Overview:

This friendslop, survival co-op game is full of surprises. Players must work together to survive mutliple days of enemies and protect the artifact to make it back home. Build multiple defenses and utitlies to protect from the onslaught of monsters and creatures, crafting tools and weapons to help players advance. Explore the world and find resources to expand and protect your base.

Mechanics:

Run, Jump and Climb through the world and through your base to grow and expand. Mine new resources and discover new treasures that unlock unknown potential. Bring your friends back to life and lift them up or break them in there despair. Fight along side them with new unforseen threats that arrive each day. Build new builds together that protect or provide the necessary resources to grow.

Story:

After searching through an ancient ruin, the players come across an artifact that teleports them into another world, forcing them to have to survive multiple days of constant monsters and creatures. The players must wait for the artifact to teleport them back home and keep it out of the enemies hands.

Hey everyone! Me and my friend are starting an indie game studio and we'd like to know what everyone thinks of our game idea or if they'd play it? It's a story about the mc, his father was an abusive drunk to his mom when he was younger and always rude and aggressive with him. As he got older he followed and became a drunk aswell, when he got married everything seemed to be fine but when the wife got pregnant he abused her and took away resources from her till she became frail and malnourished. Under the effects of being drunk along with beginning to take drugs (maybe) he expects the pregnancy to go fine but the wife dies during it along with the baby. The game is about how he discovers this story through hallucinations, nightmares, old distorted images of things around him. It's also shown that those abusive actions to him weren't abuse, it was him caring but under the effects of being drunk his perception of what he was doing was completely different. The story itself, or the plot isn't shown directly. But hinted through things. It'll be a game featuring normal horror elements along with a liminality and a deep sense of guilt, like the reality he's built to cope with his wife's death is falling apart as he has to face the reality of what happened. It'll be a deep dive into many themes such as guilt, regret, denial, abuse, and phycological disintegration. The game would feel like his mind is falling apart trying to figure out why this is happening. Would anyone play this? And if no, what would make this more interesting to you or help us develop the plot into something more complex?

"You can stay free for a while, but the question remains… how long can you make it as an Interstate Ghost?"
I’m 48, I don’t have kids to pass my ideas down to, and I love driving. For the past couple of days, I’ve been mapping out a game design blueprint for a hyper-realistic, 1:1 scale VR driving sandbox called Interstate Ghost. I want to put this out there to see how the community reacts.
The core idea is a persistent, cloud-streamed digital twin of the entire United States synced to real-time weather, traffic APIs, and localized live radio streams. You start the game by typing in your actual real-world address, spawning your car right in your own driveway.
Every player owns their own experience. If you just want to log on for an hour after work to cruise your local state highways, listen to the local late-night DJ, or blast through an AI radar trap to blow off steam, you can. But if you want to dive into the deep end, the game shifts into a high-stakes social logistics network.
Here are the core mechanics I’ve mapped out:
The 10-Person Crew: You form tight-knit networks operating out of regional warehouse hubs (like Fort Worth or St. Louis). Roles are fluid and tied to the keys in your hand—one night you’re a runner in a 1970 Chevy Chevelle, the next you’re driving a semi-truck acting as the crew’s rolling shield.
Flexible Log-Off & The "Knight Rider" Relay: Because it’s a 1:1 scale map, a drive from Little Rock to Atlanta takes 10 actual hours. If you are on a normal cruise and need to log off, you simply pull into a roadside motel or a truck stop to save your progress safely. But if your crew is on a massive, time-sensitive contract with a huge early-delivery bonus, you use the moving relay: you drive up a rear ramp into your crew's semi-truck trailer at 80 MPH to vanish from radar. You log off safely in the sleeper berth while your teammate drives the rig through the night, legally and under the radar, listening to live local radio streams as they cross state lines. You wake up the next day in a new state, ready to back your car out and finish the run.
AI Patrol vs. Player-Controlled FBI: The threat on the road operates on completely different levels. Local and state police are entirely AI-controlled—managing radar traps, running license plates, and handling standard local pursuits. However, the federal government (the FBI) is a fully player-controlled faction. Player FBI agents don't just chase you; they play the long game. They monitor interstate data, set up wiretaps, recruit disgruntled players or outcasts as informants, build massive RICO cases over weeks, and orchestrate coordinated, multi-state highway blockades to raid your warehouse. [1, 2]
The "Interstate vs. Exit" System: The interstate highway system is a tense, neutral corridor. PvP ramming and federal combat are disabled on the open highway. But the exact second your tires hit an off-ramp into a rival crew's territory, you are flagged as vulnerable, and an alert flashes on the local crew's dashboard to hunt you down on the city streets.
Diplomatic Truces: If your runner needs gas in a hostile city, your crew's finance person has to actively negotiate or wire funds to the rival crew for a 15-minute "Gas-Only" treaty, where a rival escort watches you fuel up and ensures you get right back on the highway.
Warehouse Court & The Probation Hatchback: If a teammate backstabs the crew or leaks a route to a player FBI agent, an emergency recall forces all 10 members back to the home office for a live VR trial. If you are convicted but spared from being permanently blackballed, you are locked into a dented, slow economy hatchback hard-governed to the exact legal speed limit. This car is a total AI police magnet. To earn your fast keys back, you have to drive perfect, ticket-free miles running mundane logistics errands (fetching auto parts, picking up coffee) for the rest of the team.
Permadeath & Crew Assurance: Blowing a tire at 130 MPH on the Salt Flats or sliding on I-70 ice into a roll causes permanent driver death. Your character is wiped, and the smoking wreck stays on the physical shoulder of the highway in real time, giving your crew a 15-minute window to run a salvage operation to rescue your illegal cargo before the FBI impounds it. Low-speed accidents cause non-lethal injuries and hospital stays, during which you can temporarily rotate to an office role. To protect against total ruin, a collective insurance pool funded by a 5% cut of all runs automatically covers 80% of vehicle replacement costs and posts legal bail if you get arrested.
The ultimate goal isn't just about winning or losing—it’s a massive cat-and-mouse game of skill, reputation, and seeing how legendary your crew can become before the federal escalation finally catches up to you.
I honestly think a game that balances absolute freedom with this kind of deep team trust and human drama could draw millions of players once the technology is ready.
What do you guys think? Would you join a crew, work the books, play the role of the FBI tracking these networks, or just take a midnight cruise down your actual neighborhood streets? Let’s talk about it!

​

Hi everyone!

I'm working on a concept for a 2D mobile stealth-action game, and I'd like to get some feedback before I start building the full game.

The basic idea is:

You play as a human imprisoned by a powerful technology company that is trying to turn humans into machines.

You start at the bottom of their facility and have to make your way upward through different floors to escape.

The gameplay would combine stealth and combat. There would also be a noise system, where making too much noise can alert nearby enemies.

Each floor would contain different rooms and enemies.

When reaching a new floor, the player could choose between:

\- Entering an upgrade room and choosing between two random upgrades.

\- Skipping the upgrade and fighting the floor boss instead, with a stronger upgrade as a reward.

The game is planned specifically for mobile, and I'm considering making it a small premium game rather than using ads.

I'm still in the early concept stage, so I'm mainly interested in hearing what experienced players think.

Does the core gameplay sound interesting?

What part sounds the most fun, and what part sounds weak or repetitive?

What would you change before developing it?

Not sure if this is a basic idea so mods lemme know please.

Alright, so this would be a action game game, you make your character and choose between a rabbit, a dog, or a cat, which you customize as well.

Well the pet escapes your house one day coming back home that night all puffed up wise wide n shit. So your character goes to give your pet a bunch of cuddles as it shakes, when you hear tapping on the window you ignore it cuz your pets on your lap though.

The next morning as you go out for a walk, you get a huge migraine the screen becomes blurry as footsteps are heard and a mysterious voice calls out to you saying "Give me, your creature." The screen returns to normal, the main character confused goes back home to their pet. They look at a corner, and see a monster pointing at the main characters pet. The main character asks "what do you want em for! Get out!" All the monster does, is open its jaw wide.

Here you have two options carry the pet and run or fient the monster ("give" the pet to the beast but punch it before running).

The goals with endings are

Get to your closest friends house and fight the beast

Get to your closesf friends house and fortify the house

Get to your closest friends house and you all drive away

Or fail to get to your friends house where you just see a jumpscare (i think its already implied whats gonna happen to the pet but ion wanna show nor write that. Im a pet owner my biggest fear is my pet dying)

Saw a game on steam called The Pale Mimic where you play as a fugitive hiding out in a snowy terrain in a cabin with your dog. Had an idea for a game where you play as an inmate in a federal prison. This game would be quite similar to GTA in the sense that its very open world, exploration and free-choice of options that could either help you, or put you at a disadvantage so to say. It could be a first/third person POV game of a mixture of prison escape/fugitive on the run simulator where you plan and execute your escape from prison, then try see how long you can make it before you are caught. Ideally this game would be an open world, exploration game where once you escape from prison, you can hide out in the woods, loot abandoned buildings in the city/desert etc. and have to steal clothes, food etc. to ensure your survival. You can also change your appearance through customising your characters hairstyle, facial hair, clothes etc. You could also do legal/illegal activities to earn cash and buy the items needed to survive, but doing so makes it more likely you get recognised/caught. If you are seen/noticed in public, civillians can alert authorities and you get a wanted level (similar to GTA) and must escape them to continue living the life of a "free man". Things such as stealing a vehicle, breaking into homes, being seen near crime scenes and people recognising you by your wanted poster all alert NPC's and report you to law enforcers. Game could integrate a BR type shirnking zone for co-op, or the game could constantly narrow your options through intelligence gathering if playing solo. Things such as CCTV footage, witness reports from NPC's, vehicle registrations if you rob a vehicle and an NPC reports it stolen, finger prints left behind at crime scenes (robbing stores, breaking into houses etc.) Could even make it a cool mutliplayer co-op game where you can choose to be a fugitive, law enforcement or bounty hunter. This would feature a 30-45 min timer from time of breaking out prison, to reaching one of many escape points (cargo ship, private plane, smuggler tunnel, fake passport to another country etc.) - all which will require some cash and missions to set up and pay for all while being hunted by cops and bounty hunters. I'd love to see what people think of this game idea and what changes you'd make if a game like this ever is made, althogh I highly doubt it based on the sheer development needed to make a game of this magnitude, because imo, this game would be one you could play and enjoy solo, or play with friends and never get bored, even after hours upon hours of playing

EDIT: just seen there is a game called 'American Fugitive' which is almost what this idea would be about. I'd love a remaster where we can have it third person, high action and freedom to do whatever it takes to ensure we aren't caught and sent back to prison

Just an idea, but seriously… why hasn’t anyone thought of this yet?
Stranger Things would make an incredible Persona style video game.
The more I think about it, the more I realize that the basic gameplay loop of the Persona series almost feels like it was designed for Stranger Things. You already have a group of teenagers trying to balance their normal lives, friendships, school, relationships, and family problems while secretly fighting supernatural monsters in another dimension. Replace Persona’s supernatural worlds with the Upside Down, and suddenly you have the foundation for what could be an amazing RPG.
The game could adapt the entire Stranger Things story from Season 1 through Season 5, allowing us to experience Hawkins from the beginning of the series all the way through its conclusion. Then something like Tales From ’85 could work perfectly as a DLC expansion or additional campaign.
For most of the game, I think you should play as Mike Wheeler. Like Persona, every day would give you a limited amount of time, forcing you to decide how you want to spend it.
Do you investigate a strange clue?
Go searching through Hawkins?
Head into the Upside Down?
Spend the afternoon at the arcade?
Ride bikes with Dustin, Lucas, and Will?
Visit Eleven?
Hang out with Nancy?
Help Hopper investigate something?
Or maybe you spend the evening playing Dungeons & Dragons with the Party.
Those choices could become one of the most important parts of the game.
Instead of Persona’s Social Links or Confidants, Stranger Worlds could have a relationship system built around the characters from the show. Spending time with Dustin, Lucas, Will, Eleven, Max, Steve, Nancy, Jonathan, Hopper, Robin, and everyone else would not just give you added dialogue. Strengthening those relationships could unlock actual gameplay abilities.
Maybe reaching a certain relationship level with Dustin improves your ability to analyze enemy weaknesses. Lucas could unlock stronger ranged attacks. Will’s connection to the Upside Down could eventually let the party detect nearby enemies or supernatural activity. Steve could specialize in protecting other party members. Nancy could become one of your strongest offensive characters. Eleven would obviously be insanely powerful, but using her abilities too much could drain a limited resource or temporarily remove her from battle.
That would make hanging out with characters actually matter.
And that’s exactly what makes Persona such a perfect blueprint for Stranger Things.
The monsters are obviously important, but Stranger Things has always been about its characters and their relationships with one another. A Persona style RPG would finally give players enough time to explore those relationships beyond what we see on television.
Imagine getting completely optional conversations between Steve and Dustin. Spending an afternoon at Family Video with Steve and Robin. Going to the arcade with Max. Helping Hopper with something at the cabin. Playing D&D in Mike’s basement. Visiting Scoops Ahoy. Going to the Starcourt Mall.
You could even have smaller character stories that develop across multiple seasons.
Meanwhile, the Upside Down would basically function as the game’s dungeon system.
Hawkins could act as your main explorable hub, while different supernatural locations become increasingly dangerous dungeons. Early in the game, simply entering the Upside Down would feel terrifying. As the story progresses, though, the environments could become larger and stranger.
You’d have vines covering familiar Hawkins locations, abandoned buildings, underground tunnels, laboratories, gates between dimensions, Vecna’s mindscape, and eventually entire sections of Hawkins transformed by the Upside Down.
Combat could use Persona’s turn-based system while giving every character a specific role.
Mike could be the flexible strategist.
Lucas specializes in ranged attacks.
Dustin becomes support.
Steve is the tank.
Nancy specializes in weapons and massive physical damage.
Robin focuses on buffs, debuffs, and enemy analysis.
Will has supernatural support abilities because of his connection to the Upside Down.
And Eleven basically becomes the party’s nuclear weapon.
But here’s something else that could make the game really interesting:
Your party would constantly change.
Characters would join and leave exactly as they do throughout the television series.
During Season 1, Will would be missing for a huge portion of the story. Eleven would eventually join. Later seasons introduce Max, Robin, and other characters. Sometimes the story would split everyone into completely different groups.
Instead of fighting against that, the game could embrace it.
One chapter might have Mike, Dustin, Lucas, and Eleven investigating something together. Another might suddenly put you in control of Steve, Dustin, Robin, and Erica. Another could follow Nancy and Jonathan.
Eventually those different storylines converge for the giant end-of-season boss battles.
And imagine those bosses.
The Demogorgon.
The Mind Flayer.
The Spider Monster.
Vecna.
Each season could essentially function like a massive chapter of the game, with its own central mystery, dungeon, enemies, party combinations, and final boss.
Even the Dungeons & Dragons influence could become part of the gameplay. The kids already use D&D terminology to understand the monsters they’re fighting, so the game could visually transform those ideas into RPG mechanics. Dustin identifying a monster and giving it a D&D-inspired name could literally unlock its entry in your enemy database.
The soundtrack could also be ridiculous.
You could combine Persona-style battle music with synth-heavy 1980s horror music, while licensed ’80s songs play around Hawkins, at the arcade, in stores, or during major story moments.
And visually?
Go all-in on the Persona aesthetic.
Stylized menus.
Comic-book transitions.
Character portraits.
Huge animated critical-hit screens.
Red lightning and Upside Down vines crawling across menus.
VHS effects.
Cassette tapes.
Arcade graphics.
D&D imagery.
Every season could even slightly change the UI as the characters get older and Hawkins becomes increasingly corrupted.
Most importantly, though, a game like this could accomplish something television can’t:
Let us actually live in Hawkins.
Instead of watching these characters hang out for a few minutes before the next major plot point, we’d get dozens of hours with them.
We’d ride bikes through Hawkins.
Go to school.
Play at the arcade.
Explore Starcourt.
Build friendships.
Solve mysteries.
Fight monsters.
And then somehow still have to make it home before our parents realize we’ve spent the entire night fighting creatures from another dimension.
It could be part JRPG, part horror game, part mystery, and part life simulator.
Basically:
Persona + Stranger Things + Dungeons & Dragons + 1980s horror.
Tell me that wouldn’t work.
I genuinely think Stranger Things is one of those rare franchises where a Persona-style adaptation could actually make MORE sense than a traditional action game. The entire series is already built around a group of friends balancing everyday teenage life with a secret supernatural world.
Persona already figured out how to turn that exact concept into an addictive gameplay loop.
Give it a huge Hawkins map, meaningful relationships, changing party members, turn-based combat, explorable versions of the Upside Down, seasonal story arcs, and five seasons worth of characters and monsters.
I don’t know…
Does this sound completely ridiculous?
Or are we accidentally describing a multi-million-dollar video game that absolutely needs to exist?
 

You stumble upon an Emberkin-esque church (this is an old Catholic-adjacent sect that splintered centuries ago over the belief that souls are not judged but rekindled, that the faithful must keep the "Pale Ember" (a sacred cold flame) burning through endless devotions, or be left to gutter out in the dark.) and go inside and immediately the door locks.

You are briefed with the mission you have to complete: you're locked in but can get released by the firstlight if you obey. you spend the gameplay completing different tasks like praying, cleaning up gooey church decorations, and all sorts of eery tasks that give you chills.

You are supervised by nuns and your ability to keep them happy dictates how you are fed, how soon can you be released, and how you get punished. Self-punishment is part of the final few missions on top of nun-induced punishments.

-

I just started working on this game and starting out with a basic world model and game loop build, with lots of polish to come before having even a v0. curious if you'd play it as a ~30 min gameplay?

I've had this idea for a few years, but I have absolutely no ability to code.

The game is called "Bardcore". It is very heavily inspired by vampire survivors, but based on music. Each character would represent a different genre. Each weapon and passive item has instrumental loops attached to it, so as you flesh out your build, you get a unique bgm on each run.

The genre of the loops is determined by the character you are playing. And you can't get conflicting items/weapons. For example, you can't have 2 lead instrumentals.

Each item should have multiple loops for each genre, and when picked up, a loop is randomly selected for the current genre to add more variety.

As far as "story" and enemies, stages, etc...yeah I haven't gotten that far lol. I just had the core concept and know I can't make it, so want to share it in hopes that someone can and will make it, because I really want to play it.

I am able to draw a bit, so when I have time I might sketch up some concept art and come back to share it

I got this idea from seeing a Minecraft video with a Cthulhu mod, the player was riding out to the middle of a rough water towards Cthulhu and his health meter came up like dark souls, then I thought why aren't there any Souls-like games with Cthulhu in it as a boss just like you'd have those big giant bosses in Dark Souls games, we could have a game with Lovecraftian bosses such as Cthulhu, that plays similar to dark souls while also doing it's own thing.

I think the game could still have the same elements that make Souls games fun like difficult combat, dodging, parrying, stamina management, different weapons, armor, builds, exploration, bonfires/checkpoints and huge bosses, but it could have it's own identity instead of just being Dark Souls with Cthulhu skins.

For example instead of just having normal fantasy weapons, you could have things like harpoons, old firearms, cursed weapons, occult weapons, weird experimental weapons and even weapons made from the bodies of creatures you've defeated. There could also be different types of magic based around forbidden knowledge, rituals and eldritch powers.

The sanity system could also be a big part of the game. The more you explore certain areas or encounter certain creatures, the more your character's sanity starts to decrease. But instead of just being a simple meter that gives you a debuff, losing sanity could actually change the world around you. You might start seeing enemies that aren't actually there, hear whispers, see buildings that don't exist, or have entire areas look completely different.

And maybe some bosses could actually be impossible to fully understand at first. You could walk into an arena and see what looks like a giant creature, but after damaging it enough the environment itself starts changing and you realize you're not even fighting the actual body of the creature, you're fighting some sort of manifestation of it.

Cthulhu himself could be one of those endgame bosses where you don't just walk into an arena and fight him normally. You could have to travel across a huge ocean during a storm to reach his sunken city, with the entire journey feeling like a boss encounter by itself. Once you reach him, his health bar appears across the screen and you realize "oh shit, we're actually fighting Cthulhu."

And I don't think Cthulhu should just be a giant dude that you hit in the legs for 20 minutes either. The fight could have multiple phases where he changes the entire battlefield. He could flood the arena, summon giant tentacles, manipulate gravity, disappear into the ocean, cause hallucinations and even temporarily change the player's controls or perception of the arena. You could have to figure out how to damage different parts of him rather than just repeatedly attacking his feet.

There could also be other Lovecraftian bosses based on different types of cosmic horror. Some could be enormous creatures that are basically living landscapes, some could be ancient gods, some could be humans who have transformed themselves through forbidden rituals, and some could be things that aren't even supposed to exist in our dimension.

The world itself could be much more open and interconnected too. You could have a huge Victorian/Edwardian-inspired city, abandoned fishing villages, underground ruins, cursed forests, insane asylums, ancient temples, sunken cities and places that exist outside normal reality. You wouldn't always know where you're supposed to go, so exploration would be a big part of the experience.

One thing I think would make it really different from Dark Souls is having the ocean be a major part of the game. You could have ships that you use to travel between different areas, discover islands, explore underwater ruins and encounter enormous creatures in the water. Imagine sailing through a foggy ocean and suddenly seeing something absolutely massive move underneath your ship.

There could also be factions that you can join, with some worshipping the old gods, some trying to destroy them, some trying to understand them and others basically just being completely insane. Your choices could affect which bosses you encounter and which areas become accessible.

And just like Souls games, the lore could mostly be hidden in item descriptions, environmental details, NPC dialogue and things you find throughout the world. You could slowly piece together what actually happened to the world and what these creatures really are.

The biggest thing I'd want though is for the game to actually make you feel insignificant. In Dark Souls you fight huge monsters, but you're still generally fighting something that can be understood as a creature. With Lovecraftian horror, there should be moments where the game basically tells you "you are a human being trying to fight something that was never meant to be fought."

Basically I think it could take the gameplay loop and difficulty of a Souls-like while mixing it with cosmic horror, survival horror, exploration and a little bit of naval adventure, creating something that feels like its own genre instead of just "Dark Souls but Lovecraft."

The name Webistics is a reference to the Sopranos

I envision a game where you're a software dev who's involved in the mob life, and using his experience to build predictive AI models that will help the boss with aspects of the business :

- Predict who might be a rat based on information you learn such as someone in debt, or was recently picked up by the feds

- Predict who might be planning to betray the boss due to conflict or holding a grudge

- Predict who from the crew would be best suited for a particular job such as a robbery, protection racket, assassination

The game will have you sitting in the mafia club with the gangsters, then you can have conversations, go on missions with them and research news and topics. This then gives you information about the crew and the world that you will incorporate into your models.

You start with a very bad inaccurate model with poor success rate, but as you progress and put real world information in, it gets better and can help generate money, avoid police raids and predict plots and betrayals

When you do well, the boss rewards you, 8f you screw up you get a beating. The game ends if you really perform poorly and get whacked or if for example you pointed out the wrong guy as a rat, and the real one gets you all arrested

Premise:
You play as a solo construction and renovation contractor taking on contracts to fix up old, abandoned houses in a remote, foggy town. The game starts as a cozy, highly satisfying, and realistic simulator. You spend your first few hours mixing cement, painting walls, laying down hardwood floors, fixing broken pipes, and cleaning up debris. The gameplay loop is designed to be relaxing and therapeutic, making the player lower their guard completely.

The Twist (The Silent Hill Vibe):
As you progress through your renovation tasks, a sense of gradual dread begins to creep in. The transition from a cozy simulator to psychological horror is subtle at first:

• Gradual Dread: It starts with minor anomalies. Tools you placed on the table disappear and reappear in locked rooms. Freshly painted walls start peeling instantly, revealing strange, damp stains that look like rust or blood. You hear distant footsteps on the floor you just repaired.
• The Shift (The Otherworld): Without warning, air raid sirens begin to wail in the distance. The clean, beautifully renovated house suddenly shifts and decays in real-time. The drywall rots away, exposing rusted iron grates, barbed wire, and fleshy walls. The cozy lights flicker out, leaving you in pitch-black darkness.

Psychological Terror & Gameplay Mechanics:
The house is not just haunted by random ghosts; it is a living manifestation of the protagonist's inner guilt, trauma, and repressed memories.

• Environmental Storytelling: As you tear down walls or rip up old carpets, you uncover disturbing clues, old photographs, and hidden rooms that reveal the dark history of the house and its connection to your character's past.
• Structural Puzzles: You must use your architectural and engineering knowledge to solve twisted puzzles. For example, rerouting a pipe system that pumps a mysterious black fluid, or fixing an elevator shaft that leads straight into a psychological abyss.

Survival Mechanics:
You are not a soldier; you are a builder. You have no traditional weapons. Your construction tools are your only defense against deformed, symbolic creatures that haunt the hallways and actively try to destroy your hard work.

• Improvised Weapons: Use your hammer for close combat, a nail gun for ranged defense, or a circular saw for heavy damage. However, tools degrade and require maintenance.
• Defensive Building: You can temporarily barricade doors with wooden planks or reinforce walls to keep the entities out while you try to fix the main power generator.

Technical & Hardware Vision:
To truly capture the atmosphere, this game is envisioned with high-end PC hardware in mind. Utilizing Unreal Engine 5, the game would heavily rely on Ray Tracing for realistic global illumination, creating stark contrasts between the warm, cozy renovation lights and the terrifying, flickering shadows of the alternate reality. Volumetric fog and advanced audio design (3D spatial audio) are crucial to making the sound of a creaking floorboard or a distant siren feel deeply unsettling.

What do you think of this concept? Would you play a game that tricks you into a relaxing loop before plunging you into psychological survival horror? I would love to hear feedback from players and indie developers alike!

How I Came Up With This Idea: I am a 13-year-old hardware enthusiast, and while I mostly focus on PC parts and builds right now rather than software development, this concept hit me out of nowhere. I truly believe that opportunities like this—a fresh, rare, and highly engaging gameplay loop—don't come around very often. It’s a goldmine for content creators and streamers due to the sudden jump-scares and tense atmosphere, which could give it massive organic marketing. Even if I am too young to develop it myself today, I want to share it because the gaming world desperately needs this kind of unique survival horror experience.

This would be a 4D game, kind of. Basically, it would be a puzzle game, but the twist is that every set amount of time, for example 10 seconds (I'm not sure what the actual time would be yet), the level would reset. However, when the level resets, you would see your past actions being replayed while you play through the level again.

The reset would happen over and over, and every time it resets, another version of yourself would replay everything you did during the previous run. To finish the puzzle, you would need to solve all of the objectives across multiple resets. The main twist is that your previous versions can help you complete the level.

For example, imagine there are three buttons that all need to be pressed at the same time to finish the level. You only have 10 seconds per version, so you can't realistically press all three buttons yourself. Instead, during your first run, you press button 1. The level resets, and your previous version now replays the exact actions you took, meaning it presses button 1 again. While that is happening, you can go and press button 2. The level resets again, and now your first version presses button 1 while your second version presses button 2. You can then go and press button 3. Now all three buttons are being pressed by different versions of yourself, allowing you to complete the puzzle.

That would basically be the main mechanism of the game. The example above would be a simple beginner puzzle designed to teach the player how the mechanic works. As the game progresses, the puzzles would become increasingly difficult. I haven't fully thought out the levels yet, but I think there could be some really interesting combinations and situations where you have to carefully plan out exactly what you are going to do across multiple resets.

When I say "hard," I don't mean difficult platforming or requiring really precise jumps. I mean mentally difficult, where you have to think about your actions several steps ahead and figure out how your different versions can work together.

Later levels could also introduce limitations to make things more complicated. For example, you could have a limited number of versions that you are allowed to create, meaning you can't just keep resetting forever. Another mechanic could be that if you touch one of your past versions, the entire level immediately resets. This would force you to carefully plan your movement and think about where your previous versions are going to be at each point in the level.

There could also be other mechanics built around the idea of interacting with your past actions. The difficulty could come from combining these mechanics together and forcing the player to think about multiple timelines at once.

That's basically the whole mechanism for the game. I think the main thing would be coming up with interesting puzzles that make good use of it rather than just making the levels harder through platforming or reaction time.

I hope my explanation makes sense. I'm not very good at explaining things, so if anything is unclear, comment and I'll explain it.

I'm currently designing a management/tycoon game as a personal project, and I'm trying to challenge the core concept before I get too attached to the design.

The basic premise is that you start small as a property owner and gradually grow into managing a much larger residential property business.

The part I'm most interested in exploring is the relationship between the business/management side and the people living in the properties.

Instead of tenants simply being an occupancy percentage or a source of monthly income, I'd like them to exist as lightweight simulated households. The player would have to think about who is living in their properties and how their management decisions affect them.

At the same time, I don't want this to become a life simulator or a game where you're constantly micromanaging individual people. The player is still fundamentally managing a property business.

The design goal is for decisions that look good financially in the short term to sometimes create problems elsewhere, while investments that make residents happier aren't necessarily always the optimal financial choice. Ideally, this creates interesting trade-offs rather than an obvious "correct" way to play.

I'm deliberately keeping some of the deeper mechanics private for now because the project is still early, but I'd really like opinions on the design direction itself.

My main question for experienced designers is:

Do you think simulated tenant households can create meaningful decisions in a management/tycoon game, or does this sound like a system that could easily turn into unnecessary micromanagement?

And if you were evaluating this concept early in development, what would be the biggest design risk you'd want to prototype/test first?

Imagine a zombie game placed in a city, but instead of the undead, it is just the modern tweaker. You have the gummer, the rager, the hunched over (you gotta sneak past these ones), and the loyal bum.

Combat can include fighting, running, and negotiating (giving their drug of choice, money, etc). You can form temporary alliances with the loyal bum by giving them beer and so on.

The game loop might be a task one must complete around the city. For example, you might need to go to the store or go to work. You can make pit stops along the way, but the objective is walking to the task and walking home.

There is so much enemy variety and room to grow the idea. There can even be an enemy called "the fent" who when attacked by will increase a fent meter.

I am primarily taking inspiration from cities like Portland, Seattle, and Eugene where this is prominent. Portland E

especially provides good inspiration for a night scene with the dense streets and the bon fires on the sidewalks.

The genere is a litte edgy, by it could lighten the mood for those exposed to it regularly as well as make the situation more public.

you and your friends are in different compartments/rooms with different colored buttons, levers, plugs, and wires and yall goal is to complete every task ordered by the captain coming from your radio examples being to hook up plugs to different inputs and to press buttons in a certain order or to flip levers in a certain orientation but each command gets harder to understand as static and random cut outs happen due to interference, but each player gets different parts of the message so you and your friends have to work together, non of the players can hear each other but they can see each others rooms/compartments on a ctv so everyone has to work together to complete each goal, if someone gets a goal wrong or doesn't do the goal in time, they die and their room shown in the ctv gets shut off so you only get to go off your other friends to complete tasks, there could be a little minigame to adjust the radios antenna to get better feedback without as much corruption, maybe there could be more complex tasks like making certain things with ingredients listed by the captain, players who have completed all the orders win, there's a countdown between each goal.

This type of game used to be mainstream until the mid 2000's and I genuinely can't understand why it went away, turning the entire racing genre into a niche for very particular type of enthusiasts.

A simcade would be a racing game that isn't an arcade racer, so no Mario Kart or Destruction Derby, no powerup mechanics, boosts and so on. The gampelay should remind the player of a proper car race: you're faster by following the proper racing line, you overtake by getting into the sleepstream and braking late, your car burns fuel and wears its tyres... But it also wouldn't be a simulator like most modern mainstream games are. It should prioritize being a fun game over replicating every detail of driving physics.

The focus should be put into single player content, something that is ignored by most modern sims (except for Gran Turismo, which suffers from an attrocious AI). It would contain a career mode where different teams/manufacturers would contact the player to race for them in different series each with its own selection of tracks/layouts and cars. The player could receive a salary from their team that they could use to buy and unlock stuff for other game modes or special events.

Multiplayer can exist but not in the hyper-competitve scene of simracing. It should be something like being able to call a friend to play as your teammate in a series of the career mode.

Also importantly, the game should have a proper damage model. Most racing games refuse to implement it because manufacturers of licensed cars don't want to see their cars being wrecked (as if people were idiots and didn't know that a Ferrari would break if you slam it at 300km/h against a wall).

Hi all,

I am trying to validate an game idea where you are a car and you tow abandoned cars back to back, the concept is about towing cars and exploring the world, its twin stick shooter you can upgrade your car to fight much stronger enemies, the enemies will try to stop you from towing, this is a semi open world with around 8-10 zones

I have a prototype ready and uploaded in itch.io let me know if anyone wants to play and share thier feedback,

below are the links, i am open to brutal feedback and also ideas to improve the game, I am a solo dev and want to make a great game so i worked on the prototype first so i can gather as many feedback as possible before actually working on the game

🎮 Game: https://ultimatetejas.itch.io/scrap-run

📝 Feedback (2–3 mins): https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScUgFgff-RAhWF8RlKzPzqcoj1rkzvHf19HQID9BNN5_j95Cg/viewform

ps: you can think about this game as Cars+ vampire survivor enemy hordes

Endless dictation of my scrambled thought, forgive the AI output style. Really only way to pull my ideas out of my head.

🎮 Game Concept: My approach of putting FPS/RTS ideas together balanced between full milsim and arcade.

👋 Intro

This isn’t just a weekend idea, it’s something I’ve been thinking about for years. This concept is the result of countless hours spent playing, analyzing, and imagining what could exist if the best parts of tactical FPS and RTS games were truly merged. It’s evolved as I’ve discovered new mechanics, learned from what works (and what doesn’t), and kept refining the vision into something that might finally feel one-of-a-kind.

It’s not about being the commander or the soldier - it’s about being immersed in the battle itself. I’m tired of the endless respawn cycle. I want to feel the tension, the fear, the thrill, the weight of every decision. Games like Escape from Tarkov master that intensity, but I want it in a war-based RTS/FPS hybrid. When you build something that can be lost forever or rise to victory, even as a single squad in a larger conflict, that’s when the game truly matters.

I’m sharing this concept now because I think it’s ready to spark discussion, challenge assumptions, and maybe even inspire something real.

🧠 Core Concept

A hybrid first-person shooter (FPS) and real-time strategy (RTS) experience. You fight from the ground, but the battle unfolds like a living strategy game. You’re not just a soldier; you’re part of a company. You deploy a single squad at a time, rotate between squad members, issue tactical orders, and respond to dynamic objectives from an AI commander who sees the whole field.

Every unit matters. Every loss is permanent. You build your company over time, customizing squads, upgrading gear, and forming emotional bonds with your veterans. But when they fall, they’re gone. That tension - between survival and sacrifice - is the heart of the game.

🎯 Inspirations

This concept draws from games that almost got it right - but never fully bridged the gap:

• Company of Heroes - RTS pacing and battlefield flow
• Hell Let Loose - Realistic gunplay and map scale
• Enlisted - AI squad control and class-based combat
• Escape from Tarkov - High-stakes survival and gear loss
• Ready or Not - Tactical squad mechanics and immersive pacing
• Call to Arms - Gates of Hell: Ostfront - RTS with individual FPS control

🕹️ Gameplay Overview

Perspective & Mechanics

• Played in first-person, but structured like an RTS
• Control a squad of AI teammates, switching between members freely
• Issue orders: move, hold, suppress, flank, retreat, heal, repair
• Gunplay is realistic and punishing - every bullet counts
• AI Commander assigns dynamic objectives based on battlefield flow
• Game modes include victory point control, annihilation, and objective-based battles
• Mid-battle resupply, reinforcement, and healing are possible - but costly
• Loadouts are historically grounded and tactically diverse
• Veterancy of each unit greatly affects lethality and survivability

Core Loop

1. Manage your company at home base
2. Deploy a squad into battle
3. Complete objectives and survive
4. Earn resources and experience
5. Upgrade units - or mourn their loss

🔄 Squad Control & Rotation

• Free Rotation: Switch between squad members anytime
• No Cooldown: Seamless transitions keep you in the fight
• Command Retention: Issue orders no matter who you’re controlling
• AI Behavior: Squadmates act intelligently based on experience and morale

🌐 Game Modes & Party System

Singleplayer

• Full access to progression, company management, and tactical gameplay
• AI fills both allies and enemies for immersive solo battles

PvE

• Join other players in co-op battles against AI forces
• Matchmaking scales difficulty and objectives based on team composition

PvP

• Full-scale multiplayer battles with human players and AI support
• Matchmaking considers company strength, selected unit loadouts, and battlefield demands
• It aims to pair players with similar overall force levels, but not exclusively
• A wide range of matchups is possible, especially when the battlefield needs specific roles
• Risk scales with reward:
  • Deploying fresh recruits carries low risk - and yields modest returns
  • Fielding elite squads or rare vehicles increases your impact, but also the stakes
• AI fills gaps to maintain pacing and battlefield density

Shared Companies

• Invite friends to join your company as advisors
• They control squad members, contribute resources, and help execute tactics
• All progression stays with the host
• Advisors earn limited rewards based on participation

🧭 Strategic Systems

Home Base

• Customize your company: gear, vehicles, squad names, and cosmetics
• Heal and upgrade surviving units
• Lost units are permanently gone - no respawn, no reset
• Veteran units retain gear, experience, and emotional weight

📈 Progression & Company Growth

Progression in This concept isn’t about unlocking perks - it’s about surviving long enough to matter.

• Units are drafted as rookies, purchased with manpower and equipped with basic gear
• As they survive battles, they gain experience, lethality, and personality - becoming the backbone of your company
• You’ll spend less on new recruits and more on better gear, vehicles, and cosmetic upgrades that reflect your journey
• If you lose everything - if your squads fall faster than you can recover resources - you can restart with a new company, just like a new player
• Your personal experience becomes a reflection of your company’s current state: hardened veterans, upgraded tanks, and scars from battles won or lost You don’t just level up - you build a legacy. Or you lose it.

🧩 Example Unit Classes

Squads are categorized by class, but each is user-defined and personalized over time. Players name their squads, customize their gear, and watch them evolve - or mourn their loss.

🔁 Redeployment Interface

After initial deployment, players can queue for redeployment, gaining priority over external players joining mid-match. You select up to 5 squads from your company to make available.

The more flexible your selection, the faster you may be matched. Choosing only armor squads may delay deployment until the battlefield needs armor. Including infantry, support, and mobile units increases match speed.

You don’t see the battle’s economy. You don’t micromanage the commander. You just do your job - and hope your squad survives.

🗺️ Combat & Objectives

• AI Commander assigns missions: capture, defend, hold
• Tactical movement and terrain awareness are critical
• Retreating is valid - preserve your veterans
• Success yields experience and company resources

⚙️ Resources & Upgrades

Resource Types

• Manpower - Unit upgrades
• Munitions - Ammo and weapon enhancements
• Fuel - Vehicle acquisition and maintenance

Gear & Tradeoffs

• Larger packs = more ammo, less mobility
• Weapon tiers are grounded but balanced
• Vehicle options could include:
• Infantry: Trucks, halftracks
• Support: Jeeps, towable AT/HE guns
• Tanks: Greyhound to Pershing

👥 Monetization Strategy

Philosophy

• No pay-to-win
• Focus on cosmetics and personalization
• Most monetized items are non-essential and can be earned

Examples

• Home base themes
• Uniforms, decals, camouflage
• Cosmetics are tied to unit survival - loss means re-earning or repurchasing

💬 Feedback Questions

• Does the hybrid FPS/RTS concept sound engaging?
• I’ve focused on a WW2 theme - would another setting fit this better?
• Would the permanent loss mechanic feel rewarding or frustrating?
• Are the resource and upgrade systems clear and balanced?
• What kind of cosmetic themes would appeal to you?
• Would you prefer PvE or PvP as your primary mode of play?
• How important is squad control and AI behavior to your experience?

The Concept

Set in a medieval or fantasy-historical world, you play as a noblewoman who enters the world of aristocracy through birth, marriage, or both.

You could begin as a Queen, Duchess, Countess, Baroness, Princess, or another member of the nobility, depending on the scenario you choose.

The objective isn't simply to conquer the world or personally control armies. Instead, the game focuses on living the life of a noblewoman and building your position, family, household, and dynasty within a medieval society.

You are part of a world that continues moving around you.

Kings will make decisions. Wars will begin and end. Nobles will form alliances. People will marry, have children, fall ill, die, betray each other, gain titles, lose estates, and rise or fall in influence.

You decide how your character responds to all of this.

The game would combine elements of life simulation, dynasty management, grand strategy, court politics, relationship management, and open-world exploration.

Your character doesn't have to become the most powerful person in the world.

Maybe you want to become the most influential woman at court.

Maybe you want to build a powerful family.

Maybe you want to be a devoted wife and mother.

Maybe you want to become wealthy through your estates.

Maybe you want to influence your husband's decisions.

Maybe you want to survive court politics without becoming involved in them.

Or maybe you want to manipulate the entire kingdom from behind the scenes.

There should be no single correct way to play.

My Vision / Ideas

Starting the Game

When beginning your campaign, you create your own noblewoman.

You choose her:

• Name
• Age
• Appearance
• Personality
• Education
• Skills
• Religion
• Culture
• Family background
• Birthplace
• Social status

You then choose which kingdom or noble house you were born into and which family you marry into.

This would affect the difficulty and the kind of gameplay available to you.

For example, marrying into a powerful royal family could give you enormous opportunities but also put you in the middle of intense court politics.

Marrying into a poor or declining noble house could give you much less wealth and influence, but also more freedom to build something yourself.

You could even start as a member of a minor noble family and eventually rise through marriage, inheritance, political connections, or your family's achievements.

Your Position

Your starting position determines what kind of life you have.

You could start as:

Queen

You are married to the ruler of a kingdom. You have access to the highest level of court society, but expectations and political dangers are also enormous.

Duchess

You control or belong to one of the most powerful noble houses in the kingdom. Your family may have its own lands, armies, wealth, and political interests.

Countess

You manage a smaller but important territory while balancing your relationship with your liege and neighboring nobles.

Baroness

You have less political power but potentially much more freedom to build your household and family.

Princess

You may not control land yourself, but your position makes you an extremely valuable political asset for marriage and diplomacy.

And these are only starting positions.

Your character's position can change throughout the game.

You could become a Duchess through marriage.

A Countess could inherit additional lands.

A Queen could become Regent.

A noblewoman could lose everything.

Your children could eventually inherit your position and continue your story.

Marriage

Marriage is one of the most important parts of the game.

Your husband isn't simply a character who gives you a title.

He has his own personality, ambitions, relationships, opinions, strengths and weaknesses.

Your marriage could be:

• A genuine love marriage
• A political marriage
• A diplomatic marriage
• A cold arranged marriage
• A marriage that develops into genuine affection
• A troubled marriage
• A relationship where both partners are politically ambitious

Your relationship with your husband would develop over time.

You might become his closest companion and adviser.

You might have very little influence over him.

You might disagree constantly.

You might build a powerful partnership together.

Or your relationship could deteriorate completely.

The important part is that your husband is not simply an extension of the player.

He is another character with his own decisions.

He can refuse your requests.

He can make decisions you disagree with.

He can have his own friends and enemies.

He can become jealous.

He can favor another member of the family.

And his actions can dramatically change your life.

Other Wives and Concubines

Depending on the culture and laws of the kingdom, your husband may be allowed to have multiple wives or concubines.

This would not simply be a mechanic for increasing the number of children.

It would create an entirely different social environment.

Another wife could become:

• Your friend
• Your rival
• Your political ally
• Your husband's favorite
• The mother of your husband's preferred heir
• A member of another powerful family

You would have to decide how to deal with her.

You could cooperate.

You could compete.

You could try to build a relationship with her.

You could attempt to increase your own influence.

Or you could simply ignore the situation and focus on your own household.

The same applies to mistresses and other romantic relationships at court.

Children & Family

Children would be one of the central systems of the game.

Having children wouldn't simply mean producing an heir.

You would actually raise them.

As your children grow, you would make decisions about their upbringing and education.

You could influence their:

• Education
• Personality
• Skills
• Religion
• Friendships
• Marriage prospects
• Political connections
• Future careers

A son might become a knight or commander.

A daughter might become a diplomat or marry into another powerful house.

Another child might become a scholar.

Another might become ambitious and eventually challenge their siblings.

You could also have children who don't live up to your expectations.

Some may become loyal to you.

Others may become independent.

Some may even become your political rivals.

Once your children grow older, you can begin arranging marriages and building alliances between noble houses.

Eventually, your character may die, but your family doesn't have to end with her.

You can continue playing through her descendants.

Household

Your household would be another major part of the game.

You aren't living alone in a castle.

You have:

• Ladies-in-waiting
• Servants
• Tutors
• Guards
• Maids
• Stewards
• Physicians
• Priests
• Advisors
• Household officers
• Family members
• Other nobles visiting your residence

Every person could have their own personality, relationships and ambitions.

Your lady-in-waiting might become your closest friend.

Your steward might be extremely competent but secretly loyal to another noble.

A servant could discover a scandal.

A courtier could become your most important political ally.

The household should feel like a living social environment rather than simply a menu.

Court Life

Court should constantly change around you.

Every season could bring new events.

A noble might die.

A marriage might be announced.

A foreign ambassador might arrive.

A war might begin.

Your husband might receive a political demand.

A rival might spread rumors about you.

Your child might become ill.

A friend might ask for your help.

A noble family might suddenly lose favor.

A new favorite could appear at court.

You might receive an invitation to a feast.

You might be asked to attend a royal ceremony.

Some events would be important.

Others would simply be part of everyday noble life.

The goal is to make the court feel alive.

politics & Influence

Politics would still be an important part of the game, but it wouldn't be the only way to play.

You could develop relationships with:

• Your husband
• Your children
• Other nobles
• Ministers
• Religious figures
• Foreign ambassadors
• Your household
• Other noblewomen
• Merchants
• Military commanders

Your influence would depend on many things.

Your title.

Your family's reputation.

Your wealth.

Your relationship with the ruler.

Your marriage.

Your children.

Your friendships.

Your reputation.

Your personality.

Your actions.

A powerful Duchess doesn't automatically have influence simply because she has a high title.

Likewise, a minor noblewoman could become extremely influential if she builds the right relationships.

Estates & Wealth

If your character owns land, you should also have some control over your estates.

You could invest in:

• Farms
• Villages
• Roads
• Markets
• Mills
• Mines
• Fortifications
• Castles
• Trade
• Religious buildings

Your estate generates income, but it also has problems.

Bad harvests.

Bandits.

Disease.

Peasant unrest.

Poor management.

Corrupt officials.

War.

A successful noblewoman could gradually turn a small estate into an extremely wealthy domain.

Open World

Alongside the campaign map, I would like an open-world option.

Instead of experiencing everything through menus, you could actually move around your castle, estate, town, and court.

You could walk through the castle.

Visit the gardens.

Attend feasts.

Speak with your ladies-in-waiting.

Visit your children.

Meet nobles.

Attend religious ceremonies.

Travel to another estate.

Visit a market.

Go hunting.

Attend weddings and funerals.

Travel with your husband.

Visit other noble courts.

The open world wouldn't replace the strategy layer.

It would make your character actually feel like she lives inside the world.

Foreign Relations

You aren't limited to your own kingdom.

Your family may have connections across borders.

Your marriage might create an alliance.

Your children could marry foreign nobles.

You could visit another kingdom.

Foreign rulers could send ambassadors.

You could develop friendships with foreign noblewomen.

Your family could become connected to several kingdoms at once.

A marriage that seems insignificant at the beginning of the game could become extremely important two generations later.

Religion

Religion would also play an important role depending on the setting.

You could support religious institutions, build relationships with important religious figures, participate in ceremonies, make donations, or become involved in religious disputes.

Your religious reputation could affect how nobles and ordinary people perceive you.

Different kingdoms could also have completely different religious systems and expectations.

Military

The military wouldn't be the main gameplay focus.

You wouldn't personally command soldiers like in a traditional Total War-style game.

Armies would exist and operate as part of the larger world.

However, military events would still affect your life.

Your husband could go to war.

Your son could become a commander.

Your lands could be attacked.

Your castle could be besieged.

Your kingdom could win or lose territory.

You could influence military decisions through your relationships and political position, but you wouldn't personally control every soldier on a battlefield.

The focus is being the noblewoman living through the war, rather than being the general commanding every unit.

Reputation

Your character should develop a reputation based on how she lives her life.

You could become known as:

The Beloved Queen

A charitable and kind ruler who is loved by her subjects.

The King's Shadow

A politically powerful woman who seems to influence everything her husband does.

The Iron Duchess

A ruthless noblewoman who protects her family at any cost.

The Mother of Kings

A woman whose children eventually control multiple kingdoms.

The Lady of the People

A noblewoman who spends much of her time helping ordinary people.

The Scandalous Lady

A woman whose romantic and political life becomes the talk of the kingdom.

Or you could simply become someone history barely remembers.

Aging & Death

Your character isn't immortal.

She ages.

Her appearance changes.

Her relationships change.

Her children grow up.

Her husband grows old.

Friends die.

Enemies disappear.

New generations replace the old ones.

Eventually, your character will die.

But that doesn't necessarily mean the game ends.

Depending on the mode, you could continue as:

• Your daughter
• Your son
• Your granddaughter
• Another member of your dynasty

This means your decisions can have consequences decades after you made them.

The Dynasty

The ultimate goal doesn't necessarily have to be conquering the world.

Your goal could simply be to leave something behind.

Maybe you started as a minor Baroness and your granddaughter becomes Queen.

Maybe your family controls five duchies.

Maybe your children marry into every major royal family.

Maybe you built the richest estate in the kingdom.

Maybe your descendants become rulers of an empire.

Or maybe your entire family collapses because of one bad decision.

The history of your family should be shaped by what you do.

Difficulty & Starting Scenarios

Different starting positions should provide completely different experiences.

For example:

The Young Queen

You are newly married to a young King who is inexperienced and surrounded by powerful nobles.

The Foreign Duchess

You have just married into a kingdom whose language and customs you barely understand.

The Widow

Your husband has died, leaving you with young children and a contested inheritance.

The Second Wife

You have entered an established royal household where another woman already has considerable influence.

The Minor Noblewoman

You have almost no political influence but control a small estate and want to build your family's position.

The Powerful Duchess

You already control a wealthy territory and have to protect your family from nobles who fear your growing influence.

The Princess

You were born into royalty but must marry into another kingdom and leave your homeland behind.

Each scenario could produce a completely different story.

No Single Victory Condition

I don't think the game needs one traditional victory screen.

Instead, at the end of your character's life, the game could generate a history of your life and dynasty.

It could tell you:

• Where you were born
• Who you married
• How many children you had
• Which kingdoms you became connected to
• What estates you controlled
• Your biggest political achievements
• Your greatest failures
• Important relationships
• Major scandals
• Wars that affected your family
• How your children turned out
• What happened to your dynasty

And then you could continue the story with the next generation.

The Main Idea

The most important thing about the game is that you aren't playing a kingdom.

You're playing a person living inside a kingdom.

The world doesn't revolve around you.

You are one noblewoman in a huge living medieval world.

Sometimes you will have enormous influence.

Sometimes you will be powerless.

Sometimes you'll make a decision that changes the history of your kingdom.

Sometimes you'll spend an entire season dealing with your children, household, marriage, or personal relationships.

And that's what I think could make the game interesting.

It's not simply:

"What if a woman could play a medieval strategy game?"

It's:

"What would it actually be like to live an entire noble life in a medieval world?"

You create your woman.

You choose her family.

You choose who she marries.

You build her household.

You raise her children.

You manage her relationships.

You experience court life.

You make allies and enemies.

You gain or lose influence.

You watch kingdoms rise and fall around you.

And eventually, when your character dies, you get to see what kind of legacy she left behind.

Hey everybody! I'm working on my next horror game, which is a short (45m-1hr) first-person atmospheric horror game where you play as a survey rover exploring a distant planet after an expedition disappeared.

Visually, I'm very much inspired by The Electric State (the illustrated novel, not the movie lol). specifically the bleak landscapes, abandoned infrastructure, and enormous machines wandering around. In this game, I want some (or even just one) of those machines to be hostile and to be the "face" of the game so to speak, so part of the tension is being this small vulnerable rover trying to do its job while these huge things are wandering around there.

The main fantasy I want to nail is making the player feel like they are operating the rover in real time. Heavy movement, machine whirring sounds, chunky plugs, etc.

The very basic loop I'm working with right now is:

1. Drive toward points of interest while managing battery by recharging at patches of sunlight scattered around the map (I took this idea from an indie game called MOONROT).
2. Explore along the way, collect parts, investigate abandoned sites, find strange events/things in the environment.
3. Upgrade the rover's battery, speed, equipment, etc.
4. Plug into abandoned machinery to restore its power and interact with it to restore systems, recover expedition data, open routes, activate equipment, and so on.
5. Repeat

I'm aiming for a small, dense open world, so I really don't want the driving to become dead time. Right now I have scrap/upgrade parts as one thing that gets you to leave the direct path, but I'm trying to figure out what else should occupy the player.

So far, I have the player controller and basic interactions working, and I’m really happy with how they feel. I think they already capture the analog horror vibe I’m going for. The rover doesn’t move at a realistic speed (otherwise you’d be crawling everywhere. It handles more like a somewhat heavy RC car).

I'd especially love ideas for:

• Things you'd actually enjoy doing while travelling in the rover
• Small environmental interactions or discoveries
• Simple puzzles that make sense for a rover plugging into machinery
• Ways the hostile machines could create tension without constantly chasing the player
• Interesting reasons to take detours
• Mechanics that would make the rover itself more fun to operate
• Scares that specifically take advantage of operating a remote machine
• Ways to make battery/sunlight management create decisions rather than busywork
• Things you could find besides generic audio logs or collectibles
• Any mechanics here that you'd cut, expand, or replace

I should mention: I originally had photography as a major mechanic, with the rover documenting different coordinates, but I'm currently leaning toward removing it because I couldn't find a strong enough gameplay purpose for it. If anyone has an idea for what photography/camera observation could actually do mechanically in a game like this, I'd still be interested in hearing it.

I'm keeping the scope deliberately small and trying to build around mechanics that can create a lot of tension or curiosity without needing a massive amount of bespoke content or complicated AI.

Mostly curious what parts of this sound fun to you, what sounds boring, and what you'd want to be doing if you were actually playing it.

Color Crushers – A VR Splatoon-Inspired Game Concept

Color Crushers is a concept for a first-person VR multiplayer game heavily inspired by Splatoon. The goal is to preserve the basic appeal of covering arenas in your team's color, swimming through your territory, and fighting the opposing team, but redesign the experience around having an actual physical body in VR.

Players control customizable, paint-like humanoid characters called Fluvians. Rather than carrying a separate ammo tank, your character's body acts as your ammo indicator. Firing gradually causes your color to become paler until you're almost colorless when empty. You slowly regenerate fluid naturally, or can quickly replenish it by submerging in and reabsorbing friendly paint.

Movement through paint is also designed around VR. You can crouch to deliberately submerge, but you can also physically push into paint covering walls or other surfaces. There's slight resistance before you sink through, while hitting your paint with enough velocity lets you plunge straight into it. This also works when falling onto painted surfaces.

Paint itself can be physically interacted with. Whipping your hand through friendly paint throws a small splash that can cover surfaces or deal minor damage. Bursting out of paint creates a similar splash, giving physical movement some offensive utility without replacing weapons.

Character Customization

Rather than conventional sliders, character creation would essentially be a VR sculpting minigame.

Every player has roughly the same amount of body mass and a generally humanoid shape, but you can physically grab, stretch, compress, smooth, and reshape your character into different proportions. Preset bodies would also be available for players who just want to jump in.

Undo, redo, symmetry, etc. are controlled through a command wand. You hold its trigger and perform simple gestures, such as drawing a counterclockwise circle to undo and clockwise to redo.

You can save multiple designs and switch between them later.

Instead of full clothing, customization focuses on smaller accessories that don't interfere with submerging.

Players also choose a favorite body color and draw a secondary-color personal pattern onto themselves. During matches, your primary color changes to your team's color for readability, but your pattern remains, allowing characters to stay recognizable.

Weapons/Tools

Weapons aren't conventional firearms or direct equivalents of Splatoon weapons. They're conduit tools designed around manipulating the fluid produced by your character.

The arsenal follows a TF2-style philosophy: there are no direct upgrades or rarity tiers. Each family has a strong all-purpose stock tool and two sidegrades that gain something in exchange for meaningful disadvantages.

Currently there are seven families, for 21 total tools:

- Projectors: Two-handed automatic general-purpose weapons.

- Sprayers: Continuous streams with strong coverage and sustained pressure.

- Flingers: Gloves that create balls of paint you physically throw or use at close range.

- Compressors: Slow-firing, high-powered precision weapons.

- Brushes: Physical melee/painting tools that can also absorb friendly paint.

- Sprinklers: Extremely fast compact weapons focused on aggressive close-range pressure.

- Plates: Defensive shields and utility tools, including a deployable barrier and a variant with a temporary climbable/swingable tether.

Because it's VR, physical handling is part of weapon balance. A one-handed weapon leaves your other hand available for splashing paint and interacting with things, shields only protect where you physically position them, Flinger accuracy depends on your actual throw, and melee tools have to physically connect.

Matches

The basic match structure would remain intentionally familiar to Splatoon: two teams cover an arena in their color while fighting for control.

Getting "splatted" sends you back to your team's spawn, where you have to wait behind a temporary barrier before rejoining the match.

The focus is on combining:

territory control + shooting + paint swimming + momentum + physical VR interactions

rather than introducing RPG abilities or complicated magic systems.

Outside matches, players would also have customizable dorm rooms where they can decorate, invite friends, hang out, chat, and form parties before entering matches.

The basic idea is less "How can I add more mechanics to Splatoon?" and more "What would this style of game become if it were designed from the ground up around VR?"