Concept

A collection of potential concepts

Roguelike co-op, simplistic classes
Networked or shared screen multiplayer, ideally using top down but could work with over the shoulder. There are three skills, each one belonging to the iconic "holy trinity" of RPG roles (tank, damage, healer). Every player selects two of them for their character and use their skills to help each other advance. Players should feel completely overpowered while skills are active.

The Map

 * Procedurally generated flat floors
 * Rooms will be connected by hallways and doors, however all door frames will be empty and open to simply walk through
 * Closed doors are effectively walls, and can never be opened

The Players
 * Base melee classes, with a good amount of HP and very simple cone swipe attacks
 * No inventory, consumables, or equipment to manage
 * No resources, skills are based on cooldowns only

The Enemies

 * Very simple enemies, all enemy attacks will be proceeded by a short wind up and an audio cue before damage is dealt to everything in the damage hitbox
 * All enemies very fragile, threats come in numbers
 * Ranged enemies have simple line atacks, projectiles are fast but should be dodgable if the player is paying attention

The Skills

 * One tank, one damage, and one healing ability.  All are on separate cooldowns
 * Players choose two out of the three
 * Skills are very simple, but very powerful.
 * Emphasis will be on player positioning when a skill is activated, rather than aiming the skill
 * Player can (and should) use both of their skills at the same time
 * Example skills:
 * Tank skill, Presence - While active, all enemies in a radius are forced to attack the user, and the user is invulnerable
 * Healer skill, Aura - All allies within a radius recieve a large heal.  For several seconds afterward all allies within the radius take reduced damage, enemy ranged attacks are repelled, and damaging enemies within the area provides a very small heal to the party.  Extra long cooldown
 * DPS skill, Whirlwind - While active, player deals continual damage to all nearby enemies.  For several seconds after the skill ends, allies within a radius receive a damage buff for every point of damage dealt by whirlwind
 * Stretch goal, utility passives selected from a much larger pool, but with less significant effects

Game Flow

 * Players spawn near to each other
 * Not limited to staying on the same screen if networked, a minimap would be essential here
 * Players map out and explore the dungeon, finding healing items, point bonuses, enemies, and maybe an occasional boss (stretch goal)
 * Once the stairs down are located, all allies must be nearby to descent.  A scoreboard is displayed showing player contribution when they do
 * Who killed the most, who healed the most, who found the most items, point bonuses for buffing or protecting allies, etc
 * Players should be competing to "win" the scoreboard between each level
 * Scores are not culmulative
 * If a player is killed, they are brought back to life at the start of the next floor
 * If all players are killed, the game ends and final scores are displayed showing number of floors cleared, number of creatures killed, number of player deaths, and an overall ranking

Scavenge/Barricade/Survive
Networked multiplayer game, using either third-person over the shoulder camera, or top down with fog of war to obscure vision.

The Map

 * A single, large, mansion-like environment (think resident evil 1) (Side, enviroment should be flexable at this stage)
 * Rooms will be connected by hallways and doors, however all door frames will be empty and open to simply walk through
 * Closed doors are effectively walls, and can never be opened
 * May or may not use a mini-map
 * If mini-map is used players should have diffrent maps, but be able to combine knowledge when togather.
 * May or may not contain catwalks and/or multiple floors

The Players

 * Either spawn as a group or randomly scattered throughout the map
 * if spawned scattered, players will not be given knowledge of where to find other players
 * Very weak fighters.  Capable of killing zombies using weapons, but only in very small numbers without risking death
 * Very simple inventories.  Capable of picking up and deploying ammo, weapons, and barricades
 * Spawn with a single health kit
 * possibly also spawn with a single crude weapon
 * Faster than zombies
 * Can jump and climb
 * Can perform very weak unarmed attacks
 * Players must eat to stay alive
 * If a player's food meter is at zero, they will begin to leak health and move at a reduced rate
 * (Possible stretch goal) Player sickness
 * When feeling sick, only the afflicted player will receive a notification
 * Sound/Visual feedback for that player indicating sickness
 * Sickness may or may not lead to more serious conditions

The Items

 * Items continually respawn throughout the map, making it worthwhile to repeatedly recheck previously cleared rooms for new items  (Up)
 * Weapons
 * Melee weapons, such as clubs, crowbars, and other simple instruments (Down)
 * Ranged weapons, such as pistols, bows, or shotguns  (Down, No, just No. Ranged weapons should clearly be over the top cartoon violence and not have functions similar to real world weapons)
 * No super impressive ranged weapons like assault rifles or grenades
 * Players should view ranged weapons as a safer bet for killing zombies quickly, not as an invitation to become zombie rambo
 * (I would prefer limmited weapons, all "weapon" style pick ups should be able to be used as things other than weapons, dispatching enemies should be a creative endevour not a button fight.  Think Zelda, Metroid, and metroidvania style games, where upgrades are tools first, weapons second.)
 * Health kits (Side)
 * Replenish health, not common, but frequent enough where taking damage isn't a game-ending experience
 * Barricades  (Side)
 * Chest high blockages the player can place to block progress
 * The player is capable of jumping onto and over barricades
 * Zombies are unable to jump over barricades
 * Zombies are too stupid to attack barricades, however they will lean against barricades
 * With enough zombies pressing against a barricade, it will fall, killing a portion of the zombies involved in the process, but allowing the rest to pass
 * Applying a barricade on top of an existing barricade will strengthen it and make it a stronger barricade
 * If barricades have a durability meter, this will repair damaged barricades instead of strengthening them
 * (Perfect example of non-weapon pickup that can be used to fight.  Baricades could simply be boxes that get placed down, picked up, and carried around.  They can be placed by being dropped (safer) or thrown, which damages the box, but also anything it hits.)
 * Ammo  (Side, I don't think many 'weapons' would use ammo, lights maybe.)
 * Very limited in supply, ammo is found one or two bullets at a time, and is hard to come by
 * All ammo is generic and will provide shot refils to any weapon they are applied to, regardless of type
 * Lights  (Up)
 * A fixed number of these spawn, but they should be initially easy to find (Down, should have constant respawning, but also limmited life spans)
 * When placed, illuminates a large area
 * When carried, can be used like small lantern zombies will attempt to move away from the light.
 * Zombies will not spawn, or revive in lit areas
 * Crucial elements in establishing a safe base of operations
 * Food  (Down, do not like idea of having to manage two health bars)
 * Refills player food bar
 * (Possible stretch goal) Bad food
 * Rare chance for food to be bad
 * A random length of time after eating bad food, player will begin to feel sick
 * Food sickness will clear up on its own after a few minutes with no lasting effects

The Zombies

 * Come in two varieties
 * Gawkers
 * Will stand in place or wander in a very small radius
 * Will attempt to space themselves from other zombies so they aren't touching
 * If a player is sighted, will move in a straight line toward the player
 * They are too stupid to walk around any hazards or obstacles in the way.  If our game had glass or fences, a gawker would move in a straight line and then press themselves up against the barrier like an idiot, even if there was a gap nearby
 * If a player leaves line of sight, the gawker will move to the last known location.  If they reach this location and the player cannot be located, they will resume milling around
 * When sighting a player, gawkers will not alert other nearby zombies before moving toward them
 * Tourists
 * Wanders the environment randomly
 * Will follow other tourists if they happen across a larger moving group
 * Much smaller detection ranges than gawkers, and moves much slower when not pursuing a player
 * If one tourist sights a player, the entire group will pursue as one
 * Audible at long range
 * The primary threat of bases are tourists that stumble into barricades and attempt to pass through them
 * (Possible stretch goal) Infected players
 * Zombies that are the result of infected players will move faster and deal more damage
 * Damage resulting from infected players are always infectious bites
 * Zombies take no special notice of lights
 * Gawkers will be drawn to sounds, but tourists will not
 * Shotguns are very loud and will attract zombies from adjacent rooms.  Pistols will attract zombies within the same room.  Bows and melee weapons will be silent attacks
 * Zombies only spawn in unlit rooms that are at least 1-2 rooms away from a player's current room
 * (Possible stretch goal) Infectous bite
 * A random amount of time after an infectious bite happens, the bitten player will begin to feel sick
 * A random length of time after sickness has begun, the player will either fight off the infection, or become a zombie on the spot
 * If a player is very close to becoming a zombie, other zombies will ignore that player
 * However it is still possible to recover from this state, at which point zombies will become hostile to the player again

Other Survivors

 * Periodically spawn under attack from one or more zombies
 * Players have a short amount of time to locate one of these survivors before the zombie kills them
 * Easily heard so the player can locate them, but the noise doesn't attract other zombies, because reasons
 * If rescued, will drop valuable items like health kits or ammo, and then despawn
 * If a player is dead, rescuing a survivor will allow that player to respawn as that survivor
 * (Possible stretch goal) Rescued survovirs become friendly NPCs that help fortify the base
 * Killed survivors carry no loot

Game Flow

 * 1) Players spawn isolated and alone with limited supplies.  At this time, there are very few zombies in the mansion.  (Up, additional suggestion, set number of survivors are generated at start of game for players to rescue.)
 * 2) Players gather as many supplies as possible and attempt to group up to build a main base
 * 3) *This base can be built anywhere, in any room
 * 4) Zombie spawns ramp up over time.  A player that has not found the main group, or does not have a safe base to retreat to, will most likely die before long
 * 5) In order to keep surviving, players must range out from the main base to scavenge for supplies (Side, base may need moved frequently)
 * 6) Possible Endings:
 * Game can not be won, Enemy spawns increase, and supplies decrease untill players die, victory and bragging rights are through survival times.
 * There is a timer, players survive to end, when time is up either.
 * 1) They have won and are given a brief cooldown where they can eliminate the remaining enemies with ease.
 * 2) Extra enemies spawn and all remaining enemies converge on players for final showdown, at this point enemies are actualy easier to destroy and less lethal, but players don't need to know that.
 * Goal of game is to rescue all survivors and escape.  Once all survivors (as indicated by a readout) have been found or turned, an exit appears in a random location that players must lead the survivors too.  Score is based on number of survivors rescued.

Top down arena survival
Networked or couch multiplayer game. Players cooperate to survive in an arena against a never ending supply of monster waves. Top down, brawler style combat. Players can use simple melee attacks, or crude ranged weapons. Emphasis will be on evading damage and safely counterattacking enemies. Attrition is the biggest threat.

The Map

 * Large, symmetrical arena with simple cover, obstacles, and possibly hazards
 * Spawn doors in the four cardinal directions
 * The number of active doors depends on player count at the start of the game.  Does not decrease if a player dies
 * 2-3 obvious areas where items will occasionally spawn

The Players

 * Non-regenerating life bar, taking a few hits should not be a big concern
 * Two weapon slots, and one slot for an item
 * Items can be used, or dropped on the ground for teammates
 * Melee attacks will be simple 1-2-3 swing combos, with the third swing hitting significantly harder than the other weapons and dealing knockback
 * Possible gap closing charge attack?  Could be weird to encourage aggression in a game about careful survival
 * Ranged attacks cause the player to move slower for a short while after firing
 * Dodging will be the most important player mechanic

Player Dodge

 * Based heavily on the "Table Hopper" ability in Devil May Cry 4
 * Can dodge in any direction
 * Will carry a player a short distance away from danger
 * First few frames of dodge animation will carry invulnerability
 * Very brief cooldown after a dodge has finished before another action can be taken
 * A dodge that executes a split second before an enemy attack lands will be an extra powerful "last second" dodge
 * Player will move the same distance as a normal dodge
 * Entire dodge animation will be invulnerable
 * Much faster than normal dodge
 * No cooldown period for a last second dodge
 * minor damage buff for the next immediate attack
 * ​OPTIONAL: damage buff can instead be spent on a second, instant dodge (will not retrigger buff)
 * OPTIONAL: different animation

The Items

 * Health kits (requires channel)
 * VERY rare
 * Can only heal self
 * Dodge buff (instant activation)
 * For a few seconds all dodges execute as if they were last second dodges
 * Target dummy (instant activation)
 * Deploy a stationary dummy with high hitpoints that taunts nearby enemies into attacking it instead of the player
 * Can only taunt a set number of enemies over its lifespan.  If max possible enemies have been taunted and the wave ends, target dummy self destructs
 * Run speed boost (instant activation)
 * Attack damage boost (instant activation)
 * Ammo up (instant activation)
 * Point bonus
 * Most common drop
 * Players mostly just need to clear these off the item spawn locations so more useful things can spawn

Enemies

 * Extremely simple AI patterns
 * Common enemies are very passive, and have telegraphed swing attacks with no real surprises
 * Uncommon enemies might have abilities such as a charge or a dash, but are otherwise not a threat in small numbers
 * Ranged enemies are uncommon, and will telegraph their line of fire with a visual and audio cue
 * When struck by an attack, suffer from brief hitstun

Game Flow

 * 1) Enemy waves spawn
 * 2) *Items can only spawn while a wave is in progress
 * 3) *Smaller subspawns continue to trickle in so players aren't faced with the entire wave all at once
 * 4) Wave ends when all enemies are destroyed
 * 5) Players are allowed a brief break from the action
 * 6) *Small amount of HP regen during this time
 * 7) Repeat from step one until players are dead
 * 8) Total ranking is displayed

Final Concept
We decided to go with a Gauntlet-style based on the Roguelike co-op idea.

You can find the updated design doc here.

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