Need Ideas for a Game

Here is the deal, I lurk here basically everyday and post every now and then (but not a ton, I mostly read all the threads in class :P), so I wouldn't be surprised if nobody really knows who I am. To fill everyone in, though, I am currently majoring in computer science and am getting close to graduating with my bachelor's (December this year). Basically, I really just want to have some projects to throw on my resume that is something that I can call my own, not something that I had to do for school.

Here is what I need from you: An idea for a game that I (and perhaps a small team of volunteers, if anyone is interested) might be able to throw together. As of right now, I am thinking I may want to make a small homage to the old-school RPGs of my childhood, complete with the sprites, 2d-backgrounds, and all that. Think Secret of Mana, Chrono Trigger, Secret of Evermore type games. Hell, maybe some sort of combination of the best of all those games (no random battles, badass characters, excellent music - THINK OF THE EPICNESS!)

If an RPG does not seem like it would work, maybe some sort of action game or something (think Castle Crashers).

As far as the technology goes, I am debating on which tool to use for the game and about what language to use. I am best in the C languages (C++, C# - I know Microsoft has the XNA development tools out now as well, so perhaps if things work out, I can get it on Xbox Live Arcade! I am dreaming big people!) but would not be against something like Perl.

If anyone has any ideas, would perhaps like to help out, or anything else that is relevant to this topic, post here!

Thanks in advance for anyone who helps out with this project!

My thoughts: Games that try to be other games are rarely good. Really, it's why I find a lot of games these days to be rather boring with the whole 'I've seen and done this before' feeling. There are always exceptions, but those are few and far between.

I suggest you brainstorm with your volunteers for ideas-- shoot for something unique or uncommon, and make it your own.

RPGs are time consuming and programming nightmares depending on how ambitious you want to be. You should try to keep it simple if you are hoping to make something that is either demo worthy or at least half way presentable. An RPG is possible but if your hoping to have an idea that you can pitch to a major developer you need to make sure you have all the details and stress what makes your game different and interesting. You don't even need a technical demo, if you can just get artwork and and a well thought out gaming bible in the works you can go off on that.

I'm majoring in game design and these are a few pointers I've been given in my classes. Course my college is still experimenting with the course work but its been very educational so far. :cool:

Overall, I feel its best to start small and build on a fun and simple concept. Epic RPGs are more for people who have time and experience but don't ever forget those ideas, just write them down and use them later. ;)

If you choose to do a RPG, give it something new and original, something that wasn't in the old games. Shouln't be too tough with modern day technology.

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Originally Posted by Momiji

My thoughts: Games that try to be other games are rarely good. Really, it's why I find a lot of games these days to be rather boring with the whole 'I've seen and done this before' feeling. There are always exceptions, but those are few and far between.

I suggest you brainstorm with your volunteers for ideas-- shoot for something unique or uncommon, and make it your own.

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That is true, I more or less was thinking on just the whole presentation and what not of the games I mentioned. Though, you are right, I do need to think of something different and unique. I have a few ideas in my head, but nothing concrete.

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Originally Posted by Wolf Kanno

RPGs are time consuming and programming nightmares depending on how ambitious you want to be. You should try to keep it simple if you are hoping to make something that is either demo worthy or at least half way presentable. An RPG is possible but if your hoping to have an idea that you can pitch to a major developer you need to make sure you have all the details and stress what makes your game different and interesting. You don't even need a technical demo, if you can just get artwork and and a well thought out gaming bible in the works you can go off on that.

I'm majoring in game design and these are a few pointers I've been given in my classes. Course my college is still experimenting with the course work but its been very educational so far. :cool:

Overall, I feel its best to start small and build on a fun and simple concept. Epic RPGs are more for people who have time and experience but don't ever forget those ideas, just write them down and use them later.

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Aye, the coding would very much be a pain for an RPG, I do think it would be a rather overwhelming task for a first game. I am thinking I may start out with some sort of fun little action game or something. Keep in mind, though, I do not expect this to be a small little project. I know it will take a lot of time and work, but I know it would be a wonderful learning experience.

Keep the comments coming people! :) Maybe even if someone has a game they have thought up and do not have the coding experience necessary, pitch the idea to me! ;)

The only cool thing old-school RPGs have to offer are character designs and story. Rarely, if ever, do you find anything else worthwhile like extra game features, battle mechanics, music, altering storyline, minigames, etc. IMO it's those missing puzzle pieces that make most, if not all old-school RPGs mediocre... in fact, modern R-fans would agree that even the latest RPGs are still mediocre without this even though they've got hotter graphics. Sure, we like the graphics better, but it doesn't cover up the fact that the game is just a replicant.

I've been working on a game concept that is like no other. One is styled after an RPG genre and another is more action/adventure. The interesting part is they incorporate mechanics from other games like Platformers, Drivers, FPS, Run-N-Gun, Fighters, and Puzzlers (like ICO/Shadow of the Colossus, etc.) and they're meant to not be half-assed. That's the kind of game I've been looking forward to for a long time.

Create a good story. Anybody who bothers to play low-graphic RPG's will want to be sucked into the storyline or they'll quit after a little while. It's the reason why people still play old games, nostalgia is one thing, but mostly because the stories used to be pretty good.

I rarely play new shooters these days, because it's always the same thing in and out, try to mix in new things along the storyline to keep the player enthoused.

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Originally Posted by Mercen-X

The only cool thing old-school RPGs have to offer are character designs and story. Rarely, if ever, do you find anything else worthwhile like extra game features, battle mechanics, music, altering storyline, minigames, etc. IMO it's those missing puzzle pieces that make most, if not all old-school RPGs mediocre... in fact, modern R-fans would agree that even the latest RPGs are still mediocre without this even though they've got hotter graphics. Sure, we like the graphics better, but it doesn't cover up the fact that the game is just a replicant.

I've been working on a game concept that is like no other. One is styled after an RPG genre and another is more action/adventure. The interesting part is they incorporate mechanics from other games like Platformers, Drivers, FPS, Run-N-Gun, Fighters, and Puzzlers (like ICO/Shadow of the Colossus, etc.) and they're meant to not be half-assed. That's the kind of game I've been looking forward to for a long time.

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The sad thing about the games industry is the lack of such innovation and risk taking. Sure, companies need to make money, and every now and then a game will try a new thing or two, but it really comes down to the indie developers to make the ground breaking game mechanics. Which, is what we should both aspire to Mercen-X.

Hey Magixion , of course I know you! You're the one majoring in computer science and getting close to graduating with your bachelor's. December this year , if my memory serves me;).
I would really love to help you out but I'm just a C# beginner so I wouldn't do you much good. But you could ask NeoTifa perhaps...she mentioned something about wanting to make a game in C# ,so...

P.S. if you know of some good C# tutorials please do tell! Good luck with your project:D

Let's play a trick on all the RP fans who've gotten themselves used to walking into other people's houses and stealing their stuff. Let's make it a requirement to ask permission... which might not always be granted. If you try to steal, something randomly bad will happen like a battle or a chase or something that effects the story or the item you took not working. That'd be great FOR ONCE!

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Originally Posted by trancekuja

Hey Magixion , of course I know you! You're the one majoring in computer science and getting close to graduating with your bachelor's. December this year , if my memory serves me;).
I would really love to help you out but I'm just a C# beginner so I wouldn't do you much good. But you could ask NeoTifa perhaps...she mentioned something about wanting to make a game in C# ,so...

P.S. if you know of some good C# tutorials please do tell! Good luck with your project:D

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Visual C#

MSDN is a life saver for any new programmer. They usually have examples and stuff for whatever you are needing help on as well. Here is a list of some of their tutorials:

C# Tutorials (C#)

If you would like any other sites or what not, PM me or I could even help out if you need any. I have a lot of books and stuff on it with great tutorials.

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Originally Posted by Mercen-X

Let's play a trick on all the RP fans who've gotten themselves used to walking into other people's houses and stealing their stuff. Let's make it a requirement to ask permission... which might not always be granted. If you try to steal, something randomly bad will happen like a battle or a chase or something that effects the story or the item you took not working. That'd be great FOR ONCE!

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Hah, great idea. Imagine a player's surprise when they go in to grab a potion from a dresser and the housewife comes running out with a frying pan and sicks the dog on you. Good stuff.

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Originally Posted by Mercen-X

The only cool thing old-school RPGs have to offer are character designs and story. Rarely, if ever, do you find anything else worthwhile like extra game features, battle mechanics, music, altering storyline, minigames, etc. IMO it's those missing puzzle pieces that make most, if not all old-school RPGs mediocre... in fact, modern R-fans would agree that even the latest RPGs are still mediocre without this even though they've got hotter graphics. Sure, we like the graphics better, but it doesn't cover up the fact that the game is just a replicant.

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Um... Chrono Trigger and Shin Megami Tensei 1 and 2 do altering storylines and unusual gameplay mechanics and they are both old school 16-bit RPGs. I just wanted to point out that the old games did alot more than people give them credit for.

I do agree modern games are becoming a bit more mediocre depending on the genre and developer. Even games that actually have intriguing game mechanics don't drive the idea hard enough and thus they feel like a sad attempt at being innovative, Eternal Sonata was a good example of this. Others are so complex that only the hardcore could appreciate them like The World Ends With You.

For an RPG, I feel you need to figure out what kind of story you want to do and its setting. From the story, I feel you need to build the combat and experience system based on what you are doing for the world design. We've reached a point in the genre where everything about the title has to be based on the original concept and design. Its in these main parts you need to bring in your innovation and make them a part of it. Concept, Story, and Gameplay.

I wanted to write a story once about a soldier who supposedly dies and returns a few years later as a rogue whose goal is to kill his former Lord's son, cause the child was tied to the end of the world. The child himself appears to be an innocent and now his mother sends her entire kingdom to kill him including former friends who may or may not join him.

Course, I like moral ambiguity and forcing the player into decisions that have no heroic or "nice" spin to it. You are screwed either way. If you want we can start this as a basis if you want or come up with another idea.

Which no doubt explains your admiration for FFT. One that I share, of course. :D

I can help with character designs and game scripting; however I work mainly with ideas and not the nuts and bolts of programming. I have plenty of ideas of characterization, but the characters flow from the story, as had been mentioned. So tone is everything.

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Originally Posted by Wolf Kanno

For an RPG, I feel you need to figure out what kind of story you want to do and its setting. From the story, I feel you need to build the combat and experience system based on what you are doing for the world design. We've reached a point in the genre where everything about the title has to be based on the original concept and design. Its in these main parts you need to bring in your innovation and make them a part of it. Concept, Story, and Gameplay.

I wanted to write a story once about a soldier who supposedly dies and returns a few years later as a rogue whose goal is to kill his former Lord's son, cause the child was tied to the end of the world. The child himself appears to be an innocent and now his mother sends her entire kingdom to kill him including former friends who may or may not join him.

Course, I like moral ambiguity and forcing the player into decisions that have no heroic or "nice" spin to it. You are screwed either way. If you want we can start this as a basis if you want or come up with another idea.

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That actually sounds like a really cool idea. I also like the thought of having to make more moral decisions and having to weigh out the consequences. I mean, a lot of the RPGs and games out there are "dumbed down" and make it so you are always doing the 'noble' thing, which I don't think that is how it should be. Decisions need to have consequences, good and bad. For example, if a war is going on all over the world and you are the general, you are going to have to make decisions where men -will- die and you will have to live with those decisions.

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Originally Posted by BG-57

I can help with character designs and game scripting; however I work mainly with ideas and not the nuts and bolts of programming. I have plenty of ideas of characterization, but the characters flow from the story, as had been mentioned. So tone is everything.

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As I mentioned earlier, I would mostly deal with all the programming, seeing as how that is what I specialize in. I would love to have some help developing stories and writing a script, because frankly, that is the area I lack in. Perhaps I will see if I can round up some people and get a small team together where we can brain storm ideas for plot, characters, etc.

As a CS major with similar aspirations, my advice is to not try to do an epic game. Epic games take teams years to make, so as a solo or member of a small team it could possibly be biting off more than you could chew. Try coming up with some smaller, fun, arcade-type experiences. That way, you have a more straightforward objective when programming your engine or can restart/abandon as necessary with less investment.

XNA would be a solid choice to try out on, though if you prefer PC development/C++, using SDL in C++ is really straight forward and a good exercise in 2D graphics.

Best of luck :)