I've got an idea for a game, which I've actually thought a while about. I thought of the idea while playing an arcade game called Gunmen Wars. It's the same concept, but revamped to be, well, longer and more wholesome. The point of Gunmen Wars was two teams of four run around one of three different stages to kill each other and collect crystals. Each gunman had 5 crystals to start with, and when you die, they scatter onto the ground, in groups of four (as in picking up that crystal gives you four), and if the number of crystals isn't divisible by four, the remainder is thrown out all in single crystals. Basically, you kill for crystals, pick them up, and hold onto them for the time limit. If you die, you lose all your crystals, and respawn with 5. You have a set health, but you get bits of energy for hitting an enemy, and a small bar for killing one. The team with the most crystals when the time expires, wins. The controls were simple. There was a gun you held, if you turned it, you would turn (or if you turned it slightly, the aiming recticle would move to whichever side a bit). If you slided the gun in a direction, you would run in that direction. Pulling the trigger fired (automatic). One idea which made the game out of the ordinary, was that before each game, it would take a picture of you, so each player could be told apart, instead of by initials or usernames. If it was a CPU, it would be replaced with AUTO (Player #). This icon would float above the player for the round (can be seen clearly through any obsticle. After the round, it would show how many crystals each player had at the end of the round, and how many they collected total throughout the round. My idea has no name, but is open for suggestions. It consists of the same 2 teams of 1, 2, 3, or 4. There will be a health bar and a shield bar. Your shield bar will slowly regenerate when you aren't hit for 10 seconds. When you run out of shield, your health will drop instead. You can still recover your shield by hiding, or by collecting power cells, but you cannot regain lost health. Instead of crystals, you collect power cells, so when you pick a power cell, it is counted for, and you get a bit of shield. Teams will start out with each other, and will always spawn in the same area. They will get 5 seconds of spawn-protection to deal with anyone camping within their base. Also, there will be weapons, but I have not decided the stats of them. You can pick up one extra weapon at a time, and must drop it when you run out of ammo. You must also drop it if you want to pick up another weapon. Other than that, the gameplay in general is the same. I also hope to include extra game modes, such as Team Deathmatch (kill the other team), Capture the Flag (capture the other team), and Last Man Standing (eliminate each member of the enemy team). I have also come up with other modes of play, but I won't post the rules here, since this is long enough. Controls available will be as follows: Run forward, run backward, strafe left/right, (press the direction twice to dodge/dash in that direction,) turn CW/CCW (not left and right, since that confuses people when running backwards and turning), fire, drop extra weapon, and call for backup (used to let your teammates know you need them, such as when you're holding many power cells). Other suggestions are: Online play (Up to 8 players/bots), Split screen, story mode (story being implimented), practice mode, multiple mechs, custom mech colors, detailed after-game stats (power cells during round, power cells at time up, kills, deaths, longest without dying, most crystals without dying). I know this was hell to read, but if you made it this far, thank you for considering this at all. Please put comments and all etc. in your reply. I'd like to know how my game sounds to you. [edited by - TornadoTK on April 13, 2004 7:02:50 AM]

It isn''t a bad idea. I think that a light arcade flavor will be the selling point. I expect this game to involve a certain degree of tactical organization and a whole lot of trash-talk, so do your best to facilitate smooth, easy communication between player.

"Not really sure what you want people to say. It's Gunman Wars, just longer (and the longer stuff is pretty much all from other games). Are you planning to make this game?" - Obscure

Well, I want people to have fun with it. It's not supposed to be like any traditional game, it's more like what Iron Chef said. I want the game to have that full-speed arcade feeling where cooperation actually counts for a change, instead of things like UT, where CTF is more like Capture the Flag Without Your Team Behind You. I've been to servers where people ran off without me, died with the flag, and gave the enemy a capture, instead of dying by me so I could run it closer to base. And yeah, the longer stuff is from other games, but come on, what isn't? And sadly, no, I'm not planning to make this game, I just wanted to know if anyone wanted a project to work on. I'd die seeing this game in working condition. If I could code at all, this would be my pride and joy.


"It isn't a bad idea. I think that a light arcade flavor will be the selling point. I expect this game to involve a certain degree of tactical organization and a whole lot of trash-talk, so do your best to facilitate smooth, easy communication between player." - Iron Chef

Thanks for the comments, IC. Yeah, I've always wanted to jave that REAL arcade feeling somewhere other than the arcade. It definately will have tactics involved, unless you want all of your men dying over and over. My cousin and I played a game of it recently with some guys at the 'cades, and they had -NO STRATEGY- whatsoever. I took defense, my cousin took carrier, and it was nothing. We won 20-ish to 175-ish. Trash talking? You bet. I kinda want to impliment an In-Game Voice option (for those who want to hear people screaming orders into their mics), but as I said to Obscure, I won't be making this game, I hope someone will drop me a line right here. It will be easy to communicate, unless you can't say "I'll collect", "I'll defend", or "Split 2x2" (heavy GW fans know).


"Consider making this a mod for a commercial game (HL, UT...)" - Snaily

If UT would have a mod for my game, I'd have to disable turning with the mouse (or change it somehow). It would kill the concept if you could turn instantly or circle strafe an opponent smoothly. You just can't do that in an arcade, you need skills! Same for Half-Life. I'm trying to limit the controls needed, so it's like the arcade; simple. All I want is a fast-paced game like Gunmen Wars. Actually, I wouldn't be doing this if NamcoJP would make a copy for computer. Virtual On doesn't really suit me.


Discussion
- I, unfortunately, won't be making this, but I'm looking for someone who will. I only ask for credit of the idea.
- Does anyone want to pitch in a temporary name for this game of mine? Any suggestion (well almost) is welcome.
- Can't be a game mod, mouse movement destroys the concept.
- Teamwork WILL be required to pull off a victory.

[edited by - TornadoTK on April 13, 2004 2:29:55 PM]