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Game Design

Interesting Game Ideas: Daddy Long Legs

Game Idea:
Daddy Long Legs

Premise:
Creation with incredibly long legs, using them when moving about.

Huh?:
I thought about the idea of a spidery figure that moved very quickly, dodging attacks or obstacles while moving wherever it had to go. I don’t know if there was an actual spider that inspired me or if it just popped into my head.

Possible Game Here?
Imagine an overhead view of the environment. Your character is a spidery figure with its legs attached to the far edges of the screen. That’s right. The feet don’t move; however, the body does. When you click on a spot, the body moves from wherever it was to that spot. There. I’ve just described the basic interface to the game.

Perhaps there will be obstacles and enemies. Initially it will be easy to dodge them. You just click somewhere, taking care that the path is clear. As more objects fill the screen, you’ll find it harder to make a clear path. What about special items or powerups? Armor could help you to take more damage than you normally could. Speed boosts or time freezes are cliche but valid possibilities. Food could serve a functional purpose by providing health. Alternatively, it could be that the reason the spider is jumping around is to collect the food. Collecting things is fun, right?

Another possibility with this click-to-jump-there game mechanic is to have a samurai or ninja that can also pick up weapons such as swords. Wouldn’t it be cool to have a ninja jump quickly from one side of the room to another, bouncing off of walls with ease, and spinning with a sword that he/she just pulled out of the armory? Click on the spot with the sword, and the ninja will jump there to pick up the weapon. Click on opposite walls multiple times in quick succession, and the ninja will jump back and forth between them, possibly doing fancier moves each time across.

To get back to the idea of long legs as a means of movement, what about a creature with abnormally long legs? It will be able to bend its body down really low, or stand up really tall. Perhaps a side-scroller in which you must control the height of the main body? Duck down to avoid high branches in a forest, or stand tall to allow vehicles to pass underneath you. What if an enemy or obstacle takes out a leg? Do you need to repair it? Do you go on without it?

Stilts? I suppose maintaining balance could be an important aspect of the game. Lean one way or another to avoid falling off of the stilts. Maybe the stilts allow you to access items that are really high up, or they could allow you to climb in through a window easily. Losing the stilts will make such tasks harder.

Summary
Once again, there are a number of game mechanics that can be based on a single idea. Do incredibly long, spidery legs make for good games? Maybe, but I suspect it will depend on the implementation.

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