- “Scaling Everest”
Description: This is a game about climbing a mountain. In order to progress, you need to balance your oxygen level with your movement frequency: If you stop moving, you freeze, but if you move too much you’ll run out of oxygen.
Statement: I want to see how finding a balance between motion and stillness can constitute an engaging game. The game could be as simple as a one button game, but the feeling of agency the player has through that one button will stem from their management of Oxygen and Temperature. I’d like to explore that feeling of control (or lack of control) through this game. This was inspired after hearing stories about the “death zone” on Mt. Everest, above 26,247 feet, where climbers must manage their time and oxygen – summit and descend quickly so you don’t run out of oxygen, but don’t go too fast and exhaust yourself.
References: Sisyphus (Global Game Jam 2016), Saints Row 3 (car-surfing minigame), swimming (in real life), and Don’t Scare the Bug.
- “I know where I’m going”
Description: This is a game where you have to navigate through a world, from destination to destination…but you can only look at your phone.
Statement: This idea came to me on the way to class, five different people almost walked into me and what better way to bring people’s awareness to an issue than gameify it? I also want to play around with the surroundings of the player – what if the environment is interesting enough to make them want to look up? The game would involve walking through an environment with limited vision for the player, players would get strikes against them for hitting other people and colliding with the environment. Yes, it’d be challenging. Yes, it’d be irritating. That’s the point, it doesn’t make much sense to do it in real life does it?
References: Real life experiences, Slender, DreadOut (limited fov).
- “Multiplayer Tower Defense”
Description: Two player versus tower defense game.
Statement: My interest in this project is making a game that is ordinarily a pretty passive single player game, into a fairly active and engaging multiplayer game. I propose a game where two players battle via tower defenses, and minions clash in the center, gaining or losing ground. Once the minions reach a player’s base, they lose. This could be engaging in multiple ways: minions could have different attributes, towers could be set up differently, terrain could be asymmetrical between the players, etc. It comes down to finding a fun balance between those resources.
References: Tower defense: Infinite War, League of Legends, Bloons.