d QIX? It's fundamentally a territory-control game; it could even have a more strategic theme while retaining the simple gameplay. (Like walling off your kingdom to protect it from careening bandits and barbarians.)

Actually, what I really like is the question "what kind of strategy game could be made from old arcade games", regardless of p.o.v. :)