   Life Itself - Please Give Feedback
  Hello my name is Chris, I have been getting ideas, brainstoring and putting them together and finally I have got it all right and have a description which i would like you guys or girls to give me feedback on.First- The Basis of the Game:My basis of the game idea i have, would be games i have played before in the 4 years i have thought on it, the game basis includes, -Airport Tycoon -18 wheels of steel -university tycoon -Warrock -Wolfenstein ET -The Sims -GTA San AndreasAnd a couple of more games.First off, i would like to talk about the two ideas involving Life Itself.One i want a Civilian Side, Where players can take on the jobs of civilian's,for example: A Civilian (player) Could Be a truck driver, a paramedic, a police officer, even a delivery boy. The Civilian Side of the game will also include Things from the sims, for example: The Civilian (Player) Will Start off with money, given in the beggininng of the game, to buy there first house, he/she does not have a family, he/she will have to find a job to be able to pay the bill's and the rent, The Civilian (player) could also join the military (my other idea of life itself) If they join the military i would have 3 different types of membership bronze, silver, and gold.Let me explain how the Memberships come into the game, - Bronze, is the free membership it Allows the player to start off with 50k (fifty Thousand) to buy a house, and other needs; Also will allow the to become a private or private first class in the military side. - Silver, is the second Membership it allows the player to start off with 90k (ninety Thousand) in the beginning of the game to buy all necessary objects to start off there life; In the Military it allows them to become a NCO (Non Commisioned Officer) or rank of Lance Corporal - Chief Warrant Officer 5. - Gold, Is the Highest Membership the player can buy it allows the player to start off with 130k (one-hundred Thirty-Thousand) to buy all necessary objects needed to start a life; In the Military it allows a player to become an officer, or the rank of First Lieutenant - Colonel.THE STORY LINE:The Story line is based on modern day political issues, and modern day technology, The Military Story line will be based on Operation Iraqi Freedom, but will be updated as time goes on. The Jobs:Jobs in Life Itself will include:-Fast Food Janitor/Cook/Cashier/Manager/General Manager/Owner-Resteraunt Janitor/Chef/Cashier/Manager/Owner-Car Dealership Salesman/Floor Manager/Manager/General Manager/Owner-Health Orthopedic Doctor's/Pediatric Doctor's/ Etc..   -Hospital Receptionist/Janitor/Nurse (Head Nurse)/Doctor (speciality Doctor's)/Head Doctor/Paramedic/ etc..-Law Enforcement Patrol officer/Tactical Unit Officer/SWAT Officer/Sergeant/Lieutenant/Chief/Commissioner-Court System Attorney's/ Lawyer (Some With Specialities)/Judges/Bailiff's/Jury (Picked Randomly Among Usernames)/Etc..-Government Jobs Sanitation Engineer (trashman)/Contruction/Librarian/Congress member (Admins Usually)/House of Representatives & The Senate (Gold Membership Players)/Govenor of a State (Gold Membership Players)/Mayor of a City (Any Membership, has to be voted in to mayors office by players of that city)/etc..-Military Personnel Ranking Soldiers (Private-Colonel)/ Pentagon Personnel (Brigadier General-General)/ Medical Staff (Field Medics, Feild Surgeons)/Pilots/Drill Sergeant's/etc..-Education System Teachers/ Assistant Principal's/Principals/Superintendants/ Janitorial Staff/ etc..-Fire Department Fire Fighter/Sergeant/Lieutenant/Chief/Marshal/ etc.. Community Events and Fun:The Community and Events and Fun Include,Garage SalesCommunity Yard SalesPaintball EventsSports (Soccer, Football, Tennis, Basketball, Baseball)   Conclusion:I hope you enjoyed this small review of Life Itself, I hope to get positive feedback, but not to sure, have fun and thanks for reading.   
  Hey, a fellow San Antonian! =D  Not many of us around here.I don't see the connection between the military and civilian sides and why, in a virtual world, I would want to do these jobs.  For instance, if I were to jump into the Iraq War, what would the house be for?  It just seems like a major disconnect between the two.  I've recently started playing San Andreas and wouldn't mind seeing a sandbox game along the same lines where the player may actually influence politics, economy and culture.  Something along those lines would be fantastic.  As for the Iraq War side of things, I'd probably rather try out Insurgency.Another issue I see here is the player's motivation to perform these jobs.  The way I see it is that the player is getting stuck with the obligation of a job, exactly what the player is probably trying to escape from in real life by playing in the first place.  Assuming it's an online game, it'd be the first where members meet up at a bar afterwards to bitch about the game. =D  HeheheWhat exactly is the player striving for?  Is there a winning condition?   ;  Interesting idea. Quite similar to the sims.I know that you feel very passionate about your idea, but it's best to think about it first, structure it somewhat and then try to publish it on the forums.You need to ask yourself few basic questions. What platform is this game meant for, is it single or multiplayer, if multi, is it online? How does the gameplay process look like, what is the goal of the game, and many, many others.I think that Tom Sloper did a terrific job explaining all basics of game design and production process, and if you are interested, you should really read his articles, here's the linky:  http://www.sloperama.com/advice/idea.htmGood luck!;  My thoughts? Scale way, WAY back there partner. Focus on something far smaller, simpler and reasonable. Something doable in the here and now.Sense one employment title pops up so often on your job list. How about makeing a fun and interesting game about being a janitor? cause if you can make a fun game about being a janitor, chances are you can make a fun game about being a fast food employee, a car salesman, a trashman, etc. And if you can't (or are unwilling to) make being a janitor fun, then your game of life has no buisness enslaveing players to that profession.Also do some research into how the world works. Last time I checked, cars didn't magicly appear on showroom floors. And the metal inside a car doesn't magicly appear in the factory warehouse either. Which begs the question of just what were players capable of buying at those fun community events known as garage sales; when the only sales jobs are for the food and automobile industry?   ;  It sounds like this is an MMO?  I feel like I speak for a lot of other liberals when I say there is no way I'd play an MMO based on how "cool" the Iraq war is.  Dealing with obnoxious players in an online game is annoying enough; dealing with them when they're all a bunch of pro-war nuts would be too much to handle.   ;  Well, my initial reaction was "why would I want to play a game about somebody else's everyday life?" But then I remembered that The Sims was actually a hit.Beyond that, well... this isn't really a design. It's just you saying "I want to make a game about life" and listing a bunch of things that one can do in real life that you want to include in the game. It doesn't explain anything about how you're going to turn all of those things into gameplay elements. Do that, and we'll have something to critique.;Quote:Original post by LogodaeBut then I remembered that The Sims was actually a hit.Heh, try the best-selling and most popular computer game ever, by a factor of 10.  The only things that have come close to selling as many copies as the game are the addons to the game, and the sequel.And isn't Second Life just that? ... a (very popular) second life?Seems a little raw still, feel free to fill in more of the details.   ;  It's not just the idea you need to look at. Although it's interesting if your looking at to make this idea into reality it all comes down to what all designers should know. Will it be fun? How long will it take to develop? How much money is involved? Will it sell? and finaly what demographics are there?Actually developing a game on life itself is very difficult. Altho like Jerky said sounds a-bit like second life you could use others as examples one of my fvorites and i recomend it to anyone who is creating a Sim type game is "Kudos" it's a 2d Sims game were you live your life with many choices which are very important on how they effect you. Things such as:Go joggin - keep fitBuy a dog - keeps the burgalars awayBuy a laptop - can buy food and objects 24/7 instead of default only on weekends.Buy a car - don't take the bus to work drive instead.Read meditation books - relax your mind easiertake evening law classes - go up in the world with your career.It's worth a look and a good play to get the best from it play it more then once as the game finishes after 2-3years (game time) play.   ;Quote:Heh, try the best-selling and most popular computer game ever, by a factor of 10.In US, that is. I am sure that Japan has much higher videogame sellings, on totally different titles.Dont forget another thing, that in US there one of the many years bestsellers was some kinda Deer Hunter sim, or something similarly boring. Yet - a bestseller.As for me - i am one of those people who see no point in playing in real life in a game, when you just have to look out of your window to see it, so i probably wont be playing this, no matter how fun it might get. I'll just go and kill another dragon or something. :)   ;  You might like something called "Entropia".  Check it out.M.   