25 replies to this topic

[Noobbot]

Game Concept. I called it Zombies Amok. It's just a working title, you know, one which anyone who decides to do something with the concept can replace with something good or at least better.

Discuss fagts. I probably poured way more time and thought into this shit than I should.

[Mute]

Read the brief, sounds like dead island, quit reading laughing at all the claims of originality.

[ouij]

I read the whole thing. Sometimes you wrote McDergen, sometimes you wrote McDurgen.

[Agatsu]

Jesus, you need to make a tl;dr of this and explain WTF your game is about AS SHORT AS POSSIBLE.

"Maybe some players want crosshairs, a full HUD that displays health and ammo counters and possibly some objective overlay or some such, while others might want a more minimal HUD and a game which is more lethal and engaging."

You put this in the BRIEF?!

"Regarding sound, make gun shots loud. If possible, make it so that firing weapons indoors will cause temporary ringing depending on the firearm if no hearing protection is present on the character. Pistols, especially decently large calibers, will cause the most annoyance and probably deafen the player for a minute if they are fired repeatedly while rifles or smaller bore weapons might cause ringing for twenty to forty seconds. Firearms should bark and boom, not nip like small household dogs. Games made by non-shooters have propagated the myth that firearms are somehow quiet, or at least not loud enough to cause hearing damage – as an amateur shooter, I can assure you otherwise. Part of firearm safety is wearing adequate hearing protection, especially if firing weapons indoors. Even .22s are pretty god damn loud in a box where the sound waves reverberate well. This nice small touch would prevent firearms from being the end-all-be-all weapons of this game. Honestly, if carried out as I proposed here, this would even still be relatively light penalties compared to reality, where hearing loss is quick, temporary ringing sustains for quite long, and some loss is permanent."

Who the fuck CARES about all that shit in your GAME CONCEPT, dude? Do you seriously expect people to read 20 pages of this?
Also, avoid using phrases like "could", "might" and "maybe". You have to make the impression that you know 100% what the game is going to look like.

"'Zombies Amok' is a tactical FPS with RPG elements using the Crytek 3 engine to allow players to explore a huge sandbox city overrun by millions of zombies with a highly customizable, unique character, either alone or with up to 400 other players. Encompassing a never-before-seen level of realism, atmosphere and freedom, 'Zombies Amok' blahlbah."

That's a brief. I shortened the second sentence because I still don't know what kind of game "Zombies Amok" is, but 2 sentences should be enough to summarize what your game is about. It's called an "elevator pitch" - a summary that conveys your idea within the time it takes to ride an elevator with someone.

This is more or less how a game concept looks like, which is usually about 5-6 formatted pages long, excluding concept art:

Game Concept
Introduction
Background
Description
Key Features
Genre
Platform
Concept Art (Optional)

This is the index of your 20 pages-long game concept document:

Brief:
An amateur’s opinion on the course of development:
Menu:
Atmosphere and the City:
Campaigns:
Character Creation:
Gameplay:
Potential Campaign Stories

Now don't take this the wrong way, but I just couldn't bring myself to read it all although I was making this long reply - but that is exactly my point.
You seem to have no real idea what you are talking about for 20 pages, so how do you expect to convince anyone that "Zombies Amok" is awesome and do-able?
Your overly long, unstructured game concept disregards any measure of budget or workability, consists of random, vague ideas about the largest game ever in which you can do everything, but better; your opinion on what's wrong with all the other games and how it should be done instead; and a 5-page short story about a doctor that I CBA to read.
Sorry about my tone, but game design is a fucking ART. At least find a template and follow its basic structure and recommended length, please.

[Maxx]

Agatsu sounds like he almost knows what he's talking about, his advice is similar to what I was going to say so just follow his suggestions if you want to tidy it up.

[Agatsu]

Agatsu sounds like he almost knows what he's talking about

Story of my life.

And my new signature.

[Noobbot]

Read the brief, sounds like dead island, quit reading laughing at all the claims of originality.

Yes, that's exactly what Dead Island was. A highly interactive city scape with tactical and semi-realistic elements and an RPG side that wasn't ruined by retarded scaling.

Wait. I know you're trying to be a clever little duder, but you might want to reference that word again.

Jesus, you need to make a tl;dr of this and explain WTF your game is about AS SHORT AS POSSIBLE.

"Maybe some players want crosshairs, a full HUD that displays health and ammo counters and possibly some objective overlay or some such, while others might want a more minimal HUD and a game which is more lethal and engaging."

You put this in the BRIEF?!

"Regarding sound, make gun shots loud. If possible, make it so that firing weapons indoors will cause temporary ringing depending on the firearm if no hearing protection is present on the character. Pistols, especially decently large calibers, will cause the most annoyance and probably deafen the player for a minute if they are fired repeatedly while rifles or smaller bore weapons might cause ringing for twenty to forty seconds. Firearms should bark and boom, not nip like small household dogs. Games made by non-shooters have propagated the myth that firearms are somehow quiet, or at least not loud enough to cause hearing damage – as an amateur shooter, I can assure you otherwise. Part of firearm safety is wearing adequate hearing protection, especially if firing weapons indoors. Even .22s are pretty god damn loud in a box where the sound waves reverberate well. This nice small touch would prevent firearms from being the end-all-be-all weapons of this game. Honestly, if carried out as I proposed here, this would even still be relatively light penalties compared to reality, where hearing loss is quick, temporary ringing sustains for quite long, and some loss is permanent."

Who the fuck CARES about all that shit in your GAME CONCEPT, dude? Do you seriously expect people to read 20 pages of this?
Also, avoid using phrases like "could", "might" and "maybe". You have to make the impression that you know 100% what the game is going to look like.

"'Zombies Amok' is a tactical FPS with RPG elements using the Crytek 3 engine to allow players to explore a huge sandbox city overrun by millions of zombies with a highly customizable, unique character, either alone or with up to 400 other players. Encompassing a never-before-seen level of realism, atmosphere and freedom, 'Zombies Amok' blahlbah."

Advice taken.

That's a brief. I shortened the second sentence because I still don't know what kind of game "Zombies Amok" is, but 2 sentences should be enough to summarize what your game is about. It's called an "elevator pitch" - a summary that conveys your idea within the time it takes to ride an elevator with someone.

This is more or less how a game concept looks like, which is usually about 5-6 formatted pages long, excluding concept art:

Game Concept
Introduction
Background
Description
Key Features
Genre
Platform
Concept Art (Optional)

This is the index of your 20 pages-long game concept document:

Brief:
An amateur’s opinion on the course of development:
Menu:
Atmosphere and the City:
Campaigns:
Character Creation:
Gameplay:
Potential Campaign Stories

How the fuck am I supposed to go into remotely any detail like this? I wouldn't be a hands-on present game designer in all likelihood. I wouldn't be sitting in the next cubicle so I could discuss the features at more depth or guide the content makers along toward my perfect vision. I'll try making the list more concise and re-organizing it in the way that you list, but I doubt you niggs will be happy even then.

Now don't take this the wrong way, but I just couldn't bring myself to read it all although I was making this long reply - but that is exactly my point.
You seem to have no real idea what you are talking about for 20 pages, so how do you expect to convince anyone that "Zombies Amok" is awesome and do-able?
Your overly long, unstructured game concept disregards any measure of budget or workability, consists of random, vague ideas about the largest game ever in which you can do everything, but better; your opinion on what's wrong with all the other games and how it should be done instead; and a 5-page short story about a doctor that I CBA to read.
Sorry about my tone, but game design is a fucking ART. At least find a template and follow its basic structure and recommended length, please.

I've never seen a game design template and probably couldn't be assed anyway. With the story thing, that's a relatively bare-bones spiel where it's describing plot direction without being terse to the point of lethargy. I don't mind that you didn't read the whole thing and I don't really expect many (if any) people to do that. That said, that I "seem to have no real idea" is something you've conjured quite spectacularly, you fucking wizard. The organization of the lists of features may not be good, and I admit that there would probably be somethings eschewed for budget or time considerations.

I thought the point of a concept was to start with the ideal which can then be whittled down to a workable form when work starts? Isn't that how game companies pitch their ideas? Fuck yes they do! That's why we get over-hyped pieces of shit - like Dead Island, for which I am apparently describing a clone. There's Dead State coming up some time in the next century which might make this idea somewhat unnecessary though. I did not write "the largest game ever in which you can do everything". Perhaps the limits are too far for something realistic, but that would be determined by someone making the game. Beyond that I can only make vague conjecture since I don't even know what the team would look like that would work on this game. If it's a forty man team, that means a lot more than a twenty man team. If it's an indy effort, that will entail something quite far apart from a corporate studio's product. Yeah, the campaign would probably be pared and they would end up just going with the free-roam part since that involves a whole lot less shit than doing both. Still, I think it would be great if both could be done.

I'm all up for revising this, and some of your criticism are apt, but you might try hitting the barn next time with the rest.

I read the whole thing. Sometimes you wrote McDergen, sometimes you wrote McDurgen.

It's a Doctor Jekyll/Mister Hyde thing.

[The Reverend]

Go fuck yourself with a cactus, google. I am sick of your chrome shit.

[ouij]

There's Dead State coming up some time in the next century which might make this idea somewhat unnecessary though.

Nah, irrelevant. Dead State isn't a FPS.

It's a Doctor Jekyll/Mister Hyde thing.

Then I fully support this game and all of your future endeavors.

[Noobbot]

Nah, irrelevant. Dead State isn't a FPS.

But they are getting the survival thing down, which I don't think has appeared in any zombie game beyond maybe Project Zomboid. And that doesn't really count.

[Riley]

It's definitely longer than Coleman's original NMRiH Beta 1.0 design doc

[Infr4mer]

thsi game suckz

[Noobbot]

fuk this i hat ethis game who woudl thign of something like this anywhay sreriously

[ThoughT]

I have the perfect Zombie Game Concept. I don't know how this wouldn't kick ass.

1. Take Grand Theft Auto 4's free Play Multiplayer mode.

2. Replace all civilians (except maybe a couple that are there to be eaten and run in fear for atmosphere) and replace them with Zombies.

3. Limit the amount of available cars to a small amount. They wouldn't be easily drivable anyway because the amount of zombies walking in your way would derail you off-road fairly quick.

4. Since it has 16 players, make 4 teams of 4 that start on each far corner of the city (upper right, upper left, lower right, lower left)

5. Make only 1 evac zone in the middle of the map that only one team can use (if they reach it, they win and the others get left behind to die)

6. Watch as everyone struggles to make it across the entire city and is forced to try to survive, kill zombies and kill each other to survive.

7. Graciously accept the Moddb GOTY award and high five Garrett (GDawgTUK)

Extra Credit: Make materials that you can collect to build quick barricades in alley ways, doorways, etc, to slow the horde as you and your team get more gear, trade weapons, etc before moving on. The fun of the idea is that you can't sit still, because one of the other teams may be moving quicker than you.


I just made that all up haha. Score.

[ThoughT]

Go fuck yourself with a cactus, google. I am sick of your chrome shit.

If Chrome was a Vagina, I would have sex with it. I wouldn't call the it the next day, but I definitely loves me some dirty Chrome action.

[Sick_Joe]

If Chrome was a Vagina, I would have sex with it. I wouldn't call the it the next day, but I definitely loves me some dirty Chrome action.

i'm done with chrome...open a tab and i have like 8 chrome processes in my task manager eatin ups mah resources.

[Noobbot]

i'm done with chrome...open a tab and i have like 8 chrome processes in my task manager eatin ups mah resources.

Yeah, I don't understand that.

[XxROXxX]

I have the perfect Zombie Game Concept. I don't know how this wouldn't kick ass.

1. Take Grand Theft Auto 4's free Play Multiplayer mode.

2. Replace all civilians (except maybe a couple that are there to be eaten and run in fear for atmosphere) and replace them with Zombies.

3. Limit the amount of available cars to a small amount. They wouldn't be easily drivable anyway because the amount of zombies walking in your way would derail you off-road fairly quick.

4. Since it has 16 players, make 4 teams of 4 that start on each far corner of the city (upper right, upper left, lower right, lower left)

5. Make only 1 evac zone in the middle of the map that only one team can use (if they reach it, they win and the others get left behind to die)

6. Watch as everyone struggles to make it across the entire city and is forced to try to survive, kill zombies and kill each other to survive.

7. Graciously accept the Moddb GOTY award and high five Garrett (GDawgTUK)

Extra Credit: Make materials that you can collect to build quick barricades in alley ways, doorways, etc, to slow the horde as you and your team get more gear, trade weapons, etc before moving on. The fun of the idea is that you can't sit still, because one of the other teams may be moving quicker than you.


I just made that all up haha. Score.]

holy shit dude, i had the exact same idea in my head a while ago, it would make a truly awesome mod

[Disposable Henchman]

I'm still waiting for multiplayer Elder Scrolls/Fallout/S.T.A.L.K.E.R.

[Noobbot]

Still waiting for someone to stab me in the face