I'm sure that many of us, at one point or another, have had a fresh new idea for a gameplay mechanic, only to be told that it's already been done, or a different but similar mechanic has been implemented in a better way. This thread is devoted to gathering these ideas and using the Escapist's combined gaming knowledge to find examples of these mechanics.
A recent idea I've had has to do with how some games (especially Zelda games) contain puzzles wherein the solution consists of of freezing, thawing and burning certain objects. I thought that, instead of using frost/fire magic, you could directly manipulate heat flow.
Let me illustrate this idea: the player character can manipulate energy by drawing it from or injecting it into his environment, and has an internal energy storage, similar to the standard mana pool. However, instead of it being an energy storage with a maximum capacity, it is more of an interval wherein energy can be safely stored. Take too much, and you'll burn. Eject too much, and you'll suffer hypothermia and eventually frostbite. Energy can be channeled to/from the immediate environment of the player or a specifically targeted object. Using this, you can redirect energy by drawing from an object, while simultaniously venting excess heat to your immediate surroundings or another specific object, or storing the drawn energy. You can use this energy then to, for example: freeze the surface of a lake to get across, or evaporate it to get to the bottom; set things on fire or freeze them (including enemies).
EDIT: that is, drawing energy from them to freeze them and inject it to burn/evaporate etc.
A recent idea I've had has to do with how some games (especially Zelda games) contain puzzles wherein the solution consists of of freezing, thawing and burning certain objects. I thought that, instead of using frost/fire magic, you could directly manipulate heat flow.
Let me illustrate this idea: the player character can manipulate energy by drawing it from or injecting it into his environment, and has an internal energy storage, similar to the standard mana pool. However, instead of it being an energy storage with a maximum capacity, it is more of an interval wherein energy can be safely stored. Take too much, and you'll burn. Eject too much, and you'll suffer hypothermia and eventually frostbite. Energy can be channeled to/from the immediate environment of the player or a specifically targeted object. Using this, you can redirect energy by drawing from an object, while simultaniously venting excess heat to your immediate surroundings or another specific object, or storing the drawn energy. You can use this energy then to, for example: freeze the surface of a lake to get across, or evaporate it to get to the bottom; set things on fire or freeze them (including enemies).
EDIT: that is, drawing energy from them to freeze them and inject it to burn/evaporate etc.
