I would ask other boards but honestly I got the best feedback here consistently.
So, my goal is to make a game invoking the fantasy (aka making you feel) like an amateur paranormal dispatch squad, kinda like phatasmaphobia but less gay and not multiplayer.
It would be great to give off an analog horror vibe, something about comfronting unseen monsters and slowly going into insanity as you lose your crew to posessions and dark hallways.
I am mostly inspired by games like duskers and darknest dungeon, I think they do a good job of instilling the sense of dread that every mission your party can get TKO'd. But I sadly struggle to come up with good mechanics which I can deliver on.
I can do both 2D, 3D and Doom-style raycasting but I'd preffer 2D as I am a super-shitty artist and inept at modeling.
The requirements are as follows: >I am but one man Don't get too high-concept, I am quite literally a single dude trying to prototype this >Be precise Describe not the general idea, but mechanics and moment-to-moment gameplay. Is it going to be Top-Down? Are you going to control pawns individually? How is the UI layed out? The more specific- the better! >Fit the fantasy Try to come up with mechanics which instill the core idea into the player best.
Mostly I am trying to make a "playable version" of analog horrors like mandela catalogue or gemini entertainment.
So mostly the game is about being a amateur paranormal investigation squad and comforting different horrors of the darkness as you slowly lose your innocence and turn your recruits into deraged jaded husks.
What I specifically struggle with is coming up with a.. format.
What is the moment-by-moment gameplay? How are missions layed out?
Caleb Williams
Is it? Last time I asked for an antagonist idea here I got pretty good suggestions, better than Any Forums anyway.
Ryan Myers
shadertoy.com/view/ldjGzV Well this'll hopefully help you. Learning shadercode is useful for 2D or 3D with any game engine. You can run something like link related as a post-processing effect on either. I think 2D would work best as a sort of story game, maybe point and click adventure.
Cooper Jackson
sounds good. make it 3d
Sebastian Harris
>I am but one man Paranormal business tycoon >Mechanics 2D pixel side scroller with mouse to click on things. Just look on youtube to get an understanding of what I'm talking about. 1) Corporation Inc. (flash game) (15%-) 2) 10-103 vs paranormal and non-paranormal threats (vast majority of gameplay 80%+) 3) Lobotomy Corp (5%-) To unlock new "offices" you need to make ventures into the unknown and make dialogue and gameplay choices (10-103). More dialogue and gameplay choices on how the entities are monetised and how the clients and detractors are engaged. Reading lore must be very heavily incentivised or punished. >Fit the fantasy You are the beginnings of Marshall Carter and Dark hence the business/management focus.
If you're one guy and you're serious I'd value quality of story and dialogue/text over complex gameplay mechanics. The thing that gets the scary in me when it comes to the Mandela catalogue and stuff like that is the eerie loneliness and cold you feel when you're in these things. I'd recommend something along the lines of that farmers pixel horror game and the eerie vibe Stanley's parable and papers please give you something. Horror often comes from simplicity user and these games Excell at that , try and capture that. Also see those old 2d pixel horror games that came out from Japan back in the day something about pixel stuff is terrifying when done right.
Christian Long
OP, make a mod first. Copy paste as many assets as you can so you can focus on game design as much as you can. Ktnxbai
I am Russian, sorry if I make some typos and spelling mistakes, as long as it's intelligible..
Don't worry the game's gonna be in english.
I am a notoriously horrible artist. I was specifically inspired by duskers for it's minimalist graphics.
You give solid advice, what specific games do you think could be a good inspiration?
That's the issue, I am kinda stuck on the whole "gamedesign" part.
Isaiah Bailey
Yes, but how?
Is it gonna be top-down? Is it gonna be a raycast game?
Do you control people directly or via some indierect command system?
Turn-based? Real time?
Christian Wilson
Not that user, but raycasting is not really the best way to go about handling graphics unless you're going for top quality stuff. Basic 3d rendering with billboard graphics would be good. Essentially you make a flat mesh with the sprite and have it constantly face towards the camera. It'd look just like Doom. 3d low polygon models are also more than fine, here's a channel with tons of indie games to take inspiration from too. youtube.com/c/AlphaBetaGamer/playlists
Jeremiah Robinson
Yes but the actual game?... I can do billboard graphics, I am mostly looking for gamedesign suggestions.
Luis Russell
I made one earlier about a point and click style of game(Something like Fran Bow was what I was imagining). What kind of game do you want though? Something with a lot of action or something that tells a story? You can do both too but different styles of gameplay work better depending on what you want as far as action and story are concerned.
