LDW seems to do evolution software very well. I would use sim, but evolution fits so much better. I was thinking about games that I like(selfish me), and how they can be better.

I was thinking of a roguelike game like Moria or Omega with the world is alive like village sim except you manage one person (or small family).

Player (boy or girl):
1. Starts very young..maybe 12 with a family. This way the player could age over time.
2. Moves to the city to start training in magic, fighting, healing, or stealth.
3. Player can do whatever he wants: live in the city until he/she is old, adventure, teach, or whatever.
4. The world evolves like village sim w/o the micro-managing, so this encourages a player to expore the same areas many times.

Plantlife - various plants and trees age over time..grow or change color or just die off.

Creatures - cub or pup to bear or wolf, etc...some hunt, some scurry, some run off, and some hibernate.

Humanoids - orcs, goblins, barbarians, ruffians, etc. The evolve the same way normal npcs do, but thier worth ethic is darker. Be creative.

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That is a basic idea. I used Moria and Omega as references because they sem to be 2 of the better fantasy development games that I played. Ultima games are good as well. Those games are great, but the world is not as immersive as the character development. Ulitima 5 was by far the most immersive...maybe another good reference.

If you think this a good game idea, please consider developing it. I would, but I do not know if I could apply the same realism that LDW has done with village sim.

If you would like to understand more about Rogue-like games, go here: Rogue-like site
Check out the reviews section for Moria and Omega.

Thanks for listening,

Clyborg

Great suggestion! I hope Arthur & team will heed your suggestion and we'll have another great sim game to play!

If they can get license/permission from Lord of the Rings, then it'll be lovely! Imagine training Legolas to perfect his skills in archery, Galadriel in perfecting her Magic skills.

Or a Harry Potter sim game whereby we train young wizards to perfect their skills or fight off evil wizards.

or a game like zoo tycoon or roller coaster tycoon

I love Moria and the early nethack style RPG's. I'd enjoy designing one, but I think so many people do RPG's too well already.

RPGs are really cool if u make em right

Whoa, what an amazing idea. I could become a total shut-in and never have human contact again!

YA ITA GOOD IDEA IF LDW CAN MAKE IT

Why not place a day/year counter in the main playing interface?

ya that a good idea

No maybe a special RPG. Like u get to go to a fantasy world where u control ur own destiny. And to get back to ur won world, u hav to control the character to make the right decision. If u mislead ur character, u get tranferred to the wrong world and u lose! Or something like that, i'm still unsatified with my suggestion...

lol its preatty good

How about a Sea Monkey type of game for the pda. It would be a cross of Village Vim and Fish Tycoon without selling them. You could teach them different tricks and buy toys for them to play with.

thats also a great idea

lol! That would be cute!

I remember as a kid, getting the original Sea Monkeys kit and, being naive, thinking they would look at least almost as cute as the pictures on the box. I was so disappointed (and slightly disgusted) when they looked like a version of the little fresh water swimmy things in the creek out back. And all they did was swim around and around and around.

A game would finally fulfill my age-old fantasy that Sea Monkeys could have been something better. lol!

I absolutely had the same experience, Brenda. Not to mention the SMELL.

lol sea monkeys are cool i trained all mine

heh heh. Yeah, me too. I told them to swim around and around all day and night and never stop. They did real good right up to the end. I was so proud.

Clyborg,

You have some great ideas. Your term 'evolution' is on target. And perhaps could even be taken further, and reduced to it's basic terms for a good game idea.

Evolution... maybe not exactly like we learned it (as that's all up for grabs anyway), but borrowing some of the basic stereotypes we've all imagined. Mankind (ehem... Humankind ) evolving from basic hunter/gatherers and cave dwellers... "discovering" fire... then basic tools... the wheel... communities tending crops, etc.

Could throw in some dinosaurs for fun. Yeah yeah, I know, they didn't exist along side of man, but that never stopped the production of some great old movies.

oops, Sorry Arthur. I thought I replied to this , but must have been in a hurry and hit the wrong button.

It was something to the effect of the smell of Sea Monkeys being reminiscent of seafood restaurant left-overs being taken home in the trunk of the car, only to be discovered a week later.

Hi Brenda!

What I mean by evolution is not like ape to human, but more like environment changes.

I'll give some examples what might happen in an evolving rpg:

1. Player gets older, so time is limited on what he/she will explore. Your attributes change as you age. You start off at 12 fairly weak but energetic and alert. At 18-25 is your peak strength, 25-35 much smarter and more controlled, 35-45 more efficient and getting weaker, etc.

2. Animal and Plant life changes bases on other animals, pants, people, weather, etc. I would like to see a young animal grow or a small tree grow very large. Everything should have it's own age and grow scales.

3. Threatening hostiles: Orcs taking over a bear cave, goblins attacking the city, thieves and bandits wandering the nearby woods and villages.

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Those are just a small list of what I would like to see, just need to really write down everything. Village Sim opened my eyes about virtual life. I think a good game using ideas from village sim, fish tycoon, plant tycoon and little palm pet with and rpg feel of the main character would make a great game.

I get bored easy when I play most rpgs because they are repetitious. When I go to the same area, zone, or location and I see something new, It keeps my interest. Village sim is a good example of that.

Thanks,

Clyborg

oops..forgot to log in.

Clyborg

Clyborg,

Oh, I totally understand. And I think that would be great too! I just threw in my own idea before, sort of expounding on yours, but taking a term mentioned, and running in another direction with it... or more to the point, reducing the term "evolution" to it's very basic meaning.

Of course, I thought about my own idea after the fact, and realized it would probably be rather boring playing through, without some sort of "fun" factor. How do you get fun out of Neanderthal (or whatever rung from the evolutionary ladder)? Unless maybe you take it in some comic direction, like Fred Flintstone/Barney Rubble or something. But that's old. lol!

... maybe Fred Flintstone evolving to George Jetson. lol. Ok, ok, the subject line in this topic says "Game Idea"... it didn't say it had to be a great one!

But yours definitely is!

A Neanderthal game would be great too. Have you ever seen the movie "Quest for Fire" ? A game like that would be cool. Your goal is to protect fire at all costs while learning new ways to defend yourself as a Neanderthal or Prehistoric Homo Sapian.

So many games could be made from the Prehistoric point of view.

Clyborg