Invasion

So, as promised, here's another idea for a game.
     This one takes advantage of the wii platform, but could also work on the xbox Kinect, or the ps3's new motion control system. It's a formula that has been used on the wii already, but not to good effect.
Basically, the game is a rail shooter, in the style of Time Crisis, but with several improvements on the formula, and particularly improvements on what (I believe) the wii has seen so far in the genre.
     First of all, let me roll into atmosphere, the flavor of it. Not because it's the most important aspect, certainly, but because the flavor makes the other elements seem more tangible. The game is set in a science-fiction universe. It's a mildly playful style, bright and colorful. The story starts in a liquor store, where the hero is working as a clerk. Large booming sounds reverberate outside, a low rumble fills the sky, and shadows creep across the street. The hero steps out from behind the counter, and dashes into the street, in time to see an alien spacecraft filling the skies. In a rush, pods smash into the ground, and burst open, with alien marines dashing out and instantly vaporizing several nearby humans. The hero runs backward into the liquor store, and crawls under the counter, where a pistol is laying next to the alarm button. The hero grabs the pistol, just as one of the aliens enters the liquor store. In six shots, the alien is dead, and the hero is out of bullets. The alien has dropped a gun, however, and the hero runs to pick it up. The hero goes into the streets and battles through aliens and machines and the chaos of humans in terror to make it home to their family. 
     So, hopefully, that flavor enticed you enough to listen to some mechanical talk. Anyway, here's the deal: the problem with rail shooters is that they are essentially the same thing as shooting gallery games. Normally, it is a short sequence of running, during which you have no control, followed by a short section of shooting, then your character runs again. Here's a key difference for the shooter I am proposing bears several differences, primarily in that structure there. The player is given much more control over their character, using the nunchuck. Firstly, the hero is in control of hiding behind cover. Holding the Z button raises the hero up from behind cover. Moving behind cover automatically reloads the hero's gun. There are two other buttons on the nunchuck that come into play: firstly, the c-button, which is used to change weapons. The key to that is that to press the c button more or less requires you to release Z, moving you into cover, which is the only place you can change weapons. The other button on the nunchuck that matters is the analogue stick. Rail shooters always lock the player into one single line of sight: forward. The analogue stick is used to turn the hero's field of view, a total of ninety degrees in all directions, and when the stick is released, it moves to a neutral center. What it means is that the player feels more in control of their play, and the gameplay becomes more immersive.The player can also move their camera and shoot during all of the moving portions. They are playing at all times, which is important. It helps blur the line between rail shooter and first-person-shooter. A lot of players hesitate to play rail-shooters because they feel that the experience is lacking compared to a first-person-shooter because of the difference between movement, and the length of time waiting for action to resume.
     At the beginning of each chapter, the player is given the option of choosing their load-out for the trip. They will always have the pistol they stole from the first alien, which does not run out of ammo. They will also have two slots for other guns. The hero can gather more guns as they fight through their adventure, sometimes by shooting certain enemies, sometimes by finding them behind cover, and other things like that.
    One last thing that is missing from rail shooters is the feeling of choice. Fortunately, the mechanics I'm suggesting make it possible to split the track that the player is on. When the hero is in a running portion, occasionally two arrows will flash on screen, suggesting two paths. The player will use the analogue stick to choose a path, and the story will go in that direction. There may also be instances where the arrows will not flash on screen, but holding the stick during a run will change paths anyway, allowing for secrets.
     I think I could write more on this game, actually, but for now, it is 2:24 at night, and I am incredibly sleepy.  If you are interested in hearing more, let me know in the comments!

P.s. If you decided to create this game, please let me know, and please give me credit for the original concept. If someone does make it, I'll do my very best to help you publicize, and I'd even be willing to collaborate, if needed. Thanks!

The ghost's castle

     So, I spend a lot of time thinking about games, and about game design. Maybe you've noticed. Anyway I've decided that since I never seem to have the time to actually execute any games, and haven't really had time to create anything playable (after all, I barely take the time to update this blog) I've decided to share some ideas for games and see if the ideas get picked up by anyone with the time and knack. So, here we go!

     The first concept is an exploration-based adventure game. The protagonist has been kidnapped by otherworldlies, say fairies, or spirits, and dropped into an old castle, drifting in and endless space, to teach the hero a lesson about his/her life. The castle is vast, with gardens, towers, grand halls, and a multitude of varied rooms. Many, maybe most of these rooms, are empty when the hero first enters them. But, after solving a few puzzles in some of the fuller rooms, the hero finds the first of several masks. The masks resemble people from his life, possibly through one characteristic, definitely not through facial emulation, because that's creepy.  Anyway, The hero finds the mask, and puts it on, and in doing so, the castle changes before them. Suddenly, rooms that were empty are furnished, there are more puzzles to solve, and from time to time, people pass through the halls.
     The hero tries to address the people in the halls, but the figures just carry out their actions. They act out scenes from the hero's life, moments of regret, choices made, etc. They are all dressed in fancy clothing, ball gowns,  suits, and masks, as if they are all attending a masquerade, which they are. All of the figures are fairies, or spirits, playing their part in the heroes' past. As the hero progresses through the flashbacks and puzzles, he or she eventually finds another mask, which reveals a different set of full rooms, events and the like. The hero eventually finds a total of say, seven masks. Each one reveals a different set of rooms and puzzles, and helps the hero understand their mistakes, and eventually, to come to understand what they must do to set things right.
     The important thing about the masks is that they don't change the castle, they just reveal what is there. From the very start, just about all rooms are accessible, only one or two doors are ever locked, and they are unlockable by things hidden by the masks.

Now, I just realized that I had planned on spouting out about three games in this one post, but since I ended up writing a whole big chunk about that one idea, I've decided to break this up into a few different posts. So, expect the second in a week or so.

P.s. If you decided to create this game, please let me know, and please give me credit for the original concept. If someone does make it, I'll do my very best to help you publicize, and I'd even be willing to collaborate, if needed. Thanks!