Lately, I have been debating on getting back into writing as well as game development. What better way to get one’s feet wet in both other than interaction fiction or cyoa? I have been kicking some ideas around in my head and thought I would ask here on which one would seem a better role to tackle. For now I will only list one and please understand it is a very basic concept although I could go into more details if required as well as possibly list a few other basic ones. Also keep in mind that this is a older idea which was originally going to be planned as a graphical point and click adventure game.
A young woman is the victim of a hit and run incident that leaves her in a coma. When she awakens, she finds herself in a dark and bizarre surrounding. Stranger yet is that she is made entirely out of porcelain. With the help of a possessed teddy bear (that can temporarily take control of smaller inanimate objects), she must navigate this strange new world while taking on gate keepers and unstable denizens.
Basically there is a central hub where the player can interact with other characters by gathering information, resting, or procuring items that could prove useful. Also take note that the reverse of good and bad is in effect in this world as people usually frown upon goody two shoes.
The world is actually composed of the central hub and one giant spiral leading up with gates preventing progress to the next section and each gate had a keeper and various challenges. When one is cleared there would be a exit connecting back to the hub and via versa.
Understandably, some original mechanics would have to be altered but there could possibly be a good bit of room to focus on telling this world’s story and of its inhabitants. Also a focus on one’s personal moral, physical and emotional dilemmas.
The player would also have special abilities or powers that she could use - but - they would also would cause her body to crack, chip and otherwise break apart.
Of course a lot more thought would have to be put into such an idea as this one and ultimately the chances of it being compelling or working is unknown. That is until a decent chunk of it is completed.
In the end it could just be a waste of time but one never knows until one tries. Anyone have any thoughts or questions? I could also list other ideas and help would be appreciated. Having a ten month old son, among other responsibilities, limits my free time and any help with choosing a idea to start with would be most helpful.
The teddy bear part reminds me of the Amoung the Sleep video game where you can have a teddy and play as a baby in a dream nightmare world.
The concept sounds better for a non-text and more visual game like dog maker, but it could certainly be adapted into a good text game.
For COG adaptations, why is the protagonist a female? A lot of people like choosing their gender and personality so this can be offputting to some players.
Fighting and rpg style battles are not usually done and can get a little repetitive if it’s just clicking the same attack over and over until the enemy’s health slowly dwindles down. But, a focus on puzzles and a journal feature that lists the important clues and facts could be nicely implemented into a text based game.
Overall, this sounds like a good concept and you could always still include a visual element of you wanted. I’d like to see your other ideas also.
The idea has been unaltered from the original version which was invisioned in the late 90’s. Bringing it over to CoG would require numerous changes such as the ability to choose your gender. Possibily. It was going to be designed in Adventure Game Studio as a point and click adventure game that never happened. At the time I wanted a strong female lead in an adventure game.
As far as other ideas go, I can surely post them but as I am limited to using the net via phone right now, it will take some time. Be warned that most of the ideas are focused on a certain gender as they were composed as graphical ganes. At least one does focus on choosing a gender though.
When I get a bit more free time I will see if any of them seem worth posting about.
edit
Since I had a spare moment I thought I could add one more basic concept:
Strange occurrences are happening in the small town of Barrows, Alaska. Unexplained sightings, livestock dying, and people are disappearing. For one retired police officer who suffers from a heart condition, they thought they would live the rest of their days in relaxation. But as November kicks into full gear and 67 days of darkness quickly approaches, the citizens of Narrows will face something much darker, colder and deadlier than the winter night.
Also this has nothing to do with vampires and was created long before that movie. Can’t remeber the name now.
You certainly write well enough to pull this off, sir (?) (Sorry!). I’ve seen CoGs that are very linear, with only choices that change minor events and expand dialogue trees, so even if you just tell the one story you want to tell I’m sure it will be successful. The key to making a hit I suppose would lie in making multiple endings and paths one might take. An interesting stat system might help or might not even be necessary. I suppose it depends, your genre seems flexible.
My suggestion is to tell the story you have come up with, and work your way out from there. It sounds like a cool idea
Written well enough despite having to use a phone. Something I’m not at all proficient in. While I plan to write for myself, I also hope to share it with the community and asking opinions on certain story ideas will help me in deciding which one to focus my limited time on.
And since I have a moment to spare, I will post a third idea. It could hardly be considered even a concept.
Part of me has always wanted to rewrite the folktale of Robin Hood where you got to create your own version of the character all while possibly being able to reshape events. Man or woman. Good or evil. Defeat the sheriff or replace him. Etc.
Sounds interesting and surreal. Could I suggest making your thread title a bit more descriptive? There are a lot of different game idea pitches, so adding a few words about genre/concept might get the attention of people looking for this kind of thing.
I love this idea, but I’ve seen a lot of fairy tale reimagining pitches as well. King Arthur has several spin-offs already, and Robin Hood was actually the first game I tried to code xD don’t worry it didn’t work out! Robin Hood is public domain so that’s always good.
I think it’s more exciting to see a WIP than a poll on which story to create. I’d say write whatever story you can write a LOT of words for. A 59000 word story kind of crosses the threshold of WIP to almost done!
@Pundragon
I like your main/first game idea, and I don’t mind a female genderlocked MC. I would like to encourage you to keep this. There are already many hosted games with a genderlocked male MC and we need more games with female MC.
The second game about weird stuff in Burrows, Alaska is interesting too, but your Robin Hood idea sound very similar to @jeantown’s future game.
The second idea (in Alaska) also sounds interesting… survival horror is my favorite genre. But your first idea is one I haven’t seen anywhere before, and it’s a lovely concept. It’s up to you, though, which of those you can get more invested in writing.
I agree that the Robin Hood project might be a bit similar to what’s going on already. Between the Arthurian and fairy tale WIPs, yours might stand out more if it were in a different genre. But that never stopped anyone before (Community College Hero just succeeded brilliantly after Heroes Rise was already established) so again, up to you.
I would like to thank everyone for their replies so far. It is encouraging to receive other people’s thoughts and even critics can be enlightening if it is constructive.
I am sure everyone has hundreds if not thousands (or more) of ideas and it is something I do enjoy my talking about. I would even consider it a hobby.
With that said, I suppose I will begin on my first idea and see just how possible it could be to turn it into a cyoa. I also apologize for the late reply but I have been busy as well as reading up on several topics here in order to better familiarize myself with the games, community, expectations, as well as things people like or dislike about choice games here.
Even if it fails, I will at least be obtaining invaluable experience for the next project or even a relaunch of said failed one. After all, even a failure can improve something.
