This new series pitches game ideas (to no one in particular) that I, as a player, would be love to see made. These ideas aren’t necessarily marketable nor are they explicitly intended to be for anyone but myself, or at least someone of like mind. Why would I waste my time throwing out games ideas to the internet like this? Good question, and the answer is that if the ideas described here help to inspire a game design in any way, fantastic. No credit or thanks are required — making a game that interests me is thanks enough.

Plus, almost all game ideas that I have ever seen written down are a dime a dozen. Even a great idea (and again, not all of these will be) is only a starting point. It takes talent, dedication, passion, and typically a whole lotta money to make a great game.

#1. Silly Ships

Game Genre: Arcade Ship Battler / Ship Builder

Game Platform: Xbox Live Arcade (XBLA)

Players: 1-4 online or offline

Inspiration

There aren’t many activities more satisfying than building up a big sandcastle, and then smashing it to bits. It is this creative and then destructive act that seems to fill two different needs in young boy’s life (or in men who never grew up, like me). The essensce has been instilled in such shows as “Battle Bots,” and “Robot Wars,” and to a lesser degree, “Mythbusters.” The problem with those shows is that, as far as I’ve seen anyway, to compete in such games or activities participants really need a degree in mechanical engineering or electronics.

Now, I like robots but I don’t love robots. I do like gun power and things that go BOOM over things that go pew-pew. I also like pirates. No, no, no…not historically accurate pirates whom usually died from scurvey, alcoholism, or veneral diseases but pirates that can be described as romatically whimsical or silly. Captain Jack Sparrow of Disney’s, “Pirates of the Carribean,” is one such example, but I would like to see it pushed much, much further. That is where “One Piece,” an extraordinary japanese manga and anime comes in. If nothing else, “One Piece,” sets the tone and creative constraints for the content in the game. Anything from a cramped canoe with two pirates carrying a single cannon to a WWI style super-dreadnaught with a hundred cannon and rotating turrets goes. So, this is a super-silly game where you build up ships, and then blow them up.

The last element which inspires this game idea is the enjoyment inherent to four-player, “Bomberman,” matches. The mixture of randomness in the board design coupled with many simple gameplay devices equates to the classic easy to learn but difficult to master gameplay that most great games strive for.  Added in with the human social element, “Bomberman,” sticks out as one of the best party games ever made.

Inspired by: Battle-Bots, One Piece, Sid Meier’s Pirates!, Spore, Bomberman

Game Modes

Ship Building

At the beginning of the ship building mode, the player will start with nothing but the basics – the hull of a ship which will serve two purposes. The first is to act as a platform for attachments and the second is to determine some of the ship’s crucial gameplay characteristics.  For example, a shallow, narrow hull will facilitate speed and maneuverability while a deep and wide hull is ideal for carrying a lot of crew and attachments. By attaching various items to the hull, such as sails for speed and cannons for offense, the ship gains additional capabilities or aesthetic charm. There exists a delicate balancing act when adding items to the ship. For example, the player may choose to place more guns but place too many and the ship will become too heavy riding so low in the water that maneuvering and speed is be comprimised. Another option is determine the ideal number, type, and placement of the masts to determine speed but again, if too many are placed in relation to the size of the hull then the ship runs a greater risk of being uncontrollable. The idea isn’t really to create the perfect ship for everyone but to give the player interesting choices, many of which come down to personal gameplay and visual preferences. Some players will build ships that are monstrous, bulky, behemoths with enough cannon to sink an island but are so slow to turn that staying on target will be difficult while others may choose to design something thin and elegant with reduced firepower to emphasize speed and agility. Due to the experimental nature of the ship builder some players may emerge with something that bucks all preconceived notions.

Ship Characteristics

• Hull Points (HP) – The amount of damage a ship can take before sinking or exploding
  • Armor plates increase HP but add weight
  • Size of the hull influences HP
  • Larger hulls are easier to hit
• Weight – The heavier a ship the slower it goes and by extension that harder it is to turn.
  • Attachments add weight
  • Only a larger hull can handle more weight thus more attachments
• Crew – Required to man and repair attachments and without a crew the ship is inoperable
  • Bunks – Additional bunks inside the hull increase maximum crew capacity
  • Crew die when the ship is successfully attacked
• Speed – The top speed of the ship
  • Sails, Oars – Add speed depending on wind direction or lack thereof
  • Some sails are better for different wind directions
• Cannon – The offensive capability of the ship. The more cannons that are attached the more powerful each volley will become.
  • Cannon add a lot of weight
  • Cannon can only be fired on the side of the hull they were attached on
  • Cannon come in different types with different shot. For example, some shot is good for damaging the hull while others are designed to attack sails
  • Cannon types can be mixed
• Turning – The radius of the ship’s turn. Smaller ships by default turn tighter
  • Rudder – Rudder type (not number) decreases turn radius. Multiple rudders add redundancy in case one is destroyed
• Special – Powerful attachments that require a lot of crew and can only be used rarely but may catch an enemy by surprise
  • Attack row-boats – Some crew jump into row boats and try to board the closest enemy ship to kill opposing crew
  • Rotating Turret – Powerful cannon that rotates to face the closest enemy
  • Ram – Weapon of last resort and can cause severe damage to opposing ship
  • Harpoon Cannon – Reels in the lighter ship
  • Shrine – A shrine to the sea-gods.  This has a random beneficial effect when used such as reviving dead crew or giving the ship a speed boost

[View with PicLens]

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Ship Battling

This is a fast and furious proving ground for your ship design or at least in part resulting from what your ship carried in Shipwreck mode. In its most simple form it resembles the ship battles from, “Sid Meier’s Pirates!” where it is one-on-one where the goal is to sink the enemy ship (not board it, which is the case with Pirates). What sets the ship battling apart, aside from the ships being designed by the players, is that each element that is added to the ship can be damaged or destroyed thus removing it from the field of play for that match (not permanently). This is intended to be a very visceral experience where masts crash down to the deck, the crew flies off the ship to drown in the ocean, giant holes are torn into the side of the hull, and eventually if enough damage is taken the magazine catches on fire and the ship detonates spraying debris everywhere — Kablooey!

Ship Battling Modes

• Classic - 1 on 1, 2 on 2, 1 on 3, or free-for-all in open waters vs. human or computer opponents
• Dangerous waters – The same as classic mode, with additional hazards such as shoals, stray ships, and whirl pools
• Pirate Alliance (PvE) – 2-4 pirate captains team up to take on pirate hunters, ghost ships, or the power Kraken.  Each round gets more difficult.
• Shipwreck – All of the pirate ships have just broken apart upon the reefs! Now each captain must scramble to find a new hull, rescue crew and attachments while fending off the other captains. Inspired by, “Bomberman.”
• Booty Race – All ships race against each-other and must avoid various obstacles to get to treasure island. First pirate to get ashore wins.
• Ranked (online only) – Classic, Dangerous Waters, Booty Race, or Shipwreck mode where opponents of similar rank are matched

Additional Options

• Honor Battle – All ships start out with the same hull and attachments
• Handicapped – In this mode hull points are adjusted based on player preference
• Timed – The battle must end within a certain amount of time or the sun will set and the battle will conclude
• Revenge – A destroyed ship comes back as a ghost ship, pirate hunter, or sea monster to harass other players
• Treasure! – Attachments occasionally float by which can be equipped
• Drop Mode – A destroyed ship ejects all attachments before sinking for other players to salvage and use
• Prize – Each losing captain must voluntarily permanently give up one attachment picked by the server to the winner
• Iron men – The crew is invincible, but if the ship sinks so do they.

[View with PicLens]

Meta-game

The player builds a ship, takes it into battle, and then upgrades the ship with the plunder that is won.  As the ship improves, so does the player’s online ranking, and the difficulty of matches increase.  Eventually the ship will be maxed out with the best attachments in the player’s chosen configuration and it will be the player’s skill level that determines how high he or she can rise.

Vanity attachments can also be found or bought which add to the ship’s distinctiveness. These attachments include decorative prows, colorful sails, and varying pirate flags.

Last Thoughts

Who else may want to this game?

People who like pirates and players who have enjoyed the titles, “Bomberman,” or, “Pirates!”  This would need to be scoped appropriately for the XBLA audience as to put it at the right price point.  One key will be to offer players something they haven’t seen in either and I believe that to be a zany and creative take on the pirates theme coupled with the stickiness of ship design. Multi-player has already been done, and done well by both, so that in itself won’t set this title apart. While, “One Piece,” would certainly be an attractive IP for this game in Japan, it has yet to take off in North America.

What would be needed?

Provided that the scope of the ship builder remains manageable, I envision (and this is a very rough guess) that this game could be completed in between 8 to 12 months with a modest team size (roughly a dozen people or less). Most of the design time would likely be spent creating, tweaking, and balancing the various attachments in the game and equipping them to hulls to insure that one build can’t easily rule them all.

How could this game be easily extended?

Beyond the core idea as listed in this document, a compelling single-player campaign with many of the open world ocean exploration features could be added. Given that the play balancing and upgrade paths are already available, this should be a relatively easy inclusion into the game’s overall design. A prime example of this is how, “Star Control,” a classic PC game was later expanded upon in, “Star Control II.”

Will this game (or one very much like it) be made?

No, not likely but possible.  While companies are starting to explore moderate price-point games through XBLA and PSN it is uncertain thus far how successful new IPs will be. While there are some exceptions to this rule such as, “Fat Princess,” which was critically acclaimed when it was released in 2009, the sales data for that title is not released through NPD or other retail sources since it was online distribution only. Also, while the, “Spore,” creator was amazing, the game itself was mediocre thus there really isn’t any fervor to copy the experience, even the successful parts. While nothing in the realm of the full, “Spore,” creature creator would be needed for this game, simply mentioning it as a selling point won’t be all that attractive to potential investors or publishers. All-in-all there is really nothing here that takes advantage of a hot trend or has an innovative hook that could open a new market that would generate the needed buzz to get funding. It would likely have to be self-funded by an independent house and most of them are in no position to spend a year on a title like this.

I’d play it though, if it were made!

Questions, comments, and further ideas are welcome but please be aware that any ideas posted in response to Dime-A-Dozen are considered public domain.