Topic: My DS game series idea (Re: Trace Memory, Hotel Dusk)

[UncleBob]

Okay, I posted something similar on CAG, and I know nothing like this would actually happen, but...

You know how Nintendo is all about making the pie bigger with non-gamers...

I'm almost like to see Cinq create a "generic" type engine for Trace Memory/Hotel Dusk like games.  Of course, it couldn't be too basic, the engine would have to have the ability to be heavily customizable.

Then, get big *big* authors like Dean Koontz, Stephen King, etc... to write stories for these games.  They could work with the regular writing crew to adapt their style to that which would be needed for video game play (to add in the puzzles and such).

Then, release one of these Story-Games every month (or every other month) at a $20-ish price.

Imangine the newest Kathy Reichs (A.K.A. Bones) 'book' "Only For the Nintendo DS"....

[Strell]

Stephen King sucks.

Get real horror writers for the material.  I'm talking Lovecraft and Poe.  Shirley Jackson alone would be incredible.  THAT is the kind of stuff I'd buy in a second.

And if you want weird postmodern contemporary stuff, get Murakami to pen some scripts.  He's weird as hell, but quite delicious in his bizarre stuff.  Neil Gaiman would be great as well.  Danielewski might work as well.

Or how about something more comedic?  Terry Pratchett, maybe a little Douglass Adams.  

[UncleBob]

Now remember, these people have to be alive.

I could go for a Neil Gaiman scripted game.  In fact, some of his stuff would work perfectly.  I choose *BIG* names that would draw a new audience.  My wife hasn't heard of Neil Gaiman.  She'd probably be interested in a Stephen King game. (She wants to play Hotel Dusk, in fact, but is afraid she won't have the time...)

[thepoga]

Harry Potter for DS!

[UncleBob]

Damn, imangine if Book 7 was DS exclusive. There would be blood spilled over DSLite shipments....

[archioverload]

The interactive fiction (text-based adventure) community might be a better way to go--it's such a natural progression. IF is still going strong, with some really amazing games

Better yet, Activision bought out Infocom back in the day and still holds all the rights of those games...what better game would there be than a well-made Zork DS?

[archioverload]

FWIW, I remember waaaay back playing Michael Crichton's Amazon on the Commodore 64, which he wrote. Good stuff. There was a section where you had to shoot monkeys that were trying to steal your gear. Damned monkeys! Anyway, this was before Crichton turned psychotic. So, uh, I actually hope he doesn't make any DS games.

[Edge]

Quote
Originally posted by: archioverload
The interactive fiction (text-based adventure) community might be a better way to go--it's such a natural progression. IF is still going strong, with some really amazing games

Better yet, Activision bought out Infocom back in the day and still holds all the rights of those games...what better game would there be than a well-made Zork DS?

Ding!  Winner!

[matt oz]

I think that's a really cool idea.  I could see something like that building up in popularity as more titles are released, and then really big names would jump on the bandwagon.  It seems that just getting the idea off the ground would be the hardest part.  How many mainstream authors would risk harming their reputation like that if the idea failed?

[Hostile Creation]

As an aspiring writer who has an interest in games, I don't know how I feel about this idea.  I want to contribute in some way to the discussion, but I could write pages upon pages about the relationship between a game's script and gameplay.  Hopefully I'll have the energy to write something more compelling later.

My main problem is, most game makers are terrible writers, and most writers have no conception of how games should function.  But more on this later.

Edit, regarding Strell's post: Actually, Terry Pratchett has actually done some video game stuff.  I don't know how heavily he was involved with their production, but there are games that take place in Discworld.  Most of them are pretty early PC games, but I think some text-based role-playing still goes on.  I don't know that much about it, though.  I've never actually played any of them.

[UncleBob]

Quote
Originally posted by: Hostile Creation
My main problem is, most game makers are terrible writers, and most writers have no conception of how games should function.  But more on this later.

Yeah, this is the number one reason why we'd have to have the author working very closely with the programmers.