Thirith on 31/1/2019 at 09:32

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What kind of game types, genres and subgenres would you like to see that either don't exist yet or haven't really been done nearly enough?

I'm thinking that I would like to see the immersive walking sim. I like exploring virtual spaces, I like environmental storytelling, but I don't always want antagonists, fail states or overt challenge - so I'm thinking e.g. of a game based on urban exploration of deserted spaces where... stuff happened. Gone Home mixed with Deus Ex and Mirror's Edge. There don't need to be monsters, zombies, security guards or other explorers waiting to whack you over the head with their flashlights. Bring more interesting traversal options to the walking sim and let us find various ways to get into that building or that room. You might find a key or a brick or something you can use as a makeshift crowbar, though you may prefer to leave these spaces undamaged in their state of ruin.

henke on 31/1/2019 at 09:56

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Buddy, do I have (https://store.steampowered.com/app/251110/INFRA/) a game for you!

Thirith on 31/1/2019 at 10:41

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I like it. QWOP meets DOA, just with big, sweaty guys.

demagogue on 31/1/2019 at 13:24

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I've scripted a couple of games with the explicit idea of making a genre of it...

A couple of them could fairly be called immersive walking sims, but the particular mechanic I liked is making the storyline more like a web than linear. So there were a couple of concepts for this. The basic idea was based off of the old game LSD, where interacting with certain objects would warp you to a different space. In LSD it was basically at random (0dN0dE also does this). But in my vision there's logic to it. One concept was gamifying Benji's chapter in Faulkner's Sound & the Fury. In the book he's mentally retarded, but the chapter is from his perspective as he mis-understands what's happening around him. When he interacts with certain things, it brings him back to the memory of that event like it's happening right then, and his disposition shifts.

Another concept was memory-reading. Turned out not-unlike Obra Dinn. You're a scifi future police agent that can wire yourself into the memories of a murder victim. You can travel through his memory space trying to solve his murder. But you can only trigger a memory when you have a cue from other information you've learned. So much of the game is finding the cues to open up new memories, which give you hints about finding new cues to open up new memories.

Then the third concept was just a flat out surreal concept like a Lynch movie, based loosely around the idea of a video game AI suddenly achieving consciousness and walking around his world trying to make sense of it, but the game itself was left unfinished and the author abandoned it. So it's glitchy and it's not clear what the objectives are; there are things you can do to meet half-baked objectives, but it wasn't expected players would be playing it... much less an Ai becoming conscious in its world. It's kind of a commentary on modern life.

Ok, then the second sub-genre I made I'd describe as a grand strategy game, but at the level of a city. And the vehicle for this game was French Revolution Paris. Basically it's a simulation of the French Revolution happening in Paris, or more like 19th Century Paris simulator since the game is more about the aftermath of the revolution. You can select to be any kind of character in the city living through the revolution and afterwards.. It's kind of a sandbox, but basically you want to climb the ranks of whatever your position is... If you're a priest, you want to become Bishop (and stay alive), if you're a merchant/farmer you want to become the largest property/landholder (and stay alive), if you're just some street urchin, then you want to either build a criminal enterprise or be a revolutionary leader of some san culottes gang. But the best game to play is of course vying to be the leader of a new regime, either leader of a commune, or king in a restoration, or you're military and you politic your way to be emperor (Napoleon like; by the way England and Austria have a good chance of invading the city, so military has something to do, like Paris is a microcosm of all of France), or you're a Robespierre like character trying to be de facto leader of the revolution (and stay alive)... Most of the population are spawned pawns (like GTA), but about 100 or 200 characters are more like NPCs that are competing for the same positions you are (like Crusader Kings), and I like the idea of making it multiplayer too, so you can compete with other humans as well as NPCs to be the next ruler (Bishop, biggest landowner, etc, etc) of France. You can get yourself elected to one of the three estates by getting majority support within your district's respective estate. And then it uses the famous 1739 map of Paris, where literally every building is hand drawn in. You could also just explore the city doing little side quests or random goals (make a living as a barber or winery in some random neighborhood) too.

demagogue on 31/1/2019 at 13:46

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(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOvq3-oG5BM) Sumotori Dreams may not be exactly this, but you may be laughing too hard to care.