Game idea: overhead shooter. Doom like design.

[Jasmine]

An idea for a game. Discuss.


Game Name: Virus.

Story: DroidCorp, the leading manufacturer of domestic and military robotics in the 22nd century (and where you happen to work) has been infected by a computer virus. The robots have run amok, locked down the factory and have killed half the staff. You must battle your way to safety and save the planet at the same time.

Features:
-- Overhead shooting game with bots as enemies.
-- Game arena is factory/warehouse/industrial.
-- Retro style, perhaps?
-- Bidirectional scrolling.
-- Full keyboard control with 8 direction movement. Fire=shoot in the direction we are facing.
-- Closer to an arcade feel than an FPS feel.

-- Doom-like design: Coloured passcards to open coloured doors. Number keys = different weapons. The different weapons and their corresponding ammunition can be collectable throughout the game eg,
(1) blaster [unlimited ~2Hz],
(2) flame thrower [napalm, splash+dot],
(3) machine gun [bullets],
(4) EMP grenades [aoe, single charge],
(5) rail gun [slugs, slow but high power],
(6) plasma rifle [energy cells, fast but lower power],
(7) rocket launcher [rockets, powerful aoe].

-- Some puzzle components to a game may be possible eg, conveyer belts as part of the factory, and metal crates which block your movement and firing, but which you can push around to block/open passages.
-- Small storage crates which can be opened to reveal collectables.
-- exploding barrels
-- Elevators which can take you to different floors. Some floors should be harder than others.

-- Not all bots need to be infected or active, but the virus can spread between bots which are in close range of one another.
-- Some bots may auto-activate when you approach them.
-- Destroyed bots disintegrate, may leave some debris which does not present an obstacle to pathing.
-- Active bots have glowing eyes, but it takes a few seconds for them to boot up and become mobile/deadly. Red eyes = infected. Blue eyes = not infected. Grey eyes = inactive.
-- EMP grenades have an area of effect and makes bots inactive.
-- Player can activate bots to assist under their own AI (spacebar while next to one), but they may become infected and need to be disposed of.

[Thsotus]

Sounds pretty boring to me. I don't like the shallow story, the rigid lines in gameplay. I really like story-driven games, like Iji, a FREE indie game made from Game Maker. You had to mix and match your weapons to get new items, you could unlock many, MANY secrets, and you could change the game's story. Those are the type of features I played the game for.

My suggestion is to make it a bit more story-driven, like Iji. Download the game to see what I mean.

It's a bit boring to have just a shooter game. It'd be nice if you have an inventory, special items that are secrets or gained from bosses to create more weapons, etc. For example, instead of just obtaining new weapons, you can get modules. For example, you have the Shotgun and Blaster template. Then, you start off with the "Normal" bullet template. Then, after you defeat the "Fire Robot" boss, you get the "Fire" bullet module, which you can create a new shotgun type or a new blaster type that has the "burn" status effect. Plus, you can re-use the graphics by just re-coloring the bullet and making a few more animations. This would increase the weapon system's depth.

It would also be interesting if you could add in "data" logs or something. Create a story. For example, while going through the stages, you could find "data" logs that you can read. Get data about the robots, about daily life, about pondering on the philosophical side of AI. For example, do robots actually feel emotions, or is it all simulated?

This is why Iji was excellent--the overall story and gameplay never really changed, but you could avoid boss battles, get achievements, and unlock secret levels. This is why it was fun for me.

[princec]

Sounds like a fun game that'll never sell

Cas

[Applewood]

Actually, it reminds me of a fun game that sold in spades... :-D

Mind, the comments under the video seem somewhat random!

[princec]

Yeah, 20 years ago it might have.
I have discovered certain sorts of game are rather less likely to sell than others though...

Cas

[richtaur]

http://blog.wolfire.com/2009/08/the-...of-game-ideas/

[Jasmine]

if some of the bots had plungers sticking out of their heads, the game could appeal greatly to young people who interested in modern science fiction.

[andrew]

Uh, it's been done - http://www.rocksolidarcade.com/games/robokill/

[Jon Hellebuyck]

if some of the bots had plungers sticking out of their heads, the game could appeal greatly to young people who interested in modern science fiction.

Couple that with teleport points that look like blue police call boxes and I would absolutely buy it.

[princec]

http://www.puppygames.net/downloads/...asureTomb.jnlp

Cas

[Olofson]

Uh, it's been done - http://www.rocksolidarcade.com/games/robokill/

Oh, great! Now I wasted another hour...



Nice game - although it doesn't quite have that Doom/Quake feel, for some reason...

Maybe it's the weapons? Among other things, I really like those "jump around the corner, giv'em both barrels, step back and reload" moments, but that doesn't quite happen without a proper shotgun. Rocket launchers and railguns are somewhat similar; very powerful, but take a long time to reload and/or has slow moving projectiles, which means you need some focus and strategy to actually make some damage other than by dumb luck.

Maybe that's too hardcore, though? I mean, even some of the later hardcore FPS games have lost much of this, probably because it's just too hard to do with the crappy controllers people use for the console versions... Only mouse + keyboard offers the speed and accuracy you need to use proper oldschool FPS weapons in a fast game - and it takes a fair bit of training at that.

http://www.puppygames.net/applets/te...asureTomb.jnlp

Your bots are shouting "404!" and being generally rude when I try this one...

[Jack Norton]

Maybe that's too hardcore, though? I mean, even some of the later hardcore FPS games have lost much of this, probably because it's just too hard to do with the crappy controllers people use for the console versions... Only mouse + keyboard offers the speed and accuracy you need to use proper oldschool FPS weapons in a fast game - and it takes a fair bit of training at that.

I don't like it much, but because isn't the kind of game I play, but Robokill was a super hit on the flash world. I wish one day I have a game as successful as that one

[HairyTroll]

Alien Breed?

[Applewood]

if some of the bots had plungers sticking out of their heads, the game could appeal greatly to young people who interested in modern science fiction.

Our official DrWho game just pased NCL and will be arriving on the Wii in time for christmas.

Yeah, 20 years ago it might have.
I have discovered certain sorts of game are rather less likely to sell than others though...Cas

Yeah, I get that. His design just reminded me of the last thing I wrote entirely by meself that actually shifted some numbers. Halcyon days. These days even a flash game would have to be far more polished.

[Grey Alien]

Princec: Fix your link, I want to see Treasure Tomb really badly!

[princec]

Doh!
I meant http://www.puppygames.net/downloads/...asureTomb.jnlp

Cas

[princec]

Princec: Fix your link, I want to see Treasure Tomb really badly!

Yeah sorry about that! Fixed now. It actually got a lot further along that what's uploaded there, but we abandoned it. I'm going to see if Chaz'll let us resume it at some point in our "new" big-screen hires format...

Cas

[Jasmine]

Actually, it reminds me of a fun game that sold in spades... :-D

That reminds me of some of the isometric games which came out on the ZX Spectrum. Although they were in single colour, it looks to have the same sort of feel.

I was thinking of overhead rather than isometric.

Yeah, I get that. Her design just reminded me of the last thing I wrote entirely by meself that actually shifted some numbers.

Uh, it's been done - http://www.rocksolidarcade.com/games/robokill/

I'm sure I've seen that before. I'm not too keen on that game to be honest. I was imagining a game that scrolls rather than has fixed rooms. Also smarter AI to make it an intense tactical game.

The most recent game I've made had an AI for computer controlled characters, which was both strategic and tactical in how it operated. It made the game quite challenging and intense at times.

Yeah, 20 years ago it might have.
I have discovered certain sorts of game are rather less likely to sell than others though...

It's funny how some games go out of fashion. It's understandable if a player overdoses and gets bored of one, but the new generation should be able to find just as much pleasure in something as the past generation ... unless people are becoming increasingly critical and self-restricting in what they can find pleasure in... which is the explanation I like to believe is true.

[Bad Sector]

Doh!
I meant http://www.puppygames.net/downloads/...asureTomb.jnlp

Cas

Unfortunately it doesn't work here (Mac OS X 10.6.4)

java.lang.reflect.InvocationTargetException
    at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke0(Native Method)
    at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(NativeMethodAccessorImpl.java:39)
    at sun.reflect.DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.java:25)
    at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:597)
    at com.sun.javaws.Launcher.executeApplication(Launcher.java:1812)
    at com.sun.javaws.Launcher.executeMainClass(Launcher.java:1750)
    at com.sun.javaws.Launcher.doLaunchApp(Launcher.java:1532)
    at com.sun.javaws.Launcher.run(Launcher.java:135)
    at java.lang.Thread.run(Thread.java:637)
Caused by: java.lang.NoClassDefFoundError: Could not initialize class org.lwjgl.Sys
    at org.lwjgl.openal.AL.<clinit>(AL.java:59)
    at net.puppygames.applet.Game.exit(Game.java:946)
    at net.puppygames.applet.Launcher.main(Launcher.java:70)
    ... 9 more

[princec]

Ancient build of LWJGL, not too surprised. I suppose I should resurrect it all.

Cas

[Grey Alien]

sweet! this has the potential to be rad!

[princec]

sweet! this has the potential to be rad!

Yeah, I loved it. But as I mentioned earlier in the thread... great game, won't sell.

Cas

[Indiepath]

Yeah, I loved it. But as I mentioned earlier in the thread... great game, won't sell.

Cas

Derailing--- How do you shoot? I found the level editor but I can't shoot me gun!

[princec]

Derailing--- How do you shoot? I found the level editor but I can't shoot me gun!

Left CTRL. Move then fire for strafing, or fire first then move to pivot. You'll see, it's quite intuitive.

Also, when you die, you get 30 seconds to find a treasure to resurrect. You can move through doors when you're a ghost...

Cas

[Wrote A Game or Two]

Sounds like a fun game that'll never sell

Cas

I dunno about that. I could see the game doing well on platforms like the iphone/ipod or DS. Maybe even Wii or other consoles? Might be a good seller as a downloadable for the xbox also. Maybe even PC, if released somewhere that action titles do fairly well, like Steam.

I think we've somewhat pigeonholed ourselves into "would a casual gamer buy it" niches. Marketed properly, I think any kind of polished, professionally made game could sell. You just have to get it in front of the right players. There's billions of people out there, so even if you can only get 1% of them to buy your game, that's a nice payday.

Jasmine, I think you've got a good idea here and you should pursue it. I'd write it in Unity3d and target the iphone/ipod crowd with it, personally. If it does well there, then go after other platforms.

[princec]

I think we've somewhat pigeonholed ourselves into "would a casual gamer buy it" niches. Marketed properly, I think any kind of polished, professionally made game could sell. You just have to get it in front of the right players. There's billions of people out there, so even if you can only get 1% of them to buy your game, that's a nice payday.

Ahahaha Han Solo voice: "Well, that's the trick, isn't it."

It turns out some games are very easy to market to people and some games are very hard. This idea... is one of the hard ones. It's all very well thinking 1% of a billion is a lot except that you won't get anywhere near a billion with this game concept. You might get 50,000 or so if you're lucky, on the general internet.

Cas

[Indiepath]

Left CTRL. Move then fire for strafing, or fire first then move to pivot. You'll see, it's quite intuitive.

Also, when you die, you get 30 seconds to find a treasure to resurrect. You can move through doors when you're a ghost...

Cas

Hmmmn - can I have mouse button fire pleeeeeze

[princec]

Hmmmn - can I have mouse button fire pleeeeeze

But... it's not mouse controlled???

Actually it should work ok with a joypad too.

Cas

[electronicStar]

That's your best game so far, finish it!

[princec]

That's your best game so far, finish it!

Maybe one day. As I say, it won't sell, at all, so not really very keen on putting a lot more time into it. Maybe we'll just release it into the wild.

Cas