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[Zaphos]

Do you have game plots you're not using, but keep thinking about anyway?  Do you feel the need to share them?

... no?  Oh dear.  I feel so alone. 
Well, if you think of any, pitch them in this thread!  (Preferably in a brief, entertaining fashion)

I'll start:

Chibi Robo: Red Robot Revolution
You play a tiny, cute "Helper Robot" in a dysfunctional household.  Faced with maniacal children, rabid pets, and unreasonably demanding adults, you quickly learn that the only way you will survive is to rebel.  But the terrible humans are stronger than you, and if they catch on to your wicked ways you will be destroyed.  In this sandbox "murder simulator," you must use your wits to stage a successful robot rebellion.

[ravuya]

I'm sure I've posted these before, but I made a series of four "Bad Game Ideas" articles which have earned me alternating admiration and fear.

Bad Game Ideas 4
Bad Game Ideas 3
Bad Game Ideas 2
Bad Game Ideas 1

I want to have a contest one of these days where people implement one or several of the ideas. Either that, or make a WarioWare-style game with all of these ideas added as minigames.

If you use the idea, please don't tell Jack Thompson it came from me. He smells like old people.

[skaldicpoet9]

Oh, man...you know how much a WarioWare style compilation of "bad" game ideas would rock....that's a great idea Ravuya:) I would play it...

[Mr. Yes]

I get plenty of ideas in my head that seem impossible for me to do. Most of them are terrible, but some are so good that it's torture not making something out of them! I don't think I currently have any ideas worth talking about, though.

[Xion]

This spawned from me thinking of an idea for a B game:
It starts of as an average game, perhaps platformer, perhaps action RPG. But either way, it's got a pretty long plot involving monsters and destined princesses and stuff. That part of the plot isn't important, though. What is important is that about halfway through the game, the main character begins to think about deeply philosophical things, and from here on out, he slowly becomes aware of his existence as a video-game character - an entity of someone else's creation and control. He realizes that the plot he'd been a part of is all just made up, and his new mission is to break free of the player's control. This adds an entirely new aspect to the game, having to keep the character under control as he will sometimes randomly attempt suicide (due to depression as well as unwillingness to live a controlled life), make a mad dash for the edge of the screen (where it is believed that once the character goes off-screen, he will be free, so long as the screen doesn't find him), or do other various things to shake the player. While his actions are still player-controlled, his thoughts aren't though, so all the while he'll be displaying (or speaking aloud) his ponderings and showing visible distaste for the player (even resorting to the classic "well, hey buddy, fuck you!"). At one point, the character falls in love with an NPC, so he agrees to temporarily allow the player to control him in order to save her. Then he goes back to his evasion tactics. At the end of the game, the character finally gains his freedom and walks off the screen.

You know, the whole thing is sort of like The Truman Show, but in game form.

[skaldicpoet9]

This spawned from me thinking of an idea for a B game:
It starts of as an average game, perhaps platformer, perhaps action RPG. But either way, it's got a pretty long plot involving monsters and destined princesses and stuff. That part of the plot isn't important, though. What is important is that about halfway through the game, the main character begins to think about deeply philosophical things, and from here on out, he slowly becomes aware of his existence as a video-game character - an entity of someone else's creation and control. He realizes that the plot he'd been a part of is all just made up, and his new mission is to break free of the player's control. This adds an entirely new aspect to the game, having to keep the character under control as he will sometimes randomly attempt suicide (due to depression as well as unwillingness to live a controlled life), make a mad dash for the edge of the screen (where it is believed that once the character goes off-screen, he will be free, so long as the screen doesn't find him), or do other various things to shake the player. While his actions are still player-controlled, his thoughts aren't though, so all the while he'll be displaying (or speaking aloud) his ponderings and showing visible distaste for the player (even resorting to the classic "well, hey buddy, fuck you!"). At one point, the character falls in love with an NPC, so he agrees to temporarily allow the player to control him in order to save her. Then he goes back to his evasion tactics. At the end of the game, the character finally gains his freedom and walks off the screen.

You know, the whole thing is sort of like The Truman Show, but in game form.

That's one of the most awesome ideas for a game I have ever heard...man, someone needs to make this...

[Mr. Yes]

Xion, you've got to make that. I need to play that.

Anyway, you just reminded me of an idea I once thought of for a platformer. Basically, it's a game that gives you absolutely no clue what you need to do to win. There would be a lot of dialog, but it would be in a fake language, so there would be no way to understand the plot. So you would need to explore the game world, looking all over to find where you need to go. Once and a while you find a boss or cut scene, but nothing you can make sense out of. So it would be almost impossible to win unless you kept playing for a large amount of time.

[skaldicpoet9]

Xion, you've got to make that. I need to play that.

Anyway, you just reminded me of an idea I once thought of for a platformer. Basically, it's a game that gives you absolutely no clue what you need to do to win. There would be a lot of dialog, but it would be in a fake language, so there would be no way to understand the plot. So you would need to explore the game world, looking all over to find where you need to go. Once and a while you find a boss or cut scene, but nothing you can make sense out of. So it would be almost impossible to win unless you kept playing for a large amount of time.

lol...that sounds like a game concept for a development studio my friend and I wanted to start: "Games to Piss You Off"...we figured there were enough games out there that pissed people off that weren't deliberate...why not make games that piss people off on purpose? lol...Punishment reminds me off something that we would think up....

[Melly]

I've thought of the idea of breaking the fourth wall as far as character control goes. Though I'm not too keen on giving away my idea unless I'm certain they could not be realized by me into an actual game someday. I dunno, I wanna do something that nobody ever did SOMETIME. So I apologize. 

[Guert]

Xion: You know, that vaguely reminds me of when I used to play the original sims... I want the character to kill himself but he doesn't want to. I tell him to go somewhere else but he doesn't. The character simply doesn't listen to what I tell him to do. So in the end, I kill him by burning him alive.

Well, it's not exactly the same... but... anyway, it's an interesting concept.

The chibi robot is also interesting but it would be kind of a "Chucky"-like game where a small animated doll kill of people... Could be fun!

Later!

[Alex May]

Xion: that's an awesome post, and a fantastic idea. I think there's a lot of mileage in games that break the fourth wall, particularly in such an great style.

Zaphos: Anything that references Chibi Robo gets my vote. I call you brother from here on in.

[Zaphos]

Cool -- I hadn't seen your bad game idea series, ravuya; it's quite fun
Xion's idea is great, too.  It's pretty different from anything I've heard of, but breaking the 4th wall reminds me of Pac-Man 2: The New Adventures for SNES (and I think also genesis?), which was a bizarre side scrolling adventure game featuring Pac-Man.  Instead of letting you actually control Pac-Man, you control a slingshot.  You must hit various things in the environment (including Pac-Man) in order to cause Pac-Man to achieve various tasks and progress through the game.  Pac-Man himself seems on the whole oblivious to the fact that an autonomous slingshot is attempting to control his life.
Of course, there's a speed run on youtube:

[Xion]

Cool -- I hadn't seen your bad game idea series, ravuya; it's quite fun
Xion's idea is great, too.  It's pretty different from anything I've heard of, but breaking the 4th wall reminds me of Pac-Man 2: The New Adventures for SNES (and I think also genesis?), which was perhaps a totally random abuse of a franchise, but nonetheless a really interesting concept.  It's a bizarre side scrolling adventure game featuring Pac-Man.  But instead of letting you actually control Pac-Man, you control a slingshot.  You must hit various things in the environment (including Pac-Man) in order to cause Pac-Man to achieve various tasks and progress through the game.  Pac-Man himself seems on the whole oblivious to the fact that an autonomous slingshot is attempting to control his life.
Of course, there's a speed run on youtube:

I've played that! It's actually kind of fun.

And yeah, there is so much more room to break the fourth wall in games. It's been done in comics and movies and cartoons, but strangely I've rarely seen it done in a game.

The character simply doesn't listen to what I tell him to do. So in the end, I kill him by burning him alive.

Haha, that is, of course the perfect solution for disobedience.

Though I'm not too keen on giving away my idea unless I'm certain they could not be realized by me into an actual game someday. I dunno, I wanna do something that nobody ever did SOMETIME.

Yeah, I know that feeling. Fortunately I'm pretty sure I'll never make that game.

Rayuva: I don't know how I missed all those bad game Ideas, but :D

[Zaphos]

Another plot ...

There Are Many Reasons To Eat
The World's Fattest Man, who works as an exhibit at a traveling circus, finds his livelihood in danger when a rival fat-man threatens to overtake his record.  No longer satisfied with what the circus can feed him, he must waddle out in to the world in a quest to consume food that will truly enlarge him.

[Guert]

...Until he bursts open...

[Robotacon]

A golf game that is also a murder mystery. You need to play good enough to remain on the tour while solving the murder of your mentor. Think Shenmue meets Tiger Woods. There needs to be golf cart speed chases and wacking people over the head with a 9 iron.

[Chris Whitman]

...
That part of the plot isn't important, though. What is important is that about halfway through the game, the main character begins to think about deeply philosophical things, and from here on out, he slowly becomes aware of his existence as a video-game character - an entity of someone else's creation and control.
...

I happen to own an awful low-budget European movie about that exact concept, starring Christopher Lambert as a future game programmer who develops a game where the protagonist becomes self-aware. The weirdest part is that the video game character mostly provides comic relief by dying repeatedly, while Christopher Lambert proceeds to negotiate his way through every cyberpunk cliche ever in an attempt to erase the game. It is truly one of the worst movies I have ever seen.

I picked it up at a video store for $5, if I recall correctly, along with three or four movies starring Steven Seagal and various different rappers.

[shinygerbil]

A golf game that is also a murder mystery. You need to play good enough to remain on the tour while solving the murder of your mentor. Think Shenmue meets Tiger Woods. There needs to be golf cart speed chases and wacking people over the head with a 9 iron.

DO EET! :D :D

[Shaheen]

Anyway, you just reminded me of an idea I once thought of for a platformer. Basically, it's a game that gives you absolutely no clue what you need to do to win. There would be a lot of dialog, but it would be in a fake language...

I gotta say, the idea of being in a game world where you're essentially a foreigner with no knowledge of the area stirs up some interesting thoughts on how a game like that would be like. I personally wouldn't take it in such a humorous (?) direction (making it as difficult as possible for the player), but it'd be cool to maybe have some sort of simplified foreign language where the player is introduced to the language through the various inhabitants and eventually picks up on a few things to go on with what they need to do (or whatever).

[Xion]

Anyway, you just reminded me of an idea I once thought of for a platformer. Basically, it's a game that gives you absolutely no clue what you need to do to win. There would be a lot of dialog, but it would be in a fake language...

I gotta say, the idea of being in a game world where you're essentially a foreigner with no knowledge of the area stirs up some interesting thoughts on how a game like that would be like. I personally wouldn't take it in such a humorous (?) direction (making it as difficult as possible for the player), but it'd be cool to maybe have some sort of simplified foreign language where the player is introduced to the language through the various inhabitants and eventually picks up on a few things to go on with what they need to do (or whatever).

I b'lieve that's been done in a game called "Tork". Though It could be taken further (by having letters instead of word-symbols) and applied to different genres (RPG?) of course.