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[Hajo]

Dreaming about an Arkanoid/Breakout clone:
Doh, they are hard as rocks!

[Captain_404]

I've always thought a game that had hidden online functionality would be interesting. Say, when you start playing the game you're playing alone. As the game progresses, it starting becoming more and more glitchy. It quickly becomes apparent that what plot was imposed on the mechanics, it is more of a ruse and the game itself is actually trying to stop you from doing something. At the point you really realize this, you start getting paired with other people online randomly for short amounts of time (5 minutes or something, it would always be randomized). While you're playing with/against them the two game worlds each player is in would sort of morph to accommodate for the new elements from the other players world (remember that your game has glitched now, as well as theirs, which I'm thinking would be random to ensure interesting and different landscapes). The players would both being trying to achieve some goal which they'd need the other player to help them accomplish, but a maximum of one player could achieve that goal during the round, meaning their games progress independently of each other. Once you reach the point in the game where you start getting paired with other people, you could be paired with any of the people at that point and beyond. Meaning on your first multiplayer session, someone could beat the game and you would witness it.

I don't know, this is an idea I've had for a while, and I'm just kind of writing off the cuff, so this probably didn't make any sense.

[SirNiko]

There was a game, and I forget the name of it, where the objective was to be the only person in the world playing the game for 60 seconds. When you load up the program it checks if anyone else is playing the game. If they are, your session and the sessions of everyone else playing immediately end and you're kicked back to the desktop.

If you load up the program and nobody else has the program up (It checks its server to be sure) it begins to fill a little load bar. The 'goal' is to wait 60 seconds to 'win'. But, if anyone else loads the game during that time, they will ping the server and you get dumped back to desktop.

It was a strange multi-player game where you didn't actually interact with the other players, and yet, their actions influenced your experience quite directly.

That reminds me very subtly of your idea.

-SirNiko

[mewse]

There was a game, and I forget the name of it...

That's Petri Purho's 4 Minutes and 33 Seconds of Uniqueness.

[Mogget]

I just got this idea and had to post it somewheres.

So, it would be a game where you'd be circling 3 modes: Action-Adventure, Action RPG, and Turn-Based RPG. The objective of each level would be to get to the end in the given time. In A-A, you would move quickest and perhaps be able to do something like climbing, jumping... However, you would get no new abilities, more attack power, health, etc. Then in A-RPG, you would be a bit more restricted in your movement, but would gain EXP for defeated mosters. You could also use skills. And Turn-Based would be the slowest movement and slow battles in exchange for the most exp(and most stats, perhaps? More skills?)

I'll flesh this out more once I've slept, so this is it for now.

[Fallsburg]

A shmup game where you play on three different elevations that you can switch between (somewhat) freely. The first elevation would be the ground-level, comprised mostly of things like turrets and tanks. The second elevation would be aerial, with other ships to fight against. The third elevation would be outer-space, filled with asteroids. When you decide to switch elevations, the engines take a short amount of time (maybe ten seconds) to charge, and then you switch up/down. The relative danger levels in each layer will be different at any one point in time, so finding the path of least resistance will be a goal as you play, and each next time you try you'll have a better idea of where you want to be.

Each layer will have different end-level bosses, apart from one obligatory world-spanning megalith which takes place on all three layers for the final level.

I'm imagining this in my head as a 16-bit sidescrolling title like UN Squadron, with rad music, fancy effects when you swap layers, and NPC text scrolling along the bottom of the screen, a-la StarFox.

I guess you'd need to make it so the player can get a sense for what's happening in the other layers so they can switch in confidence.

One boss would be a bomber that hides in the space layer, and you have to use some trick (defeating anti-air enemies first?) to switch layers up to reach him. Another could be a speedy-fighter like your own ship you have to chase between layers while under fire. Another could be a series of missiles, and you have to swap layers to take them out before they detonate, forcing the player to pay attention to all three layers at once.

There's a lot that could be done with this, though it would definitely have to be 16 bit to work.

-SirNiko

You sir, are a genius.  That sounds pretty darn great. I love the idea of bosses having a multi-layer component to them. 

An idea that I've had kicking around in my head for a while is an RTS-puzzle game.  One half of the game would be a Bejeweled, Puzzle Quest, etc. style game where you earn currency that you then spend in the other half of the game, a tower defense/RTS.  The idea was that it would be a cyberpunk-themed game and the puzzle aspect would act as you hacking into rival corporations, and stealing their cash, you then use that cash to build defenses and hire mercenaries to attack your rivals.

[Ixis]

This is an idea that I've been trying so hard for so long to get past the planning phases but my stupid job and personal reasons keep sucking up all my time (the next chance I'll have to work on it will probably be next month for a week, and then back to the drag.) But anyway.  

It's a Lucas Arts style adventure game that uses the mechanics of a Secret of Mana game. You and up to three friends work together to solve problems by thinking outside of the box and using your action-RPG skills in interesting, new and unique ways (using your super sword slash to open locked doors, or casting sleep on the errant guard to get past him.)

In the story you're a Zoning Enforcement Officer in charge of breaking into dungeons deemed too hard and unfair for normal adventurers to go through (no save points, boss monsters at the beginning of the dungeon instead of the end, impossible to solve box puzzles, y'know, dangerous stuff!) and by using your RPG skills in new ways you break through the dungeon, get to the dungeon lord AND FORCE HIM TO SIGN FUCKING ARTICLE A13 OR BY THE GODS YOU WILL TEAR HIS SHIT DOWN WITH THE FORCE OF A THOUSAND SANCTIONS!!

[Inanimate]

This is an idea that I've been trying so hard for so long to get past the planning phases but my stupid job and personal reasons keep sucking up all my time (the next chance I'll have to work on it will probably be next month for a week, and then back to the drag.) But anyway. 

It's a Lucas Arts style adventure game that uses the mechanics of a Secret of Mana game. You and up to three friends work together to solve problems by thinking outside of the box and using your action-RPG skills in interesting, new and unique ways (using your super sword slash to open locked doors, or casting sleep on the errant guard to get past him.)

In the story you're a Zoning Enforcement Officer in charge of breaking into dungeons deemed too hard and unfair for normal adventurers to go through (no save points, boss monsters at the beginning of the dungeon instead of the end, impossible to solve box puzzles, y'know, dangerous stuff!) and by using your RPG skills in new ways you break through the dungeon, get to the dungeon lord AND FORCE HIM TO SIGN FUCKING ARTICLE A13 OR BY THE GODS YOU WILL TEAR HIS SHIT DOWN WITH THE FORCE OF A THOUSAND SANCTIONS!!

That is INSANELY clever. Please do this.

Also, there should be a 'Mandatory Treasure Count'.

[Ixis]

<a buncha bullshit i wrote>

That is INSANELY clever. Please do this.

Also, there should be a 'Mandatory Treasure Count'.

Actually, one of the party members you get early on is a treasure box and save point electrician of sorts, and it's his job to install save points and treasure chests in hard to reach, but rewarding locations.

[Firepith]

Hi! First post!
HERES AN IDEA OK

Concept:
A first-person action/adventure game where the player faces off against a single highly intelligent adversary utilizing an array of weaponry, transportation, tracking skills, and investigative skills. This game is meant to be an experiment in virtual combat AI, and an open world experience with maximum replay value.

Pitch:
"You arrive in a rural town which has apparently been emptied of it's inhabitants. Now you are being hunted. You need to hide, to arm yourself, to find your enemy before it finds you. Use whatever methods you can to gain the upper hand. The odds are against you."

Features:
One on one - There is no difficulty setting. Your opponent is smart, and unpredictable, and you will be hard pressed to defeat it. The enemy may be running around with a sledgehammer, lurking in the shadows, or hiding on a rooftop with a rifle. Anything could happen. Explore, improvise, and adapt. It may pay off.

What happened here?- When you're not looking over your shoulder or running for your life, you may dawn upon some clue as to how everyone dissapeared, who (or what) your enemy is, and how you might stop it for good.

The dead stay dead - This game is intended to be played many times, with a different gameplay experience each time. Your progress will be automatically saved if you want to take a break, but when you die, game over. However, any snippets of information you discover along the way will be saved and can be viewed from the main menu.
It's all up to you - Use any vehicle, tool, or weapon; enter any building; find cover, and stay out of sight to protect yourself. This is a quiet town, and your enemy is listening...

You're only human - There is no way to instantly heal wounds, and you are no surgeon. If you can even find medical supplies, they'll only help as much as they would in real life. Besides, if the hunter knows you're injured, going to the hospital may not be a wise choice. If you can, find some place to hide, and rest. If all else fails, you can always take the easy way out.

Let the bodies pile up in the streets - The player takes the role of a new visitor each time the game is played. You can either create a character on your own, or let the game randomly generate a new one for you. The corpses of your previous attempts will remain where they died, as a warning to the next unfortunate prey. You may loot a body from a previous session and regain found items. Connect to the server, and you'll see (and loot) bodies from other players who have fallen prey.

Further Ideas
- I've considered the possibility of multiplayer co-op play. It could work, but will depend on how the development of the main game progresses.

- I've also considered having a persistent game world. In addition to keeping the bodies of other dead players, the game could also keep any destruction wreaked on the town. Blown up building stays blown up. Crashed vehicle stays crashed. Looted weapons are gone, now on a body or left somewhere. But this would likely get too messy and comporomise the design by destroying key story areas and using up all the ammo in the game.

- What won't be revealed right away is the nature of the enemy. The player is expected to figure it out by observing the enemy, what it does, and how it reacts, and by observing the town and finding clues. This is the key to the story, and will provide insight on how to defeat the enemy more easily (although it still shouldn't be easy) or more importantly, how to solve the town's problem in addition to your own.

- I'd like this game to be as detailed and immersive as possible, but the main gameplay mechanics are most important. My intention is for it to be re-made and expanded on as a commercial game if it does well.

- There is a "real ending" to the game (aside from the one where you kill the mysterious enemy), but it is likely to take the player many sessions of playing to gather up enough clues to find it. (Unless they follow a guide and are skilled enough not to be killed) The ending will not stop you from playing more, or remove your progress. It will simply result in the showing of the final ending scene and credits.


Clearly, such a project will require an experienced AI programmer and a whole lot of work, but for now it's just an idea.

[Firepith]

A shmup game where you play on three different elevations that you can switch between (somewhat) freely. The first elevation would be the ground-level, comprised mostly of things like turrets and tanks. The second elevation would be aerial, with other ships to fight against. The third elevation would be outer-space, filled with asteroids. When you decide to switch elevations, the engines take a short amount of time (maybe ten seconds) to charge, and then you switch up/down. The relative danger levels in each layer will be different at any one point in time, so finding the path of least resistance will be a goal as you play, and each next time you try you'll have a better idea of where you want to be.

Each layer will have different end-level bosses, apart from one obligatory world-spanning megalith which takes place on all three layers for the final level.

I'm imagining this in my head as a 16-bit sidescrolling title like UN Squadron, with rad music, fancy effects when you swap layers, and NPC text scrolling along the bottom of the screen, a-la StarFox.

I guess you'd need to make it so the player can get a sense for what's happening in the other layers so they can switch in confidence.

One boss would be a bomber that hides in the space layer, and you have to use some trick (defeating anti-air enemies first?) to switch layers up to reach him. Another could be a speedy-fighter like your own ship you have to chase between layers while under fire. Another could be a series of missiles, and you have to swap layers to take them out before they detonate, forcing the player to pay attention to all three layers at once.

There's a lot that could be done with this, though it would definitely have to be 16 bit to work.

-SirNiko

This is utterly fascinating. To really add some icing to the cake, I'd like to see more shmups that have weapon and ship upgrade shops and currency.

Also I'm imagining some nifty multi-layer weapons, like a bomb that descends through any layers below the one you're currently in.

[Josiah Tobin]

This is an idea that I've been trying so hard for so long to get past the planning phases but my stupid job and personal reasons keep sucking up all my time (the next chance I'll have to work on it will probably be next month for a week, and then back to the drag.) But anyway.  

It's a Lucas Arts style adventure game that uses the mechanics of a Secret of Mana game. You and up to three friends work together to solve problems by thinking outside of the box and using your action-RPG skills in interesting, new and unique ways (using your super sword slash to open locked doors, or casting sleep on the errant guard to get past him.)

In the story you're a Zoning Enforcement Officer in charge of breaking into dungeons deemed too hard and unfair for normal adventurers to go through (no save points, boss monsters at the beginning of the dungeon instead of the end, impossible to solve box puzzles, y'know, dangerous stuff!) and by using your RPG skills in new ways you break through the dungeon, get to the dungeon lord AND FORCE HIM TO SIGN FUCKING ARTICLE A13 OR BY THE GODS YOU WILL TEAR HIS SHIT DOWN WITH THE FORCE OF A THOUSAND SANCTIONS!!

I LOVE this idea. I wish I'd thought of it! I really, really want to play something like this. I hope you can get it going, I really do!

~Josiah

[Firepith]

There's been a vague idea of a game floating around in my head for a long time - kind of a culmination of all the best games I ever played. I like to think of it as "Tyrian + Deus Ex + Metroidvania + Blackthorne"

It must consist of as many of these elements as possible:
- Branched dialogue options that affect the story progression
- 2d vertical or side-scrolling SHMUP sections, with multiple destinations to select on and off-world, and upgradeable ships
- 2d open world platformer gameplay with mouse-aimed weapons
- Currency, shops, and RPG-style inventory and character progression
- Metroidvania-style abilities that also affect story and gameplay progression
- As detailed 2d graphics as possible with nice touches like parallax scrolling, dynamic weather, interactive environment, etc, etc.

Just putting that out there. Certain games have done some of these things really well, but never all of them at once.

[Firepith]

"Songslayer" (working title)

An action/RPG where you are a knight accompanied by minstrels that play all the music in the game. They are all-important to our knight, and rightfully so, for they come into play during quests, puzzles, and even battles in various interesting and funny ways. You gain more and different types of minstrels as you go. Write your own music for them to play!

The game would be summed up as "Don Quixote meets Monty Python and The Holy Grail."

- Upgradeable equipment and instruments ranging from traditional to exotic (digeridoo, sitar)
- Minstrels gain new playing techniques as they level up (ie, mandolin player gains finger picking skill)
- "Mario paint style" custom music composition

[Zest]

I still think Don Quixote would make a terrific video game.

[Vulf]

An action game where an awesome scientist builds a robot controlled by a bass guitar and uses it to fight crime.

[Chaoseed]

An action game where an awesome scientist builds a robot controlled by a bass guitar and uses it to fight crime.

If it uses the Guitar Hero plastic guitar peripheral, you might have something interesting.

[Chaoseed]

I've always thought a game that had hidden online functionality would be interesting. Say, when you start playing the game you're playing alone. As the game progresses, it starting becoming more and more glitchy. It quickly becomes apparent that what plot was imposed on the mechanics, it is more of a ruse and the game itself is actually trying to stop you from doing something. At the point you really realize this, you start getting paired with other people online randomly for short amounts of time (5 minutes or something, it would always be randomized). While you're playing with/against them the two game worlds each player is in would sort of morph to accommodate for the new elements from the other players world (remember that your game has glitched now, as well as theirs, which I'm thinking would be random to ensure interesting and different landscapes). The players would both being trying to achieve some goal which they'd need the other player to help them accomplish, but a maximum of one player could achieve that goal during the round, meaning their games progress independently of each other. Once you reach the point in the game where you start getting paired with other people, you could be paired with any of the people at that point and beyond. Meaning on your first multiplayer session, someone could beat the game and you would witness it.

Let me see if I have this right...When you start playing the game, the scenery is kind of randomly generated.  So, you could have a blue sky and green bushes, while someone else would have green sky and yellow bushes.  Then you start glitching and you get half a screen of, say, magenta sky.  Eventually you are connected with another person, so you're in a glitchy area that's half blue sky/green bushes and half green sky/yellow bushes.  So, both of you 'think' you're seeing a glitched version of your own world.  Am I close?

[Captain_404]

I've always thought a game that had hidden online functionality would be interesting. Say, when you start playing the game you're playing alone. As the game progresses, it starting becoming more and more glitchy. It quickly becomes apparent that what plot was imposed on the mechanics, it is more of a ruse and the game itself is actually trying to stop you from doing something. At the point you really realize this, you start getting paired with other people online randomly for short amounts of time (5 minutes or something, it would always be randomized). While you're playing with/against them the two game worlds each player is in would sort of morph to accommodate for the new elements from the other players world (remember that your game has glitched now, as well as theirs, which I'm thinking would be random to ensure interesting and different landscapes). The players would both being trying to achieve some goal which they'd need the other player to help them accomplish, but a maximum of one player could achieve that goal during the round, meaning their games progress independently of each other. Once you reach the point in the game where you start getting paired with other people, you could be paired with any of the people at that point and beyond. Meaning on your first multiplayer session, someone could beat the game and you would witness it.

Let me see if I have this right...When you start playing the game, the scenery is kind of randomly generated.  So, you could have a blue sky and green bushes, while someone else would have green sky and yellow bushes.  Then you start glitching and you get half a screen of, say, magenta sky.  Eventually you are connected with another person, so you're in a glitchy area that's half blue sky/green bushes and half green sky/yellow bushes.  So, both of you 'think' you're seeing a glitched version of your own world.  Am I close?

Sort of. It has less to do with aesthetic glitches and more to do with spacial glitches. Although I wouldn't even say that glitches is quite the right word...

Everyone would start with the exact same beginning state for their game. As they began to play the game (offline), the environment would begin to alter itself slowly. Some of the altering is randomized, some of it is a result of player actions. After a certain amount of playtime, one player's landscape would look completely different from another player's landscape which would both be completely different form the landscape they both started with. At this point in the game, the landscapes begin to overlap each other to create new landscapes. The players are aware of this happening and they are able to interact with the other player.

I suppose the player might end up interpreting those event as their own gameworld 'glitching', but hopefully they would at least be aware of the new player.

[Inanimate]

It'd be nice if the new player appeared gradually; IE, first you just see the results of their actions, then a "glitched" version of their image that trails behind them, then the actual player.