So you essentially set the main character up for the quest and see how the character tackles it? I think I also understand your description to mean of your "loadout" you swap currently used items as the situation presents itself? Sounds like you just aren't moving the player but the rest of the game functions the same.

It would be interesting to play, but seems to me more like a game full of puzzles, selecting what you need to use at a given time. One question: do you control the view of the character? As in do you control looking around so you know what is going on? Or is the camera set far enough back so you can see the whole area? Top-down?

It sounds interesting - it reminds me of those flash games where you pre-choose your robot's movements, then hit 'execute' to watch it happen, but instead of movements you have items, and you can change the items after every puzzle segment.

This brings to mind playing an "overwatch" type game as if you're the operator of an unmanned drone. You have to use your abilities to watch fellow soldiers on the air and ground. If you fail to point something out and they die or fail their mission, you lose.

Example:
A squad of four special forces characters is planning an attack on an insurgent propaganda leader trying to create a revolution in an unstable country. You use your cameras (thermal imaging and night vision/infrared, radar detectors, all that fun stuff) to detect that there is a large group of enemy forces in an urban compound surrounded by guards in towers. You could choose to send them on the outskirts to try to set up a good sniping spot and risk getting killed by the guards in towers with high powered rifles and scopes.
instead, you decide that there might not be an open sniping window and instead tell the squad the best way is automatic weapons and suppressors for infiltrating the compound, as well as one suppressed marksman rifle for disabling the guards effectively. You then plot out points like a game of connect the dots. They will move to each point, secure, and advance. If they are attacked between points, they will immediately attempt to defend whatever position they are in and may react poorly without quick help from overwatch. As they advance, you must keep an eye on all enemy positions and constantly inform the soldiers This would be done orally or through an information feed that would plot soldiers' positions relative to them. You will also have to take video or camera capture of the target individual and send to the squad for positive ID. This may be done through an auxiliary camera sent straight to the soldiers, but while you may have multiple feeds running and open, you can only control one at a time and soldiers will react to information in the order that feed was activated.

You'll also have to arrange transport out of the compound so that it gets there late enough that it's not a sitting target and soon enough that the troops can leave safely. You may also have the capability to call for armored support (tanks, helicopters) but in a situation with this kind of political balance your goal is to cause as little high-profile damage as possible.

If the situation weren't so delicate, you could arrange a high-risk high-speed operation where a helicopter will fly in, drop the guys by rope, and they'll go in guns blazing with flashbangs and breaching. The helicopter could stay behind to help with support but the longer it's there the more enemies will engage (and possibly destroy) it and you'd have to then provide information to two sources instead of the one smaller group.

Other game scenarios include providing fast, constant data on the whereabouts of enemy jets in bomb fights or coordinating shore bombing from battleships.

Of course, you could also change it up by doing a couple levels where, say, you play a single character as part of a two man team and you have to monitor video feed and motion sensors to give your partner simple commands. "Check screen for information on enemy whereabouts and breach" "Switch to grenade launcher" "Hold/defend position here" "Fall back" "Smoke grenade" "Anti-personnel mine in that doorway"

If I recall, Ghost Recon had a game like this around 2006 where you controlled a group of soldiers, but it was a turn by turn system.

The earliest example that marks this feature, I can think of, is Zelda: link to the past.

Almost every stage is about getting a new tool right before the boss.

Lets break down the player's experience:

- First you find the stage challenging, some mobs are even impossible to kill with what you currently have. It makes you wish to have some tool.

- When you finally get the key to the tool chest, you'd get really excited. The maze usually make you resolve the trick before you can get to the chest. That frustrates you a bit.

- After getting the tool, the maze allows you to practice a bit with it, and you'd feel powerful over all the mobs.

- Then comes the boss, which usually the fight gets a bit tricky with utilizing the new tool.

- After the boss fight, you leave the dungeon into the same old world, BUT! With the new tool, opens to a lot of new possibilities places where you used to be locked out and kept you curious, you can finally explore, perhaps lead to another new tool. So each time leaving a dungeon you'd need to think hard of all those secrets you came across before, how to get back there, and not knowing if the new tool even is the right one.

Another example would be Rockman X:

- Originally you have access to all 8 stages, but most of the bosses are impossible to beat.

- You'd find that one boss that you can manage somehow, and then you get your first new weapon.

- Now you need to think which boss would be weak against this weapon, ie. you have your ice bullet, perhaps the fire dragon boss?

- There are also secret areas for unique upgrades in every stage, you'd need to go back to some finished stage again to explore every corner.

- You'd even get new abilities for some upgrade parts, which makes you go back to every stage again.

So i think the essence of tool gathering / upgrading is about resolving some previously accumulated mysteries more than just linear progression of leading you to new tool to fight the following boss with.

This idea could really work great if you make the player feel a need to help the AI, some background story about getting lost and now has to depend on a stranger(Player) to find a way back.

probably escape from a dungeon while the player panics about what could be around the corner.

Did thy find the correct item?

what is the pipe for that thy found back on stage one?

This sounds good for a survival horror game, making the player watch helplessly as the water level rises ,panicking,hitting the wrong keys, cursing the AI for not solving the problem with the red sneaker!

You will need a good AI for people not to blame it for dying all the time.

If you ever make this post a journal of it or make a site so we can follow your progress.

Oh! ,a good retro example Golden Sun.