Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!samsung!crackers!m2c!umvlsi!umaecs!amh!mbabramowicz
From: mbabramowicz@amherst.bitnet
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.games
Subject: Programmer seeking game ideas
Message-ID: <10959.272d8b3f@amherst.bitnet>
Date: 30 Oct 90 14:16:31 GMT
Lines: 58

I am a programer of shareware and public domain games, and hope in the near
future to embark on a new creation.

However, I have not yet decided what game to make, and thought that readers
of this newsgroup might have dreamed up games that they wished were available
for the Mac.

So here is my request: If you have an idea for a Macintosh game, please post
it (If I end up using your idea, I'll put you in the program's About... box.
And if I end up marketing the game commercially [not very likely] we'll cut
some sort of deal.)

I would be particularly happy if the game(s) you propose meet the following
criteria for good arcade games.

	1) They should be original, i.e. preferably not available on the Mac
or (even better) other systems.

	2) They should be simple to play. While different users are different,
I know that I tend to only play games whose rules I can pretty much figure out
by reading a sentence or two.

	3) They should offer room for improvement. Some games are simple to
play but are measurements of some natural characteristic (such as
memory-ability) rather than of hand-eye-mind coordination. This was a problem,
I think, with another game I wrote, MacSimon, which is fun, but only for a 
little while.

	4) They should offer the users different options and ways to change
the game environment (e.g., start on level 4 instead of level 1.)

	5) They should be arcade games (This is just a personal preference.) I
am not really interested in programming mind games or adventure games, even
though they are fun to play.

	6) The game should not be so difficult that a novice would not feel
that he or she had done at least reasonably well and want to continue. It is
sometimes hard, I suspect, to make both rule 3 and rule 6 work together, but
the best games (like Tetris and Crystal Quest) are not absolutely impossible
for beginners, but people get much, much better at them as they play more.

	7) A game should be simple enough so that a user can play it without
really concentrating too hard. Games like Breakout and Space Invaders do a good
job with this.

	8) A game that can be played against another player as well as against
the computer is always nice.

If you have any other criteria for what you feel makes a great game, feel
free to post those too.

I've put on so many restrictions that I wouldn't be surprised if no one posted
any ideas, so I'll be very greatful if you do post some. I'm sure some other
Mac programmers might be interested too in what the people they are writing the
games for really want.

Michael Abramowicz
Amherst College