Self-Study 4b - The Last Of My Creativity

ERR: Post Out Of Order

Okay, so I know that this devlog is absolutely not the one that is supposed to come after the last one, but considering that this devlog is necessary for putting together a group for later assignments, I've decided to skip ahead a little bit.

And so, in this installment, I'll be going over a series of ideas that I can potentially pitch to the aforementioned group, the result of which may be turned into an actual game!

As a reminder, the theme for this semester is "Twin Sticks", so every concept needs to relate to twin sticks in one way or another, be it through controls, narrative, or game mechanics.

Concept 1: A Diviner's Quest (working title)

Dowsing, which is sometimes also referred to as Divining, is an occult practice dating back to early human history. The idea is that by using a pair of L-shaped sticks, the diviner is able to locate gemstones, ore, and even water within the ground based on how the sticks move.

In this game, the player would be one of these diviners, out in a vast open plain looking for treasure and goods for survival. However, as the player is forced to venture further and further away from their camp, it becomes clear that their efforts have attracted a more sinister presence...

The prototype would mainly focus on the dowsing mechanic, as well as creating a sufficiently sized world for the player to explore. The ideal audience would likely be late teens to adults (around 16-24). I feel that this concept would be successful as this style of horror game (in which the horror aspects are hidden behind the facade of a different game) has become incredibly popular over the past 10 years, with games such as Doki Doki Literature Club and MiSide finding massive success in the market.

Concept 2: Stilts (not a working title)

This is a game about trying to walk on stilts. I could be extra condescending and say something grandiose like "iT's a mEtapHoR aBouT tHe JoURneY OF lEArnInG tO RIse AbOve adVErsITY" or some other asinine statement like that, but no. It's just a game about walking on stilts.

As the initial pitch most likely gave away, this is a Rage Game. The main mechanic here is that each stilt is controlled by one joystick, and that in order to proceed forward, the player needs to learn how to maneuver each joystick in order to walk. There would also be obstacles and challenging terrain to traverse on your way to an as-yet undetermined goal, as well as an ever-present narrator to continuously mock and belittle you provide helpful encouragement as you progress.

The prototype for this game would be to have full mechanics for player movement, as well as a complete (albeit untextured) snapshot of the initial part of the game, with some amount of narration. As mention above, this concept is a rage game, and as such, the ideal audience would be streamers, content creators and potentially even speedrunners. It's also for this reason that I feel that this concept would be successful, as rage games have always been popular, as evidenced by the various "Kaizo" versions of games; and seem to have exploded in popularity even more recently, with games such as Getting Over It, Jump King and more recently Get To Work all finding enormous success with streamers.

Actually, I changed my mind, I'm keeping this idea, after I graduate I'm pitching it to Screen Tasmania.

Concept 3: Generic Twin Stick Shooter #69,420

C'mon, you knew this was coming. I'm far too creatively bankrupt to see a theme like "Twin Sticks" and not put a twin stick shooter in here somewhere. Which begs the question: "With so many twin-stick shooters on the market already, what can we do differently?" And, as with so many other genres do, the answer became obvious:

To create THE Generic Twin Stick Shooter. To cram as many tropes of both the Shoot 'em Up and Twin Stick Shooter genres as possible, to the point of engaging in stereotype and/or satire. That means using this page as a checklist.

The prototype for this game would most likely be either the first few levels of a game with full functionality, or an endless mode with the same. The ideal audience would be anyone who grew up in the late 80s to early 90s, and would've been able to experience this form of game in arcades. As for whether or not the concept would be successful - Honestly, that remains to be seen. It would most likely depend on the person reviewing the pitch, as well as how far we as the developers are willing to commit to a bit.

Bonus Task: E V E R Y W H E R E ! ! ! !

So, this last part isn't necessarily regarding the task at hand, but more so about an additional challenge I wish to engage in. See, as time goes on, and as the latest and greatest consoles get released, More often than not the consoles of old are left by the wayside, mostly forgotten. As such, an additional challenge I wish to set for myself is to port whatever concept we create to as many of these consoles as feasibly possible. It's unlikely that this work will happen during the semester, but I feel that it is still something that, given time, I would be able to achieve at one point or another.