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What game would you make if you were a game designer? (including old systems)


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Imagine you are a game designer. The leader of a team with almost infinite money to make any game you want for any system you want with only these restrictions:

 

- It could be a game for modern systems

- It could be a new game for old systems

- It must be original: a new genre, noticeable variations on an existing genre, based on a movie/book/series that has no games or no games on that genre...

- The only exception where it could not be original would be "missions" for very old games that you believe worked perfectly but didn't receive the continuations or extra missions they deserve under exactly the same premise and by the same authors (key programmers, etc.).

 

Let the brainstorming begin!

Edited by IntelliMission
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I'd make a true sequel to ActRaiser done in the same style, same proportion of gameplay between SIM and Action.  The sequel on the SNES has some really bad gameplay problems and removed the sim.  The so called homage Sol Seraph out last year is a bloody lie because they killed the SIM aspect and turned it into this very clunky and spread out tower defense disaster that rapidly just nitpicks away with waves of garbage, and the action sequences aren't as fluid as the original AR either but more wonky like the 2nd but slower like the 1st so it's just poor and insulting.

 

I'd want an ActRaiser with far more continents/stages to help out.  The Sim game still would be more on the lighter fun side, basic town building, filling requests, hunting out monster lairs but also hidden spots on the maps for added magic, powers, 1UPs etc.  I'd like to see the Sim somewhat boost to more detailed help with powers so you'd need more of a town, maybe a bump in size that was Sim City (classic) to 2000, not 3000 or 4 which was well bloated into nagging tedium.  I wouldn't much change the action sequences really, not a straight platformer anymore though.  I'd like a light version of Super Metroid 3, you can take a few off the beaten path routes for more magic or abilities, maybe find a piece of gear that pops up your attack/def a bit that work in tandem with the modifiers from the more details SIM elements.  I think a game like that would be far more welcome.

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I love the originality of ArcRaiser, I only learned about that game a few months ago.

 

As an example of an original game that somebody would make if he was a lead game designer, an AtariAge user suggested a modern game based on the Fantastic Voyage movie.

 

My ideas are:

 

- Modern games: A game without objectives similar to Death Stranding but without combat or missions, just exploring the nature and the cities. Another similar game more similar to GTA but also without objectives where you could enter every building and do almost everything, from having a job to be a criminal, where the police can actually find you easily just like real life.

 

- Old systems: More "missions" for the classic VGA Lucasarts and Sierra adventures made by the same programmers, more "missions" for Abe's Oddysee/Exodus by the same programmers, more Quake/Doom levels by the same team, good ports of PC exclusives (graphic adventures, FPS) to consoles such as the SNES or PS1, ports of the early Sierra adventures for C64/ZX Spectrum/MSX/Amstrad CPC...

 

- Licenses: A modern game based on Westworld, classic VGA graphic adventures based on the first 3 Star War movies, classic James Bond films, Ghostbusters and other movies...

Edited by IntelliMission
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I've messed around some with Dezaemon on various platforms, but I don't find it to be intuitive or particularly rewarding... but I would like to build a shoot 'em up with a very specific premise.

 

You, the player character, have been one of the nameless cannon fodder pilots in every video game that has been shot down and left for dead. Over and over again, some gleaming protagonist has come in and wiped out you and your fellow pilots. You've managed to survive, time and time again. Peace abounds, but your need to balance the scales is strong. Now, you've managed to cobble together a fighter ship out of bits you've found in the junkyard, and you're looking for revenge.

 

Each level would be based on a recognizable shump franchise. If it was a private thing, like making a game in Dezaemon, it would be the ACTUAL games being referenced, otherwise, it'd have to be just homages. I'd set it up so you are going from planet to planet, like in Gyruss. Each level would be representative of the game it's based on, so for instance, you'd have a crash course in Gradius on that level with similar enemy patterns, maybe some bubbles or dragons coming out of the sun with some moai scattered around. The bosses would be huge, twisted versions of their normal counterparts, with a gross techno-organic Vic Viper pulsating at the heart of the Gradius level, just to name a name. Ideally, the game would feature both horizontal and vertical levels and would just be a love letter to shumps (and the inherent silliness thereof) in general. You'd have a cute 'em up level, some terrestrial levels, a bullet hell level with stupid patterns, etc. 

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If I had the financial, human and technical resources, I'd start a company that would specialize in reimaginings of old titles. My favored projects would be:

 

- A remake of Gargoyle's Quest, which would unite as many elements as possible from GG, GGII and Demon's Crest into a bigger, cohesive whole, with cinematic cut scenes that would flesh out the story of Firebrand. I'd get a proper development contract with Capcom before starting anything serious, obviously. The game would be primarily made for the Nintendo Switch, but I'd be open to porting it to other current consoles, of course. It would probably be a download-only title.

 

- A "build-your-own-game" Mega Man title. In this game, you would have the ability to select 4, 6 or 8 Robot Masters among ALL the Robot Masters ever created over the years. For example, you could select Cut Man, Heat Man, Snake Man, Skull Man, Gravity Man, Blizzard Man, Burst Man and Clown Man from the list and then the game would start like any Mega Man game, where you could go through the Robot Masters in any order you want, and then take on a few Wily levels with your collected weapons. The game would set up the weak-to-weapon chain according to the player's choices, and each Robot Master would have multiple level layouts to choose from (original level, Game Boy level, brand new level, etc.), and you could select tools like Rush, the Item 1/2/3, the Magnet Beam, the Wire Adaptor, Rush Power Adaptor, etc.. The style would be "enhanced 8-bit", with NES-like graphics, but with enhancements like paralax scrolling and big sprites. Some special Robot Masters, like the Mega Man Killers and the Stardroids, would be unlockable. So if you ever wondered how Turbo Man's Scorch Wheel would affect Snake Man, you could see it with this game.

 

- A remake/reimagining of Castlevania II. This would actually be a merging of Castlevania, Castlevania II and Castlevania III into a single expansive adventure. Perhaps even throw in some levels from Super Castlevania IV or Castlevania Bloodlines. Not sure what the graphical style would be... Probably 16-bit or better.

 

- A remake of Zelda II, in a top-down style instead of side-scroll. This "remake" would actually be the official prequel to Link's Awakening, and would combine Zelda II, Legend of Zelda and many elements from "A Link to the Past" into a fleshed-out cohesive story. I'm not sure Nintendo would agree to let me develop this game for them, but I'd do my best to pitch my ideas and score the contract. There's no question in my mind this title would sell like hot cakes.

 

I could probably come up with other games I'd like to do, but the above are the main projects I'd love to tackle, given the chance.  :) 

 

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Another idea: create more games, or at least game modes, based on classic super heroes instead of the new versions. For instance, a game based on Batman: Year One or a fighting game that use the old version of both heroes and villains (it could also be a special game mode in Injustice: Gods Among Us where you can choose characters and sceneries based exclusively on one particular decade: the 60s, the 70s, the 80s, the 90s...).

Edited by IntelliMission
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  • 3 weeks later...

More ideas:

 

- A game based on the Sonic movie, with different stages and gameplay elements that recreate the events in the film.

 

- A game titled "You're in the Wrong Game" where a famous video game hero/heroin is trapped in a different game. Examples:

      > Lara Croft trapped in Shadow of the Colossus

      > Mario trapped in Another World

      > Abe trapped in the original Prince of Persia

      > Duke Nukem trapped in Silent Hill

      >> The possibilities are endless. I wish somebody made something like that, even as a homebrew or as Dreams levels.

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On #1, games based on movies rarely are any good. Even if in this case it is an established video game character, Sega probably are better off making new Sonic games without limiting to the screenplay of the movie. I was surprised to see so few official games about Wreck-It Ralph, and those which made it beyond browser/mobile were not that much appreciated. The Sonic movie so far is a little over 1/4 of what the first Ralph movie grossed.

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If I could make any game I wanted it would definitely be something for the Sega 32X, that system got way too little love. My initial thought was to make the 32X port of Alien Trilogy that was slated for development but ended up getting moved to the Sega Saturn and original PlayStation, but if it has to be a completely original game... heck, I don't really know. A sequel to the Game Gear game Tails Adventure on the 32X maybe?

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There was a time when I wanted to make a WW2 shooter that is so realistic that you couldn't stand too close to walls while facing them because your rifle/bayonet would get in the way and you couldn't aim properly. Then in 2011 I discovered that that game actually exists and it's called Red Orchestra.

 

So instead I'd make a 2D Sonic/Sonic clone game for the Saturn. It really should have had one anyway.

Edited by Steven Pendleton
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On 2/21/2020 at 9:44 AM, IntelliMission said:

- A game titled "You're in the Wrong Game" where a famous video game hero/heroin is trapped in a different game. Examples:

      > Lara Croft trapped in Shadow of the Colossus

      > Mario trapped in Another World

      > Abe trapped in the original Prince of Persia

      > Duke Nukem trapped in Silent Hill

      >> The possibilities are endless. I wish somebody made something like that, even as a homebrew or as Dreams levels.

 

Sorry to quote myself! But I think I forgot to mention the gameplay elements for this crazy idea for a game:

  •  The key element of the game would be about the difficulty of your character to face levels made for other specific characters.
  • Of course, exploration would be very important, as each level would have different new elements which change from the original game and are actually there to help you beat the game. But these elements would not be easy to find and, on first sight, the game would feel like a crazy trip in a world where you don't belong.
  • To add to the atmosphere, the characters could speak to themselves making comments about how weird they find these new worlds.
Edited by IntelliMission
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18 hours ago, Steven Pendleton said:

There was a time when I wanted to make a WW2 shooter that is so realistic that you couldn't stand too close to walls while facing them because your rifle/bayonet would get in the way and you couldn't aim properly. Then in 2011 I discovered that that game actually exists and it's called Red Orchestra.

 

Whoa, I didn't know about this game... Thanks! It looks like the IA is very poor and it's considered a multiplayer game, but I love the details, such as dying with only one bullet. Here are some quick links about the game and the developers:

- Video review and Wikipedia article of the first game, released in 2004. It started as an Unreal 2004 mod

- Video review and Wikipedia article of the second game, released in 2011

- New crazy game from the same developers: an action RPG where you control a shark! Man eater

Edited by IntelliMission
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10 minutes ago, IntelliMission said:

 

Whoa, I didn't know about this game... Thanks! It looks like the IA is very poor and it's considered a multiplayer game, but I love the details, such as dying with only one bullet. Here are some quick links about the game and the developers:

- Video review and Wikipedia article of the first game, released in 2004. It started as an Unreal 2004 mod

- Video review and Wikipedia article of the second game, released in 2011

- New crazy game from the same developers: an action RPG where you control a shark! Man eater

Red Orchestra is really damn awesome and if you like WW2 FPS, RO2 is the best active WW2 multiplayer shooter there is. Single-player is basically multiplayer with bots, but standard multiplayer has bots anyway, so you might as well play that. Also RO2 single player got removed, so if you didn't have it prior to the removal, you can't play it. You lost nothing of value, though.

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I have been slowly creating a game named Museum Quest.   An RPG centering on a would be hero and his journey to avenge his homeland.   An evil scammer only known as "The Immortal One" just launched a copyright strike against his village and has stolen several ancient artifacts for his "Museum".    The hero must journey though several biomes and defeat the Immortal One's underlings, unraveling the mystery of the "museum".    

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1. A sandbox space sim for 3ds.  It's got a 3d screen, it's got a touch screen, it's got an analog stick, and it's got networking.  To me that's way more than enough power and enough interface options to make a standout game in the genre. A shame the system died without really anything close. 

 

2. A home arcade racer offering a modern take on the SF Rush rush gameplay. We haven't had anything too reminiscent of Rush in a while. I guess the first Motorstorm came the closest in terms of track/shortcut/jump lethality, but lacked the depth and any of the right atmosphere. I'm always amazed at how well those old Rush courses are built. 

 

If I ever fall into too much money, that's where I'm going with it. That and buying up old gaming brands/IP for non-commercial public release, and low/no cost commercial use. Who even owns Rush, and the other Midway/Atari Games titles these days? They sure as heck aren't doing much with them.

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  • 5 months later...
On 2/21/2020 at 12:11 PM, Skippy B. Coyote said:

If I could make any game I wanted it would definitely be something for the Sega 32X, that system got way too little love. My initial thought was to make the 32X port of Alien Trilogy that was slated for development but ended up getting moved to the Sega Saturn and original PlayStation, but if it has to be a completely original game... heck, I don't really know. A sequel to the Game Gear game Tails Adventure on the 32X maybe?

Originally slated for the Sega CD in fact.. 

 

 

https://www.gamesthatwerent.com/2012/02/in-unreleased-game-space-no-one-can-hear-alien-trilogy-scream-a-games-that-werent-for-the-sega-32x/

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