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[tesselode]

So I just had this crazy idea for a game.

It would require stereo speakers.

So you're this white dot thingy. And there are enemies coming toward you. And you can't see them at all. But there are two different walls ahead of you that form a path that the enemies travel through. The enemies bounce against the walls. When an enemy hits the left wall, it makes one sound, and when it hits the right wall, it makes a different sound. The panning of the sound is based on the horizontal position of the enemy, and the volume is based on the distance.

And you have to use that information to avoid the enemies.

Ehhh?

[s0]

There was an old Sega Saturn game called Enemy Zero that's rather similar to what you're describing, except it uses musical notes with different pitches and amplitudes to determine enemy locations.

[Toeofdoom]

I've heard of this sort of concept before. Unfortunately the only example I can think of it "the devil's tuning fork" which was an IGF student finalist last year iirc - but it represented the information visually instead of audibly which seemed to defeat the original point.

[Tumetsu]

I think I have heard these to be used in games for blind people. Personally I thik the idea is rather interesting, though I don't think I would be interested in to play such a game unless some more advanced and interesting twist accompanied with mechanic you described.

[VomitOnLino]

So I just had this crazy idea for a game.

It would require stereo speakers.

So you're this white dot thingy. And there are enemies coming toward you. And you can't see them at all. But there are two different walls ahead of you that form a path that the enemies travel through. The enemies bounce against the walls. When an enemy hits the left wall, it makes one sound, and when it hits the right wall, it makes a different sound. The panning of the sound is based on the horizontal position of the enemy, and the volume is based on the distance.

And you have to use that information to avoid the enemies.

Ehhh?

Hey Tesselode!

I always see you tossing around those ideas, and I like it! But I think this one has been done quite professionally on the Gameboy Advance by the "Bit Generations" collection, which is basically an indie collectible game collection for the GBA, which I cannot recommend highly enough!

Obviously that shouldn't deter you, not at all! But maybe you can have a look and see how they did it. Some of these games made me hopelessly addicted a while back. Also their packaging is beautiful.

Details here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bit_Generations#Soundvoyager

[tesselode]

So it looks like similar things to my idea have been done before. But I've never seen it, and I bet it's worth doing again! Besides, I haven't heard of anything exactly the same.

Time for more details!

So I'm thinking this could be kind of a first-person or third-person game. This is important to the game being immersive and intuitive. The thing is, since you can't see anything, I don't have to do anything to make the game feel 3D! As long as I just have two walls and limit the movement to horizontal movement, I could program the game in 2d and have a semi-3d representation of it.

I think a game like this would be a great opportunity to have some really creepy sound effects and atmosphere. The enemies could be constantly playing a sound that you can only hear when they're really near to you. That way you know you've successfully avoided an enemy when you hear a "whoosh" sound coming from it, but it also tenses you up for the next enemy. I could do kind of a System Shock kind of thing and have some really creepy enemies suddenly appear when they're right in front of your face and you have no hope of avoiding them anymore. And a flash and some appropriate sound effects, of course.

[s0]

So it looks like similar things to my idea have been done before. But I've never seen it, and I bet it's worth doing again!

Definitely. Don't be overly concerned with "innovation", if you think it's a good idea, do it!

Also, on a related note, I think are a lot more ways to be original than just basing your game on a novel idea. For instance, some of Cactus's best games (or my faves anyway) are pretty traditional shmups at heart, but they still feel totally unique because of his approach to graphic design and other small idiosyncrasies. I think if you're not consciously trying to rip off another game and allow your own personality/style to come through (which happens pretty naturally anyway), chances are your game isn't going to be derivative or generic.

[antymattar]

A 3d game where you use eco location to see the enemies would be epic. Or a game where you can swich between thermo vision, super smell and ecolocation to see enemies.

[Fallsburg]

I've been toying around with the echolocation with visuals idea for a while.  The idea would be a Metroidvania style platformer where your only sense is the echolocation, and you have to use your weaponry to see the world around you.