This goes a bit beyond the presented scope for the project, but I wanted to add a world map.
I like the starting premise, but for me to emotionally relate to a game, it has to be a way of telling a story, and not just practicing a skill. Also for me, stories are about people, who have dire needs, and therefore undertake actions/adventures in an attempt to satisfy those needs.
So, my concept is:
- There exists some planet with some settlements on it.
- The regional terrain is constantly shifting, causing the ground to exhibit “weather”
- “weather”, in the sense of shifting, transient patterns
- Travel between the settlements is both difficult and limited.
- Trade between the settlements is difficult, but essential to survival.
- Walking from town to town feels like running a marathon through a minefield, so it is simply not done
- The regional terrain is constantly shifting, causing the ground to exhibit “weather”
The player is a person from one of these settlements, who gets a transportation license, and then goes to work transporting goods and people between settlements.
- I haven’t decided on sci-fi vs fantasy
- I haven’t decided if I will keep the rocket, swap it for a quadcopter, or do something else
Each “town” will be a shop screen, with a few dialogue options.
- cargo is bought and sold in a town
- people who ride along will simply exit the vehicle at their stop (or earlier if you take too long, or they lose faith in your abilities)
There is no real “win condition”, but there are “lose conditions”. These are mostly just destruction of the ship.
Player success is measured in gaining wealth as a result of their work of moving the right cargo to the right place at the right time. Player failure is measured in goods and lives lost.
The game is a partial clone of an old game, Tradewinds, but with combat swapped for piloting challenges.
