Would this be a cool game?

[Hauk]

As I watch an ant haul off a chunk of food, a bird chase a cicada, a croc take down a wildebeest, or a lion stalk its prey, I think of how cool it would be to be an animal.

Using today's graphics technology, we can simulate just about anything. What about an expansive creature simulation, one where you can be any of a hundred or so different creatures on a map interacting with the environment.

Imagine being an army ant on the march, an eagle in the sky, a panther in the trees. All in immersive, real-time 3D. Take it online, where you could be part of a colony, or be a lone hunter. Test your skills at stalking, or eluding a predator. There wouldn't be an objective other than survival. Exist as a creature of your choosing on different maps, say a rain forest, a jungle plain, a riverbed, etc.

We have enough knowledge about creature habits, movement, and social characteristics to to simulate them I imagine. But is this something people would be interested in? Is it doable?

 

[jjones]

Are there guns involved where we could blast other insects and animals into a gooey mess? If so, I'd play it.

 

[MarcVenice]

Interested yes, doable, not really. WAY to extensive for an online environment, maybe for an offline game it could be done though.

 

[apoppin]

http://www.spore.com/index.php

?

 

[Hauk]

Originally posted by: jjones
Are there guns involved where we could blast other insects and animals into a gooey mess? If so, I'd play it.

No guns, no blasting.

But how cool would it be to dig face first into the flesh of your prey, be it a grasshopper or a zebra?!? :evil:

 

[Hauk]

Originally posted by: apoppin
http://www.spore.com/index.php

?

Looks like a cute game, but I'm thinking something as realistic as possible. It's a jungle out there. Animals play only one game, survival. It'd have to be MA rated to even approach realism.

 

[ArmchairAthlete]

Already been done sorta, see Space Station Silicon Valley on n64.

Though a current gen revisiting of the idea would be really cool if done right.

 

[Skott]

There's a wolf one in production. Or was it lions? Blasted lousy memory! I forget the name of it now. Its either a MMO or a multiplayer game. Forget wich. If I see the url for it again I'll post it. Also SimAnt did something like what you were talking about but that was many many years ago when the technology simply wasnt there.

On the bright side with the popularity of channels like Discovery Channel and Animal Planet people are becoming interested in wildlife moreso than ever. Thanks to the Steve Irwins and Jeff Corbins of the world. It wouldnt surprise me if we'll see these types of games come about in the forthcoming future. I dont think they'll be made by the current big game developers though. I suspect they'll be newer developer/companies we PC gamers havent heard of before. Namely because they'll be aimed more from a learning/edutainment aspect than maybe a blood n guts money maker type of aspect. Which isnt necessarily a bad thing.

 

[gorcorps]

I'd say go on a safari, capture an animal you want, and plant electrodes in it's brain and control it remotely. Best graphics ever.

 

[needalife]

Originally posted by: gorcorps
I'd say go on a safari, capture an animal you want, and plant electrodes in it's brain and control it remotely. Best graphics ever.

lmao...

 

[ConstipatedVigilante]

That game would be simply awesome. I'd love to be a panther stalking prey, or a gazelle running on the plains, or an ant tending to the colony. It might be hard to get the controls to "feel" like you're controlling an animal, though.

 

[BladeVenom]

There was Jaws Unleashed , but I heard it wasn't a very good game.

Besides SimAnt, there was also another ant game, but I don't remember the name. I think it was based on a novel. There have been several other insect games that I only vaguely remember.

 

[Hauk]

Thinking about it, 100 different creatures is probably too ambitious. 10-15 to start, and others in an expansion pak is more realistic. Yea Skott, Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, and Steve Irwin types have boosted interest.

Controls would be a challenge. But most critters perform the same movements we already do in shooters... W,A,S,D, jump, stalk (crouch), run, walk...

 

[Inspector Jihad]

Afrika on PS3 is supposedly something like this. havent heard too much about it though.

 

[Shadowknight]

Dungeon Keeper isn't quite what you're looking for, but screw it, it's fun to possess a vampire so you can make strafing runs at an enemy Dungeon Keeper's dungeon heart.

 

[bamacre]

Originally posted by: jjones
Are there guns involved where we could blast other insects and animals into a gooey mess? If so, I'd play it.

:laugh: :thumbsup:

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: bamacre

Originally posted by: jjones
Are there guns involved where we could blast other insects and animals into a gooey mess? If so, I'd play it.

:laugh: :thumbsup:

i dunno ... playing as a demon-beast in DM M&M and using CLAWS to rip into the enemy NPCs was strangely satisfying
:evil:
--and when i get Spore, it's going to be a demon beast also ... a cute demon beast


and some creatures also spit venom, use camouflage and disguise themselves ... some are poisonous, others have spines ... huge teeth and claws or muscles to crush .. use traps or spin webs ... paralyze their prey and lay eggs in them . . . and sometimes eat them alive ... there are flying, crawling, running and swimming creatures ... microscopic to huge ... and don't forgot the 'colony' creatures with many individuals that are also 'one' in thought and purpose

so far, all PC games imitate nature and what we know or imagine ... i haven't seen anything really different or ... "alien"

 

[CPA]

Maybe, but other than eat, sleep and, ahem, mate, what the hell does a panther, lion or most other animals do? I'd think you'd get bored pretty quickly if all you are going to do is hunt prey.

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: CPA
Maybe, but other than eat, sleep and, ahem, mate, what the hell does a panther, lion or most other animals do? I'd think you'd get bored pretty quickly if all you are going to do is hunt prey.

if all we did were mundane human activities in PC gaming ...

... we'd have the SIMs
:Q

just like PC gaming makes "real life exciting", we could spice up the animal's routine ... perhaps give an animal super-intelligence ... let them also interact in the human world [choosing stealth, strength, dexterity]
:roll: ... animal magic

--and wasn't there an AWFUL tv series called 'manimal'?.. we could have a polymorpher game


.. personally i want a Werewolf vs. Vampire PC game first
--- seems easy enough

 

[Oceandevi]

Originally posted by: BladeVenom
There was Jaws Unleashed , but I heard it wasn't a very good game.

Besides SimAnt, there was also another ant game, but I don't remember the name. I think it was based on a novel. There have been several other insect games that I only vaguely remember.

Empire of the Ants. Great book.

Game sucked though.

The game/sim based on our earths ecology would be awesome. If it is ever made.

 

[Drift3r]

Sim Ant was pretty cool for it's time. Almost the same as your idea but not exactly as it was all 3rd person.

 

[IEC]

Originally posted by: CPA
Maybe, but other than eat, sleep and, ahem, mate, what the hell does a panther, lion or most other animals do? I'd think you'd get bored pretty quickly if all you are going to do is hunt prey.

Well you know those lionesses... they mate 1000's of times when in heat :Q