Think up our own SSC video game!

[Kiwifruit Jam]

Inspired by the "SSC Videogame Wishlist" thread, I thought to start a kind of game here, to think up our own desired SSC video game. How would you make an SSC video game, if you had the chance? What platform would you implement it for? And what kind of game would it be, regarding the gameplay? And how could we get the license from the respective copyright holders for it? Basically you might come up with any aspect of video game making, releasing, licensing, whatever.

Though it all is purely hypothetical - we won't really make an actual game, just talk about what would it like if we did. When you talk, you can come up with your own idea, or you may think someone else's idea further.

Let me start! Well I'd make an RPG game, with 1st/3rd person view. The inspiration comes from FPS-RPG games like Deus Ex and a bit of Half-Life. Except that it would be an all peaceful game, avoiding violence. This would be difficult, though - in a normal FPS-RPG, you have storyline elements with shooting scenes connecting them. It would be hard to replace the shooting part with something else that's still fun, and won't make the game boring. It would be a big challenge!

The game would be played in the universe of the 2003 SSC series, and the player could choose to play several inhabitants of Strawberryland. Different characters would have different campaigns, so it's not about "choose one character to go through the exact same levels". Different characters would get different storylines. Of course Strawberry Shortcake would be playable, and some of my favourite characters - Ginger Snap is for sure, and maybe also Peppermint Fizz. Maybe there would be some mini-campaigns for other characters as well. We could also add some characters we made up, such as Blackberry Bun, though not sure they would be playable. (With Blackberry's approval, of course.)

The characters would get various quests, and in many cases they would need to cooperate with other characters by solving them. Other characters would be rendered by NPCs whom you can interact with. For example, you can ask them to follow you, like in Half-Life (the question is what need would it be, if there is no shooting). Mostly there would be puzzles; find, collect, use items; maybe driving vehicles; go and talk to various characters to progress; etc.. Maybe later I'll try to think up an actual level for the game, just to think about how would it work.

I would implement the game for PC, that's sure, and would release it on Steam. There would be nice Steam achievements for it also. How would I get the license? I don't know - AFAIK it works like that they should ask me first to make a game that is impossible to happen. Maybe I would make a short demo, send them to check it, and we'd make a contract if they'd like it. Otherwise the project would die silently. Also it's a hard question how would I get time and people. Maybe I could design maps and write code, and make the storylines; but I know nothing about modelling and texturing, I'm not smart at them at all.

[huckleberrypie]

Well, I do have some experience with modeling and making art for games, but I can barely write code, or make a whole new game even.

We could use engines like CryEngine 3, Source/Unreal 3.x or the free Grit open-world engine, but then again they do have a steep learning curve scripting-wise. I'm not sure about having it Steamed, though, unless if we can deal with asking permission from American Greetings for using their IP.

[Kiwifruit Jam]

Actually I was thinking on using Valve's Source engine - that would be fun because it has an incredibly realistic physics simulator built-in. Also I'd choose it because I already have some experience with coding for Half-Life... nah, OK, I only coded some for the first game with GoldSrc engine, but the entity system of Source should be pretty much similar... just quite a bit more complicated. But there is a lot of documentation and a lot of tutorials for it, here is one for example.

Also there is the NeoAxis engine, but I have about zero experience with it, though I liked its demo.

The problem with both of the above is that they need to be contracted for license. I don't know how would it be possible, probably it would make difficulties to create consensual contracts with both American Greetings and Valve (in the case of Source).

And there are some open source engines, like Apocalyx, and the one you mentioned though I've never heard of it before.

[Blackberry Bun]

I have no idea of programming so I'll just talk about content.

I've been thinking of not using 1st/3rd person POV because like Kiwi said, games with such POV usually has intense action between stories and we have to admit that the universe of SSc don't have much action around. Alternatively, we can make such POV used only in certain places such as inside a house or in a garden you want to tend.

Travelling from one area to another will be done in 2.5D style similar to "Sweet Dreams Game". With additions such as forks midway where you can choose your destination, background objects you can interact with (e.g. a bench you can sit on, a small hill you can climb), and sometimes you meet other characters on the way.

Quests can be initiated in various ways such as talking to certain characters in the right time and place, picking up a strange object, etc. Certain quests are simply triggered by time.

I'm also thinking of adapting Persona 4's social link system, in which you can interact with other characters and develop your friendship with them. There are countless possibilities around this system such as certain quest triggered after being close enough with a character, higher winning chance in team-based competitions if teamed up with close friends, etc.

The game can use calendar and clock system like Harvest Moon. Alternatively, Persona 4's clock system where time only advances after doing an action (Going fishing, playing sport, baking cookies, etc) might be interesting too.

About character selection, the idea is related to calendar system in which every morning we choose the character we want to play as for the whole day. The selection isn't always the same everyday. Maybe today we can choose between the main characters, but perhaps at the next day some of them are replaced by other characters. Fulfilling certain conditions might unlock a new character who is added to the selection as a black silhouette.

Example: After playing sports for three consecutive days near the vicinity of Huckleberry Briar, at the fourth day Blackberry Bun is added to character selection and if we choose him we will start playing his story which will eventually lead to his introduction to others.

I'll stop here for now. I have more things to talk about but I'm getting tired.

[huckleberrypie]

I did think about making a version of Strawberryland in 3DS Max and port it to the GTA San Andreas Renderware engine, or the RAGE engine, but I'm slacking off too much so it never bore into fruition as of now.

[Powderpuff]

I had listed my own on the other thread talking about this. My idea is not too dissimilar to how i wish the sweet dreams movie went

[huckleberrypie]

I had listed my own on the other thread talking about this. My idea is not too dissimilar to how i wish the sweet dreams movie went

The problem here being that the market for licenced tie-in games for traditional consoles has declined to the rise of smartphones and kids shifting to them instead of the Nintendos and PSPs of yore.

[cpd2009]

I had listed my own on the other thread talking about this. My idea is not too dissimilar to how i wish the sweet dreams movie went

The problem here being that the market for licenced tie-in games for traditional consoles has declined to the rise of smartphones and kids shifting to them instead of the Nintendos and PSPs of yore.

True. It's easier for devs to make a LicensedGame for iOS/Android than a console, and then stuff them with microtransactions.

It actually makes me long for the days of the Wii. The Wii got a ton of crap shovelware, but at least we didn't have microtransactions yet.

[huckleberrypie]

I had listed my own on the other thread talking about this. My idea is not too dissimilar to how i wish the sweet dreams movie went

The problem here being that the market for licenced tie-in games for traditional consoles has declined to the rise of smartphones and kids shifting to them instead of the Nintendos and PSPs of yore.

True. It's easier for devs to make a LicensedGame for iOS/Android than a console, and then stuff them with microtransactions.

It actually makes me long for the days of the Wii. The Wii got a ton of crap shovelware, but at least we didn't have microtransactions yet.

Or the time when Gameloft used to charge upfront for a game, than offer a game for "free" and nickel-and-dime us every step of the way. Take for example Asphalt which had been a half-decent if not solid racer for mobile and portable consoles, but has recently degenerated into a revenue-making machine thinly disguised as a "game". I mean sure Asphalt 9 boasted lifelike visuals and all, but is it all worth the avarice Gameloft is guilty of? I'd rather pay 5-10 bucks for a half-decent kids' game than subject my son or daughter to a crapton of MTXes that'll sap the hell out of a parent's credit card account.

[Powderpuff]

I had listed my own on the other thread talking about this. My idea is not too dissimilar to how i wish the sweet dreams movie went

The problem here being that the market for licenced tie-in games for traditional consoles has declined to the rise of smartphones and kids shifting to them instead of the Nintendos and PSPs of yore.

True