Concepts de jeux


Je fournis ici les concepts les plus intéressants que j'aie écrits. Je fais cela pour plusieurs raisons :

  • Cette industrie n'est pas gouvernée par les idées. Cela a été le cas, mais tout le monde peut avoir d'excellentes idées, et comme je l'ai lu quelque part "un designer valable a trois idées majeures avant le déjeuner". Le challenge est aujourd'hui de faire tourner la production, de trouver du financement, et de polir le tout avec précision. Les meilleurs jeux sont de bonnes idées parfaitement réalisées, pas d'excellentes idées démoulées trop vite.
  • Ma loyauté va à "l'intérêt public du jeu", pas à une compagnie ou à une récompense. L'objectif est d'offrir les meilleures expériences de jeu. Quelquefois cela est assez douloureux, mais j'essaye de rester fier du résultat. Sinon, je le dis dans la page des projets :P
  • L'un des bonheurs de la production est de travailler sur des jeux que l'on aime. Mais la vraie décharge d'adrénaline est de travailler sur ses propres concepts, ou de voir ses idées mises en pratique. Cela n'arrive en fait qu'à quelques personnes ou groupes. Je le fais actuellement sur Capitalism 2, mais je ne suis pas dans l'équipe elle-même. Mon destin est probablement de revenir à la production classique.
  • J'aime partager :)

Pour autant je ne fournis ici que les résumés des concepts. Je donnerais les documents complets à -presque- tout ceux qui le demande.
Après quelques réflexions, j'ai fait un classement aléatoire. J'aurais pu le faire de façon historique, ou qualitative, mais le hasard est meilleur pour cacher les meilleures perles :), merci à random.org pour les jets.

Ski resort
Written january 98
Buy a large piece of a mountain in a snowy area, carve the land to accomodate for skying. Create and develop a complete resort, try to be profitable by attracting as many skigoers as possible, and entertain them. The base gameplay is to alter the moutain to obtain fun and varied ski slopes, of different difficulty degrees, while staying secure. You will need to build housing, restaurants, shops, or simply put up the buildings themselves, selling or renting them to private owners, or even selling the bare land itself.
Think of : Transport tycoon, Theme Park


Clans
Written december 98
Progress through a clan hierarchy in a schorched future, and lead it through commando-type operations on asteroids, on different levels depending on your power. As a soldier, you will receive orders on the battlefield and hope your leader guides you well. Then become this leader and lead the assault with a strategic map. Then the clan commander must manage the clan, order missions and see to everyone's survival. A perfect persistent online team play.
Think of : Tribes, Asheron's Call


NASA
Written january 98
You are responsible for the development and management of a very large semi-public space organization, in the modern world. The game starts when the first man is sent in space, bewildering all imaginations. All projects receive approval and budgets, and you lead a growing research, manufacturing and pilots team. But with competition and people getting used to wonders, you need more and more to fight to keep the budgets, distillating the technological leaps, the public events, selling some achievements, and installing services like satellites launch. Your goal is to stay in line with a greater objective like settling on the moon or mars, through some large steps (space station, regular planet flights, asteroids mining...).
Think of : Civilization, Outpost


Asteroid prison
Written a long time ago (92-93 ?)
You have been emprisoned on a distant asteroid, together with other evil brains. Each one is confined into a small settlement, alone, with a mission to occupy your emprisonment. You control a score of extracting robots, gathering raw mineral for a regular convoy getting to and out of the asteroid. But war has broken out on mother earth, and prisoners are left on their own, with limited hope of survival. The goal is now different, modify your robots, gather the resources to build an escape ship, alone or in group, but not everyone will be able to leave. Guide, explore and dig the rocks, with the risk of dislocating the asteroid itself, and battle your opponents to beat them.
Think of : RTS games perhaps, but that didnt exist at the time


Pioneers village
Written november 97
Along with friends your characters settles a new town on the New Frontier. Each character has skills and abilities, that could profit the community. While building up the basic structures, you need to complete the set of people that will live and support you, and so seek to attract them from other communities. You can give large directions to everyone, or contact each people to know about their needs and direct them. You dont control the army but can ask for help, or get in touch with natives yourself. A fine setting for a persistent online world to colonize.
Think of : Settlers, Colonization


Guild
Written january 98
You lead a group of rogues, growing into a real guild, in an urban medieval (or ancient civilization) environment. You lay out, place traps and organize the different places you control. The thieves have different abilities and specialties that you need to nurture and use, they also have their intelligence and can be corrupted and killed. The player is present in the game within a character with his own capacities. He defines the missions and can lead them directly, he contacts people in the city and receives orders. The growing guild attracts new people and also counter forces.
Think of : Dungeon Keeper, Thief, Rainbow 6


The Bible
Written febuary 98
Its this period of history : antique times. Myths and legends are coming together and large religions can be thrown together for Eternity. You will hire people to travel the land and collect epic histories and miracles. Select the best and most impressive to feed your writers with materials, and also highlights the principles your religion favors. In a second phase, diffuse your knowledge and help expand the religion in all countries. By forecasting the near future you'll reap the beliefs cake.
Think of : Populous, but its a stretch


Simpsons family
Written january 98
A complete family will survive only with your help, you are one of their ancestors. You will try to help each member through life, to success or happiness. Prevent them from accidents, incarnate in them in extreme cases, although it will cost power (with which you influence them). A twist is the use of cartoon characters, Simpsons or others, allowing fun situations, original graphic set.
Think of : The Sims (a long time before the release !!)


The Power game
Written february 98
You are a politician eager to rule the country. Through influence, your political party, elections and image, you will climb the social ladder up to the ultimate seat of power. Your militants form the core activity, spreading your ideas and winning support in districts. You also contact local lobbies, form alliances, then repay help when you get some control levers in the city, taking care not to be become enslaved yourself.
Think of : not much political games around, upcoming Republic (hey Demis !)


Klendathu
Written april 00
Multiplayer online-only game of cooperative action firefight (Diablo-style), in the fierce and futuristic universe of Starship Troopers. Through a 3D view, players group in squads to land on aggressive areas. They combine their skills and equipment to secure zones and build defenses, battling aliens generated and AI controled, being backup-ed by new players joining in. Secured areas participate in the conquest of the current planet. When a planet is conquered, a new one is generated and proposed as battlefield by the system. Scores and ladders are displayed when a planet has been conquered.
Think of : Diablo, Counterstrike


Ecosystem
Written january 98
You get to control a piece of land, an island, a field, whatever, in which a number of species live together and form a complete system. There is plants, animals, predators, etc. You have to keep this system running smoothly and face new factors threatening the balance, like new predators, disasters, humans, civilization for instance. The word here is adaptation, and no goal set, although a campaign can lead the players through the learning. Artificial life at its climax.
Think of : huh nothing quite like it, perhaps Sim City for the open-endedness


Planet of Adventures
Written june 00
On a mission to a distant unknown world, your ship is destroyed by a missile, and you land alone and lost on the planet, with no means of escaping but with this goal only. However, through the discovery of the races, more objectives will fill your agenda, beyond the mere survival... A 3D adventure/action game, story-driven. Heavily based on existing novel that fans already cornered.
Think of : Outcast, Dark Earth


Microbes
Written january 98
You control a group of evil microbes in a human body. After defining their characteristics, that will affect their needs, movement capacities, resilience to body responses, reproduction means, among others, you get to survive and explore your new war field : a real body. Different areas will provide threats or survival means. The goal is to set up and grow, but without killing your host and ultimately to be able to reach a new body to expand.
Think of : Sim Ant, Dungeon Keeper (again)


Hard helmet
Written september 98
Manage a construction site complete with workers, machines, raw materials and constraints. This is typically a god-game 3D view and controls spawn, in the modern world. You get blue prints to build in a campaign mode, or set up your own in free game. A much simpler mode is available for young players, working like a lego or sandbox experience, where you put the pieces together.
Think of : Constructor, Theme Hospital


Marco Polo
Written november 97
In an ancient time great areas remain to be discovered. You set out with products of your home town and lead a caravan into wilderness, establishing new maps, encountering local people and gathering their products. You try to reach new and rich foreign civilization with whom to trade, but the road is difficult, and lots of thieves or barbarians can be met.
Think of : some very old games


Tempus Demoni
Written january 98
You are a devil living in the Abyss, trying to get a better position in the complex social hierarchy of Hell. For this you need to will gain mortal souls and manipulate their lives, improving your own power and prestige. You will have to sacrifice lives of your cult members to gain demonic time, that will allow you more control on the mortal plane, but on the other hand doing could will frighten the cult and reduce its influence.
Think of : Dungeon Keeper (yes, its design is perfect)


Yes, most of the concepts were written Q1 1998, thats because at the time I was researching concepts for the management game for ubi, a project that got cancelled, as so many others.