Whether I make a Coldstone game or not depends quite a bit on the final version of Coldstone, and in particular, what it offers with regard to NPC AI. If I can't make fairly smart enemies, I doubt that I'll follow through with making a game. PoG's combat is fun, but too simplistic for the sort of game I want to make. If I'm pleasantly surprised by the AI options, I'll probably go ahead and at least attempt to make a game:
Dies Irae - At first glance, a fairly standard "save-the-world" fantasy game, but more serious than most... and with a villain who's not just some random, evil, insane would-be dictator... Character interaction and development will be a big part of the story, though I haven't decided whether said character development will be "role-playing" (you choose the way you act) or "cinematic" (you just watch the story unfold), but either way, I hope to make it a very powerful story.
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(url="http://"http://www.cjr.org/owners/aoltimewarner.asp")AOLTimeWarnerICQSportsIllustratedCNNAtlantaBravesHawksandThrashersDCComicsNetscapeHBO owns you.(/url)
I'd have to agree with the 'High School' game. What you might want to do is make it so the world is basically a collection of many high schools, each with different teachers, pupils etc.instead of towns & cities. You could get people from around the world to help you with descriptions of their high schools for this..... THhis game could be most amusing 
-Andiyar
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"Any good that I may do here, let me do now, for I may not pass this way again"
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Originally posted by marcsiry:
**I would suggest that your best bets are original ideas with a unique concept.
**
Unfoprtunatly, there are very few truly unique and/or original ideas left in the world. Nowadays it's more like trying to hide your source then coming up with something new. (sigh)
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Unfortunatly, there are very few truly unique and/or original ideas left in the world. Nowadays it's more like trying to hide your source then coming up with something new. (sigh)
Let me rephrase that, with more specific language:.
"Your best bet is coming up with an idea that is not a copyrighted property owned by someone else, with a concept that is not obviously similar to many other examples of the genre."
So, you like Harry Potter, and want to do a game where he trains in his warlock school or whatever, and then goes out on a mission in some castle.
However, if you do a Harry Potter game, you'll work very hard on something that is ultimately not yours and could never be released as such, and will be in competition with games created by large development houses with professional staffs that are working full time to create games.
So, take the basic concept- magic kid in school- and change enough details to make it your own.
Call it "P.S. 666" (in New York City, public schools are numbered like that- I went to P.S. 20). The concept is a kid is going to a local school that, along with normal subjects like math and phys ed, also teaches magical skills.
The goal of the game is to get good enough at your magic at your school before having to go through the graduation exercise- and that's surviving a day at a neighboring school for demons (P.S. 666), which is just like a normal high school except run through some evil Photoshop filter.
With a concept like that, you can have evil gym teachers, evil cafeteria workers, an evil Principal, evil preppie girls, etc. etc. The real life versions of all these things are evil enough- adding the extra twist that they are in a school for demons will allow you to overexaggerate their evil (the evil Gym teacher could make you play "Dodge Fireball," for instance).
The unique aspect of this would be that you're taking what is usually a very serious situation (fighting demons) and putting it in a "normal" situation (high school). THe absurdity of a demonic hall monitor adds an element of humor and interest. By making the setting your typical suburban American high school, you distance yourself from Harry Potter, and you differentiate your game from the usual "hack, slash, run around some villages" games that represent most of the genre.
So, you're right- there's nothing new under the sun (I bet there's plenty of books, movies, and even games that are very similar to what I described)- but you can take existing concepts and existing elements and re-present them in a way that's uniquely yours, filtered through your own personal worldview. That's what people in the biz call "Creativity"
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marc siry
century city, usa
Warning: Rather lengthy meditation on the nature of creativity and originality ahead.
When I was in art school, they constantly pounded into our heads the idea that "Everything has been done already." This is not 'everything' on a production level, but 'everything' on a conceptual level. The question for us starry-eyed art students changed from "What am I going to make?" to "Why am I going to make?" If, as it is proposed, everything has been done already, why does anybody bother to do anything?
This is a question worth pondering, for those who are distraught about the idea of not having original ideas.
I'll share with you the answer I came up with, the answer I use to get myself out of bed in the morning. Why do I make things? Because I have to. I have talents for storytelling, creating visual and aural environments, and since I don't want to sell my soul to an ad agency, I feel the best use of my talents are to express views on the human condition.
That is what art (visual art, music, fiction, poetry, etc) is. An expression of a view on the human condition.
I have to make things because I've noticed that I become sickly (mentally and physically) if I don't. As such, I've devoted a good deal of energy to at least coming up with ways of surprising my fellow humans in my methods of expression.
Not everyone is willing to devote the chunk of time and energy coming up with something that today we call "original", yet still feel the desire to write, paint, make music, etc. The outlets for these activities are often things like fan fiction. Case in point, there is a good deal of Harry Potter fan fiction on the internet.
There is nothing wrong with this kind of creative activity. Indeed, imitation is the highest form of flattery. But people who try to make their careers out of their creative work cannot do so with fan fiction. Imagine where J.K. Rowling would be if she decided that all she wanted to do was write Chronicles of Narnia Fan Fiction.
Because creative people build their careers on the things they create, legal precedent has determined that Fan Fiction must remain in the amateur's domain. The only way you can make a living doing this kind of work is with the permission of the creator of whatever it is you're a fan of.
One problem about fan fiction, however, is that it dilutes the object of its affection. The people who write fan fiction are (almost) never as talented as the original author. People who read the fan fiction expecting something with the polish of the original will be sorely disappointed. It takes a very dedicated fan, whose appetite cannot be satiated by the original author's production quantities, to enjoy fan fiction.
It will be worse with "Fan fiction games".
Ever notice how movies of books hardly live up to the original? How games of movies are the same way? Certain qualities of the original are lost in the translation between mediums.
A movie is different from a novel in that the narrative is told through the eyes of the camera; linguistic fluidity must be traded for visual fluidity. A game is different from either in that the narrative must be subservient to the elements of interaction and playability; storytelling must take a back seat to interaction. Indeed, some of the most popular games involve story as little as possible, if at all.
"Fan Fiction Games" will not be spared from this problem of translation. What will make the problem worse is that the translation job is being done by amateurs (talented or not).
I can think of a very good example of the translation process that has happened very recently: the game Alice.
As you might gather from my username, I'm a rather big fan of Alice in Wonderland. Okay, so I'm actually a pretty big fan of any surreal narrative, but Alice holds a special place for me. I have found the Disney film translation too saccharine. There was a rather (url="http://"http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/6303212301/ref=bxgy_sr_text_a/107-0881952-5195705")interesting television adaptation in the mid-eighties(/url) I enjoyed, but I found the (url="http://"http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00000ICZA/qid=1001188014/sr=2-5/ref=sr_8_7_5/107-0881952-5195705")late-nineties television spectacle(/url) to be rather abysmal. I was rather excited by the idea of a computer game, and indeed, (url="http://"http://www.aspyr.com/mini-sites/alice/?sid=4535f1dc7a301f3d4a8f59e7841d3706&r;=1001188151") American McGee's Alice (/url) was the first commercial computer game I have purchased since Unreal.
Unfortunately, in my opinion the most that the Alice team was able to do was create some surrealistic-looking environments with some puzzles and combat thrown in. Don't get me wrong, I did enjoy the game somewhat (and moreso than any other commercial offering I've tried since Fallout ) but it left a nasty taste in my mouth that perhaps it could have been done better.
Remember, the guys who made that game are professionals.
I don't want to discourage anyone from trying to express their views on the human condition here, I'm just saying that while imitation is the highest form of flattery, we also sometimes smother the things we love.
I would encourage anyone seriously thinking about trying to create something "original" to seriously do some reading on the idea of pastiche, more commonly referred to as Post-Modern Creativity. I can explain it in more detail, but this is long enough already.
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People who claim the sky is falling obviously aren't aware the earth is falling, too.
--
"Those who would give up essential liberty, to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety" --Benjamin Franklin.
...i want to make a game about monkeys...
christ that was a long post....
anyway, if I make a game, it will be a serial adaptation of a sci-fi graphic novel script that I started writing years ago titled The Life and Times of Sam. I've got all the characters, situations, and plot that I need. what I'm really trying to work out now is where I should start in my story's chronology, as the characters undergo massive changes from act to act (there is a lot of time-lapse in my story). My games could turn out very differently depending on where I chose to start the user from.
I have the same hesitations as Glenn though. Depending on what directions the CS engine takes between now and its release, I may not be making any games at all. but, that's very much out of my hands.
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Do not follow me for I may not lead. Do not lead for I may not follow. Do not walk beside me, either. Just leave me the hell alone.
-Jedi
I am currently developing a marathon rpg, any one wanna help develop it?
st0nez@yahoo.com
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mommy they're trying to turn me in to a Maori
Rather than wonder if Coldstone will be right for our game concept, we have conceptualized a game that will be right for Coldstone. (Is that good or bad? I don't know.) Anyway, it's a sword and steam era, character driven story heavy on puzzles and character interaction. There are explosives and special moves but no spells. We've been hard at work discussing improvements on PoG's combat just in case we won't be able to implement our own, but the emphasis here will be story. It will not be family oriented.
If anyone tries to tell you "it's been done", just reply "it hasn't been done like this" and be prepared to back it up.
myshkyn
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"I'll give the fans just what they want, and nothing else at all."
Nah, do Anne McCaffrey's Dragonriders.
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CoreyΕ (Cubed)
Uh, that word? You spelled it wrong. Yeah, that one right there, next to the period. And you're missing an apostrophe in the word "its".
yeah, I've read the guardians series (part of it) and the McCaffrey books -- they're both good.
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I'm new to this board, I was given the URL after announcing I was looking for a good game engine that would offer a top down/third person perspective with all the little toys of an RPG Backpacks, storages, storylines, customizable characters and landscapes, etc. and was given the URL to coldstone.
Drat.. not done, no Windows yet, but I can be patient. From what I seen, it's perfect for waht I want to do.
I just want to do a couple of RPGs based in my comic book world and raise a couple of monsters. 
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Tiffany Ross/ Syke
http://www.cyantian.net
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**Drat.. not done, no Windows yet, but I can be patient. From what I seen, it's perfect for waht I want to do.
**
It's not done for mac either, yet. We all have to be patient, not just you. I bet (this is a guess, don't quote me on this) that Coldstone will be released for Mac and Windows at the same time. (What else can be holding it up )
Comic books, eh? Can't wait to see your game. I hope you can finish it.
Welcome to the boards! Coldstone IS perfect for what you need to do!
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I'm just your average run-of-the-mill demon possessed, bloodsucking, headhunting, cold-blooded, hot-headed, pyromaniac.
My name is Legion, for we are many.
(This message has been edited by spitfire (edited 09-28-2001).)
It's interesting that you wanted to make a game based around comics. I am currently drawing out the plans to create a game using sprites and graphics that I have created in Flash, which make the sprites 2D and they have a comic book feel to them. The project is based around a present day atmosphere in a dark city, with twisted secrets. An intense non stop action that has such a bending plot to make it still a discernable RPG. Phew. That was a mouth full. Anyhow I really like some of the ways that 2D art was used in some of the SNES RPG's, and thought that 3D may perhaps be a little too time consuming for my current schedule with College and such. Let me know if anybody wants to know more about my project, I may be setting up a web page if I find the time and interest.
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-Bratt99
Liquid Squid
ProductionsΕ
e-mail: moocowgame@aol.com
I gotta good rpg going though I am writting a semi book/rpg script for it right now. I'd like to write the book so that I can base the rpg on it.. kinda like parasite eve with what ever japanese novle that it was based on.
