Game idea, how to flesh out - NOT recruitment for help

[Luke Lockhart]

Hello all,
I've got an idea for a game, and I've been bouncing it around in my head for a while. Since ideas are a dime a dozen, I'm going to need to do some actual work on it before I can start recruiting for any help here, but I find it difficult to come up with a linear idea of how to do the project, so basically what I'm asking for here is advice on how to design the basic elements of the game.

The game idea is tentatively entitled "What I Did at My High School Prom." It's not a pure adventure game by any stretch of the imagination - it has elements of RPG and strategy, but I want to keep an adventure core. Essentially, it's a "genre pastiche" of Buffy the Vampire Slayer - the premise is that the player is the high school principal who must organize a team of teenage superheros to clear the town of Riverside of the undead menace. The central game control would be a map of the town (which I have already begun to work on) with the high school, naturally, at the center. Missions would be presented by some sort of email-style interface, and control would be turn-based. When a mission becomes available, the player clicks on the region of the town in which it takes place and then is given control either of the principal or a teen he's sending on a mission. Combat would be handled Quest for Glory style  - going to a combat screen when a monster "catches" you.

Basically I am wondering where I should start with this. Since I suck at art I will eventually need to recruit an artist somewhere, and I'll be checking into that to see if I can feasibly find a free artist online once I have something to show, or whether I should pay. I think I can do the scripting with the help of the forums here; I've written a 3D space combat sim and overall I understand the logic behind how to do most of what I need to do. But what I am having trouble with is coming up with an organized idea of how to map out the basic game functions... should I start with scripting the main map screen, or what?

I again want to emphasize that this is NOT a recruitment thread. I've been here on and off since the late 1990s and I've had a lot of failed projects where I got a great idea and tried to find a team, then realized I needed more than an idea. So basically what I'm asking for is advice on how to get started so I can have something to show for this...

[monkey0506]

Not that I'm one for giving advice on issues like this, but I think that starting would be a good place to start. If you feel inspired to work on the main map, and you have ideas as to how it should be laid out, or general structural ideas, or anything really, go ahead and work on the map. Later if you find you're lacking a bit in inspiration for the map, but you have some ideas on how to implement the Mission Email Interface...then work on that.

Seeing as I haven't released any..."real" games in the two three ( :o) years I've been working with AGS, I'm probably not the best/most reliable resource for advice on these matters, but I do have some general ideas of how a project should be run, even if I'm completely incapable of massing together the effort to produce something myself.

And welcome back to the forums, I'm not familiar with you, but it's always nice to see a new face (even if it is an old face ).

monkey

P.S. Thanks for clarifying that you've only been around here (off and on) since the late 1990s. There's no telling what I would have thought had you just said "the late 90s". I probably would have thought 1890s...or 2090s...or 32690s. Yeah. Probably.

[Sparky]

I think pretty visually, so for my current project I started with a crude map of the different areas, and charted the key puzzles and plot points. Then with no code and no final assets, I pretended I was playing the game. As I went I took notes on what needed doing and what assets needed to be created.

As work has progressed the biggest difficulties have come up around wanting to replan sections of the game. I'd recommend coming up with a detailed outline you're really happy with before doing any final assets.

[Ali]

Essentially, it's a "genre pastiche" of Buffy the Vampire Slayer

I think that's a risky idea. Buffy the Vampire Slayer already had strong elements of pastiche and spoof. You can't spoof a spoof, or rather, I don't think it's wise. If a spoof remains the same genre as it's target, what's the world coming to?

I think you could take the concept of your gameplay, which sounds fun, and relocate it a little. If you're interested in horror pastiche, set it in a small-town picture house, or a motel, or an isolated village full of creepy characters. thn you'd have the opportunity to put your spin on classic horror conventions. If you stick with a Buffy spoof, you'll be putting your spin on Joss Whedon's spin on horror conventions. That's less spinny.

I hope that doesn't sound too negative. There are popular spooves of spooves, I just object to them. Feel free to disregard my criticism entirely.

[Shane 'ProgZmax' Stevens]

Well, all I can tell you is the way I design games.

Method 1:

Seat of your pants.  If the game is relatively short, I find it immensely fun to just make things up as I go along.  I did this with Dance Til' You Drop! and it is still the most fun I've had making a game.  I restrict this to short games because it avoids the problems you run into with large projects when you are not thinking ahead.


Method 2:

Screenplay.  No, not a design document.  I much prefer writing out the game like a screenplay, with character bios and scenes plotted with the dialog right there.  It really streamlines the process for me and has made some of the longer games I'm working on much more interesting.  I recommend trying it at least once to see if you prefer it to more traditional methods.