Create-A-Game I Year 2007

[stof]

Name - "One Great City" or "The Urban Reclamation Project"

Genre - Sandbox adventure

# of players - 1

Developer - ... My imaginary studio that's really cool

Game Idea -. The fundamental idea behind my concept is based around an evolving and often changing world. At the beginning the game is a very simple GTA style nature, with a city that isn't as large, but allows you to go inside most buildings. But I'll get more into that in a sec

Story - our protagonist *you, but we'll call him Harjit* Is a University student in the city. During a walk to school, his friend convinces him to make some money on the side through some less than noble methods. Harjit reluctantly agrees and skips class. The game starts with him doing some small time fetch missions. Delivering pot for his friend, smashing a car window of someone that didn't pay, that sort of thing. After a few petty crook missions, one of the deals goes bad, and Harjit get chased by a gang. 

The Pursuit (in a fun little chase mini game) leads into a central park. The gang eventually catches up to Harjit in the forest, But before they can attack the poor guy, Something happens, a tree in the park comes to life and begins thrashing the would be attackers. With the gang scared and scattered, the tree, allows a branch to fall from it. This is Harjit's first item, a living Whip like branch that can be used to attack enemies, grab items, traverse various areas and perhaps be used in some very novel ways.

From here the true adventure begins. Harjit's first goal becomes figuring out why there's a living tree in the park, this might lead him to the police station to report it, the hospital to see if anyone from the gang checked in or even to the Universities research facilities. But as he progress in the game, we find that there's something wrong with far more than just the tree. Through out the game, various buildings and objects will begin to alter. For example.

- Buildings will turn into Volcanoes, allowing you to walk through their rooms of lava flows and cubicles.

- Forest will reclaim streets and sometimes even buildings, with giant tree's poking out of the sides of skyscrapers.

- Subways will still function, but you'll always wonder if you're hearing an incoming train or a giant wurm beast. 

- The public pool will poor forth geysers of water which hang suspended in the air (mid air swiming levels!)

- Spell books will appear in the library.

- The cities amusement park will spill out into the city, with rollercoasters wrapping around buildings.

- strange creatures and beasts will begin to populate the city.

And a great many more fantastic transformations will occur througout the course of the game. The constantly changing nature will allow for plenty of new discoveries and puzzles.

One interesting feature is that regardless of how weird and dangerous the city gets, the people stay in it. Through your conversations and observations, you'll find that they all feel strangely drawn to the city, and would rather adapt to their new situation than move. 

over the course of the game, we eventually uncover the Cities origins. Some mystical force drew people to that spot to form a city, but the development and concrete shut that mystical power in. Now, someone is trying to weild the power for their own gains, and it's causing that force to leak out and reclaim the city (I just thought of this game now, so forgive me if the backstory isn't fully flushed out yet)

Asside from beating the bad guy of course, the point of the game won't be so much to restore the city to it's pre -mystical self, as much as it will be to to subdue the more negative elements of such a crazy new environment.

 

The main draw for me to this game idea would be the constant changing nature of the world. But I think it would appeal to most people that like sandbox style gameplay but wish for something a little more original. The chances to mix the magical with the mundane provide a lot of potential. Think: Guy in a business suit cursing traffic as he plays his lute to steer the Giant Bison he's riding through downtown streets kind of stuff.