Part 4B: Game Ideas

Game Idea 1: Grappling Hook Speedrunner

I've had this idea brewing since KIT109 last year, and think it would be both relatively easy to implement and highly enjoyable in its gameplay.

Equipped with an advanced grappling hook launcher, the player is tasked with traversing a variety of levels, with a focus on completing each one as quickly as possible. The game involves fast-paced first-person movement requiring the player to accurately manipulate their physics-driven character towards the goal. Each level presents a myriad of different routes, the quickest of which is left to the player to uncover.

I did a rough concept of what the game may look like, showing a theoretical level set on the side of a high cliff. Everything subject to change, obviously.

The concept draws visual inspiration from games such as Portal and Half-Life, but everything is up for debate. Either the player will be able to grapple to every surface, or only specific targets, yet to be decided.

While the gameplay is heavily based upon fast-paced and precise movements, it can easily be catered towards a casual audience more interested in a movement-based puzzle game, yet still provide accommodations for the hardcore speed-running players. I believe the game would be easy for most to pick up and play, but could possibly have a very high skill ceiling. Statisically speaking, the game mostly targets 13-30 year olds, primarily male, but is by no means closed to wider audiences. There are many successful games that share some elements of this concept, but none of the have combined them into one game yet, so I believe it has a solid chance to fill a gap in the market.

The prototype would mainly focus on the nailing down the core gameplay, as well as systems related to the speed-running elements, however I believe with proper planning, a mostly-complete game could be made within the time provided. The concept relates to the KIT207 theme in that the hook creates a "connection" between the player and the environment as the core gameplay.

Game Idea 2: Physics-Based House Defence

More of a concept for a gameplay loop than anything else, taking place in the first-person perspective . A horde of zombies, drones, robots, or something else is trying to break into your house, and you must use the furniture and other objects around your house to barricade any point of entry and defend your house for as long as possible. The pieces of material used to create barricades would be all or mostly physics-based, nailed together or to the environment to block off the invaders. 

The idea may extend a bit beyond the scope of KIT207, so many concessions would be required. Flying drones would most likely be the easiest to implement, as zombies or robots would require advanced character physics systems. Drones would be more interesting anyway, and a bit more relevant than zombies. Avoiding the violence inherent with zombies also opens up the target audience significantly. 

The game would be aimed towards those that enjoy similar games that use physics within the core gameplay, such as Octodad or Hand Simulator. It could also cater to audiences that enjoy tower defence games, the player could perhaps be given automated turrets within the house. Statisically speaking, it would focus towards relatively adolescent audiences, 12-21 year-old males mainly. 

I could see it having some success if it were properly fleshed out, but would require significant depth in its gameplay mechanics to hold the player's attention beyond the gimmicky physics. The main milestone to strive for, if developed in KIT207, would be to have the underlying physics systems set up, to demonstrate a solid proof of concept. You could say the act of nailing objects to stuff constitutes a "connected" theme, although that's a bit of a stretch.

Game Idea 3: Pipeline Defence

A worker situated on a fledgling colony on an alien planet, you are tasked with constructing a pipeline connecting two settlements. Constantly under attack by the alien wildlife, the player must defend the pipeline as they construct it, setting up turrets and other defences along the length of the installation. Will the player manage to reach the other side, or will they be overwhelmed trying to maintain what they have already built? 

It could either be a first-person, third-person, or top-down shooter, depending on further gameplay decisions. The target audience is tough to define, however it would theoretically share many commonalities with games such as Unrailed or Astroneer. The constant need to manage/defend the earlier areas of the pipeline would present a constant sense of urgency, which may hinder interest from a single-player perspective, however it lends itself to being a better cooperative experience, where a group of people frantically try to build the pipeline together. In this case, it could be pitched as an all-audiences "party game" couch co-op experience. 

If it were developed for KIT207, the primary goal would be to have a functional start-to-finish game, with some basic enemies at least, in order to demonstrate the core mechanics. The game relates so closely to the KIT207 theme, that its title could honestly just be: "Connect".