Game Brainstorm

Game developing for me is something I have never considered doing as a job as I am not much of a gamer at all. As I explained previously in my post about my favourite game, which can be found here, I have only really played GTA V so I found coming up with new game ideas quite difficult to be honest.

Game Idea 1- 'Cloud Surfer' 

The first game that I came up with was inspired by Doodle Jump, the game application where a cute alien hops from platform to platform collecting extra points and avoiding enemies. I had an idea to have a similar  'cloud surfing'  where you have to jump from cloud to cloud dodging various obstacles in the sky like planes, birds, hot air balloons and so on. Even though it is quite a simple idea it is something that I would be interested in playing. It would be an easy hop-on hop-concept which would function as a (hopefully) infinite platform, where the player tries their best to score the highest amount possible. I would enjoy if there was a certain amount of time for the player to move before their platform disintegrates or disappears, but because the player has some seconds to move, the can decide what path to take. I hope I would be able to implement some sort of path system into the game, or at least multiple platforms on the same path so that I could make the game a fresh experience each time the player played. This may be difficult to program, but more difficult jumps which require better jumping (pressing spacebar and moving with the arrow pad) and more precise timing in order to land. It would also be an interesting feature if there were harder to reach platforms which offered additional points or even made the next few platforms easier to complete. This game would be a fun platform with little to no narrative, but just functions as a test of ones nerve and co-ordination, similar to Google's 'Dinosaur game'. If I was able to programme the game to work smoothly, I would focus extra time on making the graphics and background scenery colourful and aesthetic, similar to that of the side-scrolling Super Mario games. 

Here is an article I found interesting to read about why Doodle Jump is still popular today after its release in 2010.

Game idea 2 - 'Getaway' 

Temple run gameplay

My second idea is a 'getaway' game similar to the popular Temple Run. Temple Run is a famous infinite running simulator app which follows an unnamed adventurer running his way through a jungle temple while being chased to an untimely end by ravenous animals. I became a fan of this game when it became popular across social media when people shared their scores and made memes of the difficulty the game threw at the players straight away. I found it became addictive because it was a simple premise which required the player to hone a simple set of evasive skills. My spin on the 'Getaway' game would be that the adventurer would be replaced by a jewel thief, and instead of killer animals, it would be police. This game would follow a car or person from a third person perspective from behind similar to most third-person games, as they run comedically from the police on a track. A big difference would be that this game has an end - if the player survives the chase, they get away and can keep their 'loot'. My plan for the game would be that it has three stages - a beginner, skilled and extreme difficulty mode. The beginner track will have minor obstacles, and functions as a practice stage to learn the controls behind dodging obstacles. The skilled track would show more frequent obstacles, and the extreme track would be a very hard course requiring lengthy practice in dodging in order to beat it. I would have the course look like a road, possibly with city like scenery, and a police car or police lights at the bottom of the screen 'chasing' the thief. I think these ties into my interests in Grand Theft Auto as it has the excitement of a police chase while the enjoyable simplicity of a running game. I would like to make the game a tricky, frustrating, slightly addictive but overall very enjoyable game that would be simple to hop on and off from playing whenever in need of amusement. 

Here  is an overview of the game Temple Run. 

Game Idea 3- Blaster

animated man with gun

The third game idea I have is a shooting game, similar to games like Call of Duty or Battlefield but obviously simplified significantly for this project. This could be done similarly to my 'Getaway' model, but instead of constantly running, the player is static, and aiming at enemies who appear on the screen at higher frequencies as the game progresses. Ideally, the character would move through a course as the level progresses, shooting enemies with higher levels of health from minor enemies with very low health to possibly an eventual 'boss fight' with a final enemy with a significantly high level of health. I would like for these enemies to have different designs, with the final boss having an impressive design. To shoot, the player would click rapidly on enemies while being shot back at with a limited amount of health. If possible, I would love to incorporate a 'health boost' object which would rarely pop up to replenish player health as the course continues. Depending on time restraints and my improving skill level, I would like to have three different levels, all with unique maps; one with very easy enemies, and a very low health boss. The second level would have a lot more enemies and a higher level boss, with some possible 'civilian' characters who if shot, will cause damage to the player's health or even cost them the level completely. Finally, the last level would have the player shoot through hoards of enemies, have to dodge multiple civilians, and then an intimidating final boss fight to complete the game. If this proves too difficult, I could have the game use a similar layout to the 'Getaway' - three levels which are the exact same but with a scaling difficulty each level. While shooting games also hold a simple premise, once I've figured out the layout and mechanics of the game, I can devote remaining time to improve the look of the game. The classic game Doom was a favourite of my brothers, and my idea of this game is very similar but with a third person perspective. I enjoy some games that don't have a story as the brain tends to tangle together a narrative for what each individual believes is the situation.

Here is a trailer video of Call of Duty Modern Warfare

Game Idea 4 - Escape the mansion 

door with key hole and silhouette of man

This game concept may sound quite high-concept, but I feel like I could simply it to the point of feasibility. Many escape room games on mobile or console platforms exist in a sort of point and click adventure format; the player is in a room with objects, and has one directive - escape. This could appear at the start of the game as an eerie warning, with ominous music or noises in the background. The player must interact with objects in the room to discover a way out of a room with a locked door. For example, if one simply clicks on the door - a message will pop up saying 'this door needs a key'. The player will click on objects around the room to try and discover a key. They may then click on a safe, for example, and it may say 'this requires a code'. If players search further, they may find a hidden code to unlock the safe, which in turn contains the key to the door. This is just an example of the possibilities in this point and click adventure. This could work in a three level format also, with a beginner round, then a round timed and a final difficult round with a less forgiving time limit. The beginner level would not have a time limit and would give the player an opportunity to learn the game mechanics. however, the intermediate and hard levels would be met with a time limit, and to fail would be met with a jump scare or untimely end for the player's character. This game would have the player static in a room with many objects and each object would have a description attached to it, with some objects revealing hints and others simply in place to distract the player from their final goal of escaping. If possible, adding multiple solutions to the puzzle would be interesting, as it would leave the player with a pile of puzzle pieces to mentally unscramble while under pressure of an ominous threat trying to kill the character. 

Here is a link for the concept of a real life escape game which I found interesting to read!

Thanks for reading - Leslie