Float
1. Floating about you see some nice blobby things to settle on. Because you have no appendages, you have no choice but to keep floating. Choices: [ Keep Floating ]
2. [ Keep Floating ] Ah, you’re still floating, those blobs are getting closer. Choices: [ Keep Floating ]
3. [ Keep Floating ] Well, this is getting a bit boring, isn’t it. Choices: [ Keep Floating ]
4. [ Keep Floating ] You land! On one of those blobs. Choices: [ Give blob instructions ] OR [ Float away ]
5. [ Give blob instructions ] You give it some instructions mostly on how to create more of you. Well, it’s less giving instructions and more of injecting yourself into the blob. You do enjoy reproduction and propagation, just like everyone else. Choices: [ Reproduction and propagation! ]
5. [ Float away ] You float for a very long time, but you don’t particularly notice, it’s just the day-to-day flow of things. You manage to land on a blocky thing. Choices: [ Give blob instructions ] OR [ Float away ]
6. [ Reproduction and propagation! ] In that little factory of a blob, many more of you are produced. Such a good little blob. Now from one, you are many. Choices: [ Keep at that reproduction ] OR [ Float away ]
General concept is that you’re a virus; the end game is finding out what kind of virus you are / infecting an entire species to extinction.
Sink
General concept is parallel with Float from the opposite side. You’re trying to retain (sink) as many alleles as possible in the gene pool. End game is either defeating all other species, extinction, finding out what species you are, or discovering the virus(es) plaguing the your species and stopping it if possible.
Community Tricycle
1. Who the %#*& rides a tricycle anymore? Your owner and master does. Yes, he is a 11-year-old fat ass about to start his first day of middle school and get the @!*# kicked out of him for riding a trikie. Well, it keeps the wheels oiled, so you’re not going to complain too much. Choices: [ Give Mr. Fatty 6th grader a ride to school ] OR [ Do nothing ] OR [ Play dead ].
2. [ Give Mr. Fatty 6th grader a ride to school ] You struggle under the weight of this seriously obese kid. You’re glad he’s getting some exercise to work off the weight, but this is a pretty sucky job. He parks you at the bike rack and heads to classes. Choices: [ Ditch the kid ] OR [ Do nothing (1) ] OR [ Play dead ]
2. [ Do nothing ] You did nothing. Happy? Choices: [ Give Mr. Fatty 6th grader a ride to school ] OR [ Do nothing (2) ] OR [ Play dead ]
2. [ Play dead ] You loosen a chain so that it looks like the bike doesn’t work. The kid complains to mom and dad that his trikie is broken. They offer
3. [ Do nothing (2) ] Your kid is confused because his tricycle looks fine, but it just won’t budge. It occurs to him that he might be too fat and the amount of force he’s applying just can’t power through the weight of his own body. Giving up, he walks to school instead.
General concept is that you are the awkward “maybe” in conversation, the middle ground, the wishy-washy gray area. Just like a community tricycle, everyone gets a ride on “Maybe” and general apathetic do nothing. End game is becoming a bicycle or unicycle or motorbike.
Playing as a virus could be very interesting, and also branch a lot very quickly– maybe a bit high-volume? Would definitely be interesting to see, though.
Second one seems pretty neat, I am somewhat reminded of Calvin’s trials with the bicycle in Calvin & Hobbes.
The first idea reminds me of Spore, as you must go through several phases before you can understand the true scope of the game. I think this game can become very interesting if you include unorthodox actions (e.g. how to avoid danger, what types of molecules to avoid) rather than just obvious ones such as ‘reproduce’.
I really love the idea of playing as a virus. However, the choices you’re presenting are a bit abstract and don’t show much progression. I think this has the potential to be much more interesting if it was more concrete and more descriptions were given of your effect on the overall environment/animal/whatever.
Sinking alleles also strikes me as interesting. So you could make choices to kill other species at the risk of having your own species be eliminated, or stay and reproduce to try and save your species?
The tricycle idea is pretty amusing. I’d be interested to see where the various choices would lead the tricycle. I’m not totally understanding your idea of being the “maybe”/middle ground, though.
With the virus game it might be neat to work on a macro-scale once you infect enough of the body. You could play with how you reach endings and continue, either as another small population of the virus or perhaps a newly mutated one. As you and your comrades drown in mucous in the nose your viral consciousness could transfer into a virus floating through the colon.
The second idea sounds funny because it eliminates one of the most basic functions in story games which is freedom of movement. If you can only move by people riding you, the choices are going to be much more interesting.
I like the second idea because it is really comical but can you have more scenarios?
The first one seems really boring but as you play it reveals a lot, I am worried that if you aren’t careful you won’t be able to keep the readers interest to see the reveal.
I think the blob game might be made more interesting through playing the opposing blob-force – that is, the human immune system. I also like Nico’s idea of switching perspective to a macro level.
The second idea is hilarious, and I like the idea that you are the fulcrum on which the fate of this fat kid, and perhaps others, rests. Especially interesting since you, the tricycle, are inherently so passive. Based on your writing I have no doubt that you can make repeated choices of inaction just as entertaining as active choices.
Idea 1 – The virus story line could get very repetitive. But maybe you could play this up. After clicking so many times the game acknowledges that you have spread and can now kill or infect completely the species you are inhabiting.
Idea 2 – the phrase “you are the awkward ‘maybe’ in conversation” caught my attention. Could a game be solely based on the choice of not choosing, always maybe? Possibly following a character like this that never has a definite answer which leads to a dull life while the people around them experience it for better or worse. That would be different.
While all your ideas are great, I like the tricycle story a bit more because of the writing style. I’m not really sure how you will incorporate the “being the maybe” concept, but the idea itself is intriguing enough for me to want to read it.