Hey everyone, programmer here (C++, C#, Java, GML) with several years of experience under my belt, and I have a dilemma.

I want to make a game, but have no idea what I even want to make, nor do I want to do it alone. I'm looking for anyone (programmers, artists, whatever) whom might be interested in collaborating to make a game completely from scratch (I'd prefer not to use Unity or Game maker, but we could work with it if the situation demands it)

This will not be paid, nor will the game be for profit, just something for fun. If anyone is interested, feel free to PM me and I'll get back to you.

Some ideas I've been tossing around

- A city simulation game that goes from pre-history to the future, where researching technology is a word association puzzle (eg. mixing "artificial light" and "glass" would yield laser) and resource acquisition is almost entirely dependent on hiring third parties to gather them (hiring an oil company to establish a refinery)

- Dystopian secret police simulation (simulation being used very loosely) where the player is told to take down criminals, but to do so discretely so as to not draw attention. (Maybe coop mode?)

- A multiplayer game where players are tasked with resolving a random international crisis with the resources they have on hand, the catch being that each player is assigned an agenda that they must fulfill. Some items on the agenda score higher than others, and after several rounds, the crisis ends. If the crisis is averted, the player with the most agenda points wins, while if war breaks out due to an unresolved crisis, nobody wins.

You have to make it subtle enough that people won't just flat out know exactly what the reference is. The especially good ones are usually so obscure, that only the most attentive people point them out. Eg. In halo, there are multiple references to one of Bungie's older games, Marathon, however, the references are usually hidden within the level architecture. (though later games shoved it into your face to no end)

A simple thought process is what I use

1. Does it play to the core theme of the game?
2. If yes, then does it add to the experience of said theme?
3. Will it be used often?
4. Is it fun when in action?
5. Is there a mechanic similar enough, that they can be merged in some capacity?

An antagonist for me isn't someone who shows up to say "haha! I am free! Now I will destroy all the good things because I'm bad!"

A well done antagonist will have motives that would be understandable to someone in that position (a CEO caring only about the bottom line because it makes him/her richer, or a very xenophobic military leader hatching a plot to purge the undesirable people (ala the antagonist from Antz))

The most interesting antagonists are almost ALWAYS the antagonist that the player can relate to in some way, if you can get the player to feel empathetic towards the antagonist in a good way (Not the "I'm evil because I was wronged in my past" way)

I imagine it would be pretty entertaining to see them collide with one another, maybe head-on collisions at sufficient enough speeds turns them both into smoldering wrecks