Need ideas for a video game story

[Asshole]

To make a long story short I've pathetically spent most of the last year (as in the majority of my waking hours) thinking about making a video game and I actually have the means to do so. And I'm not talking Indy.

I have a lot of ideas but no clear direction. I'm not even sure whether I want a simple first person shooter or an MMORPG. I just know It isn't going to suck.

I was kind of thinking along the lines of an interplanetary war involving thousand foot tall robots, motherships, M16s, lasers, cat people, a Carl from ATHF rip off, asian lolis, genetically engineered angels etc.

But I don't want to be too cliche or anything.

So ideas or a dead thread. I don't need flaming to know how retarded a retard would think a thread asking for ideas about a video game story is. My friend keeps telling me to build the story around the type of gameplay I'm looking for but fuck that. I'm really stuck. Halp.

[cloudfox]

No offense, this is just my opinion, but an FPS is the last thing we need in this generation. So many FPS's have been released, it's just unappealing now. Unless you can make it stick out of all the rest, then go for it. An MMORPG would be a hard project to start as your first game. Extremely hard.


If you put a great story into an FPS, than that would be amazing. Usually stories are told fantastically by RPG games, but RPG's have been copied around for years. I have yet to play an FPS with an amazing story line. Good luck, though. I'm interested in video game producing myself.

[Lividum]

interplanetary war involving thousand foot tall robots, motherships, M16s, lasers, cat people, a Carl from ATHF rip off, asian lolis, genetically engineered angels etc.

But I don't want to be too cliche or anything.

You've exceeded the maximum cliche in a good video game. All of it's been done before. Be more original and keep it simple if you're really going to make a game.

If I were you, I'd use Team ICO's methods as an example. Little background story, simple gameplay focused on almost one objective, but with a variety in achieving that objective, and nice looking, but simple, graphics. You don't need to cram in the shit you listed in an attempt to make it appealing, because you'll just end up with one massive, poorly executed parody of Japanese media.

I think you're trying too hard. You're going to fail if you try to make an overly complicated story in your game. It'll distract you from focusing on the most important part of a game.

[kazuri]

Remake twisted metal 2 and make that multiplayer. Its a fps when you think about it, youre just a car not a person. Plus its easier to 'validate' the crazy weapons when they are packed in a car, not in your backpack.

(I know there is already a way to play twisted metal 2 online but not many do, graphics dated, have to pay etc)

[Berd]

Remake twisted metal 2 and make that multiplayer. Its a fps when you think about it, youre just a car not a person. Plus its easier to 'validate' the crazy weapons when they are packed in a car, not in your backpack.

(I know there is already a way to play twisted metal 2 online but not many do, graphics dated, have to pay etc)

Twisted Metal fucking rulez

[Yuseke]

Twisted Metal fucking rulez

Twisted Metal 2 fucking rulez. The others were meh.

[Mr.SelfDestruct]

Lividum said it best:

If you're designing a game with no real direction in mind, remember to KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid).

The more complex you make it, the harder it will be to tie everything together. A FPS game doesn't need 20 different guns in it to be good. Simply tossing in five or six weapons that are all unique will do the trick, or just look at Portal, a single "weapon". If you want to take the FPS route, instead of making the game about blowing up enemies left and right, try something different. How about an FPS version of the old board game "crossfire" for example? It could be simple and fun two player game.

Don't worry about fancy graphics either. Think of an art direction, and stick with it, especially if you're working on it alone. Bold colors and shapes will make everything easier to distinguish at a glance, and works great for quicker, arcade style games.

Heard of RRRRPG (yes, with four R's)? It's an old-school turn based RPG at heart, with absolutely no story whatsoever, and ridiculously simple graphics (but they work really well). If you enjoy the leveling aspect of an RPG more than anything else, you'd love the game, since that's all there is to it. I suggest taking a peak at it for some ideas. Sure, it won't keep you occupied, and it's good for a quick laugh (or just to waste a few minutes), but it did everything right. Google it, easy as heck to find.

As for brainstorming ideas:

I've got loads, but for a single man project? I've always thought a super-hero game would be pretty cool with some RPG leveling aspects, where the primary difficulty of the game lies in knowing your own strength, and keeping it in check. It would work in almost any form, FPS, third-person, side scroller, etc.

Here's what I mean: You start off relatively normal, maybe just able to take more of a beating than the other average person? As you fight crime, protect people, etc. You gain points, which allows you to level up, making you a bit stronger, and gaining you new powers.

The catch, is that you're there to protect people. If you fail in that, you lose. And as you get more powerful, accidents become more likely. At first, the lasers you shoot from your eyes might toast a single person, but eventually, you might be able to level a city block. Learning to pick and choose your abilities becomes more of an issue.

Also, the enemies will obviously become more of a threat to you, and the civilians, forcing the player to be more and more careful about what they do. Sure, you could take the bad guy down by nuking him, but you'll end up irradiating the entire population within miles at the same time.

Bonus points for being able to be a bad guy, having to keep the collateral damage up while fighting against a good guy.

[The_Canadian]

Aliens invade earth and you're the only one that can stop them, good right?

[The_Guitarist]

What do you mean by you "have the means to do so"?

[Molson]

Don't even try, because unless your in the industry already, which you're not, or unless you have a few million dollars, which you don't, your game won't ever begin production.

[MattyB]

A decent adventure game would kid ass but the kids today would rather shoot stuff rather than think and complete puzzles.

[h4z4rd]

You're also going to need a lot more people than yourself if you want to make any decent game besides a flash game. I'm talking about a decent sized development team because there's more to game design than just coding. I'm talking debuggers, testers, art and sound design, etc..all of which are difficult for one person to pull off especially if the scope of the game is relatively large.

[Mr.SelfDestruct]

You're also going to need a lot more people than yourself if you want to make any decent game besides a flash game. I'm talking about a decent sized development team because there's more to game design than just coding. I'm talking debuggers, testers, art and sound design, etc..all of which are difficult for one person to pull off especially if the scope of the game is relatively large.

You'd be surprised, and impressed.

Mount and Blade was developed by two guys.

[Unknown_Hinson]

Make a revamp of the classic deus ex, using the original formula, invisible war fucked it all up and made it horrible.

[appleb]

I love reading posts about people who have absolutely no programming experience, and think creating a game is as simple as dragging and dropping bad guys into an fps engine.

[usefulidiot316]

I was kind of thinking along the lines of an interplanetary war involving thousand foot tall robots, motherships, M16s, lasers, cat people, a Carl from ATHF rip off, asian lolis, genetically engineered angels etc.

You should really narrow that down a little, otherwise you'll spend a decade on a game that will end up being released with decade old outdated graphics, or everything you just mentioned will have such a small part in the game they won't even be worth mentioning. The thousand foot tall robots you mentioned gave me an idea, though.

You ever seen sky captain and the world of tomorrow? You should make a game like that set around the 1940s with a story about a mad scientist that creates giant robots (http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2005/hollywood.today/interactive/gallery.moviemaking/01.intro.jpg)(about 100ft tall, not 1000ft) to attack a fictional city and rob banks just like a classic turn of the century mad scientist should do. You could make the gameplay a first person role playing game, like Mass Effect, and make all the cutscenes monochrome, like the videos in Bioshock. If you don't want the game to be too cliche, then here's a hint; don't give your protagonist super powers. A hero should be able to outsmart his enemies, not overpower them. That way you open the game up for a little puzzle solving to add a little more to the gameplay. You could also model the antagonist mad scientist after the worlds original mad scientist, Nicola Tesla (http://msp147.photobucket.com/albums/r282/pentaphobe/NikolaTesla.jpg). It's like 1920s Superman meets Bioshock meets Mass Effect.

[Mr.SelfDestruct]

I love reading posts about people who have absolutely no programming experience, and think creating a game is as simple as dragging and dropping bad guys into an fps engine.

...

You haven't played many FPS games, have you?

[/sarcasm]

[customerservice]

ive always wanted an fps (this could even be an hl2 mod) where it pits the israeli defense forces against palestinian civilians. the israelis would be armed with bull dozers and helicopters and the palestinians would LOOK like civilians but their objective would be to suicide bomb night clubs.

[MexAmercn_Moose]

since a lot of people are talking about re-releasing classic good games, redo Road Rash 64! update the graphics and the physics and BAM! you got yourself a hit

[BassGuitar25]

What do you mean by you "have the means to do so"?

He's trying to impress us with mysterious wording.

He really means "I have a PC and I can code"

[FlyinG ShoosteR]

I have yet to play an FPS with an amazing story line.

You haven't played Bioshock yet? Or Prey? :(

[The_Guitarist]

He's trying to impress us with mysterious wording.

He really means "I have a PC and I can code"
It takes a lot more than coding.

[Man Fan]

Why the fuck would we want to help you? Would we receive the credit or at least some cash for our contributions or are you just going to steal ideas and take the credit for them like the talentless hack that you are, Here's an idea, go eat a bag of balls and choke on 'em faggot.

[Mr.SelfDestruct]

Why the fuck would we want to help you? Would we receive the credit or at least some cash for our contributions or are you just going to steal ideas and take the credit for them like the talentless hack that you are, Here's an idea, go eat a bag of balls and choke on 'em faggot.

So, you think you should get credit for everything you ever suggest?

Assuming he does what you suggested, should you go to jail for murder.

[Man Fan]

So, you think you should get credit for everything you ever suggest?
That's quite a leap there bunny rabbit, I think you deserve credit for being an idiot.

[Jaythrilla xX]

I love a game with cat people in it

[Asshole]

Why the fuck would we want to help you? Would we receive the credit or at least some cash for our contributions or are you just going to steal ideas and take the credit for them like the talentless hack that you are, Here's an idea, go eat a bag of balls and choke on 'em faggot.

I never promised compensation. If you have an idea use/sell it yourself or keep it from the world like a selfish jewbag. Somebody else will think of it anyway.

If you were to make a real impact I'd at least mention your name but I'm not about to expect anyone to contribute on a conditition they have no reason to believe.
--

I was being vague about having the means to produce a game because I didn't think anyone would believe I have a small army of nerds willing to help for a percentage of the profits.

[h4z4rd]

You'd be surprised, and impressed.

Mount and Blade was developed by two guys.

Never heard of that game, so I can't vouch for its impressiveness..but just because two developers were able to pull off a game doesn't mean that it is the norm. It would take two game developers many years before the final product is released, whereas a team of developers would take much less time in development, and will usually come out with a more polished result.

That's why people who are serious about making games have a dedicated group of individuals working on different aspects of the games simultaneously. As long as everyone is actively involved in production, then the more members you can get on a production team the better.

[iBmx]

jet pack shark rider space suite man- do it

[Mr.SelfDestruct]

That's quite a leap there bunny rabbit, I think you deserve credit for being an idiot.

Oh, I'm sorry, did I muss up your fur a bit?

I notice you didn't answer the question. Where do you think people get inspiration from? All ideas start from outside sources. If you look at Star Trek, the alien races all are inspired from Tolkien's elves, orcs, dwarves, hobbits, etc. Should Gene Roddenberry be paying out royalties to Tolkien's relatives?

What about the many games that mimicked Final Fantasy's original formula? Or Mario's?

He's not asking us to write the story for him, he's looking for general direction.

[Molson]

ive always wanted an fps (this could even be an hl2 mod) where it pits the israeli defense forces against palestinian civilians. the israelis would be armed with bull dozers and helicopters and the palestinians would LOOK like civilians but their objective would be to suicide bomb night clubs.

:lmao::lmao:


Holy shit, I would buy that.

[Nickster]

A lynching sim.

Do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it



do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it

[Orakar]

What?! I didn't know nintendo developers posted here!

Sorry, not much advice I can give you. How about you remake another game about that cute little Italian dude? He was always fun!