My XCOM 2 ideas.

[podtech115]

I've been working on this weird poll about what the next XCOM game should be.

But I'm kind of scared to show it because the ideas are kind of weird and stupid.

Like one idea is you being a Private Investigator. Another idea is about ghosts.

So maybe I'll start this topic by asking what your ideas for the next XCOM game should be.

[Nosmirc]

Well you know where I stand on this one

I do think that a game around paranormal investigating, either ghosts or Cryptozoology, has interesting potential for games. Likely a niche market mind you, but there's potential. Also good chances to poke fun at a pair of SyFy shows

Heck, it would be a nice change to have a slower, more thought provoking (via puzzles in lue of investigating) gameplay.

But, it's completely going against everything that is associated with the X-Com brand. It's a pretty specific field. Aliens, and you're fighting them to save earth. No time to be tippy toeing around dark houses at night jumping at every noise, asking "what was that? Did you hear that?"

[podtech115]

Well you know where I stand on this one

Still like the replys, though.

But, it's completely going against everything that is associated with the X-Com brand. It's a pretty specific field. Aliens, and you're fighting them to save earth. No time to be tippy toeing around dark houses at night jumping at every noise, asking "what was that? Did you hear that?"

Like I was going to say in my XCOM 2 poll: X-COM is about 3 things:

Step 1: Encounter an unknown enemy.

Step 2: go back to home, and Research unknown enemys & artifacts.

Step 3: Use research to fight enemy.

I was going to explain this in my poll (But not very well). With these 3 Steps in mind, you can make a X-COM ghost game.

I was even going to have links to give an idea of what I'm going for.

The poll is embarrassing, because there is no polish to the grammar. But you can get an idea of what I'm saying. Do you want me to post it anyways?

[Nosmirc]

I'm not saying you couldn't have a global organization like X-Com that dealt with ghosts or other paranormal beings. Just that...the X wouldn't make a lick of sense then. To be more forward, I fail to see the point of tying X-Com to anything but aliens. It's one of the staples of the series.

[podtech115]

I'm not saying you couldn't have a global organization like X-Com that dealt with ghosts or other paranormal beings. Just that...the X wouldn't make a lick of sense then. To be more forward, I fail to see the point of tying X-Com to anything but aliens. It's one of the staples of the series.

Yeah but.... let me put it in two ways:
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Dune II: The Building of a Dynasty:

Now here is where the RTS game started. Everything about RTS, came from this one game. But the makers didn't want to get stuck using the one setting, so they made Command & Conquer. And from there, RTS games grew and grew.

I think it would have been sad if instead of Command & Conquer, they would have made Dune III to Dune XXIII. It would mean games like Warcraft, StarCraft, Homeworld, Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War, Total Annihilation, Age of Empires and others would have never been made, because they would be called 'Dune rip-offs'.

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Now look at Red Faction:

This game was all about the Geo-Mod (Geometry Modification), it really wasn't at all about the faction. But because of that one stupid name, there was some stupid need to have a faction in each game. Which I hated, because it always felt forced. I mean, does there always need to be a 'red faction' when using Geo-Mod? Can you use it in something else?

I find this sad because the technology could have been used in all kinds of games. Just like ragdolls and Half-Life. But Geo-Mod was made by Red Faction, So it's traped with Red Faction. Maybe if Volition had used it in other games, mayhap the Geo-Mod would have grown.

Same thing with X-COM....
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My point is who cares if it doesn't make a lick of sense. It would mean X-COM's gameplay will live on and grow.

The first 3 Quake games had nothing to do with each other, but id still used the name, right?

If the name is so important then why can't it be a spin-off? Like X-COM: William Carter Story? Or Shogun 2: X-COM?

Or maybe it can be all in the same universe, like H. P. Lovecraft?

But you know what I think doesn't make a lick of sense? Interceptor (I know, I know. I'm sorry). I find it really, really weird that I was researching the same damn Plasma weapons that I researched in the first game! How the F*** were you going to researched the same aliens in Genesis?

Apropos, did you know they were going to drop the name 'Call of Duty' from Modern Warfare 2?

[Nosmirc]

The point I'm driving home is that the gameplay and general setup of the game can go beyond the name.

For example, Nival made a game using the engine they used in Silent Storm for a Nightwatch game (it was an amusing game, translation is pretty rough though, which hurts it a bit, and they might have gotten a little silly with some of the items in the game, but still, I enjoyed it). They didn't call it Silent Storm: Nightwatch or anything like that. It was just Nightwatch. Gameplay was, aside from the obvious changes due to setting, mostly identicial. Wasn't as destructive, but we're talking about two secret groups who fight using magic more often then not, so buildings didn't get so badly damaged.

There's nothing wrong with creating a premise like that you speak of. But it would do the theorical game a lot of service to have a unique name to it, rather then borrow a branding that doesn't fit very well.

How the F*** were you going to researched the same aliens in Genesis?

Given the setup, it made sense. They basically had to rebuild from scratch. We're talking about a warship that crashlanded on earth, they don't necessarily have schematics for manufacturing (or even the facilities, even if those managed to survive the crash)

If the name is so important then why can't it be a spin-off? Like X-COM: William Carter Story? Or Shogun 2: X-COM?

Or maybe it can be all in the same universe, like H. P. Lovecraft?

The thing about Lovecraft, he didn't create his stories under a single name, like "Cthluthu Mythos". That actaully came to be long after he died. You can potentially create multiple games that take place in the same setting, but with titles that don't necessarily tie them together. It'd probably be a good idea, from a marketing stand point, but not entirely necessary.

In that event, though, X-Com would still be a splinter of the main series, IMO. Some sort of "Paranormal Defense Simulation" or something. X-Com would be the alien defense branch, with, for a lack of a better name, the Ghostbusters as the ghost elimiation branch. Using the X-Com brand to cover all of these would likely lead to some strange logic.