next »

[portabello]

I was reading this metafilter thread http://www.metafilter.com/60199/Its-alive and stumbled upon this interesting game idea:

I realize First Person Shooters have a lot of other overhead, but damn, I want a big Nostromo level with just me, a weak flame thrower and a single Alien that can do all of these things and we just play cat-and-mouse for hours while I try and set the self destruct.
posted by Brainy at 9:51 AM on April 11

I think this is a really neat idea.  Not necessarily an Alien thing, but the idea of having a game with a very large playing area, single goal, and a very tough enemy to deal with.

Like maybe an updated version of Iron Helix. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_Helix

Anybody have any thoughts on this?

[Derek]

I think that'd be a fun change from mowing down legions of stupid enemies.  To be stalked and attacked by one or two superior enemies in an interesting environment.

[xix]

A lot of games try this approach, but it's really hard to control the narrative/develop the AI. If you really wanted to develop something with an interesting narrative here, you'd have to add things like environmental changes by merely traipsing around. If the environment was like a forest and you could see footprints, broken branches, trampled plants...  then things would be interesting. The player would be putting together a story and would be able to say, "well, my enemy was here. and the tracks lead towards the river."

The idea is pretty cool, but you need to develop it more, flesh it out. Think of ways to engage the player. If you were able to make it physics based and let the player set up traps ala Predator... well, that'd be nothing short of awesome.

[lowpoly]

um, Deathmatch anyone? Isn't that the point of online play?

I realize that with most FPS multiplayer games, the player's skillsets are the same but in terms of intelligence, that's the point of playing against another person rather than an AI. AI is lightyears away from reproducing the kind of unpredictability that you would have while fighting another human. (rocketjumping for instance)

I agree tho, it would be cool for someone to make a 1 on 1 game where nuance and adaptability was paramount, but I still think it would have to be played against another person to get the kind of experience you're looking for.

[portabello]

How about an unarmed player charecter versus a heavily armed antagonist?  Sort of like that lion thing in the first level of Out of this World.

[BMcC]

How about an unarmed player charecter versus a heavily armed antagonist?  Sort of like that lion thing in the first level of Out of this World.

Yes, I've always liked these sorts of things, when done right.

It's something I want to explore in future games...  I can imagine some great tension and mystery coming from a single opposing global AI, particularly if incorporated into a vibrant game world.  (I.e., as an element of the game, not as the game itself.)  Many great gameplay situations come to mind...

[Derek]

Yeah it'd be nice to see that kind of lion / dude scenario, but with more freedom on how you can escape / win!  Shadow of the Colossus comes to mind, although that game is still kind of a puzzle game.

[Madgarden]

I've always dreamed of playing as an alien beast on an alien world, no technology, just strange and beautiful wilderness...

[Xion]

I've always dreamed of playing as an alien beast on an alien world, no technology, just strange and beautiful wilderness...

I must say I've dreamt that too. Ambient life all around. Strange atmosphere (cloud formations, sky color, etc.)

But more often I dream of a single, lone human survivor (preferrably young teenager or adolescent) in a post-apocalyptic world that is completely devoid of all life...

or is it...?

Dun dun DUN!

But the cities still stand, though in ruins and covered in ash, and the vehicles still run, so you can hop in 'em and GTA it to another place, and every once in a while you'll see something vaguely human fleet through your vision. Then it dawns on you the third time you fall into a sewer-turned-pitfall:
Maybe...maybe you're being hunted!

I dunno.

Anyway...

I always liked the idea of one-on-one hunter-prey sort of things. Especially in big open spaces...because I hate closed, dark, corridored spaces.

[GP Lackey]

Heh, this sort of reminds me of when I and three of my friends played a match of Halo 2 online against one expert player.  He was like the predator!  Nobody could touch him.  We were trying to stick together but somehow one of us would always get seperated and he'd pick them off.

[DrDerekDoctors]

I've wanted to do a 2D platform game with a persistant enemy for a while. Something akin to the Nemesis from Resident Evil 3, only not just turning up on special occasions, but hunting you through almost the whole game apart from when you're cowering in special safe locations, crapping yourself about going out again.

[ravuya]

I wanna do a game like that, too. Hmm.

[Bezzy]

I pitched a design once, based on Beowulf. The idea was that there would be nightly raids by the beast, who would try to find weak spots in your town's defenses. During the day, you'd be rebuilding/upgrading those defenses, and also keeping morale up and investigating the back story of why the moster was attacking, finding out that the monster's attacks were probably justified.

Sort of like rampage/tower defense plus nemesis and a bit of the sims, then. Needless to say, it was turned down in favor of a hack'n'slash. Probably too ambitious to do anyhow.

[Derek]

I pitched a design once, based on Beowulf. The idea was that there would be nightly raids by the beast, who would try to find weak spots in your town's defenses. During the day, you'd be rebuilding/upgrading those defenses, and also keeping morale up and investigating the back story of why the moster was attacking, finding out that the monster's attacks were probably justified.

Sort of like rampage/tower defense plus nemesis and a bit of the sims, then. Needless to say, it was turned down in favor of a hack'n'slash. Probably too ambitious to do anyhow.

Sounds kind of like The Horde.

[Inane]

Sounds kind of like The Horde.

God I love that game.
Plot didn't really make sense though, it's like "You saved my life, and in return I'm gonna give you land... That's infested with hundreds of monsters."

[Bezzy]

Heh. No new ideas under the sun, eh?

[AdamAtomic]

Metroid Fusion on the GBA has a recurring hunter character that works pretty well - there were a couple chase segments that really got my heart going.  However, it could be argued that it'd be pretty dang hard to sustain those heart-pounding moments (like the beast from Another World, etc) throughout an entire game.  I mean, that's what game pacing IS.  Then again, RE4 doesn't seem to have issues with pacing, so who knows

[BMcC]

Metroid Fusion on the GBA has a recurring hunter character that works pretty well - there were a couple chase segments that really got my heart going.

Yes!  I thought that was rad -- my favourite part of the game.

But those segments were canned, if you know what I mean.

[lowpoly]

ugh, metroid fusion...   

I get your sentiment tho, it's kinda like the Swirly in Yars Revenge... you know it's coming you're just not sure when (or at least I didn't when I was 6) and that tension makes you play with a real sense of urgency.

man, if I ever remake a game, it will be yars revenge... 

[GP Lackey]

Do it.  I've thought about remaking Yar's Revenge too, but I never did anything more than experiment with ways of drawing the neutral zone.

Also, Otto from Berzerk is perhaps similar to this idea?