Hi, I made this one. I've played Wordle-likes for years and always wanted to build my own, but I never had an idea that felt like mine.

The push came from a strange place. Half of what I read these days is written by AI, and it's never short. Every email, every doc, twelve words where five would do. At some point I said the phrase out loud, long story short, and realised it was a game.

So: you get a twelve-word sentence. You rephrase it in exactly five of its own words. Real English, same meaning, your job is to work out which words carry the sentence and which are just dressed up to look important. Scoring is Wordle style, blue for right word in the right spot, orange for in the answer but elsewhere, grey for out. Five tries, one sentence a day.

My wife and my brother were the playtesters. An early version let "the" beat proper words in the answer, which felt awful to lose to, so the answers now always favour the concrete word. That one change ate a whole weekend.

Hey everyone! Me and my friend are starting an indie game studio and we'd like to know what everyone thinks of our game idea or if they'd play it? It's a story about the mc, his father was an abusive drunk to his mom when he was younger and always rude and aggressive with him. As he got older he followed and became a drunk aswell, when he got married everything seemed to be fine but when the wife got pregnant he abused her and took away resources from her till she became frail and malnourished. Under the effects of being drunk along with beginning to take drugs (maybe) he expects the pregnancy to go fine but the wife dies during it along with the baby. The game is about how he discovers this story through hallucinations, nightmares, old distorted images of things around him. It's also shown that those abusive actions to him weren't abuse, it was him caring but under the effects of being drunk his perception of what he was doing was completely different. The story itself, or the plot isn't shown directly. But hinted through things. It'll be a game featuring normal horror elements along with a liminality and a deep sense of guilt, like the reality he's built to cope with his wife's death is falling apart as he has to face the reality of what happened. It'll be a deep dive into many themes such as guilt, regret, denial, abuse, and phycological disintegration. The game would feel like his mind is falling apart trying to figure out why this is happening. Would anyone play this? And if no, what would make this more interesting to you or help us develop the plot into something more complex?

​

Hi everyone!

I'm working on a concept for a 2D mobile stealth-action game, and I'd like to get some feedback before I start building the full game.

The basic idea is:

You play as a human imprisoned by a powerful technology company that is trying to turn humans into machines.

You start at the bottom of their facility and have to make your way upward through different floors to escape.

The gameplay would combine stealth and combat. There would also be a noise system, where making too much noise can alert nearby enemies.

Each floor would contain different rooms and enemies.

When reaching a new floor, the player could choose between:

\- Entering an upgrade room and choosing between two random upgrades.

\- Skipping the upgrade and fighting the floor boss instead, with a stronger upgrade as a reward.

The game is planned specifically for mobile, and I'm considering making it a small premium game rather than using ads.

I'm still in the early concept stage, so I'm mainly interested in hearing what experienced players think.

Does the core gameplay sound interesting?

What part sounds the most fun, and what part sounds weak or repetitive?

What would you change before developing it?

A shadow of Mordor like where you play as Alith Anar running around dark elf territory freeing slaves and recruiting them in an army to take forts train them up and make them shadow warriors. Free humans and maybe get units from other factions.

Just an idea, but seriously… why hasn’t anyone thought of this yet?
Stranger Things would make an incredible Persona style video game.
The more I think about it, the more I realize that the basic gameplay loop of the Persona series almost feels like it was designed for Stranger Things. You already have a group of teenagers trying to balance their normal lives, friendships, school, relationships, and family problems while secretly fighting supernatural monsters in another dimension. Replace Persona’s supernatural worlds with the Upside Down, and suddenly you have the foundation for what could be an amazing RPG.
The game could adapt the entire Stranger Things story from Season 1 through Season 5, allowing us to experience Hawkins from the beginning of the series all the way through its conclusion. Then something like Tales From ’85 could work perfectly as a DLC expansion or additional campaign.
For most of the game, I think you should play as Mike Wheeler. Like Persona, every day would give you a limited amount of time, forcing you to decide how you want to spend it.
Do you investigate a strange clue?
Go searching through Hawkins?
Head into the Upside Down?
Spend the afternoon at the arcade?
Ride bikes with Dustin, Lucas, and Will?
Visit Eleven?
Hang out with Nancy?
Help Hopper investigate something?
Or maybe you spend the evening playing Dungeons & Dragons with the Party.
Those choices could become one of the most important parts of the game.
Instead of Persona’s Social Links or Confidants, Stranger Worlds could have a relationship system built around the characters from the show. Spending time with Dustin, Lucas, Will, Eleven, Max, Steve, Nancy, Jonathan, Hopper, Robin, and everyone else would not just give you added dialogue. Strengthening those relationships could unlock actual gameplay abilities.
Maybe reaching a certain relationship level with Dustin improves your ability to analyze enemy weaknesses. Lucas could unlock stronger ranged attacks. Will’s connection to the Upside Down could eventually let the party detect nearby enemies or supernatural activity. Steve could specialize in protecting other party members. Nancy could become one of your strongest offensive characters. Eleven would obviously be insanely powerful, but using her abilities too much could drain a limited resource or temporarily remove her from battle.
That would make hanging out with characters actually matter.
And that’s exactly what makes Persona such a perfect blueprint for Stranger Things.
The monsters are obviously important, but Stranger Things has always been about its characters and their relationships with one another. A Persona style RPG would finally give players enough time to explore those relationships beyond what we see on television.
Imagine getting completely optional conversations between Steve and Dustin. Spending an afternoon at Family Video with Steve and Robin. Going to the arcade with Max. Helping Hopper with something at the cabin. Playing D&D in Mike’s basement. Visiting Scoops Ahoy. Going to the Starcourt Mall.
You could even have smaller character stories that develop across multiple seasons.
Meanwhile, the Upside Down would basically function as the game’s dungeon system.
Hawkins could act as your main explorable hub, while different supernatural locations become increasingly dangerous dungeons. Early in the game, simply entering the Upside Down would feel terrifying. As the story progresses, though, the environments could become larger and stranger.
You’d have vines covering familiar Hawkins locations, abandoned buildings, underground tunnels, laboratories, gates between dimensions, Vecna’s mindscape, and eventually entire sections of Hawkins transformed by the Upside Down.
Combat could use Persona’s turn-based system while giving every character a specific role.
Mike could be the flexible strategist.
Lucas specializes in ranged attacks.
Dustin becomes support.
Steve is the tank.
Nancy specializes in weapons and massive physical damage.
Robin focuses on buffs, debuffs, and enemy analysis.
Will has supernatural support abilities because of his connection to the Upside Down.
And Eleven basically becomes the party’s nuclear weapon.
But here’s something else that could make the game really interesting:
Your party would constantly change.
Characters would join and leave exactly as they do throughout the television series.
During Season 1, Will would be missing for a huge portion of the story. Eleven would eventually join. Later seasons introduce Max, Robin, and other characters. Sometimes the story would split everyone into completely different groups.
Instead of fighting against that, the game could embrace it.
One chapter might have Mike, Dustin, Lucas, and Eleven investigating something together. Another might suddenly put you in control of Steve, Dustin, Robin, and Erica. Another could follow Nancy and Jonathan.
Eventually those different storylines converge for the giant end-of-season boss battles.
And imagine those bosses.
The Demogorgon.
The Mind Flayer.
The Spider Monster.
Vecna.
Each season could essentially function like a massive chapter of the game, with its own central mystery, dungeon, enemies, party combinations, and final boss.
Even the Dungeons & Dragons influence could become part of the gameplay. The kids already use D&D terminology to understand the monsters they’re fighting, so the game could visually transform those ideas into RPG mechanics. Dustin identifying a monster and giving it a D&D-inspired name could literally unlock its entry in your enemy database.
The soundtrack could also be ridiculous.
You could combine Persona-style battle music with synth-heavy 1980s horror music, while licensed ’80s songs play around Hawkins, at the arcade, in stores, or during major story moments.
And visually?
Go all-in on the Persona aesthetic.
Stylized menus.
Comic-book transitions.
Character portraits.
Huge animated critical-hit screens.
Red lightning and Upside Down vines crawling across menus.
VHS effects.
Cassette tapes.
Arcade graphics.
D&D imagery.
Every season could even slightly change the UI as the characters get older and Hawkins becomes increasingly corrupted.
Most importantly, though, a game like this could accomplish something television can’t:
Let us actually live in Hawkins.
Instead of watching these characters hang out for a few minutes before the next major plot point, we’d get dozens of hours with them.
We’d ride bikes through Hawkins.
Go to school.
Play at the arcade.
Explore Starcourt.
Build friendships.
Solve mysteries.
Fight monsters.
And then somehow still have to make it home before our parents realize we’ve spent the entire night fighting creatures from another dimension.
It could be part JRPG, part horror game, part mystery, and part life simulator.
Basically:
Persona + Stranger Things + Dungeons & Dragons + 1980s horror.
Tell me that wouldn’t work.
I genuinely think Stranger Things is one of those rare franchises where a Persona-style adaptation could actually make MORE sense than a traditional action game. The entire series is already built around a group of friends balancing everyday teenage life with a secret supernatural world.
Persona already figured out how to turn that exact concept into an addictive gameplay loop.
Give it a huge Hawkins map, meaningful relationships, changing party members, turn-based combat, explorable versions of the Upside Down, seasonal story arcs, and five seasons worth of characters and monsters.
I don’t know…
Does this sound completely ridiculous?
Or are we accidentally describing a multi-million-dollar video game that absolutely needs to exist?  

Not sure if this is a basic idea so mods lemme know please.

Alright, so this would be a action game game, you make your character and choose between a rabbit, a dog, or a cat, which you customize as well.

Well the pet escapes your house one day coming back home that night all puffed up wise wide n shit. So your character goes to give your pet a bunch of cuddles as it shakes, when you hear tapping on the window you ignore it cuz your pets on your lap though.

The next morning as you go out for a walk, you get a huge migraine the screen becomes blurry as footsteps are heard and a mysterious voice calls out to you saying "Give me, your creature." The screen returns to normal, the main character confused goes back home to their pet. They look at a corner, and see a monster pointing at the main characters pet. The main character asks "what do you want em for! Get out!" All the monster does, is open its jaw wide.

Here you have two options carry the pet and run or fient the monster ("give" the pet to the beast but punch it before running).

The goals with endings are

Get to your closest friends house and fight the beast

Get to your closesf friends house and fortify the house

Get to your closest friends house and you all drive away

Or fail to get to your friends house where you just see a jumpscare (i think its already implied whats gonna happen to the pet but ion wanna show nor write that. Im a pet owner my biggest fear is my pet dying)

This would be a 4D game, kind of. Basically, it would be a puzzle game, but the twist is that every set amount of time, for example 10 seconds (I'm not sure what the actual time would be yet), the level would reset. However, when the level resets, you would see your past actions being replayed while you play through the level again.

The reset would happen over and over, and every time it resets, another version of yourself would replay everything you did during the previous run. To finish the puzzle, you would need to solve all of the objectives across multiple resets. The main twist is that your previous versions can help you complete the level.

For example, imagine there are three buttons that all need to be pressed at the same time to finish the level. You only have 10 seconds per version, so you can't realistically press all three buttons yourself. Instead, during your first run, you press button 1. The level resets, and your previous version now replays the exact actions you took, meaning it presses button 1 again. While that is happening, you can go and press button 2. The level resets again, and now your first version presses button 1 while your second version presses button 2. You can then go and press button 3. Now all three buttons are being pressed by different versions of yourself, allowing you to complete the puzzle.

That would basically be the main mechanism of the game. The example above would be a simple beginner puzzle designed to teach the player how the mechanic works. As the game progresses, the puzzles would become increasingly difficult. I haven't fully thought out the levels yet, but I think there could be some really interesting combinations and situations where you have to carefully plan out exactly what you are going to do across multiple resets.

When I say "hard," I don't mean difficult platforming or requiring really precise jumps. I mean mentally difficult, where you have to think about your actions several steps ahead and figure out how your different versions can work together.

Later levels could also introduce limitations to make things more complicated. For example, you could have a limited number of versions that you are allowed to create, meaning you can't just keep resetting forever. Another mechanic could be that if you touch one of your past versions, the entire level immediately resets. This would force you to carefully plan your movement and think about where your previous versions are going to be at each point in the level.

There could also be other mechanics built around the idea of interacting with your past actions. The difficulty could come from combining these mechanics together and forcing the player to think about multiple timelines at once.

That's basically the whole mechanism for the game. I think the main thing would be coming up with interesting puzzles that make good use of it rather than just making the levels harder through platforming or reaction time.

I hope my explanation makes sense. I'm not very good at explaining things, so if anything is unclear, comment and I'll explain it.

I'm currently designing a management/tycoon game as a personal project, and I'm trying to challenge the core concept before I get too attached to the design.

The basic premise is that you start small as a property owner and gradually grow into managing a much larger residential property business.

The part I'm most interested in exploring is the relationship between the business/management side and the people living in the properties.

Instead of tenants simply being an occupancy percentage or a source of monthly income, I'd like them to exist as lightweight simulated households. The player would have to think about who is living in their properties and how their management decisions affect them.

At the same time, I don't want this to become a life simulator or a game where you're constantly micromanaging individual people. The player is still fundamentally managing a property business.

The design goal is for decisions that look good financially in the short term to sometimes create problems elsewhere, while investments that make residents happier aren't necessarily always the optimal financial choice. Ideally, this creates interesting trade-offs rather than an obvious "correct" way to play.

I'm deliberately keeping some of the deeper mechanics private for now because the project is still early, but I'd really like opinions on the design direction itself.

My main question for experienced designers is:

Do you think simulated tenant households can create meaningful decisions in a management/tycoon game, or does this sound like a system that could easily turn into unnecessary micromanagement?

And if you were evaluating this concept early in development, what would be the biggest design risk you'd want to prototype/test first?

I've had this idea for a few years, but I have absolutely no ability to code.

The game is called "Bardcore". It is very heavily inspired by vampire survivors, but based on music. Each character would represent a different genre. Each weapon and passive item has instrumental loops attached to it, so as you flesh out your build, you get a unique bgm on each run.

The genre of the loops is determined by the character you are playing. And you can't get conflicting items/weapons. For example, you can't have 2 lead instrumentals.

Each item should have multiple loops for each genre, and when picked up, a loop is randomly selected for the current genre to add more variety.

As far as "story" and enemies, stages, etc...yeah I haven't gotten that far lol. I just had the core concept and know I can't make it, so want to share it in hopes that someone can and will make it, because I really want to play it.

I am able to draw a bit, so when I have time I might sketch up some concept art and come back to share it

Endless dictation of my scrambled thought, forgive the AI output style. Really only way to pull my ideas out of my head.

🎮 Game Concept: Echoes of the Front

Tagline: "Command from the trenches—fight, survive, and evolve."

👋 Intro

This isn’t just a weekend idea—it’s something I’ve been thinking about for years. Echoes of the Front is the result of countless hours spent playing, analyzing, and imagining what could exist if the best parts of tactical FPS and RTS games were truly merged. It’s evolved as I’ve discovered new mechanics, learned from what works (and what doesn’t), and kept refining the vision into something that might finally feel one-of-a-kind.

It’s not about being the commander or the soldier—it’s about being immersed in the battle itself. I’m tired of the endless respawn cycle. I want to feel the tension, the fear, the thrill—the weight of every decision. Games like Escape from Tarkov master that intensity, but I want it in a war-based RTS/FPS hybrid. When you build something that can be lost forever or rise to victory, even as a single squad in a larger conflict, that’s when the game truly matters.

I’m sharing this concept now because I think it’s ready to spark discussion, challenge assumptions, and maybe even inspire something real.

🧠 Core Concept

A hybrid first-person shooter (FPS) and real-time strategy (RTS) experience. You fight from the ground, but the battle unfolds like a living strategy game. You’re not just a soldier—you’re part of a company. You deploy a single squad at a time, rotate between squad members, issue tactical orders, and respond to dynamic objectives from an AI commander who sees the whole field.

Every unit matters. Every loss is permanent. You build your company over time, customizing squads, upgrading gear, and forming emotional bonds with your veterans. But when they fall, they’re gone. That tension—between survival and sacrifice—is the heart of the game.

🎯 Inspirations

This concept draws from games that almost got it right—but never fully bridged the gap:

* Company of Heroes – RTS pacing and battlefield flow

* Hell Let Loose – Realistic gunplay and map scale

* Enlisted – AI squad control and class-based combat

* Escape from Tarkov – High-stakes survival and gear loss

* Ready or Not – Tactical squad mechanics and immersive pacing

* Call to Arms – Gates of Hell: Ostfront – RTS with individual FPS control

🕹️ Gameplay Overview

Perspective & Mechanics

* Played in first-person, but structured like an RTS

* Control a squad of AI teammates, switching between members freely

* Issue orders: move, hold, suppress, flank, retreat, heal, repair

* Gunplay is realistic and punishing—every bullet counts

* AI Commander assigns dynamic objectives based on battlefield flow

* Game modes include victory point control, annihilation, and objective-based battles

* Mid-battle resupply, reinforcement, and healing are possible—but costly

* Loadouts are historically grounded and tactically diverse

* Veterancy of each unit greatly affects lethality and survivability

Core Loop

1. Manage your company at home base

2. Deploy a squad into battle

3. Complete objectives and survive

4. Earn resources and experience

5. Upgrade units—or mourn their loss

🔄 Squad Control & Rotation

* Free Rotation: Switch between squad members anytime

* No Cooldown: Seamless transitions keep you in the fight

* Command Retention: Issue orders no matter who you’re controlling

* AI Behavior: Squadmates act intelligently based on experience and morale

🌐 Game Modes & Party System

Singleplayer

* Full access to progression, company management, and tactical gameplay

* AI fills both allies and enemies for immersive solo battles

PvE

* Join other players in co-op battles against AI forces

* Matchmaking scales difficulty and objectives based on team composition

PvP

* Full-scale multiplayer battles with human players and AI support

* Matchmaking considers company strength, selected unit loadouts, and battlefield demands

* It aims to pair players with similar overall force levels—but not exclusively

* A wide range of matchups is possible, especially when the battlefield needs specific roles

* Risk scales with reward:

* Deploying fresh recruits carries low risk—and yields modest returns

* Fielding elite squads or rare vehicles increases your impact, but also the stakes

* AI fills gaps to maintain pacing and battlefield density

Shared Companies

* Invite friends to join your company as advisors

* They control squad members, contribute resources, and help execute tactics

* All progression stays with the host

* Advisors earn limited rewards based on participation

🧭 Strategic Systems

Home Base

* Customize your company: gear, vehicles, squad names, and cosmetics

* Heal and upgrade surviving units

* Lost units are permanently gone—no respawn, no reset

* Veteran units retain gear, experience, and emotional weight

📈 Progression & Company Growth

Progression in Echoes of the Front isn’t about unlocking perks—it’s about surviving long enough to matter.

* Units are drafted as rookies, purchased with manpower and equipped with basic gear

* As they survive battles, they gain experience, lethality, and personality—becoming the backbone of your company

* You’ll spend less on new recruits and more on better gear, vehicles, and cosmetic upgrades that reflect your journey

* If you lose everything—if your squads fall faster than you can recover resources—you can restart with a new company, just like a new player

* Your personal experience becomes a reflection of your company’s current state: hardened veterans, upgraded tanks, and scars from battles won or lost

You don’t just level up—you build a legacy. Or you lose it.

🧩 Example Unit Classes

Squads are categorized by class, but each is user-defined and personalized over time. Players name their squads, customize their gear, and watch them evolve—or mourn their loss.

🔁 Redeployment Interface

After initial deployment, players can queue for redeployment, gaining priority over external players joining mid-match. You select up to 5 squads from your company to make available.

The UI shows:

* Squad Name (user-defined)

* Class (tactical role)

* Visual Teaser (lead soldier/tank with cosmetics and posture)

* Selection Highlight (checkmark and glow effect)

The more flexible your selection, the faster you may be matched. Choosing only armor squads may delay deployment until the battlefield needs armor. Including infantry, support, and mobile units increases match speed.

You don’t see the battle’s economy. You don’t micromanage the commander. You just do your job—and hope your squad survives.

🗺️ Combat & Objectives

* AI Commander assigns missions: capture, defend, hold

* Tactical movement and terrain awareness are critical

* Retreating is valid—preserve your veterans

* Success yields experience and company resources

⚙️ Resources & Upgrades

Resource Types

* Manpower – Unit upgrades

* Munitions – Ammo and weapon enhancements

* Fuel – Vehicle acquisition and maintenance

Gear & Tradeoffs

* Larger packs = more ammo, less mobility

* Weapon tiers are grounded but balanced

* Vehicle options could include:

* Infantry: Trucks, halftracks

* Support: Jeeps, towable AT/HE guns

* Tanks: Greyhound to Pershing

👥 Monetization Strategy

Philosophy

* No pay-to-win

* Focus on cosmetics and personalization

* Most monetized items are non-essential and can be earned

Examples

* Home base themes

* Uniforms, decals, camouflage

* Cosmetics are tied to unit survival—loss means re-earning or repurchasing

Pricing

* 12 uniforms – $0.99

* 100 uniforms – $5.99

* Monthly theme subscriptions

💬 Feedback Questions

* Does the hybrid FPS/RTS concept sound engaging?

* I’ve focused

* on a WW2 theme—would another setting fit this better?

* Would the permanent loss mechanic feel rewarding or frustrating?

* Are the resource and upgrade systems clear and balanced?

* What kind of cosmetic themes would appeal to you?

* Would you prefer PvE or PvP as your primary mode of play?

* How important is squad control and AI behavior to your experience?

This type of game used to be mainstream until the mid 2000's and I genuinely can't understand why it went away, turning the entire racing genre into a niche for very particular type of enthusiasts.

A simcade would be a racing game that isn't an arcade racer, so no Mario Kart or Destruction Derby, no powerup mechanics, boosts and so on. The gampelay should remind the player of a proper car race: you're faster by following the proper racing line, you overtake by getting into the sleepstream and braking late, your car burns fuel and wears its tyres... But it also wouldn't be a simulator like most modern mainstream games are. It should prioritize being a fun game over replicating every detail of driving physics.

The focus should be put into single player content, something that is ignored by most modern sims (except for Gran Turismo, which suffers from an attrocious AI). It would contain a career mode where different teams/manufacturers would contact the player to race for them in different series each with its own selection of tracks/layouts and cars. The player could receive a salary from their team that they could use to buy and unlock stuff for other game modes or special events.

Multiplayer can exist but not in the hyper-competitve scene of simracing. It should be something like being able to call a friend to play as your teammate in a series of the career mode.

Also importantly, the game should have a proper damage model. Most racing games refuse to implement it because manufacturers of licensed cars don't want to see their cars being wrecked (as if people were idiots and didn't know that a Ferrari would break if you slam it at 300km/h against a wall).

Do you think it would be better to make a “friendslop” game designed mainly around fun, chaotic multiplayer gameplay with friends, rather than creating a single-player game focused heavily on a deep storyline and narrative? A friendslop game could potentially be easier and faster to develop, especially for a small indie developer, while also being more replayable because players can create their own funny moments and experiences together. It could also have a greater chance of spreading through Twitch, YouTube, and social media if the gameplay produces unexpected or hilarious situations. On the other hand, a single player storyline game gives much more creative freedom when it comes to storytelling, emotional moments, world-building, characters, and delivering a memorable experience. The main question is whether the goal should be to create something that is primarily fun and replayable with friends, or something more cinematic, meaningful, and story-driven that players experience alone. Which direction would be smarter for a small indie developer?

The Concept

Set in a medieval or fantasy-historical world, you play as a noblewoman who enters the world of aristocracy through birth, marriage, or both.

You could begin as a Queen, Duchess, Countess, Baroness, Princess, or another member of the nobility, depending on the scenario you choose.

The objective isn't simply to conquer the world or personally control armies. Instead, the game focuses on living the life of a noblewoman and building your position, family, household, and dynasty within a medieval society.

You are part of a world that continues moving around you.

Kings will make decisions. Wars will begin and end. Nobles will form alliances. People will marry, have children, fall ill, die, betray each other, gain titles, lose estates, and rise or fall in influence.

You decide how your character responds to all of this.

The game would combine elements of life simulation, dynasty management, grand strategy, court politics, relationship management, and open-world exploration.

Your character doesn't have to become the most powerful person in the world.

Maybe you want to become the most influential woman at court.

Maybe you want to build a powerful family.

Maybe you want to be a devoted wife and mother.

Maybe you want to become wealthy through your estates.

Maybe you want to influence your husband's decisions.

Maybe you want to survive court politics without becoming involved in them.

Or maybe you want to manipulate the entire kingdom from behind the scenes.

There should be no single correct way to play.

My Vision / Ideas

Starting the Game

When beginning your campaign, you create your own noblewoman.

You choose her:

• Name
• Age
• Appearance
• Personality
• Education
• Skills
• Religion
• Culture
• Family background
• Birthplace
• Social status

You then choose which kingdom or noble house you were born into and which family you marry into.

This would affect the difficulty and the kind of gameplay available to you.

For example, marrying into a powerful royal family could give you enormous opportunities but also put you in the middle of intense court politics.

Marrying into a poor or declining noble house could give you much less wealth and influence, but also more freedom to build something yourself.

You could even start as a member of a minor noble family and eventually rise through marriage, inheritance, political connections, or your family's achievements.

Your Position

Your starting position determines what kind of life you have.

You could start as:

Queen

You are married to the ruler of a kingdom. You have access to the highest level of court society, but expectations and political dangers are also enormous.

Duchess

You control or belong to one of the most powerful noble houses in the kingdom. Your family may have its own lands, armies, wealth, and political interests.

Countess

You manage a smaller but important territory while balancing your relationship with your liege and neighboring nobles.

Baroness

You have less political power but potentially much more freedom to build your household and family.

Princess

You may not control land yourself, but your position makes you an extremely valuable political asset for marriage and diplomacy.

And these are only starting positions.

Your character's position can change throughout the game.

You could become a Duchess through marriage.

A Countess could inherit additional lands.

A Queen could become Regent.

A noblewoman could lose everything.

Your children could eventually inherit your position and continue your story.

Marriage

Marriage is one of the most important parts of the game.

Your husband isn't simply a character who gives you a title.

He has his own personality, ambitions, relationships, opinions, strengths and weaknesses.

Your marriage could be:

• A genuine love marriage
• A political marriage
• A diplomatic marriage
• A cold arranged marriage
• A marriage that develops into genuine affection
• A troubled marriage
• A relationship where both partners are politically ambitious

Your relationship with your husband would develop over time.

You might become his closest companion and adviser.

You might have very little influence over him.

You might disagree constantly.

You might build a powerful partnership together.

Or your relationship could deteriorate completely.

The important part is that your husband is not simply an extension of the player.

He is another character with his own decisions.

He can refuse your requests.

He can make decisions you disagree with.

He can have his own friends and enemies.

He can become jealous.

He can favor another member of the family.

And his actions can dramatically change your life.

Other Wives and Concubines

Depending on the culture and laws of the kingdom, your husband may be allowed to have multiple wives or concubines.

This would not simply be a mechanic for increasing the number of children.

It would create an entirely different social environment.

Another wife could become:

• Your friend
• Your rival
• Your political ally
• Your husband's favorite
• The mother of your husband's preferred heir
• A member of another powerful family

You would have to decide how to deal with her.

You could cooperate.

You could compete.

You could try to build a relationship with her.

You could attempt to increase your own influence.

Or you could simply ignore the situation and focus on your own household.

The same applies to mistresses and other romantic relationships at court.

Children & Family

Children would be one of the central systems of the game.

Having children wouldn't simply mean producing an heir.

You would actually raise them.

As your children grow, you would make decisions about their upbringing and education.

You could influence their:

• Education
• Personality
• Skills
• Religion
• Friendships
• Marriage prospects
• Political connections
• Future careers

A son might become a knight or commander.

A daughter might become a diplomat or marry into another powerful house.

Another child might become a scholar.

Another might become ambitious and eventually challenge their siblings.

You could also have children who don't live up to your expectations.

Some may become loyal to you.

Others may become independent.

Some may even become your political rivals.

Once your children grow older, you can begin arranging marriages and building alliances between noble houses.

Eventually, your character may die, but your family doesn't have to end with her.

You can continue playing through her descendants.

Household

Your household would be another major part of the game.

You aren't living alone in a castle.

You have:

• Ladies-in-waiting
• Servants
• Tutors
• Guards
• Maids
• Stewards
• Physicians
• Priests
• Advisors
• Household officers
• Family members
• Other nobles visiting your residence

Every person could have their own personality, relationships and ambitions.

Your lady-in-waiting might become your closest friend.

Your steward might be extremely competent but secretly loyal to another noble.

A servant could discover a scandal.

A courtier could become your most important political ally.

The household should feel like a living social environment rather than simply a menu.

Court Life

Court should constantly change around you.

Every season could bring new events.

A noble might die.

A marriage might be announced.

A foreign ambassador might arrive.

A war might begin.

Your husband might receive a political demand.

A rival might spread rumors about you.

Your child might become ill.

A friend might ask for your help.

A noble family might suddenly lose favor.

A new favorite could appear at court.

You might receive an invitation to a feast.

You might be asked to attend a royal ceremony.

Some events would be important.

Others would simply be part of everyday noble life.

The goal is to make the court feel alive.

politics & Influence

Politics would still be an important part of the game, but it wouldn't be the only way to play.

You could develop relationships with:

• Your husband
• Your children
• Other nobles
• Ministers
• Religious figures
• Foreign ambassadors
• Your household
• Other noblewomen
• Merchants
• Military commanders

Your influence would depend on many things.

Your title.

Your family's reputation.

Your wealth.

Your relationship with the ruler.

Your marriage.

Your children.

Your friendships.

Your reputation.

Your personality.

Your actions.

A powerful Duchess doesn't automatically have influence simply because she has a high title.

Likewise, a minor noblewoman could become extremely influential if she builds the right relationships.

Estates & Wealth

If your character owns land, you should also have some control over your estates.

You could invest in:

• Farms
• Villages
• Roads
• Markets
• Mills
• Mines
• Fortifications
• Castles
• Trade
• Religious buildings

Your estate generates income, but it also has problems.

Bad harvests.

Bandits.

Disease.

Peasant unrest.

Poor management.

Corrupt officials.

War.

A successful noblewoman could gradually turn a small estate into an extremely wealthy domain.

Open World

Alongside the campaign map, I would like an open-world option.

Instead of experiencing everything through menus, you could actually move around your castle, estate, town, and court.

You could walk through the castle.

Visit the gardens.

Attend feasts.

Speak with your ladies-in-waiting.

Visit your children.

Meet nobles.

Attend religious ceremonies.

Travel to another estate.

Visit a market.

Go hunting.

Attend weddings and funerals.

Travel with your husband.

Visit other noble courts.

The open world wouldn't replace the strategy layer.

It would make your character actually feel like she lives inside the world.

Foreign Relations

You aren't limited to your own kingdom.

Your family may have connections across borders.

Your marriage might create an alliance.

Your children could marry foreign nobles.

You could visit another kingdom.

Foreign rulers could send ambassadors.

You could develop friendships with foreign noblewomen.

Your family could become connected to several kingdoms at once.

A marriage that seems insignificant at the beginning of the game could become extremely important two generations later.

Religion

Religion would also play an important role depending on the setting.

You could support religious institutions, build relationships with important religious figures, participate in ceremonies, make donations, or become involved in religious disputes.

Your religious reputation could affect how nobles and ordinary people perceive you.

Different kingdoms could also have completely different religious systems and expectations.

Military

The military wouldn't be the main gameplay focus.

You wouldn't personally command soldiers like in a traditional Total War-style game.

Armies would exist and operate as part of the larger world.

However, military events would still affect your life.

Your husband could go to war.

Your son could become a commander.

Your lands could be attacked.

Your castle could be besieged.

Your kingdom could win or lose territory.

You could influence military decisions through your relationships and political position, but you wouldn't personally control every soldier on a battlefield.

The focus is being the noblewoman living through the war, rather than being the general commanding every unit.

Reputation

Your character should develop a reputation based on how she lives her life.

You could become known as:

The Beloved Queen

A charitable and kind ruler who is loved by her subjects.

The King's Shadow

A politically powerful woman who seems to influence everything her husband does.

The Iron Duchess

A ruthless noblewoman who protects her family at any cost.

The Mother of Kings

A woman whose children eventually control multiple kingdoms.

The Lady of the People

A noblewoman who spends much of her time helping ordinary people.

The Scandalous Lady

A woman whose romantic and political life becomes the talk of the kingdom.

Or you could simply become someone history barely remembers.

Aging & Death

Your character isn't immortal.

She ages.

Her appearance changes.

Her relationships change.

Her children grow up.

Her husband grows old.

Friends die.

Enemies disappear.

New generations replace the old ones.

Eventually, your character will die.

But that doesn't necessarily mean the game ends.

Depending on the mode, you could continue as:

• Your daughter
• Your son
• Your granddaughter
• Another member of your dynasty

This means your decisions can have consequences decades after you made them.

The Dynasty

The ultimate goal doesn't necessarily have to be conquering the world.

Your goal could simply be to leave something behind.

Maybe you started as a minor Baroness and your granddaughter becomes Queen.

Maybe your family controls five duchies.

Maybe your children marry into every major royal family.

Maybe you built the richest estate in the kingdom.

Maybe your descendants become rulers of an empire.

Or maybe your entire family collapses because of one bad decision.

The history of your family should be shaped by what you do.

Difficulty & Starting Scenarios

Different starting positions should provide completely different experiences.

For example:

The Young Queen

You are newly married to a young King who is inexperienced and surrounded by powerful nobles.

The Foreign Duchess

You have just married into a kingdom whose language and customs you barely understand.

The Widow

Your husband has died, leaving you with young children and a contested inheritance.

The Second Wife

You have entered an established royal household where another woman already has considerable influence.

The Minor Noblewoman

You have almost no political influence but control a small estate and want to build your family's position.

The Powerful Duchess

You already control a wealthy territory and have to protect your family from nobles who fear your growing influence.

The Princess

You were born into royalty but must marry into another kingdom and leave your homeland behind.

Each scenario could produce a completely different story.

No Single Victory Condition

I don't think the game needs one traditional victory screen.

Instead, at the end of your character's life, the game could generate a history of your life and dynasty.

It could tell you:

• Where you were born
• Who you married
• How many children you had
• Which kingdoms you became connected to
• What estates you controlled
• Your biggest political achievements
• Your greatest failures
• Important relationships
• Major scandals
• Wars that affected your family
• How your children turned out
• What happened to your dynasty

And then you could continue the story with the next generation.

The Main Idea

The most important thing about the game is that you aren't playing a kingdom.

You're playing a person living inside a kingdom.

The world doesn't revolve around you.

You are one noblewoman in a huge living medieval world.

Sometimes you will have enormous influence.

Sometimes you will be powerless.

Sometimes you'll make a decision that changes the history of your kingdom.

Sometimes you'll spend an entire season dealing with your children, household, marriage, or personal relationships.

And that's what I think could make the game interesting.

It's not simply:

"What if a woman could play a medieval strategy game?"

It's:

"What would it actually be like to live an entire noble life in a medieval world?"

You create your woman.

You choose her family.

You choose who she marries.

You build her household.

You raise her children.

You manage her relationships.

You experience court life.

You make allies and enemies.

You gain or lose influence.

You watch kingdoms rise and fall around you.

And eventually, when your character dies, you get to see what kind of legacy she left behind.

FYI I’m not a developer - how hard would this be to make?

Every game ever made has had 1 item + 1 item = new item. But what if you had a game that simulated forging (hammering something until it changes shape) casting (pouring molten metal into a cast and cooling it into that shape) and welding (joining two pieces of metal with a weld). You could have players make genuinely any shape, and probably do many things with this, such as challenging players to get a shape within a certain threshold, or recognizing the shapes as certain presets of items like a sword, and then allowing them to do things like welding swords to a car and driving into something.

You could also apply a similar framework to construction, ie digging foundations, pouring concrete, putting up walls, only thing is this parts less interesting so you’d probably want NPCs doing it and having the player direct them. Maybe also some kind of structural simulation?

There’s nothing as far as I know in 3d graphics that prevents this. But again - I know nothing about 3d graphics.

So is this doable? How hard would this be to make? Would you have to basically reinvent a game engine?

Core Idea

An RPG where the world continuously reacts to the player's important decisions. Instead of NPCs and quests behaving exactly the same way every time, the player's actions would create lasting changes throughout the game.

NPC Memory

NPCs would remember meaningful interactions with the player. Helping someone could improve their relationship with the player, while betraying, ignoring, or disappointing them could have consequences later. NPCs could also remember important events involving other characters and react differently when those events are brought up again.

Dynamic Quests

Quests would not always follow one fixed sequence. The player's previous actions could change the objectives, available choices, characters involved, or possible outcomes of future quests. Completing a task peacefully might create one situation, while using another approach could create completely different challenges later.

World Reactions

The consequences would extend beyond individual quests. A decision that affects one character could eventually influence other characters, factions, locations, or future opportunities. For example, helping one faction could improve access to certain areas while making another faction less cooperative.

Replayability

The goal would be to make each playthrough feel different without simply changing random events. Different decisions would create different relationships, quest paths, and consequences, allowing players to discover new possibilities during another playthrough.

The main idea is to create an RPG where the player feels that their decisions genuinely matter and that the world is paying attention to what they do.

What other mechanics could make an RPG world feel more reactive to the player's decisions?

I've been thinking about making a semi-realistic survival game and wanted to see if the core idea sounds fun.

It would have the usual survival mechanics: crafting, building, harvesting resources, health, hunger, thirst, animals, enemies, objectives, exploration and progression. I don't want it to be an ultra-realistic simulator where everything becomes tedious, though. The mechanics would be grounded enough to feel believable while still being enjoyable.

The main thing that would make the game stand out is the terrain and scale

In a lot of survival games, you'll see a massive mountain in the distance, but you can reach the top in a couple of minutes. I'd like my world to have much more realistic geographical scale. A huge mountain could actually be huge, potentially taking hours to reach and climb. The "three hours" example isn't fixed; I'm just trying to explain the scale I'm imagining.

The world would be procedurally generated, with large mountains, valleys, forests, rivers, deserts, plains, cliffs and other geographical features. I'd want the terrain to look beautiful and geographically coherent rather than just being random noise.

For example, you could stand in a valley and see a massive mountain range several kilometres away. You decide to make an expedition there, so you prepare food, water, tools, clothing and shelter materials. You travel through forests and valleys, potentially set up a temporary camp, deal with weather and temperature changes, and eventually climb the mountain.

The survival mechanics would be semi-realistic. Temperature, weather, food, water, injuries and shelter would matter, but I don't want the player constantly managing tiny statistics. Survival should create interesting decisions rather than become tedious.

I'd also want progression to feel logical. Instead of hitting a tree for 20 minutes, you'd start with primitive tools and use them to obtain the materials needed to make better tools, gradually unlocking more efficient ways of surviving and building.

Building would have a lot of freedom, similar to Minecraft, but within this much larger world.

The main idea is that the world itself is something worth exploring. If you see a mountain, canyon, forest or strange geological formation in the distance, you can actually go there, and the journey itself becomes part of the gameplay.

Obviously, there are already plenty of survival games with crafting, building and procedural worlds. I'm not claiming those mechanics are completely original. The part I'm interested in is combining them with genuinely massive-scale procedural terrain where distance and geography actually matter.

I'm wondering if this sounds like a genuinely fun game concept, or whether travelling for potentially hours to reach something would become tedious.

Okay I forget what game I was watching this person play but it had like a horror segment but the main part of this game is that the person was playing was you're playing as a woman who's pregnant who's going through her family's history after she went back to her old house.

So my idea for a horror game would be you are the last survivor of this family and you would have to go through what killed your family members ask them and if you successfully complete the mission they come back from the dead I would have it connected to a curse and if you save all of them the curse is done and each mission would be a different style so let's say for example anime 3D 2D 8-bit Syfy slasher supernatural comedy horror and each of the styles would be based off of the year the person die from the curse.

How does this idea for a game sound.

And it could either be a chapter thing where you have multiple family members in one chapter kind of like the chapter style of dark deception.

And each family member would die a different way even though if it is because of the curse so let's say one died from a maniac breaking into a house another die from a house fire and the last one died from drowning. And each family member would at least kind of be different ages

Basically a Naruto open world fan game, but for the fighing mechanics its like a turn based combat and based on the accuracy/speed of your hand signs which i will create an ai to detect which handsign you create you deal a certain ammount of damage. And maybe at the beginning of the game you get to score a wheel to choose your character and ofcourse the stronger a character is the harder his jutsu will be to recreate. And to also give a fair chance to unlucky players maybe defeating a certain ammount of other players grants you more luck which can help you in your respin to unlock another character. Also since im a begginer dev i wanted to ask if i recreate all of naruto exactly could i still monetize the game? or would i have to create similair ,but not exact characters/scenes/places? Also how would i combat cheaters or people who put images of hand signs on camera instead of actually using their hands? any thoughts? i wanna know who would be interested in this idea and if you think i should actually recreate it what are some suggestions for the game?

I’ve been getting a little burned out on Total War: Warhammer III lately, so I started digging through Steam looking for something that scratched the same itch. Specifically, I wanted a grand strategy game with a turn-based campaign layer, but with large-scale real-time battles where positioning, unit composition, equipment, buffs, etc. actually matter.
After searching for about an hour, I realized there really aren’t that many games doing that exact combination, at least not many that grabbed my attention for more than a couple hours.
So naturally, my terrible idea was: why not try making one?
I’m an indie dev, so I fully understand how ridiculous the scope of something like this could become. I’m not trying to recreate Total War or compete with a massive studio. The idea would be much smaller in scale and built around a tighter core gameplay loop.
At its heart, it would be a turn-based strategy game where you manage territory, armies, resources, upgrades, and whatever other systems survive the prototype phase. When armies meet, though, the game shifts into real-time large-scale battles.
My goal is to hit a middle ground where the game is simple enough that you don’t need a spreadsheet open just to play it, but deep enough that you actually want to experiment. Different unit compositions, equipment, buffs, upgrades, strategies, army builds, and so on should give you reasons to keep improving instead of just building the same doomstack every game.
This is still extremely early and I’m drawing out the actual mechanics now, so I’m mostly looking for criticism rather than hype.
What would make a game like this fail?
More specifically, is there a reason we don’t see many games combining a turn-based strategic campaign with large real-time battles outside of Total War? Is it mostly a development/scope problem, or are there gameplay problems with the formula that aren’t obvious until you actually start building it?
I’d genuinely like to hear what people think would go wrong with this idea before I get too attached to it.

Game idea 💡

RPG game where you are born in a city that is constantly at war with an adjacent city. These cities are not modern - there is direct combat and use of manual weapons.

You grow for 12 months which are 18 years in-game before being sent to war. The choices along the way shape the person you become. While offline, your character's days pass according to the personality shaped while online. There will be other players in the city and in the adjacent city too, being born, living, growing up, going to war.

You can develop relationships, even a career, but conscription is mandatory.

There is a period of training and then you're off to battle.

If you survive your first battle you may choose to either continue playing that character or be born anew, in either city (the first one is random, the second is chosen or also randomized).

If you decide to play as another character, the one you created earlier continues living on according to the behavior developed and may die eventually.

All characters that aren't players are played by AI defaults (or non AI defaults).

Does anyone know any game like this?