The game you've always wanted to design

[Sharingan]

I'm sure the question has popped up in our minds at one point or another:

"When I grow up, I want to design a game too ... and it'll be better than anything that's been made before."

So have you ever imagined yourself designing a game, writing a script for a game or otherwise? Thought of any crazy storylines, scenarios or amazing game universes? Let's share some of the crazy ideas we've gotten over the years.



The most ambitious idea I've gotten while playing through Wing Commander, was designing a space combat simulation similar to WC, but one that could be played cooperatively with up to 40 wingmen/wingwomen. Engaging gigantic alien armadas numbering in the thousands with a couple dozen friends sounded like a huge thrill - I'd actually written an entire scenario for it, including branching storylines (a la Wing Commander). Sadly, I ended up studying something other than computer programming, so my plans never came to fruition :)

If there was a game in any other genre I would've liked to design, it would've been a strategy wargame combined with citybuilding and resource management - something akin to Utopia, but on a grander scale.

[Demon Cleaner]

I think nowadays there are so many games, that almost everything I wanted to see implemented into a game, is now done. Of course some ideas I have are never realized, and I always wonder why, am I the only one who wants to see "that" feature in a game.

When I was young, I was a huge fan of sports games, and I think that most sports games that are released are very good and also very realistic. The only thing which I never understood, FIFA97 had an indoor competition, then it was removed, and never again found its way back into the game. I mean, it's not difficult to implement that, if you already have the whole game??

And one thing I wish, is a handball game. I don't know if there is any handball game out there, I only know of Water Polo, which is a C64 game, meaning very old, and which wasn't so bad imo.

[Submeg]

The one game idea I had was release. B-boy on the PS2. Goddamn them! :dry:

[Harrison]

One thing I always wanted was a better Elite style game. More recent space trading style games such as the X series and Freelancer have gone a long way forward, adding a lot more, but my vision is slightly different.

I want the game to be more like a proper RPG where you are in direct control of a central character inside of the ship, rather than the ship being used in the game as the main avatar.

I thought about this idea originally when I used to play Frontier and docked with a station or on a planet. Once docked you were then just sitting there in the hanger looking ahead at the inside of the station or landing pad. I wanted to be able to get up out of my seat and walk out into the space station, to explore the community living there and to interact with everyone and everything. If any of you have played Earth and Beyond you will get the idea, but I want it to be taken much further than even that. To be able to actually get up out of your seat on the ship at any time and walk around it interacting with its systems, and to then walk out of the ship into the station, or planet surface. Another game that elements of this are close to my idea is Knights of the Old Republic where you could walk around your ship and out onto the planets and explore.

I want everything that was in KOTOR, but also everything that was in Frontier and X. A complete space based universe where you can travel between planets and systems, with all of the scope of Elite including trading, missions, changing and upgrading ships, but also the ability to leave the ships and explore any planet, finding missions to do on the planets, exploring ancient ruins for artefacts to sell, or cities to trade and recruit new members into your own party who would form a part of your crew (which would be needed in order to pilot larger ships).

In a way I want it to be a proper computer game version of the Megatraveller RPG. The Amiga games based on Megatraveller were pretty good and go some way towards the ideas I have, and also the Amiga game Hard Nova also contained a lot of the ideas I want included, and that was another very good game if you haven't tried it.

[Demon Cleaner]

Now there you got the idea for the perfect game Harrison. Also in the cities of the planets you should be able to drive around like in GTA :lol: some whole game concepts merged together into one whole big world. Even you could get into a soccer team and play in a league as side quest, or preferably Speedball kind of ballgame (a bit like Blitzball, but in PES style and FIFA package).

[Harrison]

Many would say that this idea would work best as an online MMO style multiplayer game and it probably could, but equally I would like it to remain offline as online MMO style games to suffer a lot from repetition and a lack of interactive scripting that pushes the story forward, instead needing to wait until the server moves the whole universe on to the next phase.

A game that does closely follow my ideas is EVE which is a great MMO space game, but even that doesn't take the player outside of their ship and this is definitely the main element I want included.

And as you say DC, being able to take part in everything happening on planets would be great including sports events. Imagine if you could have a complete network of leagues for the in game sport, and if it was an online game you could all be playing in different leagues on different planets, each trying to work your way across a series of planets towards a central tournament planet at the end of the season. That could be amazing.

The problem is that this idea is huge in scope when you consider how long it takes to develop just one of these parts as a game in itself, so developing and creating all of this within one universe would be an immense undertaking. It would be easily worth it though.

Something that could work would be plugin games, where new games get released and bolt on to the main game like an expansion, or they could also be played on their own if purchased alone. That way you could expand the game adding sports events, car racing, exploration of new planets etc... to the game.

[Sharingan]

Frontier Theft Auto ... something like that could be pretty huge (literally). The ability to control your character, being able to walk around the ship/spacestation/planet is something I've been thinking about as well for the space combat sim I had in mind. It would surely add a lot of character development, and thus allow the player the grow more attached to the characters. Many games ignore the emotional aspect, I think ... how are you supposed to give a damn when, for example, an NPC dies, if you haven't had a chance to know him/her? Wing Commander managed to touch the emotional strings, so did Final Fantasy VII.

An MMORPG Frontier would be brilliant - but you would need a LOT of players in order to create the sense of a true living, breathing universe. That, and huge amount of resources to design all the planets and locations. The possibilities would be endless, though ... you could be a merchant, a pirate, a bounty hunter, resource miner, anything. You could venture into uncharted space and try to discover new planets. You could try flying into a wormhole and see where you end up. The space's the limit :)

The Game Masters could even introduce world events every now and then, such as introducing deadly alien invasions that requires thousands of players to cooperatively combat.

[Harrison]

Some great ideas there.

Another idea could be for players to be able to design their own planets, space stations, craft etc... thus expanding the universe and giving players even more places to visit. The designing could be introduced in the form of tech tree development similar to a realtime RTS, so the player gets to choose the evolution and development of their planet based on the choices they take within their planets eco and tech tree branches.

This way planets could evolve with a lot of unique permutations making each planet unique. This is a danger with games like this having large numbers of planets where each starts to become similar. Giving the player control over the evolution and development of a planet would prevent this from happening.

Maybe each player controlled planet could actually be like a guild hall, but rather than just allowing only guide members to see and use it, all players in the game could visit it's space ports and stations as long as they can get clearance from the guide controlling it. That could be a very cool concept. Whole guides could even be given a star system, so that as they evolve and expand they could move out and colonise each of the planets in their own solar system.

This would be a mixture of SimEarth (for the planet and lifeform development) and RTS tech tree development (for the placement of cities, population development, type of space port/stations that can be built, types of space craft that can be developed and then sold to other players etc).

This could then lead to some EVE style gameplay, with other player guides aligning with each other, joining different solar systems into alliances and federations, to control mining resources and other production, as well as controlling areas of space and systems. Military elements could also be introduced where each player is aligned to a certain home planet, and so with the military from that origin. Being aligned with different solar systems and Military could then get you better missions within those systems.

Equally players could choose to become pirates and sit outside of systems waiting on those travelling alone on cargo runs. Or players could choose to stay independent, running cargo or smuggling illegal items or people between systems.

Player controlled systems could also introduce self policing, when players can choose to become a member of the police force protecting that system, and being aligned with other systems and a certain home world could have the advantage of being able to call for military or external police help if your system came under attack from pirates or opposition systems.

[Harrison]

Further to the planet evolution idea, I think that each player would get to evolve and develop their own planet as a kind of side game to the main space exploration, and once they are happy with their planet they can then bring their new solar system "online" and it would be placed randomly within the universe, and become aligned to the closest homeworld. This would then add a random element of new systems suddenly appearing in a region allowing players somewhere new to explore. And if a player designed system become popular, it gains development points based on number of visitors so that the original developer can continue to evolve it further. And if it becomes popular enough to become part of a group of systems then all members can be given control to develop further.

Also to protect again players getting annoyed, systems could designate themselves as being neutral, as that players could not directly attack and try to overtake or destroy the system's players, or a system could align itself with a group and then become a part of their side in the main universes power struggle, gaining backup from other players to protect it.

[Demon Cleaner]

This is getting very complex, but it's a very interesting idea. Of course you have a huge imagination and it would be very hard to realize such a project, but perahps we'll get something like this in near future. We should print out this topic and send it to several developers.

[Submeg]

Wait! Before this games gets anymore in depth, I say SHOTGUN to 10% of all profits. It's only fair:yesyes:

[Sharingan]

The planetary evolution thing sounds pretty radical. It would be really cool to land in and walk around a player-designed city. Rob a few elderly people, do some shopping, beat the crap out a snotty youth, if you feel inclined to do so.

To cut down on the complexity, the development of cities could happen via the same concept as seen in A-Train: take care of the logistics, and development happens pretty much automatically. Of course, as the planet's governor, you'll have some control over how your planet and cities develop. I mean, if I want my planet to become the intergalactic version of Las Vegas, or a lush tourist resort a la Phloston Paradise (from the Fifth Element), or a stinking hellhole of an industrial pit, then I should be able to make it happen!

What could also be nice is the ability to design one's own ships - fighters, trading vessels, battlecruisers and gigantic carriers - and see them being used by other players or computer-controlled entities alike.

[Harrison]

Elements of player designed ships have been used in Star Wars: An Empire Divided, but I gave up playing that game long before the player ships got introduced, and from what I've heard Lucasart have now completely ruined the game and it plays nothing like it did when it started. A real shame, especially for a big Star Wars fan such as myself.

[Ghost]

Hello all,

Hmm, well I think I would like to make an RPG inspired by some of the science fiction books I have read.

The title I have in mind is called "Last Man" or "The Last Man", and it deals with a ruined future in which humanity had almost reached singularity but failed at it.

Need to think about what design it would be.

On a side note, I currently am working on an idea of my own but it is in an established universe. :D

[Sharingan]

I'm still waiting for the definitive Star Wars game title. A franchise like that deserves a worthy game - and by that, I don't mean a half-assed podracing simulation.

Ghost, it would be nice to see that idea of yours explored. Maybe a small plot outline to give us some further insight.

[Harrison]

I think there have been some great Star Wars games over the years. The original arcade Star Wars game is still as playable and fun, the X-Wing and Tie-Fighter games were great along with the latter Alliance. The Dark Forces series of FPS games has always been really good, and the Lego Star Wars games were both great, fun and original. But for me the greatest so far is Knights of the Old Republic.

[Ghost]

“The Last Man”


This story is partly inspired by “A world out of time” by Larry Niven and “Orion’s Arm” by various


The player is a late twenty-first century astronaut who is sent with a near light speed starship to a black hole to do some scientific investigations.
The player was to return to Earth by slingshot around the black hole, returning in a shorter time than the journey to the black hole.

However something goes wrong when the rockets were suppose to fire in order to escape the black hole, they fire to late and through the time warping effects of the black hole the player is sent thousands of perhaps millions of years into the future.

When the player returns to the Solar System he or she finds evidence of interplanetary and possible interstellar warfare, everywhere as his ship’s telescopes discover the wreckages of space craft and destroyed colonies on planets and the moons of Jupiter and Saturn.

Getting closer to the sun the player finds a massive network of habitats surrounding it.
While trying to hail Earth the ship’s telescopes find most of its cities in ruins, only limited energy emissions are detected.

With no other choice the player takes the lander craft and sets down on the surface.

Here after some exploration the player discovers that in the thousands of years he or she was away technology such as computers, bio engineering, nanotech and many other sciences have been developed to unprecedented scales, allowing the creations of fantastic technologies as well as the creation of whole new kinds of humans such as genetic improved, splices, environment or purpose tailored, cyborgs, bioborgs and such.

Humans have also discovered ways to transfer memories and personalities to computers, creating a form of immortality though the question if the ‘downloaded’ person is the same who entered the process is not answered yet.

Apparently some kind of conflict broke out between humans who became more intelligent through genetic engineering and the ‘downloads’ which resulted in a war that destroyed almost all human civilization.


Unfortunate the player’s arrival hasn’t gone unnoticed and he or she soon finds himself hunted by Genehunters, beings made of human genetic material and technology who are genetically programmed to hunt certain targets.

While trying to avoid them the player meets some of the new humans including a population of ‘near baselines’ who are forced to live in a primitive state to avoid discovery by the Neumans, super intelligent humans who control what is left of Earth.


The player can choose to use some of the fantastic sciences of the future to alter him or herself through genetic engineering, cyborgification, or bioborgification while trying to find the means to fight back and save the population of near baselines.

The player learns that the Genehunters have been sent by the Neumans who require DNA that has been altered as little as possible in order to save their own kind, and they do not care if they violate other beings for it.

Now the player must survive on an Earth that just as much could have been an alien planet, not knowing who could be an ally or an enemy.


The title “The Last Man” is a pun on the fact that he or she is the last ‘baseline’ (normal Homo Sapiens)

[Sharingan]

That's certainly one of the more interesting story outlines I've read. Bravo.

The first thing that comes to mind after reading that is: first person shooter! Yet, I think an FPS wouldn't do your storyline much justice. There's just too much potential for interesting dialogue and interaction between the central character and the future beings, for a shooter to capitalize on that.

Perhaps an action RPG, akin to Baldur's Gate/Diablo/Dungeon Siege?

[Harrison]

Ghosts idea reminds me very much of the PS2 game series Shin Megami Tensei. Especially Digital Devil Saga 1 and 2. Have you played them? If not I highly recommend them.

The style these games use would fit perfectly for The Last Man ideas. The biggest difference is that in the Digital Devil Saga games the characters control demons and can upgrade them, whereas in Ghost's idea it is bio-genetic upgrades instead, more akin to Rogue Trooper.

[Ghost]

Hello Sharingan and Harrison,

Thank you both for the responses.

Though it might sound like a FPS script, genetically modified humans and all, the emphasis is on the fact that through the engineering and modifications on them that these new humans, as a person or a group are far superior than a common man.

A normal human astronaut might take a few of the weakest down with a captured laser rifle but don't thing you are getting very far like that :)
The alterations were thought up to 'improve' humans, not make them more stupider ;)


Depending on what route the player would take, he or she could improve his own body or replace parts or add parts to it when it comes to cyborgification and bioborgification.

Bio Borg BTW is the organic versions of 'machine' technology, organic structures designed to have the same capabilities or effects like a laser, computer interface or radio.


I really like RPGs but in general I can't stand all the fantasy crap we are thrown to dead with, I can take it in small portions but if the storyline features another dark and demonic foozle come back from the grave to take over the world and it includes elves, orcs and dwarves it looses gameplay fun for me.

These days designers try to stick to much to a formula, let them make exotic fantasy RPGs if they want to make a fantasy RPG, and not something with more elves, orcs and dwarves.

A friend of mine would love to make a RPG based on Greek mythology that is accurate to those stories and myths.

[Sharingan]

We might not stand much of a chance with laser pew pew, but if all else fails we still have the CHAINSAW :)

Crude, but oh so effective!

You're right though, we're getting inundated with fantasy, orcs and elves nowadays, but well, you can't blame 'em for trying, after the huge success of Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter. It would be nice to see some sci-fi settings as well, like the one we got in Shadoworlds (remember that one?), or even the more RPG-like levels of Starcraft. Those were pretty awesome.

Now that I think of it, your concept might work pretty well in a survival-horror kind of game as well. Think Silent Hill, but obviously, with better controls and a faster pace. After all, your central character is the underdog, the one that is being hunted. Plenty of good scary moments to be had in a post-apocalyptic, obliterated earth teeming with unnatural freaks.

[v85rawdeal]

Maybe set it in an entire city, GTA-style, with free-roaming elements. You would have to sneak around, scavenge for supplies and try and avoid discovery.

Basically, 28 Days Later - The Game. Why did no-one grab the licence for that? It could have been amazingly good.