So basically, I have started working on an idea for a game where you’re a police officer… in the future!
Since it’s the future, there are robots with advanced AIs and, obviously, people have different views on how robots should be treated if they are now very similar to humans in many respects. So you’re a cop and there’s a big political election coming up, the outcome of which will probably determine lots of the rights of robots…
Also, the police just decided to start a new program to promote better relations between humans and robots since it’d make their jobs a lot easier so now there are robot cops (not like Robocop, though, actual 100% robots) that are your new coworkers!
The game would basically cover the months before the election, where you can get to know the people on your team, and the robots, and deal with all the pre-election protests and riots, possibly involve yourself in said protests and riots if you ally yourself with one of the political parties, and other kinds of cool adventures in that vein.
I haven’t seen anything too similar after quickly searching through the WIP forums, most of the sci-fi games seem to be about spaceships and stuff so I thought I’d try making something a little different - does this kind of basic theme seem interesting to anyone?
On another note I also was wondering what is the process when you’re making the game, like do you normally write up the story fully and then put it into the code, or code with a skeleton outline first and then flesh out the story text after?
(Also, this is my first forum post on here - yay! Hi everyone :D)
As far as creating games go, I am not much help as I have yet to take that plunge myself. Someone will be along, no doubt, and tell you the process they use.
As far as creating it, I’m no help either. But as a concept, I’d definitely check it out.
Curiosity: would you give the player an option to be a robot? I think being able to experience both sides of the controversy would be ideal, as well as the abilities and dangers associated.
@enterprisi, with the coding, it’s pretty much preference. You don’t need to make an outline, or write the story first, but you can. I know that works best with the majority of writers here (I’m fairly sure). I tend to just do it as I’m doing it, basing it off a sort of outline in my head, but there’s no wrong answer there.
Your idea does look cool, and like @Bigsleep said, it would be neat to play a bot. Of course it’s your game, not his, so it’s your decision.
sounds interesting. also wouldn’t a cop get fired if s/he joined the riot? joining protests would probably be allowed as long as you were off-duty, but rioting is illegal.
I’m working on a sci-if police game, have been for two years. Although mine is very different to yours; not as far into the future (there are robots but they are just tools, not humanoid or anything) and it’s a mystery/investigation game (I did put up a demo thread, but that was in late 2012 haha).
I’ve got a rough idea of the different ways it could end, the story beats or set pieces I want use along the way, as well as most of the characters. The rest I kind of make up as I go. That’s typically how I do all of my writing…but it has taken me 2+ years to get where I am so…take that as you will.
@BigSleep, Being a robot would be really interesting, though I hadn’t planned on making it an option for this game (I was thinking there were only a few of the new advanced robots with the complex AI) but actually at the end the outcome of the election it would be cool to extend it into some sort of part 2/sequel where you can keep your original character, or change to be a robot or a different human and have to deal with the aftermath of the election (e.g. if the anti-robot party won then if you were a robot you’d have to be trying to escape the country, etc)
@Saracenar, Maybe I didn’t go through the forums as far back as 2012, oops! I’ll see if I can find your thread now ^^ It’ll probably also take me a long time to get anywhere as well since I’m an incredibly slow worker and an expert procrastinator to boot
If you want to make this a larger game, you could make this a prolouge, then your character must work their way towards their ultimate goal. You could make that part short or you could elongate it enough to make a long game. This is, of course, dependant upon the amount of time you have to put into these game.
there was a recent show with cops and robots that look human and it was a fun idea. I’d say this is a solid concept and not every scifi futuristic game needs a dystopia society or a giant space ship to make it cool those are both extreme ends of the spectrum you idea is a theoretic possibility for our not so distant future (sometime under 150 from now) with sentient AI being the only possible exception granted that’s only because we don’t yet even know what makes us sentient from a scientific perspective but that doesn’t mean from modern times to your games time period we haven’t discovered that and created AI with even moderate sentience assuming your going with our real life timeline and not modding it. all in all it you game doesn’t sound like a extreme stretch of the imagination technologically which helps attach it to plausibility. and helps with lessening the need for hoping the average reader can understand the possibility or having to overly explain things on how it works this both adds realism wile floating through science-fiction in a manner that many don’t due much of anymore (this helps people associate with the universe easier for some reason lack of creativity in minds is becoming more common sadly. this style promotes creative thought without going to far out of the realm of possibility)
Ooh, which show are you talking about? It sounds interesting, I might want to watch it actually!
Yeah, so far the setting I’m putting this story in has just got robots in it XD Haven’t considered the other things like space travel and starships (and it’s not a dystopia I guess, since things aren’t terrible and the government is still decided by public voting… :P) I’m still considering whether to invent a new country for it to take place in or just set it in like, future America or something since that’s the police system I’m basing the one in the game off.
the TV-show was called “Almost human” i saw about 6 episodes. rather enjoyable show using future reality has advantages and disadvantages biggest advantage being you don’t have to make your own world a down point stretching the plausibility to far for said future America could cause a person to loose some immersion if they are not able to suspend disbelief on the possibility something that can be slightly easier to deal with with a non real-world scenario though shouldn’t be a problem it is a thing to pay attention to.
Yeah, I was getting the same “Almost human” vibe. It was a good show, but it got canceled. It kinda reminds me of IRobot too. Anyways it seems like a good concept to something where you can been the rules a little bit because its the future. Look forward to playing it when you get a working demo.
@Drakeye, I just looked up that show and it looks really cool, but like T_bonez said unfortunately it seems to be canceled already which is a pity because it seems to have an interesting concept. I’m definitely going to watch a few episodes, might give me some ideas, you never know XD (Also, Karl Urban - Bones from the reboot Star Trek - is in it so… there’s another reason to watch :P) Maybe I’ll stick with setting it in not future-America (because that pretty much has been done to death, hasn’t it?) and making a fictional kind of similar world ^^ @T_bonez, I’m trying to get the first intro-chapter thing up by possibly this weekend, it’ll still be a little rough around the edges but hopefully that can give a little taster of what the game will be like
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