I had an idea that there aren't a lot of dinosaur games around. Maybe a few. But I was thinking what if I could kind of recreate the dino crisis idea but with an all new game design make it open world and give the player survival needs. But obviously I would have trouble making a story and things like that. I would like to see what other ideas people might have on something like this I might try working on it
idea for dinosaur survival game?
Mon, 02/02/2015 - 21:31
Tue, 02/03/2015 - 01:21
#1
Would you envision a co-op
Would you envision a co-op game where the players are trying to survive extinction, with events coming? Or as a variant, a "last man standing" type of game that keeps getting things progressively harder until only one player remains?
Or would it be dino vs dino... And the extinction event is just a backdrop?
Realistically, you don't need a whole lot of "story" for this... Just some good mechanics that feel fresh and original.
Are you evolving your dinosaurs to survive? Is it a resource gather game? Lots of possibilities.
Tue, 02/03/2015 - 21:32
#2
Why is it obvious that you
Why is it obvious that you would have trouble making a story, and what do you mean by "things like that"? Hopefully not "everything else." :) Would you have an easier time doing this if you had selected a different game theme, or is this a challenge for you across the board? To me, for example, story is the easiest part. How do you envision the video game concept of "open world" translating into a board game? It seems like a very large undertaking to give players a sense of doing whatever they want in an expansive world.
Here is one list of dinosaur board games:
http://spotlightongames.com/list/dinosaur.html#evo
Tue, 02/03/2015 - 21:47
#3
Survival
I personally think LordBrand is heading down the right direction with the last man standing idea. There are a plethora of directions a dinosaur game could go.
1) All Herbivores - Players aren't forced to contend against extinction, instead they are trying to avoid AI controlled predator cards or units. This one would be the "kindest" model, letting players cause minor roadblocks, but not being the prime opposition to each other.
2) All Predators - Similar to the herbivore, but instead of it being a "run faster than the slowest" game it would be a "gobble up all the resources." More of a thematic change than anything, but would probably feel different. Once again, this can exist without requiring comets and diseases destroying everyone.
3) Mixed bag - Here is where things get interesting. I love asynchronous play mechanics. The Herbivores are just trying to survive while playing a defensive game of cat and mouse with the Predators. The Predators have minor AI prey to keep them going, but will die long before the Herbivores if they don't take another player out. This model would also work without extinction events, but adding them in would make it more fun (where as I think it would be superfluous to the other two).
Best part of this direction, the story become emergent, saving the creator the time and energy of making a hardcoded story. Player make their own memories, the designer just adds in the story beats.
This could be a pretty fun game. It could be done with or without a central map using mostly cards for randomization.
*Edit* I'm actually very intrigued by this idea. If you want anyone else giving you a hand on it, let me know.
