Idea for computer game .. your classic horror first person shooter (like doom 3). However after you've played a few levels of fairly normal stuff, things start to go really wierd in the ultimate scary way for the player.
Some of the absolutely unique things this horror shooting game does
1) Level 5, after you've done the normal game stuff for a while -- You enter a room with a small, scary looking girl typing at a typewriter. When you look at the type-writer she is actually typing your, personal, orbituary. The thing is, you didn't tell the game any information about yourself -- but the girl looks at you (earily directly at you) and says something in a creepy voice like 'I'm reading your mind - this is beyond a game - you are now in hell'. She's writing about your actual name, not your 'profile'.. the school you went to, your hobbies, the date on the orbituary states today as the day-of-death. Whoa scary stuff - the game knows about you yet you didn't tell it! HOW IT WORKS: It has, when installing, searched your PC for .doc, .rtf and .txt files looking for what it thinks is a CV (resumae) -- then taken all the details from this CV if found and used them in this bit of the game. If it can't find a CV, it finds a letter that you have written to find your full, real name (and address if at the top of the letter). But the player doesn't know this .. he just thinks 'JEES - SHE KNOWS WHERE I LIVE! ARGH!'
2) Level 6 - The game inexplicitly crashes back to desktop. You're a little annoyed .. but decide to do something else on the PC. Your 'out of the game now'. However .. on double clicking the new icon on your desktop (whatever it is) the hard disk starts wurring to load whatever it is -- but it doesn't load -- through the speakers you start hearing - real quiet at first, this freaky choir singing gently 'You're going to die .. you're going to die'. This gets louder and louder until mind-blowingly loud then suddenly with a bang the desktop goes black, then the dingy surroundings of the horror shooter fade back into the screen. Cut-scene .. the nightmare creature from hell says in a bone-chilling voice 'there is no escape'. Viewer is freaked! He thought he was no longer in the game! AARRGH PANIC! (HOW IT WORKED -- Game 'screen grabbed' the desktop at install -- the game never actually crashed it just faked it).
3) Game raids the hard disk for images stored in standard user-folders. Using simple picture recognition it picks out certain images which it decides are of people. On level 7 the player walks into a cut scene with the evil monster boss screaming at the monsters, ordering 'Escape this game .. go find these people and destroy them' while actually pointing at those pictures of your wedding, your girlfriend, your friends on holiday together!! AARGH AGAIN!! Monsters leave through a side-door on the screen vowing your friends (or whoever you had images of) destruction!
Naturally the game does not ALTER any of the data is has grabbed. This could only be done for 1 game before people knew the tricks .. but it would scare people a lot as the game went to the next dimension!
4) This one may be taking it a bit far .. if connected to the internet the game emails the company your home phone number (taken from CV or where-ever on your harddisk it can find what looks like your home number). Level 10 -- The ultimate nightmare. Enter the lair of the diaboloical demon .. electricity flying out from huge .. spikes .. screaming as he writhes around on some infernal machine .. 'I'm going to get free of this game .. it's too late for you gamer .. I'm going to become your horror'. Suddenly screen goes completely black. Absolute silence. The PC seems dead. Then, suddenly a few seconds later, your home phone starts to ring. You cautiously approach -- pick up the phone. An eerie Voice chillingly just says down the line 'I'm free of the game, now you get hunted' and hangs up. Game quits (end of game) -- and you have a nervous breakdown!! (This is - of course - just a recorded message from the game company which did the equivelent of a Microsoft messenger message to them saying 'He's ready to recieve the 'end of game' phone call').
Instant brown pants time -- and a game you'll never forget!-- britboy, Jul 15 2004 What if Granny answers the phone?-- MikeOliver, Jul 15 2004 Don't worry -- the diabolical demon won't really hunt down granny!!
;)-- britboy, Jul 15 2004 I was more worried about the impending heart attack!-- MikeOliver, Jul 15 2004 Yea the last idea was a bit tongue-in-cheek because I got all excited!-- britboy, Jul 15 2004 1) the girl calls you your wife's name. Your (her)obituary states that you (she) died last year cos you haven't set your PC time properly.
2) Like it, nice, unless the screen grab really does crash your PC, and means you have to do that level again.
3) various photos of compromising positioned ladies appear in front of you, just as a cup of coffee is placed on your desk by your curious wife. She wonders why the game is asking you to kill them.
4) Your ISP tech support gets an interesting call from the game company, which is worth the + on it's own.
Oh the comic possibilities...-- WYBloke, Jul 15 2004 In the context of the possible errors, it might be better as a gift, with personal details supplied by the giver. Kind of like those personalised kids books, except Winnie the Pooh has no face and Piglet carries sawn off.-- Detly, Jul 15 2004 I'm doing my very best to avoid an MFD due to magic, bad (computer) science, and WIBNI. I've holding off just because I like the phone call at the end.-- zigness, Jul 15 2004 Baked.
Has happened in at least two games that I know of (console games, mind you, so they can't take it to quite that level).
In Metal Gear Solid for the PS1 (and Metal Gear Solid:Twin Snakes for the GameCube), one of the bosses would read your memory card for information on what sorts of games you play. Not to mention you'd have to plug your controller into the second slot to beat him, since otherwise he'd "read your mind."
In Eternal Darkness for the GameCube, one of the main features of the game was its insanity meter, which caused insanity effects such as walking on the ceiling, dripping walls and spontaneous decapitation. It also included faking turning off your TV, deleting all your memory cards, disconnecting your controller, and (my personal favourite) faking the end of the game and advertising the sequel.-- restartatum, Jul 15 2004 Not my genre at all but terribly creative; bun from me.-- RayfordSteele, Jul 15 2004 EA's Majestic called you at home (and also emailed you). So did that goofy murder mystery game built around the A.I. movie.
You had to agree to this, however. The bit about the game automatically finding "what looks like" a home phone number is definitely magic. I mean, it could be there but there's no way the game is going to know for sure. And there's no room for error here.-- waugsqueke, Jul 16 2004 Send the game out with bad security keys. People will then phone the manufacturer for a working key. Hide the user's phone number in the replacement security key.-- david_scothern, Jul 16 2004 Heh, I like that [david_scothern]. Only problem is with random key-generators and people sharing disks.
Oh and good idea [britboy].-- RobertKidney, Jul 16 2004 Heh, nice copy protection: Share the game and be harrassed by monsters.-- Loris, Jul 16 2004 Many games do a #2, "inexplicitly crash", but usually before Level 6. I'd buy a game that would run that long.How do you market a game with these "features"? It's not a surprise anymore, after a reviewer or a friend recommends it, because of "cool insane stuff" that he details for you.-- Amos Kito, Jul 16 2004 I'm saving up for this game, whatever shape or form it decides to market itself as.-- mailtosalonga, Jul 16 2004 Idea 1 is similar to the Psycho Mantis battle in Metal Gear Solid.
Idea 3 is similar to what would happen in a game called 'Virus', in that it would steal images from your hard drive and project them on to the walls of the in-game levels.
But idea 4 is so crazy it gets a lovely +, and a bun to boot.-- spiritualized, Jul 16 2004 // Many games do a #2, "inexplicitly crash", but usually before Level 6. I'd buy a game that would run that long. //
They tended to come in casette form.-- spiritualized, Jul 16 2004 You could ask them the register the game and take their home phone number from what they give you there?
hmm .. but does anyone actually register games anymore?-- britboy, Jul 19 2004 Psssst... it's obituary, not orbituary.
Beautiful.-- DesertFox, Jul 19 2004 Orbituary.... hmmm.... didn't we do that one somewhere?-- RayfordSteele, Jul 19 2004 Hmm I'm surprised no game has done this yet .. probably some kind of privacy issues people would also get annoyed with.-- britboy, Nov 22 2004 Ouch.
Your a scary guy britboy!-- energy guy, Nov 22 2004 Orbituary....the death notice of a person who's ashes were launched by that company that launches people's ashes......-- normzone, Nov 23 2004 Freaking awesome. Only problem is that the image recognition might screw up. Still, idea #4 gets a bun for that alone.-- Ranzer, May 20 2006 That's the only problem?-- hidden truths, May 20 2006 I'd buy it.-- consadine, May 21 2006 Me too.-- skinflaps, Feb 23 2007 Frankly, just reading it terrifies me.-- Germanicus, Feb 24 2007 random, halfbakery