My Game Brainstorm

Game Idea 01

The first game idea I have is inspired by a game I used to play called 'Diner Dash'. It is a strategy and time management game, I always found this game to be exciting because it keeps the brain stimulating and is challenging at times. 

In this game, the player runs a restaurant as head waitress, they seat people in their tables, take their orders and take their dishes away. There is a timer that comes with every customer that comes into the restaurant and if the timer has run out and the table is yet to be served, the customer will leave. I always found this game really exciting and I enjoyed the feeling of pressure that came with playing it.

I would like to make something similar to this but in 3D format. From my research, I found that most of the games with the same concept as this one were all made in 2D format. I would like to experiment and try to make it in 3D. I was thinking, to make mine different. I could make the customers in the game some kind of animal or it could be a hotel or shop. 

I like the idea of a flower shop. Customers could come asking for different kinds of flowers and the player would have to go and get the flowers and assort them how the customer would like and then, bring them to the till and pay, There could be a timer over the customers head's at all times. If the queue is too long and they have been waiting there for too long the customer will leave and the player will lose a life. 

I would like to learn how to create random customers that are computer operated who come in with randomised flower assortments. 

Take a look at the game I was talking about: Diner Dash

I think this video could help me; it goes into detail about the coding that is needed to make a player move around the game world. I think this would be useful if I go ahead with this idea.

Game Idea 02

My second game idea is another strategic game. I have always enjoyed playing Super Mario Bros since I was a child. I always found it a challenge, but I will never forget the feeling of accomplishment when I'd complete a world in the game. This game has been around since 1983. 

In my game, I would like to mimic this feeling of accomplishment when the player completes a task so I would like to create a challenging and difficult terrain for the player to get past. The player may have to build blocks to get past a mountain in the terrain or push blocks into a hole to walk over it. I would like the basis of my game to be blocks. 

I think this link can help me to improve my skills when it comes to the terrain tool. Terrain will be very important in this game if I chose to go ahead with it so I would like to learn more about it and get better at it.

Super Mario Bro's Gameplay. Web Source: Flickr

I would like for my game to be inspired by The Mario Bro's but be missing one very important ingredient in every action game; the ability to jump. I think it would be interesting for the player to have the inability to jump. This means the player would have to think outside the box in order to get the player to the next level. I would like to give the player a few optional powers to use to get by. Deciding which power to use will prove very important when it comes to the time crunch which I plan to include if I decide to go with this game. I think time pressure adds adrenaline to a game and keeps things exciting.

I would like to create a game where the player's initiative is challenged. I want the player to really have to think about what they're doing and the decision making involved. 

Game Idea 03

For my third game idea I would like to take inspiration from the old tale Jack and the Beanstalk. I think it would be interesting to make a game around this old tale. I have an idea to take each part of the story and put it into game format or I could just take the very last part of the story where Jack is being chased by the Giant down the beanstalk and make it into a game. I like the idea of basing the game around an old bedtime story because it is something everyone would recognise. The player would play Jack in the story.

Just in case you need a refresher of what this children's bedtime story is about...

Web source: Youtube

I think if I went by the storyline of Jack and The Beanstalk, the game that I would make would be very detailed and include many scenes. I think the video above would be perfect to refer to story-wise when creating this game. It describes the story very well and would be a great resource to me.

I think the simpler option would be to go with the latter and make the game on the basis of Jack running from the Giant who wants to eat him. The goal of this game could be to catch as many gold coins as you can on the way down the beanstalk without being caught by the giant. I think this game could be fun because of the dramatic element to it and the time pressure but I also think it could get slightly boring if he's just running down the beanstalk from the giant the whole time. I think this game would work better for mobile.

If I went by the storyline of the story I could include many different exciting elements, along with running away from the Giant, Jack would have to find good hiding places to hide form the Giant, Jack would have to sneak around the Giant when he is sleeping etc. I think a variety of challenges is more effective than just one focal challenge. 

Game Idea 04

My fourth and final game idea is a game based around penguins. I have an idea to make a game based in the Antartica where a group of penguins live. The objective of the game is to catch the fish that jumps out of the fishing hole quickly enough so that the other penguins don't get there first or the fish goes back into the water. I think this could be an exciting game to make because of its simplicity. With a simple idea like this I could draw more of my attention to how it looks on screen.

Illustration of Penguin. Web Source: freestockphotos.biz

I would like to learn how to make the fish jump out of the holes at different times in script and how to make the other computer generated penguins waddle towards the fish when it jumps out. There would have to be some kind of link there. 

During my research, I looked into what penguins eat and it turns out that they eat squid, krill, crustacean and other seafood. I then thought I could make the different fish different points so a squid could be 5 points whereas a squid could be 10 points. I think this could make the game a bit more interesting. 

Also I learned that penguins swim under the sea to catch their prey, this could be another scene in my game. If you don't catch the fish when it jumps above water you can use one of your extra "lives" (if you have any left) to go under the sea to catch the fish. I'd like to put a limit on the number of extra lives you can use, let's make this number three. You lose a life every time you miss a fish jumping out of the water.

I think this link will help me to create "enemies" which in this case will be the other penguins. This tutorial shows you how to make an enemy follow the main character around in script and in Unity, this is exactly what I want for my penguins. I want them all to follow each other around, all in hopes of getting the food.