Your Games Pitch

[Ali D]

[I thought I'd already started this thread, but I searched for one and there's nowt here.]

If you managed to wangle and job interview at any developer, what would be your videogame pitch? How would you sum up the game you want to see get made by someone? Initially my game was going to be the post-zombie apocalypse game, an RPG based on surviving in the harsh world left in the wake of a zombie outbreak. But then I read DoubleBear's announcement and they've got that pretty well sown up.

So here's my pitch: I love cyberpunk in all genres, although I'm still woefully catching up on movies and books that tackle the subject. However, after a few mis-starts, I've come to really appreciate William Gibson's work, especially Neuromancer. So my pitch would be an adaptation of Neuromancer; we can see the main character Case before his synapses were burnt out taking odd jobs, meeting Molly and embarking on the main plot of the book. The settings would include the Sprawl and Japan, although it would be great to see the Bridge represented too. Gameplay would consist of a open world main area where Case can take jobs for cash to rebuilt his shattered synapses. Once that's done, Case can access the net and take part in virtual data robberies as per his employers demands. There might also be the the ability to play as Molly as she protects case from attackers whilst he's jacked in.

Sound good. Maybe I can get Bioware to snap up the license....

So what are your ideas for games? Do you want a classic or genre brought up to date? Is your game pitch a simple sentence, like "It's Left 4 Dead meets Okami"? If someone sat you down in front of your favourite developer and asked you to pitch a game, what would you tell them?

[cole1114]

A Deadpool game that is a freaky mix of Gears of War, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, and Batman: Arkham Asylum.

A drugged up first person shooter where you play as a common crook who gets too far into drugs to get out, leaving the game trippy as fuck at the end.

[BatCountry]

History has been hijacked by George Washington, Annie Oakley and Pablo Picasso. Not only have they captured Shakespeare and...some kind of mermaid, they have developed the most fearsome feline that goes by the name of Mr. Pants. You play Star Boy, protector of good...stuff and defeater of evil and historical figures. Along with your companion, Captain of Outer space (who is your actual brother), you have to fight the urge to visit the Hotdog Factory to see how hotdogs are made to find evil George Washington and his motley crew. In the process you learn the valve of compliments (even if they're just a lie) and also that Lincoln was shot by George Washington.

[otakunoise]

twin peaks season three videogame in full cooperation with david lynch.
continue the cult television show in videogame form, preserving all the characters who've aged considerably since 1990, base it on the proposed scripts, and score it by angelo badalamenti.

i won't spoil the ending of twin peaks season two for any of you who haven't had the chance to watch the entire series yet, but it would make a very very interesting game.

gameplay: this could go obviously in a lot of different ways. considering silent hill 2 was influenced by david lynch's films, in pretty obvious ways, it seems fitting that this game would have that style gameplay. it would make for a blend of survival horror for the black lodge scenes, crime scene investigation, and leaves some room for puzzle elements.

i'd put this one in the hands of david cage or kojima, but i'd fear anybody else mucking the whole thing up, and considering the show's cult status anything less than amazing would be a total fiasco.

oh with david lynch created flash mini games during the loading screens.

[Doos]

You combine Interstate '76 + Carmageddon 2 + Crimson Skies and make it massively multiplayer/deathmatch on a dynamic playground ala Fuel.

[ZombiePlatypus]

Okay, I've had a particular idea kicking around in my noggin since high school, when I honestly believed there might be a slight chance that I'd be able to make it someday. That belief has passed, but I've still thought about it over the years.

The game is an RPG named "The Comic". The character you play as is a modern day stand-up comic, who gets transplanted to a ruined future after a set one night. He gets tossed into a party with a handful of other people ripped from their lives at various points in time; a professional hockey player from the '70s, a desk cop from the near future, a farmer from feudal Japan, a serial killer from the 1800s, etc. They've all been brought together by what's left of humanity to fight an evil that's been mercilessly opressing them and destroying the planet. You'd find out later in the game that you're far from the first group to have been kidnapped from time and sent on this mission, as hundreds of similar groups have been brought together, sent out and subsequently killed attempting the task.

Anyways, the hook is that being a comedian by trade your character ends up using his skills in the various settlements and towns your party finds themselves in. It starts small, just him trying to keep his sanity by doing all he knows and telling some jokes to a couple folks. More and more people hang around and spread word of you that towns you've never even been to yet are requesting that you perform for them, to raise spirits. Eventually you're filling taverns and townhalls.

The comedy shows are done similar to dialogue choices in Mass Effect, but with slightly more variation. Are you going to be raunchy? Clean? An insult comic, an observationalist or use a lot of physical humor? Ideally I'd have a few comedians on staff to help flesh out the acts and write different jokes for different choices. Anyways, the style of your show reflects on how people view you, and the overall emotional state of the entire surviving population eventually as your quest goes along towards it's conclusion. Whether you were a big asshole, a goofy doofus, a regular set-up then punchline kinda guy or something else would factor into your game's ending. The emotional state of those future survivors would also factor into whether you complete your task or not. If you're a damn funny insult comic, but the majority of the population hates you, the end boss will be tougher, since it feeds off of misery. The game can end with you failing.




tl;dr- Turn-based RPG with emphasis on social interactions and personal choice, with a mild dash of Bill & Ted in a dark future-fantasy setting, revolving around stand-up comedy.

[Jay Hitcher]

Okay, I've been thinking about this since last summer. It's called "Rise of the Band". It's sort of a Rock Band meets Bioware RPG, played from first-person with an emphasis on dialogue as gameplay.

You start off as a high-school dropout living in a major city of your choosing. You have experience with an instrument you choose at the beginning of the game (vocals, bass, drums, guitar, or vocals added to any of the three latter). You get a band together of your choosing. You set up a look and musical style, ranging from rock to pop to folk to hip-hop. The game focuses on both the Rock Band rythym game aspect and on maintaining good relations with band members, crew members, and, eventually, record labels.

The game opens up new locations based on your popularity. Some of the genres selected, mainly indie music, perform primarily in smaller venues and make less money, but have a more dedicated fanbase and critical success. The characters age over the course of the game and may leave the band, based on your relationship with them. You can prevent this by doing things such as allowing them to have more power over the creative direction of the band.

The main goal is to attain a legendary status before you complete the game. Legendary status is roughly described as being either popular or innovative enough to be remembered by future generations. Indie genres have an easier time with attaining innovation, but mainstream genres have an easier time attaining popularity.

[Trebz]

I've always loved the idea of confusing the reader/watcher/player and I've been trying to implement it into writing, which is a difficult and haphazard process.

Anyway, if I ever get a job in the industry, here's what my pitch would be:

Empowerment/disempowerment is the theme. Cell-shading akin to the cinematics from Street Fighter IV. The protagonist is a gun-slinging badass. There's a hard-rock soundtrack that plays while he shoots up everything that moves, jumping around like a tiger. Like Wet but with a tighter control scheme. And hoardes of Heartless-like enemies. Like shadows. But then there are stages where the enemies start to fuck with the player's mind, a bit like Scarecrow in Batman Arkham Asylum but turned up to 11. Protagonist killing himself without reason, entire levels contorting and changing physically, enemies shapeshifting, all these different things that could affect the player even on an emotional level at some points. The plot would go off the rails at points for the sake of humor, confusion or frustration. It would be a true test of the game's characters for the player to be shocked when a beloved character dies for an arbitrary reason, such as tripping and hitting his/her head on a rock and bleeding to death.

It sounds like a mess that would make the player angrier than entertained but it would certainly be an interesting experiment, to see if the player can adapt his logic to a world where logic can jump off a cliff whenever it wants.

[Tarvu]

The only game idea I can think of is one that nobody would touch, and is not inherently mine.

Third person stealth/action game. You play your very own serial killer, the game is about moving around the levels (which would be hospitals, schools, prisons, government buildings) and killing people in fun ways. You'll mostly walk up to people from behind then stick your very long knife in their neck and twist it around (something like the PS3 wand would be ideal for this).

There can be environmental kills and meta games. There is no plot except you hate people in general and are bored. You're just a plain guy who wants to stick people in the neck with his big knife.

[Matthew Blake]

A multiplayer slasher game- sort of like Left 4 Dead's Versus, but slower and more intense.

Buddy Cop Movie- the RPG.

[Valentin Seleznyov]

I'd like to make a James Bond game that features levels based on scenes from each of the 20 official films before the series reboot.

The gameplay would be similar to Treyarch's Quantum of Solace, in that it would incorporate a 3rd person cover system, as well as quick time events into a first person action game.

There wouldn't be much of a story... maybe an older Bond looking back at some of the highlights from his career as a double-0.

[Dexter345]

Here's one.

http://www.destructoid.com/forum/showthread.php?t=12599

There is mention of another similar thread in that thread, but no link. Also, Fronz used to do Fake Game Friday, where we would come up with a fake game idea, and he would post them to the front page every week.