Multiplayer/Co-Op & Frictional Games? NO!!!

[Zoridium JackL]

That is a GREAT idea for the multiplayer.

Now, if we're gonna talk about cooperative, this is gonna sound mediocre, but here me out. In Left 4 Dead and Dead Space 2, you could play as the enemies in the multiplayer. Why not use this for an Amnesia like approach?

Basically, there are two players. The guys playing as the humans (let's just call them Bob and Dylan for now), will start out with an objective. For example, a machine has to be put together in order to open a door. But the problem is, some of the equipment needed for the machine has been scattered across the map. Bob and Dylan will now have to traverse the environment and venture into the darkness in order to collect the parts needed. They will both be equipped with lighting equipment that they will need to collect fuel from at a few points. And the idea with voicechat that LSunday brought up HAS to be present.

But all of the while, there are people playing as the monsters as well (let's just call them John and Lennon for now). Basically, John and Lennon's objective is to stop Bob and Dylan by any means possible from building the machine and moving on. John and Lennon have abilities that Bob and Dylan don't; they can talk to each other in voice chat telepathically, and have the ability to break down doors and tear through closets in order to find Bob and Dylan. They also run slightly faster than Bob and Dylan as well.

One trick that the monsters can do is this. Let's say John finds Bob, and hits him ONCE. If a human player gets hit once, he falls to the floor and is crippled, he is only capable of crawling very slowly. If John had hit Bob two times, then he would have killed Bob. Instead, Dylan has been informed of his friend's predicament and runs to save Bob. When he gets to him though, John jumps out and kills both of them.

So basically, it would be all about trickery, stealth, and atmosphere.

there would be too many balancing issues, you can't make the servants slower, the players would just outrun them, you can't make them faster, they would be undefeatable, and a two hit kill would make it too easy, because the players can't defend themselves, and you can't rescue someone because you can't defend yourself, yet alone help someojne else.

Okay then. Make them both equal speed.
It takes..three hits for a monster to knock a player down. Two hits to kill him off.
And as for not being able to defend yourself...isn't that the point? Your friend's down, you can't just leave him, you might need his/her help later on. You have to muster up all your courage and sneak into where he's been taken down. The monster's are already in the area, so you have to be careful. It's a test of bravery.

New Idea. How about the ability for the human players to be able to be able to pull certain traps in the environment against the monsters. One trap could drop a heavy item on the monster, killing it, and one trap could block off the monster away from the human player.

still, you hit one down, kill it, and if the other shows up you hit them down and then kill both of them, without a way for the player to fight back the monster would just be too powerful, and in reply to the other guy, they would just learn teh hiding spots, and even if it were randomly generated they would learn where to look, like cupboards and behind built up things.

you just can't balance monsters and players, no matter how hard you try, no matter how sneaky the player is, the monster just has to stand over the injured player and wait, and if they are required later, and you kill them, then the game ends you win, or you respawn them, either way, monsters are too powerful.