Idea for game - I have one, who want?

[ZifStone]

Hi!

I have an idea of horror related game. I think it is possible to implement it on SOMA engine.
If somebody from Frictional Games want to see idea first I can write it in private message. If no - PM to any forum user. If forum users will say "boring" I can just write it here.

I don't plan to make this game but I will be happy to give it somebody who can try.

[Abion47]

First, you don't need FG's permission to make the game in the engine unless you are planning on selling the game. If this is a fun little project you want to just do and release, then FG will have no problems with you using their engine to do a "total conversion mod", as a custom game would essentially be. If you DO want to sell it, though, then you're probably out of luck. The makers of Gone Home initially prototyped their game with the HPL2 engine (Amnesia-era) and approached FG for licensing options. FG didn't feel comfortable licensing their engine out, though, and Gone Home ended up being written in Unity instead. I think that was for the best, though, since if you're looking for a commercial option, 99.99% of the time you want to use a robust general-purpose engine (or if you're brave enough, make your own) rather than trying to jimmy-rig a specialized engine into doing what you want.

Second, and I always hate telling people this when they are interested in getting into the game design industry, but no one cares about your ideas. A lot of prospective game designers think that the design process is all about getting an awesome idea and then finding a development team that will make it for you. The reality is actually incredibly sobering, but unless you are also a producer with hundreds of thousands of dollars to hire a team, no one is going to just pick up your idea and make a game out of it. Ideas really are cheap in the design world. If you want to make people interested, then hone your skills and crank out a functional prototype. It doesn't even necessarily have to be pretty (though it wouldn't hurt). All it needs to do is clearly illustrate your end vision to the player and any potential buyers. But going up to a game creator and saying "I have an idea for a game, can you make it for me?" is like asking an artist to make a detailed illustration or a composer to write a symphony for free based on nothing but a vague idea - they will say no, and the only question is in how politely they will say it. And again, I hate telling people this because it's a really disheartening splash of reality, but it's also one of those lessons that people need to learn sooner rather than later.

This isn't to say that you can't discuss the idea with your peers, however. Looking for someone to adopt your idea is generally going to end in disappointment, but looking for someone to bounce the idea around is very healthy and highly encouraged, and will lead the idea to get fleshed out and strengthened. So go ahead and post the idea for people to discuss. I will say, though, that this kind of topic belongs in general discussion rather than in user created content.

[Romulator]

As obscure as it sounds, this thread should be alright as it is either here or in the Development subforum. General Discussion is for the "vanilla" game of SOMA, or rather, the side of SOMA which is SOMA, not a mod. I think you understand what I'm trying to say here. Good write up though, couldn't have said it any better than that.

Also ZifStone, is there something wrong with your idea that it shouldn't be made public? While you can establish you have an idea, there's no incentive or desire for us to know about your project. Without trying to be offensive, this is your first post, and you aren't really showing or telling us much to intrigue us. This is a forum, not all conversations should be private if the community could get involved.

Also, no offense, but like Abion47 already said, I wouldn't expect Frictional Games themselves to PM you. You would have to approach them, however they are more or less done with the HPL3 Engine in that they are working on two more projects, which would be taking up more of their time than you think.

If anybody wants to hear about the idea and/or has the project handballed to them, best of luck with it~

[Abion47]

As obscure as it sounds, this thread should be alright as it is either here or in the Development subforum. General Discussion is for the "vanilla" game of SOMA, or rather, the side of SOMA which is SOMA, not a mod. I think you understand what I'm trying to say here. Good write up though, couldn't have said it any better than that.

I meant more that it should go in "General" general rather than "SOMA" general, though I guess I don't spend enough time outside of the SOMA forums to know that a "General" general doesn't exist. I suppose the closest to such a subforum would be the "Off Topic" one. I see your point, though. Even this doesn't talk about SOMA directly, it does have to do with HPL3 (albeit in a somewhat tangential manner), so it's really up to choice and interpretation as to where precisely it belongs.

[ZifStone]

To Abion47:
Maybe we have some misunderstanding here:
- I don't want to do horror game.
- I don't want to do commercial horror game too.
- I don't want money for my idea because I know - ideas are cheap.
I want to give idea somebody because it is useless for me.

To Romulator:
> Also ZifStone, is there something wrong with your idea that it shouldn't be made public?
Actually no but I believe in miracles. Miracle here if somebody tell: "Zif, show me your idea. ... It is interesting, I take it." So this man have idea priority because he came first. This is the only reason why I didn't make it public now.

[Mudbill]

But how will people know that your idea is interesting if it isn't public?

I'd say your best bet is to publish the idea and if someone finds it interesting, they may comment about it and possibly create something out of it if you're lucky.

[ZifStone]

So time is out. Lets say concept loud)

I will do it in question-answer style and then I will make summary.

Q: Most horror games are very dark. Can we do it more light?
A: Actually yes. For example Alien: Isolation. It is not very dark and it is still scary.

Q: But can we do it more light? Can we do it in "everything is okay" style?
A: Actually yes. Remember Matrix. While you in The Matrix everything is okay and it is an illusion.
Also we can remember more things based on illusions: The Truman Show, The Island, Black Mirror "Men Against Fire".
The Matrix - illusion for many people. And we actually don't know why it is necessary. Maybe it is possible to runaway without the Matrix. This is a hardware illusion.
The Truman Show - illusion for one man to make reality show. Reality illusion.
The Island - illusion for many people to live and be healthy. Reality illusion.
Black Mirror "Men Against Fire" - illusion for many people to filter information. Augmented reality illusion with implants.

Q: Can we do augmented reality illusion without implants and hardware?
A: Yes it is possible. For example in chemical way. Lets imagine we have matter which makes illusion directly in your mind. Moreover your mind became cheating you.
Situation #1: You see the door. You are coming closer. You see that other men came into the door. But you don't see door handle. Your mind augments reality and hide the door handle from you.
Situation #2: You see a lot of people around you. You see how they do some actions but when you coming closer you see that these people just sleep and you can't awake them. In reality all these people are dead but your mind augments reality.
Situation #3: You get some note. When you are full of matter you just see the text. But when matter concentration decreased you can see hidden things in this note. Also when matter concentration decreased you can find inconsistencies in illusions and you can avoid some mind cheats.

Also you have some way to control how many matter is in your body. If it is too much - you don't see open ways and all your enemies seems friends. You can see happy smiles on their faces and you are happy to meet them.
If it is too low matter in body - you feel sick and you see more things "as is" but you have risk of insanity.

So the key idea is "augmented reality in chemical way" which supports illusion that "everything is okay". It augments everything - you, friends, enemies, other people, things around you. It controls your thoughts. I think this concept may be applied in different settings: prison, medical center, social experiment, space flight or other. So you may choose any setting because I have no setting preference.

[Abion47]

The names escape me, but there are horror games based on bad hallucinogen trips. That sounds like the kind of thing you are talking about.

There's also Fran Bow, a maybe-not-quite-horror game loosely based on Alice in Wonderland where you are never really sure if what she sees and experiences is real or if it is a product of the combination of schizophrenia and the drugs/treatment methods the psychiatric hospital is using to "manage" it.

[Radiance]

There was this old game called The Suffering which I recalled when reading this.