Idea Overcome Premise Turning People Away

11clock

Member
Over the past few years, I have failed to get a single project off the ground, and I have decided that in order to get out of this slump, I am going to create a remake to the game that made me decide to continue making video games for years to come, the second game I ever released and the first game I created that I put actual heart and passion into. The remake aims to completely resemble the original game I made when I was around 10 or 11 years old, but actually... good. Because of this, the premise is the same as before, which follows.

After a group of teddy-bear bandits invade his hometown, a smilie goes on a quest to take back what was stolen.
Sir Smile is a top-down shooter adventure game where you play through segments of a story rather than traditional levels. Shoot down teddy bears, meet unlikely friends, battle strange and powerful foes, play random mini-games, and experience twists and turns screen-by-screen throughout an adventure to stop teddy bears from taking over the world.

Now I already understand that ideas aren't everything, and execution is what matters. Mario is about a plumber on drugs, Sonic is about a blue hedgehog who runs really fast, Super Meat Boy is about a skinless boy rescuing his girlfriend made of bandages from an evil fetus, Papers Please is about checking immigration documents, and so on. But despite this, I still fear that the game's idea will turn people away. I want to know how to overcome this fear, as it is the main reason why I have put off working on this game for so many years. Yet I really want to make it, as I have always wanted to revisit the game that played such a pivotal role in my life. How can I overcome this fear?
 

Joe Ellis

Member
Just think: "**** it"

If you wanna do that then do it, to be honest it sounds like it'll be a good game, I wouldn't worry about the game's idea turning people away, more the screenshots and actual footage of the game, which I doubt people would be repulsed by anyway, if you made this game up years ago and really wanna make it most people will feel like its really cute and nice lol

I can relate to this, cus I used to always make up video games when I was a kid, I used to spend hours every day drawing them, and there's quite a few I still wanna make one day

I'd say, my advice is, get focused on making the game and work on it alot, sooner or later you'll get stuff set up and it'll start coming to life

and maybe get some help with the graphics!
 
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gmx0

Member
Don't emote, don't even think, just make games. If you're going to make something, just make it, worry about people later.

I find that doing game jams is probably the best way to finish a project.
 
You're thinking about the idea too much and not enough on the gameplay. Nobody will mind if your game is about something stupid if it's really good. The main link between all those games you mentioned is that the gameplay was designed first.

Most of Mario's distinct features (E.G. hat, mustache) came about as a result of system hardware limitations. Sonic was designed after their team decided they wanted fast platforming. I'm pretty sure the idea of Meat Boy came after the fact that they wanted to make a solid platformer, just based off the fact that the initials SMB are the same as Super Mario Bros. Papers Please had a playable demo with almost none of the story-heavy elements in the final game.

Make a good top-down shooter/adventure game and then slap the smilies and teddies on it.
 

Genetix

Member
You ever play Boogerman back in the day? That game was about a janitor that got sucked into a portal and fought enemies by flicking boogers at them and farting on them. One of the best Sega/SNES games of my childhood. Run with the idea and make sure the game play is great!
 

11clock

Member
Alright, I will continue going for this. But I would like to improve the pitch given in the OP, word it better, include that the game is filled with self-referential humor and gags, that kind of thing. If anyone could help me improve it that would be great!
 
A desirable art style overcomes anything.

You ever play Boogerman back in the day? That game was about a janitor that got sucked into a portal and fought enemies by flicking boogers at them and farting on them. One of the best Sega/SNES games of my childhood. Run with the idea and make sure the game play is great!
I still refuse to play it for the premise to this day. The art style didn't help. I know people who hate Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance and Deception for having the farting and vomiting character Bo-Rai-Cho in it.
 
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Alessio

Guest
@sitebender Boogerman looked quite bad and lazy but the very idea of that game is just hilarious. Throwing boogers to enemies... pffff... But nothing i can't wait to play. Earthworm Jim was miles ahead and had actually good graphics.
 
M

MishMash

Guest
Yeah, as others have said, the premise is somewhat irrelevant. Out of all of the games you listed, mario, sonic, smb, all of those games have a very minimal focus on the actual story, atleast from a representation standpoint. The story ends up being a means to an end, it's the engaging and challenging gameplay which attracts players. I mean look at cuphead for example, wtf is going on in that game xD! But people play it for its excellent boss design and incredible artistic execution (both art and music).

I would say the only time premise really matters is either when it draws too much attention to itself, or tries too hard to make things make sense. Other times, the genre can sometimes also break this. For example, a "serious" themed city-sim or tycoon game that has an odd setting/backstory may not really make sense and could detract people, unless there is a really clear reason.

In my opinion, you have two main options:
1) Make the game serious, have a strong focus on engaging gameplay, creative story-telling, interesting progression and worry less about the actual premise as at this point, its not really the defining feature of the game, rather a means of executing gameplay. If we take mario as an example, the wackyness of it gives the developers the freedom to throw in whatever they want. Mushrooms, turtles, plants and living bombs can all end up making sense within the context of the game. More importantly, players wont really care, they will just accept things as-is, so long as the game is consistent within its own universe.
To summarize, a game like this does not really try to draw attention to the things that dont make sense, because this could break the players immersion/focus on the game.

2) Go the Goat-simulator route where the entire premise of the game is a bit of a 4th-wall break. Things dont have to make sense, as a result the game doesn't take itself seriously but can still be fun. If anything, it uses the fact that it has a wacky setup to its advantage, turning odd interactions into gameplay mechanics and adding random non-nonsensical progression as well.
In this case, these games draw attention to everything, and revel in the things that don't make sense. What makes these games fun is that they are self-aware of everything wrong and are there to poke fun at conventional player expectations. In the words of Korg, the only thing that makes sense is that nothing makes sense.

I see you did mention "include that the game is filled with self-referential humor and gags". This can be okay, but I would air on the side of caution depending on the overall style of the game. You can quickly end up in this odd middle ground where the game is both trying to be serious, but also pointing out silly things. Not only can this break the players immersion, but it can also cause the player to question what the game is about. For example, you can look at a game like Duty-Calls, which makes fun of the silly progression, objectives and story representation that exists in Call-of-Duty style games, however, if that same game suddenly expected you to take it seriously a few moments later, it could throw players off. I personally don't really like it when a game I was otherwise taking seriously decides to make me question my own suspended disbelief.
 

Fern

Member
I agree with @MishMash entirely. But I wanted to add a single really good determination that you should make before moving forward.

Is this for profit?

If it is you need to consider the market which absolutely despises top-down shooters right now. Frankly even the best top-of-the-line TDS game won't do well in the current market. I'm not saying this to discourage you but to perhaps give you some insight into possibly redesigning the perspective or general approach you're taking. Story matters quite a bit but to a customer it's about being presented something that appears to be premium and hyped up!

Best of luck! :)
 
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