Question What kind of game do you wish existed, but doesn't?

[SWard]

The other day, I was sat in the pub with friends and we came up with an amazing idea for a game. All we want is a game a bit like "Untitled Goose Game" where you play as a dog trying to get food from his kitchen. I think it would work best as first person, and it could be called "Dog Day Afternoon" after the heist movie.

I also had an idea for a game about hamsters called "Hamsterdam" and I tweeted about it and but it turned out it actually exists.

So let's hear it. Gimme your elevator pitch for a game. Doesn't matter how silly or big, I'd love to hear it.

 

[Beetroot]

DIGSITE (or something)

I want an archaeology/paleontology game. This would be an open-world RPG with first-person perspective and driving/flying.

It would be a simulator of sorts where you run a research project, get funding, arrange travel and equipment, hire/recruit scientists. Then you plan an expedition and travel to a location on the world map, read about the local culture, legends/history and select locations for a likely dig site. You'd find out where artifacts were collected (e.g. arrowheads, pottery fragements or bones) maybe from the locals in RPG style, then drive out with your team in a jeep and lay down a dig site.

Could be anthropological relics, or dinos or whatever. Then you uncover historical information based on what you find, like "oh the ancient civilization in this region had x technology 1000 earlier than previously recorded!" or whatever. Then the value of your expedition will get you funding or offers from different organizations, universities and whatnot.

Just like in real life, if you go into an unstable region, there might be combat and you'd need to hire bodyguards or whatever. So it could also have action, car chases, stealth, but mainly it's about prospecting history.

Imagine if Indiana Jones didn't destroy every temple he found to get the golden idol. That the game I want.

Geology, Biology, Anthropology. Get super nerdy with it. It could be fully educational and fun as hell.

P.S. Developers: You couldn't possibly make this game without my help, hire me an pay me top dollar!

 

[James]

So I want a game where the style of play is Cersei/Littlefinger/Varys, (Game of Thrones) where you rise to power through political intrigue, deception, diplomacy, ect.

I've played a few CYOA games that are kinda like that, but I want something a bit more open ended.
If AI Dungeon had a memory longer than 10 seconds it'd be great for that.

 

[Krud]

I think I'd like to see a game that is somewhat reminiscent of Wreck-It Ralph, though my idea pre-dates Wreck-It Ralph, it's just an easy shorthand for what I'm talking about. I'd basically like to see a game where characters from different genres crossover into other genres and interact. So a Call of Duty character might find himself in a Nancy Drew-like visual novel/hidden pictures game (thought not literally, just the trappings of it), while Guybrush Threepwood might wind up in a Tomb Raider scenario.

It would, first and foremost, be an adventure game, probably, so the other genres represented would, at best, be parodies of themselves, with relevant mini-games, but the crossover characters might handle said mini-games differently. So for instance, the aforementioned Call of Duty guy (or BJ Blazkowicz from Wolfenstein) might just shoot his way through a room of hidden objects, This is a really vague, poorly worded version of what I mean, but hopefully you get the gist.

Also there would be a central character/protagonist -- a curator, perhaps, a la Ben Stiller in Night At The Museum, who is trying to sort out the characters and get them back to their respective games. (Full disclosure, this is a retrofit of a book idea I had years ago along the same lines, only that was characters in different novel genres crossing over, which I think Jasper Fforde has since done. This would be the game version of it.)

It's probably not doable, let alone marketable, and would be a logistical nightmare, but the idea still amuses me.

 

[I Will Haunt You]

A shooter where you start way in the future as an evil overlord and die and go to hell, but then you get a shot at redemption where you have to travel to different times in the past and kill your past life selves that were also evil overlords.

The weapons and equipment would be different in each time with different upgrade trees, and complications would arise by other other yous trying to stop you because past yous somehow gave future yous warning just before you killed them.

You'd also have to do some missions in each time to arm yourself and gather info about when and how your past self is vulnerable. Certain thing you do one past time frame may have some kind of effect on how future levels are set up. Map or character changes, weapon availability (destroy the power supply to that lab in 1980 and no fancy plasma repeater in 2040 kinda thing).

 

[S!AM13]

A management sim where you are the director of a studio that has created a live service game that had a failed launch because of greedy publishers and not enough development time. You need to update and fix the game, keep fans happy attract new players and avoid staff lay-offs.

 

[I Will Haunt You]

A management sim where you are the director of a studio that has created a live service game that had a failed launch because of greedy publishers and not enough development time. You need to update and fix the game, keep fans happy attract new players and avoid staff lay-offs.

Or you could just get a job at Bioware. Or maybe you once had a job at Bioware? Hmmmm...... 👻

 

[Balf Eubank]

I want Ark, but with Pokemon! Someone must have the tools and the talent. Ark has nearly all of the key stuff, which makes Pokemon so deep, ie; breeding, stats, 3D open world. All we need is for it to be set in Kanto or Sinnoh and implement the tried and true story loop. Then I wouldn't be so quick to vindictively bash the stadium and coliseum games.

 

[BornAgainPCGamer]

I've a few ideas knocking about in my head but not many of them have been given an overwhelming lot of thought.

1st) I'd love an openworld game set in Dublin, Ireland. It could be a detective/police game or a gta type crime simulator. I just think it'd be cool to see my home city realised in a game and explore it.

2) I'd love an Exorcist type game. Yes I'm sure there have been some games to do it before but I'd like a modern take. You'd have to investigate each case of possession and piece together whether the subject was indeed possessed or not. The story with have multiple branching paths depending on your choices and conclusions. You could be hunting a serial killer or a cult or other contrived gaming macguffin, to give you an overall objective. It could be brilliant and scary as hell if done properly. A mixture of the movies Se7en, Exorcism of Emily Rose and Deliver Us From Evil. Maybe not a game that would appeal to the masses.

3)A Vampire game that starts off in Ancient times when you are turned but moves through history changing the setting and the world as you progress through the story. Providing you can survive, it would play out completely different depending on player choices. Like choices you make in the past affect stuff in the future in unforeseen ways.

4) Lastly i would love an openworld crime game that was a full on sim. Were you have one life and time and actions are irreversible. Were there is actual real consequences and weight all your decisions like to even shoot and kill one person could lead to life behind bars or a bullet in your head. You can be killed by a rival or the police, or in prisoned etc if you are caught breaking the law. All you actions have consequences and you can rise to the top of whatever criminal enterprise you choose to pursue if you are clever enough or end your life in a shallow grave. If done properly i think it could be fantastic. As every mission you take would be nerve wrecking. Is carrying the drugs to the meeting worth €5000 or am i really ok disposing of a body for €1000??? What if I'm stopped?? What if its a set up???

 

[indigit5l]

A legit police simulator. LSPDFR is nice and all but the modding it takes to get going is too much for me these days. Rockstar needs to make an offer to buy the devs or just work on their own project.

 

[SHaines]

I was actually working on a pitch for this game back when I worked in the industry. The idea is to basically make something similar to those cooking/restaurant type games (along the lines of Cooking Mama), but using tools and materials used by scientists in a variety of fields.

It would be a pretty basic game that could be used to help kids who don't have a natural affinity for the sciences to learn about how chemistry, biology, and basic engineering skills work.

 

[SWard]

Am I going nuts or are these all good ideas?

 

[Deleted member 612]

Similar to your "Dog Day Afternoon" game, my friend had this game idea for years where you play an evil cat and your job is to do as much damage as possible in your owners house when he leaves for work. You'd have to watch out for the dog, or a family member coming back home but other than that, go on a rampage and get that highscore!

 

[Dan]

A legit police simulator. LSPDFR is nice and all but the modding it takes to get going is too much for me these days. Rockstar needs to make an offer to buy the devs or just work on their own project.

This is exactly what I was going to say. There have been many games come into early access that promise this, but they are always terrible.

 

[SWard]

Similar to your "Dog Day Afternoon" game, my friend had this game idea for years where you play an evil cat and your job is to do as much damage as possible in your owners house when he leaves for work. You'd have to watch out for the dog, or a family member coming back home but other than that, go on a rampage and get that highscore!

The hero gotham needs

 

[Krud]

The other day, I was sat in the pub with friends and we came up with an amazing idea for a game. All we want is a game a bit like "Untitled Goose Game" where you play as a dog trying to get food from his kitchen. I think it would work best as first person, and it could be called "Dog Day Afternoon" after the heist movie.

I also had an idea for a game about hamsters called "Hamsterdam" and I tweeted about it and but it turned out it actually exists.

So let's hear it. Gimme your elevator pitch for a game. Doesn't matter how silly or big, I'd love to hear it.

For NaNoWriMo one year I tried to make an Interactive Fiction piece where you play through the life of a dog from puppy to... however far i managed to write it. It started with you introduced to your owner on their birthday. I didn't get that far, but I was happy with the concept. I would totally play Dog Day Afternoon. I like the idea of a character (like a dog) with limited abilities/resources trying to accomplish tasks/quests.

 

[spvtnik1]

I would like to see more of the land law side of things built in to a city-building game. Dealing with things like imminent domain, easements, setbacks, zoning requirements, land owners holding out (instead of just bulldozing whatever you want), annexing land in to your municipality, so on and so forth. As it stands I just sort of role-play these elements in when I play Cities: Skylines.

I'd love to see something like Sim Tower, but instead of going up, you go underwater. Maybe the FrostPunk devs will go underwater!

In the vein of Goat Simulator and Untitled Goose Game, it could be a very fun premise to have something like... Short Circuit Simulator. Kind of like a Katamari, but you move around through conductive materials and wires, gathering charge until you can overload a circuit. Maybe trying to hitch a ride to space or cross an ocean. True nightmare fuel for gamers of all platforms.

And lastly I would eat up a point/click adventure that's inspired by Snatch. Gritty, witty, based in reality. I could see a lot of fun where you're controlling multiple characters with conflicting interests - but the game will keep throwing curveballs at you so even if you're trying to game the characters against each other, you'll have surprises to deal with.

 

[robinj]

sdasd

The other day, I was sat in the pub with friends and we came up with an amazing idea for a game. All we want is a game a bit like "Untitled Goose Game" where you play as a dog trying to get food from his kitchen.

If you don't mind text adventures, Snack Time! is pretty much this.

 

[Dwarvenhobble]

A really fleshed out Roguelite detective game.
Yes Noir Syndrome exists but it's main issue is you're always after a killer who has one set of iconography etc associated with them even if who the killer turns out to be is different each run.

It seems like an idea that could well be possible. Create a basic town area and some settings for you to explore and collect clues.

Create a set of killer MO's / identities say you have the Satan cultist, a serial poisoner,some-one who copies the Jack the Ripper style MO, a Killer clown mo, a Cannibal MO etc. Just a load of different possible killers.

The game picks one of them and applies the relevant art overlay pieces to crime scenes and the killers den.

The game assigns characters a name by combing possible ones from a first and last name list and assigning that to an entity and also assigning it a job and traits.

It populates the run with various characters and picks one of them as the killer then pulls clues from a list associated with the characters attributes.

Lets say you're dealing with a woman mechanic who is part of a union you might have as clues like

Skin Cream = with the description a favoured brand for those whose skin has it rough used by Mechanics, Sailors and some actors

Then as a second clue you get

I dunno Union membership card - that tells you they're in a union

Next you get a boot print which says as a description

Hardy boots generally worn in profession that need them such as Sailor, Army or Mechanic

As you find more clues allow you to eliminate more possible suspects or become ones that rule out more like say eventually you find a discarded packet of birth control pill at the crime scene which means most likely it's a woman.

It would create a lot of replay ability due to the number of possible murderer MOs able to be created and the system procedurally creating the possible case to solve.

If it did well it would also let the developers expand it by adding more Killer MOs to it. I dunno maybe one killer might be the infamous Jimsaw........

 

[BornAgainPCGamer]

A really fleshed out Roguelite detective game.
Yes Noir Syndrome exists but it's main issue is you're always after a killer who has one set of iconography etc associated with them even if who the killer turns out to be is different each run.

It seems like an idea that could well be possible. Create a basic town area and some settings for you to explore and collect clues.

Create a set of killer MO's / identities say you have the Satan cultist, a serial poisoner,some-one who copies the Jack the Ripper style MO, a Killer clown mo, a Cannibal MO etc. Just a load of different possible killers.

The game picks one of them and applies the relevant art overlay pieces to crime scenes and the killers den.

The game assigns characters a name by combing possible ones from a first and last name list and assigning that to an entity and also assigning it a job and traits.

It populates the run with various characters and picks one of them as the killer then pulls clues from a list associated with the characters attributes.

Lets say you're dealing with a woman mechanic who is part of a union you might have as clues like

Skin Cream = with the description a favoured brand for those whose skin has it rough used by Mechanics, Sailors and some actors

Then as a second clue you get

I dunno Union membership card - that tells you they're in a union

Next you get a boot print which says as a description

Hardy boots generally worn in profession that need them such as Sailor, Army or Mechanic

As you find more clues allow you to eliminate more possible suspects or become ones that rule out more like say eventually you find a discarded packet of birth control pill at the crime scene which means most likely it's a woman.

It would create a lot of replay ability due to the number of possible murderer MOs able to be created and the system procedurally creating the possible case to solve.

If it did well it would also let the developers expand it by adding more Killer MOs to it. I dunno maybe one killer might be the infamous Jimsaw........

Really good idea. I find there isn't enough modern murder/detective games on PC. I picked up " The Painscreek Killings" ashile back but have yet to play it. I heard great things about it though and that it really does require some proper detective work from the player. I would certainly welcome more games like this. With a randomised element like you describe, the replay value could also be quite high.

 

[denixius]

Hello!

I always wanted to play a grand-strategy game based on ancient time periods from 3000 BC to AD 500. You can actually say that it is Ancient History.

In these time periods, I really wished to play with Sumer, Egypt, Akkad, Assyria, Babylonia, Hittites, Phoenicia, Persia, Greece, Minoans, Celts, Romans, Germans, Etruscans, Turks, Indians, China, Japan, Korea, Maya and etc.

There are strategy games that contain at least a couple of above civilizations, but they are not "grand". I mean, they must be like, Imperator: Rome or Crusader Kings. They must have gameplay like these grand-strategy games. I also read some articles in Paradox Interactive Forums, mentions there might be mods under development, but I don't want a mod. I want a pure game which contains features as I mentioned above.

It would be an amazing experience; think about it!

Bests,

 

[Pifanjr]

Personally, I really want a game like what I expected the Spore creature phase to be.

The main gameplay loop would consist mostly around getting food, establishing a pack, getting a mate and protecting yourself from predators. How well you do during each iteration determines how much currency you get to upgrade your creature, adding new features or improving existing ones.

Just like in Spore, you would be able to choose between being a herbivore, carnivore or omnivore, but in this case it would actually impact the gameplay in a meaningful way.

It would be interesting if you could also increase the intelligence of your creature over time, such that you could perform increasingly more complex interactions with your environment (depending on which limbs you have). Perhaps eventually domesticating other animals which you've seen evolve right alongside you.

I also read some articles in Paradox Interactive Forums, mentions there might be mods under development, but I don't want a mod. I want a pure game which contains features as I mentioned above.

While I understand being hesitant about mods, I have good experiences with Paradox mods in particular. I would definitely keep an eye on them if I was you.

 

[SWard]

That would be super cool

I loved the idea of spore, wish I had gotten into it!

 

[Krud]

A really fleshed out Roguelite detective game.
...

Lets say you're dealing with a woman mechanic who is part of a union you might have as clues like

Skin Cream = with the description a favoured brand for those whose skin has it rough used by Mechanics, Sailors and some actors

Then as a second clue you get

I dunno Union membership card - that tells you they're in a union

Next you get a boot print which says as a description

I like this idea. Reminds me of a cross between Sid Meier's Covert Action and Where In The World Is Carmen Sandiego, only more serious and murdery.

 

[Pifanjr]

That would be super cool

I loved the idea of spore, wish I had gotten into it!

Sadly, the game that Spore became was nothing like the game that was promised during development. It turned out really bland, compared to what my expectations of it had become. It's honestly the most disappointed I've ever been with a game.

It kinda broke my trust in buying video games, which was luckily quickly mostly restored by Assassin's Creed, which I had bought around the same time and which actually lived up pretty well to my expectations, even if it was a pretty linear experience. After that, I bought Mass Effect, which I loved so much I pre-ordered the next two games, with no regrets.