Chapter Two
The Choices You Have
This chapter will go over ideas that have been used before. As examples to what you may do in making your game, as options. If you can add more to them all the better. I will also include a few new ideas here and there.
It will be split into a few types: Character based (those the player controls.) Enemy based (those the player fights.) Environment based (the surroundings of the player.) Mechanical based (how the game is controlled through the player.) Item based (including weapons and power ups and such.) Enhancement based (referring to embellishments mostly.) And game style based (referring to the genre of the game.)
Characters
Characters come in many forms. They could be anime or cartoon based. Movie or book based. Invented entirely. Being altogether unique. Bases on fairy tell creatures or people such as elves and dragons, angels or demons. Could be from old myths like Icarus. Could even be toys. Based on Dracula. A plumber. An animal of some kind. An insect if you like.
And what does Dracula’s contender do? Roams graveyards and gothic temples to pursue him. And that’s the question to ask. What does that kind of character do? What places such a thing in a game setting? It doesn’t have to be realistic. No one really goes down large pipes. No one enters a dungeon as such. So simple take that kind of character and build a world around it.
The world itself doesn’t have to revolve around that type of person entirely. But it provides a good set of ideas.
Naturally a ninja has a throwing star. A wizard has a wand.
There are numerous other choices. A thief. A knight. A prince or princess. A robot/ android/ cyborg. A pilot. An adventure. Or simply a human. Your choice.
Think through them. Just by knowing your options and thinking about what kind of game to create around them you will have a few good initial ideas.
Enemies
Naturally there is a lot more to say about enemies in the game. There are a lot more of them in it. As usual I’ll list some of the kinds of enemies that are found in games.
There are those that try to overtake a Kingdom, or a dictator, there are crime lords. There are animal based ones. You name it: crocodile, turtle, penguin. The demonic type. Ancient dragons. The undead. Walking skeletons. Robotic. Mad doctor. Wielding large weapons. Throwing things. Spiders, centipede, bees. Walking mushroom. Pig looking things. Human hybrids. Sorcerer casting magic against you. Walking dolls. Shape shifters. Or just things purely made up that do not resemble any earthly thing.
Modern games infuse them with a lot of AI. AI that has them a little bit differently managed. Not so much either more easy or difficult. Older games can be very difficult sometimes. But certainly like you are more fighting something smarter at fighting. They’ll jump out of the way, dodge, look for advantages and things. They’ll hear you creeping up. They won’t see you if you aren’t looking. So you can creep past them.
Older games have enemies do basic things. Leap toward you and off the screen. Come slashing at you. Fire rounds that aren’t necessarily in your direction. Shoot things in every direction. Move as made to, following a pattern that doesn’t necessarily follow you. And there are modern 2D games that have it somewhat like this. But they are still a bit smarter, usually.
Enemies can be created very creatively. Like robotic dogs or hippos. Or just he bats flying around. There is an adage that says flying enemies are always the toughest. They can be a nuisance. Some enemies poison the character. Some immobilize. Some wreck havoc. Most of them have patterns. That has long been so with video game enemies. And while at first they can be difficult, after you learn their pattern, not so much.
Enemy bosses can be Firesome. Have a dramatic approach. Be quite more formidable. Have more tricks up their sleeve. After their defeat a reward comes. The game is advanced “officially.” Standing between you and them is the next chapter in the game. And last bosses usually change forms. It is a game making element that has stood the test of time.
Some last bosses have had their own lengthy and elaborate orchestrations. Long music, long gameplay.
Some enemies were at first your friend. Even your brother. Who turned on you. Or was tricked through magical mind control. And a plot twist is always a good thing.
And along the road a person you meet may seem innocent. But then viciously turn on you. Like they were playing with you.
The harder the enemy the better the reward, as it should be. And according to what you defeat, different things are dropped. Like slaying a dragon and getting dragon scales. A wizard and getting a wand.
Environments
These days they can be quite incredible. Those of fields and worn down buildings. Of rivers and lakes. Cities and villages. Hills and mountains. With weather patterns such as day and night. Storms, thunder, fog, etc. Forests, camps, whatever you like.
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Greater Video Game Ideas:
I want to go over new vs old games first. It is important to know the limits of the past and the far greater variety of things in games now.
For example, in the 8 bit days the programmer was very limited. They may have been able to squeeze out just a little of options between power-ups and things. The world map didn’t expand very far. And if it did, not much was there. For example a tree of the same kind over and over again which wasn’t that graphically impressive. Now? The player can have hundreds of power ups. Like swords or lances, axes oil r whatever else. And descriptions along side them. And graphical resemblances of many kinds for each.
It used to be that a heart adds to you power/extra energy, and that was it. Maybe a potion too. But now we have video game players climbing trees for apples, or herbs of the land. A melon, a kind of food. And each have their own effect. Not just “one heart for one heart energy.” But now, “Apples for half a heart,” another fruit more than that, while another less. Not only that that stuff can be cooked in the game to boost its effect. Like on stats. Such as weapon wielding power.
In an old game you may have had around six weapons. Eight maybe. Or weapons of different strength but weren’t really shown in gameplay. As in an old RPG things were split between one screen. The monsters very minimally animated.
But isn’t it now like a parade! One where candy is tossed everywhere.
It can take you about 2 hours to cross a world map. And while you venture forth you find yourself in the plains, or forest, or mountains. Along the way there is much to explore. You could enter a cave and end up spending an hour inside. The trees look real. The water, the people, etc., and real voices are now incorporated.
Alternative Things To Do
Having multiple missions or good reason to wander around and explore is an important element to include in today’s games. A variety of things to do. Some examples can include slaying a demon to get its power. Or perhaps to summon it for help. Or have it drop a weapon. Maybe an element that can be combined to form something given enough different things. (Like iron to improve a sword.)
Dressing in new clothing is good. Each suit has it’s own worth. Some better than others. Maybe one suit increases defense and another protects from cold areas. On top of that having appearance changes in general.
Treasure chests containing items is an obvious way.
Diversifying the power ups. Like having different kinds of food. Laying weapons around that you can take and use.
Having a lot to talk to.
Laying around secrets.
Enhancing the environment to co train night and day, snow and rain.
Providing items that will allow you to enter a new area.
Giving as much interactivity with the environment as possible. Having it provide food, precious and semi pop precious minerals. Pieces and parts to put together to create something. Weapons, increase health, etc.
The Artsy Styles of Games
Some are cell shaded. Some come in the form of a very very old cartoon. Others just a modern cartoon (non 3D and 2D alike.) Some graphics have things looking like toys or clay animation. There are those with realism. Those without. Some games have come in the form of comic books.
There are those that are made to be graphically different. Something like perhaps abstract art or impressionism. Just like painters may paint different ways games are sometimes done so that way too. That is, not graphically real but more “artsy.”
So if you were to do the same in what way would you? In all honesty I don’t like artsy games, mostly. Though there are a few that I do. Nevertheless it does seem to be popular among gamers. Just as many ways there are to paint there are ways to paint a game. You have the canvas. What will you put on it? You don’t have to be only abstract, too. You could mix and match as you please.
But I cant really tell you just how. You are the artist, especially in a case like this. I only offer options and ideas and show you what was done before.
So.. So.. Many Options
It is very comparable to old movies and art. Not so much books. But the older films are the less tricks were known. Like special effects. In fact video games lead to CGI. That’s mostly what they are using in today’s films. Well, considering how games were still very limited even in the 64 bit era (a number really skipped by many gaming companies though) but nowadays an incredibly large amount more is able to be included. Considering the older days things were like preschool images. Not so literally but to illustrate a point. They went from pixels to polygons of increasing realism and depth. And just remember: everything is possible.
A Game Transformer
While it is a bit off the beaten path to talk about in this book I will share my idea for it anyway. After all it is kind of like making a game. It is making an old one better. Those have been called new games before!
It’s been done a few different ways that I know of. My favorite is Mode 7 improvement. It sharpens up the edges. Worth taking a look at. There is another that trues to make 2D ROMS into 3D. That one needs a little bit more development. There is another that makes preexisting graphics look like HD. And that’s a good one! It does so through AI. Is automated. Then there are hacks. They make the same game different. They reorganize things. A lot of times companies will do that for their games, too. You’ll often find individuals just doing it too.
And a man stuffed a 3D game into an old 8 bit cart. It hijacked the system or something. But could be played in the system it was designed to, no matter whose console of that system. Quite remarkable!
You have stuff like mods too. Sometimes used for unscrupulous purposes.
Whatever the effect the aim is the same. Make a better game. Enhance it. Or the hardware. Usually to improve graphics but sometimes for greater depth too.
So Many Unused Concepts
As much movies and shows, comics, books, and things there are, very few of them have been made into a game when it comes down to it. You’ll have a lot maybe for one thing, but not many things. Just the top movies most of all. But just look at how many shows and things there are that haven’t been made into a game! Whether it was a really old movie or book, Homer’s Odyssey, Moby Dick or whatever else. I think that Tolstoy's books could be made into a great game. Machiavelli’s The Prince could be a simulator. A run the kingdom one. And that stuff has been in public domain for ages.
About Your Sequel
So you’ve created the best game you can. Where do you go from there? Well the right approach is taking everything from before and making it better. Adding things you need to. Things that maybe you didn’t think of since you made the last game. If you compare one game to a sequel you may see a number of different things. Things the programmer changed the game with from the last title. There could be more and better weapons. Better enemies. The same primary enemy boss or a new one altogether. The music has been spruced up. But maybe the over world doesn’t even have it anymore, instead of focusing on sound from the weather. And that worked well. Look at what people did well when making a sequel and their mistakes too. Some were simply brilliant. Others a disaster that ruined the series. Some strayed too far for the sake of idealism. Like turning an adventure game into a side scrolling game. I would say keep the original idea in tact. And some sequels don’t totally seem as such, bringing in all new characters. Receive feedback from your games. It’s valuable!
Some Loose Ideas Thrown In
Old forms of games- those when we really only had paper or pieces like in board games, chess, or paper games like dots and boxes, hang man, would work great as a portable travel game. A game to play with family and friends. We’ve gone beyond LCD games. Small displays full of color and reasonably good with graphics are entirely possible to do this. Adventure games and point and click games are easily programmed. But a better option may be an app for a smart phone.
A Self Simulator where you can input things a person may do any given day. So whatever you do you input. For example what you ate. If you exercised. Your current weight. If you napped. If you enrolled for a degree. The grade you got. Whatever. You input these and see what happens to the character. Do they find employment? Do they have a healthy heart? What would the psychiatrist say about you psychologically? In fact maybe you can go to the doctor and see what he says in this simulation. Or predict the future. You can answer questions along the way. And the game will tell you all about yourself.
Online Merchants maybe you don’t want to play a game so much. Maybe you would rather just run a store in an online game. You’ve collected a lot. You want to spend time making money. Maybe your services and products are better than others. And their prices. Or maybe you can include a digital file to sell. The music you composed yourself, orchestral music for the game itself. And includes a very precise way to create things through trial and error. One part one thing, two parts of another, and a spell, with a dose of another thing. And those that learn them have them as a secret potion or item to sell.
Paying or trading for in game services too. Incorporating a lot of sales elements in a game. Basically everything in the game can be sold, horded, collected, obtained.
Permits for a person to enter into your gaming realm they have to buy a permit, which you profit on. Whatever in the game you bought or earned you keep. For others to go there they must provide something in return. Everyone in the game has their own home. Every player could buy another home and its contents at a price. And maybe a person could monopolize all of it.
Good Vs. Evil An online game where good fights evil. Resources in the game is well balanced. Those for the bad side. Those for the good. It could be that the evil side can only gather resources at night, and the good can collect them during the day. The game is based entirely on good verse evil. At the start you choose one or the other. You may listen to pleas from either. You may be rewarded to join one and not the other. Whatever the players of that side would give to you. In other words, like recruitment. And the game may be entirely unbalanced. Maybe more chose one side than the other. The bad side can steal and harm more. The good side is more situated to help each other. Maybe the good side must get permission from God to hunt down certain evils. And the game at large is good side vs. Bad side. Heck, you could even have a “gray" side- those in between. The emissary kind. The in between kind. Or the non sided kind that has a little of both. And you may be bribed in the game to join the other side.
Appointed Time and Place Having a calendar overall. And a different set of special days from area to area in a game, which may or not be widely dispersed. Maybe the upper ranking characters establish what those days will be. Or it is voted on by the players. Maybe it depends on what the people have. The more that is gathered the greater the feast. And work done to condition it, make it possible. A game day is usually quicker. An hour is a day maybe. With moon cycles helping people know the time of year. Fall becomes fall and the like. And there are holidays/ celebrations within the game at given dates. Perhaps some established by the players.
And you could tell another what day and time to meet you, and where. Maybe your real life birthday is celebrated in one area with a total of 365 areas per celebration. Or those could be grouped by month for 12. While in the game you could be “born again" after some sort of Christening by The Holy People as a Paladin. If not “Born into Darkness.” In fact you could have as such an initiation in the game. That which aligns you to a group, as so desired. Complete with a ritual or ceremony.
Pulling up resources as a major focus in a game, resources could be used in highly numerous ways. We’ve seen it before in more simple ways but I am talking about much more attention given it. That would mean that any given resource could be used in numerous different ways. Scientifically, as combined, to create. It doesn’t have to be like the resources on Earth but could expand far beyond that in a gaming setting. Magic spells could be cast on items to transform them. Discoveries could be logged. Experimentation would be essential. Pulling up resources could pay the player in game. And who creates first through them could get a patent or keep it a secret before they could afford one. Then they are sold at the right price. Or created to benefit ones own kingdom. Perhaps they were commissioned. Perhaps that was posted. And so one ventures out to create that thing. Like anything: better burning wood, better travel device, something to take you and others beyond The Dead Zone.
A biography based game whether or not you told anyone you did so, you could make the game as your biography. For example, the map of gameplay areas could be every place you lived in. City by city, home by home, and what you did there. The music could be from those times, earlier and later days. The music you liked at age ten there, and twenty. Only it is modified enough not to plagiarize. Has the same basic tune orchestrated or something The friends of your days all there, and enemies too. The obstacles in your life. And achievements. So where you were born is where the game starts. Depending on what game genre you are creating, adjustments may be needed. If a person bullied you, they could be a pig person. The cities may sound similar. I was born in Raleigh. I could call it Rally or Raily. And your whole family could be there along with their qualities and quarks.
Games uncommonly made into video games include bingo, a Tarot “game,” one maybe with multiple decks to choose from. Simple dice stuff, or dice with images on each of the four sides, certain card games, just memory, crazy eights, go fish, many sports games exist that are not found in video games, and some may have that are very old.
A Marketing game or a promotional one. One that describes pre existing things too, like books or movies. Art, history of things, like classical music, stuff like that. Maybe you could take a scroll in time. From era to era. The medieval period to the modern one. Placing you in those times. But as for marketing or promotion it could list things for sell. It could all promote a company. It would be like a program to sponsor things and be somewhat educational.
Letting you transfer files it is more of a hardware idea but letting you save many different kinds on files from the game. Like an eBook kind of file. A music one. An image or video. Just by doing a “save as" thing. Buying the game can get you a lot if goodies alongside it. You could print out the manual if you want. You could get a soundtrack out of it. You could print out kinds of certificates of achievement. And maybe a reverse thing to, helping you model the game or insert things.
The Evolution of Maps
Good maps were once a technical leap for games. In earlier games they were just a collection of grids perhaps with markers to get the information you needed. For 8 bit games they were just that. When the 16 bit days came along they could be scrolled along in multiple directions giving a much better idea of what was there. The gaming territory was much more limited than today’s games. Help making that possible. A map can either be obtained. Or there already. Or opened up as you simply roam into new territory. That element alone helped the gamers a lot. That element alone made the 16 bit games much more tangible.
The programmer wants the player to uncover a little bit of the map at a time, sometimes. And other times the entire map is opened already. Cursors point out where you are. Some details are there, more or less. And markers indicating important areas. A special marker to indicate where the character is to go.
Sometimes you can climb up.. a mountain, a tower, etc., to view the world around. And that can be a great additional help. Some games let you insert your own markers. Of any number of symbols to differentiate one from another. And some maps let you travel from one area to another by simply pointing that area out and selecting “warp to.” With how large modern game worlds are it is a big help.
Considering Peripherals
Gadgets to enhance games are in no short supply. An arcade stick instead of a game pad. A fishing rod. Sonar even. A camera. The list could go on to include hardware enhancement and not game enhancement. But let’s just list game enhancement. Like the power glove. Motion sensing things in the form of a square or ring around the player. VR enhancement. Games using guns, or a bazooka. Systems that incorporated these altogether (motion sensing) like with a wand, maybe a camera looking at the players hands.
What I would like to bring up is that when some of these emerged they used very expensive technology. Corners had to be cut. The hardware reduced along with its effectiveness. Hardware has come a long way since those days. Things made more universal too thanks to things like USB connections. Some got a bit rich off of modernizing light guns to be useable on non-CRT televisions. One company was able to place a screen on their game pad. Wireless controllers became more prominent. Rechargeable batteries evolved them. VR became much more feasible. After al li who really likes VR on a 16 bit non-3D system?
Voice activation, voice instructions, rumble features inside a controller, to add to them. Really I could include controller evolution in this topic. Who has the best idea for the new controller? As well. It seems there aren’t many more good controller ideas left. It has been awhile since a major change. But one cool recent thing is resistance buttons. Like if you are pulling back a bow you feel the tightness of the draw. Maybe we are depending more on another video game revolution in order to need new controls. Seems like VR but could involve even holograms someday.
Steering wheels for racing games and handle bar joysticks from days of old still work better on certain games. Or at least give them a more desirable experience. To sometimes be used. Maybe not other times. When I used to play ROMS and emulators (before I started thinking it was cheating and moved onto very new games) I actually liked controlling a game with a thumb stick. Most would prefer the D pad on that. And oh, about pads, there is the fun pad thing mostly used for exercise, dancing, or such. Was the coolest thing in its time. Maybe not for the most fun gameplay. But the neatest thing to have.
Controllers have had number pads with inserts to speak of use. Or LCD based compartments. One designer was just a little off. Taking from a four button triangular design after a simple 2 button vertical one (right hand side buttons on an 8 bit then 16 bit successor.) 6 buttons would make the most sense right? Or to add just one, making it three? That would make sense. But the true innovator made that four button diamond shaped design and added to shoulder buttons. The player has their fingers on the top of the controller, after all. So the next system came out and its game pad didn’t do any more than add two shoulder buttons. Not much creativity. A company came out with a thumb stick co controller. And three things to grip. Kind of like a valuable thing in an ugly form. I don’t know, like good cotton pants that are pink with splashes of blue and green. At least the thumb stick was the best place to go. After that things became more uniform over all. Some fancy stuff maybe. Some oversized thing. But two thumb stick buttons, four on the right hand side, etc., and the time of the remote controller motion sensing thing or the gamepad having a large screen on it. Well, gimmicks really. A company once took such great big leaps and in so doing made an old thing much better. Came up with controller ideas that would become standardized. But now when they take a big leap forward the gamers think ‘what are you jumping like that for?’ Oh, the sad days of perfection are upon them. They’ve nowhere else to go but straight. And everyone is there walking alongside them. People who cheated their way there.
Help Along the Way
I know that while playing certain games I could use all the help I could get. Last night it happened. I revisited a character after accomplishing a few things. I needed to know where to go next. 3 other places actually. I happened upon that character again and she opened up three more map areas to go to, to find them. Sometimes I don’t know what a thing is even for. Then the game brings it up. Just not until it would have use anyway. I look through the menus. I wonder what a thing is there for. But just with leaving the start a tad they reveal it to me. For example I came across this strange room where it seemed I could warp. But couldn’t until a found a second similar room, and a third. And collecting a thing in the game. Seems useless. But I collect them anyway. Then, suddenly, I run into a person that buys them from me and in return he raises my maximum inventory. Or I’d been collecting Monster parts like bat wings. As far as I knew they were worthless. But having talked to a character somewhere in the game, she said they can be here to create elixirs, and how to do so. In a modern game you need a lot of instructions and advice. They are just so more in depth. But fortunately if the gamer misses something they can always find out about it online.
Multi Directional Games
You could say that some games are basically boundless. You go into whatever area you want more or less. Like an adventure game. Then there are side strollers where you can warp to another area. Or maybe have a few choices, skipping levels if you like or a choice between which stage next. That’s usually two or three choices for older games. And platformers let you go above or below in your path. Modern platformers let you go a lot of places and has you opening up more areas with special items. That’s the way that games evolved. Now the worlds in adventure games are quite massive. Those medieval worlds, online worlds and things based on very large gaming worlds.
Going multi directional can include warping from one area to another. Or flying there. Sailing there and things.
And in more of a basic nature you can fly upward through a side scrolling game, or go down under. Pit and Pit. Icarus and the fall. Newer cart games give you more routes in any given race. You could have one mission in certain games. Or a few to choose from. And as such players have very many options these days.