Making an Educational Adventure Game

I'm in the process of creating a video game.

It is not your average shoot em up video game. Instead of mindless killing the goal is to make the player think while exploring the mysteries and the wonders of the world. The goal of the project is to create a captivating adventure that leads the player through discovery about humanities past, present and future.

I'm have designed the prototype of the game play. One of the levels and good part of the game logic is already prepared.

My biggest hurdle is the story. The hardest part is deciding on a story line. I've had the pleasure of reading some wonderfully written and insightful posts from certain members on this forum. It is only naturally to want to get them involved in the project.

--
Before I go any further, I need to know how to approach the task at hand without breaking the forum rules.

Anyone?

I can post some screenshots if anyone is interested.

Also pretty soon, I will release the prototype, but before I do, it would be nice to settle down on a story.

reply to post by philozofer


There is a gold mine of story ideas in our Short Stories Forum...we have some very creative and brilliant writers here....start reading...Good Luck!

www.abovetopsecret.com...

Des

I love point and click adventure games. I'd be interested in the screen shots, I've wanted to make an adventure game myself (I'm a computer programmer who has worked on a couple of games in the past) but always struggled with the graphical side.

Make sure you get a good comedy writer too, I think comedy is very important in adventure games.

rreply to post by Destinyone


Thanks for the reminder Des. I've had the pleasure of being captured by these stories in the past. Its just a matter of contacting some of the authors to see if they are interested in collaborating on the project.

I'd like to start a public discussion regarding the story for the game. Do you know how I can do this without breaching any forum rules and what is the best forum to start.

reply to post by philozofer


Here is the Collaborative Writing Forum. I'd suggest you repost this thread in that forum too!

www.abovetopsecret.com...

Des

Depending on the specifics, I'm more than interested.

Is this fantasy fiction or true historical? (You mentioned future and the future's history is not here yet.)

Is this science or mathematics? (You mentioned logic.)

Is this grammar or creative writing?

Which social skills or disciplines will be included? Are specific ideologies explored, included, or excluded?

What languages are involved?

Is it multi-disciplined?

What is the target age group? Pre-school, Elementary, Jr. or Sr. High School, College/University, or Post Graduate? Is there a targeted continuing education age group or sex? Is it Universal or specific to a particular country or set of countries? Is there a specific religion bias or anti-bias?

Is the story-board complete yet?

Is it a commercial product you will be selling or a free project?

Will distribution be online?

Here are some screens of the gameplay. Please keep in mind that its a bit barren ATM and my first priority was the game controls and structure.

I finished the proof of concept stage and I'm just re-doing some of the graphics and cleaning up of the game logic and scripts. There are many more scene objects that I modeled that I have to re-insert into the game.





-------------------------------------------










What do you think?

Looks fantastic, I would be excited to play this

What platform is it for? Got any plans for iPad?

reply to post by Trexter Ziam


The specifics are still in progress.

I have a list of possible ideas and what gets included will be a recursive process between the writer and myself.

For now, I feel that the game should be:

Historically accurate as much as possible without sacrificing game play and story.

Creative, philosophical and thought provoking writing style.

For the same of simplicity the first version will be in English.

It will be distributed online as well as a PC and MAC standalone. The gaming engine has the capability of porting to multiple platforms with minimal effort.

Commercial product or free project. In order to support continued development, revenue sources will be sought.If we can figure out how to provide a free version and still make a living. Maybe providing the demo for free and full product for a small price. To be discussed.

No story board completed yet. I have done lots of research and have lots of ideas, but need help settling in on a story. This is what brings me here. I'm looking for one or two people to join the project and help solidify the story, the characters and eventually create the story-board for the game play.

Hope that answers some of your questions.

Btw, I'm appreciating the interest and I like the way this is going. Let me know what else I can provide.

reply to post by humphreysjim


The first beta will be available as a PC or MAC standalone and can be played online as well.

With some tweaks to the controls and the UI, it will be eventually ported to the iPad and other touch devices, like Android and iPhone.

It can also be made available for Wii, PlayStation and xBox.

--

I would like to tackle this project in stages. First the story, then release the first playable demo to beta testers, then hopefully it will gain some traction. If things go well, we will be porting it to some of these platforms, if not all.

First, the Freshmen Forum seems the wrong place for this. What about Video Games Forum ?

Second, since it could be commercial AND since it could be a non-ATS related game; you might ask a moderator for guideline help.

Third, anything written up in story-fashion on ATS (Short Stories or Collaborative Writing) Forums is not something you'd want in a future money producing game, novel or other endeavor because of copyright issues. We retain our copyrights but it is shared with ATS - so, what we publish on ATS is meant to be co-owned with ATS. Legalize, see the ATS terms of service.

Fourth, the game developement market is HIGHLY competitive. Be prepared to lose your shirt. In other words, don't invest more than you can stand to lose.

Fifth, there have been hundreds of Egyptology adventure games in the last twenty years. Will this cover only Egypt? Have you researched the 'competition'? Further, to add an "Indiana Jones" element you'd have to pay copyright and trademark fees ... but, to go it alone without a pre-established star or theme will be a good five to ten times tougher garnering that first interested publisher/distributor.

Risk analysis.

Last, looking at the one scene you have made so far, will this be in the 'casual' game niche? It's rather, uuuum ...

Still interested in your project. Still watching.

It does look excellent, and if it's educational and aimed at kids there isn't fierce competition at all...especially if it's actually good But I'm guessing it might not be aimed at kids as such?

iPad is the way to go, glad to hear you're planning to go that route in the future.

My son (5 years old) is a huge game fan, he'd make a great beta tester!

Screen shots look brilliant you have a real talent.

I would be interested in trying a prototype when its ready.

reply to post by philozofer


Many of the people think that no one like adventurous games, i don't agree with them I am the one who really love this types of games which based upon a fantastic stories like Prince of Persia and Assassin Creet, Yup i do agree with u that writing a story is the biggest hurdles every one faced and the story will inspire all and attract people towards games.

Regards
Research Paper for Sale