I need help developing my game idea

[Durastik]

Hey everyone...

I had an idea for a game, as every joe game maker has, but as i've tried many game ideas before, I realised I had found something like idea gold.

My idea:

You are a young gun-toting brawler, being trained by one of the best. You live in a town where shoot-outs and duels are as common as air, and where cops are the nuetral enemy.

Your goal in life, like many others, is to gain fame and fortune in the undergound Brawler's circut, from small club brawls, to cross town battles, your life is all about survivng the next second.

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Thats the general idea, think a cross between Fable, Maiet GUNZ and Need for Speed underground.

I have worked and not completed many games before, and like before, I don't mind if I don't finish, I just want to enjoy the experiance.

Now, here are my questions:

Should a decently strong storyline flow throught the game?

What era should I set it in (i'm currently thinking a western style town, in the 21st century)?

How should the game play?(ie, fighting, moving etc)

What sort of graphics should I aim for?

What things would be best to look for in an engine for this game?

Would you want to help make or play this game?(Not asking for help, just wondering if you think people would join this project)

Thats all for now, feel free to criteq the idea...

[JapigeMan]

Sounds to me your game idea gold is a very generic plotline that consists of no more than two lines of text...

But I'll answer your questions:

Should a decently strong storyline flow throught the game?
YES, just like in EVERY game I EVER played.

What era should I set it in (i'm currently thinking a western style town, in the 21st century)?
Depends on what game you want to make.

How should the game play?(ie, fighting, moving etc)
Moving is always a good thing to be able to do in a game.
Fighting would be nice since you already stated it's a game that is all about fighting. Just make it like GTA.

What sort of graphics should I aim for?
Just make it really pretty. :)

What things would be best to look for in an engine for this game?
This is already deep into implementation. In short:
Depends on what game you want to make.

Would you want to help make or play this game?(Not asking for help, just wondering if you think people would join this project)
No, since it consists of only a very thin plotline and nothing else whatsoever.

Maybe you should try to think of a good story first, and draw some screenshots (on paper) and start to think what you want.

Don't expect anyone to help you with it, you are on your own untill it gets interesting enough for other people to join. (after a first alpha release mayhaps).

I hope I wasn't to criteqially. Good luck.

[Durastik]

I like it when people get negatie about my project, it makes me think about it more.

The reason for the insofar crappy storysumarry is because i'm still working out exactly how the story should go.

I've decided the game will be 3rd person, movement will be free roaming and meeting NPCS. But combat will be done in semi defined areas, like, you challnge someone or are forced to fight, you choose your weapons, and fight in the area chosen to fight in, if you leave the area, you lose.

I'm also considering havin just one big 'town map' where the player can select small areas from it to go to, instead of traveling everywhere.

I'm trying to aim for an semi-open game, where your main goal is to win the Champion's tournament, but will have a strong story put through it (as most of the brawlers are in teams, there will be sqaubles for power etc). I have a large number of people who can help me storywise, so i'll find something non-clicheic.

Now scince the battle system will have the aim of being mid-fast paced, and will need pretty decent AI in it, any suggestions for the engine? I don't mind if it isn't super graphics, as long as I can make it look decent in the engine i'm sweet?

Thanks for the suggestions, they helped me expand a little.

[Methulah]

My only suggestion is to have a really, really awesome story before you even think about engines and the like. It sounds like a cross between Pokemon (on GB) and Quake III: Arena. Intersting.

If you think your idea is gold, make it, expand 'til you can give it in full and exiting detail. No-one will share your enthusiasm, and don't be afraid to share it, as I can garuntee you that no-one will steal it.

Hope this lets you think it through some, if you want more, post here.

[Durastik]

Well, i'm kind of aiming it to be more like a sports game now ya know, not really a story based shooter, like, I thought of having a strong story based thing for it, but it just doesn't suit the base idea.

Me and some friends are talking about this now, so i'll tell ya'll what we think of later.

Peace

[SpreeTree]

It sounds like a cross between Pokemon (on GB) and Quake III: Arena. Intersting.


Now there is an idea with a lot of potential... :D *Starts to dream*...

Spree

[shiaolin_monk]

Your idea is really good. As a half gamer half developer, ill give you some of my help:

1) A netural storyline should flow though the game. Leave spaces open for side stories where you can do stuff like duels with people to get some extra rep and better guns.

2) Western 20th century is the best choice. Like Back to the Future 3, when martie goes back to his great, great grandfather's time.

3) The gameplay should be free roam and horseback. fighting should happen in bars and mostly late at night. the start of duals should have cut-scenes and the sound of a clocktower ringing midday.

4) The sort of graphics you should aim for are photorealistic and timeline accurate graphics and textures.the involvment of guns, miced with photorealism, brings out a good compliment about your game.

5) Since there will be alot of sand and afterburn off guns, you should mainly look for good particle systems. A physics engine which involes wind is good because the wind can blow those balls of stick things and they can roll randomly and you play. Also, if you plan on having trains, the steam is covered by those two sections (i think, someone more experienced my say differently).

6) I wouldn't mind joining the project but i'm going back to school next week and the first years of my GCSEs start and the pressures on to bring those high predicted grades. So i oculd only work weekends and i'm not that much of a good 3ds max modeller. Click on my name on the side to see a model i made. The entire model, including the head is about 3500 polygons.

good idea mate.

[Durastik]

Thanks for the comments, I like the idea of trains...

If you would join the team it would be sweet, I don't mind weekends-only work, i'm used to having to juggle hundreds of little things at once, so I understand having a life. I'll PM you my IM and stuff, nice model BTW.

I'm starting to look round for an engine now, does anyone know of any good engines that run on RUBY?

[dave_]

How about writing a pitch document and approaching a developer/publisher... ? A prototype will help too!

[Steven Hansen]

How about writing a pitch document and approaching a developer/publisher... ? A prototype will help too!
20955


From personal experience, developers/publishers are not interested in your game ideas - ever! They usually have a certain amount of intellectual property that they intend to make into games when funding permits, and they may use external software houses to implement their ideas, but not yours.

There is the additional legal headache of ownership that most publishers have no desire to worry about.

So - make it yourself, market it yourself, sink or swim by yourself (including any friends you aren't too worried about). Good luck.

[Durastik]

The whole showing developers thing only works occasionally. You need to come up with something so exceptional that they can't help but make it.

I'm considering making this for an independent console I am helping develop, but i'll need a larger team if I want it to get good enough to be release worthy.

I'll probably use the ever-impressive OGRE engine, as if I make it for the console it needs to run on Linux, but i'll work on a PC version and port toconsole.

Peace

[dave_]

From personal experience, developers/publishers are not interested in your game ideas - ever! They usually have a certain amount of intellectual property that they intend to make into games when funding permits, and they may use external software houses to implement their ideas, but not yours.

There is the additional legal headache of ownership that most publishers have no desire to worry about.

So - make it yourself, market it yourself, sink or swim by yourself (including any friends you aren't too worried about). Good luck.
20962


You should at least aim to produce something of that quality. If you can't you wont even be able to convince amateurs. From personal experience, professional and amatuer.

[Mark]

I'd forget about the storyline and focus on gameplay, with emphasis on giving players lots of options at any one time. This will help make the game enjoyable, varied and fun to play through more than once - aspects sadly lacking in the story driven, high budget games we've gotten used to.

Developing and telling a good story is a significant amount of work spent on content and direction, but also time lost developing a fun playing experience. If the plot goes down a storm, all the better, but if the gameplay has suffered for it, who'll come back to play again?

As for the gameplay. It sounds good. Makes me think of that film "The Quick and the Dead", with Gene Hackman. I haven't heard so much about what the focus of your game would be. I'm assuming the meat of the gameplay would involve gun fighting?

If that's the case then you'll want to spend most of your design effort on those areas. You'll want several types of guns. Weak ones that have a speedy rate of fire, more powerful ones that take longer to reload, hold fewer shells and maybe pierce wood and metal objects. Some weapons would have to be reloaded more frequently. Some guns would be light enough that the player could brandish two at once.

Your player would need the ability to evade enemy fire too, like controls to roll, duck down or jump through windows. You could shoot through windows too and destroy all sorts of scenery. Some of it cosmetic, like bottles, candles and ornaments, some of it functional, like gun powder kegs.

Perhaps your characters could throw dynamite? Assuming they can find or buy any. Perhaps items could be looted from the enemies bodies too? Maybe outlaws could carry a bounty; if you take them out, then visit the sheriff, you'd get a reward? You'd spend this money in shops buying more ammunition and better guns.

It's all about the details. If the player spends 90% of his time shooting at bad guys, you need to spend 90% of your time making sure its fun :)

Good luck.

[Durastik]

^^VERY good ideas.

After some thought i've decided what the focus will be. I want to make my game the NFSU of 3rd person shooters. Along with a well designed and smooth gameplay system, it will be as customizable as reasonably possible. Different clothing, hair and other like things will be fully customizable. While your gun will be very customizable, i'm looking into ways to customize guns so i'll draw from that. The main feature of gun customization will be that you can change settings to suit your style.

Destructable terrain will be something I will work on. I think making havok in a fight is important, and I would love to have such destruction as F.E.A.R has (of course, on a no-budget game, it's impossible, but a degree of it would be). O remember spending ages in that room in Red faction blowing windows out of buildings, being able to do that in this would be awesome.

I'm going to rig up some awesome animations for combat, along with a very good collision system, dodging bullets will be vital in this game, and a matrix-esque bullet time system will most likely be implemented (I mean, what 3rd person shooter worth it's bread doesn't have one??).

I thought up a 'Quick Draw' system that will occou at the start of the fight. The camera will zoom up on your holster and time will slow to an ultra slow crawl. You'll use the mouse or some other system to guide he gun out of the holster and pull your draw trick. A more accurate draw will make winning the fight far too easy.

I'm going to watch westerns galore over the next few weeks, in hope of capturing what makes duels so awesome.

I'll begin my ery tedious search of a team for this project and, hopefully people will like it, I hae a moddeler, but i'll need at least one coder to start the alpha off, i'm onl abegginer RUBY coder and i'll prolly use C++.

Peace