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Socoder -> Concept/Design -> Heroes game? |
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| Tue, 09 Oct 2007, 10:34 | |
Afr0
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Last night I couldn't get to sleep, and I was toying with the idea of what a game based on 'Heroes' would be like. If you don't know what 'Heroes' is, then it's basically the best television show that's been made in this century, and you can find more out about it (plus view some episodes etc) here. Now, I'm probably not going to turn this into any kind of full fledged game just yet... I haven't been programming properly for nearly two months, but I think the show itself is so great that I'd love the idea of putting together some kind of design document/rough game idea/pitch. First, some questions; Genre? If you think that the game would turn out best designed within a combination of genres, what genres would those be? If you think the game should be an RPG or an MMORPG, do you think it should have a story? If so, should the story be unique for the game, or base itself (alot?) upon plot(s) from the different episodes of the show? Would you be able to maybe give a rough draft of what the story should be about, unfold like, feel like, or whatever? Secondly, here's some of my personal thoughts: I think one of the greatest pitfalls for most, if not all, of the games that are based on TV-shows or movies, is that they depend too much on the background story(ies) and/or characters from the movie or show on which they're based. To this end, I think, if this game should be made, that alot of thought and weight should be put into making the game as non-linear as possible, even if there's a background plot (like, for instance, in most RPGs). The GTA series is a very good example of how one might achieve this. As for the characters of the show, I think it'd be really awesome if the player was able to create his or her own hero from scratch, kinda like in The Sims or The Sims 2. The player should also be able to pick a special ability for his or her hero, or maybe even create new ones from scratch (still no idea how this would happen though!). Assuming this game is somehow an RPG, or an MMORPG with a background story, I think the main characters from the show should be reserved for use as NPCs to build up the story as it progresses. A possibility, though, is to let the player select a character from the show to play from the very beginning, and let this perhaps affect how the background story plays out. If a player picks a character from the show, the abilities of the character should be predetermined, as well as the looks and any possible stat points. One thing to note is that IF the characters from the show should be used 'merely' as NPCs, I personally think that this should be taken advantage of to as high a degree as possible. By this I mean that the characters should not just be NPCs that are randomly placed out across the world, standing at one place all the time and giving information to the player through dialogue. The player should feel as if the characters are depending on him/her, and maybe even vice versa. I.E the characters should have a high level of AI that will allow them to interact with the player on different quests/missions, and help the player to unfold the gameplay, maybe in different ways for each specific character. As for the genre of the game, I'm not personally sure. I think this show would lend itself great to an MMORPG, but then care would have to be taken in the design process to make it as intuitive and user-friendly as possible (think WoW). That's always been one of the main problems with traditions MMORPGs as far as I'm concerned. However, I think that a traditional RPG would be just as good a choice, if not better, as an MMORPG, as MMORPGs by nature doesn't lend themselves very well to story-driven worlds that affects all the people in it at once, and I feel that this is a very important part of the 'Heroes' show as it exists as of the time of writing this. Third, some final questions; How do you think the art-style should be like? 'Heroes' is very comicbook oriented... should the 3D characters be designed to look like 2D-manga style characters, for instance? Programmers always talk about 'choosing the right tool for the job'. If you're a programmer, what language would you recommend for this kind of game? Do you personally think that 'Heroes' as a show lends itself to be made into a game at all? Please specify. Any comments, suggestions, answers, whatever are accepted with gratitude! If enough people throw ideas in here, I might compile some kind of preliminary design-document and release it. Edit: Lastly, what do you realistically think it would take to get the license to do this game from NBC? If money, then how much? I just keep thinking I'd really hate for some company like EA to pick it up, add some refurbished sounds from Fifa97, some leftover-code from the junior graduate programmer on SimCity4, spend 97% of the budget on a huge-ass marketing campaign and end up with a sucky game. :\ -=-=- Afr0 Games Project Dollhouse on Github - Please fork! 
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| Tue, 09 Oct 2007, 14:02 | |
power mousey
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heya Afro  I totally agree with you. Heroes is the best television series for this year. I finished all the episodes of Heroes. Some of the characters that I really like are Matt Parkman, Hiro, and the artist that can paint the future. The artwork and paintings are really cool too.  Another show that I like too is Eureka. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eureka_%28TV_series%29 and hey!.....I was thinking if you are going to do a game based on Heroes how abount an interactive action adventure one. hmmmmmm...could be isometric and also one that involes RPG elements for the formation of a party and with basiscskills and abilities for each member and done in an isometric fashion. And also involves not only hunting down certain members and other people,but also doing things and solving their problems before they might join, and also finding certain paintings for tips,clues and hints...and also to carry the plot and over-all story along. Some of the backgrounds of the game can also contain the paints and comic book artwork as well.  I like to create and role play a character such as Matt Parkman who works as a cop for the LAPD and rises in levels as a Master Swat team commander. gaining skills and abilities just not only as a cop but as a swat team member. He of course can read minds and acquire information and other hints and tips from people too. |
| Tue, 09 Oct 2007, 14:57 | |
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Afr0
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Thanks for the ideas Mousey! Keep 'em coming guys! |edit| Matt Parkman is never a SWAT-Team leader is he? Maybe he is, I don't really know. I'm only at Episode 15 in season 1 yet. Anyhow, what you described about leading a SWAT team and/or doing investigation(s) using Matt's phsychic abilities sounds like it could be a very interesting mini-game, of sorts. That actually brings up a very interesting point; 'Heroes' as a show contains so many nests of separate and/or intertwining stories to paint the larger picture, that to make it into a coherent gameplay that could possibly feature it's own story(ies) would be very hard. Hmm... |edit| -=-=- Afr0 Games Project Dollhouse on Github - Please fork!
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| Tue, 09 Oct 2007, 15:16 | |
Jayenkai
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Each hero has different abilities. To fit them all into one game would be a mistake. Much like all the old 16-bit games, you'd end up with a mismash of characters who don't really fit into "Generic Side Scrolling Fighting Game #781" And, of course, I should probably point out the whole "You'll get your arse kicked by NBC if you carry on down this route." thing, because the probability of you getting the actual license is around about 2%.. Realistically, the game rights have probably already been bought! Better thought. Start off with your own group of trustee heroes. Give them all different abilities, and then stupid names.. Like Michael T. Magnet, Louise O'Levitate, Principle S. Invisible, and Celia C. Threwthat Assign each ability a video game genre. Michael can grab things, so he gets Puzzle games where you need to get objects from rooms without touching them. Louise can fly, so she gets to do platforming games, with occasional bits of flying. The Principle has nice stealth based levels, with plenty of hide, seeking, listening and stealing.. And then Celia gets some kind of puzzle that involves seeing through objects. . . But she's a bit rubbish, so you might want to come up with a better character. Next, pair up the characters. Level one would be Principle and Michael, or Louise and Celia. The player picks which. Level two, they might swap around, and you get to pick which level to do. Keep the story flowing, with the characters meeting up with each other, switching groups, maybe even doing Boss-Levels in larger groups, and generally just using their abilities to get through the missions. Of course, that's probably an insanely complex idea, but... You know!! It's an idea! -=-=- ''Load, Next List!''
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| Tue, 09 Oct 2007, 16:13 | |
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Afr0
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Aha, thanks Jay! I have to say, I'm impressed with the way you are suggesting to pair up different heroes through different stages of the game to make them solve missions/puzzles/quests. Doing platforming and/or puzzle games out of a show as grandiose, fantasy-like and pompous (for lack of a better word) as Heroes sounds like it would really not fit in with the feel of the show though, gameplay wise. I'm still very intrigued by the general concept of what you're saying though - I'll have to think it over hard! As for getting the license to make a game about it... I read somewhere that Gameloft had gotten the license to produce a game for cellphones based on 'Heroes', and I'm guessing that means that noone are as of yet sitting on the rights to a PC/Mac/XBox/Whatever version. AFAIK, Gameloft produces cellphone games exclusively. I'm just wondering how much it would cost to get the 'right' license. -=-=- Afr0 Games Project Dollhouse on Github - Please fork!
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| Tue, 09 Oct 2007, 22:30 | |
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power mousey
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thats one thing that I meant by certain RPG elements. Have a party of only four to five members. Pick one Hero as your main character and then set off to save the world. The other characters, you decide which ones to join and form a team. Pick and choose which other Heroes you want and like to form or reform a team to go out on quests and missions. The other Heroes will be either NPCs or at the Hall of Heroes resting, sleeping, doing janitorial things as reserved members. The more Heroes you find, get to join, solve quests and/or personal problems together the greater Hero pool. By the way...> Reveal 🔎 cheers power mousey |
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