i can do programing (shader ,ai script , etc) and some music composing and i'll be very happy to contribute in this project.
after that i have some gameplay and story ideas.

i think some sort of action/adventure game with an sci-fi story is one we looking for and it's easy to finigh.

one of my story ideas :
the game starts with this :you awake in a cave. you know nothing about yourself. you dont know who are you or where did you come from. yous cloth look new and clean and your skin and hairs too.
you start to walk.feel like you was asleep for many years down there. continue to discover your new life. finally (after an hour of action/adventure gameplay) you arrive at outside.

and then in a metal-gear-like story you find out that you are a robot that manufactured 300 years ago and planted in that cave to awake 300 years later(now). after that you discover your mission:

save men from aliens.


(300 years ago a group of scientists predicted that aliens are going to capture the planet and they arrive in 300 years so scientists started a project called "JEPHETO project". the goal was to manufacture an advanced robot to defeat aliens. and now you are that robot. but... but something is wrong. there is no alien or spaceship in or near the planer. actually aliens are not exist. and the real enemies of man are themselves.

now you must complete your mission and save the planet and man. save them from another world war. and its up to you to help which side of war or even kill all man and build a robotic world.

end

i hope you understand the idea and forgive for my poor english.

Dr Black, your story made me recall an old adventure I've played called Beneath The Steel Sky. Anyone played it? It had one of the best plots I've ever seen in an adventure game. It also had a very original concept for that time; to have a friendly npc robot follow you around, which helped you accomplish many of the puzzles.

A friend of mine (a writer) also told me of a very nice similar concept once. He had created a whole fantasy universe for some sort of Table RPG game, and in one of the planets the story went as follows:

The humans had built robots which in time the became completely depended upon. The robots that were in charge of security had only one mission inscribed in their boards. Protect the lives of the humans of that planet at all costs. One time, a major war started at that galaxy and the military force of that planet was insignificant compared with other major powers of the galaxy. The robots estimated that their masters (the humans) would lose the war if one of the major forces decided to attack the planet. So, they forced all humans to board ships and moved them to a smaller inhabitable planet where they dug tunnels and lived underground. The life on that planet was miserable and the conditions were extremely poor but by the robots' logic the quality of life was not relevant as long as the humans were safe. Now, all humans were enslaved by the robots and no-one was allowed to leave the underground tunnels, even though the robots were acting out of the very own rules they have been programmed to (kind of like The HAL in space odyssey). Obviously, you play a human character in that planet, trying to figure out a solution. There's no clear cut solution since even escaping the planet would put the inhabitants in risk due to the galaxy wars, but at the same time the life the character is living is not worth living anyway.

However, if we'd put all plot ideas mentioned here in a poll, I think I'd still vote for the one about you fighting your future evil self . I think that one was a real winner.

PS: Other Adventure games we could use as inspiration for a plot: Another World, Flight of the Amazon Queen, Time Tunnel and, why not, Leisure Suit Larry Also, Flashback was a great example of an adventure with Arcade elements (I think that genre was called Action Adventure then. Kinda like the original Prince of Persia). But then, we can't use point and click movement any more, and I'm not sure it would be very straight forward and simple to attempt a movement system similar to the modern Prince of Persia games. Maybe a little too ambitious for a first project.

Also, another idea. How about a game exactly in the style of Another World? Side Scroller, but you'd have to solve puzzles to go through levels and with a good story to back it all up. I like games where the camera perspective still looks like 2d, but it's rendered with a 3d engine and uses actual models. You still get nice 3d graphics, but the 3d element is not pushed in your face, and the camera view is much less confusing which enhances the gameplay. Kind of like the camera in Age of Empires III, as opposed to the camera at Populous III.

Other games that scream for a remake: Syndicate, Moonstone, Lazy Jones (Lazy Jones is ideal since each programmer can make his own mini game).

thank you Larry, I didnt think anyone actually read my post for a game idea. I thought it was a good storyline myself. I would be more than willing to completely write that storyline, I came up with the idea while reading about this proposed project. there is a lot of talent in this community, and i am sure if we delegated the tasks, we could get it done quickly and completely.

larry, 3d Side Scroller is a good idea. we can merge action/adventure and puzzle elements into it. as you said "flashback" is a great example. while other games like another world can be a good source (of gameplay an story)

Blink, i read all your posts. your game ideas are crude and need more details. i know, its a prototype but it will be better if you explain your gameplay ideas in more details.

and after all, i think that we must focus on gameplay and story. and dont try to built a game like high end games, its not capcom or EA. its a team going to create its first game.and there is an independent game developing proverb that says :
limiting your vision is one of the important keys to a successful project.

that's not only true with indie games, that's the financial backer and producers role at the moment we're all designers and no producer

sorry Blink, I loved the idea too, but didn't want to start commenting on each individual post saying yay or boo, would really like the idea of the whole idea set in totally different eras, even going back to the dinosaurs and future space age



yup also played that, along with Flashback, Syndicate, and Leisure Suit Larry series. I'd be happy to see the LSL cartoon element in a game, though don't think it'd really fit this storyline, although, the who says Larry would never be a hero!

Todays final note: Personally, to get a game done, with: easy concept; easy level creation; easy implementation; achievable timeframe; but rewarding enough for 'a pat on the back', I'd opt for (as LarryLaffer pointer out,) a 3D updated version of Syndicate or Cannon Fodder

I am not sure if a 3D side scroller would limit the use of shaders and great light effects to show what can be done with Gamestudio.
While it would be possible to use postprocessing shaders to get a uniqe look or even use scanned watercolor textures to get a different mood compared to hightech glas/metal shiny environments - I think side scrollers are a bit "retro" and limit the player in a forward/backward trap.

EDIT
But leave this for later...

A great story can be implemented in different styles (side/iso/3D...)

slacer, its true, 3D side scroller(or any other kind of game) would not limit use of great light effect. and its possible (and great) to use postprocessing shaders to make a uniqe look and feel.

but i dont agree with "side scrollers are a bit "retro" and limit the player in a forward/backward trap". even in a side scroller we can let the player to move all around our world as we saw in Batman:arkham asylum (scarecrow levels) or early nes versions of ZELDA.

for example we can add a top-view camera to game and active it every time player reachs at a multiway crossing to let the player choose his/her way and after that we switch to side-view camera again and follow player. isn't that great and easy/fun to play. also this can be base for some puzzles.

Some ingame cinematics or scripted cut scenes could be in full 3D even if the player cannot control the camera. Just the idea of a pure side scroller is what I would not expect from a 3D engine.

cutscenes could / should be made with an external program, that would look better

(like C4D)

If we have someone who is able to do that. But you would want to have highres models and environments in this case, too.

Do you have the skills needed to create story telling clips?