Game Ideas from Metamorphoses

Python

My first game idea is derived from the incredibly short story Python in Ovid's Metamorphoses, in which the god Apollo destroys the newly-created python by shooting him with his bow. From his black wounds, “venom oozed.”

This by itself is enough to set up the conflict for a really epic game scenario if we can add some suitable mechanics. The gameplay style I've chosen would work well for a simple, bare-bones arcade style game with a scoring mechanic for replayability, or as a boss fight section as part of a much larger game with different gameplay mechanics, so as to break up the tempo and action. Because of this, I haven't added any story other than what was set forth in Python by Ovid.

My game also takes inspiration from one of the earliest programmed computer games, one that now has variants on almost every type of hardware imaginable. Snake. With Snake you control a little blocky line (the “snake”) that is traveling at a fixed rate. You can only turn the snake left or right 90 degrees from the direction it is currently facing. Through a series of well-timed turns, you can navigate the snake around the map towards 'food' objects which make the snake grow in length. This gets you points, but eventually the snakes tail starts to get in the way of his head. If the snake crashes into himself or into a wall, he dies.

My idea is to radically update this formula into a fully-3d space, and have the player control Apollo as he flies through the world at a fixed speed and have the python trailing after him at a fixed rate as well. The player have a variety of methods available to dispatch the massive beast, most of which related to the tangling nature of the gameplay. Apollo could shoot arrows and different marked spots on the pythons body, forcing the player to line up the shots while avoiding the snake's mouth. Another way to damage the snake would be to trick him into running into his own body, biting himself as Apollo flies away unharmed. When the snake is injured, a liquid pillar of black venom would gush from the wound, harming Apollo if he doesn't avoid it.

Because the player will need to navigate in three dimensions as well as aim and keep track of a large snake stalking him, this game would be best suited for the PC or perhaps the Wii with precise aiming options. Standard consoles and other platforms could be accommodated with slight gameplay changes.

Chariot of Fire

Phaethon's chariot ride is an obvious story upon which to base a game, and there are many directions it can be taken. I decided to make the focus on the many exciting sights and experiences described in Ovid's Metamorphoses.

The game would be a 'single-player racing game' of sorts, in which the player would control the chariot with Phaethon aboard, but there would be nothing to race against per se. Instead the player would travel along a preset, semi-visible 'track', about four or five times the width of the chariot it self. The track would stretch from the skies of ancient Rome, winding through many sights and vistas before rising slowing above the entire world, traveling through the constellations and then veering off-course and into many more heavenly destinations. The chariot would travel along this track automatically, the player moving the chariot from left to right within the track's width, and choosing when to speed up and slow down in short bursts before resuming the normal speed. The game still has the feel of being 'on-rails' however. As the chariot travels along the track, the player is rewarded with new sights and events, but also must dodge obstacles and ornery characters. Flying through the Roman skies harpies may attack you, and while in the heavens expect to be charged by Taurus. The longer the player can ride the chariot of fire, the more new scenery he will encounter, as it changes often throughout the trip. The action would hopefully have a somewhat relaxed but engaging feel, collectibles seem a must to add replayability and unlockables. Perhaps pieces of “stardust” you could click or tap on to collect, then throw to trigger secret events?

A strong focus on a stylized and cohesive graphical style would be necessary, as the graphics are one of the central draws and rewards of the game, but the stylization is necessary to make them memorable and more portable to more casual platforms such as lower-end PCs and iPhone / iPad. Ideally all controls could be easily achieved with dragging and tapping motions.

Seeds of Power

I've adapted the story of Cadmus and the Earthborn People into a real-time strategy game instead of a action-oriented combat title.

In this game you would be tasked with building up your city, civilization and army in order to either complete an objective in a campaign mode or defeat your opponent on a quick-play or multiplayer mode, in this way very similar to other RTS's.

Here it is the actual mechanics that are inspired by the story of Cadmus. The actual events of Cadmus will work for a single scenario in the game, and I will use that as an example to describe the game.

The player will start from a pulled out isometric perspective, with only a single Hero unit available to control, in this case Cadmus. Throughout the world there will be various places to collect any of the four elements: earth, wind, water and fire. Only hero units will be able to collect and store these elements, which can then be mixed on a 2x2 grid in order to form new objects. For example, regular villagers can be created by mixing 1 fire and 1 water in order to create seeds for humans. Cadmus will have to farm a small plot of land himself, plant the seeds and wait for people to sprout up. Now the player can control the villagers and make them plow more land, collect resources such as wood or seeds, and grow food and build buildings. This will free up Cadmus to collect elements or use his heroic strength to fight mythical monsters lurking in much of the woods surround the village. When Cadmus meets a serpent monster and defeats him, the monster will drop teeth which Cadmus can bring back to the village and plant in order to grow soldiers. The player can then use these soldiers to kill more beasts to collect more soldiers that differ in type depending on where they are harvested. For example, soldiers grown from the serpent may be able to poison enemies.

As player creates more buildings and fields and his units to grow and progress, the player will discover more possible combinations of the four elements to create more objects and powers to aid him during the game. Elements may be found in the environment or created by divine intervention. For example, if the player needs more of the fire element, he could make a sacrifice to Jupiter who might send down a lightning bolt, setting trees on fire and creating fire collectible by your hero units.

This game would really work the best as a PC game, but if it were implemented as a simpler RTS with a focus on less units that are stronger and more robust it could work on the Wii or the iPad.

Journey to Pluto

Journey to Pluto would be a character-based third person puzzle game starring the duo of Echo and Narcissus. They are on a quest to journey to the underworld and ask Pluto to cure their respective curses. The game would have dark and creepy aesthetic style, but would be lighthearted enough for a casual puzzle game.

Narcissus and Echo would help each other navigate through various levels in the underworld, each one a dark and misty maze filled with creepy cerberi, monsters, and traps to be avoided. The player would switch between each character and use their respective powers to navigate through the maze and help each other navigate as well. Narcissus can switch places with his reflection in pools of water or mirrors placed throughout the level. Because he is now on the inside of the mirror, he can now walk off the edge of the mirror and reappear in another mirror or pool and then switch back into the real world.

Narcissus could then throw and switch or trigger that would allow Echo to pass into an area that she needs to get to. Echo could neutralize monsters with sonic attacks, such as sirens, by repeating said attack back at them. She could also work with Narcissus to repeat things he says from other points on the map in order to draw enemies away allow him to sneak past. Various other environmental elements would be introduced throughout the levels that both characters could interact with in different ways, increasing the complexity and difficulty of the levels as the player progresses.

Because the controls would be simple direction buttons with a character switch and interaction buttons, this game could work on almost all game platforms with 3D capability.

Untitled

One of the recurring themes of Ovid's Metamorphoses I believe is prevalent enough within these first three books that it cannot be ignored as inspiration for a game. That is the idea of a virgin being relentlessly pursued by a male deity. Incorporating this into a game in a tasteful and marketable manner is the main challenge here, however. Instead of handling the issue directly I think it would be best to make the conflict with the main character, a young girl (Virginia, of course), hiding from and beating up hordes of creepy god-men. This would be a simple beat-em-up type of game in which the objective is to get past as many waves of classical deities as possible. Your character would have several transformative abilities which she would unlock as she progressed and could use for a set period of time before having to wait to use that ability again. A crow ability would allow her to fly past the many men and avoid them, while a cow ability would let her trample and gore them with reckless abandon. The tree transformation would hide her completely and she watches them pass by and howl in frustration.

The main way I would keep the game fun would be to make it so over-the-top and ridiculous that the player would have no choice to chuckle at the presentation, even if the subject matter is questionable.

Because of the action-oriented nature of the game, consoles would be a natural fit, using a gamepad would be the best way to control the combat.