Ok, I wanna see your list of stupid game ideas.. this is just some I could think of at the moment - I'm sure there's plenty more. [:)]
Daikatana - depending on an AI buddy..
A few years ago, having a smart AI buddy along your side to help you complete your missions was a huge selling point in singple player FPS games. Daikatana promoted it as one of its key game elements. (Anyone remember that Bruce Willis game on the PSX? The MAIN selling point of that game was that Bruce Willis was your friendly side kick who would help you battle it out through the whole game, and yell out whacky action one-liners while he's doing it. Unfortunately, the development team couldn't get the whole AI buddy idea to work decently at all, so in the end, you just played as Bruce Willis on your own. [:)])
Unfortunately in Daikatana, if your buddy dies while you're playing, it's game over for you too. There are funny stories of people just leaving those 2 Daikatana sidekicks at the beginning of the mission, wiping out ALL the enemies in the level, then going back to bring them through.. [:)]
Metal Gear Solid 2 - directional microphone
This was a non vital part of MGS2 where you aimed a directional microphone at people *in the hope* of listening to their conversations... if you didn't aim properly (and hey, it was darn hard to see the actual people you were aiming at since they were behind walls!), then you missed what the characters were on about.. the conversations, however, weren't vital to solving anything, so in the end, the whole directional microphone was just a gimmick to deprive you of some story. Neato [:)]
There's also a FPS Star Craft in the works.. it's all about milking the franchise. [:)] I wonder if a game developer will go the whole way. You know, do every possible genre with one IP. It could happen! [;)]
Another stupid game idea - well, the idea that you have to play the game over, just to see "secret stuff".. (this might just be a console thing)
I'd hate to make such a bad example of Metal Gear Solid 2 - it was a decent game overall.. but who would really play the entire game again, just to collect dog tags? Is that really replayability? Playing the same game again, just to unlock something you didn't see before? It seems like a lot of investment for little reward, in my opinion. The extent of some titles to offer some form of 'replayability' are incredible.. Consider Resident Evil 2. If you complete the game with a certain rating, or if you beat the game within a certain time, you get to PLAY THE SAME GAME AGAIN with some new fancy feature. I can imagine only a small number of people playing the entire game repeatedley trying to reach those goals before going psycho.
I'd like replayability to mean that you can play the game again, and it would be a somewhat difference experience, but maybe that's just a pipe dream. [;)]
The MGS2 thing you mentioned isn't that bad an idea.. If you feel like playing it a second time round, there are new things thrown in the second time around..
Bit of value for money..
But yeah, going for goals is a shit idea.. It should be unlocked when you win the game :P
*edit* a little off topic, but goldeneye still has the best replayability feature, doing levels in certain times often unlocked stuff that could be used in multiplayer.. they weren't too hard to get either. */edit*
I'd say some of the helpers in Half Life were sucks as... Several times when they were *required* for the game to progress they didn't do anything, I wasted like hours tryong to get them to do their thing at stages in the game... grrrrr...
quote:There's also a FPS Star Craft in the works... it's all about milking the franchise
You should check out the video feature on gamasutra from Warren Spector that's up there now. I saw it last night and it kinda opened my eyes to the wide wourld outside so to speak. Just for some thought, how did it happen to be a franchise in the first place - success - because we wanted to play and see it.
Generally I think helpers in games is a bad idea, I'd rather have a game (say like HL), which I could play Co-Op with other people at a lan, than ahve helpers in it that were sooo damn stupid it wasn't funny and that didn't help you 100% of the time.
Mmm, I'm not discounting StarCraft: Ghost until I play it, primarily because it's Blizzard, who happen to have a rather good track record with me (I mean, they've re-released Lost Vikings. I'd buy a GBAdvance just for that @:-D)
Seaman is always an interesting game idea that didn't really work. T'was on the Dreamcast, and you had a microphone, in which you talk to your creature, a half man-half fish Seaman. Without the guide, it was frustrating to continue with, and lacked much in gameplay. Very tamagotchi like, but executed badly. And who wants to say "Hey! You guys played Seaman? Go buy Seaman!"
I think the worst game idea i ever heard of is that escape from the detention center. Like wtf? How can a concept like that even be considered a worthwhile game experience? And i seriously cannot imagine people buying into it,unless they were crims themeselves, and they wanted to learn how to escape a detention center.
State of Emergency is no better either.
quote:Originally posted by sho-nuff
I think the worst game idea i ever heard of is that escape from the detention center. Like wtf? How can a concept like that even be considered a worthwhile game experience?
Because its funny and makes a political statment, which then gets it classifed as 'new medium art' which was then funded by a govornment art body.
Black comedy is laugh gold IMO
Pantmonger
It's still a stupid idea. I could think of a ton of other things to make games about than this. I mean fair enuff, they wanted to go for originality, but to stoop so low as to resort to politcally based themes? that just speaks desperation to me.
Anybody with a solid sense of whats fun, gaming mechanics, and general creative flair, could think of better ways to entertain gamers. Seriously, who's gonna put in the hours to play this s***?
I mean, if they wanted to create a game based on jail breaking, which is really all it is, they could have used a fantasy or sci fi based setting. Of course, in doing so would result in marketing the game towards a different audience. But in who's hell are they marketing this game towards anyway? Refugees?
(converted from arab to english)
"Hay man, did u get that detention center game?"
"Nah, i couldn't get it."
"How come?"
"Me no speak english mutha*****""
"....oh"
O.k so u don't target the refugees, who else is left? hmmmm let me think...Crims.
(Down at the local EB)
"Hay Albert, where did all those copies of the detention center game go?"
"There right over.......DAMN! i could a sworn i just put them on that shelf"
Alright, so maybe im being a bit unfair, i mean after all, GTA is probably the most popular game IN DA WORLD, and it's premise is based around criminal life and violence. Almost like this Retention Center game right? Wrong.
The most fundamental reason for why GTA is so widely accepted, isn't because of the crime and violence element, it is because GTA blends so many genre types into one immersive game world. As a result of this, there is something there for every male, who makes up for alot of the gaming audience. As an example, my 8 yr old nephew plays the game cuz he likes the cars and jump ramps (he doesnt play anything else in the game). My brother plays it cuz he loves the franchise, and im now playing it (after completion) to try and collect all the collectibles (which is bloody hard!)
This other game is made with one goal in mind, to break from a jail. Add to that a lame-ho premise, and it's quite easy to see that this game.....sux ass.
(I dont have a problem with the developers, i just think that there are better things to spend your time building/playing.)
Games like film, books etc aren't soley for righteous little teenangers and angsty 23 yr olds, a political based games has every right to be made and just because its not your cup of tea doesnt mean its invalid.
quote:This other game is made with one goal in mind, to break from a jail. Add to that a lame-ho premise, and it's quite easy to see that this game.....sux ass
The games is most probably made to express a point of view about those living in Woomera, I don't necessarilly agree with that point but to go off like you have really shows alot of ignorance.
I know this is about bad game ideas and you are allowed your view but you need to calm down and not go off half cocked like that, you know for sure they're all criminals, the 6 yr old little boys/girls did what exactly?
Btw have you played the game where you escape a german stalag in WW2, some people may find similarities.
quote:Metal Gear Solid 2 - directional microphone
This was a non vital part of MGS2 where you aimed a directional microphone at people *in the hope* of listening to their conversations... if you didn't aim properly (and hey, it was darn hard to see the actual people you were aiming at since they were behind walls!), then you missed what the characters were on about.. the conversations, however, weren't vital to solving anything, so in the end, the whole directional microphone was just a gimmick to deprive you of some story. Neato [:)]
The purpose of the directional microphone was so you could use it to identify Richard Ames who had a pacemaker inserted on his heart. This was a particularly difficult part of the game for me as I have a hearing loss, and I had no idea what a pacemaker would sound like. Took me a while to work out that a pacemaker has a 'clockwork' rhthym to it's beat where as a natural heartbeat is a bit more erratic.
The directional mike could also be used to try and track down the odourless C4 that Fatman plants (the one that beeps and doesn't show up on the radar).
I'm a firm believer that it's not the idea that's important as much as it is the implementation of the idea that makes it effective. Look at the difference between Halo's marine buddies as opposed to the Daikatana ones.
quote:Originally posted by Malus
Don't know how I missed this:quote:(converted from arab to english)
"Hay man, did u get that detention center game?"
"Nah, i couldn't get it."
"How come?"
"Me no speak english mutha*****""
"....oh"In 2003 racism isn't tolerated. Grow up.
I wasn't being racist. Just proving a point.
U also mention the right people have to build games for whatever reason. I don't have a problem with that, but this thread is about bad game ideas, which is why i mention it here.
They can make games about anything they want to, all im saying is that the time they will spend developing this game would be better spent, using it on something a little more 'interesting'. Because in my 'humble' opinion, i really don't see people getting excited over a title like this. Could you?
Well if it is for arts sake, then it can't really be considered a game. But then, why post the news on this site, and why get the grant from the govt?
Ah well who cares. If its a game, then its a stupid idea for a game, and if its an art piece,then its developers should draw a clearer line for folks who have opinions like me.
nuff said.
quote:Originally posted by sho-nuff
Well if it is for arts sake, then it can't really be considered a game. But then, why post the news on this site, and why get the grant from the govt?Ah well who cares. If its a game, then its a stupid idea for a game, and if its an art piece,then its developers should draw a clearer line for folks who have opinions like me.
nuff said.
Art can be a game, a game can be art. Its Art but the medim is the game.
They got the grant from an Art supportive area of the Gov. The Gov supports the arts, someone applies for the grant so they can make art, I don't see the funding as a complex issue.
As for your final comment "if its an art piece,then its developers should draw a clearer line for folks who have opinions like me." WTF. If you can't open you mind enough to accept a game as art or social commentry, then you are not the target audience. So why would they care if you don't get it.
People don't poll the public before creating art to make sure they don't confuse a few people, nor should the creators of art be bound by the perceptions of their critics.
You dont get it, others do. Its Art, it makes a statment, and it has sparked debate. The creators can only hope that this continues.
Pantmonger
quote:Originally posted by Pantmonger
People don't poll the public before creating art to make sure they don't confuse a few people, nor should the creators of art be bound by the perceptions of their critics.
Fair enuff, BUT! since socrates, people have had the tendency to class things, which is why i made the statement about them defining what it is, or what it isnt. Because having things classed helps to clarify any misconceptions a person may have. For example, you buy a sports shoe and whenever u run in those shoes it hurts like hell. U take it back to the store and tell them that the shoe sux because it's meant for running, but when u run in the shoe, it hurts. The foot pro turns to you and asks if you have a flat foot or not. You say you dont care, but the foot pro replies that you should, because specific shoes are made for specific feet.
In other words, if this detention center 'thing' is a game, then it's a bad idea, but if its an art piece, then it may serve its purpose.
Can i stop defending my opinions now, im going nuts. [xx(][xx(][xx(]
your absolutely right, but as a game, this idea sucks. And what you have just explained, is the definition that has given rise to many a s***house game.
You class it under 'game' and it will get punished severely by the titles that were developed with 'gameplay' as top priority. This 'game' is created with something else in mind, as such, it would be better to call it 'interactive entertainment' rather than a 'game', and the last time i read this thread, it was titled stupid 'game' ideas. So if you don't like it being flamed on, then quit calling it a game, cuz a game it aint.
I suppose this is a slightly different thing, but this idea of importing well-known titles across to different gameplay genres has to be the dumbest thing going down at the moment. It's inevitable that this would happen, because the companies already own the IP and don't have to pay to buy the licence to Spiderman or what have you but it's about the stupidest thing you can do because you end up pleasing neither the fans of the genre or the fans of the title. Just another manifestation of the industry's dependence on pre-existing franchises over original ideas at all costs.
`Lords of Everquest' - I'm looking in your direction. Pee-yew ... even The Sims Online, I haven't played it but most of what I've heard confirmed my fears about it. The attraction of the concept is completely opposite to the attraction of the original Sims concept.