Indie game idea

[Huey Kruthas]

A friend of mine and I are planning on making an indie game somewhere around a year from now. We tossed around some ideas the other night, and narrowed it down to this. I wanted to get some opinions...

Basically, you play the role of someone who has the ability to go back in time short distances (amount of time not decided, estimated at 30 seconds). We think we are going to make it a government suit, but we pretty much focused on the gameplay.

The thing that makes going back in time special, is kind of complicated to explain actually, so I'll give an example.

You start a level, and there is a horde of enemies coming after you. You go next to a wall and start blasting into the horde with an smg. Just before the horde reaches you, you go back in time. Since it's so early in the level, you would just go back to the beginning. Then, there is the copy of you that just ran to the wall and shot into the horde, and he performs the exact same actions you did, regardless of what the enemies do. You can run behind him, and do something like build an attacking tower behind him, then, if you were to go back in time again, there would be the copy shooting the machine gun, the copy building the tower, and you doing whatever you wanted to next.

We don't know how we are going to limit the time travel. We are thinking of either having a cooldown time. Or, a set number of uses per level.

We want to make what you can do as open as possible (shoot guns, man turrets, build towers, build walls, etc.). More actions would be nice, though I'm not sure where to go with it.

For the camera angle, I am thinking of a 3D overhead view. Think X-men Legends, or Marvel Ultimate Alliance, but a bit more zoomed out. You will also have a radar with the more difficult enemies appearing in a darker shade (sort of like warcraft III, but more than 3 shades).

Any comments? Ideas? Anything at all? Feedback is appreciated, and I hope the idea was clear enough.

[crusher]

First thing that hit me when I read your description was this:
http://www.nekogames.jp/mt/2008/01/cursor10.html

Sounds good.

[Huey Kruthas]

First thing that hit me when I read your description was this:
http://www.nekogames.jp/mt/2008/01/cursor10.html

Sounds good.

Haha, fun game. Thats the general idea

[MondayHopscotch]

I think it would make an excellent game. Keep us updated on new ideas and what-not.

What are you planning to code it in?

[Huey Kruthas]

What are you planning to code it in?

That's part of the reason we are giving it a year before doing it. I only know a good part of C++, and he only knows C#. We are both taking some programming courses next semester, plus I'm going to start learning java now.

Basically, I'm going to get an overview on a variety of codes, and learn the one I think would be the best for what we will need coded (keeping track of lots of monsters, and recording movement/actions). Maybe I'll be able to use it for a class project, or something

Anyone with knowledge of code have a suggestion?

[maca]

If you want to make a good 2d game and you're open to learning languages, I'd recommend Python and using Pygame http://www.pygame.org/news.html
Python is easy to learn, and that's a good game library that has sound and graphics.

[Chibi-Suke]

Hmmm... maybe to limit time travel, you could make fuel tanks. Like in prince of persia. They'd be pick ups.

[MondayHopscotch]

or you could give the character a "mental-state" kind of bar, and the more "clones" of yourself there are, the harder time he has believing what he's seeing. So if there are too many, he goes insane.

As the game progresses, it could get upgraded somehow... maybe you have some scientist that helps you, and he's researching the human brain and quantum physics or something along those lines.

[Cyberxion]

I'd like to see this concept in 2-D actually. Sort of like Lost Vikings, in that time-travel will allow your character more options for traversing the game world.

For example, you might find yourself having come across a ledge that is a bit too high to get up on, and in time traveling, you'd be able to use the guy you left at the ledge before-hand to order to boost your "current self" (for lack of a better term...) up on the ledge.

Yeah, that's probably a lame example, but I can definitely see this being a 2-D game just the same.

[MondayHopscotch]

another "fun-to-watch" aspect of the game is that you will see yourself vanish when your past self goes back in time.

also, like teamwork, if you jump, go back in time, and stand on your past self's head - the past has to play out exactly how it happened the first time - so when your past self jumps, you would get a boost from yourself.

[Chibi-Suke]

I'd like to see this concept in 2-D actually. Sort of like Lost Vikings, in that time-travel will allow your character more options for traversing the game world.

For example, you might find yourself having come across a ledge that is a bit too high to get up on, and in time traveling, you'd be able to use the guy you left at the ledge before-hand to order to boost your "current self" (for lack of a better term...) up on the ledge.

Yeah, that's probably a lame example, but I can definitely see this being a 2-D game just the same.

2-D is what I thought too.

one could stand on a button, while the other goes through a door. Or you could use the past self as a human body shield, since he can't be killed by present enemies.

[Huey Kruthas]

2-D is what I thought too.

one could stand on a button, while the other goes through a door. Or you could use the past self as a human body shield, since he can't be killed by present enemies.

Haha, I had a response to all this completely typed out and then closed Opera last night

Anyway, If an enemy hits your old self, he will die. I am explaining it as if when you go back in time, your conscience leaves that body, and the only reason it continues to "live" is because it is bound by the threads of time. This way, the enemies still react to the current you, but your old self won't.

As for the camera angle, it would be more accurate to say I was thinking of something more along the lines of warcraft III. You would have the ability to zoom in and out. Could you give an example of a game with the type of 2D you are talking about? I want to do the 3D thing because the friend I am doing this with is very good with 3D modeling, so we want to take advantage of that. Of course, if it turns out shitty looking, and doesn't work out right, we would end up going 2D

We are going to plan out a full fledged story for it. So far we are going to say that you are a test tube baby raised specifically to handle using the object that allows time travel. We'd rather avoid a suit, or a helmet, seems overdone. The only real specific idea we have is that the government that you are doing the missions for is having you do some really bad shit. And at one point, you come across an innocent woman and save her. But, then he gets annoyed by her because she doesn't shut up, and pushes her in a river, completely unexpectedly.

This guy is brainwashed, it's enough that he wanted to save her at all. That would be pretty early in the story, and hopefully enough to get a good shock value in. There would definitely be plot twists between governments who have different agendas, but no strictly good/evil shit. That is old.

For the levels, I'm thinking of having traveling levels, which would be mostly puzzle solving. Then, when you get to your destination, a horde of enemies level. Then, a boss level, then you go back to main base and report, and can go around buying equipment/items/whatever we decide will be sold.

I want more level types though. I don't want this to be a strictly formulatic game. Any interesting ideas on level types?

[MondayHopscotch]

As for the camera angle, it would be more accurate to say I was thinking of something more along the lines of warcraft III.

I think thats a really good camera type for what you are trying to do.

We are going to plan out a full fledged story for it. So far we are going to say that you are a test tube baby raised specifically to handle using the object that allows time travel. We'd rather avoid a suit, or a helmet, seems overdone.

Is the device going to have a limiting factor like a battery or something?

The only real specific idea we have is that the government that you are doing the missions for is having you do some really bad shit. This guy is brainwashed, it's enough that he wanted to save her at all. That would be pretty early in the story, and hopefully enough to get a good shock value in. There would definitely be plot twists between governments who have different agendas, but no strictly good/evil shit. That is old.

This reminds me of the movie Equilibrium. The society has created a drug to remove human emotion from everyday life through a medication that all citizens are required to take. But the main dude stops taking his drugs and realizes how incredible emotions are, so he lives trying to hide the fact that he can feel emotions from everyone while still enjoying them to himself.

Will your storyline flow in that direction at all? Where he sort of "breaks through" the brainwashing -- so he puts on a front for the government he's working for, but follows his own agenda on the side.

I want more level types though. I don't want this to be a strictly formulatic game. Any interesting ideas on level types?

What you could do is try a birds-eye parody of Oddworld levels, you might be able to have a little fun with that.

Another thing you could do is combine 2D and 3D gaming, have parts of the game that switch between the two, it would allow for more level variation.

[Chibi-Suke]

The 2D I'm talking about is like in N

hmmm.... levels along the lines of Golden Eye's "Bunker" and "silo" levels? It would be difficult to do an open level...

also, if you don't have a weapon, maybe include a sneak mode? or just so you don't get riddled with bullets. Like in the Batman Begins game.

[Huey Kruthas]

Is the device going to have a limiting factor like a battery or something?

It will definitely have a limiting factor, not sure if its a battery or not, but he have pretty much decided it will be a cooldown time which will be upgradable.

Will your storyline flow in that direction at all? Where he sort of "breaks through" the brainwashing -- so he puts on a front for the government he's working for, but follows his own agenda on the side.

We have been trying to decide whether to go with that approach, or simply have him not be the main character. Maybe somebody on the inside of the government who realizes that they are forcing him to do terrible things be the main character. Maybe the government he works for have a good agenda, and an outside organization steals him and uses him against the government.

Still up in the air pretty much.

What you could do is try a birds-eye parody of Oddworld levels, you might be able to have a little fun with that.

Another thing you could do is combine 2D and 3D gaming, have parts of the game that switch between the two, it would allow for more level variation.

Can't say I've played Oddworld, but the switch between 2d and 3d is interesting. Makes me think of Contra 3 on the SNES.