Game Brainstorm: Idea Generation

  Now that I've started learning the basics in Unity 3D, I have to begin thinking about what kind of game I want to create. The first thing I did was think about my favourite genres of games to play. I decided on RPG's, Platformers, Dungeon Crawlers (this may fall under the RPG category, but I consider it a different experience entirely), and Stealth Action. Four genres, four game ideas to flesh out.

Brainstorming works best on paper

RPG's are my favourite video game genre as a whole. I love the player progression, customisation, the lore and the world building. There are usually many different ways to go about situations, and one can vary the way they play the game each playthrough to get a completely different experience. While I love to play these games, creating one may prove difficult with all of these factors in mind. However, it is still possible.


- RPG

  When necromancers kill your parents, you are left with nothing in the world except the desire for justice... Or revenge. Journey through a fantasy world as you seek out the band of necromancers. Meet other heroes, help townsfolk fetch their things and deliver them for cash, and explore caves looking for ever needed upgrades to your equipment. Fight against goblins, orcs and other terrible beasts to level up your skills to be the fiercest Warrior / Mage / Rogue in the world!

  This would be a simple enough RPG. There would be a limited amount of customisation in appearance with various armours and weapons to equip. There would be skills trees in whichever class the player chooses, and loot would match that class. Friendly and enemy NPC's using both melee and ranged attacks in a real time hack and slash fighting system. Main quests and side quests would be present, with enemies levelling with the PC. There may be some party members that join the PC and join in the quest. It would either be in first person or over the shoulder third person view, and there may be alternate endings based on morality.

  The following video shows an achievable RPG in action, and although I may not include all of the features in my wish list, I think I could achieve a result close to my expectations.

Source: GameGrind

- Platformer

  As the son of Hermes, Greek god of thieves and travellers, and the Messenger of the Gods, you've always been light on your feet. With your Talaria (winged shoes given to you by your father), you've never had trouble getting around - or getting into trouble. This talent may come in handy, as the world that you know it comes under threat when Kronos the Titan and his son Hades plot to overthrow the Gods of Olympus. Travel through Ancient Greek landscapes as you defeat underworld minions, and collect the weapons of the Gods to stop the evil titan from taking over Olympus!

  This would be a simple enough platform game, where movement and puzzles are the main challenge rather than enemies. While there would be enemies in the game, there would only be two varieties per map; Strong enemies and Fast enemies, each defeated in a different way to the other. There would be platforming puzzles as the genre would suggest, and the winged shoes would be the glide function to add more speed and height to the gameplay. Players would collect golden drachma (and Ancient Greek currency) to purchase passage through certain level areas, or purchase items or abilities needed to progress. This gives incentive to search for Drachmas and not just power through to the finish line. The main collectable would be the Gifts of the Gods, lost throughout Greece, the Underworld and Olympus. There would be some boss battles on the way to Kronos such as Ares: The God of War and Hades: God of Death. 

  I think this game would be a lot of fun to create. I would have to spend a lot of time getting the physics right to make a good platformer that controls well. Creating a Greek landscape would be difficult, but I would keep it away from cities, and just have some architectural features that lend to the belief that it is in fact in Greece. Using the YouTube playlist below, I think I could get a good result from this kind of game.

Source: gamesplusjames

- Dungeon Crawler

  After months of constant dragon attacks upon your village, you get removed as guild leader of the Warriors / Mages / Thieves Guild for failing to do anything. Now with renewed vigour, you set out to bring peace to all of the land once more. Complete tasks for locals to earn more money to buy better gear, or sell your findings to free up your inventory. Level up and improve your skills in a real time turn based fighting system. Quest through caves, dungeons, crypts and mines fighting hordes of orcs, zombies, goblins and drakes as you search for loot and the means to destroy the Inferno Dragon. 

  I like the idea of a dungeon crawler. If I am clever, I can reuse dungeon maps for different levels, and have different quests lead to different places. I would have to go very in depth with the coding in this game to get Random Number Generator based loot drops correct, as well as Non Player Character and Player Character health, armour and damage right. The turn based fighting system would need a lot of work in both coding and animation. For my loot, I would need to have several different armour and weapon cosmetic skins to distinguish a difference between good and bad equipment. Once again, while this would be a challenging game, I feel like I could achieve a good result. In the Unity forums, user TwiiK wrote an article about a dungeon crawling ARPG that he created using only free assets from the Unity Asset Store. While I may not be able to achieve the same result as him on my first try, I think I can create a well rounded fun game.

Video of TwiiK's ARPG

Source: TwiiK

- Stealth Action

  As he lays on his death bed, your grandfather tells you the tale of his Cowl of Shadows - an ancient Ninja mask of great power. It was stolen from him many years ago by his arch enemy, and it is his only regret. You vow to bring it back to him, so he can hold it one last time. Use your stealth skills to progress through ten challenging levels, avoiding deadly enemies and traps. Make use of your shrikes for ranged encounters, and your katana for close quarters combat. But be careful! If you raise the alarm - you're done for! Use your Night Cape to conceal yourself for a limited time. Learn your enemies patrols and complete the levels in record time to achieve the high score. Collect the three medallions in each level to increase your shrunken count and your invisibility time.

  This is the first example that is level based rather than open world. It is more arcade and score based than any other game, and may be best suited as a mobile game. If I can figure out the mechanics of detection by NPC's, and being able to distract them, I feel like this may be the most achievable game on the list. I would have to design ten levels, making them increasingly difficult. Sebastian Lague has a three part series demonstrating mechanics similar to the ones I would plan to use.

Source: Sebastian Lague

  I would be happy to work on any of the above options, and I am happy with the amount of thought I put into each idea. I will have to assess how realistic each one is with only two months to develop. Whichever one I decide upon, I am definitely looking forward to getting started.

- Ultan