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Game Ideas
One of the first things I want to do, even before any additional research, is to simply get some ideas out of my head and out into the world.
Idea 1.
A combat/strategy game in which players are placed into dream states and uploaded to a simulated environment for scientific testing. Players must fend each other off within combat in order to survive.
The game revolves around employing different dream-related characters to fight for you. Each player can also 'upgrade' their brain through modification that allows for alterations to mental traits such as fear response, memory formation, problem solving etc.
Idea 1a.
The same concept as above, but it is instead a cooperative game in which players must discover a means of breaking free of their 'dream-prison'.
Idea 1b.
The same concept as above, but it is instead a cooperative game in which players fight a single player who plays the role of the 'simulator'. The 'simulator' attempts to subdue the players by writing code that exploits their weaknesses.
Idea 2.
An open world narrative-driven game in which humanity has recently uncovered knowledge that our reality is simulated. Media and large organisations have (almost) successfully covered up the revelation, to the point that those who believe in it are considered conspiracists by the general population. Scientists discovered it when studying computer viruses - a virus had real-world impacts unknown the public.
Underground organisations run a black-market using technology that can alter the code, making absurd amounts of money from people looking for bodily modifications of specific tasks being carried out. Modifications to the universal code increase the likelihood of glitches and malfunctions however, thus the issue has become a massive issue.
The player takes the role of someone unwillingly 'hacked' into. The player possesses powerful abilities, and must use them to overcome and assist in ending the black-market hacking rings. Throughout this journey, the player character experiences a number of glitches that show snippets of the 'real' world and the nature of it, which are seriously existential and difficult to take in.
Idea 2a.
A similar concept, except the antagonists are cultists with access to the universal code. Their ability to manipulate the code allows for powerful abilities. This would take place in an ancient land, and would place a heavy emphasis on how people of such a time period would interact with futuristic concepts and technology.
Idea 3.
A emotional, narrative-driven game in which the player embarks on a spiritual journey to find purpose, and ends by meeting God (the simulator).
Idea 4.
A simulation designed to serve as an 'afterlife' for those who have passed away, plagued by a virus infecting said simulation. The protagonist must find a way to deal with this virus and put an end to it.
Idea 5.
A confusing and colourful dreamscape in which the player must overcome a variety of abstract challenges and puzzles.
With these ideas made up, the next thing to do is to feed these through a survey I want to create. The purpose of the survey is to gain feedback on what people believe are the essential aspects of simulation theory through a game lens, develop and nurture my existing ideas, and to allow participants to create their own rough ideas. You can find the survey page HERE.
Once the survey is done, I'll return to this page to carry out some refinement, and begin considering things such as mechanics, aesthetics and soundscapes. I may do some rough prototyping during this as well, depending on how inspired an idea makes me. If not, I'll carry out prototyping once I know which ideas I want to pursue further.
Game Idea Refinement
With the results of the survey in mind, I decided to utilise the three primary concepts I could derive from the results to create some new ideas. I initially decided to only create three new ideas, but I kept having new thoughts and different takes on them - so I've ended up with four different approaches to each of the three concepts, making for 12 new ideas in conjunction with my original ideas. Refer back to the survey page to understand how I got to this point!
Concept 1
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Simulation Motive: Control
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Genre: Action-Adventure
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Themes: Existentialism, Conspiracism, Determinism
Idea 1.
A lab in which people are bred specifically so their brains can be used as computing power. The protagonist discovers the nature of their reality, and begins a journey to break free of their simulated prison into the real world.
Idea 2.
A lab attempting to create 'neo-humans' that are genetically superior to ordinary humans - a simulation was designed to test their mind for flaws. One specimen discovers the simulation, and attempts to break free.
Idea 3.
A mother who has induced her child into a dream-state to prevent them from ever growing up, for fear that the world is simply too bleak and awful; that it would taint the innocence of her child. The plot would revolve around the relationship between mother and child, ending with the mother letting go of her emotions and the child awakening from the dreamstate to experience the real world.
Idea 4.
A world in which large organisations manipulate the simulation to censor information and manipulate the human mind, dictating society from the ground up. The story would revolve around an underground resistance who are aware of this, seeking to stop those manipulating the simulation in an uprising.
Concept 3
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Simulation Motive: Recovering Lost Information
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Genre: Puzzle
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Themes: Icarus, Technology, Determinism
Idea 1.
A post apocalyptic world in which the last of humanity have uploaded their consciousness into a simulation to survive as data. The simulation becomes corrupted and unstable after environmental damage in the real world - the protagonist must flip between the two worlds to repair the simulation and give humanity a fighting chance at survival.
Idea 2.
A similar concept to idea 1. A species creates a simulation in a desperate attempt to preserve themselves in a post-apocalyptic scenario, but the perspective is from an outsider species attempting to piece together the mystery and story of their civilisation through both the simulation and the real world.
Idea 3.
A world in which simulations automatically restart once the previous one concludes - glitches and corruption within simulation data lead the player down a rabbit hole about a story from the previous iterations of the simulation and, in turn, the real world.
Idea 4.
A person who has suffered trauma and has lost their identity. They must journey through a dreamscape of their own creation, overcoming said trauma and rediscovering who they are. The feel of this idea would me one of initial negativity, but slowly but surely develops positively.
Concept 2
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Simulation Motive: Escapism
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Genre: Role-Playing
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Themes: Dreams/Nightmares, Existentialism, Free Will
Idea 1.
The story of an addict who abuses sleeping pills to escape into their dreams. As the highs wear off, the addict's problems begin to seep into the dreams, manifesting as nightmares. The story revolves around this persons' fight to overcome their issues and break the cycle of addiction.
Idea 2.
A world in which universe simulations are ran as part of a gaming experience, a person playing the game discovers a character who is aware of the simulation and possesses free will, the journey revolves around the individual helping the character free the rest of the world from the code limiting their ability to use free will.
Idea 3.
A story in which a child experiences difficult nightmares, but is helped in overcoming them by their teddy-bear companion. The story revolves around the fight between the child and their fears, with the teddy-bear helping to give the child confidence in facing and fighting them.
Idea 4.
A world in which science has created technology that induces lucid dreams and can allow for multiple people to experience dreams together on the same server. A virus manifests within the server, causing massive stability issues that can prevent individuals waking up, wipe ones memories, and even cause psychological scarring. The story revolves around the conflict between players and the virus, and their attempts to escape the dreamstate.
Original Ideas
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These ideas are from the original idea list I created, with the four shown here being the four most interesting according to the survey.
Idea 1.
A simulated dreamscape in which players must survive by employing dream characters and/or genetic/mental upgrades.
Idea 2.
A nation plagued by underground, black-market hackers who 'upgrade' people by manipulated the simulation's code, which causes instabilities in said simulation.
Idea 3.
A spiritual journey in which a protagonist explores a post-apocalyptic world to uncover the secrets of our reality and to find God.
Idea 4.
A simulated 'afterlife' affected by a powerful virus, infecting the world.
How do I narrow these down?
As it stands, I have two main ways of narrowing these ideas down: putting them through another survey, and picking out the ones I am most interested in. One thing I'm realising throughout this process however, is that I have to be realistic about what I can actually achieve in terms of my own abilities - is it phesable for me to take an idea that utilises coded elements further, when I could not be less of a programmer? I am a 2D artist through and through, with a skillset in Blender that allows me to step into the 3D realm. If we're being honest here - I have no interest in developing my unity skills or taking programming anywhere further, as these do not align with me as a person nor do they benefit what I actually want to do in future: 2D art. I feel as though it is infinitely more important to do what is going to benefit my portfolio at the end of the year than making what is 'objectively' the right choice.
I'm still going to explore ideas that tread into uncharted territory for me, because the research and testing of those ideas could benefit me in my final chosen direction. I just need to be realistic about what I'm actually capable of and motivated to do, which absolutely IS NOT programming/mostly 3D work.
Going back to using surveys and my own interests, I think it could be a good idea to try and move forward with both. Perhaps take forward a couple ideas that I love personally, then take forward a couple that have been chosen by my target audience as part of a survey. That way, I can truly begin to evaluate what the best options are, and attempt to compromise between them if necessary. For now, I think I'm going to choose 6 ideas to take forward and prototype, three of which I'll pull from a survey, three of which I'll choose purely out of interest.
6 Ideas
The Game Ideas Survey II page gives some extra context as to where the three survey ideas came from.
3 Survey Ideas:
1. A mother who has induced her child into a dream-state to prevent them from ever growing up, for fear that the world is simply too bleak and awful; that it would taint the innocence of her child. The plot would revolve around the relationship between mother and child, ending with the mother letting go of her emotions and the child awakening from the dreamstate to experience the real world.
2. The story of an addict who abuses sleeping pills to escape into their dreams. As the highs wear off, the addict's problems begin to seep into the dreams, manifesting as nightmares. The story revolves around this persons' fight to overcome their issues and break the cycle of addiction.
3. A species creates a simulation in a desperate attempt to preserve themselves in a post-apocalyptic scenario, but the perspective is from an outsider species attempting to piece together the mystery and story of their civilisation through both the simulation and the real world.
3 of my Favourite Ideas:
1. A simulated dreamscape in which players must survive by employing dream characters and/or genetic/mental upgrades.
2. A person who has suffered trauma and has lost their identity. They must journey through a dreamscape of their own creation, overcoming said trauma and rediscovering who they are. The feel of this idea would me one of initial negativity, but slowly but surely develops positively.
3. A world in which science has created technology that induces lucid dreams and can allow for multiple people to experience dreams together on the same server. A virus manifests within the server, causing massive stability issues that can prevent individuals waking up, wipe ones memories, and even cause psychological scarring. The story revolves around the conflict between players and the virus, and their attempts to escape the dreamstate.
What's next?
With my ideas narrowed down to 6, I think the logical next step is to begin breaking down what the essential elements of each idea are, so that I can begin making content specifically based around them.
I'm really happy about the range of ideas I have now - I found it quite difficult to create expansive ideas at first and it was effectively just the same ideas with different skins over the top, rather than something unique each time. I think I've got some interesting and original ideas to play around with, so I'm happy to move forward!
Update
I initially set out to work on 6 different ideas, but after carrying out work on 1 of those ideas, I realise that this may not be achievable. I'm instead going to narrow it down to the final 3, 2 of which are from the surveys, and 1 of which will be from my own interest. The chosen ideas are highlighted in blue above; I am choosing idea 1 from my interests, and ideas 2 and 3 from the surveys.
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