@Squeaverking Halo should have another game like 2, with a good competitive multiplayer.
Okay, so I’m taking up coding right now, and one of my favorite things to do is to develop plots, mechanics, etc. for potential games.
Probably my best idea came to me while I was building the Lego Exo Suit set. I thought of a 3D platforming and puzzle game involving mechs, with some mechanics taking inspiration from Metroid Prime and Portal. (Skip to gameplay if you don’t care for the story)
Story:
The first draft and synopsis is as follows:
Many, many years in the future, humans have united under one government and further developed space travel. Large spaceships have been made, with major human settlements on the moon, and several research facilities on Mars and Venus. The Earth government has even began contact with several alien empires, though this is kept secret from the general population. The humans begin a large mining operation on the moon to search for resources, as Earth is suffering a large energy crisis. With the help of large mechs, humanity creates massive underground caves deep in the moon. Here, the humans discover a strange new substance that is many more times powerful than any oil ever was on earth.
The miners begin harvesting the many different colours of the liquid in different coloured barrels, with each colour having its own properties. The substance, which is highly volatile, solves the energy crisis and the moon’s people become extremely rich. They, however, are worried about their new source of income, and they build a massive system of defense drones (based on the “turtle” from the set), which they scatter throughout the mines to protect the miners and, more importantly, the substance. However, in the beginning, a large army of aliens suddenly blockades the moon, conquers the local population, and invades the mine. It is during this time that the miners completely disappear, and the defense drones are deactivated. However, a pair of mech repair people (based on Pete and Yve in the set) show up shortly after the attack, completely unaware of the situation. They set off to journey through the caves, defeat the aliens, and uncover the mysteries of the attack. (Okay, so that part is kinda cliched, but I’ll work on that later.)
Throughout the journey, the pair, with one doing most of the work and the other as a guide, discovers that the aliens were actually invading on request of the Earth government (on the promise of a certain powerful resource), who thought that the sudden militarization on the moon would lead to a full-scale rebellion.
Gameplay
Okay, now for the fun part: the basic mechanics. The caves are set up like dungeons in Zelda, with enemies to defeat and puzzles to solve. The gameplay is divided into two portions: on-foot and in the mech. The player can generally switch between them at will, with each mode being able to do things and go places the other can’t. The on-foot sections are first-person, yet focus more on the platforming. The player can take advantage of the reduced gravity to navigate across platforms and such in the abandoned mine. There are various tools to use and a few weapon, though I made it a point to not include guns in the traditional sense, because I don’t want this to be a FPS. The player can carry two tools at a time, and will have to use specific ones to bypass specific parts of a stage, as well as avoid/defeat ARMED enemies. Some small passages can only be traversed on foot, though you WILL need to be in the mech to finish each stage.
Some tool ideas for use in on-foot are: grappling hook?, stun blaster, jetpack, repair tool, etc.
The mech switches to a 3rd person perspective. The mech can melee enemies and push/pickup obstacles. One major difference between the two modes is that the mech cannot jump. This is where the barrels of that notorious (and still unamed) substance come into play. Much of the mech gameplay revolves around finding and using these. These barrels come in a variety of colours, each having its own specific use. For each barrel the mech has, it can be either thrown or consumed. Throwing a barrel is the only ranged attack the mech possesses. Each color is thrown in the same way, but has a different effect upon hitting its target. For example, the yellow barrel, the most basic and common one, simply explodes when it hits enemies, making it an effective weapon. When consumed, the barrel instead grants the mech a specific power. When the yellow is consumed, the mech rockets into the air, essentially being a jump.
My current ideas for barrels (thrown use; consumed use):
Yellow: Blows up, damaging enemies and certain obstacles; rocket “jump”
Red: Ignites enemies, causing damage over time and burning away cerain obstacles; allows the mech to hover horizontally
Blue: Temporarily paralyzes enemies, powers up some obstacles; super-charges the mech, powering up its melee and allowing it to move bigger obstacles
Green: Undecided thrown use; repairs the mech
I plan on adding a few more as well.
The mech, however, can only carry two barrels at a time, one in each hand. The player must be creative with the use of the different powers to beat the puzzles. For example, if there is a large gap to be crossed, with the opposite side being higher than the current side you’re on, the player should have a yellow and a red. First, use the yellow to rocket up high, then, when in midair, consume the red one to mover over the gap at an increased height.
One final major mechanic is the defense drones I told you about earlier. Each one can be activated by the player, who can then “program” it to move to a specific location in a straight line, though they move somewhat slowly. Each one will automatically fire at nearby enemies once activated, and they can be destroyed by said enemies. In order to complete some puzzles, the player will have to strategically place these throughout the caves to block off certain areas from enemies, and they may play a major role in boss fights. Finally, these can be modified in several ways by the player. First of all, if one is damaged, the player is able to repair it with an on-foot tool. Next, if the player finds certain items in a cave, he or she may upgrade different attributes to make it more effective. One last idea is that the barrels have a special effect on the drones when thrown at them. I’m not sure what these effects should be yet.
If you read that whole thing, thanks! I could really use any feedback. Though I doubt I myself will program this, I could pitch it to someone eventually. I’m unsure about the enemies, however. I definitely want boss fights, but I don’t want the majority of the enemies to be traditional shooter enemies. I want some uniqueness to how they behave and how to defeat them. Any thoughts?