Archive: 26 posts

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Hello everyone! I'm developing a game using Unity and I thought it would be great to get some feedback on my ideas, and maybe some ideas for it!! Here's what I have so far: Story: You have been the cause of a terrible road accident which left a school bus of children dead. The accident was due to your irresponsibility and is entirely your fault. After being induced in a coma yourself, you awake with no recollection of the past events. The only part of your brain that remembers the accident is your subconsciousness. It wants to wipe you from existence for what you have done. However, it has very little impact on you when you are conscious. Therefore it is strongest when you are asleep. A psychiatrist explains all this to you and instructs that you do not allow yourself to fall asleep. As time drags on however, your eyelids droop, your vision goes fuzzy, and it is unknown whether you are awake or asleep. You must explore the environment around you to find clues as to whether you are awake or dreaming. As you drift deeper and deeper into sleep, your subconsciousness gains more power and will make attempts on your life. Walls will begin to close around you, furniture will throw itself at you, the floor will give way, the room will fill up with water etc. Once you realise you are dreaming, you must escape the danger and wake up! (I have not yet decided on a linear story to follow, so suggestions would be lovely!!) Gameplay: The game will be first person, with environment interactions which assist you during the game. eg. You may open a drawer and the lights will go off(indicating you are in a dream), or you may find an important object in the closet. The screen will have blurs, quick fade ins and outs (To simulate droopy eyes). Sounds will be pretty much entirely diagetic so no cliche horror music or anything! I want a realistic-ish experience in that aspect. The enemies will not be monsters jumping out at you and you will not have weapons. I haven't decided the ultimate aim yet (So suggestions would be awesome!) I also haven't decided the location. I was thinking of a hospital, a mental institution or simply a house. Whatever environment I go with I would like there to be no people at all other than you. I can model and animate using Maya 2011, so I am not too limited in that field of things. Would love to hear what you think and any suggestions you might have! Thanks guys!!

2011-10-04 13:57:00 Author: Alismuffin Posts: 1328

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This sounds like a wonderful idea, I am interested how you want this game to face around not the usual creepiness of things like dolls, zombies and stuff like that, but just being in a mental home. I do like the idea, could be fun with puzzles, although I'm guessing there's no "Wake Up" button you can jam every second to see if it's the dream x]

2011-10-04 14:41:00 Author: Dragonvarsity Posts: 5208

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Sounds good, I suppose this will be a point and click game? Nevertheless this is a great start.

2011-10-04 20:19:00 Author: craigmond Posts: 2426

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Why would my subconsciousness want to wipe me out of existence? That's not how psychodynamic psychology works.

2011-10-04 21:18:00 Author: Edeslash Posts: 135

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Why would my subconsciousness want to wipe me out of existence? That's not how psychodynamic psychology works. Guilty conscious, perhaps? The character did kill a bus filled with children, so (s)he might be contemplating suicide. Their guilty side wants for the character to die, or "fall asleep" while the other half wants to live and move on with life, hence "staying awake". The dreaming sequences could be these two sides fighting against each other throughout the game. @Ali It's great to see you again! I hope you're doing well with whatever-it-is-you're-doing (probably game designer, right?) (I have not yet decided on a linear story to follow, so suggestions would be lovely!!) Forgive me for not being the best storyteller here, but maybe you'll get some inspiration: Main character gets into an accident that leaves a school bus filled with children dead. After slipping into a coma, the main character finds themselves in a hospital. After being allowed to leave and go home (which I assume (s)he already had before the accident), the character starts having dreams; nightmares to be exact. After a period of time of having these nightmares (most of them being of the maimed children), the character sees a psychiatrist. [Insert copypasta of the doc telling "Don't sleep, bro" and whatnot.] The rest of the game involves the player finding peace with themselves, trying to overcome the depression and guilt the character is facing. There could be levels where the dead children would "haunt: the character, and the only way to make them stop is to be forgiven by each and every one of them (probably a Forgiveness system should be used.] The game ends with you finally at peace and you wake up, only to find out that your daughter (or son) was in that same bus you drove; the main reason why you can't find peace is because you killed your own child and the main character needed to realize that his/her child forgave them for it. I also haven't decided the location. I was thinking of a hospital, a mental institution or simply a house. Whatever environment I go with I would like there to be no people at all other than you. Hospital, then at the character's home for most of the game, then a mental hospital for the remainder of the game. Ending scene will show the character leaving the mental hospital in a cliche "OMG the door's light! IT BLINDS ME!" fashion. Forgive me if I'm not the best storyteller, but that's all I can think of in 5 minutes.

2011-10-05 00:01:00 Author: CyberSora Posts: 5551

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As for the location, I suggest a small town in the southwest during daytime hours only. There is something very unsettling about day time horror if you ask me.

2011-10-05 00:18:00 Author: poorjack Posts: 1806

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Unity nooooooooo I'd recommend something else. Ah just kidding I don't really know anything about the engine...however engines such as CryEngine 3 and UDK are free, so yeah.

2011-10-05 00:55:00 Author: warlord_evil Posts: 4193

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But unity is easier to work with imho

2011-10-05 00:56:00 Author: poorjack Posts: 1806

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Sounds good, I suppose this will be a point and click game? Nevertheless this is a great start. Yes there will be point and click interactions with the environment Why would my subconsciousness want to wipe me out of existence? That's not how psychodynamic psychology works. Thanks for the heads up! My idea was that part of you remembers what you have done. It is riddled with guilt and feels you must punish yourself for your actions. Obviously I didn't study psychology and this is simply a game concept so the chances of it holding realistic psychological events is quite unlikely. Thank you anyways! Guilty conscious, perhaps? The character did kill a bus filled with children, so (s)he might be contemplating suicide. Their guilty side wants for the character to die, or "fall asleep" while the other half wants to live and move on with life, hence "staying awake". The dreaming sequences could be these two sides fighting against each other throughout the game. @Ali It's great to see you again! I hope you're doing well with whatever-it-is-you're-doing (probably game designer, right?) Forgive me for not being the best storyteller here, but maybe you'll get some inspiration: Main character gets into an accident that leaves a school bus filled with children dead. After slipping into a coma, the main character finds themselves in a hospital. After being allowed to leave and go home (which I assume (s)he already had before the accident), the character starts having dreams; nightmares to be exact. After a period of time of having these nightmares (most of them being of the maimed children), the character sees a psychiatrist. The rest of the game involves the player finding peace with themselves, trying to overcome the depression and guilt the character is facing. There could be levels where the dead children would "haunt: the character, and the only way to make them stop is to be forgiven by each and every one of them (probably a Forgiveness system should be used.] The game ends with you finally at peace and you wake up, only to find out that your daughter (or son) was in that same bus you drove; the main reason why you can't find peace is because you killed your own child and the main character needed to realize that his/her child forgave them for it. Hospital, then at the character's home for most of the game, then a mental hospital for the remainder of the game. Ending scene will show the character leaving the mental hospital in a cliche "OMG the door's light! IT BLINDS ME!" fashion. Forgive me if I'm not the best storyteller, but that's all I can think of in 5 minutes. Thanks Cyber! Definitely helping me work out story elements ^^ I appreciate it man As for the location, I suggest a small town in the southwest during daytime hours only. There is something very unsettling about day time horror if you ask me. Yeah you're right! People often associate darkness with this genre game, but light can be equally as terrifying. Thanks a lot! [I]Unity nooooooooo I'd recommend something else. Ah just kidding I don't really know anything about the engine...however engines such as CryEngine 3 and UDK are free, so yeah. Yeah I have heard the same from other people, but my university has decided to use Unity, so Unity it is. Next year I'll leave Unity for better programs ^^ But unity is easier to work with imho Yeah it definitely is pretty easy

2011-10-05 02:23:00 Author: Alismuffin Posts: 1328

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Might I add that happy endings are terrible. End it almost on a happy note, but snatch it away. Make your character suffer. Make them tear themselves apart with their mind. With their guilt. Nothing is more horrific than a guilt you can never ever escape, no matter how fast you run, or where you hide. Guild is something you cannot kill because it lives and grows in your heart and trying to deny it makes it even bigger and stronger until it consumes you.

2011-10-05 03:50:00 Author: poorjack Posts: 1806

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How about this for a story?: The player wakes up from a coma and is told by a psychiatrist/doctor that although they may not remember it, their subconsciousness is carrying the guilt of a recent event. To be able to properly treat the player, the psychiatrist/doctor requires that they remember what happened. They insist that the player do not fall asleep as their subconsciousness is set on suicide. The player is taken to their family home where the event apparently happened. They must search around their house for clues as to what happened. When all the clues are discovered, the player has "won". Whilst searching for the clues, the player will get tired, sometimes falling asleep. When this happens, they must wake up before the dream(their subconsciousness) kills them.

2011-10-05 04:57:00 Author: Alismuffin Posts: 1328

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I like it. If this were to happen, would pretty much all the gameplay take place at home and how long would it take to get to night?

2011-10-05 13:23:00 Author: Dragonvarsity Posts: 5208

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Intrguing concept. I like it. I wish you better luck than I in any of my attempts to try and do the same /sigh.

2011-10-05 13:30:00 Author: RockSauron Posts: 10882

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How about this for a story?: The player wakes up from a coma and is told by a psychiatrist/doctor that although they may not remember it, their subconsciousness is carrying the guilt of a recent event. To be able to properly treat the player, the psychiatrist/doctor requires that they remember what happened. They insist that the player do not fall asleep as their subconsciousness is set on suicide. The player is taken to their family home where the event apparently happened. They must search around their house for clues as to what happened. When all the clues are discovered, the player has "won". Whilst searching for the clues, the player will get tired, sometimes falling asleep. When this happens, they must wake up before the dream(their subconsciousness) kills them. In the end, you can troll everybody by saying "LOL, you could have just somebody what happened."

2011-10-05 17:55:00 Author: CyberSora Posts: 5551

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I do like it. If this were to happen, would pretty much all the gameplaytake place at home and how long would it take to get night in which you go to sleep? Yes the gameplay would be in the home. Your sleepiness won't be limited to night. I'm planning on creating a day cycle so you can lay both at night and at day time. = Intrguing concept. I like it. I wish you better luck than I in any of my attempts to try and do the same /sigh. Thans man! I'm guessing that I'll get it done due to the fact it's for a university assignment In the end, you can troll everybody by saying "LOL, you could have just somebody what happened." Hahaha xD! Totally. Keen to troll

2011-10-05 21:26:00 Author: Alismuffin Posts: 1328

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I'm really starting to like the idea (despite the minor criticism earlier ) and you seem like a great developer. I think the game would really benefit from some character interaction like talking to your psychiatrist and other people. You should try to create different paths for the player to choose, each representing some kind of an outcome. I really like some of this stuff and you know, I'd love to help with the story etc if you ever need anything! Contact me somehow if you feel like it. I still understand if you want to work on it on your own, that's exactly how I felt developing some unreleased stuff with Flash. Oh and one more thing. It's a horror game (even a little bit), right? Look for ways to make the player fear something completely new. Think about completely normal everyday stuff, and try to make the player fear those. This will make you a fantastic designer. You can ask me for ideas if you want!

2011-10-05 22:12:00 Author: Edeslash Posts: 135

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Sounds amazing! I've come up with similar ideas myself too. I love to blur the lines between reality & the unknown. Keep with it! It's sounding great!

2011-10-05 22:30:00 Author: Mr_T-Shirt Posts: 1477

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Thanks a lot you two! I'm really happy at how well my idea is being accepted by everyone :3 I would love to hear some of your ideas Edeslash! Will PM you soon ^^

2011-10-06 08:30:00 Author: Alismuffin Posts: 1328

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If you haven't already played it, get inFamous. There's one particular scene I'm talking about and it's amazingly carried out, I replayed it again and again due to the fact the atmosphere is perfect with the whole poisoning/environment morphing thing. I think it'd be brilliant to have seriously scary enemies rushing you but there dissolving into a cloud of mist just before they reach you. I suggest that you use a lot of gravity and sound based scares due to the fact that 100% of people are born with these fears. Oh, and good luck.

2011-10-09 02:32:00 Author: abyssalassassin Posts: 717

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Sounds like a pretty good idea - I like it. If you do go for the Psychiatric Hospital as a setting, I'd recommend making it realistic - i.e. These places are not actually full of people trying to kill you - those places are usually secure units, where people with mental health problems have killed others, so it's kinda a cross between a prison and a hospital (I believe here in the UK they are called "Forensic Hospitals.") Also, consider calling it a "Psychiatric Hospital" as opposed to a "Mental Hospital / Mental Institution / Mental Home". It's far more realistic, as that's the way these places are usually referred to by professionals - saying it the other way seems to scare people I think! I love the idea of making it slightly scary too - but not in an unrealistic way. I mean, I'm sure that if this person managed to kill a bus load of people, they would be feeling very at war with themselves, so therefore it is only normal that they would beat themselves up, and maybe even hallucinate an alter ego in these dreams - perhaps there's someone else present in the dreams who puts you down, or scares you sometimes, and that person is actually your subconscious. You're quite right to leave out the monsters and weapons I reckon. I'd love to see how it turns out and what it looks like - keep us posted. Got any images to give us an idea of what it could look like? Good luck!

2011-10-09 02:52:00 Author: standby250 Posts: 1113

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Hey guys! Thanks for the ideas At the moment I decided to go for the setting being your family home. The objective is to discover what you did by searching for clues around your house. The obstacle is your subconsciosness attempting to kill you. Very simple right now obviously. It's how I like to work though: Create it simple, then add on and on until it's everything I want it to be I will keep you guys posted when more exciting things happen. So far I am simply writing player collision codes (Opening doors, switching switches etc)

2011-10-09 12:59:00 Author: Alismuffin Posts: 1328

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Just out or curiosity, how easy/hard are these programs to use? I mean, do you need much experience in this kind of field to develop games using these programs - or can you learn as you go along?

2011-10-09 17:50:00 Author: standby250 Posts: 1113

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Well, like a lot of things it takes persistence, passion and patience (The three Ps!) You have to be willing to make mistakes, and learn from them. You also have to be [prepared ton start from scratch on particular parts and keep working till everything is as perfect as possible. Great sense of achievement though! It's worth all the stress You can start from scratch with absolutely no experience. It takes trial and error and many tutorials. Playing LBP will give you an advantage though. Gave me an advantage and I only played the PSP version

2011-10-10 07:26:00 Author: Alismuffin Posts: 1328

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On the subject of starting from scratch, my 3D graphics professor in college always taught that the best skill you can have is to put your heart and soul into a project. Put all you have into it, and then delete it. You cannot get attached to anything in this industry.

2011-10-10 13:45:00 Author: poorjack Posts: 1806

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Hahahaha I don't think that would be a good idea to be perfectly honest I would never delete an entire project just so I don't get attached to it!

2011-10-10 13:54:00 Author: Alismuffin Posts: 1328

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Hope this goes better for you man then me, when I tried This A couple of years Ago (I Just Failed with all that coding) My Game Was A Third Person Game Where Your Mind Does not allow You To Leave the Town Untill you Discover Which Civillian Was The One Who Killed Your Sister. It was More a Cartoony Thriller, then Suspenful Horror. Development stopped when I tested The Game And it was So Badly Broken, The Graphics Were BRILLIANT THOUGH. (Thanks to my Sister, who is one of the Best Artists I have ever Known All I had too was Transfer it to the Engine and It worked, Just a Shame that was the only thing that worked well. If you Want to know the ending Just Ask.

2011-10-13 19:45:00 Author: butter-kicker Posts: 1061

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