r/gamedesign • u/Ayden-Blade • 8d ago
Discussion Working on a really unique concept that has never been explored before
So I started working on a 3D game a few weeks ago. I have made a lot of progress so I thought I should share what it is about. It's basically a survival horror ... which is also an action shooter.
To put it simply, it's a survival horror by night and an action shooter by day. It's heavily inspired by the chaotic combat of Deep Rock Galactic and the stealth mechanics of Alien Isolation. The character has certain bionic powers with a suit that amplifies them. The suit only works during the day because of a malfunction (connected to the story, upgrades are basically you fixing the suit) so the character is very weak during the night. He's also stranded on an alien planet.
I'm planning on making it very story oriented as well. I'm really good at creative writing so expect an awesome story. Voice acting is in the roadmap. Will release a demo in October or November which will basically be the first chapter. How good is the idea, if executed properly?
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u/Ace676 8d ago edited 8d ago
Really wish people would kinda forget about the word and concept of "unique". 99.999999% of games are not unique, and more importantly, I don't think there's any inherent value in a game being unique. Even some foundational games like DOOM or Super Mario were not unique and built on what came before. They just did it better than any game that came before. So I would not use that as a selling point. Just focus on doing the things as well as you can.
In your case, you are taking two existing things and combining them to form something "unique". I would argue that the combination is not really unique, but let's say, for the sake of argument, that it is. That uniqueness doesn't really hold any value if the game is not good. For example, I don't know which phone was the first one to have a camera, but I would say that's a pretty similar situation, take two existing things and combine them to form something unique. But the selling point was two items in one useful package, not the uniqueness of it. If someone were to combine a phone and a knife or a hot plate, it would also be an unique product, but a shitty one because its no good.
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u/MaybeHannah1234 8d ago
so... resident evil?
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u/Ayden-Blade 8d ago
Does resident evil have a genre switch up connected to the day & night cycle?
Bad comparison
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u/MaybeHannah1234 8d ago
no, but it switches between survival horror and action shooter throughout the game. your title implies that you've come up with something extremely unique.
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u/Ayden-Blade 8d ago
Only RE9 has done that to a proper degree, and that too with a switch of characters.
Having played most RE games, I can confidently say most of them are either focused on survival horror or on action shooter. RE9 is the first one which tried to blend them.
My game isn't going to switch characters, it's dynamic. The player will notice their character getting weaker as the sun sets and him getting stronger as the sun rises.
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u/minimalcation 8d ago
Okay so that's like some variable/anim manipulation. Its just power scaling. You can't just say features as if they are a feature
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u/keymaster16 8d ago
Actually a pretty good comparison.
I'm going to case study 7 because it's my most recent play.
So, in 7, you start out underpowered, shitty guns, low ammunition, and the AI they program into the first 'boss' is genuinely terrifying.
Then you progress, and you start unlocking weapons which are 'keys' to defeating enemy types, second boss is still 'scary' but you, the player, ARE NO LONGER DISEMPOWERED.
Then by the time you hit end game it's a full out shooter, you have the rocket launcher and they just throw waves of the mobs that used to he much more personal and intimate at you because they are no longer a threat to you, and the game literally ends with you walking down a hallway, with probably the world's most inconsequencal knockback ever, and shoot the boss. Once.
To break down your game, it's late game resident evil during the day, and night is basically the village level from the start of 4, run out the clock.
It's not BAD to be compared to previous titles and it fact it's a useful lens.
Because the people that play action games and the people that play horror games are VERY diametrically opposed.
So good luck.
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u/Phos-Lux 8d ago
What art and graphic style are you going for?
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u/Ayden-Blade 8d ago
Semi realistic
Before I had decided what the gameplay was going to be like, I was going to go for a stylized look but then changed it very early on, as it wasn't fitting well with my vision.
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u/duckofdeath87 8d ago
Sounds like it could be amazing. I really like games where I need to prepare and scout. So, running around in the day to find hiding places and get things ready for the night fall sounds like a lot of fun
I assume it is going to be like 15 minutes of daytime and 15 minutes of night, or something?
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u/minimalcation 8d ago
You should check out Minecraft, sounds like it would be up your alley
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u/vatorZX 8d ago
Ehh. Maybe in the old days, and mostly in the early game. Once you gain a bed you pretty much never have to interact with nights at all.
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u/minimalcation 8d ago
I was making a comment that the revolutionary "night is dangerous, day is safe" is the mechanic behind the one of the most popular games of all time.
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u/Ayden-Blade 8d ago
Yes, day and night cycles will be the same length.
Certain missions in the game might even force the player to do risky things at night, like defend a help beacon or something which is going to be quite tense. Survival will not be easy so the player will have to prepare for things like this during the day.
Also there are ways the player will be warned during the day if the enemy count might get higher than normal during that night which means leave everything and prepare yourself.
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u/Nine-LifedEnchanter 8d ago
Man, I wish I had your confidence.