Game Idea

[broadband]

well about the purgatory and that stuff, sounds really interesting, and the infinite courtyard could be a good plot twist, the protagonist works a lot to find the exit, but then after of run in circles he has no other option than go back to the mansion, and then investigate the misteries about it and after of a couple of twists, like realizing that his courage will be the only thing that set him free, realize that he is dead.

sorry if i didnt expresed very well the english isnt my native languaje.

 

[Curbsidewhiskey]

well about the purgatory and that stuff, sounds really interesting, and the infinite courtyard could be a good plot twist, the protagonist works a lot to find the exit, but then after of run in circles he has no other option than go back to the mansion, and then investigate the misteries about it and after of a couple of twists, like realizing that his courage will be the only thing that set him free, realize that he is dead.

sorry if i didnt expresed very well the english isnt my native languaje.

I was thinking about that but i thought that i might just be pointless i dont know yet.

 

[broadband]

well i dont know, i havent played a lot of survival horrors and stuff like that, i havent seen a game where the protagonist is dead besides grim fandango and you know, somehow the Shinning and 1408 came to my mind after of reading some stuff.

and you know, it would be nice if in the mansion there would some character to interact with, the lost cop, the original owner, de gardener, the house keeper that kind of stuff, the spirits that still trapped there or something like that.

 

[Curbsidewhiskey]

well i dont know, i havent played a lot of survival horrors and stuff like that, i havent seen a game where the protagonist is dead besides grim fandango and you know, somehow the Shinning and 1408 came to my mind after of reading some stuff.

and you know, tit would be nice if in the mansion there would some character to interact with, the lost cop, the original owner, that kind of stuff, the spirits that stiff trapped there.

I was thinkin that too, but i think it would be creepier if there was just some writing on the walls and stuff. Or after killin a monster it could get up and give some information then die agian.

 

[Anarchemitis]

Throw in a plot twist [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/fight_club] for good measure. And make sure that if it's going to be an FPS, make it so there's a camera mounted into the face of a human, not like all FPSs where it's a Camera mounted on a tripod with a gun mounted on the bottom right. I want to see motion and you look down when you reload, not hold it in front of your face.

 

[Curbsidewhiskey]

thats what i was going for actually. i want it to be as realistic as possible. i want it to be like it was you ya know? im not worried about graphics as much as i am realism

 

[Curbsidewhiskey]

it does seem a bit cliche....

 

[Lord Krunk]

Make a surprising end thingy (Play "The White Chamber." It gives LOTS of horror inspiration), an Idea could be that some creature is mentally distorting the world inside, and it's up to you to destroy him before he decides to "distort" you. At the end, you can see the door, light shining outside, as you run towards the light, suddenly a silhouette appears. The world seems to go hallucinogenic and wavy, and some part of the environment you need to use to escape before you're turned into 3 different varieties of bean.

Okay, I got a bit weird there. But it's an idea!

 

[Tynian]

Yeah I agree with the comment about not making him an expert with weapons and 'kill everything with my pinky' stuff...

Perhaps if instead you start off with token melee weapon (he plays amateur baseball so has a baseball bat?) when he gets a gun you could make his confidance with the weapon -crap- as he doesnt know how to use it, then as he uses a particular weapon more and more he grows in confidance using the weapon..

Example: Pistol, starts off waving hands unable to aim straight, doing the 'cop' stance (which will have added effects of slowing him down in fight or flight situations) and as he grows in confidance and amateur proficiency, he will be at the end of the game calmly walking around [gunslinger mode] blowing off ears at 20 paces [/gunslinger mode] or mabe even the option of dual wield...

Sort of a more realistic version of GTA: San Andreas' weapons experience system....

You get what I mean?

EDIT: I dont condone plagarism unless you disguise it really, REALLY well

 

[mechsword42]

Then why use my "token melee weapon" phrase?

Anyway, I'm being nitpicky. You should stick with the survival specialist thing. You could make the character into a sort of MacGyver-like persona. This could open up a whole slew of possibilities in the weapons department. The character could use a lighter and some hair spray or spray paint and make a flamethrower out of it. You could also have him take pieces of the ripped up bedsheet that you mentioned earlier, take some whiskey he might find lying around the mansion and make impromptu molotov cocktails.

Also, if you're gonna make this as realistic as possible, you should have as few item bars and menus as possible. Like to measure health, you do that vision-fades-to-red-thing like in Call of Duty. And you could measure fatigue by how hard the character is breathing. If he is breathing normally, he's at full, he's at half when he breathes heavily, and when he's empty on fatigue he's wheezing and stumbling. You could make his vision fade a little when he's running on empty.

 

[broadband]

you know i suddenly had a idea where at the end of the game there could be a scene where the character enters to a hallway of the mansion, then it starts to distorsionate, it looks endless, the woodwork starts to desintegrate showing a really dark night, something like that.

 

[Curbsidewhiskey]

Then why use my "token melee weapon" phrase?

Anyway, I'm being nitpicky. You should stick with the survival specialist thing. You could make the character into a sort of MacGyver-like persona. This could open up a whole slew of possibilities in the weapons department. The character could use a lighter and some hair spray or spray paint and make a flamethrower out of it. You could also have him take pieces of the ripped up bedsheet that you mentioned earlier, take some whiskey he might find lying around the mansion and make impromptu molotov cocktails.
Also, if you're gonna make this as realistic as possible, you should have as few item bars and menus as possible. Like to measure health, you do that vision-fades-to-red-thing like in Call of Duty. And you could measure fatigue by how hard the character is breathing. If he is breathing normally, he's at full, he's at half when he breathes heavily, and when he's empty on fatigue he's wheezing and stumbling. You could make his vision fade a little when he's running on empty.

I might just stick with him being like a cop and like a survivalist expert. Like you said he could be like MacGvyer. And the fade to red thing and the fatigue thing is a great idea. I was thinking the more fatigue he is the more likely he is to get knocked down/out during combat. Also does anyone think i should send my idea to a gaming company?

 

[the fifth]

i like the avrage joe no weapon confidence bit. he could be a dude on hard times loking for an empty house to sleep in

 

[Robb3h]

If you wanna stick with the nightmare ending...
You could have it finish with a sort of interactive cutscene, the main character escapes the mansion some how, wakes up in bed - head on pillow.
Then have the character sit up in the bed(have movement confined to just being able to look around - body under covers for example.) Have everything look normal for a few seconds, give the player enough time to calm down and think it was all a dream... Then have some monster/zombie jump out of the dark right into the camera with a scream or some other jump inducing sound...
Cut to black

 

[smallharmlesskitten]

if u want go to this link and it will help you design your game make a full game design document and the like

http://www.sloperama.com/advice/specs.htm

but no going to 2k australia with your idea. MINE, my 2k. or at least lemme finish my design first

 

[broadband]

well maybe the nightmare end can be used like a fake one, and once you do some kind of archievement you would be capable to continue after that scene and see the real ending after of somes challenges

 

[Curbsidewhiskey]

well either way i think it still needs more work. If any one has any more ideas feel free to share and ill put them to use.

 

[Asehujiko]

The manor should contain a realistic ammount of makeshift weapons. I'm always annoyed at kitchens that for some reason contain no knives at all or storages with huge piles of logs around but no axe or saw in sight.

Weapons should also be based arround the area of the house you are exploring.
Living room/lounge - decorative swords
Kitchen - knives/rolling pins
Bedrooms - guns
Yard/shed - large tools like axes
etc

And make the swing speed realistic. I can swing a fire axe about 3 times faster then the guy in condemned even tho he's supposed to be something supernatural and i'm a regular person who doesn't do much physical work.

 

[ImperialPyromancer]

Explain the fundamental differences to "Alone in the Dark"...