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[Reef Blastbody]

I was on the IRC server, and a few people were talking about IPs and the Chaosforge. For anyone that may not know, IP is short for Intellectual Property; it's more commonly known in the video game/movie/etc business as a franchise.

Doom, for example, is the IP of id software, which spans Doom books, movies, etc. To date, all of the publicly released Chaosforge games (as far as I know) are based on existing IPs; Doom, Berserk, Aliens, Diablo. All of these games are indeed awesome and a lot of fun, but as a result of being based off of other peoples' IPs, it limits the Chaosforge on their marketability.

I am not a member of the Chaosforge, nor do I work for them or represent them in any capacity, informal or formal. I am just a fan and player of these games. However, I wanted to poll to see what kind of interest the forum community had in an original IP, even just the idea.

If the Chaosforge made their own IP (in essence, a roguelike game that was not based off an existing franchise/license), then they would be eligible to get additional funding from Kickstarter (not that everyone isn't awesome for donating or pitching in, but more funding sources = more possibility). And, even though this is continuing on the same "what if/theoretical tangent", once completed, a game that was wholly the product of the Chaosforge would be eligible to be sold on something like Steam and actually generate revenue for the Chaosforge. As I said, I am not a member, I have no idea if they have any intention to branch out into being a business, or if the whole point of the Chaosforge is merely producing some of the best fan-based games known to man. There's no mission statement of any sort I could find.

If you're still with me, thank you for reading all of that, and that brings us to the poll I've made. If the Chaosforge was going to take a stab at making a roguelike of their own IP, what would you like to see? Or, if you don't like that idea at all, that's also an option on the poll. I apologize if there's been a similar topic in the past or some discussion of the same nature; I wasn't able to see anything laid out as point blank as this and I was curious.

Thanks.

[thelaptop]

PS: You should probably put a deadline on the poll, otherwise it will be less meaningful as the thread ages.

[Klear]

Voted other. Not that I have anything specific in mind, but I'd love to see something wildly original if it comes to an original creation.

[MaiZure]

I'm in a Shadowrun/Blade Runner mood so I voted Sci-Fi.
That and I just watched Logan's Run with a follow up tomorrow with Soylent Green.

Let's see some creative Sci-Fi Action :P

[LuckyDee]

I'm going for other as well: recently, Kornel also fired the same question over Chaosforge's Facebook, and one of the people there suggested doing a Lovecraft-based RL, which sounds awesome to me. Essentially, this would mean a mix of fantasy, modern and sci-fi styles. Which, come to think of it, goes for Doom as well, to some extent.

Although Lovecraft will likely be protected by an SEIP field as well, this background will probably not be eligible either, but it gives a good idea of what flavour I'd be looking for.

[Klear]

I'm still hoping for a Roadside Picnic themed game, but that's and IP as well, probably.

[Reef Blastbody]

Although Lovecraft will likely be protected by an SEIP field as well, this background will probably not be eligible either, but it gives a good idea of what flavour I'd be looking for.

Actually, this is a little bit weird. All of Lovecraft's works are old enough that they're open domain, which means you can legally use them to do whatever you want. The problem however lies from the fact that Lovecraft himself borrowed liberally from fellow authors, several of which whom still have their works copyrighted and trademarked.

The same applies to licensing for specific names; "Call of Cthulhu" is trademarked by Chaosium, for example. August Derleth is an author who took the reins after Lovecraft died and he injected the series with a lot of stuff people commonly assume was Lovecraft, like Hastur, which would also be off limits. Basically, anything Lovecraft vaguely eluded to in his stories is fine, but when you get down to the official naming and additions later on, it's a no-no. Many Lovecraft fans are familiar with dimensional shamblers or byakhee but Lovecraft never actually named these creatures; that was Derleth/Chaosium/etc., so using those names is forbidden but not the descriptions/what they are.

You could do a Lovecraftian RL, but you would need to navigate through what is okay and what is not okay to use first, which is somewhat of a headache. I could likely produce a list of "safe to use" Lovecraft mythos if given enough incentive (ie at gunpoint).

I'm still hoping for a Roadside Picnic themed game, but that's and IP as well, probably.

Roadside Picnic itself is indeed protected as IP. STALKER however, was created without any licensing or funding paid to the creators, because it is a bit sticky as to how much it "heavily borrowed" in terms of themes, as opposed to directly referencing/using names/characters/etc.

You can't exactly copyright the idea of a dimensional rift/magnetic field that causes weird crap to happen, so they were able to get away with it.

[LuckyDee]

I'm not saying it has to be Lovecraft, I'm saying that any new idea doesn't have to be restricted to just one genre. Take King's Dark Tower for another example.

There's a lot of un-owned stuff lying around that could easily be slapped together and still make a credible (for lack of a better word) background.

[Silhar]

I'd love to see somebody creating a RL game set in some steampunk universe.

Dungeons of Dredmor do not count.

[emulord]

Anyone remember the madness cartoons on newgrounds? I feel like that could be a fun roguelike game.
You're in a 25x50 x5 floors building, or about that size, with random guards and items.
Guards would pick up items and maybe kill each other and level up, getting more dangerous as time passes on. This makes a natural progression of difficulty even tho it is 1 statically generated random map. You can go up and down floors at will. Win when youre the last alive in the building.

Features: guns, modding, science, dark magic, mutations, destructable/interactive terrain.

[Uranium]

Anyone remember the madness cartoons on newgrounds? I feel like that could be a fun roguelike game.
You're in a 25x50 x5 floors building, or about that size, with random guards and items.
Guards would pick up items and maybe kill each other and level up, getting more dangerous as time passes on. This makes a natural progression of difficulty even tho it is 1 statically generated random map. You can go up and down floors at will. Win when youre the last alive in the building.

Features: guns, modding, science, dark magic, mutations, destructable/interactive terrain.

excuse me, I now have to go and watch the entirety of the Madness series on newgrounds


on topic: there aren't many modern day roguelikes, and while it's arguable that that is for good reason, i would love to see one - and I'd love it even more to see one from the Forge! Voted for modern day.

[Reef Blastbody]

Well, at the very least it looks like the average RL-player has had their fill of medieval fantasy from the rest of the RL community!

Sci fi with a small but early lead is a little surprising, but awesome.

[Napsterbater]

My dream roguelike would be a tactical espionage game, inspired by the television series, Burn Notice. Missions would be randomly generated, and then you'd start off in randomized environments and try to survive/accomplish the objective, in that order. Damage would be realistic, i.e. one gunshot can ruin your day. That said, getting hit would be rare given good play. The environment would still be quite dangerous, with explosions and the like affecting your reaction/movement speed.

Combat would be similar to real-world combat, with the laying of cover fire being the primary use of ammunition. Bigger weapons give you more options to shoot through walls/advantageous positioning

As you progress you might gain companions who help you complete missions. If the situation calls for it, you could do recon or draw up battle plans and deployment locations. It might take several visits to a locale before you can actually make a go at the objective.

My idea would be to NOT have a skill system, and have the game assume that you're adequately trained in whatever you decide to use and don't make mistakes. Superior tactics and firepower rule the day, here. That's what wins real engagements, anyway.

[LuckyDee]

Here's another one for ya: check out the mood/setting that Hyptosis builds. Haven played all games, but the Hood saga and the new Kingdom of Liars all build on the same fantasy/steampunk/sci-fi crossbreed.

(If you like point&click games, you _must_ do the Alice Is Dead saga though, a nice deviant take on Alice In Wonderland.)

Anyhow, Hyptosis appears to be a one (wo)man thing, indie developer. If it appeals, you might find him/her willing to lend a hand.

[Sambojin]

I don't want to sound like a fanboy, but I'm still heavily in favour of "The Moons of Jupiter" idea off Facebook (although whether I'm fanboying myself or Kornel is beyond me. Can you be your own fanboy?).

It allows a lot of creativity and options, as well as the opportunity to have a bit of semi-hard sci-fi in it if you want. Or bubble-gum blasty sci-fi. You could mix and match the two, as well as throw in some mythological references as you wished to.

The opportunity for many different environments, a sort of internally consistant world (aliens inhabiting the moons of Jupiter, adapting to each low-G environment and our invasion of them with a currently feasible technology/storyline) and the easy availability to use whichever tropes and memes you wish, as well as being able to create truly original concepts gives it my vote.

The coolness of Starcontrol 2 environments, even greater diversity of enemies than Diablo (themed per world though), differing weapons for different situations, ranges of mission options (science, blasty, stealth, or collecty, plus any others you want), different tactics for the human technologies that are feasible to use on that world (but no others) and some truly freaked out/fucked up aliens (then maybe daemons then maybe gods), all in one neat roguelike package.

You could even do it as a divine comedy thing if you wanted. But I tend to think: 10 points for mechs with jetpacks and plasma guns, 0 points for art for art's sake.

Anyway, that's my vote. "The Moons of Jupiter". An all-in-one-package with a consistent gameworld and relevant enough reasonably-close-future-sci-fi to be both digestible and cool