Your own game...?

[roamn]

Have you ever dreamed of making your own game? As a kid or even as an adult man or woman? What it would be about, what characters you would set in your own world? Let the inspiration flow and lets discuss this (for someone already not) dreamy theme right here and right now... Or even better, why not try to brainstorm some quick game concept...? Everything is possible, there are no rules, and no limitations...! Let the ideas fly.

[Rowie]

Yeah, I've dreamed about it. Example I prefer games like Still Life, Post Mortem, or Seven, Dexter-the serial, in which are serial-killers and a great detective. But I think, if you wanna make a geat horror atmosphere in these days, then you have to make games is the first person view, just like Penumbra. So if there was a mixture of Still Life and Penumbra, it would be my favourite game, I think.

[FawfulhasCrimbo]

For me, the greatest thing would be for a Lovecraft game to be created. The world of H.P. Lovecraft was both mysterious and terrifying, and is all too ignored in the world of adventure games.

One of the greatest adventure game experiences I ever had was playing up until you get a gun in Call of Cthulhu: Dark corners of the Earth. The world was brought to life so beautifully, and you really felt like you were exploring a town.

Therefore I would probably make a Lovecraftian game. Especially since my writing strength is mystery.


If I were to make a comedic game, I would probably just write a Scooby Doo adventure game.

[Rowie]

Aham, yes, the CoCcoE is a great game! And I love Lovecraft and Scooby too!

[roamn]

Yeah, I've dreamed about it. Example I prefer games like Still Life, Post Mortem, or Seven, Dexter-the serial, in which are serial-killers and a great detective. But I think, if you wanna make a geat horror atmosphere in these days, then you have to make games is the first person view, just like Penumbra. So if there was a mixture of Still Life and Penumbra, it would be my favourite game, I think.

Yep, from what i had seen so far, Penumbra looks good. But it is a fully 3D real time game, dont forget about it. For a 2D or 2.5D game is better to use the 3rd person view, at least i feel this way and at least you have much more work to do (character animations, hidden/colision geometry etc.) then in 2D or 2.5D first person games. These days, almost always i see a 2D or 2.5D 1st person game i think something about too lazy developers simplificating their work too much :-).

[roamn]

For me, the greatest thing would be for a Lovecraft game to be created. The world of H.P. Lovecraft was both mysterious and terrifying, and is all too ignored in the world of adventure games.

One of the greatest adventure game experiences I ever had was playing up until you get a gun in Call of Cthulhu: Dark corners of the Earth. The world was brought to life so beautifully, and you really felt like you were exploring a town.

Therefore I would probably make a Lovecraftian game. Especially since my writing strength is mystery.


If I were to make a comedic game, I would probably just write a Scooby Doo adventure game.

Im trying for a couple of months to get to this game (have it, but dont have time). It shows the nice fact, that graphic is still not "all" even these days.

[roamn]

But dont you have your own game concept? With your ideas and plot, which you would love to carry out?

[FawfulhasCrimbo]

Actually, me and a friend of mine have been trying to crank out a Lovecraft style story, set in an extremely creepy stormy Midwestern town. It has to do with Lovecraftian creatures of course, and the main character is a professor of the occult, called to the town by his uncle, a mystery writer, to help investigate a cult that has started to blossom in the town. The entire feeling in the game is basically a feeling of extreme paranoia, where you are constantly being watched and talked about. I'd love to carry out scenes like where you look behind you and some creepy dude in a long black overcoat is tailing you or something, and you have to throw him off your trail, or you go to your uncles house and the police are constantly stopping by to check on you, and as you talk you look into the other room and the cop is staring at your back with one of those "looks".

I love the idea of messing with someones mind, going all Hitchcock on the player, and really keeping a game experience tense and uncomfortable at all times.

You sleep you have a nightmare, or you lay in bed and see a pair of eyes through your window. You eat, decide you don't want the drink, toss it in the sink, and it burns the bottom of the sink. you're never safe. My writing partner wants a grainy film noir feel for the game.

The player also has a cold which gets progressively worse during the course of the game, which makes the experience even worse for him.


By the way I thought you just meant what kind of games you'd make, not that you wanted exact details.

As far as Scooby Doo, that's a no brainer. Ghost, story, funny situations, food, trap, mess up trap capture ghost, unmasking.

[roamn]

OH BTW didn't I forget to say that Faraway Studios is not held accountable for anything you write in this thread :-)...?

Anyway, it sounds good, like some ideas from the post.

[FawfulhasCrimbo]

what kind of ideas do you have for games after Until I'm Gone?

[roamn]

what kind of ideas do you have for games after Until I'm Gone?

Thats to soon to talk about it. But i can say that even now, we have plenty of (different) ideas.

[shae]

I never tried coming up with an interesting story for a game, but technically-wise there are many things that annoy me in games or I'm waiting for. For example: crowds, living worlds. I think some of the newer games may be making some progress in that regard, and I haven't played any of them yet, so maybe it's getting better, but still...

Take for example Epic's Unreal Engine 3. Their overview page on it includes a part where they talk about "5-20 visible characters in a game scene". That's so poor! Maybe they haven't updated this page in 2 years and things are better now, but even for a few years ago that's very disappointing.

[roamn]

I never tried coming up with an interesting story for a game, but technically-wise there are many things that annoy me in games or I'm waiting for. For example: crowds, living worlds. I think some of the newer games may be making some progress in that regard, and I haven't played any of them yet, so maybe it's getting better, but still...

Take for example Epic's Unreal Engine 3. Their overview page on it includes a part where they talk about "5-20 visible characters in a game scene". That's so poor! Maybe they haven't updated this page in 2 years and things are better now, but even for a few years ago that's very disappointing.

Well I think that UE3 can be heavily modificated. Im sure that those 5-20 characters goes only for "full" modeled characters (with tons of maps/textures (diffuse, normal, etc.)) and high ammount of polygons. If you would be sattisfied with a less "quality models", but still pretty great, you would be surely able to put a lot more characters there. And it also depends on the enviroment you want to place the characters in of course.

[shae]

20 high-detail characters is poor. Of course there should be some dynamic LOD, but I don't expect to *notice* it.

Going back to adventure games, these are much more slower paced compared with FPSes, so they could potentially have even more characters. I think having tens of characters on screen should be feasible even when aiming for computers that are far from being state of the art.

[roamn]

20 high-detail characters is poor. Of course there should be some dynamic LOD, but I don't expect to *notice* it.

Going back to adventure games, these are much more slower paced compared with FPSes, so they could potentially have even more characters. I think having tens of characters on screen should be feasible even when aiming for computers that are far from being state of the art.

Well and you are not so right here, believe me, i speak from my own experience. Nothing is so easy (never) as it seems. You must take into account the engine you are using etc.

[shae]

Nothing is so easy (never) as it seems.

Of course it takes effort, but it's something that is long due.