XMAS cart 2011 ideas thread
Time to start thinking about ideas for the game on the XMAS cart.
Anyone who gives me what I think is great idea (even if it isn't used)
will get a free cart. There are some requirements:
Anyone who gives me what I think is great idea (even if it isn't used)
will get a free cart. There are some requirements:
Must be simple, both to program and to play. Scrolling is fine, split screen scrolling likely isn't.
Must be at least simultaneous 2 player, preferably 4 player.
No zapper, power glove, ROB, etc required. Must be able to play with normal controller.
Must be a complete game idea, not just "shoot some stuff".
Must be XMAS related theme!
I will not be updating this list but games already been done or considered:
Snowball fight
Santa dropping off presents
Ski Free type game.
I will not be updating this list but games already been done or considered:
Snowball fight
Santa dropping off presents
Ski Free type game.
Comments
Maybe after you beat it, there's a picture of a sexy Mrs. Claus in some Christmas lingerie.
Snowman building game.
Screen is a snowy maze with 4 people racing to collect parts to build a snowman.
Each time a snowman is completed, the parts reapear in random places. Winner gets a point, Players must start over (maybe the losers could keep 1 peice each to give them an advantage for next round)
Could have:
Bonus parts that are not required, but you get extra point if you have them in your snowman
Ability to close doors / move some walls / alter the maze somehow to screw up other players
Special items that appear randomly to make you go faster, give you a donkey kong hammer, let you move a maze wall, whatever
????
Profit!
Edit: fixed er up a bit
Edit2: you could also have the parts not all be on the screen at once, so say you only start with 2 carrot noses, 4 ass parts, 3 hats, 10 coal buttons (you need 3 each or something) and say the carrot noses get snatched up quickly by the other players, they don't come back for X number of seconds but you don't need to get them in order. You can't pick up parts you already have enough of. heh
EDIT:
Never mind
Santa/Elf Sleigh racing ala Battletoads speeder pig intestines level. Trees/fallen trees can be the barriers you crash into/jump over and you jump over snow filled ravines. End of the level is delivering the presents.
damn. you beat me to it. (the basic idea, not exact)
have santa working on some toys in his workshop in the center of the screen. then have a bunch of kids trying to bumrush the workshop to get the toys. Then use elves and even reindeer defend santa's workshop (maybe by throwing candy or something at the kids to fend them off).
or, since i think the elves actually make toys, the elves can be making toys while 2 (or 4) players are defending and you can choose from Santa, Mr. Claus, Rudolph and Frosty.
Where santa has lost his presents and you have to guide him through mazes to get the gifts. Should be a quick easy homebrew type game. You could even add the element of reindeer being lost, dogs and children trying to find Santa, etc. I picture an overhead shot of the maze and you controlling Santa. It could be simple mazes, randomly generated mazes, etc. You could also make some enemies like the kids and dogs and give santa powers. I would say this should be an easy one to set up and you can add more too it depending on how much time you have.
Santa's Gift Delivery:
You see Santa jump into a chimney and then you play as Santa with his bag walking slowly through a house to drop off presents at a tree. There could be obstacles like sleeping children, sleeping dogs, marbles or other stuff on floor. Basically it's you guiding Santa to the tree and possibly back. It could be the same type of layout with randomly generated obstacled to guide through. This would make it fun to pop in and play a few basic levels. You could also make it progressively more difficult for every delivery made and keep track of deliveries and all time high scores. I'm not sure if that would be too much effort to get done in time for XMAS though...
I hope those help and possibly get me a cart!
You could have a small selection of 3 or 4 mini games: (or just any one of these ideas)
1. Flight School: You have to make rudolph fly as far as he can (sort of like the Mate Toss in caveman games, or one of those angle/power cannon style games) (can be played 2 player, but not simultaneously)
2. Accuracy Training: Rudolph and Santa fly over a series of houses at the bottom of the screen, Pressing a button makes Santa drop presents which you try to aim into chimneys. Some chimneys are large, some are small... you get more points for hitting the small ones. (2 player simultaneous - compete for best score)
3. Reindeer Race: 2 Players race through the sky avoiding lightning, snow storms and other hazards by some sort of button spamming movement. (alternating A & B buttons to move quickly) First to cross finish line wins. Players can pick up snowballs during the race to use to slow down their opponent, however the snowballs should be sparse so getting them makes a real difference.
I'm sure I'll think of some more, but these are some quick and easy ideas that shouldn't be too terrible complicated to program...
"Rudolph's Reindeer Games"
You could have a small selection of 3 or 4 mini games: (or just any one of these ideas)
1. Flight School: You have to make rudolph fly as far as he can (sort of like the Mate Toss in caveman games, or one of those angle/power cannon style games) (can be played 2 player, but not simultaneously)
2. Accuracy Training: Rudolph and Santa fly over a series of houses at the bottom of the screen, Pressing a button makes Santa drop presents which you try to aim into chimneys. Some chimneys are large, some are small... you get more points for hitting the small ones. (2 player simultaneous - compete for best score)
3. Reindeer Race: 2 Players race through the sky avoiding lightning, snow storms and other hazards by some sort of button spamming movement. (alternating A & B buttons to move quickly) First to cross finish line wins. Players can pick up snowballs during the race to use to slow down their opponent, however the snowballs should be sparse so getting them makes a real difference.
I'm sure I'll think of some more, but these are some quick and easy ideas that shouldn't be too terrible complicated to program...
I take it you did not play last years game? Or read his first post which listed games already done?
#2 and 2010 sound similar...
Or, maybe a sim treefarm or something. That could be complicated, but it could just be as simple as planting trees and having them grow. When they are big enough, cut them down and sell them. If you don't cut them down they get too big and you can't use them. If you cut them down too early they will be too small and you won't make money on them.
Make it two player by having the second player water, and load the trees (once cut) on to cars)
Ideas:
1. Two platforms on the screen at once for multiplayer (one for each player). Platforms could be able to butt up against/push each other
2. Bricks are made of ice that crack and shatter accordingly. Some bricks would take 2 or more hits (shaded/detailed differently).
3. Power ups that drop out of random bricks like...
-Snowball (when this ball hits a brick it has a short-radius splat effect that can take out adjacent bricks)
-Santa's Cookies (ball turns into 3 cookies (multi-ball))
-Egg Nog (When obtained your controls become reversed and/or the platform moves slower. This represents being drunk. Players could push each other's platforms in the path of bad power ups like this for competitive fun. This bad power up could fall a little faster to make it harder to dodge).
-Slush Ball (when the ball hits your platform it sticks to it, allowing you to release the ball when you want for an accurate shot).
-Ice Platform (Your platform turns into ice, making it continue to slide in the last direction you pressed. Your platform is in constant movement, it can't stop in place after letting go of left/right. This would be one of those bad power ups that falls a bit faster).
This is what I have so far.
What about a contra like game, but for 1, 2, 3, or 4 players, where two children have been kidnapped by an evil santa, and you have to fight your way through evil elves and rabid reindeers. The elves could have guns and the reindeers can bite you or shoot you with lazer beems from their eyes. Or something like this.
I LIKE IT!
What about a contra like game, but for 1, 2, 3, or 4 players, where two children have been kidnapped by an evil santa, and you have to fight your way through evil elves and rabid reindeers. The elves could have guns and the reindeers can bite you or shoot you with lazer beems from their eyes. Or something like this.
Dude I literally just typed this up and saw your post! Contra and XMAS would be awesome!
I was thinking a game where the main enemy is the Grinch and he's taken Rudolph hostage. You have to battle through 4 or 5 different levels collecting cookies/milk for power ups and coal for ammo. Santa's weapon is his present sack!
The levels are a side scroller like Kung Fu or Contra. As you go through the levels you battle elves with level bosses being famous characters like Frosty or Abominal Snowman.
Enemy possibilities: Elves, Grinch, Abominal Snowman (from the old claymation), Frosty
.
^ A single drop of snow!!! ... which lets you all know that CHRISTMAS IS AROUND THE CORNER!!! 8D
Pac-man style mazes, four player simultaneous, no scrolling, no ghosts. Snow-pellets to collect are spread just like Pacman. It's a race to build a snowman. As you collect more pellets, your snowball gets bigger and bigger. Person with the biggest snowball at the end wins.
To rephrase: Basically, four people running around a pacman maze trying to get more pellets than everyone else. No ghosts. Christmas graphics.
I think it'd be fairly simple to make, and lots of fun. Perhaps something interesting would happen when two people ran into each other. Not sure what, though.
How about a game where you avoid falling icecicles. Each player controls a person who stands under a row of forming icecicles. The row can be about 10-15 icecicles long and fall after forming completely. Players can see the icecicles form to have an idea of which one will fall next and stand under a spot where an icecicle just dropped. The icecicles can start out forming slowly at first and speed up as the game progresses. Once you get hit by an icecicle 3 times, you are eliminated. The last player left wins! Just an idea!
You could have a timer under each player that stops when that person loses. If there are only one or two players then the main objective would be to beat your time. Since the rate of speed in which the icicles drop gradually increases... a player's time will depend on their skill. Experienced players should be able to last longer since they will be able to tell quicker which developing pieces will fall before others and develop muscle memory (or finger memory) to avoid them. You could even have a setting of speed that players can choose. A solo player may last 30 minutes on level 1 but only 2 or 3 minutes on level 5. In a multiplayer game, players at different skill levels can have the choice of adjusting this setting to even the handicap (like in Dr. Mario).