   Butterfly Effect-ish ideas
  Okee dokee, I just recently saw the movie "The Butterfly Effect" and immediately started thinking of what kind of game could use this as its dominant gameplay mechanism.Of course, you could say that any game with a "save" feature automatically has a butterfly effect in it, but perhaps there is some way to go back in time while keeping your character in his/her own constant timeframe...Heh, I only have a fraction of an idea what I''m talking about right now but whatever I''m saying it''s kinda interesting, eh? 
  Hmm yea this idea would be intresting in combination with my Memento style story (see thread with momento in name ). You could make it that the player has the possiblity if addressing a old situation when faced with a current one. For example, the player fights the last boss and the boss is using his girlfriend, who he left behind earlier in the game, as a hostage. You could then go back in time and instead of leaving her, you take her with you. But then again thats like allowing the player to go back and erase a mistake to make the current battle/event easier. I''ll post later, right now I have no ideas. ;  Maybe you could do certain things twice.  For instance, the first time through you fail to save the girl, and she dies, but you make a knife out of her femur, and then go back in time and save her with the knife.  How romantic is that?The idea of going through repeatedly and having a slightly different loadout each time is actually pretty cool.  It''s like in Majora''s Mask, where you have to go through those three days again and again in order to get the job done.  Maybe every time you finish the game and get a (progressively better) ending, you get a handful of new equipment, and can then teleport back to the beginning with that gear, and try again.  Depending on what you bring back with you, you can do different things, and earn a different ending or get the same ending but unlock different equipment, so you play the same time-span, but there are different paths to take, and you have to carefully choose what to bring with you each time.Say you can take five things with you every time you go back.  There are twenty different objects to choose from, depending on which ones you manage to unlock, etc.  I can''t remember the formula for calculating how many different loadouts are available, but you get the idea.  But it''s more complex than that, because if you bring a rope, a pistol, a shovel, a spear and a screwdriver with you, you might be able to get to the sword, the axe, the snowshoes and the sunglasses by using them in combination.  So there would be an opportunity to change your gear in the course of the game, but you''d need certain things at certain times to make it work, so the starting gear would be essential.The design would be crazy complex, but it would make for awesome replay value.  Not much multiplayer, though. ;quote:Original post by Iron Chef Carnage  The idea of going through repeatedly and having a slightly different loadout each time is actually pretty cool.It''s called game+ - the idea is that when you complete the game the first time you are rewarded with the option to play through the game again, but retaining some of the things you earned in the first play-through, or having secret additional areas now open to you.  One of my favorite game design concepts. ^_^  ;quote:Original post by Iron Chef Carnage  Maybe you could do certain things twice.  For instance, the first time through you fail to save the girl, and she dies, but you make a knife out of her femur, and then go back in time and save her with the knife.  How romantic is that?I think the way the movie does it is better. In case anyone didn''t see it (you should though) the guy can relive certain parts of his childhood but with the memories of his future self, so he can change things if he wants... but only his mind goes back. After a minute or two, his mind warps back to the "present" but a present of the new changed timeline.This would be a very interesting gameplay mechanic, but it would be very difficult to do without heavy scripting. The easy way to do it is simply to go back in time and start anew; the harder way is to go back in time, then go forward "back to the future" but a changed future.   ~CGameProgrammer( ); -- Post screenshots of your projects. There''s already 134 screenshot posts. ;  For another good alternate universes time travel story, track down "Elsewhen" by Robert Heinlein.  It''s a short story, and I found it in "Assignment in Eternity", a collection of four different short works by the same author.  It''s neat, if a little too "open" for any kind of free-form game, and might be a good source of inspiration. 