How Would You Make A Non-Violent But Fun Free-Roaming Game?

[Papaya Melancholy]

I think a great game would be a travel game. Imagine a large detailed world (like Shadow of the Colossus for example) filled with interesting cities and vast and beautiful wildernesses (Like FF12). I think this would be great. I mean, if you could add in a lot of story in each place, that would be great. Like if you came to one city, but it was like under lockdown or something? And then they would imprison you, but you could find your way out.
One of the major attractions to the game would be the amazing art. All the interesting and strange architecture of the buildings in the strange distant lands, and the beautiful scenery at hand. The music would be really cool too; the composer could invent different musical styles for all the different nations you visit. This would be the best I think.
Another great thing would be the details, over all I'd say. Imagine travelling over a mountain range and finding nestled in the mountaintop a wizened hermit? Or wandering down shady streets in a sunny city to find a small mossy garden? These little surprises would be warming to the heart and great great fun.
I worry however that the scope of this game cannot be supported by the current technology. My two examples are a sign: Shadow of the colossus had a vast wilderness unhampered by loading times, but in terms of travelling across the world is not very big. FF12 had a better scale, but it wasn't very freemoving, it was always funneling you somewhere, and as pretty as the cities were you couldn't really do much there. So maybe this is a dream for the future. Maybe one day this dream will be realized!!

(Also, about Katamari, it is touted as being a great non-violent game. But really, when you roll people onto your Katamari they scream and writhe in agony. Until of course they are smothered by other assorted things. Isn't this a little horrifically violent? It's still not the point of the game though, and comes off more as silly than violent, but still. It's pretty crazy.)

 

[Dark Wingstalker]

they could make a few games:

They may be above, i didnt read, and i apolagise.

You could make:

A Hiking/Rock climbing game, Set in say.. 5 miles square, with challenges you need to complete, climb higher, get more challenges, get more cash, get better gear, climb higher.

A Castaway style game, imagine, well.. castaway. you could even have co-op, you and a friend trying to work together to build a good shelter beforoe nighttime, and in the daytime, cutting down tree's for more wood to build, and forraging for berries, for food.

you didnt say whether hunting for food would be allowed, but i would of put that in there too.

Theres also the possibility of a non violent police game, where you ACTUALLY catch the criminal, instead of blowing holes in him, and bring him to justice, maybe.. 7-8 cases. Think CSI, but with a full City to drive around and investigate

[Notebook or something saying: Check out this guys apartmant at 2200 new street (Mark on your map?)]

Any of those have merits?? i'd play them.

 

[Anarchemitis]

Take the game mechanics out of Hitman (minus the killing and maim-ery) throw in some Ratchet & Clank, in a free-roaming steampunk world that's half Hayao Miyazaki, half Bioshock (minus the violence) and throw in the objectives and Character not dissimilar of Trilby from Art of Theft and Whaazapoo! you have a pretty freaking awesome adventure game that is much better thatn Sly Cooper. Ooh, that reminds me: make the game art look like the Incredibles. (Not like TF2, but the Incredibles)

Call it what you like, I would buy it, I would play it and I would adore it.

 

[Nettacki]

A Castaway style game, imagine, well.. castaway. you could even have co-op, you and a friend trying to work together to build a good shelter beforoe nighttime, and in the daytime, cutting down tree's for more wood to build, and forraging for berries, for food.

I think The Sims Castaway Stories for PC is just up your alley. I believe it has everything you mentioned, except for co-op, but nevertheless matches your idea.

 

[Ptrack_Git]

You start the story as Puffington the Cat, a lovable stuffed animal with the power to make other toys come to life, to spread joy through out the world. You make your way the Happyland toy factory, but once inside you realize things are a bit off. Manny off the toys are missing and several windows have been broken. You make your way through the building, and in the basement you find... a group of highly trained mercenaries, who are using the toys to smuggle high end explosives. You try to escape, but they lock down the building by hacking into the security system, forcing you to animate all the toys you can and bet the bastards to death with there own shoes and use there blood to summon demonic creatures who... oh I sorta' got off track there... I got nothing.

 

[The_Toe_Bighter98]

You start the story as Puffington the Cat, a lovable stuffed animal with the power to make other toys come to life, to spread joy through out the world. You make your way the Happyland toy factory, but once inside you realize things are a bit off. Manny off the toys are missing and several windows have been broken. You make your way through the building, and in the basement you find... a group of highly trained mercenaries, who are using the toys to smuggle high end explosives. You try to escape, but they lock down the building by hacking into the security system, forcing you to animate all the toys you can and bet the bastards to death with there own shoes and use there blood to summon demonic creatures who... oh I sorta' got off track there... I got nothing.

No go on, its leading to an interesting direction.

 

[Minky_man]

And if you do commit a murder or acts of violence the entire neighbourhood would be off-limits, forcing the player to move onto a new neighbourhood losing all mission capabilities and riches availible in the previous one.

Very nice, I have just thought, looking at the ideas here already. Say if we were successful in doing all these games and having them go mainstream. Wouldn't it then be great for all the naysayers of gaming to start going on about "Oh theres no violence, but you have here a child stuck in a cave, a spy who's trespassing in govenment buildings, ROCK CLIMBING!!! If our children of this generation play these games they will suffer the consequencies"

If something is there, bad words will be said about it. Its a shame

Just thought of one, although I can see people renting it first: You're a plumber (stay with me) and For the tutorial, you're in "plumber college" and learn how to plumb and how to start out. After that you're on your own and start your business. You decide who you go to first when someone calls and how much you want to charge them. Some will be simple jobs, others would take more time (Lets say a short job would be 2 minutes game time, long job 5 minutes game time) With the money, you would need to maintain your household, pay bills, normal stuff. I'm thinking one of the mechanics could be that you could be the honest plumber and do the job, or set up false plumbers to botch up a job and gain more money when you're called to fix it(I suppose you could also be the "I need to go out for parts" and then have lunch while the money per hour ticks away), if you're found out then I guess a Farenheit thing could happen where you could flee the town, If you have enough money get facial surgery etc etc

Work in progress of course

 

[The_Toe_Bighter98]

Very nice, I have just thought, looking at the ideas here already. Say if we were successful in doing all these games and having them go mainstream. Wouldn't it then be great for all the naysayers of gaming to start going on about "Oh theres no violence, but you have here a child stuck in a cave, a spy who's trespassing in govenment buildings, ROCK CLIMBING!!! If our children of this generation play these games they will suffer the consequencies"

If something is there, bad words will be said about it. Its a shame

It sure is... especially when they blatently make up lies about some great games, ie Mass Effect. How in the hells can they say its a virtual rape simulator, with full interactivity, looking so dammed serious!? I guess the lies increase with the sexual content... Speaking of Mass Effect, did anyone find it strange that they decided to have a gay couple, minus the males? Seems like a grab for horny teenagers, but I still love Bioware no matter what. =)

Just thought of one, although I can see people renting it first: You're a plumber (stay with me) and For the tutorial, you're in "plumber college" and learn how to plumb and how to start out. After that you're on your own and start your business. You decide who you go to first when someone calls and how much you want to charge them. Some will be simple jobs, others would take more time (Lets say a short job would be 2 minutes game time, long job 5 minutes game time) With the money, you would need to maintain your household, pay bills, normal stuff. I'm thinking one of the mechanics could be that you could be the honest plumber and do the job, or set up false plumbers to botch up a job and gain more money when you're called to fix it(I suppose you could also be the "I need to go out for parts" and then have lunch while the money per hour ticks away), if you're found out then I guess a Farenheit thing could happen where you could flee the town, If you have enough money get facial surgery etc etc

Work in progress of course

I have one complaint with that. If your a plumber, then how or why would you get facial surgery? Also, it could be a sort of puzzle/Sims creator game. It would have a challanging game of pipes and depending on wether your going to be the handy man, or a jerk, different types of plumbing techniques are available to you. With your income, you could build up your plumbing business and home until you have a international brand of plumbing and a mansion. Also, your home would attract the woman of your dreams.

Sorry if I stole your idea Minky Man. =(

 

[Jolly Madness]

For example, imagine a game where you live in a dystopian, authoritarian futuristic setting -- detailed cityscapes, rich environments -- where your character is routinely monitored by the government and can only avoid incarceration/summary execution by blending in with the other citizens. Lots of skills for your character to learn and lots of ways to use them, cool gadgets and tools, interesting places to go and people to meet (ideally with great AI). In this game, you can't just pick up the biggest gun and blow away the glorious leader of this horrible place and his minions; with persistence, though, you can link up with resistors who have escaped to the wild areas, become leader of an underground movement, become a spy, a mole, a double-agent, build gadgets (non-lethal, but interesting things) and, perhaps, become the next glorious leader via politics and subterfuge (the 'evil' ending, and alternative to the many 'good' ones in which you bring down the government or save enough of the people).

Sounds like a holy mix of City 17, Mirrors Edge and Bishock...

 

[jezz8me]

Damn guys if we were earlier we could have submitted these to the good game game ideas and we could help them make it.

Someone will have to make the Hitman idea some day. It uses everything that makes games fun - violence + more immersion.

 

[The_Toe_Bighter98]

So who else has some great game ideas? /bump

 

[The_Toe_Bighter98]

"Whistle"

 

[PedroSteckecilo]

Hell, a Free Running game could be thoroughly cool and non violent, simply navigating the urban landscape would provide interesting enough gameplay assuming the controls and pathfinding were good enough. Might be tough to have a story and that is completely non-violent though.

 

[jezz8me]

Rockband + adventure

trying to get a job, organize gigs, bring equipment to places, doing impromtu gigs to impress people.

Or what about Tony Hawk without the violence pointlessly thrown in?

 

[mr mcshiznit]

im pretty sure animal crossing and harvest moon fit most of what your talking about.... maybe not the most exciting games to everyone but fits what you want

 

[ilves7]

Adventure games are mostly non-violent... though not completely devoid of it in games like Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis of the Longest Journey/Dreamfall.

 

[Dectilon]

Hell, a Free Running game could be thoroughly cool and non violent, simply navigating the urban landscape would provide interesting enough gameplay assuming the controls and pathfinding were good enough. Might be tough to have a story and that is completely non-violent though.

Mirror's Edge is supposed to be a free-running game, but there is combat, which I personally think is pointless. Would've been quite cool if you were actually just a messenger (as you're supposed to be) that takes the Matrix approach: If you see an agent, run.

 

[sirdanrhodes]

Was having a chat with my mother (as you do) about gaming and telling her about the games I had. After the brief summery of blood, guts, gore and the ability to cut a man in two!!! She asked me the valid question of "Why can't their be a non-violent game that you would play?"

Now I know most people will start giving me examples of Katamari (That weird 'ball' game), a bunch of games I have never heard of from older systems and a whole heap of puzzle games, I don't want games that have already come out, so heres some good old fashioned guidelines to keep me happy:

1./ Free-roaming, 3rd person game
2./ Needs to be a game ending side effect if you were to beat up the people around you (The reverse of Violent games where if you were to try to strike up a convo with an enemy, they would eviserate you)
3./ Tell me the storyline
4./ Tell me how a game about a character walking about, going to work, coming home and writing an angry letter to a T.V show would be fun in anyway.

Never played simpsons hit and run then have you?

 

[teh_gunslinger]

Someone mentioned "Hitman without guns". Hmm, that's how I play Hitman Guns are crude noisy things. Wire is the way forward! You can also play Splinter Cell almost without killing anybody. It depends on your style. It really is more interesting to give the player the choice between boyscout and Ash for Army of Darkness.

Most adventure games tend to be none violent. Usually they're fun. Myst is already mentioned, though I find it a wee bit boring

Anyhow, are we talking games without violence or games also without action? It's a bit of a difference. OP mentions a game about going to work etc. and it sounds like the Sims. It's boring as hell. Can one have action without violence? Sure. But violence withot action or suspense is just violence and that can be a problem.

I guess the problem with nonviolent games is that it makes damn hard to overcome any obstacles. Violence is an integral part of solving problems as a human.TV doesn't work? Give it a right smack! Door jammed? Force it open. You get the drift.
Most relations even boil down to a balance of power that is based on the possibillty of sanctions (violence, not necesarily physical).

Btw, Isn't the point of a game to do stuff you are otherwise unable to do? If I wanted to go to work etc I just get up in the morning. When I get home I don't want to do it again. When I get home I wan't to go to Russia and kill stuff in cool ways or fly a space ship or whatever. Gaming to me is a release of tension and boredom and as such I want explosions.

 

[Melaisis]

Why hasn't anyone mentioned Harvest Moon yet, anyway?