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[SaltyHamster]

Hey all! We're a group of student developers at Indiana University and would like your feedback on a game we've been working on.

The pitch: FRANKENSHIP is a fast-paced space shooter where two players fight to the finish with ships built by their opponents.

Basically, there are 3 parts to this game: A collection phase (collect ship parts such as hull pieces, laser guns, and rocket launchers (who doesn't like rocket launchers?)) A build phase (players swap "zones" and build each other's ships: going for a Frankenstein-y feel) A battle phase (exactly what it sounds like)

Each player goes around collecting his/her own crates, which have a random ship part in it. Silver crates for lower-tiered hulls/weapons, gold crates for medium-tiered, and diamond crates for higher-tiered.
One of the aesthetics we are going for is a clunky-clumsy kind of feeling: someone else built you, and you have to try to use it to your advantage.

Right now, we are planning on setting up the build phase to be on a timer: your opponent tries to put as many parts on your ship as disadvantageous to you as possible, then, if there are parts left over, the players swap again and place the rest of the pieces on their own ships. This is to make sure all parts are used, as well as to provide an incentive for the opponents to put all of the available parts on each other's ships.

We have several phases because we were scared of making the game overly chaotic.

Sorry about all the jumping around, but I just want to make sure as many questions as possible are answered before posting.

Does this sound appealing or like a generally fun game? Other feedback or ideas are welcome as well!

[oahda]

Collection part and building sounds fun, but I don't like shooters. Would probably enjoy it if the game after that was more like Mario Kart. But that's me!

[SaltyHamster]

Thanks for your comment! Can you elaborate on what you mean by Mario Kart aspects?

[JindrichP]

It seems to be similar to a board game called Galaxy Truckers. Except in that game you don´t fight each other. You are going on an adventure (fight pirates, collect items, evade meteors etc.) in your ship build from parts. For me adventure sounds more like fun than just fighting each other.
I also don´t get the idea of spoiling ship of my enemy. Why should I do that? I want a challenge not some immoral practice.
I agree with Prinsessa that after building my ship it would be nice to have it more like Mario Karts or Crash Team Racing: you race, but you also use some weaponry. The goal isn´t to kill anybody, the goal is to win the race. That sounds really cool. Racing game like Mario Karts and with my own vehicle? I am sold.

[Crabby]

This sounds pretty cool, and I like the aspect of other players building ships for others. Sounds like a fun local multiplayer game to me!
But the shooting aspect seems overdone, like others have said. Mario kart aspects such as racing around tracks could be fun, and you could even be able to collect parts while racing, ex. A more powerful rocket launcher on the side of a road, or exclusive weapons only obtainable while racing. Maybe you could even steal other players ship parts while racing!
This is a really cool concept, and I'm happy to give feedback.