Hello everyone!
My first two games (“Dawn of the Sol Empire” and “Grand Casino of Fortune”) were just recently published. I think the whole publication process was very enlightening and gave me a better picture of what to consider when creating potential new games.
On the other hand, lately it feels like I’ve hit some sort of a writer’s block. I think it’s a combination of experiencing the actual publication process + my third project’s WIP pretty much failing miserably ( Summoned as the Hero (WIP) ) → I’ve become far more cautious about how I spend my time and abandon new projects quickly if there’s even the slightest hint that it’s less than very promising. Basically I have a feeling that it’s not worthwhile if the end result isn’t clearly greater than all of my previous projects (in terms of popularity/reviews/quality/ambition etc.) - or that it would be a time-wasting failure if it didn’t at least exceed Dawn of the Sol Empire, which was by most metrics my best work so far.
However, the main problem is that it’s difficult to predict in advance what would turn out interesting/good/worthwhile. At my wits’ end, I just got the idea of gathering some external feedback in this thread - in case it might solve this issue, at least partially. Well, at least there’s nothing to lose really 
The idea I had was to create a multiple choice poll (with 1-3 choices per respondent) consisting of all the main project ideas I’ve been working on in recent months. None of them actually have a demo I’d be proud to showcase here, but all at least have some code already - although more so planning/structure than real playable content.
The main justification for your picks could be, I think, just which seem most interesting/promising/worth pursuing in your eyes.
Disclaimer: I’d say my main strengths at the moment are programming + editing (both text and code) + engaging plots/pacing + world building. My main weaknesses should be character development + romance + dialogue. I certainly hope I can gradually reduce my weaknesses, but for now I’m leaning more towards focusing on my strengths instead. So I’m quite hesitant to create very long, character-driven stories, especially if the focus is on romance etc. 
All of these ideas are basically ones with significant branching, plot twists etc., putting the focus on plot/actions instead of characters.
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Avatar of Darkness: You are an ancient being sealed deep beneath the ground (not too different from the Old Gods in WoW (Old God - Wowpedia - Your wiki guide to the World of Warcraft). Now awakened after millions of years in deep sleep, you must seek to dominate the (high fantasy themed) planet you’re on. The main methods at your disposal are categorized as destruction, corruption and indoctrination. In addition, your various choices during the story also contribute to your ideology/personality/preferences, which then cause great differences in the various events that occur as the story progresses.
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Summoned as the Hero: This was my third project, and easily with the most content finished so far, but the WIP itself was quite a failure in terms of reception. See: Summoned as the Hero (WIP) However, with some radical revamps, it might actually still be a salvageable project. Maybe… Although the basic structure of the story is already not good at all, in hindsight. However, it did receive quite a surprising amount of attention regardless, so maybe there’s something worthwhile in the core ideas of the project.
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Subterfuge at World’s End: You are an elite spy working for an advanced AI that operates a massive generation ship (Generation ship - Wikipedia) which contains the last remnants of humanity. During the long journey through space, three major secret societies (/cults/factions/movements, however you want to call them - roughly speaking their agendas are religious/apocalyptic, environmentalist/anti-humanist or utopian/transhumanist) have developed among the ship’s population - in addition to the official government, which is a collectivist security state. The hidden competition over the hearts and minds of the people grows fiercer every year. Your mission is to infiltrate these groups and gather any information you can, as well as to sabotage their plans. Or will you join one of them in the end?
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Hero of Darkness: Not too different from the earlier project “Summoned as the Hero”. The difference here is that you’re not a heroic hero on a mission to save the world, but more of an anti-hero. The world you’re summoned to is not a traditional fantasy world, but more like a grimdark setting like Warhammer, for example. The enemy is not a single “boss” (main villain) but just an endless horde of mindless monsters. You’re also not a warrior but rather a buffer/support role for large-scale armies. However, there’s only one of you, so where you’re physically present is crucial. Where you’re not, it’s safe to say that your allies will be slaughtered by the thousands. Will you fall into depravity, lose all hope - or gain some human warmth amid the suffering?
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Reborn as a Monster: This time you’re not a hero, but a dangerous monster in another world. However, you still maintain some human emotions, so despite your monstrous strength and instincts, you’re not fully enslaved to them. How will you evolve? Can you rise to become the apex predator among the monsters? And how will you interact with the people you come across in the wilderness?
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Prophet of World’s End: This is a pretty… wild idea. Basically it’s revealed that the world (in this setting, a post nuclear war apocalypse on Earth in the latter half of this century) is a computer simulation run by advanced aliens for research / entertainment / prediction gambling, always resulting in events that are as interesting as possible for the aliens observing humanity. You receive god-like powers to alter the rules of the world, much like Neo in the Matrix (or Jesus in the Bible). The apocalypse brought with it a total loss of faith in religions, as well as a deeply cynical and hopeless attitude to life among the remaining, quickly reducing population. For various reasons, you’re tasked with becoming the prophet of a new religion. How will your religion turn out? And how will you handle the two competing religions that simultaneously appeared out of thin air - one aimed at shutting down the simulation, one aimed at taking total control over the remaining humanity? (note: this idea might be a bit too controversial for Choice of Games… not really sure?)
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Casus Belli: This is the least thought out of all my ideas, but decently interesting nonetheless. The setting is a relatively small continent (or really more of a large island) where the ruler (king/queen) of a small and struggling kingdom receives a divine oracle predicting the invasion of a massive seafaring army from the other end of the coastline. What’s more, you’re the only one who can possibly have any hope of stopping it. While you still have time left, you must finally unite the land under your rule (by whatever means possible!) and save the people as a whole. If you ask where I got the idea for this, then the closest answer would probably be something like this game Medieval 2 Total War - England intro - YouTube
Well, there are many other ideas, but these are the main ones I’ve realistically considered or rather actually started creating… Any feedback is welcome!
- Avatar of Darkness
- Summoned as the Hero
- Subterfuge at World’s End
- Hero of Darkness
- Prophet of World’s End
- Casus Belli
- Reborn as a Monster
0 voters