IT Project X

Why not include cyber warfare, viruses, and spy vs spy kind of ideas too? Since that's the current deal going on between the US and China. You can involve the whole nanotechnology thing but including cyberwarfare into the midst you can have a bit of fun with that

As for countries it would be interesting to see some shifting such as not all of Canada melded with the US. It would also be interesting to have some successionism issues thrown in with even a possible end result (not game ender) result in succession of a certain number of territories into sovereign nations whilst others meld together also based upon choices.

You could be/could not be part of the territories that succeed. It would be nice to do some based upon real life divisions and unioning. For example the Arabian penninsula have been trying to unionize their countries but it really never got off the ground. So you can do things based upon that with historical anamosities keeping the union fragile.

I'm wondering about the typical soldier model. What I wouldn't mind seeing is "progressionism." Not really sure it can work here or not but it's not something we see much in games but it would be awesome to start out as a raw recruit in training (not so convoluted as AC 3's tutorial) but to play the first 3-4 short missions where it is really blended as one big giant mission as if they were real but in the end it turns out to be only part of a simulation (where coincidentally) some things are foreshadowed later on. From there is a newly minted solider who slowly advances in rank. In other words achievements within achievements. Being promoted because you saved a batallion. Being advanced cause you chose to let the civies die, getting demoted because the head hancho got away, gettig demoted over a bar fight, being given certain service medals based on some of the things you did like getting the Purple Heart cause you were wounded in some cinematic (where if you made a different choice you wouldn't have earned it cause maybe you took the catious route). I think a bit of FreeSpace and FreeSpace 2's service medal achievements when I describe this.

Locations - given its sci fi, it doesn't all have to be on earth all the time. War by proxy come to mind. I can see a whole arms race in space amonst the asteroid fields as people who are not supposed to have affiliation suddenly planting flags and claiming territory over other planets, celestial bodies in the name of some company. As does playing characters from several vantage points. Dead Space, COD, and others do this. I like that style too.

Having the characters merge and diverge over time (even repeadedly) around the main character can be fun along with things like shifting allegiances. Some you would expect to happen, others you wouldn't, others still quadruple agents ie working for you but really working for them but funneling info to a 3rd party, but that 3rd party was just a front for the person pulling the strings with choices/consequences for trusting people (I think of the whole trust the Asari then she goes off and kills the head of the government but not so easily identifiable reasons till after it occurs what the motive was so you make a choice based on your personality with the person of the info presented to you at the time then incident happens and a bit later you discover what the true motive was. Depending on earlier choices incident can be severe, devastating, minimal impact, or prevented. But ya I think you might get the idea.

Sorry for the longish post. You can probably tell I like a bit of mystery in the games too

CmdrShep80 wrote:*snip*

Woot, another person in the mix! Ok so, I like where you are going with the Cyber warfare and it's true. It is in fact a current threat.

I also want to suggest another degree in the succesion consequences... which is regimes, etc. To sum it up, it could be possible as a consequence, America stops being Democratic. Nations could become Theocratic, or Dictatorships, or ones that were already such might become Democratic, etc. You could also show culture change.

As for this "progressionism", that would be pretty interesting. To drive it even further though, you could potentially go to the extreme ends... where you could be seen as an excellent patriot, or a traitor... possibly adding in the scenario that you'd switch affiliations. In fact I think we should go deeper too, delve into the corruption of politics, etc. Letting the player decide based on what they've experienced and went through, who they think should come out on top. Not that what they say instantly goes, but they can make their choices and play through the game attempting to go with their own values. So if they think country X is wrong about subject D, then they agree with another country on subject D and have choices that could reflect that.

I love your insight on the locations. By proxy? That is already a reality on earth IRL. I can see it happening in space.

However this also made me think about the different technologies between classes. I definitely could see the stealth class making use of proxy technology, both on earth for espionage in certain sitations, and in space to do things like hacking a satallite, etc. Another potential class would be a regular general purpose soldier, their technology focus would actually be enhancement technology.. and what I mean is, like being a cyborg. Their bodies would actually be, synthetic... as in, artificial. In fact, throughout the game you could customize your body, replacing an arm with a gun if you wanted to. Upgrading your eyes to work like binoculars where you can zoom in and out, etc. Heck a couple of classes could be like this, and what class you pick decides the main focus of your customization. It could also add more depth to the story, for example it could be a stigma to be a cyborg among society.

There could also be a heavy class, they would have an Exosuit that is based on some of what we've seen the military developing lately. It's not based on nanotechnology, just robotics namely. This class would have great strength, like pick up a car like it's a soda can kind of strength. It's armor would be made of a brand new alloy created through nanotechnology to be very durable. Their weapons would be particularly heavy.

In space there would both be proxies AND real people, because proxies need to be fixed. As well, if anything goes wrong due to Cyber Warfare then you'd want some Humans ready to fight. This is where the heavy class could come in, their exosuit allows them to leave the ship and attack mid-space. So you'd also have soldiers fighting battlefields in space, kind of like you see in Sci-Fi with Mechs. As well Mechs would be part of such battles, but this class would using the top of the line tech, so maybe the heavy is sent out to straighten things out on the battlefield, etc.

Also speaking of cyber warfare, the stealth class could potentially use that. They could hack cameras, datafeeds, etc. They also, could sabotage enemy robotics, turrets,weapons, etc.

Now get this, if you pick the Stealth class for example. What if, another character will take the place of the other class? So say the heavy could be an enemy you face throughout the game, or the soldier could be an ally, etc? You are suggesting someone would become a traitor like that? BAM, if you play as [insert class here], the Stealth class character ends up to become the character who is feeding intel to an enemy, etc.

No apologizing, this is awesome ideas we are throwing out here!

Expanding on the cyborg idea... you mentioned a fresh solider, right? Well what if this soldier was a regular Joe, he/she got severely damaged to the point where he/she was paralyzed completely with no chance to move again and the military randomly offered them a position in a top secret program. This person with no combat ability, had their life completely shit even before the accident but they've wanted to make a difference.

The program would involve completely replacing most of their body. Mainly their brain is almost the only thing untouched.

This may not be THAT original. But I think these kinds of scenarios play out the best for the average people playing them because they can relate and imagine that it would've been them in the scenario. It definitely explains how the character came across such a top secret program. The government would need people like them, because not many people would WANT to have such extensive modification.

Also not all of the classes would need to have shitty lives, their lives would probably differ... but the way they find out could be the same, the main character ends up in said accident.

Just letting you all know I will be contributing to this more in time. :)

BansheeOwnage wrote:Just letting you all know I will be contributing to this more in time. :)

Hell yes, Banshee's insight will be a great assest!

Goodnight Banshee(referencing your goodnight from the main thread).

IronicParticle wrote:Expanding on the cyborg idea... you mentioned a fresh solider, right? Well what if this soldier was a regular Joe, he/she got severely damaged to the point where he/she was paralyzed completely with no chance to move again and the military randomly offered them a position in a top secret program. This person with no combat ability, had their life completely shit even before the accident but they've wanted to make a difference.

The program would involve completely replacing most of their body. Mainly their brain is almost the only thing untouched.

This may not be THAT original. But I think these kinds of scenarios play out the best for the average people playing them because they can relate and imagine that it would've been them in the scenario. It definitely explains how the character came across such a top secret program. The government would need people like them, because not many people would WANT to have such extensive modification.

Also not all of the classes would need to have shitty lives, their lives would probably differ... but the way they find out could be the same, the main character ends up in said accident.

Good ideas from both of you! As we are still in the idea throwing stage, I wanted to contribute that the stealth class's backstory is that they didn't trust some officials and thought something was up. Ex. Seeing soldiers mysteriously disappear or old soldiers come back more skilled when they shouldn't. So the stealth class has a mission to hack into one of the main computors and finds out the truth.

Also just to mention, we might not want to think too big. If we plan too big, the game may not be made or not live up to expectations. So something simple yet complex / genius.

TJBartlemus wrote:Also just to mention, we might not want to think too big. If we plan too big, the game may not be made or not live up to expectations. So something simple yet complex / genius.

Well the only thing gameplay wise that seems that big, is the outer space thing. It could be limited to Proxies to keep it simple. Something like the customizable body, that's not been done right? I mean, off the top of my head there is Raiden from Metal Gear Solid... But my main thing is, that it's actually part of the gameplay. As I said, you'd customize your body. I think that at least the general purpose soldier should have this at least. It'd be their specific tech.

Or maybe you meant story? The thing is, it really depends. Indie games usually aren't troubled THAT much by a lot of the restrictions faced by not-so-indie game companies. Though I think we want to start out with big ideas first, so you can narrow them down anyways. I have no problem if the ideas have to be made to fit, so to speak.

TJBartlemus wrote:
Good ideas from both of you! As we are still in the idea throwing stage, I wanted to contribute that the stealth class's backstory is that they didn't trust some officials and thought something was up. Ex. Seeing soldiers mysteriously disappear or old soldiers come back more skilled when they shouldn't. So the stealth class has a mission to hack into one of the main computors and finds out the truth.

I like that, but would this character join easily? Or would they be more stubborn than that?

I'm still interested in whatever Banshee is going to throw into the mix, whether adding onto/challenging what we've got going on, or possibly entirely different ideas. As well, other people who will probably join in.

IronicParticle wrote:

TJBartlemus wrote:
Good ideas from both of you! As we are still in the idea throwing stage, I wanted to contribute that the stealth class's backstory is that they didn't trust some officials and thought something was up. Ex. Seeing soldiers mysteriously disappear or old soldiers come back more skilled when they shouldn't. So the stealth class has a mission to hack into one of the main computors and finds out the truth.

I like that, but would this character join easily? Or would they be more stubborn than that?

I'm still interested in whatever Banshee is going to throw into the mix, whether adding onto/challenging what we've got going on, or possibly entirely different ideas. As well, other people who will probably join in.

Well advertising the thread to some of the more skilled members of the forum might help on the people front.

On the character thing, I think that would depend on the person. So possibly both? :P

TJBartlemus wrote:
Well advertising the thread to some of the more skilled members of the forum might help on the people front.

On the character thing, I think that would depend on the person. So possibly both? :P

Right, I'll do that.

IronicParticle wrote:

TJBartlemus wrote:
Well advertising the thread to some of the more skilled members of the forum might help on the people front.

On the character thing, I think that would depend on the person. So possibly both? :P

Right, I'll do that.

What I've found out from other Indie makers is that advertising the game early is a good idea. That way it gets people interested in the product and creates a market for ya.

I've also found out that choosing too big of a project too early isn't a good idea. Has to be something manageable so that you don't get bored and just drop the project pre-maturely.

Come on people! We need more contribution!! :P Any and all ideas are a go. Perhaps we want a smaller simpler game to start off with?

TJBartlemus wrote:

IronicParticle wrote:

TJBartlemus wrote:
Well advertising the thread to some of the more skilled members of the forum might help on the people front.

On the character thing, I think that would depend on the person. So possibly both? :P

Right, I'll do that.

What I've found out from other Indie makers is that advertising the game early is a good idea. That way it gets people interested in the product and creates a market for ya.

I've also found out that choosing too big of a project too early isn't a good idea. Has to be something manageable so that you don't get bored and just drop the project pre-maturely.

Yeah but I think you should advertise when you've got in game content, so you have something to show.

IronicParticle wrote:

TJBartlemus wrote:

IronicParticle wrote:

TJBartlemus wrote:
Well advertising the thread to some of the more skilled members of the forum might help on the people front.

On the character thing, I think that would depend on the person. So possibly both? :P

Right, I'll do that.

What I've found out from other Indie makers is that advertising the game early is a good idea. That way it gets people interested in the product and creates a market for ya.

I've also found out that choosing too big of a project too early isn't a good idea. Has to be something manageable so that you don't get bored and just drop the project pre-maturely.

Yeah but I think you should advertise when you've got in game content, so you have something to show.

I guess. Anyway. We totally should organize a Game Developing Team to be official about it. I know you and I are totally in for it, how about anyone else?

Global politics might be a bit complicated to do believably, especially for a first game. It might be better to just touch on some of these issues as a sub plot instead of centering the story around them.

Some things to think about for the main character:

Is the main character already have a clearly defined job/personality like Shepard or can you have a disparate origin story like in Dragon Age: Origins? The former allows for a more clearly defined and memorable main character and simplifies interactions with other characters. The latter gives the player a greater sense of control over their character.

I'd recommend thinking of both some emotional themes (love, guilt, anger, vengeance, control, ect.) to touch on as well as some more intellectually based themes (nano-technology, politics, space flight, ect).

Maffers wrote:Global politics might be a bit complicated to do believably, especially for a first game. It might be better to just touch on some of these issues as a sub plot instead of centering the story around them.

Some things to think about for the main character:

Is the main character already have a clearly defined job/personality like Shepard or can you have a disparate origin story like in Dragon Age: Origins? The former allows for a more clearly defined and memorable main character and simplifies interactions with other characters. The latter gives the player a greater sense of control over their character.

I'd recommend thinking of both some emotional themes (love, guilt, anger, vengeance, control, ect.) to touch on as well as some more intellectually based themes (nano-technology, politics, space flight, ect).

I just can't help it but say it hehe - synthesis for emotional themes. But ya how about having lived in better times before the whole thing went to the can. Like flashbacks of childhood or simpler times? There can be way to link those to the main characters not in the whole Luke I am your father meme but maybe as in having a friend you cared deeply about that you wish you can get back. Said friend could have fell off the deep end after secret project messed him/her up

I had another idea in the last hour or so. I was thinking that we could do a modern version of Zork. As a child I loved playing "What if?" games wit my siblings and would create a situation that would take a lone survivor far away from civilization that the player would have to react to what is given to him/her. The player could also create their own goals too. For ex. trying to get back to civilization or just plain surviving.

So in essence, it would be an openish world game that would allow you to do what is within reason. (Would a sandbox game be the proper term for this type of game?)

I imagine in like one situation, the player just survived a helicopter crash in the middle of say...a forest. He/She would have to find supplies to survive, create a shelter, make a fire, etc. Pretty much whatever they wanted to do with what they have on hand. Various different things could also pop up to throw a wrench into the situation, like a Slenderman type character showing up unexpectedly, or finding a witch...

A strategy said person could do as well could be (no kidding here) attempt to create a giant fire to gain attention of people. As consequence it could put the person in danger or kill them.

The person could also choose that their goal is actually to start a new life in the forest. Find a pet. Find more people. Create a village. Find love. Etc.

There would also be other RPG elements like customization as well.

To add, it would not be a text based adventure. Full 3D.

Should I commission a logo for the project?

smokingotter wrote:Should I commission a logo for the project?

Sure. Try picking a team name too, and the members so we know who is committed to the project. 2-3 more days before the deadline for premise.

TJBartlemus wrote: I had another idea in the last hour or so. I was thinking that we could do a modern version of Zork. As a child I loved playing "What if?" games wit my siblings and would create a situation that would take a lone survivor far away from civilization that the player would have to react to what is given to him/her. The player could also create their own goals too. For ex. trying to get back to civilization or just plain surviving.

So in essence, it would be an openish world game that would allow you to do what is within reason. (Would a sandbox game be the proper term for this type of game?)

I imagine in like one situation, the player just survived a helicopter crash in the middle of say...a forest. He/She would have to find supplies to survive, create a shelter, make a fire, etc. Pretty much whatever they wanted to do with what they have on hand. Various different things could also pop up to throw a wrench into the situation, like a Slenderman type character showing up unexpectedly, or finding a witch...

A strategy said person could do as well could be (no kidding here) attempt to create a giant fire to gain attention of people. As consequence it could put the person in danger or kill them.

The person could also choose that their goal is actually to start a new life in the forest. Find a pet. Find more people. Create a village. Find love. Etc.

There would also be other RPG elements like customization as well.

That would be interesting, BTW I think what we should do when the deadline comes is sum up the ideas presented and put them into a poll. As well, if anyone came up with ideas a bit after the deadline it could be added to the poll. As well, you would want to make it so people can change their vote at will obviously.

If I tried to think of an idea, the prominent one is not an RPG... but basically, an Evolution game. Like Spore, except it would be more realistic and would have different ways for your life to start out. As well, an underwater stage for evolution, and possibilities for things like underwater cities. Spore was dumbed down and limited because of EA, so my idea is to go with what Will Wright wanted... a game that is actually about Evolution. It would also have more realistic terraforming because SimEarth is old as hell and there is no alternatives. We know this scale is doable because Spore had most of this either done or planned, and were ONLY canceled because EA didn't think it was cute and dumbed down enough for the masses.

The thing about this is, the focus would be purely gameplay. As well TJB, I think this is also a slight problem for your idea. Most of our peeps are writers and they want in on this, so we wouldn't want to leave them out.

IronicParticle wrote:That would be interesting, BTW I think what we should do when the deadline comes is sum up the ideas presented and put them into a poll. As well, if anyone came up with ideas a bit after the deadline it could be added to the poll. As well, you would want to make it so people can change their vote at will obviously.

If I tried to think of an idea, the prominent one is not an RPG... but basically, an Evolution game. Like Spore, except it would be more realistic and would have different ways for your life to start out. As well, an underwater stage for evolution, and possibilities for things like underwater cities. Spore was dumbed down and limited because of EA, so my idea is to go with what Will Wright wanted... a game that is actually about Evolution. It would also have more realistic terraforming because SimEarth is old as hell and there is no alternatives. We know this scale is doable because Spore had most of this either done or planned, and were ONLY canceled because EA didn't think it was cute and dumbed down enough for the masses.

The thing about this is, the focus would be purely gameplay. As well TJB, I think this is also a slight problem for your idea. Most of our peeps are writers and they want in on this, so we wouldn't want to leave them out.

Alright. So the ideas we have so far are:

- 2nd Cold War Game
- Situation Game
- Evolution Game

Did I miss anything?

Maffers wrote:Global politics might be a bit complicated to do believably, especially for a first game. It might be better to just touch on some of these issues as a sub plot instead of centering the story around them.

Some things to think about for the main character:

Is the main character already have a clearly defined job/personality like Shepard or can you have a disparate origin story like in Dragon Age: Origins? The former allows for a more clearly defined and memorable main character and simplifies interactions with other characters. The latter gives the player a greater sense of control over their character.

I'd recommend thinking of both some emotional themes (love, guilt, anger, vengeance, control, ect.) to touch on as well as some more intellectually based themes (nano-technology, politics, space flight, ect).

Totally agree with you. Great ideas!!

TJBartlemus wrote:

Maffers wrote:Global politics might be a bit complicated to do believably, especially for a first game. It might be better to just touch on some of these issues as a sub plot instead of centering the story around them.

Some things to think about for the main character:

Is the main character already have a clearly defined job/personality like Shepard or can you have a disparate origin story like in Dragon Age: Origins? The former allows for a more clearly defined and memorable main character and simplifies interactions with other characters. The latter gives the player a greater sense of control over their character.

I'd recommend thinking of both some emotional themes (love, guilt, anger, vengeance, control, ect.) to touch on as well as some more intellectually based themes (nano-technology, politics, space flight, ect).

Totally agree with you. Great ideas!!

Does your idea involve just 1 game, or will it grow into more games? I know this is pretty early, but I think it would be excellent to fit in the theme of Human extinction near the end of the major arc... one of the things that makes the threat of another world war way more serious now compared to before... was that nuclear bombs were never going to make us go extinct.. It would've been horrible yeah, but there would be survivors. However the thing is there is 2 sides to Human nature... there is the darkness, and then there is the light in the darkness. The question is which one will prevail, will the light be consumed by the darkness and we fall because of ignorance and hatred or does the light burn out the darkness and we move onward to a better world?

As we get closer and closer to space, closer and closer to moving onward, we are facing the very real threat of becoming extinct due to our dark side. The thing is, while politicians are less and less wanting to blow everyone up... they're still as war hungry as ever and trying to invent new ways to kill people and they cannot guarantee they can keep what they birth, under control. One must ask if we appear alone in the universe because many others have fallen to their darkness.

Humanity was extremely close to extinction, down to a thousand or so in population long ago in Africa. Nevermind all the other primate species, our brothers, whom showed as much potential as us yet DID go extinct. That's how unforgiving the world is, and in the last moment the light of which I have mentioned revealed itself in Human nature as we randomly decided to leave Africa to find someplace better. That adaptability, that teamwork, that hope, etc. The question is, can we see that light before we too succumb now that we will have to face that darkness again?