4 hours in and I’m still brainstorming. AUGH this is tough! Maybe if I elaborate on the ideas I have so far something will click. Here goes.

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Idea 1: Eating competition game

THEME?
-eat as fast as you can while keeping your food “Beneath the Surface” (don’t vomit / choke)

GAMEPLAY?
-reflex game: press key sequences/patterns to perform actions
-multitasking game: must perform several independent tasks at once: grab food+chew+swallow, digest, stretch(?), drink water ask for refills (2 categories: food & water), manage pulse/stress level(?), burp (without choking, don’t interrupt eating!), hiccups!!
-DANGER EVENTS: about to choke (quickly get some water, manage breath/pulse), about to throw up (mash key or something?)
-time limit: eat x foods in y seconds; once checkpoint reached, higher x and smaller y
-manage stomach fullness: counter with stretches (expand stomach, but takes time) or water (increases digestion speed but increases hiccup %, and bloats(?))

PROS?
-easy to make: no character movement, collision, or level design
-longevity: randomly-generated events (no levels either) so it can be played for a long time, high score rush!
-theme is different enough? maybe too much?
-modular: should be easy to add more features & events if i have time

CONS?
-theme is risky…should emphasize “beneath” and “surface”, perhaps visually (stomach meter with a bar on top, or something)
-repetitiveness: gameplay could fall into a pattern (=infinite score) if there aren’t enough events for the player to manage…gotta keep it fresh
-artwork: it needs it! can people tolerate my bad art? probably
-can i use flashpunk for this…? was expecting to be able to use an easy framework, don’t feel like using pure AS3 + Flash IDE

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Idea 2: Climb & Dive

THEME?
-have to climb a level within a time limit; jump from as high as possible to fall hard enough to break through the planet’s crust and escape to “Beneath the Surface”
-in a drill suit / ship or something, that can be deployed when you make the final jump
-space colony planet, want to breach into the core where it’s cold because the planet is getting to close to a sun (malfunction)

GAMEPLAY?
-vertical platformer: run & jump over obstacles, climb ladders, falling platforms (wide enough screen for big level, not just up)
-calamity: dodge falling objects, crumbling platforms
-maybe no enemies/HP: single-hit deaths
-maybe just one level, but going for high score: how high you can get before jumping, how far you can dig into the ground when landing, SUPER BONUS/Win if you manage to break through the crust!
-2 parts to gameplay: part 1 is vertical climbing, part 2 after the final jump, falling to the ground while dodging things (getting hit slows you down)

PROS?
-cool
-can have fun with level design
-coding/building a level should be easy with Ogmo & Flashpunk

CONS?
-sounds tough…and if development falls apart there won’t be much to make it fun
-need an elaborate level to make it fun, and won’t have much replayability
-really don’t want to make a random level generator if making 1 level isn’t enough

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Idea 3: Climb a Sinking Level

THEME?
-towers/spires are sinking “Beneath the Surface” of the ocean, or perhaps a volcano
-ancient ruins setting? you’re a native trying to find high ground

GAMEPLAY?
-narrow vertical platforming, with bursts of horizontal: climb a tower as it sinks, but once you’re near the top you have to jump to a tower beside you (this will only work if the adjacent tower only gets platforms once it has sunk for a while, so you won’t just jump to it right away)
-crumbling floors, spikes, hazards. can probably have health in this game, but falling off tower kills you
-some events trigger only once the tower has sunken a bit, so even if you can climb faster than it sinks, there’s still a challenge

PROS?
-sounds fun, should be simple & safe enough to be fun

CONS?
-how long with the game last without randomly-generated levels? Hand-designed ones probably don’t suit this game very well, since the player should have to “keep going”

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Idea 4: Double-sided puzzle platformer

THEME?
-controlling two players: one on each side of the ground (above & below), so one is “Beneath the Surface”
-spirit world? dream world? main character is “real/true” one, and the below one is the “fake/shadowy” one (can work out specifics later, but it’s flexible)

GAMEPLAY?
-top character falls down (normal), beneath character falls up: control both at the same time. Right/left moves them in tandem, jump button makes them jump perpendicular to their floors (top up, beneath down)
-different level obstacles on each side of every level: walls, spikes, lasers, LOCKED DOORS & KEYS ON DIFFERENT SIDES. Key for a door will be on the opposide side of the level, so one char grabs key & other char goes through door! okay.
-“bottomless pit” = gap in ground where both chars can fall through; lose life when they hit each other
-multiple levels, puzzle-style: have to get both characters to the exit at the same time

PROS?
-easy & fast to make with Flashpunk & Ogmo
-inoffensive concept, will probably be enjoyable enough even if levels aren’t spectacular
-can skimp on the artwork until later on
-core engine should be quick to develop, allowing more time for level design (which is important)

CONS?
-level design: might be hard to make levels with hard puzzles
-a bit too boring/safe

Okay, that was helpful. #2 & 3 are probably too complex to tackle or won’t be fun enough in time. I like the concept of #1 the most, and will hopefully be simple enough to make, as long as I’m okay with making a non-level-based game like I’m used to. I like #4 too but it might be too simple, however it can definitely be an option to fall back on if whatever else I choose to do goes belly up.