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[JoshuaFH]

Some of you may know that I enjoy things that are action packed, but silly at the same time, which is why I ADORE things like God Hand and Pooty Tang.

So I was thinking of another of my imaginary games, and I just thought I'd write down this idea of mine. Nothing specific though, specifics don't matter, I just want to share the general idea of the mechanics of my imaginary game. I know these things will probably never be made, but I want to write them down. To note, the game is a satire of generic action movies, and thus many things are intentionally unoriginal.

First, to explain, there's three different main characters, which the game switches between as the story demands:

A rambo-esque all-around weapons specialist that is happy to use anything and everything at his disposal to kill his enemies.A hardened martial artist trained in a monastery hidden in the mountains of an obscure country. Has been trained since birth in the deadliest martial arts the world has to offer, and refuses to use any weapon other than his fist as a result. A pilot to a single giant mecha designed by a crazy professor which acts as the last line of defense against the invading army of bad guys.

All the characters have only two meters for their health and 'adrenalin' or 'special' gauge, along with a counter for money, which consumes no space. There's no inventory or other collectables. The health meter serves the obvious purpose, and the special meter is different for each character. There would be no health-ups or similar items, but how health is refilled is different for each character.

All the characters would start out as strong as they can possibly be, there would be no building up or leveling involved, just kicking as much ass as possible. To facilitate this ass kicking, the game revolves around a 'special gauge' that each character has, and each serves a different function.

For the weapon's specialist, or Action Hero, think of the doom guy from the doom comic, violent and enthusiastic about his job. He's a generic action hero in every sense of the word, and he knows it. Can use any weapon from guns to melee weapons to his bare hands. His special gauge is an adrenalin meter that slowly depletes, but refills as he damages/kills enemies, blows things up, kisses beautiful women, gets damaged, and performs awesome stunts. When his gauge is completely full, he enters 'adrenalin rush' mode where his health is refilled, he does more damage with his attacks, has unlimited ammo, takes less damage, jumps further, and moves faster. This mode doesn't last for long, but it facilitates the very aggressive mindset that the game is trying to nudge the player into. The speed to which the adrenalin gauge is filled differs depending on what weapon your using at the moment, so for example, it fills normally for most guns, twice as fast for using melee weapons, and four times as fast for using your bare fists. Entering adrenalin rush mode is the only way for the Action Hero to fill his health meter. While not a true inventory, he can carry two weapon Halo-style, which can both be dropped or switched at will. He can use his money to purchase weapons from merchants placed throughout the game.

For the Martial Artist, think of a weird combination of Gene from God Hand and Bruce Lee. He's violent, but has inner calmness and so will never revel in his violence. Due to this calmness however, he doesn't have an adrenalin meter nor can he enter adrenalin rush mode, but he DOES have a special meter, which fills similarly to the Weapon Specialist's, by damaging enemies and fighting excellently, but his does not deplete over time, but does deplete when he's damaged. His gauge actually has ten different levels to it, and the gauge goes up one level whenever it's completely full. The use for the gauge is simple, by pressing a button, time would stop and you'd enter a God Hand-esque menu with a list of powerful techniques with a 'price' attached to them. The price in question is how many levels of the gauge you have to sacrifice in order to use that move. Of course, they'd all be very powerful in order to make using them worth it. However, since he doesn't have an adrenalin rush mode, he can't refill his Health, however, this would be compensated for by explaining that since the Martial Artist has obtained Zen, he has complete control over his body, and can heal from wounds through sheer force of will. This would be represented by his health slowly refilling as you play. To facilitate the aggressive mindset the game would ideally nudge the player towards, the special gauge would fill many times faster depending on how much health the Martial Artist had remaining. So, for example, if he was at 1/2 health, then his special gauge would fill four times as fast, if he were at 1/4 health, then it would fill eight times as fast, at 1/8 health then sixteen times faster, and so on and so forth. To clarify, the Martial items would never use other other weapons except his fists, and his control scheme would be very different than that of the Action Hero. Well, I suppose ideally he'd also use melee weapons, but with a proficiency much greater than that of the Action Hero. He can use his money to purchase melee weapons and/or new clothing possibly.

Then the Mecha Pilot operates a generic Voltron-esque giant mecha by the name of Super Awesome Robo. It would be explained that this robot runs on personal determination and drive to win, which is why the Mecha Pilot character is the only person fit to pilot it, since he's the type of character that's mindlessly determined to the point of idiocy. This function would be represented in the game with a "Drive Meter". The Drive Meter, unlike the other two meters before it, is very large and would span the entire width of the screen, whereas the other two would only span a third. The Drive Meter is special in that it has an 'average point' which the drive meter will always be leaning towards. If you have less Drive than the average, then you'll regenerate until the average is restored, if you have more, the meter'll deplete until it hits average. The Drive meter would fuel all of the robots attacks, from super punches to laser eyes, but instead of a menu to select them from, all the attacks would be tied to the controller's buttons for easy use. To facilitate the aggressive mindset, the Drive Meter would also fill from attacking and killing enemies and wouldn't deplete from being attacked, and killing lots of enemies would give you more Drive than it would cost. Also, the performance of Super Awesome Robo would be directly proportional to how much Drive you had at the time. For example, if you have a good deal below the average point, SAR would be slower and weaker, but with if he had more than the average, then SAR would be faster and stronger and able to use more of his attacks in succession. Super Awesome Robo's health meter would be very large, also spanning the width of the screen, but it would be much more difficult to refill than the other two characters. Tying in with the aggressive mindset idea, the only way to refill his health would be to get MORE than the maximum amount of drive. SAR essentially being a magic robot, if he his drive meter is full, in spite of it constantly depleting, then any Drive that they gain that can't be used to used to further fill the meter will be used to replenish a portion of Super Awesome Robo's health. SAR can't collect and has no use for money.

Ideally, the game would be very hard and fast paced, with more than enough enemies to satiate the special meter system. Also, the enemies for each character's sequences would be matched for that character's specialty. So there'd be alot of gun-wielding enemies for the Action Hero, alot of unarmed/melee type enemies for the martial artist, and alot of giant-sized enemies for Super Awesome Robo and the Mecha Pilot.

The game's story itself would be intentionally generic, with the enemies literally referred to as 'bad guys', and the game wouldn't take itself seriously at all. There'd be bits of humor and references galore, but that's harder to describe effectively. It's that it's a parody, is what I'm trying to get at.

All that's been bothering my imagination lately, and I just wanted to write it down. I feel bad though that I wasted all my time writing this instead of the ending of my Redhounds short story. I have to go to bed now.

[Rooster]

I actually like the idea, but if it gets done, a lot of the effort has to be put towards the fact that it's unoriginal intentionally and that it's a parody, because I've read enough reviews on such games and they tried to treat them seriously, and that ended with a total disaster.

[Lord Dullard]

I dunno, look at the Team Fortress games - they also go with a sort of tongue-in-cheek parody-style of play, but it works. The main thing is translating the humor in such a way that's it's humorous and not boring or cliche, which can be difficult.

(It also helps if the gameplay itself is awesomely fun, of course.)

[Muz]

I'm tempted to make a long comment, but I'm gonna keep it short I'd sort of get rid of the gauge. A gauge is more 'realistic', but it makes people more stressed to continue on a combo. I'd try to make it more fun, instead of challenging.

Personally, I'd make Action Hero the "Easy" character, a button masher. I'd replace the gauge with a simple combo system. Something like A is a punch, A+A is two rapid punches, A+A+A+A+A is a gut ripping strike, if mashed fast enough. D is a shot, D held down is a burst, D held down with L1 and R1 tapped rapidly is a fatality burst that rips apart people in the room.

Weakness.. it doesn't work so well against bosses, so you still need to find some BFG to dish enough damage to a boss. Instead of releasing anger on the boss directly, maybe they'd have better luck using the surroundings. Either get a BFG or rip up some pillars and bash him around with it.

I'd still keep the healing, but make it per violent kills instead of based on a gauge. Button mashers would love him, other people with more skill find him too simple.

The Martial Artist can then appeal to more technical players.. button combo too, but with timing. He can on average deal more damage with a skilled player who gets the timing right, and has the bonus of blocking/dodging attack, unlike AH. He also has the skill to take down bosses with only his own weapons.

Mecha Pilot sounds just about right, so people can enjoy the gauge if they want one.

[JoshuaFH]

I'm tempted to make a long comment, but I'm gonna keep it short

Give in to the temptation, make the long comment. Fly into a tirade, a rant, a spiel, or whathaveyou!

I personally, like the idea of the gauge. Basically, what I'm trying to get at is that the gauge serves a purpose, that purpose being to instill an 'aggressive' mindset.

You see, I HATE games where it's in your best interests to be take things slow, watch your step, play completely defensively. So, in my mind, I imagine this game mechanic that not only gives you the tools to attack relentlessly, but makes it the path to victory!

So, what I'm saying is that getting the player stressed to fill their gauge is the point, since it instills the needs to be more and more aggressive and get to the next part as fast as possible, and consequently keeps them having fun. Though, to address your concerns, ideally the gauge wouldn't deplete rapidly, so you wouldn't have to worry about you're 'combo' as though it's something that'll be gone in a couple seconds, but fast enough to keep you worried about it.

[Muz]

Lol, people don't read rants.. and it takes up too much time

Heh, not really. There are plenty of games that reward you for "playing aggressively". Some have a sequel, where they gave just bonus points for more hits in a row, and people just hate that. Any kind of pressure kills mindless fun.

One way to force the player to play more aggressively is to use the Left 4 Dead style.. send more monsters after them the longer they wait. Or just cause some injury if they wait, like bombs falling from the sky, earthquakes, stray bullets from a battlefield. Maybe give them a time limit that increases as they keep moving, like in the Dino Run game. A gauge sort of kills the fun every time it runs out.

[deadlycairn]

There are actually plenty of ways to ensure people play aggressively. Part of it can be influenced by the theme, character design etc. (Who doesn't get into an aggressive mindset with the Heavy?), part of it can be influenced by something like a gauge (although this risks becoming gamey) and part of it is gameplay design.

If you give someone 5 gruesome kill animations, he'll get bored soon. Give him hundreds, and special unlock achievement/kills, and you have him gaming for a lifetime.

So basically, since the point is killing stuff, you want them to have a meta-game reason for killing the stuff, apart from, "So I can kill more stuff", because that's gonna get old fast. A multiplayer or competitive aspect would work, as would aforementioned achievements or glorious kill animations. And don't worry about catering to everyone - there'll always be a cautious gamer, there'll always be the munchkin, and there'll always be the roleplay dude who cracks heads with his bare hands.

[JoshuaFH]

...I read rants.

It seems silly to argue about the mechanics of an imaginary game that's never going to get made, so I'll just leave it at that it's what I think would be fun.

Though, to let people know, I despise achievements, competition, and metagamey stuff, so if it were up to me, those would be intentionally excluded in their entirety.

[deadlycairn]

Well the thing is, you said yourself the plot was the barest of things, so you need SOMETHING to keep the player hooked in your game. Some kind of mystical objective they can aim for to keep them going, and keep them killing stuff. The gauges are nice, but they only encourage aggressive gameplay, not actually playing the game. If achievements are out, then you need a different reason for the player to continue playing. Maybe the characters have thousands of hilarious and witty one-liners (not just ten, that would get old fast). Maybe the characters kill people in exceedingly brutal and gory ways as their gauge fills up (again, you'd need a lot of ways). Maybe there are engaging and enjoyable objectives to complete as you progress along the plot (not the kill x enemy objectives) or maybe, there's highscores or even multiplayer competition.

Flow is an example of a game that manages to be engaging without offering much in the way of anything other than some simple gameplay. Nail that and you've got it made. Hypothetically speaking of course

[sonerohi]

Except without being overrated horsecrap like flow is.

[deadlycairn]

I'll admit, it got a bit stale after you evolved, but I still have no idea how it even managed to be engaging for that length of time.

And, as with everything else, YMMV. I don't know of any game that appeals to everyone.

[Luke_Prowler]

Heh, I'd like a game like this. Although I would agree that for it should be more based on gruesome deaths than a gauge.

The martial art guy's way of fighting should be like a watered down fighting game, like what Batman: Arkham Asylum did, with free flowing fighting, and incorporate environment into it. and improvise weapons. 

[JoshuaFH]

Well the thing is, you said yourself the plot was the barest of things, so you need SOMETHING to keep the player hooked in your game. Some kind of mystical objective they can aim for to keep them going, and keep them killing stuff. The gauges are nice, but they only encourage aggressive gameplay, not actually playing the game. If achievements are out, then you need a different reason for the player to continue playing. Maybe the characters have thousands of hilarious and witty one-liners (not just ten, that would get old fast). Maybe the characters kill people in exceedingly brutal and gory ways as their gauge fills up (again, you'd need a lot of ways). Maybe there are engaging and enjoyable objectives to complete as you progress along the plot (not the kill x enemy objectives) or maybe, there's highscores or even multiplayer competition.

Flow is an example of a game that manages to be engaging without offering much in the way of anything other than some simple gameplay. Nail that and you've got it made. Hypothetically speaking of course

(SONUVA! I accidentally deleted my entire post, and have to rewrite it!)

Oh, that's what you mean Cairn. Yeah, I agree that the game has to be engaging, and hold the player's interest. I suppose I just didn't get around to describing the game world, or was too lazy to. To help with the engaging problem, I suppose that INTENSE FAST PACED ACTION SCENES and FULLY IMMERSIVE 3D ENVIRONMENTS and AMAZING BOSS FIGHTS and other stuff that you'd find on the back of the box would be helpful.

Though, to be serious, it's not as though the story would comprise of 'go to room to room killing stuff', there'd be SOMETHING of a story, but it would go the way of hurrying you along and you being a pawn of greater powers route, rather than just infodumping you and slowing down the action.

Like, what I'm trying to say is, that Action Hero would be recruited to fight the bad guys, but never told WHY, and at first the story would seem shallow, but then you'd learn there's a greater purpose to your aimless rage, and that your enemies have motives beyond 'kill you'. I suppose, if executed properly, it'd be kind've mysterious.

Also, to add to the intrigue, I think it would be fun if there were banter between Action Hero and his superior officer throughout the game, and he'd never be serious about anything, and he'd openly talk to himself as he explores the game world and comment on the things he sees. Also, alot of easter eggs might be nice, like say if you make Action Hero stand in a cold environment pointlessly for a long time then he might say "Goddamnit player, I'm cold. GET ME WARM!". Also, I suppose like maybe something of a pointless phone that you find halfway through the game. There's noone plot important to call, but if the player is observant, there'd be phone numbers all throughout the game the he can call and get random conversations, or, if the player's clever, then he could get recorded secrets about the game if he calls the number of whatever game studio makes the game.

Also, I suppose that the game having an abundance of exciting scenes would help motivate the player to get from point A to point B. For example, I thought of a scene, inspired by Uncharted 2, where Action Hero's enemies get away on a train, but then chases them on another train that goes along on paralell tracks. You'd start on the chasing train and need to advance up the cars to get to the boss fight. The plot important enemy on the train, Bulky Mchugemuscles, would deter you by not only sending huge waves of baddies but during one instance where he'd pick up and throw one of those giant propane cars at you, and you'd need to jump forward to avoid getting crushed by it, then need to shoot the car cabling before it explodes, and when it does, you'd see it disconnect, lose momentum and travel backwards and then EXPLODE, complete with mushroom cloud, then be narrowly knocked off the train by the resulting shockwave. It would all be during gameplay, of course, since I hate cutscenes.

I think that would be pretty cool.

[Luke_Prowler]

So it's like Metal Gear Solid but with more action? awesome.

What were you thinking on terms of graphics. I would think for something like this, I would think Viewtiful Joe-esque.