Self Study 4 (Pt.2) - Game Ideas

Game Idea 1: 'Light's Shade' - 3D Platformer

A fairly simplistic 3D platformer where you swap control between a humanoid character the shadow connected to them. The character can temporarily detach their shadow to allow it to move along surfaces freely in a style vaguely similar to painting mode in "The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds". The shadow's movement capabilities would be effected by the shadows of other things in the world, given it'd be able to move in all directions while in a shadow. 

The target audience would be people of all ages that are at least somewhat famililar with games/platformers, so the game wouldn't be too challenging for newcomers while providing enough enjoyment for veterans of the industry. I believe the game would be successful since while I have seen mechanics that are similar in concept to the shadow swap mechanic, I haven't seen it taken to the same extent as I'm imagining this game would take it. I also imagine the game would be able to spark creativity in players' minds in how they traverse and interact with everything in the world. A first prototype for this game would need to have the shadow swap mechanic implemented in some form or fashion so that it can be tweaked and refined before dev starts on everything else, it would also be ideal to have a few small interactions with the main player mode and shadow mode to explore their unique modes of movement.

Game Idea 2: 'One Shot' - FPS styled game

A conceptually simple FPS styled game where each player has a weapon that's connected to the other player's core (heart) that only has one shot worth of ammo. Activating the weapon ("core trigger") will destroy the other player's core. However, by default both players have a shield enable that prevent the core trigger from destroying their core, thus making the other player's one shot a failure. The shield is deactivated when interacting with various objects in the world or when your core trigger has been fired (failing the one shot basically guarantees the other player will win). The game loop will revolve around using what's in the environment to outwit the other player and get them to deactivate their shield so that you can get your one shot in. 

The target audience would be teens/young adults, though the game would be relatively accessible to most people. I believe the game would be successful since outwitting your opponent should allow for each round to feel unique and thus be endlessly replayable, I have also not seen a game that executes this exact idea before. A first prototype would need to have basic player movement and the core trigger/shield system implemented at least on a basic level. This would allow for the majority development to be focused around expanding the ways which the core game mechanic is interacted with by the players rather than focused on developing the core game mechanic itself.