I’m sure lots of people have thought about the kinds of games they’d make if they found themselves in hte role of game designer. I guess I’m no exception. I thought it’d be interesting to share three games I’d like to see made. Heck, if I were in the position to make these decisions, I’d make these games myself.

1- A Mech Roleplaying Game

I’m a big fan of the Mechwarrior games. I love designing the mech down to the nitty gritty details such as where the heatsinks live, and the fact that the ammo for the chest-mounted autogun is stored in the left arm. I love balancing weight against heat consumption. I don’t think that this complexity would be a detriment, because the people who don’t like that aspect can just choose a pre-configured mech.

I like the fact that the gameplay isn’t lightning fast. While energy weapons like the PPC and mass drivers like the autogun hit the target pretty much instantly, missiles really should take 2-3 seconds to reach a medium-range target. That’s why missiles have a lock-on. Mechwarrior Mercenaries really started started taking the game in the direction I’d like to see it go. You complete missions, earn money, and use that money to purchase better weapons and refit your mech. If you earn enough, you can even build a better mech. But I’d like to see it go even further.

How about a mech game without the Mechwarrior license in which there are scenes and portions of missions where you actually need to exit the mech? How about some personal interaction that doesn’t take place over the radio while you’re in a cockpit? Maybe even a few action scenes where you’re not in a mech. Rivalry between mech pilots, optional missions to get specialized new mountable weaponry, maybe multiplayer where you have a pilot and gunner inside the same mech. That’s what I’d like in my mech RPG.

2- A Semi-Casual Gladiator Game

Back in the age of door games, I played a gladiator game with a number of friends. None of us were ever online at the same time, and we were playing on a BBS via dial-up connections. This gladiator game didn’t even have ASCII graphics. We read text readouts that told us the results of our daily fights. We’d create gladiators, rolling them up like D&D characters, equip them with various weapons, and schedule them to fight against each other. Some of our gladiators would win, others would lose, and the owner of the winning gladiators would gain reputation and money. Occasionally, a gladiator would be killed in the ring, which sucked for the owner. But it was a great game.

I would love to re-envision and reboot this game. It would be like an anti-MMO. It could be a massive multiplayer online experience, but it would likely be limited to fifteen minutes or so per day. How long can you spend scheduling fights and occasionally purchasing new weapons or armor for your gladiators? If you’re really obsessive, perhaps 30-45 minutes. But it wouldn’t be the kind of time sink that World of Warcraft is. Perhaps we could add 3D-rendered scenes of the fights being played out, and anyone could go in and watch replays of the various battles. That’d be cool. But still fairly casual.

3- A Vehicular Battle game

I’m not talking about Carmageddon, Twisted Metal, or Mariokart. My game has no power-ups. I’m talking about a game in which you start with a rusted-out old 1977 Ford Maverick with no windshield and a couple of steel sheets armoring the sides. Maybe it’s got a front-mounted machine gun that can fire in a 60 degree arc forward. As the story progresses, you can purchase armored and weaponized motorcycles, vans and sports cars. You can replace blown-out tires with puncture-resistant and solid rubber varieties, replace your engine with an electric, fuel cell, or air pressure power plant, and customize the location and strength of your armor. You can buy a turret or cupola for the roof of larger vehicles, but you’ve got to manage how much space and weight various items takes. And of course, many of these items are expensive, and it’s tough to find someone who can install them properly for you. You can buy high-power halogen headlamps that can blind opponents, razor hubcaps to shred the wheels of cars you sideswipe, and dropped weapons like oil, mines, and smoke.

Of course, without a plotline the game wouldn’t be much of anything. How about this:

After the American electoral system was revealed to be a farce in the 2020 elections, political upheaval led to dozens of riots across the country. In 2027, the United States split into three countries: The United American Republic, consisting of most of the America midwest and western states, has its capital in Denver. The Democratic States of America encompasses most of the East Coast, and has its capital in Philadelphia. And the Free State of California, with its capital in Sacramento. Many areas of America were not claimed by any of the three countries, most notably sections of the Dakotas, Nevada, and Utah. Law enforcement in rural areas became neglected and road piracy became common along certain trade routes. These gangs of pirates and bandits grew in power, and armed vehicles along the highways became a real threat. Gangs of motorcycle pirates, roadblocks with mounted machineguns, and dreadnaught-style tractor trailers now rule the roads between populated areas. Walled cities, not seen in the civilized world for centuries, once again became the norm. And the demand for armed road escorts grew…