Make a Game

[SnakeoilSage]

In otherwords if you were put in creative control of a video game, how would you do it? In one post (or less) describe how you would make a best-selling game (or an "artsy" game, if you feel so inclined). Focus on Story, Gameplay, and Features (types of weapons, multiplayer features, etc.)

There are a lot of great ideas that never see the light of day because creativity requires at least three forms of tuition-based ID these days. Share those ideas that may never see the light of day with your fellow gamers.

 

[SnakeoilSage]

Transformers: Energon Wars
Set in the near future (say the mid-21st Century), Earth is more or less at peace; the Autobots have driven the Deceptacons from Earth and Megatron is dead, his corpse buried in an unassuming tomb of concrete. What Decepticons remain are a rag-tag gang of raiders and scavengers, picking at Earth's weakest points but unable to gain any ground. The Autobots remain strong thanks to their human allies and the Matrix of Leadership, which is capable of giving sentient life to Earth's technology.

A human/Autobot research group, Project Rollout, has studied Autobot physiology, giving them insights into robotics. Weapons, armor, even vehicles are being created that have the capacity to transform (though they lack sentience of their own). Humans can now enclose themselves in transforming vehicles, which become Deceptacon-sized battle suits capable of fighting Transformers at their own level.

All seems well... until Starscream leads a sudden attack on Project Rollout's HQ. Wielding what he calls the Decepticon Matrix of Conquest, he releases its power into the base - granting the Decepticon's evil sentience to the base's machinery.

The game begins with you, an unnamed human who volunteered for weapons tests. Your name and backstory classified, as you were an Omega-Black level volunteer. After testing some of the game's weapons and vehicles in the Tutorial section the attack by Starscream begins. As the human researchers are mostly slaughtered and the Autobots are busy fighting off the new Decepticons, Optimus Prime is able to save you from your own weapon by energizing them with the Matrix of Leadership. The weapon gains a sentience of its own, but he mix of Autobot/Deepticon energies in it make it both eager to fight yet not hostile to you. While the Autobots fight the Decepticons you fight your way out of the base, saving as many humans as you can.

In the meantime, Starscream release the Decepticon Matrix's energies across the nearby city, creating a war zone and inadvertantly re-awakening Megatron, who claws his way free and claims the Matrix of Conquest for himself. Megatron plans to use Project Rollout's Energon Generator (a perpetual energy device that was to end Earth and the Autobot's never-ending search for Energon) to fuel the Matrix of Conquest, it is up to you to take the war to the Decepticons and prevent Earth's technology - all of it - from being formed into a Decepticon army powerful enough to conquer Earth and the galaxy.

Gameplay
The majority of the game is played as a human-sized FPS'er. Your transformable gun can take the form of any weapon it scans, and can be upgraded by absorbing certain parts, allowing you a large inventory of weapons to battle Decepticons of every shape and size.

Certain sections allow you to board one of Project Rollout's un-Decepticon-ized transformable vehicles, making for some high-speed vehicle sections both on the ground and in the air, which can shift to over-the-shoulder close-range Transformer-sized battles as you engage gigantic robots on their own level in a mix of shooting and melee battles. Unlike Michael Bay's noisy looking bots, Energon Wars depicts the Transformers as being more like those seen in Real Steel, clearly robotic and believable, but also easier to make out in the middle of a brawl. Heads and limbs can be torn free to dispatch your enemies, with a variety of brutal finishing moves and destructable environments to give the battles a visceral feel.

Multiplayer would have two types: Human and Transformer-sized Battles. Players can customize both Autobot and a Decepticon teams. Both have pure Transformers (that is, normal sized Transformers and human-sized Transformers) to pick form, but Autobots also have armored Project Rollout humans who can engage in Transformer-sized battles using Rollout suits.

You get a full run of FPS multiplayer. Capture the Flag, Capture Territory, Team Deathmatch, etc. Certain battles are All Human-sized or All-Transformer-sized, but some battles can be organized so players can get in and out of Transforming vehicles, allowing for a blend of both (like Battlefield, only with rock 'em sock 'em robot mechs).

 

[JamesStone]

A Demon Souls time of game, with 2 times the difficulty. Every time you died, Hulk Hogan would appear in your house and kick you in the nuts.

 

[The Funslinger]

An online FPS with one hyper dedicated server. You're put into one of several opposing armies in permanent war with each other over a huge free roam environment with various resources in areas (maybe some highest ranking people can apply to have certain things done with them, like vehicle factories and armouries. Like a democratic RTS element.), as well as areas serving as good strategic footholds. You die, you get to respawn a set amount of times every 24 hours. If one side manages to reach victory over the land, they win and the world resets. The world is randomly regenerated every time there is a victory (which, given the scale, could take years) there is no friendly fire, and higher ranking people can figure out strategies, and post goals. People are assigned into squads, etc. If you serve the higher rankers well, you're rewarded.

Given the fact there would be a single server running, with a large enough system, I think it could work.

 

[jacilon]

I dont have the story yet but this is just the core gameplay

The setting is fantasy based.
The game play is based mainly on melee. You have to create a melee weapon in a spore esque creator and battle the other people. The creation portion would have to the most important part because if your sword is too big u move slower and swing slower yet if use guard you can deflect weapons being thrown at you instead of getting reduced damage when if used a smaller sword. A smaller sword would let you move faster and be more athletic (run on walls, wall jump, flips, and high jumps) yet the damage you take would be increased. By sculpting and adding special skills and abilities to your sword it can become a weapon made just for you. To avoid a mass amount of people massing in one area. An adequately sized bubble disperses pushing back light players every time you clash attacks with your enemy.

Swords dont have to be the main weapon though.

I thought of this in class once.

 

[Grospoliner]

I've been toying with an idea for a Real-time Strategy MMO game based on WW2.

The game would encompass the entirety of the war, from the opening salvos of 1938 to the last shot in 1945. Each time period would change the availability of combat areas, weapons, and vehicles that a player could unlock and field.

A player would initially have access to single unit/squad based on the player's selection (all units would be divided up between their combat purposes or roles. As the player levels up, he gains access to more units or more powerful units (balance between size and power would be critical) until the point where that player can command an entire battalion.

The game-play would be similar to Company of Heroes with one difference. The player would only have direct control over his own commander and any unit that commander is attached to. This means that the player could only issue general commands to any other unit he is not directly attached to. So if a player had two squads of riflemen, his commander would be attached to one, while the second could only receive orders like, "Move to this location" "Defend here" "Scout". These orders would be broad enough and encompassing to allow a player to customize what he wanted a single unit to do, but the actual fighting would be done by the AI, with the exception of the one unit under the player's direct control. Also only the player would only be able to see within his commander unit's field of view, forcing the battle to rely on effective radio communications between him and his units. Units would benefit tactically from a front-line commander while rear echelon commanders would be able to support general strategy, permitting both low and high level players to engage in combat with the same opponents, at the same time, while retaining a varied level of difficulty for all.

Units would gain experience with every victory, would be subject to losing units which would reduce their combat effectiveness and require reinforcement, making it vital to use good tactical judgement when fighting.

Each theater would be divided up into regions that would correspond roughly the same as they did in the real world allowing players to relive the engagements from history and to possibly change their outcome. When an army captures a zone, it could then be used as a staging area to gear up for an offensive on the next zone, or become heavily contested as opposition reinforcements return to reclaim it. At any time players can work reinforce zones with defensive fortifications or combat units lending an even more strategic depth to the game. Areas behind the front lines could even provide and receive artillery fire and aerial bombardments, even covert operations such as actions to destroy critical bridges. Theater level operations between zones would function similar to the grids on some MMOs (like Global Agenda) where commanders would place requests to join or start a battle. Availability of resources would also play a role in this, making factories primary targets.

All the units would represent their real world counter parts though an the inclusion of a limited number of prototype vehicles could be possible, but they would all be accurately depicted, promoting the usefulness of using varied units with differing abilities and equipment.

 

[SnakeoilSage]

A Demon Souls time of game, with 2 times the difficulty. Every time you died, Hulk Hogan would appear in your house and kick you in the nuts.

Thunderlips will kick our fucking asses.

An online FPS with one hyper dedicated server. You're put into one of several opposing armies in permanent war with each other over a huge free roam environment with various resources in areas (maybe some highest ranking people can apply to have certain things done with them, like vehicle factories and armouries. Like a democratic RTS element.), as well as areas serving as good strategic footholds. You die, you get to respawn a set amount of times every 24 hours. If one side manages to reach victory over the land, they win and the world resets. The world is randomly regenerated every time there is a victory (which, given the scale, could take years) there is no friendly fire, and higher ranking people can figure out strategies, and post goals. People are assigned into squads, etc. If you serve the higher rankers well, you're rewarded.

Given the fact there would be a single server running, with a large enough system, I think it could work.

That would actually be pretty cool. I've always wanted to see an RTS from a FPS perspective. You don't even have to be realistic about it - when a new building gets planted it has a brief "building" countdown and then poofs into existence.

Protect the buildings, attack the enemies, capture and hold resource points. That would rock.

I dont have the story yet but this is just the core gameplay

The setting is fantasy based.
The game play is based mainly on melee. You have to create a melee weapon in a spore esque creator and battle the other people. The creation portion would have to the most important part because if your sword is too big u move slower and swing slower yet if use guard you can deflect weapons being thrown at you instead of getting reduced damage when if used a smaller sword. A smaller sword would let you move faster and be more athletic (run on walls, wall jump, flips, and high jumps) yet the damage you take would be increased. By sculpting and adding special skills and abilities to your sword it can become a weapon made just for you. To avoid a mass amount of people massing in one area. An adequately sized bubble disperses pushing back light players every time you clash attacks with your enemy.

Swords dont have to be the main weapon though.

I thought of this in class once.

That would be pretty cool. Kind of like Monster Hunter only fun. Have it play more like God of War, with multiple paths depending on the style of weapon you enjoy. Hard-hitters can smash through walls to access unique areas, that kind of thing.

I've been toying with an idea for a Real-time Strategy MMO game based on WW2.

The game would encompass the entirety of the war, from the opening salvos of 1938 to the last shot in 1945. Each time period would change the availability of combat areas, weapons, and vehicles that a player could unlock and field.

A player would initially have access to single unit/squad based on the player's selection (all units would be divided up between their combat purposes or roles. As the player levels up, he gains access to more units or more powerful units (balance between size and power would be critical) until the point where that player can command an entire battalion.

The game-play would be similar to Company of Heroes with one difference. The player would only have direct control over his own commander and any unit that commander is attached to. This means that the player could only issue general commands to any other unit he is not directly attached to. So if a player had two squads of riflemen, his commander would be attached to one, while the second could only receive orders like, "Move to this location" "Defend here" "Scout". These orders would be broad enough and encompassing to allow a player to customize what he wanted a single unit to do, but the actual fighting would be done by the AI, with the exception of the one unit under the player's direct control. Also only the player would only be able to see within his commander unit's field of view, forcing the battle to rely on effective radio communications between him and his units. Units would benefit tactically from a front-line commander while rear echelon commanders would be able to support general strategy, permitting both low and high level players to engage in combat with the same opponents, at the same time, while retaining a varied level of difficulty for all.

Units would gain experience with every victory, would be subject to losing units which would reduce their combat effectiveness and require reinforcement, making it vital to use good tactical judgement when fighting.

Each theater would be divided up into regions that would correspond roughly the same as they did in the real world allowing players to relive the engagements from history and to possibly change their outcome. When an army captures a zone, it could then be used as a staging area to gear up for an offensive on the next zone, or become heavily contested as opposition reinforcements return to reclaim it. At any time players can work reinforce zones with defensive fortifications or combat units lending an even more strategic depth to the game. Areas behind the front lines could even provide and receive artillery fire and aerial bombardments, even covert operations such as actions to destroy critical bridges. Theater level operations between zones would function similar to the grids on some MMOs (like Global Agenda) where commanders would place requests to join or start a battle. Availability of resources would also play a role in this, making factories primary targets.

All the units would represent their real world counter parts though an the inclusion of a limited number of prototype vehicles could be possible, but they would all be accurately depicted, promoting the usefulness of using varied units with differing abilities and equipment.

I'd like to see this. A good group multiplayer that relies on strong communication in order to take the battlefield would be pretty awesome.