Game Brainstorm

 There are many possible games that I could make for the project 

One game that I believe could make for an interesting experience is A dungeon crawler type game, This would be one that has the player endure a dark and grim fantasy dungeon. The dungeon would have a specific aesthetic, whilst there would stone walls, jail cells and perhaps a portcullis and a drawbridge there would also be hints that this dungeon has some sort of magical power which the player must fend off but can see occasionally. Whilst in this vile pit the player would need to fight various horrid monsters, these could include ogres, goblins, orcs, dragons, hellhounds, demons, giant insects and skeleton warriors. In truth any creature from any and all myths and legends could find their way into this dungeon, there could even be a level with a sea monster which has been trapped underwater and now feeds on whatever adventurers it can catch. Perhaps each and every single one of these evil creatures were once humans just like the player before the corruption of the dungeon took over and shattered their minds. There may also be a warlock final boss which the player must defeat in order to escape the dungeon and see sunlight once again. A mechanic which would be engaging is if the player could find different types of treasure and gear which can make their experience different on each play-through. I made a very small game that was vaguely similar to this concept in my PLC. The game that I made while I was in my post-leaving-cert course was a 2D game consisting of only one level which followed a small and cute brown dog on his adventure to find treasure. During this treasure he had to scale a fallen tree, evade an armless blue imp, sneak into a castle, and avoid one final green winged creature. Keep in mind this was a very basic game that I made using pixels and assets which already existed.

I also believe that another game that would be extremely fascinating and engaging is a game with a more mysterious theme. This would be very different from a dungeon crawler and would have very different atmosphere. The enemies and non-player characters in this game would not be identifiable creatures from mythology but rather horrifying, sometimes vaguely humanoid, abominations. Alternatively the enemies also could never be fully seen throughout the game or receive a thorough explanation on their origins. Throughout the whole game the player gets the sense that something is off, this isn't some regular town or house. There is some higher chthonic Lovecraftian power at play, something stronger and older than anything the human mind could even begin to imagine. This final boss would be one that the player can only repel and never truly defeat. Instead of a glorious ending that player would seemingly get lucky. The character could even acknowledge his own existence inside a videogame, realising that he is compelled to fight the same monsters again and again. I must admit that I am quite a fan of stories with a bit of mystery. One of my all-time favourite films “Dark City” features a character with no recollection of his past try to regain his memories in a gothic neo-noir city which is in a constant state of night. During the film the audience and the character realise that there is much more to this literal dark city then what people would think at face-value. That would be the sort of atmosphere which I hope this type of game could evoke. Of course this is only a base concept and would require much more thought and planning in order to be fully fledged into a true game. One which a player would come back to again and again. Although I believe that with the right frame of mind it could be accomplished with relative ease.

Brainstorm 

Source: Flickr

After completing the Unity tutorials I firmly believe another game which would be very enjoyable to make and also to play is a game about a car or some other vehicle such as a bus, motorbike or limo navigating roads that are packed with traffic. This would be very similar to a flash game which I adored beyond comparison when I was much, much younger, when I was still in primary school in fact called “Crazy Taxi”. I strongly believe that in addition to being a great seed from which a much, much larger game can grow into being something incredible and awe-inspiring, that this idea could even branch out into a similar game with a completely different setting, this game being set in space instead with a space shuttle or even a science fiction style spaceship or perhaps a flying saucer. The player could be a spacefaring astronaut trying to escape or defeat an a killer robot, alien pirates or an intergalactic alien empire hellbent on conquering the universe. Alternatively the player could be an alien instead of a human being, this could lead to some very interesting player character deigns. The player could be any type of alien. A squid or reptilian alien, an alien which is inspired from pop culture such as a yautja or xenomorph. They could even be a classic grey alien with a very large, bulbous head and a tiny body who has escaped from Area 51 after decades of imprisonment and is now trying to reach his home planet, but has to deal with humans trying to retrieve him. I believe this idea could suit me very well, not being too ambitious and being just in the realm of possibility for a student such as me to create without it spinning out of control and becoming larger than I thought they would be. 

However setting aside all the fantastical, dark and science fiction based games that I have put forward. I believe that one type of game that might match my strengths better and one that would be much more calming is to create a more calm and laid-back game, something like 'goose simulator' which is simply about a goose wreaking havoc on a small farm with no extreme concepts such as monsters or magic or aliens. Admittedly this is not the most enthralling and exhilarating game to play or even to create. However given the fact that I’m only a second year with limited experience in game design. I believe that a game with this concept rather than something too ambitious might be one that I would fare better in. I could for example, make a humorous game about preparing different types of meals in a small idyllic kitchen, or perhaps a game where you play as an adolescent teenager who has been left home alone all day and must now rush to clean his messy room as soon as possible before his nagging parents come back home and find out he spent the day playing videogames and watching tv instead, a bit of art imitating life I suppose. This would be a different approach to the game project as I am certain that almost all of my fellow students would create a game with much higher concepts. Personally I would resort to this as a final concept if all others proved too difficult and they all evolved into gargantuan tasks to that would be nigh impossible to undertake with such a time limit and the weight of other modules, then having a much simpler game to create would serve as a very comforting safety net that I could fall back onto.

These are some concepts which I believe would make for a good game project.