I firmly believe a developer can have only one active project at a time, however I have put projects on hold, started new ones, merged them and abolished some leaving me with a lot of different project ideas on the table. After careful thought I narrowed it down to 6 projects. All the projects are single player and targeted for the PC and Mac. Below is a brief description of each project, vote for which one you think shows the most promise as the game that would be most worth playing and/or the best idea for my time and energy.
Two of these projects actually are not even games, but I still consider them competition for my time and dedication.
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Clutter
This project is a more of a sandbox than a game. It will never be sold or mass distributed in any way. It’s just a personal project for me to play with and add to over time. I may also try to sell assets I make for it on the asset store. I have nothing to show for this project as it’s the most recent one I have initiated and it’s all code, placeholders and test models.
The idea behind this was to remove the motivation killers that come from worrying about how my project will be exported to the outside world. I want to make a game because that’s what I dream about and enjoy doing, but if worrying about how it will be received or if it will be marketable is going to hinder me from making a game then I won’t sell it or show it to anyone. Problem solved. Motivation is a funny thing, it only takes the smallest nagging concern to derail the flowing creativity that fuels it.
Demon Castle (working title)
I have made a good deal of art concepts for this project and the game design document has been refined many times to the point I think it is my most solid game design document.
This project would be similar to Castlevania as it’s set in the past with swords and spells and the player can run around a large castle. It is in 3D but with a fixed camera angle so it plays like a 2D game. The player would be able to collect different weapons and items. There would be RPG stats and the player would grow in power for killing enemies, but certain stats can only be improved by items.
There are six main bosses that must be defeated to beat the game. There are roaming NPCs that grow in level also and move around the castle in real time while the player is playing (prototype for this feature tested; works). These NPCs won’t kill and loot everything before the player gets there, you would only find defeated enemies if you are in the same area at the same time as one of these NPCs. Some do not fight monsters but fight you, they are sent to hunt you down and defeat you. This roaming NPC concept is the main edge of the game. It’s a pretty sophisticated concept to implement and balance, but I’m confident it can be done.
The biggest challenge to completing this project is the sheer amount of 3D assets I need to produce to make it with all the different monsters and areas. One thing I experimented with is paper-dolling, were I can switch and swap body parts, armor and weapons for many different combinations of enemies, but for this to look good I need a lot of 3D assets or it will look stale and repetitive. Also I successfully prototyped the paper-doll system.
Evil Lord (working title)
This project is more cartoon in the art direction. The player plays this socially angry peasant that steals, cheats, conspires to rise in power at everyone else’s expense. This would be 3D also and third person. The camera system most resembles WoW’s.
This game is not focused on killing mobs like 99.9% of all other games, but rather the player grows in power by building up his hut into a castle and acquiring wealth, social status and underground connections. I won’t go deep into the story here. Basically the game would be funny and leave the player to make decisions as how to rival the other nobles in the city.
The biggest challenge to making this game would be ensuring the player always has plenty to do and doesn’t get bored without killing countless mobs.
Serintine
This is my oldest and most ambitious project, the one I hope to finish in my lifetime. To make a long story short, the player is a warrior who seeks to destroy a demon who defeated the hero of his people, his journey takes him to many places and he comes to find the motives of the demon are far more sinister than what anyone had imagined, the world is at stake as a portal to the demon realm opens.
This game is 3D and first person, although I considered third person and still do. The biggest challenge is the sheer scope of the project, programming, art assets, everything. It would take forever to finish. Also, I am considering that because most of my planning for this project was so long ago, the central plan needs a lot of work too. I would be going back to the drawing board on the game mechanics. The only advantage is that I have a good story written for it filled with interesting characters.
Simple Shooter (working title)
This idea was skeletoned out but nothing was worked on for it, just a shell of a game design document. It’s a 3D first person shooter. Of all the ideas, it has the smallest scope. Also I have already made a demo of a first person shooter called “Ordenkar” so I could make this game rapidly compared to the others. The problem is that the game idea doesn’t really inspire me. Sure I could make it, but… why? Well, I do have some inspiration for it, mainly doom, it would be simple and fun and focus on the old school game mechanics, no COD here.
Tervalus
This isn’t a game, but a graphic novel. If I work on this, then a game is out of the question anytime soon. This story takes place far into the future on an alien world. The human colonies have been there so long and have endured so much chaos that they have lost track of history and do not really know where they come from.
There are a few factions that fight for the resources on the island they reside. The main character is a tough female guard who on a special assignment discovers a powerful native technology which gives her the power to move fast and sustain a lot of damage as well as blast her enemies away when she builds up enough energy.
The story involves the interaction of the characters and how they justify their actions as the balances of power shift, places are destroyed and people die. It has a lot of crude humor and content but many emotional moments also.
