I’ve been sitting on this idea for a little while, and have just waiting to start building it and see how it holds up against the Spaghetti Test – throw it against the wall and see if it sticks!
DUELITY is a two-player hot-seat style competitive turn-based game with mechanics about as simple as you can get. It is played in a single-screen grid-based arena from a top-down POV. The goal is to score more points than the other person.
The Black Ninja and the White Ninja are at eternal war with each other. They must sneak around, and attempt to assassinate their rival more often than they get assassinated themselves.
The players take turns moving their ninja one tile in any direction (except diagonally). If one Ninja enters the other Ninja’s tile, the other Ninja is assassinated and a point is scored to the victor. The victim then instantly respawns and the process repeats until one player gives up and goes home.
The Catch: The Black Ninja is invisible on black tiles. The White Ninja is invisible on white tiles. You are so sneaky you can’t even see yourself!
I just hope that having two human players isn’t too high a requirement. Judges may have to borrow a friend to help play this one.
I could incorporate an AI, but I really don’t want to. I don’t think it would be any fun playing against a bot in this game. The fun has to be generated by the interaction of the two people playing against each other; trying to distract each other and psyche each other out. Getting pissed at your friend for being a sneaky little turd, or getting pissed at yourself for making a dumb move or getting lost. This is the sort of game play I’m aiming for here.
It’s a very simple game, but has a few elements I’ve never seriously attempted before. Silly things like rigging, and menus… :o
Things To Add:
-Rigged/animated models
-Gory death sequences
-Random Power-Ups and Traps
-Pre game menu with level selection, points needed to win, and a good tutorial/how-to scene.