So about two weeks ago Dragonsoulj and I decided to team up to create a game. Easiest step in the world "Let's make a game!!!!!!" Okay so what's our game going to be about? Well up until this point in time we had been discussing the creation of a horror-based game and positing some rough ideas and then we had this conversation (I had been incommunicado for nearly a week working).

Dragonsoulj: thought any more on our game?
Stormynature: almost nothing -- today is the first real day I have had free in the last week -- so basically planning on sitting down tonight and draw some rough sketches in my head
Dragonsoulj: So do you act like you have a pen/pencil in hand and draw in the air?
Stormynature: fairly much -- though sometimes I stick a hollow reeed into my eye and allow the spurting liquid to trail purdy pictures on the wall for me to look at
Dragonsoulj: Your humor. It amuses me.
Stormynature:
Stormynature: Well there is always the idea of utlising your own body parts to navigate a platformer i.e. rip out your spine to use it like a rope to pull yourself up a level -- or put your hands where you feet are so you can hold onto things upside down
Stormynature: or take off your arm and beat an enemy to death with it
Dragonsoulj: I was thinking using an arm like a whip
Dragonsoulj: Indiana Jones style
Dragonsoulj: all those tendons
Dragonsoulj: Sorry, I'm just picturing the tendons stretching and contracting as you swing, it's like taffy and gruesomely amusing.
Stormynature: well the shock value of using your body parts could be a selling point
Stormynature: but would need to develop a decent game play to utilise the most of it
Dragonsoulj: easiest thing I can think of is pre-level setup. choose what parts you want to swap and what you want detached/can detach
Stormynature: mmm - shall we explore this idea?
Dragonsoulj: It's an interesting idea. I'll entertain the thought. I'm picturing a black and white sketch look, potentially with red for flare
Stormynature: ooh - stick figures lol
Dragonsoulj: Haha, not quite
Dragonsoulj: thinking shading and such. although for some reason I keep thinking of the moving sketch look. It's like the lines of the sketch/shading move a bit

The next thing we know the horror game we have been concepting is shelved and our focus has shifted to this new concept. Despite the obvious gruesomeness of the subject matter neither of us seemed to lean towards the horror aspect of it (shock value yes) but rather more a dark humour oriented around it. When you are at the beginning it is very easy to shift tack like this. It can also be a massive time waste if you are not careful - ideas will always come and go. Learning to identify and stick with one long enough to develop it out into something more concrete is a vital step and whilst your next idea might be even better that doesn't mean it should necessary replace what you have started.

Of course being a man who spent twenty years in prison my sense of humour is without doubt fairly dark, cynical and very skewed from the norm per say. So do we have a good idea...or is it just a little to disturbing for the folks out there? A quick way to sample interest without coming out and asking if this is a good idea was to start a thread delineating the idea and asking for suggestions (Body Parts). How gruesome will the responses be, how active will the thread be, will it be followed etc etc.? Time will tell but from what I have seen so far - there have definitely been some creative responses.

So here I am starting a journal, waiting impatiently for Michael to finish creating the indie projects forum to see if we can implement this project into it and thinking about the back story that leads to the game itself and wondering about whether I should develop it to include breaking the fourth wall. So random thoughts for story shall now intrude on to this post.

The cast

Frank (aka Frankenstein's monster)
The mad scientist
Several villager mobs (i.e. pitchforks and burning torches)
Fluffy rabbits

rough backstory notes

The mad scientist has managed to upset the local villagers (as all mad scientist do). Angry mob of villagers descend on Mad scientist's home wielding pitchforks and flaming torches. Unfortunately for them the Mad Scientist (I really do need to come up with a good name) has developed a fully working shrink ray. Village mob subsequently disappears. The mad scientist is assisted by Frank (Frankenstein's monster) who whilst running away from an angry village mob of his own, managed to be saved by the mad scientist and the amazingly effective shrink ray. Exit - other angry village mob. Mad Scientist realises he no longer has local experimental subjects at hand with the local village's depopulation so embarks on utilising a new form of experimental subjects - rabbits. High birthrate and a lack of ability to wield pitchforks or flaming torches all being positive points.

Unfortunately the mad scientist as a result of his experimentation on the rabbits has managed to make them a little too disturbing even for his tastes. Enter the shrink ray and auto-fluffy rabbit defense mode. But the threat of the rabbits is not diminishing so the mad scientist creates his infernally disturbing device. Upon it's activation it will produce fake fluffy rabbits which will make their way back to the tunnels of the fluffy rabbits and explode. But said device is misbehaving and things are not happening as they should be. All attempts to repair the device from the outside have been stymied and the only recourse left is to send someone inside to fix the problem. That someone being Frank....unfortunately Frank is not the smartest cookie and any repairs he makes is likely to result in catastrophic failure, so there is only one thing to do...The mad scientist will download the player into Frank's head and get them to fix the problem.


So this is where we are at the moment -- a lot of work ahead of us and only the basic beginnings in place.