ok ok time to pitch an actual game idea: Maiden Voyage

challenges;
-just building the ship in unity is going to be a huge work load
-casting great voice actors will be a challenge; lots of dialog that dynamically changes
-dynamically changing sequences and scenarios that can play out in unique ways with NPCs
-animating a lot of npcs
-dialing in the sinking phase

fun stuff;
-building and exploring the titanic (while developing the game)
-coming up with generic interactive elements
-coming up with unique interactive elements that change as the ship begins its sinking phase
-casting npcs and creating lots of extracurricular activities


during the sinking phase it will take a lot of work to make it look and feel like the ship is actually sinking from within a specific confined space using primarily visual effects. while this is a major workload it doesnt have to be dynamic it will always sink the same way and the only different is where you happen to be on the ship while it is sinking that will greatly effect the outcome of how the "death scene" plays out. and how you can pretty much pick a spot on the ship and just stand there and wait for it to sink and see what it would be like to be in that room during the sinking phase of the ship. sinking

i know there will be a lot of ways to make tons of unique "death scenes" and i know there will be a lot of ways to make "no way out scenarios" that slowly but surely lead to up to a death scene

but the gameplay experience i am most interested in is not the death scenes but rather designing ways in which to incorporate puzzle solving elements during the sinking phase of the ship. and creating scenarios where there is "almost no way out". all while npcs are running about interacting with the environment just like you are. and how these scenarios would be unique and random and depend on several different elements all depending on where the player is on the ship.

like for instance when the ship begins to go vertical assuming you on the bridge in some areas the game will change into a first person climbing puzzle with falling objects to dodge...

utilizing npcs would be a great way to guide players to these kinds of "hit or miss" scenarios within a dynamically changing maze that is breaking filling up and crumbling collapsing all around you....

sometimes i dont know why i even bother to share my ideas....don't get me wrong i love coming up with ideas all day everyday but i suppose it would be best if i just made word documents? then again i am trying to prove just how creative i am and i would love some feedback...

anyways dialing it down to just 4 playable characters by default. there will be 8 in total (perhaps more). when you meet one of the hidden characters in the game you unlock them for play.

i want a client to be associated with this game. this goes along with my "dual screen" approach. i already have a good idea of what i want the client to do and how i want the client to look.

the goals of the client;
-device manager
-easily change game settings
-optimize
-easily update the game and purchase DLC content from the client
-i suppose it could also be used to also reduce piracy...

device manager:
-this is crucial
-in that when you open the game the client will launch instantly and the window itself will have its own "task manager"
-this task manager will look just like the windows task manager
-you can see how well the client is communicating with the connected devices
-devices are: input devices, HMD, graphics card, internet connection
-you can turn on and off devices
-also this client will let you know if there are updates to the software for these associated devices
-you can also add a device with a little plus sign to the left


optimize;
-when you launch "optimize" a prompt will tell you to put on your VR device
-when you put it on you will be in a VR set up wizard
-this wizard will help the user configure pupil distance
-when these preliminary settings are finished the wizard will run a benchmark test
-i also want to run a benchmark test
-when user is finished running the wizard the screen will fade to black on the HMD and prompting the user to check the client on the host display in some manner
-the settings will be saved to the client and the results of the benchmark test might provide additional guides on the client window
-in that the guide will be presented on the client and say stuff like "it appears as if your computer is able to run the game with the highest graphical settings." or "unfortunately it appears as if your computer is unable to run the game with the highest graphical settings we suggest setting it to the lowest settings.
-there will also be a "improve performance" button at the bottom of this
-if you click on this button the client will scan background processes that can be suspended to improve performance of the game
-you can re run the "optimize" wizard at any time...

*the other goals of the client should be self explanatory*

when you launch the game from the client the client goes full screen and will display a fancy loading screen. this loading screen will be filled with titanic related info such as schematics and maps of the titanic as well as neat short biographies of the people who built the ship as well as prominent people who were aboard the ship on its maiden voyage. if you put on the HMD you will just see a loading screen. when it is finished loading the screen will change to a "spectator screen" when the spectator screen appears the game is running on the HMD

spectator screen: currently designing what the spectator screen will look like...

FYI: it should be noted that i designed this game to eliminate the need for any in game menus. there will be no save/load data. and there will not be any "chapter" selection of any kind...

now for the input design....

goal: design the game so a player could use only the mouse (keyboard would not be needed)

mouse/keyboard
-left click to interact
-hold right click to "rotate torso" in what ever direction you turn your head 90 degrees or whatever direction you move the mouse?
*if mouse wheel; it can be used to move forward and backwards
*if no wheel then players will have to use arrow keys for locomotion
-keyboard obviously the arrow keys could be used for locomotion by default

gamepad:
-if player has a game-pad map locomotion to the joysticks like always
-A/X or whatever will interact
-right trigger would be "run"
-rest of the buttons would be N/A

hydra;
-if user has a hydra map controls as if it were a gameplad

using mouse for locomotion?
-mouse wheel could be used to move forwards and backwards...
-turn it slowly to walk forwards or backwards
-turn it fast to run forwards or backwards

done and done...

Disclaimer: This is not a 1:1 remake of the movie Titanic! I have no intention of casting the same characters as the movie.

With that said the movie itself would be a great source of inspiration for designing this game.

still working on the "spectator screen"

i conceptualized what the "main menu" will look like last night inspired by asunder:earthbound main menu....

the games main menu:
-the main menu will be a lot like "asunder: earthbound"
-in that you will be a stationary observe in a train station scene
-NPCs will be walking around talking about random stuff or talking about how they wish they could have got a ticket to ride on the titanic
-all the news papers would have info about the titanic
-the playable characters will be in this scene
-when you look at them they will ask you to "join them on their journey"
-you nod and the character will walk up to you and introduce themselves and interact with you
-if you shake your head they will go away and get back into their scene allowing you to select another character
-if you nod your head while a character is introducing themselves to you --you essentially confirmed what character you want to play as
-after this is finished the scene ends and another scene begins in which you are that character from a first person perspective communicating and interacting with other characters in the scene
-for a female character you could make "becoming the character" even more compelling by having the female character putting make up on and interacting with a mirror while talking to other characters in the scene
-once you become a character a short sequence of first person perspective scenes will get you on the titanic and set up the intro.
-once the intro is finished you are unleashed to move around and explore the titanic minutes before it hits the iceberg

how about that for a compelling intro?

you will be able to skip the intro scenes but not the main menu scene. i would like to make tons of different kinds of short and sweet introductions because the player will have to choose the character by this means each and every time they play the game.

on second thought instead of titanic i want to focus on a completely fictional event set in the future for this gameplay formula...

behold one of the many pools in the worlds largest and most technologically advanced space capable luxury cruise ship.



this civilian class luxury focused space craft is supported by the worlds most advanced AI. it is designed to be nearly automated, and thus able to operate with a very small crew. the cruise ship company pride themselves on prioritizing the service and luxury of its influential passengers first and foremost and any trivial matters are simply automated. but is this wise? what if something were to happen? hmmm...

regardless of what happens the central theme of the scenarios should revolve around: greed, arrogance of wealth and luxury, juxtaposed with an over reliance on technology.

reasons for this shift in focus;
-i have mixed feelings about using a real world tragedy for this gameplay formula
-i want to increase the scale of the size of the cruise ship considerably

reminder: this is a cruise ship on a routine route going from point A to point B. no exploration of celestial bodies or explorations of other ships. whatsoever...

ideas for interesting scenarios off the top of my head;
-glitch in the AI perhaps?
-corporate espionage; massive intergalactic negotiation gone south?
-pirates/bandits take over the ship?
-a natural disaster? such as dropping out of ftl near the crest of a recent supernova explosion wave

4 characters/stories/playthroughs to choose from

each character you play as will hold a unique fate/outcome for the fancy space ship. all the scenarios will be unique but should share mostly the same art assets such as the same npcs, the same extracurricular activities, and even have all the playable characters in cameo roles even if they are but a shadow of their former selves.

this sameness would put a little constraint on the narrative complexity but at the same time make it much easier to manage voice acting animations and recorded voice assets this way.

to remedy all this sameness:
-each character will have really unique scenarios that effect the ship and its passengers in significantly different ways.

i also would like for everything to play out in real time on the 'in game engine' requiring no loading screens nor any cut-scenes at all and still be a very compelling immersive experience....

if not possible no worries prioritize a compelling experience over real time...

but if it is possible:

i would also like to experiment with what i call "narrative clash"two narratives running side by side sharing the same supporting characters. obviously since each narrative shares the same characters/NPCs there will be a "fight" over who can do what depending on the dynamics of how the two stories connect.

once a player has finished at least two different playthroughs they can play in 'narrative clash mode'. in this mode you are free to just stand in one spot and do nothing while a computer AI or perhaps another player online starts progressing the core story. if you procrastinate you will be stuck in another characters story from the perspective of an outside observer and from there you can try to survive the experience as long as possible or seek out an interesting death....

hypothetically speaking this would require a very skilled writer and be technically challenging to say the least.

take these two ideas:
-AI glitch
-tense corporate negotiation

walkthrough:
-load up a narrative clash VS game lobby
-choose character
-begin to play
*the other two characters are controlled by AI and just sort of keep to themselves
*you and the other player are basically in a speed run race to see who can advance the story to take control of the other players experience first.

and in this example lets say the other player beats you to it........

(some characters might have a bit of an advantage)

while in a conference room about to get started on some preliminary negotiations all of a sudden the AI glitch occurs and the other players story completely takes precedence/control of your NPCS acting behavior. they get up and start saying "hey whats going on here" instead of continuing their negotiations. thus you are trapped in that players story for the remainder of the game play experience.

but this is not so bad when you think about it....

you know whats going to happen so you are free to position yourself to survive as long as possible with the other gamer. or basically just wander around and see what it would be like to observe the events taking place in another players story from a different perspective. also you can purposely put your character in a position to be annihilated and killed in many different ways depending on how the other players story pans out.

for instance you could see what it would be like to swim in the pool while the ships engine explodes and turns into a singularity eventually sucking you into it.

if you are in a hurry to restart the race you could lead your character to a hasty death or simply just manually quit and join another lobby.

I like this idea, you could really go somewhere with this!

"QuantumDev64" wrote:
I like this idea, you could really go somewhere with this!

thanks man :) im still tossing this around a bit.

core focus here is:
-a moving mini open world, complete with NPCs that have realistic routines
-tragedy
-any progression of the core story line will lead to absolute peril
-there are no happy endings
-there is no beating the game, the game will always beat you

originally i was leaning towards;
-peril being automatic regardless of what you do
-there is no saving the game or retrying
-when you die it is game over
-and you have to start from the beginning again
-and to offset this i would add a "safe-mode"
-in safe mode you could explore and hang out on the ship as long as you want without having to worry about all hell breaking loose

for now i am leaning towards the peril being driven by traditional quest progression rather then being automatic

but im still interested in experimenting with my original idea...

Have you by chance heard of the game Honor and Glory?
(There's a link here: http://titanic-honor-and-glory.tumblr.com/)