Video game ideas you're sure that only you think are a good idea

Mijhal's Idea...

The game was called Sanitarium. It is a really good point and click adventure game, even when it tries to add combat scenes. There was a Let's Play for it on SA's list, go take a look.

Yeah, Sanitarium was the one I was thinking of.

The closest I've ever felt to feeling like a paranoid schizophrenic from fiction was One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest (an excellent novel btw). It wouldn't work as a video game.

I have a friend who'll probably show up here sometime, and we come up with video game ideas together. One was a psychiatrist going on various journeys with some Phlebotinum, and the patients he visits have various mental disorders, including some fictional ones such as DID without the memory loss. This was before I knew much about Psychonauts, obviously.

Reading the LP now. I like where it's going.

I think that I should play more adventure games. I loved Putt-Putt, Pajama Sam, and Spy Fox as a kid, and I loved the white chamber when I played it a few weeks ago. They don't sell many anymore though.

Oh my god, Tzetze, I thought I was the only person that knew about those games! Loved them back in the day. Now my tastes are more hack-and-slash, horror, adventure though.

I've gotten that impression as well. The "Putt-Putt (series)" article on Wikipedia is sad and pathetic and not even possible to get to from the "putt-putt" (ie minigolf) article.

edited 8th Jul '09 6:39:46 PM by Tzetze

@Zudak: An RPG… Where the Player Character gets less powerful throughout the game…

What an absolutely brilliant idea! SOMEBODY must've made something like this at some point. It would be different from A Taste of Power, because it would happen throughout the game rather than all at once, and would act as a time-limit of sorts. I suppose the main challenge from a design standpoint might be keeping variety up, since the ability to fight new enemies with new gear and abilities is the primary source of that in normal RPGs.

Instead of new enemies, maybe enemies that you were reflexively blasting to smithereens with area-effect attacks would become legitimate foes for one-on-one, and enemies that fled when they saw you or hid from sight entirely would start picking on you. Abilities would be tougher to do, but perhaps you could somehow choose how you'd degrade, sort of like an inverse skill-tree (maybe this could make initial character creation very elaborate, great for Alt Itis.) Items might be fairly straightforward, since getting the best items your stats meet the requirements for sounds nearly the same as outfitting oneself on a typical MMO (especially of the twink-y sort.)

@Eric DVH: The Undead campaign of Warcaft III's expansion did that kind of thing for Arthas, although it's different in that you get a properly-leveling hero character kinda early on, and your building opportunities don't dwindle either.

Putt-Putt, Pajama Sam, and Spy Fox

Made my morning! I loved those games... (Though the mines in Pajama Sam were a Guide Dang It! for the longest time... oh, you mean you can steer during the travel cutscenes?)

(Don't forget Freddi Fish, either. )

R.I.P., Humongous...

edited 9th Jul '09 7:08:45 AM by Tangent128

Why the hell don't they use that adventure game point-and-click-to-interact interface for RP Gs?

Seriously, all the completionist in your average JRPG will do in a town is run around like a schizophrenic gerbil rubbing up against every item with which the player can interact and talking to every single villager, just so that there is no possible secret they've overlooked. They might as well take the walking part out and have you click on what you need to interact with in the screen. Hidden stuff isn't highlighted; it's up to you to search for it. Do this for dungeons too. There's only so many ways to get around the monster for the purposes of avoidance or ambush; might as well make it a point-and-click timing puzzle, or a function of environmental interaction.

Tales Of Symphonia Dawn Of The New World got this bass ackwards I felt, by making the world map a point-select-travel interface and having you run around the towns (although you didn't have to go searching the world map for secret quests when sidequests aplenty were available at the Katz Guild). No, make the World Map completely explorable, and use that adventure game interface for dungeons and villages.

Hmm... a point-and-click style game with conventional RPG turn-based battles? Could be interesting.

Art production would be more expensive, though.

edited 9th Jul '09 7:46:34 AM by Tangent128

Really? You could shrink the "effective size" of a lot of the areas to save on total volume of shit to render (S 2 R). Take the massive outdoor area of the city of Baticul in Tales Of The Abyss; that's four screens.

I can't believe I forgot about Freddi Fish. Stupid me.

I had actually thought of an RPG with an adventure game interface, but I agree that it would be more difficult. You'd have to have the necessary interfaces of both genres, really.

But it would be awesome.

It would.

Also, have there been any decent games of that nature lately? My 6-year sister liked those games as much as we did, but all the current "kids games" seem to be either edutainment that forgets the tainment, or yet another Barbie coloring book that makes Paint look like Photoshop.

Heh... remember that scene in Pajama Sam where they flashed up the "gratuitous educational content" warning? The first instance of Lampshade Hanging I remember being exposed to. (Though Veggie Tales no doubt had some as well.)

(Oh, let's not forget Fatty Bear while we're at it. )

Some of these look like they're for kids, like Zack & Wiki. But probably not as many.

It's been too long, I don't know what Pajama Sam game you're talking about. Now I feel old.

Actually, what would go into a good modern edutainment game? And why does Firefox recognize "edutainment"?!

@Tangent: They still publish the Freddi Fish, Putt-Putt, Pajama Sam et al games. Target stocks them. If you live in an area without Targets, you can probably find and/or order them online. And since they're still being published, I assume these versions are without the bugs that can happen when you play an oldish game on a newish computer. ^^

EDIT: Also, edutainment recommendations to continue the derail:

Docking Station, available for free download. It's a virtual pet thing in the Creatures series, but with lots of genetics and... stuff. So it IS kinda educational. Has something like 7 total free breeds you can download for it, and tons of game mods if she likes it. It can be as simple as a virtual pet or as complex as a life lab.... thing.

edited 9th Jul '09 3:27:19 PM by FreezairForALimitedTime

I always thought an RTS (American) football game would be something I would like to play. Of course you would have to change a couple things about the sport...

Ah, Zaka & Wiki. I liked that game.

I think that game's premise could fit in this topic.

"A kid pirate goes around collecting golden items that come together to fit a famous pirate's skeleton while using a monkey that turns into a bell to turn creatures into useful items to solve puzzles with.

Oh, and pirate rabbits."

Yeah...

A deconstruction of the standard fantasy setting.

In a world where humans exist alongside other races such as elves, dwarves, demons, dragons, and the like...

You can bet that humans are going to come in dead last next to the other races that are stronger, more powerful, and live longer lives. At least, that's the way things are going in this fantasy world. Maybe in your fantasy world, elves are faster but more frail or whatever, but here, humans are pretty much a lower class.

And our protagonist is Jalran, an angsty young man. He has nothing he can call his own, no home, no friends. Nothing except for his indomitable will to live, to persist at all costs. And he's emasculated.

And all the cutscenes are in opera.

Quest For Glory was kind of like the bastard offspring of the adventure and RPG genres.

To Pannic

Add guns. Lots of it.

If you only want Renaissance-era, break out the grapeshot and powder bombs.

Well, there would be guns in the setting, but not *lots* of them. More of an adventure game where you're supposed to be resourceful.

That is, if the game existed.

edited 10th Jul '09 5:56:25 PM by Pannic

I'd like to see a Super Robot style game with a twist. You're NOT the pilot of the titular Super Robot. No, you're the commander in charge of overseeing the city's/country's/world's defense against the latest Monster of the Week. You vet the pilots and arrange for them to pilot the mecha (willingly or otherwise), you fund and construct your elaborate base and hangar, and you R&D the various weapons and Midseason Upgrades.

I guess I'm weird like that, but at times when watching Gao Gai Gar and the like, I found myself thinking it'd be cool having Taiga's job. Especially if you're contractually required to ham it up every day at the job.

I'd want to see a hybrid of X-Com and Super Robot Wars, with realtypes you can customise and tech to research on the Real Robot side, while the Super Robots are still insanely strong on their side, with over-the-top attacks and Hot Blood aplenty.

It'll also feature lovely tricks from both its source games, like hacking to control part of a 2x2 enemy to make it destroy itself with its own reaction fire, and the use of a Cleavelike ability with sword-wielders so they can emulate Zengar and slice through a cluster of mooks.

EDIT: it'll tie in nicely with Basarin's idea too! You could make friends with fellow mecha-brigade leaders and get friendly NP Cs kion the fight, or something.

edited 11th Jul '09 7:15:57 AM by AceOfScarabs

Suddenly, I have the idea of a Mario sports game that revolves around Mixed martial arts.