

# Free Video Game Idea Book

# Adam Jeremy Capps

## Free Video Game Idea Book

## Adam Jeremy Capps

## Public Domain

## Not held under copyright by author

## For the opportunity to help with creating a great game.

## Also as my resume for any game making career.

## Introduction

### I can't program a game. But hopefully you can. I will give you my best ideas here for a new game. Or to make an old one better. I'll even throw in future possibilities for game makers. This book will become old, and hopefully they will have become possible.

I'll cover the best method the best things I can teach you in your game making approach. I'll begin with I'll cover the things that make a good game. Then I will cover different ways that ideas are used- like how a character jumps or uses in-game money. Afterward I will give you ideas you can use in making new games. ND whatever good things I can write about concerning video game creation will also be written about.

### My ideas here are free to use. With or without credit. With or without profit. And keep in mind that this is a public domain book. I don't good it under copyright. So please share my book. Maybe we can get some great new games made together.

### My biggest interest is retro gaming. So maybe this book is better for older game styles. But often they go hand in hand. I am very often online watching all forms of it. Whether it be news, play through videos or just listening to music from them. As well as reviews of old games, top ten stuff, hacked video games and remakes, etc.

It's a great community- the best. A very large one, too. You'll find a large piece of the internet revolves around it. People eager to talk about old games. To share their ideas, and so on. I invite you into it if you have not yet given it much consideration.

### And may your game turn out very well and you have a lot of fun in creating it.

### You can read this book randomly if you like until you've digested it fully. It is a short book that doesn't have to be read from the first page to the last. And thank you for reading!

## Part One: An effective philosophy of game making

### Some precepts, instructions, and advice:

### The best games are simply those that are fun and involving. Fun and involving should be key words for what you are creating.

### Cloning a game should be done as better in a different way.. not just shadowing it.

### Consider how the best games have evolved. While the first in the series was thought of as a great game, the second or third may have outdone it a great deal.

### Think into themes. The best stories have come from the same pieces, just pieces put together differently.

### Games should have good controls. Not frustrating ones.

### The best music composers for games have taken obscure music and reformed it into their own music. Its just the inspiration that the best composers have.

### You don't have to go from beginning to end when making a game. You can work on things as they come along later tying them together.

### Compare games to each other. Like one old fighting game to the next that took it's place in popularity. It's never one that was just a pure rip- off clone. They did it "differently better."

### Some games are just copies and they appear as ugly siblings to the gamer.

Many things have been done and redone over and over in video games. They will always work good in any game however they are in it, like the use of money. Some ideas can't get any better, it seems. And so don't feel you have to be totally different. Those things have stood the test of time and will always be things the gamers want in their games.

### A good story is going to take the most work. If it is just glanced over in it's creation then you'll not have made a game that can compare to those that have. Some games are successful and have remained so just based on that.

### Are you having trouble with knowing where to start? I would say begin by making something simple, gain a talent at it, and move onto bigger things. You might have questions like "its not for the latest going system, so I don't want to bother." Or you find it easy to make a game for a much older platform, but that platform is obsolete. Actually because of the size of the retro gaming community and things like emulators, re-releases of older systems either as clone systems or mini versions, these concerns shouldn't be.

### You don't have to know how to program with code. There is software that lets you put games together, with an interface and this-with-that kind of approach. Many of them are good software's, too, letting you make just what you want too.

### When you look at the first game to the third game in any gaming era, for 8 bit, 16 and so on, using the same hardware they have multiplied the quality of their games. They were certainly good at taking an old game and making it much better.

### Try to keep things simple. Keep it tangible for you. Know what it is exactly what you have done and are doing.

### You might consider uniting two or more games and this is the best approach. Again, the best ideas are those that took what was there before and put it all together in a better way. So if there is any meditation for a game creator it is to think in terms of themes.

### There are good effects and graphics that are easily come by given some consideration and tricks. Music too and things. With limited possibilities from older hardware these had to have been come up with.

### Do what you can to pull the gamer into the reality of the game.

Good games gives the gamer the sense that there is another place/world over there that I can't go to yet (so wants to) and there is going to be things in this area that I can't get, that are better than what I currently have (so is invested.)

### Can give the gamer a break from playing—giving theme a little bit of cinematics or story telling. Tell them where they came from and how that lead them to where they are. Give them an idea of progress.

### Don't over text the gamer with forced pauses and such to read them. Give it as much as can be assimilated and no more.

### Don't be too unfair. Too unfair would be like forcing the gamer to take a bit, and couldn't prevent it.

### One game that has you re-routing yourself in different areas does well by making each area important but another would have you going out of your way to backtrack for little or nothing. Yet if you don't backtrack your character will die.

### Don't be discouraged if your game doesn't immediately reach great success. There is a lot of competition. But there are many looking for hidden gems in the retro going community. My advice is to advertise it wherever you could.

### Be cohesive. I'm sure there are a lot of things that people like to eat but to put it together in a soup could taste awful. Or you could relate this to a person whose clothes match up terribly though individually they are good shirts and shoes and stuff.

### Replay ability can be very important. With just a little change one level isn't beaten one way but also another. One level being played twice just for that. And even a flag pole at the end makes the level just a little different each time.

### As they expect the game to go let it be. As if every new element wasn't expected the gamer would have no idea of what's going on.

### Some games were just too plain to have become successful. All the player did was strike and move forward. Least of all was strategy in them. No diversity really. And not even the platforms were ever different.

Ask yourself how you can include one thing in your game the best more than how it did well in other games.

### Avoid over working something as though things must be perfected. They can't be and that approach is like a painter that's never done, ruining what was at one time a good painting.

### And some changes just don't matter enough to bother with. Try not to "split hairs."

### I've seen some very fun 2D games made by individuals but the graphics ruined them. They couldn't quite know how to make trees and things. They probably didn't practice. Drawing on paper is one thing, drawing on a grid is another.

### What lights the fire? What sends the wind? What drowns in water? What keeps afloat?

### The best items are sometimes a box of survival tools. The player collects these to proceed safely across.

### It should be about what the player wants, not what the game wants.

The questioned has often been asked: how do we combine different styles? Styles such as platforming with overhead views, or with a 3D perspective, sometimes with pseudo 3D. But I've never found these to work well. But you, perhaps, can find the way.

### The player should really have the sense that there is an interesting town over there. To be given a good look of a town and places especially with limited graphics.

### The player should fall in love with every place they go to.

### Be cautious that one thing can make or break the game. The game could be wonderful yet it controls terribly.

### There are a lot of sources to pull from. According to what you are creating you can read about old myths, cultures and their gods, ancient weapons and lifestyles, as you choose.

Ask yourself why isn't this ever in a game?

Find a good way to have the buttons used in a game. The most revolutionary games are those that innovated upon their uses. Not just new gamepads, but new uses of them in gameplay. I guess you could assign the color green to button x, for example.

### When in doubt look at life itself and the world. It has a lot to say.

### You can include biographical/auto biographical things in your game.

### Ideas can be taken from history, from the Egyptians to the Romans, the Romans to the middle ages. Or the Dark Ages and the baroque.

### They've often tried to change an old idea into a better thing, but to this day people prefer HP and MP and leveling up over variants of it. Good ideas never die.

### The game carriage can be made in such a way as to give 32 bit power to an 8 bit system!

### It's hard to guess what will become standard. What new things are popular that weren't before. What new things resurface with much praise. Or if innovation will ever be continued.

### Some innovation comes too cheaply to be appreciated. Like giving an old character a cartoon look.

### Let your imagination be active and fruitful.

There are a lot of ideas around the Tarot that can be used. How these interpretations of each card are broad and applicable in real life lends them well into the life of a game.

### Don't lay out all the cards on the table. Mystery is very involving. We want to know what is ahead. We want answers to these things that are hidden in mystery.

### Variety is important. Take one area and make it it's own thing. Take steps up and around having the player interested in searching things out and discovering them.

### To get the gamers attention is important. Things that put them to sleep or bore them are bad. Tell them things they will remember. Have a "wow" factor. Astonish, dazzle. Perplex, sort out.

### It is like Jack and the beanstalk when in a popular game the character climbs up onto one onto a cloud with gold coins. They play the flute and a tornado takes them into a new land.

### Somethings may seem entirely bizarre yet work very well in a game. Kind of like in cartoons. Things that not at all appear in real life. Or things in real life that are given life, like a ball and chain. But they are kind of charming, a mushroom making you large?

### You may find it very helpful to just draw and scribble on paper to come up with ideas.

### Look into the opinions of others regarding games that are popularly considered either good of bad. They'll tell you what makes a game either good or bad.

### Is it an acquired taste?

### Don't feel as though you must cover all things right off the bat. That's what part two and three is for.

### You can provide a lot of chaos as long as you give the player an ability to sort it out and reform it with a natural skill.

### It can be a political affair as long as you teach the gamer what they need to know in order to fit themselves into it.

### Playing as a new character is a frequent thing done in sequels. You may have one or two characters to play as but before the series ends they have created many new ones for you. They are good contrasts to the original player on many cases.

### Then there are those times the character gains it's opponents power. To conquer them is to learn a trick of some kind or to take their spoils.

### Added value is when slight things are added to pre existing things. It makes them a little different, a little better than before.

### Atmosphere is rain in the environment that may come along with tension. Or when night comes in the game. It could be a swamp. It could be a forest with fairies and light gleaming down. My advice is to set the mood.

### Frustration can lead to dedication especially if they are sure they can achieve with enough practice.

## Part Two: Frequently Uses Ideas (the best of them.)

### With them pick one or another according to what you think is best.

### And in all of these think of what you can add to them if you can't find just the one you want:

### The player wakes up in a new bed. Or a temple. Or a grave. Or a save point.

### The player gets a treasure chest. Or a ball from a statue, or an item dropped by an enemy. Or buys it with in game money. Finds it. Steals it. Earns it. Is given it. Smashes a block, it comes out.

### The money/coins buy a new armor, sword, ring, shield, herb. The money buys a weapon of some kind. The money buys a revival from the dead. The coins give you more life. The money is used in auction. The money gets you various items. Gives you faster transport. Cures and heals. Gets you spells. Brings you help.

### An over world and an under world. A dark and light world. A devastated world. A moon world. A heavenly world. A world of hell. Under water. On a mountain. In a cave. A dungeon.

### An item to continue. A favor. A note given. Permission given. Responsibility to continue. A needed air ship. A train, a car. A raft. By conquering an enemy blocking the path. Magic to continue, the right spell. Buying your way through. Collecting pieces, putting them together.

### Jumping on an enemy. Striking or shooting one. Casting a spell on one. Barging right into them. Throwing something at them.

### Collecting coins, bananas, special coins, keys, dots, parts.

### Food gives you extra health. A herb does. A tent. An inn. Certain accomplishments. A heart.

### And certain things give you extra power. Just a dot. A heart. A ring.

### The book or scroll gives you new magic. A wand does. A sword or other weapon. Or a spirit. AP. Or by leveling up.

### A character dies. A character joins. Changes. Betrays you. Turns out related. Becomes stronger. Does different things than the others. Has new talents, ones needed. Becomes good. Turns bad.

### Eight enemies to defeat. Eight gems to collect. A certain amount of crystals to find. The most powerful sword.

### A hidden race. A hidden castle. A hidden level. A hidden item.

### Transport by flue. By pipe. By item. By air. By beast. By boat. By vehicle. By foot. By raft. By thing on ground. By vine. By moving platform. By cloud.

### Bonded by responsibility. By kinship. By shared interests, responsibilities, relation, by fate, by desire.

### Rescuing a princess. A friend. Another's friend. Any who are victimized. A race of people. A mistreated being. A kingdom.

### Limited time to leave an area. Limited time to beat a level. Limited time to defeat an enemy. Limited time to accomplish something. Limited time before nightfall.

### Bonus given for quickness. Bonus given for defeating an enemy. Bonus given for searching more carefully. Bonus given for more fullness. Bonus given for side tasks. Bonus given for help.

### Becoming quicker. Being stronger. Becoming more resistant, more immune. Jumping taller. Striking harder. Lifting heavier things. Noticing things better. Becoming more able. Reaching further with newer items.

### Fishing for items. Slashing for items. Breaking for items. Finding them in book shelves and wells. Digging for items. Climbing for items. Swimming for items. Saving for items. Talking for items. Store for items. Homes for them.

### The platform falls. The platform moves and twists. It hinges. It tips. Is a rainbow beam. Is on a chain. You turn on it in circles. You bounce on it. You are shot out from it. It fades away. Gets bigger, smaller.

### There are stairs. There are balconies, rooftops, there are walls, there are gates, and there are tree branches. There are hills, corridors, doors, and rafts taking you over water. There are missteps and some steps are better than the others. Safe places, dangerous places, but wealthier ones.

### Non playable characters that are soldiers, or friends. Helpful with advice or items. Reclusive ones, crazy ones. Defiant ones, and ones with a lot of personality that you may find throughout the game.

### There are trees and herbs. Flowers and plants. Hills and mountains. Rivers and oceans. Castles and towns, cities and the moon. Dungeons and singular homes. Bridges and caves. Fields and forests. Tombs and graves. Pits. Wells. Other-worlds.

### There are games that effectively turn the simple into an entertaining experience. Paper routes, the organ trail, finding San Diego. Point and click games of lesser and greater complexity. Some are very illustrious. A great idea matters a great deal.

### The enemies overtake the world politically, through magic, using a powerful item, one that is mystic, or formidable. They gather crystals of power, or they defy the gods and do what was warned against by those who know. Sometimes they were just simply born to take over. Being a greatly powerful being. Sometimes they cheat their way into power. Sometimes they inherited a kingdom of great power and decide to take everything else over.

### Boss enemies are often creatures of some kind: dragons, monsters, serpents, spiders. They can also be something .ore of a beast than a creature. They can even be robots. They shoot beams, spit fire, jump onto you, and attack in many different ways. They have weak spots. They are sometimes very difficult to defeat, but much easier given practice.

### There are very plain areas. There are areas once plain like home, but something bad happened there. There are rainy areas, dark areas, spooky places, gloomy places, social places, mysterious places. Try not to make any one area the "plain" kind.

### And there are areas that would feel risky for the player. There are some that feel sacred, some that feel safer than others. There are some that truly make the player feel as though they've stepped into a new world. And what once was may change.

### There are boss enemies that are normal compared to others. The normal kinds are just a regular monster you could say. The others are like an evil group of dolls, a demon wall that inches forward requiring you to quickly beat it. They change forms and such too making them better than just ordinary opponents.

### Items can be glamorized to an extent. They can be gotten normally, just by coming across them. Or more difficultly gotten. They may have required puzzles to be solved or things brought together that were far dispersed. And the setting behind getting them could be enchanting like a sword in the Stone in a forest kind of way.

### There are countless things an item can do. Far more than just slashing it shooting. They can be used musically, they can give you further reach. They can rock and build holes, make you feather light, they can adjust your stats. And, going into things like relics from a certain game, can cause effects like protecting your comrade's who are low on HP. Or auto cast spells throughout a battle.

### There are many adjustments an emulator can provide. It is fascinating how they can make emulated 2D game run in 3D.. to an extent. And I'm sure better so soon enough. They've taken Mode 7 and have sharpen up the edges. And recently they've began work on auto translation for foreign language games.

### These more non human characters come in very many forms. They can be angelic or demonic, can be monsters whose origins may not be explained, or they are. They can be things you find on Earth. And they could be things found on Earth but in a different form. There could be aliens. They could be based on old myths, stories and ideas from long ago. From more recent fantasy books like elves. Or a Grecian Goddess. They all can be presented just in the way the game maker desires. Spruced up.

### Party members can be handed to the gamer all at once or gradually as the story requires them. They can be bonus characters. They can be hidden. They can be hired for a fee or item. They can be temporary, disappearing/ leaving suddenly.

### One party members can know things the others don't. They can have their own talents. They can have you interact with the gaming world in a way that the other characters can't. So they can open the world up more being able to take more from it. Getting into new areas.

### Other party members can be switched around in a way that is more suitable for the player.

### Each character can have it's own theme. While many games just gave music for every player currently being used other games will have their own music while they are being used. Each player can have it's own areas, in which they lead you to and in which they know everyone there.

### Some games are uneven from character to character.. unbalanced, being much weaker than the others and so never used. In that case space was just wasted. Some characters have that one special ability but otherwise are useless. And in such a case the player does the same thing again and again with it.

### Some players may want to use a particular power and skill while other players want to do something else. And the player may be invested in one talent but for the sake of variety may turn to another player.

### Some special items require a meter of some kind to use, such as a magic meter or just as a point system (like a weapon used takes one point of 20 uses.) So there are hearts or does or some such thing to collect while playing to use more. Sometimes am item can be used non stop until the player gets s hit, and so looses that item or weapon. And some items can be used more if another item is gotten. For example could initially be used, at most, 20 times, but now 30. And some items can be stolen from enemies.

### The environment can shift from night to day. It can shift in weather. It can bring up things not there before. Some games are built around it such as simulation games. In them you can plant things, build your own home. The towns have very smart AI that brings it all to life. People change objectives in them. The game is adjusted according to what you do. And in games such as these ask yourself how they should be adjusted. Is it intuitive? Realistic? Predictable enough?

### Racing games can let you buy car upgrades or new cars altogether. They can have you zoom around cities to greater or lesser realism. They can be based on the future, or just have a rocking and rolling theme. You can drive in cars or trucks. Go carts or tiny micro cars. They can have weapons, shooting or just throwing stuff, or dropping a banana peel. The tracks can just be a regular road or like a roller coaster ride.

### In some of them you run out of gas. Or nitro power.

### Some games change based on the actions you take. The player lives under some sort of karma system. To do good brings good, to do bad brings bad, but sometimes good can come from bad. Sometimes a wrong choice can be dire. It can have great consequences. And the game can be adjusted by how it is played by benefiting the player who does extra things. It is like to do so may be difficult but possibly worth it.

### Some items like weapons can be enchanted or cursed, forged or blessed. Modified to be stronger. Having put together from other pieces and as strong as those pieces are is as strong as the item becomes.

### Some box art is so bad that it makes the game a failure. And certain broken pieces can do the same for an otherwise great game.

### Some games try to bring realism into it according to regular reality. For example you have to carry food to survive. You can only walk so far before you must rest. Like based on human limitations. You can only carry one sword, just like regular people. Two maybe. And they don't let you walk all you want in armor. Sometimes even the food you carry in these games spoils after a few days.

### Games are often created from real life activities. Simple ones. Like fishing or hunting, playing a sports game, playing poker. A paper route.

### Some game money comes just from hitting a thing: a block, a pot, blades of grass. Some come after defeating enemies. Some come once a game day. Some are a salary. Sometimes the money is hidden. Some games give you a whole career to make money. And sometimes it comes from things sold. Either if you bought it earlier from the same place or another, or just found it, or earned it.

Some games have added value. Just an extra touch. And put all together they add up very well, even very well. Too much of one graphic isn't good. Too much "sameness" isn't Water that doesn't at all move is just a blotch of blue. A ride that doesn't roll up is, too. And it's better to show the sword strike and possibly change colors and such.

### As a side note it would be useful to come up with a short list of games you wish to take influence from. Like, perhaps, eight games that you'll be best inspired from.

### 2D side scrolling games/ platformers can have the player riding a skate board, even a little dinosaur or a rhino. A little boot, a mini car, etc. Or the player could be on a whole moving train. Could just be moving bricks.

Gamers have certain things to escape like a prison or cage. A town or other certain area. Perhaps an evil ruler and his kingdom. Or the planet itself which is dying, and food is being brought back and forth to it. A black hole to escape into or out of. Maybe even a galaxy itself! To escape from a ship in an escape pod. Or just from a place that's about to go ka-boom.

### The player may be a victim seeking justice or restitution. May just be after saving a person. May want change. To correct the wrong. Or just may be motivated toward wealth. Or to get all of its bananas back which were stolen.

### Weapons can whip, can slash, can go straightly, can be thrown, can be tossed like a curve, can shoot flame or ice, can be magic wind or a magic made quake, a lightning bolt, even an eruption for a very powerful effect. Can be called down as a meteor, and so can relinquish a few enemies or a chunk of the world, a town, in good or evil ways.

### Items can freeze the rival, slow them down, speed oneself up, shift time, dimension, space, warp the rival, send them elsewhere.

### Sometimes you take your enemies power just by defeating them. Sometimes by swallowing them. Sometimes you jump on a turtle and throw its shell. Sometimes you steal the rival's things.

Power ups can make you a beast of some kind (like a wolf or bear.) Or a creature of some kind (like a dragon or spider.) Or just larger. Or give you a power. The ability to fly. To move faster. They can give you an advantage. But there are power downs too. Like making you an imp-pig or reducing your abilities.

### Mini games can be added. They range from the simple to the complex. From card memory games to difficult puzzles. They include card games and games based much on luck or skill. They can be a "do at the same time" thing or a fishing game where you need to catch a particular thing. They can have you digging for something or playing a long Melody on a musical instrument.

### Some RPG games would have you taking notes to review your progress or just to be able to remember a certain thing you'll be asked for later.

### Some RPG games give you a larger part in improving your stats, as you wish them to be. Though some only let you improve your stats by defeating enemies in the game.

### Some games will have you asking "what?!" And others may bring you tears. Some will make you angry, either with unfairness or insult. Some will give you a sense of wonder. Others will have you acting precisely, requiring your full attention. Some charm. Others are mysterious. Some are involving. Others are just plain interesting story-wise.

### Flying games can be a pilot license simulation. Side scrolling or 3D. Mission based or just finish level based. Can be real life jets or alien spaceships. Can be based on popular sci fi shows or movies. Can include life within the ship. Can be a strategy game. Many power ups can be given, lasers or missiles. Can have you fighting creatures in space or be past war recreation.

### Sports games include all the games humankind ever came up with. For your consideration: wrestling, golf, soccer, bowling, tennis, football, basketball, pool, gymnastics of all kind, racing, baseball. Some done more than others. There are possibly some sports games that have not been made into a game.

### Likewise card games from hearts to rummy to poker and blackjack. Casino games, too, usually including slots and multiple gambling choices (usually requiring the instruction not to use the game as a real life gambling device and so not a two player game. Among the others are darts, chess and checkers, all pre designed games that are publically of free use. As long as you don't associate them with real life teams and athletes and such.

### The end of the level could have the character shooting forward in a star. Could open a door and go in.. or enter a painting. Can jump on a flag pole. Can have you touch an orb. Can be a circular flash of congratulatory graphics. Just be a finish line, sometimes with a victors ceremony.

### There could be a magical herb mixture or pill you take that you don't really know the effect of. You may be given a vague description on its effects. Enough for at least a good guess. Then it had raised one stat but reduced another. And with experimentation you find a mixture that balances it all out.

### How 2D games are made from a movie they usually have a lot in them that had nothing to do with a movie. But sometimes they do it very well. Keep in mind what lends best to a game, as coming from a cartoon or movie, show or old story.

### Some games not only brought characters together and bonded them together one by one, but they devastated the world, causing them to separate, making you a symbol of hope, searching put your old team to save the world from utter destruction.

## Interlude: The Future of Gaming

AI is becoming developed inasmuch as it can make games itself, partially, though not yet entirely on its own. VR is on the horizon. More in depth games are being made, more and more. Games are connected through internet. The whole field is being mastered. But there is still a lot of interest in old games. In their original forms, or as remastered. As I've said earlier emulators and mods are able to auto improve games. Like magic they can make graphics much better, automatically.

### The future should be considered to stay ahead of the curb. The people that took a chance in putting an arcade machine in a bar came into a fortune. Games were often singularly made. People were making machines of them within their garage.

### Now that technology has developed and become cheaper we find people easily making clone machines. Portable ones, sometimes. And collecting tons sometimes, selling them, which is illegal. I don't care about it's lawful status but I do want people to earn their own money, not from the things others have invented. It is a good reason for copyright I believe. Not to digress to much but if a person worked their butt off and spent millions of their own money or more to make a good movie for others, it is just totally unright for another to sell an illegal copy of it!

So to be a part of the newest thing it helps you to know where things are headed. While AI cannot yet make it's own games I can easily predict it someday can. 2D games to begin with, onto much more complex ones. We have AI conditioning new games. Perhaps AI can improve greatly on our old games someday. Honestly I see no reason to say why not.

### To make this software that either makes games much better and different enough to not be a case of copy right infringement, or to create all new games on all it's own, would be a good mine. Suddenly many thousands of games could be produced globally in a month.

### There is software that lets you make new games, and that software is better than it ever was before. And as I've said before don't worry too much about format. People are looking for new games for their old favorite systems. And it's news worthy to some.

### Apart from game making there is console mods. They change the hardware making them more diversified. And there are those that fix old hardware which isn't that difficult, usually. Think things like soldering in new caps. Or swapping out a screen. Or unscrewing an old broken part and screwing a new one in. And these parts are available online, specifically.

Sooner or later games will be incredibly immersive, broad, and what I'd call a second reality.

### Some games are just redesigns of other games. This can be tool based as a software that lets you take an old game file and remix it's elements. For the greater talented it can be code based, having all new elements and being modified more thoroughly. And sometimes they will put a pre exiting game onto a new platform.

## End of interlude

### Beat-em-ups can have the player choice of the strongest, the fastest, or the one in between. One character can have a sword and the other one a bo. One could have one special attack, another a different one. One may have one spell to cast, and another a different one. Characters can be swapped out after they are defeated. And random weapons on the stage can be picked up and used, to great effect. It can be based on just a series of streets or in some time warped place. It can be a mystical place of dragons and beasts or just the streets. Vehicles can be jumped into and used, or creatures, or a horse. Enemies in them can drop items that you can take. Somethings when stricken explode while others burst out hitting your rivals.

### Different play styles are common. 2D becoming 3D. Over head becoming side scrolling or platforming, becoming a shoot-em-up, throwing in a puzzle. Personally I don't like most of them though some have done it very well.

### Some games let you change the appearance of the game, the world and characters on various ways. The on screen character in some, such as in RPGs, the character getting a new suit or new color. The weapons on 2D RPG games are either seen as different from sword to sword or sometimes not seen at all. Some games let you compose the music you want to for the game you are in. Sometimes when you change something and come back it is still changed. Sometimes it isn't, going back to it's original form.

### How a game starts there are many examples. It could start with cinematics, a visual and/or text based story. The player could wake up one day in bed and find something bad is going on. They may be entering into a place they were told not to. Some games just start you off on a level. Some find you outside and being told it is dangerous to be there so take this weapon. Some have you find that something was stolen and you need to get it back. Some have your loved one needing to be saved, as s/he is calling out to you. Some find you disagreeing with the king and the course of their kingdom. More common with new games, you are given a brief or sometimes lengthy tutorial. And some first levels are just made to give you an idea of how to play, though without instructions. Some have you building a very specifically generated character. Others just give you a choice on where to start.

### One game has you grinding for greater power, defense, or whatever it may be. Another just gives you power ups sporadically. Enough to get you along. So e of these are hidden. Others in plain site. One game has you buying things for greater power and others come more freely. Some have you collecting things for it. Others require you to have skill to use them right, or knowledge of your opponents weaknesses. Some are there just for the sake of variety. While one may be better overall, more often than not, sometimes the alternative is desirable, at least.

### Random battles can be very frustrating sometimes. They are sometimes reduced with certain items. If the player goes into an old area, one they left long ago and became stronger after, they may find those old and pitifully weak enemies there getting in the way, without any benefit for beating them. Each area in old 2D games may have had 4 or 5 different random battles opponents. Though in some RPGs there are areas that have dozens and dozens while elsewhere just that 4 or so. Some items stop the random battles as the player chooses. The creatures in them can appear front of you, in a sideways manner, or above you, or more vertically. They may have minimal movement of none in older games, but for older gamers that was enough. Summoning a spirit can provide a bit of animation as added value. And swords of all types, magic and things, provide animation that isn't otherwise there.

### The background of a game has countless possibilities. Among some that have been used are the places of Dracula, a land full of robots, an alien planet full of mystery, a medieval type setting full of magic, fantasy, a world of toys, the African safari, lands of the gods, a future world, space, places taken from movies and books, shows and cartoons.

### A common occurrence in games are: dropping a letter, someone crashing the party, someone intervening, a challenge being presented, a trick being played, someone calling for help, saving others, gradually becoming more powerful, taking a chance, someone somehow surviving or being brought back, being betrayed, the sword in the Stone, being a part of prophesy, being underestimated, waking up in a new place, falling though surviving, having friends you never knew you even had, a sudden disaster at night forcing you to awake into calamity, something being more powerful than it was once thought to be, and the game not being over when you think it is.

### Slight adjustments to the game can be of great effect. And things not there before. Like changing one enemy into another in a second quest. Or the colors of a characters clothing. Or light world to a dark one. Picking a name I guess you could say. Going so where, it is now changed. A hole is there now. A statue now there that gives you power or access somewhere. Turns out there was a moon. Turns out you can go there. A sword is now there. A new kind of coin. You can get things with just that kind of coin. Land goes dark. Sun comes up. Trees grow a bit. Things get rocked into messes. Sword given new power, or arrows. Clouds shift a bit.

### You find an inventor who has great things. You find a new player that has the ability you need. You find someone that has a lot to say. Or a good thing to give. You find a person that can give you a lot of powers. You find someone who teaches you a lot of good things. You find a person that tells you where to go next. You find a new opponent. You find a new friend. You find someone that wants to buy something of yours. Turns out you needed it. Are forced to find something better.

### Side scrolling games sometimes give a route to take. Like upward on the map, downward, or through the center. RPG games get be you about 3 places to go to before you can go to the next 3, more or less. Simulations give you one area of the grid to work on, and places in different areas of it. Some games let you wander around until you have access to new places. Overhead adventure games let you explore different areas, sometimes all at once, other times when an item allows it.

### One fighting game has a lot of blood while fewer don't. Some are only made to shock but have very little appeal. Some incorporate a more wicked tone, not just in the violence of the players. Such as in using background imagery to set a certain feel. A gong sound at the beginning, and very good voice acting. Some fighting games have very uneven fighters, making some useless. Some have been based on absurd things, as most could agree. There are combination attacks in some. Some are based mostly on them if they are different in any way. Some have you fighting as dinosaurs and clay creatures like a snow man. And there's one I know of that has four or more playing on screen all at once.

### Consider how one game in a series did very well while it's follow up or subsequent game utterly failed. Like a game that was originally over head while it's sequel was side scrolling. Or the ugly game in the family. It was just too weird to ever be appreciated. Consider that innovation often just went into places that no one wishes to be. Making a cartoon out of a previously realistic looking character. What looks good on paper may not at all be good.

### Some games are about making other games, such as a single level for old and cherished games. These people play and share them via online. There's a market for that which surprisingly hasn't been considered. People that made these old games that are loved to this day have yet to make there own () maker game.

There are games that were mimicked in their approach yet just not as good as the thing it intended to copy.. in a better way. They often come across as strange and ugly renditions. They may have been much different however, enough to totally been it's own thing. And perhaps they made a better game than the inspiration they pulled from. But then comes the sequels of there sources and they throw all the others out if the water! It makes you think why hasn't anyone been able to do the same thing but that much better, before they did?

### It is good that the player rests as the character rests, fights as the character fights, and feels the emotions the character was meant to supply.

### Some games could take ten years to solve on ones own. It used to be a goldmine itself to provide strategy guides and hotlines for them. You could carry an old portable device and have that game for ten years before you'd figure it out.

### Passwords have the advantage of never needing a battery. Is it at all possible to create a password system which can, these days, in these more complicated games, work? It depends on the complexity of the game. Passwords using more characters than just numbers or letters. But doing so would never require a battery or limited period flash saving.

### A game may have you interacting with the environment in a point or click way. It may have you on a world map giving you more selection as where to go. You may interact with the people of the environment. You can interact with objects apart from the character sometimes, such as with magic. You can in a button mashing way, or a mouse click, or a number pressed, or the A button. You may twirl a stick or rotate a disk. You may use a glove it a steering wheel. You can use motion detection in some. In others you rotate a thumb stick.

### Some need more buttons than others. Some become over complicated because if it. Some just have too many menus on screen. Some would have you mashing buttons you'd never figure out on your own.

### And retro controllers are being reproduced to this day.

### Social conditions in games designed around social based gameplay include criminal behavior, farming, daring, errands and tasks, the regular lifestyles of people, collaborating and fighting in a war. They connect you with some characters specifically, and a handful of them throughout the game. While the others have personalities, just less to say and do. Some side endeavors are present in them which allows the player how to progress in the game. There are some that employ you. Some that request any number of things from you. The opponents in them modern or past-wise, or fantasy based. Coalitions may be present and certain interactions causing each own result.

### If choices are in a game for the player they may include which route to take, which enemy or stage to face first, which weapon suits them better, what to spend more time on, what to not bother with, who to employ, who not to, who to build up, who to not use at all, and what to buy, seek out, and what not to.

### Games may progress in a way that is natural or brutal, and some don't need "progression," or sometimes it is only needed sometimes. There can be interludes and pauses in the game which let the player rest a bit.

### Some bosses are psychotic, others tricksters, some have sought power, may get it, some have stolen their way into power, others were born naturally powerful. Some are mystically powerful. Others have learned magic to get them there. Some have been around for ages, others have gotten there recently by some sort of accident. Some were good but turned evil. Some always were. Some are just lucky to have power behind them like an army.

### On some levels fall rain. On some, snow. In some winds blow. Some platforms are ice. On some levels rocks fall and crumble. Some levels go dark and perhaps need an item to bring it light.

### Some platforms shake. Some crumble. Some disappear. Some move up or down. Some swing. Others defy gravity. Others are heavier gravity.

### Some items have a meter that counts down. And when at zero it stops working. While some spells count down from 10 to 0, at the end of which the player dies.

### Some spells are really good at letting you toy with your enemy. Others just attack or cure.

### Mastering a game can be from a few things or many and sometimes from a very large amount of components. It can be as simple as jumping the right way. Maybe attacking the right way too. Or it can include a little grinding, or a lot. It could require a lot of attention. To be precise. To find better ways, quicker ways to get the job done. Or it may just be from difficult levels that require practice.

### A game could allow you to insert code like a built in code modifier giving you some idea on how to do it.

### Sometimes the character jumps very high. Sometimes half as much, sometimes half that much. Some will bend their knees when jumping. Some jump more realistically than others. Sometimes in a game you auto jump when going across a platform onto another. Sometimes the gamer has the choice of jump style according to the player they select. Some spin when they jump. Some flip. And in fighting games each fighter has their own way of jumping.

### RPGs, platformers, side scrolling games, beat 'em ups, overhead adventures, first person games, strategy games, you name it, they all have their own way of using magic.

### Ideas for weapons can be taken from old stories of magic, wizards and fantasy based things. They can be the weapons the Grecian gods used. They can come from tales of Dracula and weapons effective against vampires. They can be modern weapons. They may revolve around ninjas, samurai, or former wars. They can come from more obscure sources like what weapons were around long ago but mostly forgotten about. A ninja character can have throwing stars. Even popular soda brands have come up with video games and weapons for them.

### People have flown on carpets in games, on clouds, airships, space ships. Have flown around within a tornado. Have just flown themselves with their body. They've taken rides on enemy and friendly characters/creatures and beasts. With shoes that had wings on them.

There are countless types of people that are played as. A prince from some land, a dragon or Dracula Slayer, a beast instead of a human, or animal or creature. A robot of some kind, an elf, a soldier. A dolphin. A plumber. As there are so many choices take the time to determine the best choice(s) for yourself in making your game.

### Traps along the way include falling spikes, rotating fireballs, bricks with spikes around them (more imaginatively) beams shooting upward and downward and sideways, dripping poison, and skull marked bricks you cannot touch.

### More imaginative ways an enemy is made are the ones that come out of coffins, the ones that follow you when you aren't looking at them, ones that you can only attack when they come out if their done shell trying to shoot a dot at you, ones that are more than just attacked to defeat but must be done so in a more particular way. Like one piece then another. Some have been made from a ball and chain idea. These take the game beyond just plain.

### Types of spells are numerous. The most often used ones are based on fire, water, and air. Then these kinds of attacks are based on one of them. An air spell can be a tornado spell for example. There are those ultimate spells you get along the way, but then an even better one toward the end of the game. Don't forget summoning spells. Then there are spells that modify stats temporarily. Some weapons have spells within them. In overhead adventure games a book or wand is sometimes used to cast one.

### One town may be wealthy. One town may have nuts on them. Or just strange people, who are perhaps secretive, one may be the evil Kings stronghold, another full of your allies or those that need you. One town may be hidden – on the moon, in a cave, underground.

### Keep in mind: voice acting can be given to your game some day through AI.

### There was a game that was cloned which turned a walking mushroom into a strange looking thing that wasn't based on anything after that. It just made the gamer think 'what's that supposed to be?' And in fact by doing that its original charm was no longer there.

### There are many instances where something was done as it wasn't done before. Most racing games were more or less the same. Then came the ones that did it a different way. Like a side scrolling motorcycle game with over heat meter, making the jumps according to a right angle, and it wasn't something that was really done before. Or a fighting game that had four on screen at once each based on old beloved characters that a company had put together the previous ten years. And a go cart racing game that took a regular idea (racing) and made it entirely better.

### You could relate it to something like making an entirely new genre of music, and that's a difficult thing to do!

### A game may have taken a month to program or many years. It may have been done individually, with friends, or corporately. The process may have been fun or toilsome. And one is true for one person but not another. The potentially best game may have been rushed and come to nothing. And some had been left incomplete.

### In one game you die by being hit or coming into contact with something you shouldn't. That is the most frequently used cause. Some will have you "die" by failing a mission or not meeting certain objectives. Sometimes they die when time runs out. Or it could be that a puzzle wasn't solved and they had to start over, try again. Poison may gradually reduce HP. Or consecutive actions expected to be memorized are not done right.

### A person place or thing in a game may have been taken from a pre existing movie or story. They are like a homage to them. They aren't really stolen. Just a desired reference to something they enjoy and appreciate. And sometimes one game pokes fun at another.

### It's funny that you get a coin to get more playtime in a game you paid a coin to play.

### Arcades may just need a little tweak to get them popular again. By who knows which way, maybe giving you a physical prize for beating a level. Maybe by making them more comfortable and leisurely. Allowing you to rent a kind of set up. More game choices. Whatever it is, it can't just be in the current form it is. You can stand and play them or sit and play them. You may even sit on a motorcycle kind of seat. But maybe we need more of a VR set up.

Then again arcades are making a resurgence. But in one's home—as kits ordered and set up in the home.

### Handheld games include LCD ones and can be as basic as just dots lighting up or simple calculator style graphics. Some games are very well suited for these, like card games and slots. The technology for them aren't as bad as it appears to be. It just isn't used to its potential. Is used instead cheaply. There's one screen. There could be more than one to make this technology more versatile. It may need different buttons. Not buttons in fact but dials and flip switches (the whole side of both sides.) Instead of them trying to make it play like a home console would.

### Wanting to take an old game and make it better? There are those that took an old game and programmed it in a way that you can play it using every cherished character found on the other games if it's systems. There are some that just modified to make it more difficult. There are some that added two player. And they either stick around or get shut down by the copy right holders of them. But my favorite example is called a randomizer. It takes special items found in, say, chests, and mixes them up. As a result you have to have a lot of luck, and progress accordingly. They usually make you beat the game much quicker, and so are used in gaming tournaments.

### There are games made around just one concept from another. For example one game had within it among many other things summoning. Then a game was made that was based on nothing more than summoning. But also keep in mind that one game that is just of one thing can be included into a game of many things, such as fishing. You could say that it was a beat em up kind of game that lead to typical two contender fighting games.

### They've always tried to find just the right species of animals to make into a game character. Appearance counts for a lot and so does personality. The choice of species doesn't matter as much.

### Choices of names come across differently. Some are simple and regular names. Some are hard to pronounce. And to this day there are gamers that pronounce them one way and another person differently. Some names have a meaning behind them, like a link to something. And sometimes you choose your own name in a game.

### The name of a sword give you an idea that the next name one is more powerful. For example from copper sword to silver sword, to diamond. And that's so with just more than a sword, of course.

Color is effective in making one opponent more powerful than another. From yellow armor to red, for example. Or to signify royalty, whatever it may be. And although programing such is far easier, it is effective. Colors in a game can be bright and stand out. Too colorful depending on the games settings. But the worst thing is to only use a very minimal amount of them from place to place. AI may be as such that some day in a game it can have the sun set on the level behind you, which wasn't so before.

### First the sword is gray, then it is red, and as such feels totally new though all you did was change the color.

### Some coins are blue, others are green.

### And there is a game where you must spray paint certain enemies.

### Personally I always thought it would be a good idea to have color lighted buttons. Like one that lights up blue or green, yellow or red, and as you see things on the screen you can interact with them based on color. Like green text gives you more elaboration when you press the green button. Or a purple color on the screen has you using the blue and red ones. Or to go toward a green tree you press the green button. Or to buy an item from the shop just press the green one. A really good idea, I feel!

### There has been games that were playable on just one screen. There were ones that just had you move from left to right. And 3D letting you move all around. There is even 2.5 D games. Games where you just point and click. Games that played as movies. And games that made movies through rich cinematics. There had been overhead ones. Forced side scrolling ones. Vertical ones (isometric.)

### Most things have been done in games that could be done, depending on what variations that any one thing was given, and so often changed. If you feel a need to be entirely original then you will miss out on the rich possibilities before you. They've done all the work. You have a lot at your disposal. And the opportunity to put things together the best way they could be, instead.

### And there are far many more than just one good looking puzzle to put together.

### There are always random battles but you never find random puzzles or games. For example instead of wandering around for a random battles a dots and boxes game is pulled up.

### RPG skills can include stealing, using cards or slots, dice, coded button pressing, timer strikes (the higher number you wait for the more powerful the strike.) For a player to shift forms. For a player to jump and come down later upon the opponent. Many others too like having a pet protect you, taking the enemies power and magic, copying what your opponent does, the unique ability to summon, being capable of using more powerful weapons, absorbing magic otherwise harmful to the party.

### Taking one thing and making it better doesn't make an overall game better. These things have to fit together better too. And "the more things change the more they remain the same." If everything is just a different version of the same idea then the game is just largely the same as it was to begin with.

### Ask yourself how a real life thing is put into a game the best way. Instead of making it realistically adopted, incorporate it in a way that it is best as an element of the game.

### The environment of a game can be made up of areas like the inside of a great tree, a graveyard with spooks inside, or a tomb, or a heavenly area. It could have you walking long down a path. There could be a hermit there. Or a person that direly needs help. There are lakes that dry up to reveal a path and places hidden within a large wilderness. There can even be floating continents.

### Dogs that shoot out swords, an enemy with a ball and chain.

### -Conclusion-

### In all of these you should have a substantial idea of your choices. They can be added to personally, or just taken as your intuition suggests. Take your time and find the best things you can put into your game. Who knows what good things you can come up with when given enough ideas to work with? And I hope your game creation goes very well.

### I would go on further with them but I feel as though I have exhausted my ideas.

### I am continuing now to give you some of my own ideas which you may feel free to use in this public domain book!

## Part Three: Some Free Ideas

## Technology-Wise

And Game-Wise

### Many peripherals have been created from pads to stand on to circles to be in. From gloves to Don to just arcade version of game pads. There have been cards you scan. There have been motion sending devices of all kinds. They are mostly scoffed at for being good concepts, but just not working well enough. Some worked fine, such as gun controller like games. But the glove I refer to and many of the others could be improved by any individual and sold. That goes along the lines of making what didn't work well work well, adding to it what is needed to make it better.

### As AI develops and software along with it the next great code modifier (those devices that re programmed the game letting you cheat) could be much more versatile. One could even be made that lets you entirely recreate the whole game.

### Password printing on a card. Other kinds of cards printed like accomplishment ones. Membership cards made. Like in a large game world to participate and be a part of a group gives you a kind of card. The story you make printed out. Imagery in the game can be printed out. Your high scores, too.

### Further in time when 3D printers cheaply enough allow for it they can create things created in the game. They could be added pieces. Maybe letting the video game create pieces for you for any number of uses. You may beat the game and get a prize created accordingly.

### I imagine soon you could tell the console to turn on by your voice. And raise or reduce the volume. Or zoom in and out. That microphones will return to the game pad. You could tell the game to give you a certain weapon. You could ask for help and directions. At first you read the things said to you. Then we had them spoken to us. Maybe in the future we can talk back.

As the world is mapped from place to place down to the roads of any city and with GPS there could be made a game of the world as a game. You could wander around the map looking for others. Or it could be altered in a way more suitable for gaming. The real world could be assimilated into a game. Could be simulated into one. These maps we have and pictures of places upon it can be more fully immersive in any given game or software.

### A whole library of in game books could be used. Like an encyclopedia. Letter S could contain Spells. Letter P could include Places. Letter S could have See. See would give you a picture, audio or visual of what you want to look at, maybe understand more. But the game is largely flipping through these books. Like a search engine it will make finding things easy. It is a board game of books you could say in video form.

### Ideas I've had for awhile now include music that auto change. Imagine about 20 melodies, short ones, that play in different order. They are kept well enough the same musically from piece to piece. But provide just a little alteration. And a special software built into a game, maybe placed on a chip, can auto change the game in subtle ways. Anything that can change but mostly remain the same. And lighted buttons as I said before, like a button that lights up a color.

There will come a time when you can take just a little video of yourself and make that image do whatever you wish. It's largely possible already. This can be used to put you into a game just like as if you are really in it. This would be especially helpful for social kinds of games. And too for adult natured games. Be a star of any movie. Take one star of stars and make into us all that star.

### You could have text prepared and have your image speak it without ever recording yourself. But someday too you could take text and give your own voice through a sample, in a similar fashion.

### And there could be themes you select from in having "yourself" do.

### People could largely program the game they are in themselves by that point. They would construct questions and answers for any passer by. A series of actions could be set up too according to the more likely reactions between you and others.

### You don't have to be in space or on Mars yourself. You could be given a total recording of it you could enter. Or you could go there using robotic bodies. You could see what that sees and, if touch technology is ever made, "feel" the very ground of Mars. And through this make it inhabitable through machinery and Android like things we control from Earth. The Galaxy itself could be made into our game.

### An extremely detailed world-environment of a game could be created using the information pulled from certain websites.. the encyclopedic ones. As long as AI can know well enough how to create game world things from it. It would know the nature of a plant for example. Where it grows. How it grows. Physical qualities of it. Pictures of it. How the body uses it, etc. , if it heals or if it is toxic. And like weapons in a video game those that came a long time before. Precious metals, where they are usually found. And best of all old deities and their honorary and magical uses.

### Compositions can be made by individuals to buy claim or earn by the player. By those that can notate. And an orchestra could be simulated. Art too could be made by players and likewise sold or something. And if it were me I'd give a person a while eBook.

### We haven't yet seen religious based "games." That is, a social type game based solely around ones religion. Whatever religion that may be. Heck, it could contain every known denomination. It could let the person create their own denomination or post a pre existing one. In it could be Churches, sermons, Bibles of all kinds. Hymn music within them and a place to ask questions or have them answered.

### Greater contact between players could result in real life errands paying in video game dividends.

### You could see a market in the game that you can buy things to get in real life. You could expected to pay a monthly fee. Those that had been playing for a year would have gotten really good. And part of those fees could be paid back or given in merchandise (like as delivered to your door.)

With more portable games a while adventure can come from them. To be told to drive a certain place, to hide a certain item in a type of place. That causes treasure hunting. Or any game that incorporates real life into it. To do a favor. Things which do not put the person playing in any risk. A person could post what kind of thing they want. And that thing would be made for them. Something, maybe, emailed or posted online.

### I imagine a game where you can sit at a theater or even take others to one with you. Or attend a pre set up concert. You can have a shelf of movies. Digital format doesn't give you something like that. But in a digital room you could. You could set up one thing or another. You could pull the book off the shelf. You could buy rights to provide these to others. To allow access to them. Kind of like what the radio does with providing royalties.

### A person's digital junk yard may be purchased from other players.

### A device that beeps or shows texts, that being simple, or an email or online notification could be an extra feature of a console. A light may light up on a game pad alerting you of so etching. Those can be color coded. The console itself could beep. Or have a small two inch screen kind of slanted upward could indicate to the player different things. Like a new game is available to order. Or in making digital software cheaper by providing advertisements. And it may just tell you when your favorite co op player is available to play with you.

### A card slot in a console, like a small one, can be included as an extra soundtrack for the game. And these can come with the game or bought separately. It could include bonus content. It would be a much cheaper way to do so than a disk peripheral or a large cart add on. And another example could be it changes the effects of spells graphically, on am RPG. Could provide all new cinematics, any number of adjustments. On just a mini memory card.

### And if you are going back to cart games, each cart could have a small slot for these.

### Maybe even 2. Maybe even 4.. to get just the right game you want.

### The longer and more often you play a game the more a powerful and wise elder you become. Real-life being paused in that time. In the time you left things have changed. Maybe the world updates all the time. Maybe it has its own rules to bring progress. The players make the environment progress from straw hones to brick ones. And civility must be fought for. And Kings come and go. And Queens too. The world is made as the players made it. And changes as the people would have it change. It has its own secrets. It contains gems in one area. Deep in the ground. From which things are made or stockpiled by the richest characters. And gods may be present in the game. The greatest of players perhaps, or just programmed entities. Behind them is mystery, prophesies and all for anyone who would succeed in the game.

### Maybe that's a possible game itself. To have in it deities that guide the way and can become friends or enemies. That are behind you according to how you befriended them.

We know the world we live in according to the physics in which it was given. With a lot of consideration all new physics could be created for a video game world. It would take a lot of very smart people to do so. That what goes up may not fall down. That the wind may not produce a twirling tornado but I stead pull upward. These are simple enough but to simulate a world with all new physics that come as an understandable formula, that's more difficult.

There could be a social based game that goes from cave man to jet fighter. And a time machine that goes along with it. And a simulated world that is made from previous interference from player to player. The game could indicate what about the past was changed. The player could guess the result. They could try and go back to change it. Or change something else in a reach of power. Valuable items that the player had could become worthless, for they came from a thing extinct. Or their jewels were gotten before they could have fallen into the hands of other players. I call it a time skipper.

### On the back of a controller could be a distance reader. Like a finger is an inch away from it or two. Ideally you'd hold down a front facing button to use it (so it isn't accidentally used.) They could magnify things or reduce them in size. Making them closer or further away. Or pull something in in other ways. They could also swipe upward and downward. As well as rotate, roll around.

### There could be a preference button on the game pad to press when the game is going as the player likes, to have them continue that way. Or a dislike button to do the opposite. A more of this button. A less of that one.

There could be a button to freeze things in time. A "set this" button. Or to "unfreeze that" button. A button to propel. One to slow down. One to shift everything. Another to send it backwards. A way to lift. A way to break. And as such the environment can be fully interacted with. So then a plus and minus button. A remove button. And commands such as that.

### Classical music is in public domain. From whatever era before the modern one. When notation software becomes developed enough to play them entirely realistically, people will be able to reproduce them freely and in large numbers. Scanning technology can be incorporated into it. As AI develops new harmonies and styles can be added to that. When voice copying develops enough you could say a few lines, maybe a paragraph and have your singing added to it. Be it in whatever style you choose. Rock, pop, rap, metal, etc., And with the copying of your image "you" are on stage with whatever outfit you want. Says quite a bit about where things could go!

### Include your own lyrics. Your own visuals or basis from them. Pay homage to your favorite movie. Have yourself put into a music video for it. The possibilities are astounding.

### And people could piece together musical themes in a harmonious way. For example one theme by Bach sounds much like one by Beethoven. The AI knows they'd go good together. So they mix forms accordingly. They may even adjust them in a more fitting way so that they fit into own style (instead of baroque sound with Classical sound.)

### And much further along I'd assume will be the possibility that AI could understand the instructions you've written down and put them into a game. Just by writing the book clearly enough for the AI to comprehend, so makes a game as instructed. Like commands that include "I want the title screen to have lightning and flashing text on it," or, "the first character you see says this." And (this) area has (these) things." And to help it along you may write down number codes for more specific graphics and the like.

## Part Four: Creating From Different Genres

### In an RPG:

### Imagine a game where you begin with entering or leaving a place. The mood is set right. It could be a calamity you are thrown into. Things may seem peaceful in the other hand. You have to look around awhile for the game to shift into a bold new quest. Maybe you've triggered a kind of sword in stone moment. Or maybe you are cued to investigate something.

### You may be funded by a King to help him (or her as a Queen.) You may start out already having money. Or you may have inherited it.

### You can start as a person that was a soldier, or magician, or a wonderer/ vagrant, as a prince or princess, or just a person given sudden responsibility. You may have come into an area with a friend or two and in investigating something you feel an urge to look more fully into it.

### The people are troubled. By something ominous. Or just seem to need a little help for something that turns out requiring a lot more. And if you like the whole game could be more easy going. In fact many games do just fine with only a little to say.

### You may have found to go far beyond the expectations of you and seem to be more needed that they realized. You could be "the chosen one," and so a fairy greets you and sends you on your way, informing you that you are to be of great help to the people of that world.

As for the graphics you can choose to make just one image for a whole area, a point and click thing to go from place to place. Or the player can maneuver it in overhead or 3D. You could do both in case the player just wants to get in and out more quickly sometimes. Or as in some games the places are entered into side- ways. The people of the town can be created into the style of kinds. A merchant with is own suit. An armory labeled accordingly.

### Within them merchants, save game people if you choose, the regular lot. No need to cover that. But each can be given any degree of animation. As a picture in a way. With head and upper body movement. Or standing. Running about in certain ways. The graphics of items for sale and used depends on what you feel is the best. You could get a good picture of them or they could just be added to your inventory after they are purchased.

### The way the character strokes matters a lot in how games are controlled better. Some have used swings, others, thrust. Some shields are automatic and aren't different from one to another. Others cover more area. I would say keep grinding and difficulty proportionate. But require a lot more for the better items. Give them what they need if they are at least doing so enough.

I've seen some NPC's (non playable characters) just stand. They don't move at all. A lot of them look just the same. And I've seen others leaning against the wall smoking with a pipe. I've seen some erupt into a dance. And I've seen from town to town in some games that the merchant always has the same face.

### Have a good way of showing things that seem "off." Having the player feel as such. It can be in different degrees subtle. The grass that can be used is the only grass that moves. And from there be creative. Perhaps that grass only moves in the moonlight. So then the player goes out in the moonlight and sees it moving, luck's it, and uses it.

### And remember that players can actually do very well at navigating loaded inventory screens. It's when they have no idea what they are used for when problems arise.

### Sound effects for one item or weapon to the next among others are an important consideration. The sound of getting money, finding something. But sound effects can also reveal the nature of something. For example to indicate where another piece is out. So if you hear the forest theme the other piece is there. And sound effects can potentially be used more creatively then they typically are.

### Battles range from enemies on the regular screen or put into a random battle one. Or a mix of the two. Sometimes they show you the enemy upfront. Other times sideways. Some in 3D. Some are turned based. Some RPG games having you maneuver in a grid when fighting. Others pull up a circle of four choices. They've been enhanced into patterns and time based ) either push a button at just the right time or wait just 5 seconds, stuff like that.)

### There are a lot of adjustments in these games to make the character just a little more powerful, to reduce weakness from specific things. To push forward in position for greater offense, and backward for greater offense.

### Older RPGs wouldn't let you simply go up to someone and talk. You'd have to pull up a menu and say "talk to." Often the characters move just a little slower than we want them to. Some NPC's get in you way and you have to wait them to move before you can pass through. Some show all of your characters like in a following row of four. While some have you see just one. And then there are RPGs that let you pick that one character to show.

### Some random battles are so frequent that they ruin the game. Others just don't let you progress in any desirable way. Like the graphics for magic are all too much the same. It may have a boulder fall for an Earth spell. Level two is just a larger boulder. Level 3 of it just an even bigger one. Or another problem could be that it gives you a choice to upgrade something but you just invest all the points in a single thing. No one ever really liked the idea that the more you use an arrow in your fights the better you become at it.

### One game has you knowing just where you are going. Others surprise you with the fact you can go to the moon or go deep into the ocean.

### There is a lot to be said about the relationships between characters. There is the one that is saved and come to be protected. There are those that betrayed you. There are those related. Those you didn't know were until later. There is the protector. There is the one that had something you need. There is the one that had a talent or flying ship you needed or certain access. There are those looking for revenge. Those that became a martyr. Those that become romantically involved. There are those who turned out half mythic creature or able to summon and other various things.

### And these are just ideas to consider being a part of your game and their different incarnations:

### A ceremony.. of a marriage, of a new ruler, of a sacred date.

### A celebration.. on a sacred day, a birthday, a victory.

### A "mythical" being.. whose power is robbed, sought out, or that's changed things.

### An ominous presence.. that's supernatural, that can't be understood.

### A legend.. of a person, of a creature, of a Kingdom, of a sword.

### A lost love.. and where they went.

### That treasure.. of legend, of great value, that's worth finding.

### Orders given.. To slay, to find, to leave, to fix, to obtain.

### A visit.. from a dragon, from a person, from a ghost, from a friend, from a King.

### A Homeland.. overtaken, pillaged, a threat, destroyed.

### A choice.. to rebel, to defy, to refuse, or to accept.

### A decision.. that's hard to come by, or handed down from the wise.

### Trying to find.. a powerful item, a lost friend, help.

### An adventure.. because things are to mundane, ordinary, or following after a legend, to find treasure, or as imposed on a person coming of age.

### And for these anything you can add to them.

### I've seen some great ideas used that include listing all of the hidden items in the game on the title screen. Seen some awesome gold carts. Title screens that set the stage and the mood of it perfectly well. There are some RPG games that were incredibly diversified in which you had hundreds of choices for from weapon to weapon, armor and items, "relics" magic, and summoning. Stories that could really pull you in, even bringing you to tears. I believe in fact that the most overlooked things in RPGs is the story. While some titles have a damn good story in every one made, others are simply bland. Not there at all, really.

### So in all this give the player great tools. Give them great characters, great graphics, the best system of things to work with. Surprise them, reward them, give them great control over things—like the characters they play and the things they use and how they are used. Make it fun for them and have them involved in it as much as you are able. In the end, these are what matter the most.

### A formula for a good side scrolling game

### As I've said it before: it's been seen that a great new idea came out. The first if it's kind. It hadn't had a sequel yet. In the meantime company after company tried to do the same thing with more or less success. Usually to less the quality of the original. They didn't try to make something unique really, just the same differently. And as for the idea that was imitated, that good new idea for a game, it's sequel out done it's original in every way. It was their idea to begin with. And the creative minds that originated it were able to do one better. Those that were simply lacking in creativity could not.

### A good side scrolling game should provide a concept to where the player is and what they are doing there. Or it can just be quarky, like a mushroom land with all sorts of strange things in it. Land of Dracula, land of robots, a theme of some kind gives cohesiveness. Don't worry too much about realism. In fact games are usually better without it (unless that it a part of the theme itself.)

### Fun mechanics are a must—like those from enemies or things that make you jump, swing, rotate, ride and fall, spring, burst out, and such.

### There are enemies that pester you. I'd avoid implementing them. Such as those that barge into the player at fast speeds. If you do have them then give the player ample opportunity to dodge them.

### Some game or games had base ball sprites throwing base balls at you. Sometimes they throw spears and other time cast spells of different shapes (rotating squares, circles, and triangles at you.)

### Larger enemies can come in two forms: those that move around and those that stand still when attacking. The pattern of attack from them all should be predictable. And fun in it's evasion, so to speak. And fair enough.

### One game would let you progress from one level to the next, only. While another gives you at least a couple of choices to go. Like to take the map upward or to take the lower path. Some lend well to replaying in order that all is found. Some are rich with many secrets.

### Some ideas have stood the test of time and should be used. Use them the best way according to what you are doing. As it best fits together.

### At the end of an overall level a NPC in the game may give you a gift or a title, a new sword or money, or anything else. At the end of one level they may be trying to get the highest score, depending on where they land. Or at the end of one are two doors. The top is harder to get into but if they do they get extra lives or something. And dispersed throughout are mini game opportunities to gain more equipment, lives, or whatever else.

### Power ups can give you a new suit like leather armor up to gold armor, an outfit of some kind. Player sprites can also double or triple like a shadow behind you that makes one strike of the sword into three. Characters can get smaller or larger. They can become their opponent or just take their power.

### Compile the best ideas from one to another, to many, making whatever changes you need for cohesion. Give enemy sprites the actions that lead to the player forming strategies against them. That must be taken out each their own way. And provide them curiosity over them.

As a summary it is hard to pin down just what makes a really good side scrolling game good. But these methods listed will go a long way. The player can understand where he is or wonder who he or she is in the game and where they are at. While it may be a world never seen it can still be an interesting one. The enemy sprites or forms can dazzle to more or less degree. The items can be good to hold and use. The exploration can be there in the right doses or just have the player lost. So maybe the best question to ask is would you like to be there? Would you spend a lot of time there? Or is it just too all ugly to begin with?

### The best platformers

### What game I can think of started this whole genre and took from a movie about aliens the best non-licensed game about a pre-existing movie there ever was.

### By definition a platformer has you going in all directions. The player chooses their own opportunity. They can proceed minimally from one area to the next. Or explore everything before doing so, gaining greater power.

### Some grinding may include going back and forth from one screen to another depending on where you are able to save. Some enemy sprites are made to rise up consecutively after they are stricken down. In other words reappear right after you kill them. Some have RPG elements that make grinding essential.. more or less of necessity. While others just have energy refilling elements that require much less.

### Its largely about what the player wants to see next. It's about them being able to proceed.

### Maps are essential in them.

### Some have you going ever upward, others all around, some deeper down. Some have you on top of a great castle, others deep into an alien world cavern. But there's no reason that you couldn't have things like an over world map in these and really turning a platformer into a more worldly adventure. Some have a mix of the two. Some have leveling up while others just have weapon and suit upgrades, and all kinds of mixes are possible. While you may include towns or not and more enemy based areas is up to you. Whether it is a quest to save someone or a people is one choice. Another choice is leaving it all up to you, like you are an assassin ninja or on some sort of mission.

It when you come back to a place and it wasn't quite like it was before that makes a good platformer. As does making the player more versatile. Making the enemies true enemies. Equipping you with items of interesting use. Items and weapons that improve your maneuvering and capabilities. Setting the mood. Keeping it intuitive. Things such as those make a good platformer.

### Adventure Game Goodness

### If I were good at making any game it would be this kind. Doesn't require so much story as an RPG. It is really simple really. You gain greater and greater access to the world or land you are in. Some items let you proceed. Whether it be to get into a new dungeon or to get through that dungeon. Hidden things. That's simple really too. If you burn this this will happen. If you play this hear that will happen. In short if you use this or that here a certain thing will happen.

### Puzzles are common in these games.

### Weapon upgrades, too. That you begin with the least powerful sword then the next one and the next and so on. Some weapons you don't even need to have to win the game. But they help.

### You can dig for treasure, fish for treasure, hack for treasure, uncover a sealed cave, or any number of things. You can take just about any real world action and use it in these games, in one way or another. Like using a net to catch.. a fairy. Like lighting a lantern.. and what are those used for? That's right! Lighting up a dark cave!

### The formula is different most of all according to setting. It could be a mythical land based most of all on dragon and wizard and elf lands. Or it could be a tropical land. It could be an alien planet. Or of sometime in the future. I'm sure if anyone thought enough about it they could base it on the real world.

### I'd suggest most of all to have good fighting mechanics in them and the coolest looking enemies you could think of. Compared to an RPG the story could be much more minimal, but it doesn't have to be.

### Think into what kind of health meter and system you wish to use. Whether it be a meter or whatever else. And what conditions you can add to that. How life energy is regained, what causes it to increase or decrease.

### Other things to consider are the particular weakness of enemies. If you will include magic. What neat tools you could use. Could be a mallet or could be a microscope. The best thing you can do is create a list of real world items and neatly for them in. There are countless possible possibilities. Like eye glasses.. they let you see things differently. Or a mirror.. it mirrors your character elsewhere.

### Whatever you have in the world you create can be used with the things that world contains. Like a boat to cross the water.

### You can have a forest. You can have people living in massive trees.

### You can cross by horse or horse carriage. Or car. Or magic. Or foot. Or with special shoe. You can fly with shoes with wings. Or large bird. Or winds. Or plane. The choices are yours.

### What I would come up with first is the type of land or world the player will be in.

### Personally when I'm playing this kind of game I don't want a ton of backstory. To go wander around a village full of people hinting that I'm the Chosen One.

### Often there's a crystal to get.. like four of them. Or special keys, Greater Keys, a raft to cross, the weapon you need to defeat the Corrupt King.

### Consider the layout of a village within them. You can have the merchant and the place to get cured. Your own home there. People with interesting things to say. Or helpful things to say. Or that have you do something. Or that have items they didn't have before. They can have inside them money and spell books and items that can only be gotten to with another item. They can have you perform a mini game. Can include gambling. There are many elements you can include within a town.

### Graveyards and tombs, massive trees and caves, isolated homes and towns, the desert, the frozen land, the forest, the island, the castle, the lake.. in other words, real life places made special.

### Enemy sprites don't have to just barge and attack. Nor all be human. Relatable is nice though, a familiar creature or animal for example. Even if those are sliced up. They can be statues that only attack you when you bump into them. They can be "stay out of my way" types, but otherwise harmless. The sprites can turn out to be friends. They can be followed to get to the right place. Like by color if suit you will know where they go, accordingly. They can be tricky in a clever way.

### And I'll reiterate taking real world elements and placing them in your game. Like glasses that each having you see the world in a different way. That one pair opens up and presents things the other glasses do not.

### All of this should be substantial advice toward making a great adventure game.

### Continuing with (hopefully) brand new ideas:

### (An Interlude)

### Original Ideas

### You can buy a tent that once you place it it stays there. "Camping areas" where you can rest and recharge.

### Different coins buy different things. Some used for one type of thing but not another.

### When you defend anyone they can be called on at any time to help. Or you can build a rank of people to help you who aren't much playable characters.

### Sneaking into an army to spy. Or into some sort of area to do so.

### Satellite images to peer down into a town or other area.

### Characters that offer you a price to sell what is in your possession.

### Merchants that build what you request them to from a very long list. The ability to have far more items, ones more unique and particular.

### Enemy sprites can take your power up and use it against you if you don't get to it in time. Or according to many are there you have to choose what will be your power and theirs.

### If you don't find hidden weapons in a level then the opponents in the next level will be using them.

### In a level you collect things, kind of naturally, and in the next level a merchant asks what you have for them, and with what they take you've made money or a trade.

### You can limit your enemies resources. You can reduce them into a point.

### You can call it a platform strategy game when you go around acquiring more assistance or change the nature of one area in various ways. For example hanging "the eternal lamp" in dark areas. Or collapse a bridge. Or seal a door. Find the keys bring them to a single character who will send others out to lock those doors.

### You could say collecting certain things to bring certain things together. To obstruct your enemies and corner them.

### Gives the player choices of how the next level or area will be. Like by checking off a list of things. For example level to be very easy or difficult. Of you choose the latter you'll be better regarded. Tell the game you are faster money or what weapon will be contained somewhere, and then play the next level in a more customized way.

To find a cure for the king. To regain his stolen ancestral crown. To be sent to bring him a ring or do him honor. To perform an act of honor and prove yourself a worthy knight. Or these for a queen, of course.

### One puzzle can be of a looping effect that you can't pass through without the right combinations of a actions.

### What special items you get determine where you go next. The harder they are found the better the next place will be. Has you collecting four of a kind that opens it's own passage. To open all four doors, or whatever you get first you must then get the other three of and the other ones are then disqualified.

### As an angel get your wings. Serpentine wings if you like. Those that you greet the most and help the most you may become. For example if you help a knight then you become one. Or differently if you help a dragon then you can become one. Or if you help a particular species then they will be at your disposal, one and all. Be it a dragon, and elf, a bear or wolf, or a the dwarves.

### "Visions" come up suddenly depending on where you are or what you are doing. Just like a nice cut scene that is cleverly put together. They tell you what to do like for a reward. And you'll either follow after it or not. And it may our e the story together in an abstract way. One full of parables and metaphors and the like.

### Having a wishing well and making wishes. Having a temple to pray for help. Be it a white or black temple. Memorizing words of spells like a paragraph long. Being given the right combination of action to complete a spell. Randomizing these to prevent cheating.

### A magic casting calculator that is possible if casting numerous different spells as things are punched in. Not so much numbers though numbers can be used, too. One that includes things like elements and shows possible weapons on your person that can be implemented. And maybe all new spells can be produced and added into you.

### At night time astrological signs—in the stars and there order, brightness and color, using the moon or moons to be told how to proceed or how things are at the moment. If a kingdom/ person is in trouble then a star may have gone dark. And maybe following a good star can make you wealthy.

Color stones or numbers that come up when certain things are around. They give you an idea of what to look for if you are near them or just if you are in any large place where they can be found. Will indicate if someone is in the town or not. If they are in the right place. Or just objectives, what you should come up with or places that have things you are lacking.

### A point and click adventure game can be like in a loop that has only one ending. You don't die. You just have to determine the right order of doing things.

### There can be the power to glance at an area. A limited one, maybe up to 5 seconds. It'll let you be more prepared, for one. Or maybe to better know where you should go. This power can come from different methods—an item or service you buy, or just available one game world day at a time. I think a good way to have this is as a crystal ball.

### And can be used in more ways than that. You can ask to see where a great sword is or a piece of something you need, at lesser and greater prices.

### You could adjust the power and appearance of an end level boss just by the course of actions you take. Certain potions can morph them into a weaker enemy. Can de-evolve them. Or that can be prevented. Maybe they've found an item you should have gotten first. Or a wizard wasn't stopped. Or enough of the bosses minions. Maybe you've obstructed their progress during the game and things such as that.

### Having "The Underground" in the game (those whose secrets must be hid) the player must try not to run across. Must try to stay out of there way. Night time monsters don't have to literally be them. Not zombies or vampires but people and dangerous groups. Or maybe you can be one of them doing everything you can to not get caught. Maybe the King just has a terrible curfew.

### At the top of The Mountain of Storms you raise your sword, lightning strikes it, and is given greater power.

### Spells go where the wind goes, as when an area is windy screens across from each other carry the spell more broadly.

### The Special Sun raises defensive power of "reflective armor."

### Collect The Crystal Eyes placing them into six slots. They are taken from the regular game world unto an outer planet.

### Collect The Magical Sands for The Magical Hourglass (s.)

### Magical threads of a magical tapestry.

### Being pursued, on the run. Chased down. Going into hiding. Evading those after you. Finding the right way around things and such.

### Reflecting the sun as a power, given to a shield or sword. Using the sun to charge them.

### Being given a throne as an endeavor. Fighting to be rewarded for one. That being the quest. Or a great palace as a reward.

### The reaper is always behind you. Following you. And you must defy him, trick him, and outdo him. If you succeed then immortality awaits you at the end of the game.

### Buying in game a subscription of items. Things that are automatically added, reoccurring.

## About Simulation Games

### From piloting a plane to building a city sim games are very broad in their scope. They can include even things like creating a theme park. As the more successful ones evolved, so did their complexity. A lot of time they have you doing multiple things at once and it is good to consider how much is on the players plate at any given time.

### Sometimes they require a lot of instructions. Some are easily enough understood off hand. But awfully overload you with more than just occasional instructions. It's so bad as to not really have you playing as being told what to do step after step.

If you want to make a game like this all you have to come up with at first is what you want the player to simulate. Could be a public place or circumstance, war based or talent to gain, a private place, a business or otherwise. Could be mining or a logging industry. A construction or scientific scenario. A medical one. Perhaps stuff of dealing with an epidemic.

### Creating towns or evolving a planet, putting things into order or being as a god to primitive civilizations. Warping space and time, concocting new Laws of Physics, time travel, interdimensional travel. Holding together the people of the world. It could be based on society, too, such as steering one in any direction you desire, and to deal with things like riots if you don't take care. As such you make the Constitution and see what results.

### It can involve engineering. It can be based on obtaining great game or money (or both) or success in any form.

### Could be based on other things such as:

### Space travel, restaurants, a profession, a company, treasure hunting, investments, missions and objectives, new inventions, personal pursuits, testing, adjustments, components of these, elements behind them, creating the best way, learning from mistakes and being able to correct them.

### So consider the best for the player to proceed and insert that within the game. What mistakes are truly mistakes. How to build upon what they have. What is detrimental. How the pieces fit. How they do not. And at the same time give them ample opportunity to learn and experiment.

## 3D Games

### They can be based on hell, alien Invaders, zombies, a haunted city and it's buildings, an alien world, a war, a secret agent's mission, or nothing really other than an imaginary place.

### There are missions usually, objectives to reach to complete level by level.

### There is a while world to delve into in these games. Particular RPG 3D games are immense in their world. Some have very realistically portrayed a life in Tolkien style or what ever similar sources they are pulled from whether very uniquely or not so.

### Different species like elves and dwarves, dragons and knights are within them. The player starts out taking a look at the world before him or her and the story starts to unravel. What was once the first objective lead to many more. By choice, deciding to pursue one thing or another.

### The herbs growing and the branches of trees, the caves and the towns, the towns and the people, bring the world to life. Giving as many uses as can come from it. Hidden within the world are greater and lesser treasures.

### The player must cooperate or defy. Align themselves with food or evil, as they choose. Sometimes they need help. Other times are betrayed by that help. And the other obvious assortment of things within them like enemies of greater and lesser strength, magic and swords, fighting, villages, Kings and Queens, towns, etc. The most important thing is how they are pit together and what they consists of.

### As is variety and the opportunity to explore, and so be rewarded for it. To build your character up. Yet not have one thing change to quickly for another. Not before the player had the opportunity to enjoy and appreciate it. Some degree of the leisurely us good. Especially if the game knows the gamer has been at it for hours.

### Too much and not to know what to choose, it isn't good.

### 3D Games should have a good camera, good controls, the best use of items (put emphases on making them useful and worthwhile) quality in that case is better than quantity. But a lot of quality of you could. Living environments are required for some. Other kinds of 3D games it is less needed. Storms and weather—go through the roster. Think about conditions caused by different kinds of weather. And Earth conditions to, whatever you like: volcanoes, earthquakes, and the like.

### As in a 3D RPG some inspiration goes a long way. Old superstitious fears for example. Like a witches Sabbath stumbled upon. And as I often suggest: think of real life things and how they can be incorporated. Whatever you got. Like mosquitoes in watery areas that hinder you with sickness. Or potions against them. Some are very well known like "the troll under the bridge" story. Or the "Sword in the Stone." But the majority of these stories have seldom been touched upon.

### Concepts are often done one better. Or just differently, however the creator of it wanted to use it him or herself. One does a massive spherical space ship. Another a cubicle one. And a lesser known one is about robotic arms that make more of themselves to the point where they made all of the matter in the universe into them.

I've played 3D RPG games that were simply to cumbersome to enjoy. Usually they tried to base it too much on realism. Like having to sharpen your sword. Or carry food. Or having to rest and camp out. Maybe looking for wood first. Being robbed or killed while you were asleep. Only being able to walk so far. Making you learn systems of using magic. I stead of just casting it. Going up down on a grid and around the corner. Some game makers really did seem like they wouldn't include anything that wasn't reality based.

Enchanting, Beautiful, Rewarding, Worthwhile, Incredible, Rich, and Otherworldly, are key terms that should be used in creating a masterful RPG. And have the story keep it all together. Keep it feasible and involving.

### And certainly there has been more successful 3D RPG games that didn't much have it's own world. Like just a general world map to stroll around. Not one where the very branches of the tree could be made into a wand. Ones that just had very plain looking towns with a minimal of things to get there. Some story advancement, perhaps. Be it in the skins or a wealthy Providence. The random battles would have perhaps just a few enemies to fight from one place to the next. Still there are nice touches to the over world map like entering into a tomb.

### The old ideas remained with them for most part but people still love these games to this day. There is a very strong market for old games.

### Some games did not go over well into 3D. The original 2D style was even returned to them. Or they'd attempt to make it 3D only partially. The ideas of them were all designed around 2D infrastructures.

### There is a lot less that can go wrong with making a first person shooter game. Good controls, idea weapons, a mission, a theme, is all that matters. That and good maneuvering. That can include ducking for cover or hiding somewhere. If these are done well then your FPS will turn out just fine, just as good as any other.

### The tone that an adventure 3D game sets us important. Like having a stone door close behind you and the next area is made visible. It gives you a sense of one place to the next. 3D complements somethings better than their 2D counterparts do. For example being thrust into the air after shooting a hook into it, being brought toward it. A sense of depth and height, of open terrain, most of all, is good use of 3D. Like looking upward at a castle wall, a very high one. Or falling further down. Just ask yourself 'what does 3D give you that 2D doesn't?' And use it effectively.

### Going up in a 2D tower doesn't make you feel that high up. So use of looking up and down should be considered.

### In 2D games you go on top of a home and get something to just the left or right on it. And you only see the side of it unless you do an overhead view.

### Because of improved hardware we have more options. An in game clock, day and night cycle, voice acting, wider areas, more detailed areas and the like. 3D Games are getting g better all the time. 2D ones are, too. At least as far as possibilities are concerned. It's like taking an old canvas and being given new paint and brushes.

### The world of 3D will move onto the world of VR. And like it is becoming with 2D, VR will do the same to 3D someday, I'm sure. There are emulators that can sharpen old 2D pixels, that can improve sound, auto translate text, and give a general 3D effect to old 2D games. For 3D games there are AI based programs that can improve the graphics.. effectively so, too. So any old game will be given new life and I'm sure that will continue to be so. AI may largely make new games from old ones, someday.

### As long as the world is not too bland or difficult to deal with in a limited or overly complex way, your 3D game will be good. Make it fun and involving. Immerse the player within it. And much of the advice I've already listed for 2D games may be used in 3D games. As long as the translation to it is right. Whatever makes it best in a 3D environment.

## Odds and Ends of Other Genres

### You may have noticed I am not mentioning strategy games. The reason for that is simple, I've never really played them.

### Among racing games there are those that stand out. They can either be realistic or not, more or less. Some will have you racing a car among others, passing by trees and cities. There are many themes that have been used in racing games. Using micro cars, carts that have cartoonish elements, Rock and roll music being played while you are racing, space based racing on spiraling tracks, among others. There is the overhead view. There's the 3D one, the over-head one. There's a side scrolling bike racing game.

### Among them are nitro boost. Vehicle upgrades. Cars that are faster but turn worse than the slower ones, and the ones in between. There are weapons the vehicle may shoot out. There are oil slicks to avoid. There are speed boosting bars. And bars that fill energy, without which you'd crash. Or the same being done with coins. And there are racing games that had you in the air, flying planes and things.

### Some objectives is to break records with time lapsed, others just to get to the finish line, by either surviving or in the top 3.

### In fighting games, a one on one style of them, there are certain coded munching buttons to perform a special attack. You may have a weapon in some or pick one up. You have a number of opponents to fight before you get to the top. Some are 3D and require things like rotating the thumb stick as fast as possible. Roster of characters can be from minimal to very large. In some you can fly. In others you are grounded. In some your weapon only comes out when pressing a certain button combination.

### They have their victory dance or opponent execution. Or making them into something silly.

### They have hidden characters that only appear under certain conditions.

### And certain effects like being able to change into all the other players during battle.

### I would suggest changes from the regular as best you could. Letting the player gain power instead of beginning with one and ending with one. The middle of the arena could be safe, and the outside of it more dangerous. Being able to design your own fighter. Incorporating RPG elements. Things that heal, use of magic, being rewarded for doing especially well. Having it be point based.

### Creating a team of fighters. When defeated you move onto the second. Like four of these.

### Being able to set certain conditions.

### Having particular weaknesses and strength. Like being immune to certain special moves.

### Recharging for power (as used often in other games) by holding down a button.

### Largely there are elements in other games that have been largely ignored in fighting games.

### You could have things to avoid while fighting, like a thing shooting out a beam sometimes. Or Rick's falling down from above.

### You could possess your opponent and become them. And they become you.

### The breadth of the screen could be much further.

### For double victories you could be rewarded. Like with a new special move. Or you may steal the opponents power. Like in a way by making contact of a special move.

About fishing games incorporate them into overall wilderness games. Like having a log cabin and avoiding bears. Making traps, hunting, using nature. Collect what you need and make it a type of wilderness survival game. Go into town for fishing lures and food supplies. Sell your goods. Take advantage of early light. Boat down the river. Travel farther. Make friends. Speak to the town folk.

### With the fishing have multiple rods and bait, lines, etc., And large areas to fish in. I like these games so I am mentioning them. But the overall concept of the outdoors could be used.

### Pinball games—I've seen a few that were really good. Good puzzle games, card games, casino games. They all fit into what I call a "leisurely" category. Beat them within 20 minutes of starting. Chess games, and sports games too fit into that category. Among these free use ones a very large number of games could be put into one game. Dots and boxes, darts, bowling, baseball, there are many. They'd either make sense together or not. Really it seems strange to mix some of these, but who cares?

### Casino games

### The casino games I've played have been very narrow and not at all graphically impressive. Perks for being a high roller and the ability to exist outside the lines of machine to machine Some little touches would do quite well like getting a better suit the more you win. Or carrying/buying a good luck charm. Getting psychic advice, using a horoscope. Following after the luck. Odds based on the machines that are yet to win, after being used many times. Having a bigger crowd around the more you win.

### Going from the poor casino to the better ones.

### As with game compilations we most often find compilations of old ideas—which us fine. But a more challenging pursuit would be multiple original games. They've existed before. And they make good games I would say. They are usually not original card games or something. Just a large assortment of mini games. Some of them as simplistic as an LCD game. Maybe spruced up ones. I like to say: that to take an idea that was poorly executed and do it better is in the spirit of game creation—better still it is to evolve them. Many potentially good games just weren't done correctly.

But back to mini games: the best I've seen was a board game that did well into transforming the concept into video upon the TV screen. Like I say: if you are going to imitate a real world idea into a game, have it fitted into the nature of a video game. What you can do with a video game take the advantages it brings over real life physical forms. Most board game video games are very generic, as they are just video forms of the pre-existing physical game. You don't have to make it a piece by piece copy. You can give it a quality, adding things to it, that only video can do. What couldn't be done in physical form doesn't have to determine the limits of it when transitioning it over to a video game!

### And to mention some of the things I forgot to: a more 3D based video game could have you betting on graphically impressive horse races or martial art tournaments, anything usually better on. Mini games are simple in their nature: like skipping rope, push the button to skip. Press another to skip faster. A lot of ideas may come from the old single screen or LCD based games—anything that simplistic. Catch the falling thing, don't miss too many, button mashing, things like that.

### Games of lesser tech:

It seems that we evolve backwardly sometimes. We had rather powerful home computers. They are big enough these days to pack quite a punch. But people went from gaming on them their cell phones, and that's good—we will evolve with lesser resources. Making a smart phone game has its advantages. They can incorporate GPS on the go. They are wildly more advanced than portable systems not too long ago before them.

### We have special game pads that can wrap around our smart phones. Ones of lesser and greater quality. But more choices, for sure.

### Assuming that your game design is based in small handheld devices like a phone you should ask yourself things like how you are going to use a smaller screen, and in which ways us portable gaming the best. We never before could say that we can play those old special board games in a car during a trip somewhere. And ask yourself too of other advantages, like GPS or microphones.

### LCD games are often under used, quickly and poorly made then how they could be, to less potential. While they can't be expected to dazzle some companies have made highly enjoyable games for them. Others just put together things entirely too dull. But that tech is highly underwhelming compared to what a regular small screen could do, as opposed to "calculator graphics." And So we have a small color screen capable of 32 bit graphics or greater. And LCD just gone out altogether except for maybe poker games or slot amusements.

### And people have these days very small computers, ones that don't even cover a whole hand, on which can be programmed, put together, connected to a TV, or used any number of ways. Some just emulate ROM games (which is cheating and spoils the fun.)

## Games that are stylized after their own world:

### Those in which you reside in a city, a world, or worlds. In which you are in some future world concept (i.e., a science fiction one) or act out the life of a gang member. As good as the AI in the characters are is as good as the game may be, or at least as in depth and versatile. Precious items are procured and forbidden tech is used, sometimes. There are those in the game connected to each other and you gradually fit in among them. You are connected to them in pursuit of money or power. Or perhaps just to set things straight. There could be a dictatorship looming above you and you may operate in the underground. Or a corporation or certain group of people that repress rights. Special technology of all kinds could be used in the game. The player can be placed into missions. Side people can have you looking for things you need or want. People helping you may grow in size. There could be a whole world to explore. The character can choose their clothing in-town. The can go on errands. The can procure what they need to advance. They can prepare themselves for a trip. Can do recreational activities like gambling (whether above or underground) play sports, play unique card games, too. They may set up a little business. They may sell things. They may be asked to perform certain tasks. They can just look around the world and observe it. They want to raise their rank maybe. Maybe the better they do the better off they are. They can take risks or play it safe. They may be trying to become the most powerful group. They may be trying to escape in another land. They may be going around asking questions to get answers. They may be hiding in a park. They may choose from any number of groups to join from good to bad and in between. They may be on an expedition to find a relic or undersea treasure. They could be assembling things for the creation of a powerful item.

## A Mental Hospital Simulator:

### Inside the Halls of the Asylum you find the upper doctors you simply do not want to mess with. Below them are nurses that could inform of your behavior to the upper ups. You have choices inside. Crazy people to talk with. There are fights to avoid or get into. There is times that would put you in a rubber room. And when the doctors are around you should be on your best behavior. Your privileges will increase. You can start playing basketball and other games in the gym. You can then walk through the lot when getting your food. And if you want to attempt it you can try and escape. Groups are there to teach you valuable life advise and you can either attend them or not. Some have you doing art. At the ring if the bell you take medication. Or other things. You talk to the doctors as persuasively as you can.. or be subtle.. And the objective if the game is to get out as early as you can. Riots can occur. When people are troubled enough. And if you do awfully enough in the game they will lobotomize you.

### The game gives you funds, like once a week you are given money to buy things that can be useful in trading and things. To make friends. You can also call relatives to bother them into sending things over, in material or monetary form. Another activity is playing music with the crazy people, a guitar, a flute. Buy a stamp and send a letter home. You may get lucky. You may gain support. Or you may just get a little extra money.

### If doctors are abusive you can report them. You can file a complaint. Then they may be removed and things could be easier on you.

### If you are pacing (walking around) too much, you are punished. If you bother someone you may be too, especially if they warn you not to. So go about with these in mind.

## Part 3: Miscellaneous Things and Additions to the Previous Things—

### If we are going over past failures of games it is just because the product wasn't any good. Though there are those that were but not given a chance. Retro gamers call them "hidden gems." Whether they just weren't up to par with their competition or contain broken controls, or just don't spark enough interest, they never went far. Sometimes the port was just too way off.

### As for hardware, most failures came from one of these: too advanced is too pricey, lack of support from game making companies, the composition had better controllers, a cart is more limited to a CD in the ways that really count, or the games for them were awful.

### One side scroller will have you jump around and frolic, sliding up and down and climbing, bursting through barrels, Hopping on springs, throwing the enemy, while another just has you doing maybe one or two of these, and turns out to be very bland.

### For some game making groups the process is a party. It is done in the joy of creating something good. And they have behind them people who know what they are doing. No one wants to be on a losing team. The losing team just wants to get something out on a deadline and are only concerned with instant, though by it's nature temporary, success.

### But let's take them and make them better. One by one. Breathing into them the life they should have had.

Game designers are asking all the time "how can things in the world be made into a game?" The first approach that should be taken is to realize it's a game. It is a game version of the real world that fits it in best as such. You may ask yourself what makes a world better and more interesting than Earth? What can we do and see there? What seems magical on Earth that we can include?

### We do it all the time. We look around and think how can we make this all more special. The world goes by it's own rules. You won't fi d any book that can let you bring down lightning from the sky. That's why we have movies and stories of dragons and things. Don't have them here.

### That's why a game having you be a rock star with a toy guitar was a perfect idea.

### And as games become more immersive, smarter and more realistic, they may as well be considered a second reality. To be inside the android's head.

### The different ways to produce a game are abundant. Many of the older styles were done by singular people. And these days game making software let's you make complex games fairly easily.

### There are game making software to produce a game for many of the most favorite systems. You tell what you want certain things to do and where they will be for most part, even programing things in such as chance. To put text up where you want it and menus, and all else.

### Then they can be put into a cart, programed into a CD, a floppy drive, or just kept digital.

### Here is a list of questions you might like to ask yourself:

### Is the game entertaining enough?

### Is it understandable enough?

### Are the controls and menus easy to use?

### Are the weapons and items fun to use?

### Are the graphics appealing?

### Are the enemies of a good design?

### Is the player rewarded?

### Is the music very good?

### Is the game not too simple and plain?

### Is it rich in content?

### Does it lend to exploration?

### Is it well connected? That is, are the pieces and components of it put well together?

### Can anything be made just a little better?

### Is what you have in it working, or should you cut it out?

### Is the story a good and compelling one?

### Does it evoke emotion the right way?

### Are some areas just too frustrating to include?

### Is any one thing in it able to be improved?

### Are too many things thrown into one place where in others they are inadequate?

### Is it fun? Is it involving?

### It is like a good meal. The spices are just right. It doesn't burn a whole in your mouth. It isn't to hot or cold. It is served up just right and worth taking the time to enjoy.

### If there is no reason to move forward and no wish from the player to do better than they have done before then repeated playing of it is unlikely. However if they find interest in things like the items, the people and places, and given ample reason to go into the next place, they will find themselves there and enjoy every bit of it.

### The earlier areas can be more leisurely. It can give the player a sense of how they should proceed. Of how they may learn to play. Or otherwise it just may be too much on the plate.

Unconditionally there will be different degrees of appreciation for your game. Even though the majority may love the game and it becomes a classic, there may still be some that detest it. Don't let it discourage you. Ask of your critics what they felt could have been better and simply come out with a new version. Start with a draft, a fought start, and go from there. And remember: two heads are better than one.

### Do quality control. As if you were a health inspector for video games.

## Commonly used ideas:

### Vacated towns full of homes that you can enter and ransack. Some needing keys. Maybe not easily gotten into.

### Lands full of most and fog. Rainbows and night time stars, and the mystery of a star far away. Puzzled scientists and trying to make sense of everything.

### The nature of the universe is changing and what was once a law of physics no longer is.

### A monstrosity being formed by nature. By science maybe, or through a rite.

### Being expelled from your Homeland but returning a savior.

### A rush to get to something before any one else does.

### The loss of a precious material that saves life. That keeps the world alive. A fountain, a crystal. Or a doorway that was once sealed bit now has been opened, and monsters coming forth. Or them coming from another world or dimension.

### To be tricked into setting them free. To be guiled into letting them loose, and now all hell breaks loose.

### A greater ability to toy with your opponents. Casting spells that just screw with them. Casting spells that just toy around with them and turning them into whatever you wish to.

A lengthy list of spirits you can summon. Pages long. Having many to find. Earning their support. Having them evolve. Investing them with armor, spells, magical items and things instead of just you and your party. Making them more like playable characters.

### More job titles than are currently used. Like a King. He can collect taxes and us above the law. A shape shifter, a spirit, a jinn, a trickster.

### The story is sometimes split into more stories. You play the part of one in it's own area, then the part of a character in another.

### And sometimes the world of the game depends on who you play with. Each character let's you do the things that you only can with them.

### With some you play there's a different game. They can fly, or hover, they go faster, or are stronger. And with some of these comes some pretty intricate strategy.

### There are cheap ways to diversify the game and yet they have a good effect. Like just changing colors or appearance. Or a slowly setting sun.

### One good game had the great idea of chasing around ghosts on a horse and capturing them. Capturing things can also include funny looking bugs and the kind you see everyday, or fairies. Or a jinn put inside a bottle. Or a spirit that you suck into a machine.

### There is starting over from scratch in some games. That you and your team were separated. Or what you had was lost. Or that it was taken from you. Could have just been that after the player dies they lost their power ups. Or could be that the world was rocked with devastation and you awoke on a little island.

### Fighting while you fall down a waterfall. Or going through the waterfall. Or a leap of faith. Where the river leads you after many bends. Or a waterfall at the base of which is a great cavern.

### Having the stealth to move across safely. Sneaking in. Avoiding contact with sprites, including any eye contact. Passing the soldiers. Going about on roofs. The back door. An unknown corridor. A sewer.

### Learning a new sword technique. Spinning. Shooting beams from them. Slashing. Multiple strikes. Piercing through. Targeting and attacking consecutively.

### Scores and scores of magical fluids to deposited in bottles. That raise health and magic. Or defense, offense, speed, that make you float. That enhances your abilities or changes your environment. Or just a jar of holy water.

### Gathering in one area for The Great War. At a sky high tower. On top of a great mountain. On a great plane. The placed rumored of where good and evil will meet for one last battle.

### More quest for the sake of Greydom (or Graydom) than for good or evil. As such a quest not for the victory of good or evil but for the Gray. Becoming a Gray Knight instead of a paladin.

Have interesting boss enemies in RPGs always. Actually they all should be well drawn and animated. Have the player need to adjust their tactics in order to win. Have them change form and go along with a theme, like a wall moving forward that you must stop on time. Or that pesky arm that does you more damage. Or the enemy that changes its weakness.

Transportation: it can be a car or truck, a Jeep or motorcycle. A train or a bus. A taxi or a flying bird. A horse or an unearthly creature. Can be a space ship or jet. There are many possible forms of transportation you can put into a game. Even a magical portal. And a boat.. and a raft.

### Shoes that let you walk on air would be cool. I don't mean that just let you fly up and down. But ones more used like an imaginary staircase. Or that let you control exactly the direction you want to go in.

### Story twists can include betrayal, an unexpected event, the tables being turned, an unknown relative, a trick, a self-sacrifice, an unexpected ally, person was possessed, had hidden magical gifts, inherited greatness, changed their nature, getting help that saved them from what was otherwise impossible, being lied to, conspiracy.

A build up to an upcoming thing is always a good thing to do. Stuff of legend. That great power. The sword in the Stone, The Greatest Spell, The Lost Kingdom.. stuff of legend. Things most say are impossible but turn out to be true.

They all have level ups. Going from 1-99. But there could also be evolution with these in, say, every ten levels. By the time you reach 100 then, you've evolved to godhood. Every ten levels could give you a new set of magic or a new talent, or greater stature. You start at fire 1. At level ten it turns to fire 2.

### There could be a library of games within the games. In areas of books and as such each town you go to will have it's own special game to find, or a set. Simple mini games and stuff as things you can find like treasure in an RPG.

### A search engine kind of thing within the game can pull up all kinds of information like where anything in the game can be found.

### Species of healing plants, species of poisonous ones, ones with magical effects, one to feed summoned creatures, according to appearance can be collected.

### You can rent out items rather than purchasing them. Or make deposits. Or trade two outdated things of your party for one good new item, as you were just going to forever unequip them anyway.

### Changing the entire game world could be because the previous one was put to ruin, the new one was a more evil dimension than the light one, or the map could change from one set of levels to the next. Sometimes the player goes to the moon. Sometimes to an underground land. Or a cloud land. And in many games you just have restricted access until you find the right item to proceed.

### Some magical items work on a timer. They last from a few seconds to a minute or so. Or until magical power is depleted. Some enemies cast a spell that leaves you with a little time to beat them in breaking the curse. Some curses have an I'll effect on you every step you make.

Cursed items are sometimes present. That when you open or use them a great monster is inside. Or that they could be powerful if the curse was broken.

### Some magical rings work very well in casting auto magic. They adjust stats or have you protect those low on HP. They let you double cast magic and make two of yourself for double the power. They shield and protect or augment your power in some way.

### There is the helper along the way. It could be a bird that flues up to you from time to time. Or a sage. Or a special message sent through telepathy. Could be a fairy. Some of them help the story along and have good advise. Others must think you are plain dumb.

### You get a raft but later you need a boat. You get a hover craft across ragged areas. You get a ship but it is lost. Or you need one that can go to the moon. You get one item that helps, bit later you get one that helps the same way but more.

### Things unexpected can come in the form of a treasure chest containing a monster, a powerful sword suddenly breaking and needing repair, a less common random battle, learning new spells based on level ups, a power up like in a side scroller that is only in one area of the game, being deposited suddenly with a lot of money, a city once hidden appearing from nowhere, or an area of the world below you that you had no idea existed.

### At the end of a level, a battle, or area, different effects could be made. Sometimes you get extra points or a mini game depending on where you land. Sometimes you fall from the sky with a wand in your hand. Other times you just touch an orb and continue. And sometimes you leap and circular dots circle around you. A cut scene may follow it. A victory may include leaping up and down. The defeated opponent may just disappear, or dissipate into fragments with a booming sound effect.

### Inventory can be on a limited basis or as stocked, still more or less limited. Some games let's you have just one item at a time while others may give you a dozen, and some, hundreds. They may appear overhead or just in a sunscreen. Or just the screen before a level, giving you choices if you want to use one before entering.

The roles of the ones you play as can be, among others: a protector, a wanderer, a treasure Hunter, one sent in a quest, one trying to save another or a group, an explorer, a reluctant soldier, just a person who wants to tag along, a person that has no else place to go, one needing help, one on a mission, a rebel, or a person thrown into matters above him or her.

### Interlude

### Retro Video Game History:

### Among one screen games are games that have you fighting in patterns. Tennis kinds of games were the earliest ones. And not always literally one screen. But based on just a few each of limited design. There was evasion incorporated. While enemies were either falling from the screen getting lower and lower faster and faster, or a thing or groups of things chasing you around in maze form. You fought for immunity all you could with a special item. There were safe areas here and there. There was a safe path, sometimes one that altered requiring a bit of strategy. And to escape into an area that was safer was common. To reach the highest part of the screen. Getting help here and there. With enemies moving in different ways: up, down, left, right, diagonally and in circles.

### Then came basic 2D going where very much more could be added to this. We then had the player going left to right, most commonly. Some very imaginative minds created some great games with these new hardware abilities. Games had music. Synthetic sounding, but present. And for the first time they could have stories. A new controller layout was needed. Save features became necessary. With them you could continue on your quest and play more in depth games.

### The previous era of gaming hadn't any quality control over it and so any game could be released for them. Gamers got screwed over and the market was in shambles. Presenting them in a new way became necessary. And making sure that the games had a level of quality among them was, too.

### They wanted better effects in their games. But the hardware was very limited. They'd try for environmental changes, pseudo-3D, things the 8 bit era couldn't do. They had little to work with but still came up with some attractive graphics sometimes. And as the game carts of the time were improved and the hardware was better known, better things could be done. Using every trick in the book they even made some portable games that still pack a punch to this day.

### Peripherals became more idea for the 8 bit era. The games were just enough complex to allow for them. Like them or hate them some were a lot of fun. Others didn't work like they claimed to. There was a lot of motion sensing. Then there was the toy gun and games for them. Touch pads, multi taps, and lots of gimmicks existed.

As for portable gaming it had become possible to have good games that could be swapped out and changed.

### Game making had become much more intricate already. You could have dozens of different levels each with many screens instead of just playing the game in one or a few. The graphics within them were more developed, and how the game played out from one object to another.

### The 16 bit era came next. Many old ideas were reused and made incredibly better. Having more seemingly orchestrated music. Giving the player good looking homes and villages, allowing for more colors and details. The games themselves were bigger. The enemies in them could be far larger and more intimidating. And more controls were possible with new gamepads.

### The arcades were breathing their last breath. Certain fighting games were still popular but little else. Those were moved over to the home consoles and the market with them. Fighting games were very popular at this time. And for a time RPG games shined.

### The 32 and in some cases 64 bit era followed. But it was a rocky start for many. There were once popular console makers that just couldn't get in the market well enough to stick around. Carts were going out. CDs became the standard. 3D games were now possible. And the way to make them was of a brand new understanding. Some were very basic. Others were quite lush with environments and things. CD offered more space and better music. And again a new controller was needed, most of all the thumb stick.

### Some games went very poorly into 3D for the first time. Embarrassingly so.

### Games were needing large teams to create them.

### Fighting games moved into 3D. As did most other genres. To at least have a touch of 3D they felt, was necessary.

### There has never been a guarantee that any one company will be best in the market and remain that way. While 2D games were the expertise of one company or a few, those games may not evolve well. In the days of 3D first person shooters have reigned supreme. And those kinds of games were not even made in the past.

### So the market was born and brought up with these. We are still in the 3D era. The gamepads are mostly the same. The games are more in depth but still generally the same in their nature.

$200 for an old 2D console.. and about the same for a single 16 bit system that included a game. That's before inflation. But now there are remakes of them packed in with dozens of games. With wireless controllers too. At what would once cost thousands and take up a lot of space is a hundred modern bucks and tiny in size.. like the size of your hand, and they could go much smaller if they wanted to.

Then there are rip off devices. Like ones loaded with ROMs. Having hundreds of games on them. Being able to hold thousands. Played portably. I do not recommend them because that takes all the fun away. Once you have everything you want nothing.

### There is a very large community of retro gamers. There are many thousands of videos of them online from play-throughs to glitch expositions. And retro games are being improved these days due to new tech and software. Giving an almost 3D effect to a 2D game or sharpening it's graphics. So much graphical improvement to impress. Art is collected for these stuff. Shirts, dolls and things too. And some of those old games are incredibly valuable. Like the sought out rare titles that are sealed. Or games of which only a few dozen exist.

### And new games for old systems are being made. Or else hacks and reprogramming of them. With modifications that the original gamers of them would have loved to have.

### Back to the regular topic:

### Villains come in all shapes and sizes. Some made have been entirely unique, some represent old ideas, a mix perhaps. And there is a lot to say about villains. They may have super powers. They may have an army behind them, a group, a gang, a cult. See have been about clowns. Like evil ones or just crazy ones. Some have been taken from mythos. Or old stories like Dracula. In video games they are often animals. A turtle, a crocodile, a toad, a pig man. And there has also been: powerful wizards, a Sorceress, aliens, super minds, scientists, and martial art masters.

### They have an array of schemes behind them. While they are seeking or keeping total power you are sent to make things right. And while you may fight on a moral basis they do not. Some of them may be plain evil as a type of game has it. In other types of games you know little to nothing about them. They are just the last boss. Maybe they stole something from you. And are much just in cartoon form.

### Their foes of you can be legendary or other worldly. Full of great powers and inhuman. With a dash of the eerie and spooky. They play there part as their strange nature comes into play.

### The primary villain can gain more and more power until it becomes godlike. Or be vested with a natural source of power leading them to use it in any bad way. They have the greatest magic, powers, weapons, devices, vehicles. The most wicked appearance. The most intimidating one.

### They usually have a particular way to defeat them. They may be weak to but one weapon in the whole game, or they are stricken in that red dot on them style. And sometimes go from one form to another, maybe having four.

### All ng the way they have put every obstacle in front of you that they could have. The level leading to them is full of all kinds of evil. It's to reach the top, go through a course of statements, and to deal with an enemy that cannot be changed.

### Give the final boss a personality, dazzling power, a build up leading to him, her, or it, and transformations if you like, their escape from time to time, and great weapons that only they could defeat.

### But if you are making a more simple games then a simple enemy will do just fine.

### The resources of the land (or level, areas) can be stumbled on or only found with a lot of searching around. A merchant may be in a train or residing in a forest to help you along the way. And friends may return to you at an unexpected time. A pearl in the ocean, precious metals buried, trees whose branches make great wands, dust of magic power, herbs in the field for magical purposes. And these things can be taken and used as is or put together in a form of alchemy. In a swamp a sword. A stone in a rocky area that has power. Looking for a lost ring that though it is hard to find is powerful. A spider that weaves magical cloth. A dragons whose scales make a shield. Or a creature providing the same.

### Something in a basement of a home. A key found in one place but used in another. Like a key to a home. A fallen knight in a field with a knight offering you his sword for help. An area of once a great battle where armor and things have been left behind.

### A place of great power where certain spells can be cast but nowhere otherwise.

### A fountain or spring can restore energy. And while some games have multiple ones others are scattered around. Some were just there where a programmer felt they were needed, but being in only one spot on the whole game. Fairies have been used to restore energy, revive life, too. Spells and items can restore energy. That includes dropped items. Some may restore it as time based. When an item used like a ring counts down to zero, that's all you get! Some after battle times restore it, or when you reach the next level. Some towns folk do. Usually at an inn, buy not only. And sometimes you just talk to an NPC and they say, "hey! I'll restore your energy!"

### "Leaps of faith" are sometimes put into a game. It may be very literal, like jumping from a cliff. You may think you'd die if you do. But it turns out you landed in a very special area. I've seen before things being timed. You had a couple minutes to get out. But then the game asks if you want to wait another few seconds. You want out. But if you wait then a former party members comes up to you and you leave together. That character would have not been playable afterward if you didn't. The game may ask "look around more?" As a hint that you are about to leave something behind.

### Potions can come in purity. The more pure they are the more powerful. And a few percent more or less can make a big difference. Whether it be for attack magic or for curing the higher percent of purity the better. And percentiles can be used to formulate your own concoctions.

### Buttons can be used to indicate things through sound. For example a "yes" sound or a "no" sound, or a "you are close" sound plays when you press a button on the game pad. Hold down L and R together, or justly button A, whatever you like. So if you want to know if you are close to someone or some thing, pressing a button will give you a sound, accordingly. One small theme of music per question answered.

### Spells of great distance are not commonly used. But they could be used to effect the game from very far away.

### From one game to the next sequels have sought to do one better. There has usually been that characters have been added to it. Sometimes the same boss, sometimes a new one. E tea power ups and abilities were added to make the game more fun. The story may have stayed the same or was adjusted a bit. The playable areas were increased in size. The new hardware allowing for far better games, or at least is the hope. But there comes a time when things had changed so much that they cannot be recognized as its own title suggests. And new ideas are just gimmicks that came from all of the leftovers.

Good games are loaded with extras. Things that are only in one part if it. But so many of them that they fill up the whole game. Like a third that at one point in the game could steal the guards clothes to sneak in by. Or that one time when if you walked up to a stove and pressed a button it burns you. That one instance, that one time you could do something in the game but nowhere else in it. Like jump into a large boot and hop around or one enemy that steals from you when no other ever did.

### Games haven't always been based on simply computerized graphics as we know them. Some were interactive movies. Some were vector based. Some were LCD or just lights. Some effected a virtual experience with mirror tricks.

### Old styles of game making has far greater potential than before in terms of depth. Where it once was the had to cram in what they could, there is a lot of space now besides. There is room for far wider areas with more in them. Music can be orchestrated for it. And cart adjustments could have it fitted in to some extent. I think though it is better to have it somewhat plain. As far as the look of it goes, anyway. Cut scenes and graphical improvements made but they should retain the feel of the 16 bit era, 8 bit if you like. Some of these new games have in them some goofy voice effects.

### It's really an art of balance contrasting one with another.

### Most spells are based on the elements and guessable things like poison and healing. But there could be simply "color" spells, that strike twisting lightning of colors. Say that a for is mostly green, a green spell can be used on them. That is to say, the green spells effect the green things in any play area as the programmer would have it.

### Among non typical kinds of games (and the typical are very typical) are games that would have you playing a guitar, raiding an animal, a farm, exploring the deep sea, going around photographing, games of an educational basis, brain power games.

### Games that are transferred over to video games: like TV game shows, or Sudoku, some kind of card game, a number of sports, a board game like Chess, are all easily programmed but tons of fun, and do well enough.

### \----

### The process of making a game can be as a rough draft fitting pieces as they are needed to be, as they are called to. You may go back and find that something could have been done better. Naturally you don't want to split hairs. Good enough should be left alone. Then, if you need to spend more time on something else you can. You may be able to do it alone. Or you may need help. You can use a game making software or learn programming if you do not know how to already.

### Work things out on paper. Save your notes. Use those that were the best. And be aware that although something may seem the best idea at the time it may not seem so later. So returning to your notes tells you that, think about it. Adjust it or change it to be something better.

### You may decide to put it in a cart or a disk, as a file that can be used on a computer. Just a digital file. Or co rained within it's own hard drive. Our choices are increasing.

### The best games come from passion. Not from lack of desire. People have collaborated and sought the best possible experience out. The most suitable musicians were found and used and that made every bit of difference. Somethings make the best difference. Like the theme of the overall game. Like the graphics. The items and controls.

### I always wanted to program a game. I've never been able to. So I did the next best thing. I created a book of ideas for others to use and hopefully come up with a great game from them. I've showed examples of how ideas were used before. And really just about any idea has been used before in some way or another. So I made it a book of choices.

### For me early on I wanted to make a game. In my 8 bit days seeing what was there before I'd take to paper and try one better. My ideas weren't that great. I was only 10 years old. But one idea had potential. A major game company told me that they were interested in the concept. They sent paper work to me to establish my own copyright. My idea was for a two headed skeleton. One shot fire, another shot ice. This was in the 8 bit days were general ideas were very simple. But when I got the paper work I presented a whole new idea altogether- instead, and they rejected it!

### I'd say "keep on a simple pace." Do not flood an area with ideas. Do one thing that is simple enough and onto the next. In that way you will keep control over the overall design. Otherwise you may decide to add this and that, then ten more of that, and more, until things are out of balance. Rotate your ideas, you could say.

### Rip off artists take the same story but with a different theme. Which would be fine, but it never results in a superior product.

### So e games are awful for just one reason. If that one reason wasn't so then it could have become a classic. But the controls are broken or something else.

### Some game makers are masters at adding extra touches. Just slight things that make the components of the game better.

### At some point things are as good as they are going to get. But to continue on them for the sake of perfection changes them around.. changes ideas around that were originally it's foundation.

### Some foes are plain. They just charge at you like in a fast pace of walking. Might have a weapon in hand. But aren't really anything special.

### Lots of content can lead to over complexity, bit it doesn't have to. They can be picked or choose from. They don't need to be learned about one by one in complicated ways.

### For some games like an RPG story is essential. It made one series succeed and another fail, or fall far below it.

### Some levels had been made of just a splash of ugly colors. While others have made them very nice looking. Like one with green bricks, another gray with cracks and vines and red brick doorways.

### Some required pestering things from you. Like the meat you carry for health automatically rots. Or you are required to camp and required to just the right amount. In other words realism was put in them that is pestering to the player.

### Or the gamer can be left totally frustrated by precise jumps needed.

### Some games win you over while others push you away.

### The story can be totally involving but predictable enough. Could leave you guessing and awaiting the next steps. Can evoke emotion or be sappy. Could pull you in or could be shallow. In any case the pace of it should be just right. Don't just brush over significant occurrences.

### The more you know the more you understand. And there are a lot more ideas for games to pull from than there was before. Find the right mix. Do o e thing but in a way that is better. Try to one up your competition in every way, just make sure it all fits together desirably.

### Usually with more simple games there is among titles very weak ones with maybe one great one. Maybe the programmers just wanted to push out a fast game. The idea behind them was simple, after all. But then among all those is one very good title that is a staple for genre. Like a casino game for example. One had the works: multiple slots, different tables, more appealing graphics, and so on. The game size of this stuff is so minimal but one would just have one building to roam around in. I guess you could call that "improperly keeping things limited."

### Great programmers learn tricks to defy the hardware. And lots of good things can be learned from them. They may have created pseudo 3D or make music that was thought impossible on that hardware. And all they used were tricks to get around it's inherent limitations.

### Especially for ports. Taking an arcade game back in the day and doing all you can to make it look as good as the arcade version. While some take the approach of "this isn't a kitchen, you'll eat what I serve," another knows that the fans will not accept a far inferior product.

And remember, save your time for the things that matter. Some things are just fine and good enough as is.

### Some games need extra elements added to them to make them work. Like a special move. Or as simple as holding up and A to throw a weapon. While people may want a simple idea to work it may need a thing added to it in order for it to do so. One weapon may have been originally intended but going back on programing they realize a different kind of weapon will be better overall. Or just with sprites. It needed a hat.

## Conclusion

### I hope I've provided ample ideas for you in making a game.

### You may just flip around in its reading anytime you need to brainstorm.

### This is a public domain book. You may use it in any way you wish. But singular rights for it are not given. You can use it freely with or without crediting me. With or without selling it. The EBooks of this book are free and may be shared with whoever you wish.

### Happy programing and may you do well with what you make.

Adam Jeremy Capps

### 2019

### San Francisco, CA.

