Bring back Resident Evil to its roots and bring back the horror/suspense than turning it into an action game. 

Limited Locations to enforce the puzzle/mystery style. Limited bullets to create the feeling of survival but enough to finish the game.

For a multiplayer, it will be a survival game forcing players to find each other and survive either waves of zombies or escape together. Footstep sounds will be enhanced to allow players to know the location or general direction of each other or something else. It's all about the senses of the player interacting with the game, the sounds, the music, the fear of death.

not too detailed of an idea but i would apply the red dead redemption way of thinking to many different historical times. I would use the red dead team and the gta team(yeah i got both), these would be spiritual successors to red dead so i will count them as the franchise in question that i am overseeing as lead designer. 

 I don't mean a re-skinned red dead in different times but just the idea of an open world, without cities(or cities not being the focus), without cars and absolutely NAILING the feeling of the times, the actual gameplay elements would have to differ to fit the location and time.

4 examples- think red dead in these timelines with new gameplay elements obviously 

1.ancient greece

2.ancient japan

3. medieval europe-my favorite idea, riding a horse into a castle after a trek across the plains would be way too awesome

4.Australia-around WW2, northern australian cities were just being established, very interesting time there.

I would make the combat similar to what we have seen in metal gear raiden(or whatever its called) for the games where bladed weapons were used.

any takers?