Planning a game and would like some thoughts

[Kim]

So, I'm in the planning stages of a game that I'm tentatively titling Bad Dream. It's a point and click adventure game with some twists to take it in a somewhat different direction from conventional point-and-click gameplay. It's largely minimal on dialogue but for a couple key scenes.

One of the things I've been considering for it are player choices. As the tentative title alludes to, the game takes place primarily in the protagonist's mind. You get to name the protagonist, as well as choose their race and gender. (I plan on including non-conventional gender options as well) I'm also considering other ideas along these lines.

Specifically, say at the beginning of the game, you're presented with the question, without any visual cues, "It's dark, wet, and cold. Where are you?" (Obviously I'd be a little more interesting with the wording, but for the sake of an example) and your possible answers are 1. Prison 2. Mansion 3. Alley. Based on the answer you give, it would influence the look of the levels, the look of the items you interact with, etc. No real story differences, but there would be an almost completely different visual style to it.

Now, because the story's the same, and the gameplay is what it is, this most likely wouldn't give the game any real replay value. So, here's the question, or rather three of them.

1. Do you think it's worthwhile to try this idea out?

2. Would you be personally interested in seeing it in a game?

3. What other sort of non-story choices should the player have?

(There are story choices, but those are all already decided)

[akaSM]

The lack of a replay value doesn't keep a game from being awesome, specially from what I've heard about Ghost Trick. Also, how would changing the scenery not affect the story? In the example you gave us, you can't do the same actions in a prison, compared to the mansion. Unless you already have everything about those actions written or something.

I would definitively like to see a game like that, I love "choose your own adventure"-like games. As for non story choices, maybe setting different ways to get to a common point in the story would help, and that would add to the replay value. Those choices don't really have to affect the story but, maybe the way it progresses.

[Specterbane]

Personally, when ever I think of games and choices I think of Deus Ex. They made some interesting non-story choices by how you went about doing your missions, violently or silently (avoiding killing) which made little changes to how characters treated you. How you treat other NPCs and how they treat you in response is another sort of set choice option.

But I really like the idea of having you starting place have a larger effect on the game, like having you start differently and have benefits and detriments depending on where you start. You could give the character a slightly different back story and slightly tweaked stats for that to give some reasons as to why they're starting where they are. And while it's certainly no small undertaking, to have the first chunk (say third) or the game be different depending on how you answered that question would be pretty fun to me.

Anyhow, it's tough to say without knowing more about the game; but I think it sounds really fun. Good luck.

[Kim]

The basic idea is that these are just levels. The gameplay would have you limited to a very small number of tools with a wide variety of uses. Two I have in mind are a light and a crowbar. You might use a crowbar as a bludgeoning tool, to pry open a door, open up a barrel, etc. A lighter could be used to start spilled fuel on fire as a primary use, but I expect I can come up with others. Most point-and-clicks give you a ton of items with limited use, and I intend to do the opposite.

Aside from that, the gameplay's focus would be on escaping and figuring your way through rooms. There's a monster chasing you, and you need to find ways past obstacles, and ways of slowing the monster down. I would try to provide a couple ways of doing this each room. The story segments are generally tied specifically to the monster, or to flashbacks that are largely seperate from the areas you're navigating.

In this context, to me at least, it doesn't matter where this all is happening. It's primarily a setting for the monster to chase you. Arguably a weak decision from a design standpoint, but the narrative is fairly minimalist, so I don't feel it suffers as much. Ultimately aesthetic decisions for the levels would have minor influence. What's the background like? Are you using a bookshelf to bridge a gap, or a metal bedframe? Are you crawling through a pipe, or the cab of a ruined car? These sort of things. This is why there'd be no real replay value to it, which I'm okay with because I'm not into replay value, but would players care about having that choice? Should I give that choice?

[Fifthfiend]

I kinda like it conceptually in that this is all IN YO MIND which basically justifies the decision to have individual players determine a setting which doesn't actually impact the like, layout of where the game is taking you because it is inherently just a matter of how the player/character chooses to see it.

[Kim]

Thanks for the thoughts. I decided to run with it.

On a related note, I finished the rough draft for the game's script today, so yay! (BRAGGING! HELL YEAH!)

Honestly though I am pretty happy I actually managed to push myself this far.