Now that I'm quite an experienced programmer in the fields of computer graphics and physics, I've decided to develop my very own game! I'm planning to put all my efforts and skills into it, but the only thing that's stopping me is the fact that I'm completely out of gameplay ideas. I could start developing a clone of some famous game, like many beginners do, but then, the only reaction I can expect for my hard work is, "Oh, another one...", at least from non-developers. Since I'm not getting paid for this, the best reward for me would be if people would actually like the game! I don't want it to be a typical FPS or MMORPG. These are overdone to death, and there's really nothing special I can offer to the players of these genres. Especially considering the fact that I'm just one guy, not Id software or Valve. (Let alone the fact that their games aren't so great anymore, either...) I want my game to be something fresh and original, something funny and crazy... I need some good gameplay to cover the lack of professional engine and art. So here's the reason why I'm posting this: I would like to know, what would you people like to see in a computer game? Just throw some random, original (or at least not overdone) ideas and features you would like to see in a game! If anyone posts a good idea I could use, I'll thank him and put his name in the credits! I know, not much of a reward, but currently there's nothing better I can offer. I'm completely pauperized... ;) I will also release the full source code, so anyone could learn from it. Hopefuly this thread will help other people too!

In reply to Gumpy Macdrunken:

Something that motivates me...
I'm one of those people who never finish a project.
Ever wondered why? Well, I'm an artist and a programmer, no a philosopher, but I think I know exactly why.
Some people would blame the lack of technical knowledge.
While that is partially true, there's more to it than that.
Technical knowledge can be gained during the process of development, especially when you have so many tutorials and game developing forums. So what's the main reason people abandon their projects? Lack of motivation.
You start a project, you think you've got the best idea in the world and suddenly, you encounter a technical problem.
You work for many hours, trying to solve it, when suddenly you start thinking, "Does it really worth it?".
Then you realize even you don't like your own idea that much, let alone other people. So you quit.
Happened to me a thousand times. I've tried making so many kinds of games that now I can code pretty much everything, but I'm out of ideas.
So here I am, asking for advice.
I don't expect people to make up a whole gameplay for me, I'll just put the good ideas together and fill in the gaps with something unit, something I'll make up myself.
It could work, don't you think?

Ask yourself, "What game do I want to play?". The title I am developing is out of frustration that I cannot find the game that I want to play out there anywhere. My day job is doing military simulations for the DoD. I figured that I had the requisite skills and decided to do something about it. I just purchased an Xbox 360 controller (it has an USB connector!), and Dell XPS M170. I am now working on an episodic type game that I am going to pitch to Microsoft at GDC next year (full working prototype on my laptop while using the Xbox 360 controller). It is episodic because I do not have the resources to do a full-up story line game (read: TONS OF ART ASSETS!). I am approaching this from the television model and not the blockbuster movie model that all other games out there are like. I read a lot of comic books too, so I thought that method of episodic content would be a good thing to follow too. I figured the worst that could happen is that Microsoft says no, or not even look at it. If that is the case, then I am going to try the online distribution model. Perhaps even approach the Steam folks.

Quote:Original post by TheMeatMan
Perhaps even approach the Steam folks.

Yeah, I was thinking about that too! :D
Darwinia and Ragdoll Kung-Fu, which are distributed through Steam, are excellent examples of what I mean by "funny", "crazy" and "original".

I would like to see a game that really takes the player somewhere they do not want to go, but at the same time they can resist going there. Horror games can do this very well, like Silent Hill. I would like to see another horror game that really pushes down the boundeires and scared the hell out of the players. I am looking to develop my own horror game idea, horror games are just so addicting! To me anyways!

to improve on Toms point,

only a few days ago i had a game idea (horror)...


In New York, scientist are testing with bio-chemical waste, unfortunatly there was a spil, no one was left alive. Or were they?

- News Buleten...

News Reader: Today a chemical waste accident occured, it is estimated that over 200 people died, no one survived.

Over to you Harry for more information...

- Then the news reader turns to face off camera, suddenly a dark, hairy figure pounces on top of the news reader, he shreaks in pain. the camera is nocked of its stand and hits the floor, before it cutts out the camera man gets eaten alive.

(These creatures are mutants, the crouch, have dark blue skin, and have many deformed limbs, etc)

The game is a FPS, where you are fighting with a resistance against the mutants, weapons such as spades, knives, hammers, and bricks (throw) can be used as well as classic fps guns.

You can use this exact idea if you want

It's a pain when you can't think of a good idea! If you want something to do something original but are stuck for ideas, here's my suggestion: try picking something at random (not from a game! [smile]) that catches your attention and then try brainstorming about how you could turn that into a game.

For example: a kindergarten. That could be taken to be a management type game, where the player is a kindergarten teacher that has to entertain and teach a class of diverse children while ensuring their safety. Or maybe you have to build the kindergarten, ensuring construction safety. Or maybe its a story where you play as one of the children; a day in the life of a kindergartener.

Or to pick something from my environment: a stack of books. You could build a stacking game, where the player has to pile different sized books as high as possible without them falling over. Or the player could be an archivist, and have to stack books in such a way as to get easy access to the ones that are needed frequently, or sort them in different ways. Or the books could be stacked randomly, and the player has to find the right one.

It can help if you pick something you are interested in. I've read that the idea for Pokemon came from the designer's love of collecting insects, and that Pikmin came from Miyamoto's love of gardening.

Of course, the tricky part then is limiting the game down to something that you can develop by yourself [smile].

Best of luck!