As someone who enjoys gaming but really doesn't get that deep into it, I want to keep my ideas as simplistic as possible so that they're actually do-able. I don't want to do something so far out of reach that when I get feedback I have to rethink everything. Hopefully these are simple enough!
My first idea is, at its base, very much like every other game. The first idea is you're a human that's given daily tasks like go to the shop, exercise for 30 minutes, etc, but you live in a zombie virus world. It's not a game about running away from zombies but you have to do your tasks while avoiding pathogens that are trying to catch you. It's a simple dodging kind of game. Beano.com has a similar game called Virus Attack. In terms of actual story, it's much simpler. You're a person on a line that forms a square and you travel around to reclaim territory while the virus tries to attack you. The mechanics were difficult and I couldn't get the hang of it but the idea was there all the same. I think something like this is relevant but also could be a good teaching tool for kids. The game could feature add ons like masks or gloves or soap that replenish your health. I'm not sure if that's too detailed, but I think the game at its core stands well enough without the add ons.
I think it contains the main premises of a game, in my opinion. A dilemma from the beginning and the game playing through as the solution is what I think makes a game. I like the idea of this game as it's nothing too specific but my lack of game-making-knowledge won't stop it from being a good game. I think it's manageable.
I found some school games here on www.infectiousdisease.cam.ac.uk that also have the general idea of a virus taking over the world. Most games I found, including the newly famous Plague Inc., are about you playing as the virus but I think it would be interesting and challenging to flip it on it's head and let you play as the one running away from the virus.
(screenshot of https://www.infectiousdisease.cam.ac.uk/schoolzone/games)
The next game is a very life-like game where you are a retail assistant that has just been given the go-ahead to take your break. You have to navigate from the canteen at the back of the shop to the front door of the shop. You have customers asking you for help, asking for prices, you have little kids running in to you and your manager is asking if you can do them a favour. It's a simple premise and scarily realistic for those of us that have experienced the torture of your break minutes ticking away while you can't use them wisely.
I couldn't find any games like this online. I did search for something similar but came across nothing. At its core, it's the usual obstacle and avoid game. I came across some 'shop assistant' games here at www.mygames4girls.com but the idea is more so based on being the store assistant instead of being the store assistant wanting to get on their break. I think it could be quite fun with different obstacles getting in the way.
I think it could be easy to build as, like above, the game wouldn't have to have amazing graphics or a super in-depth storyline but the message would get across and it would still be interesting. I would want to keep to obstacle relatively simple but because it's a basic idea, if my skills allowed for it, I could make it more complicated and could add more things to it like possibly the store assistant finds money on the ground for their lunch or something that has a positive to outweigh the negative.
My next idea would be about mixology of different drinks. The player would be given a recipe at the beginning and a timer to select their ingredients. Then, once the timer is up, they have to make their drink with the selection of ingredients they previously picked. I'm not sure if that's beyond where my skill set will be when creating this game, but it can be altered to hopefully be within it.
I found a similar game here on www.crazygames.com but it relies on you to randomly pick ingredients and then create a nice drink that the computer makes a judgement on. If it's not nice then you fail, if it is then you pass. My game, however, would be purely based on being given a drink name that you have to create yourself. I think it could be challenging but you could definitely learn from it too. Or you could just cheat, but 30 seconds isn't a lot of time to Google the ingredients and pick them unless you're incredibly fast. I think the timer is a good little spin to make it more original to the short list of games that would be similar out there.
It would be a colourful game, full of textures and special little effects that I'd come across. There's no real storyline so it would have to have good mechanics and interesting drinks but I definitely think it has potential to be a fun and playful game that you could spend a few hours on if you were bored and wanting to fill time. It's certainly no GTA but that isn't my aim for these games. I want something manageable and doable that could still be really decent.
My last game idea is based on the hatching of young turtles that have to make it from their shell to the water. You would begin the game by tapping the egg until it cracks and your character gets out. As you, the player, make your way along to the water, you come across obstacles like potholes, struggling turtles trying to cling on to you and seagulls swooping to grab you and eat you.
The only similar games to this idea are based on incubating and hatching your turtle. There were no games about the adventure a turtle goes on to get to the water and all the obstacles they may face. I did find an example game here on projects.raspberrypi.org about racing turtles and it talks through the process to create it in Python. There seems to be a lot of examples of this code for Python online so it's obviously a commonly used learning technique. This could be helpful even just to see the mechanics working and knowing what code was used, even if it's completely different code to what we use on Unity.
As I like to think of the advantages in a game as well as the obstacles, there would be food found on the sand or the player could find a turtle friend willing to help them along. Your turtle could have three lives and once your turtle's lives are up, your shell is cracked and you can no longer make it to the sea to live your life with your family and friends. It's a good way to keep a game moving and to get players to try more than once at the game.
Hey Rosie, Some great game ideas! My favourites are games are the third one and the fourth one. I feel like the mixology game could be really fun, I also like how you would be timed to add a little bit of pressure to get the drink done before the timer is up. I also love your last game idea because who doesn't love turtles. Hope everything goes well with your game. Best of luck!!
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