Developing Game - The Room

[Mr.Crow]

Hey Just thought Id like a little knowledge share with you guys n gals.

Any ideas can be derived from anything typed here, but blatant design ripoffs will be boycotted. ( Plus it will really upset me.)

Im currently about three months down the line in producing my game The Room.
I would have posted this is the Developers forum but i am unable to provide 'stills' as I dont have the internet at home.

Heres the low down.

Ive developed a basic concept, plot, house design and character developing is in progress.

The Room:

Primary Objective: To Complete ALL Graphical elements, Backgrounds, foregrounds, items
characters.

Secondary Objective: Complete Linking scripts, room transfers.

Due date for Objectives 1 & 2 : November 10th.

The Room Concept:

My games are heavily inspired by 5days and 7days.
Contrary to the name the entire game does not take place in one room.
The is a single hidden room in the very centre of the house, namely a boarded in bathroom.

Adrian the occupier, is unwittingly plucked from his own home, and replaced in his own 'Home'.
He knows that it looks exactly the same but it feels different.

Through alot of processes Adrian has to piece together some very unusual clues ( Such as his bathroom being laid out wrongly.)
These clues though are not provided clearly the user will have to make the visual links about the situation himself, and Adrian WILL NOT TALK! because you are Adrian.

Its going to be a big effort, but the overall effect I wish to achieve is that the player is able to do anything he thinks possible, if he thinks combining glue with glitter will somehow open that locked door, he can. Theres no such prompt as That does not work.

If it doesnt work then it doesnt work. Fetch the items gain and try something else.

Now at my current point I have Version 0.08 running which is a simple three room, two corridor house. Graphics are simple enough, sound too lighting as well.
But id like to put in a few things that create flair, such as Animated computer screends on the background. Does anyone have any other methods other than just animating the WHOLE background.

Ill edit this post again later when i have 'stills' and a full concept report.

BTW upon posting of screens and release of my first beta version at 1.0, Ill be needing some exceptional artists.

Thanks for any comments later.

[Scummbuddy]

you can animate objects and characters, which a character doesnt have to "look" like a character in the literal sense. You can have a "character" that is just a TV flickering... but you can animate it as an idle view or whatever.

[esper]

Sounds like a VERY good idea, but I'd be careful of a couple things... Namely, there already is a game titled "The Room" (Silent Hill 4) which has to do with a boarded-up bathroom, etc... The story isn't the same, hardly, but just as someone who has experience in the story-writing department, you want to keep your ass clean when it comes to potential plagiarism.

[Mr.Crow]

Thanks for the ideas guys, but i thought id let you know that Silent Hill4:The Room has the name The Room as a sequel title, mine will be a main title.

So it will be a no brainer. but thatnks for the hint on animated tvs etc.

[esper]

Had to say:

Nevertheless, be careful. I'm a writer, I know what constitutes a risky situation. Using your very own example, do you think you could get away with making a game called "The Empire Strikes Back," (Star Wars) or "Symphony of the Night?" (Castlevania)

So I'm just saying... It sounds like an awesome idea, but you don't want anyone pulling a Vivendi on you...