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Right now, I feel that I can safely say that the videogames industry is pretty much at its' peak. Or it is at least without resorting to the likes of virtual reality devices... but let's face it; the Virtual Boy's attempt on this was hardly successful, was it?
But if there's one thing that the new steering wheel for the Game Boy Advance has showed us, it's that the industry still has some room left for intuitive new console accessories and games concepts.
So, in light of this, I have compiled some of my favourite ideas and fantasies (chortle!) for what I'd like to see in the future. Some of these I have already posted here on the forums in the past, but I thought the whole "new ideas" thing would work better with all of the ideas crammed into one post... so here you are.
Lightgun Arsenal.
Time Crisis, Point Blank, Die Hard Trilogy, House of the Dead, Confidential Mission, Resident Evil Survivor... all of these games were loads of fun to play, if a little short when it came to longevity. One reason for the lack of replay value might have come down to the fact that you were mostly limited to one weapon in the entire game. So, wouldn't it be fantastic if you had more than one weapon at your disposal? The games could combine the light gun concept and gameplay with elements from first person shoot-em-ups.
You would have all 4 lightguns (e.g. pistol, shotgun, rocket launcher and flamethrower) plugged in - say... the Gamecube or X-Box - but at the beginning of the game you could only use the pistol. Then, as you progressed through the game (which would on-rails, like all lightgun games), killing enemies as you go, you could gain access to the other weapons, and would need to collect ammo for each of them. It would be similar to an FPS in the way that you'd need to figure out which guns would be better for use in different situations and locations.
Admittedly, this set of accessories would be VERY expensive... with only the likes of Prince "Junky" Harry and Elton "Candle-In-The-Wind" John having sufficient funds to purchase the weaponry... but think of the possibilities these kinds of games could provide. Fancy getting your hands on some Turok-style lightgun weaponry? Of course you do! Think of the fun that could be had kicking prehistoric CPU butt while you're holding the bow and arrow, or the menacing Cerebral Bore! Gets you all wet, no?
Lightgun Arsenal (er, again...).
Extending on the above idea, this one would be the PINACLE of group fun!!! Ever been and played Quazar? Cooooourse you have! Fun, no? Cooooourse it is! But aren't you, once again, sick of only have a puny slow-firing single shot weapon to gun down your mates with? Cooooourse you are! So how about more? Oooooh, yes!!!
Once again, virtual pistols, shotguns, uzis, sniper rifles and even rocket / grenade launchers could be used, and you would have to step on special pads on the floor to collect ammo for these weapons. Pads and weapons would be colour co-ordinated, so you would always know what ammo you were collecting... and each person would not be able to just keeping stepping on one pad continuously, in order to prevent cheats. A pad would become disabled to a player for one minute every time he / she steps on it. Pads could also allow you to collect health pick-ups, "body armour" and special abilities which would last for a limited time, e.g. invulnerability and double damage.
The playing area would be multi-storey, with air ventilation shafts, tight corridors, large open spaces, staircases and "firemen's poles", all of which would make the experience even more varied, frantic and enjoyable. There could even be chaingun-armed guard towers, and the game could include team-based missions where each team must carry out a certain number of objectives to win the match.
Inline Fun... BRUDDAS IN DA HOOD! (*slap!*)
This idea would obviously only work in a games arcade... or a very large mansion-esque house. Another admittedly fund-guzzling idea, but another idea that would provide limitless entertainment... the player would strap on a pair of roller-blades that would be able to read the environment and calculate scores. Think of how much fun it would be to play a real-life version of Agressive Inline or Jet Set Radio; pulling off grinds and messing around on half-pipes, while the skates read what you're doing and at the end of the session tell you exactly what you did and how you scored. You could even have up to four people skating around at once, all competing against each other trying to rack up the highest score.
As I said before, this would prove expensive... and only those who can roller-blade and have some degree of skill at pulling off tricks would have a remote chance of being able to compete without making as total plonker of themselves. One possibility for this concept would be that you would go and play it in the same way as you would go and play Quazar or go ten-pin bowling. This idea could change the way we think about "going out for a laff" forever.
Ground Control to Major Tom.
I tend not to play games on the PC. With the exception of losing to Edgy on just about every Worms game in existance, the only PC games I'll play are first person shooters such as Quake III, and the excellent Descent series. One memorable gaming session I remember on the PC while playing Descent II was using a special controller that had two "joysticks". The left stick only moved forwards or backwards and controlled forwards or backwards movement, while the right stick controlled the ship's aiming and steering, and included the buttons for shooting etc.
Games like Star Wars: Rogue Leader, Top Gun and any yawn-tastic flight sims that Microsoft might decide to bring to the X-Box would be far more fun if used in conjunction with one of these special controllers... and multiplayer would be noticably more enjoyable if both players had their own X-Box, a copy of the game in question and their own flight-sim controller. Think of outer space dog-fighting shenannigans with your own screen and the perfect controller to allow all kinds of pilot-y skills to be pulled off with the greatest of ease... then drool.
Yet more Lightgun sorta stuff... or, X-tra Violent.
Seen those boxing gloves that you put on and use to clobber imaginary pugilists? Fun, no?Weeell, I'm a massive Marvel fan, and in particular I crave Spider-Man and X-Men comics and merchandise. So, I think that it'd be more-than-moderately cool to have a pair of "adamantium" (HA!) clawed gloves, not unlike those owned by fan-favourite X-Man, Wolverine. It would be kind of a lightgun-esque game, where you would need to "fight" enemies onscreen by actually taking swipes with the claws.
Or better yet, how about an actual visor (the one that Cyclops wears), where you would push a button on the side to unleash a virtual optic blast?! And you could hold down the button longer to charge up and unleash stronger and potentially more lethal blasts.
Chuck in some Marvel villians and other characters, along with a Marvel-y storyline and corny dialogue... and this could be a real winner.
Swordplay, not Safeplay.
There's no denying that using real swords against real people who are also weilding real swords can be mighty dangerous... so play it safe, kids! Invest in the Swashbuckler and have a go at virtual swordplay. This would work in a similar way to the X-Men claws / visor thing, except it would be set in Roman times, or in present-day Swansea.
Virtua Trampoline.
SEGA's Virua series (Soccer, Tennis and, er... Fighter) are among the best sports games around... which the exception of Virtua Soccer's latest incarnation, apparently. But what about a trampoline which you would actually, er, bounce on and compete in, er, trampolining championships.
Possible dangers would include:
Low ceilings
Being overweight
And, er, well that's it. On second thoughts, forget it. This would be potentially life threatening, with inevitable skull fracturing being one of the key things to prepare for, along with dislocated shoulders, multiple broken limbs, cracked ribs, smashed-in jaws, and bruised genitals.
Virtua Band.
A game that Harold Bishop himself would be proud to play, Virtua Band let's you choose from a variety of instruments (providing you've got the pennies to pay for 'em), including the trumpet, flute, recorder (BWUHAHAHAHAHA!) and Harold Bishop's all-time fave, the tuba. The game would not only provide endless hours of brass band shenannigans, but would also give you a reason to take up that nerdy instrument without your mates having a few giggles at your expense.
Or, instead of playing in the band, why not shell out for the conductor's Stick of Power™, and do some jolly, grey-haired conducting…. and ultimately make the band produce a sound similar to a rabid hamster being forced through a drinking straw.
There's no doubt that with all of these ideas incorporated into the world of videogames, arcades and "going out for a laff" (giggles!), we could potentially be spending less and less time reading, socialising, and partaking in sexual intercourse (not that I ever get a chance for that, anyway! *hint hint*), which would ultimately end up in the extinction of the human race... but it'd be worth it, eh?
But if there's one thing that the new steering wheel for the Game Boy Advance has showed us, it's that the industry still has some room left for intuitive new console accessories and games concepts.
So, in light of this, I have compiled some of my favourite ideas and fantasies (chortle!) for what I'd like to see in the future. Some of these I have already posted here on the forums in the past, but I thought the whole "new ideas" thing would work better with all of the ideas crammed into one post... so here you are.
Lightgun Arsenal.
Time Crisis, Point Blank, Die Hard Trilogy, House of the Dead, Confidential Mission, Resident Evil Survivor... all of these games were loads of fun to play, if a little short when it came to longevity. One reason for the lack of replay value might have come down to the fact that you were mostly limited to one weapon in the entire game. So, wouldn't it be fantastic if you had more than one weapon at your disposal? The games could combine the light gun concept and gameplay with elements from first person shoot-em-ups.
You would have all 4 lightguns (e.g. pistol, shotgun, rocket launcher and flamethrower) plugged in - say... the Gamecube or X-Box - but at the beginning of the game you could only use the pistol. Then, as you progressed through the game (which would on-rails, like all lightgun games), killing enemies as you go, you could gain access to the other weapons, and would need to collect ammo for each of them. It would be similar to an FPS in the way that you'd need to figure out which guns would be better for use in different situations and locations.
Admittedly, this set of accessories would be VERY expensive... with only the likes of Prince "Junky" Harry and Elton "Candle-In-The-Wind" John having sufficient funds to purchase the weaponry... but think of the possibilities these kinds of games could provide. Fancy getting your hands on some Turok-style lightgun weaponry? Of course you do! Think of the fun that could be had kicking prehistoric CPU butt while you're holding the bow and arrow, or the menacing Cerebral Bore! Gets you all wet, no?
Lightgun Arsenal (er, again...).
Extending on the above idea, this one would be the PINACLE of group fun!!! Ever been and played Quazar? Cooooourse you have! Fun, no? Cooooourse it is! But aren't you, once again, sick of only have a puny slow-firing single shot weapon to gun down your mates with? Cooooourse you are! So how about more? Oooooh, yes!!!
Once again, virtual pistols, shotguns, uzis, sniper rifles and even rocket / grenade launchers could be used, and you would have to step on special pads on the floor to collect ammo for these weapons. Pads and weapons would be colour co-ordinated, so you would always know what ammo you were collecting... and each person would not be able to just keeping stepping on one pad continuously, in order to prevent cheats. A pad would become disabled to a player for one minute every time he / she steps on it. Pads could also allow you to collect health pick-ups, "body armour" and special abilities which would last for a limited time, e.g. invulnerability and double damage.
The playing area would be multi-storey, with air ventilation shafts, tight corridors, large open spaces, staircases and "firemen's poles", all of which would make the experience even more varied, frantic and enjoyable. There could even be chaingun-armed guard towers, and the game could include team-based missions where each team must carry out a certain number of objectives to win the match.
Inline Fun... BRUDDAS IN DA HOOD! (*slap!*)
This idea would obviously only work in a games arcade... or a very large mansion-esque house. Another admittedly fund-guzzling idea, but another idea that would provide limitless entertainment... the player would strap on a pair of roller-blades that would be able to read the environment and calculate scores. Think of how much fun it would be to play a real-life version of Agressive Inline or Jet Set Radio; pulling off grinds and messing around on half-pipes, while the skates read what you're doing and at the end of the session tell you exactly what you did and how you scored. You could even have up to four people skating around at once, all competing against each other trying to rack up the highest score.
As I said before, this would prove expensive... and only those who can roller-blade and have some degree of skill at pulling off tricks would have a remote chance of being able to compete without making as total plonker of themselves. One possibility for this concept would be that you would go and play it in the same way as you would go and play Quazar or go ten-pin bowling. This idea could change the way we think about "going out for a laff" forever.
Ground Control to Major Tom.
I tend not to play games on the PC. With the exception of losing to Edgy on just about every Worms game in existance, the only PC games I'll play are first person shooters such as Quake III, and the excellent Descent series. One memorable gaming session I remember on the PC while playing Descent II was using a special controller that had two "joysticks". The left stick only moved forwards or backwards and controlled forwards or backwards movement, while the right stick controlled the ship's aiming and steering, and included the buttons for shooting etc.
Games like Star Wars: Rogue Leader, Top Gun and any yawn-tastic flight sims that Microsoft might decide to bring to the X-Box would be far more fun if used in conjunction with one of these special controllers... and multiplayer would be noticably more enjoyable if both players had their own X-Box, a copy of the game in question and their own flight-sim controller. Think of outer space dog-fighting shenannigans with your own screen and the perfect controller to allow all kinds of pilot-y skills to be pulled off with the greatest of ease... then drool.
Yet more Lightgun sorta stuff... or, X-tra Violent.
Seen those boxing gloves that you put on and use to clobber imaginary pugilists? Fun, no?Weeell, I'm a massive Marvel fan, and in particular I crave Spider-Man and X-Men comics and merchandise. So, I think that it'd be more-than-moderately cool to have a pair of "adamantium" (HA!) clawed gloves, not unlike those owned by fan-favourite X-Man, Wolverine. It would be kind of a lightgun-esque game, where you would need to "fight" enemies onscreen by actually taking swipes with the claws.
Or better yet, how about an actual visor (the one that Cyclops wears), where you would push a button on the side to unleash a virtual optic blast?! And you could hold down the button longer to charge up and unleash stronger and potentially more lethal blasts.
Chuck in some Marvel villians and other characters, along with a Marvel-y storyline and corny dialogue... and this could be a real winner.
Swordplay, not Safeplay.
There's no denying that using real swords against real people who are also weilding real swords can be mighty dangerous... so play it safe, kids! Invest in the Swashbuckler and have a go at virtual swordplay. This would work in a similar way to the X-Men claws / visor thing, except it would be set in Roman times, or in present-day Swansea.
Virtua Trampoline.
SEGA's Virua series (Soccer, Tennis and, er... Fighter) are among the best sports games around... which the exception of Virtua Soccer's latest incarnation, apparently. But what about a trampoline which you would actually, er, bounce on and compete in, er, trampolining championships.
Possible dangers would include:
Low ceilings
Being overweight
And, er, well that's it. On second thoughts, forget it. This would be potentially life threatening, with inevitable skull fracturing being one of the key things to prepare for, along with dislocated shoulders, multiple broken limbs, cracked ribs, smashed-in jaws, and bruised genitals.
Virtua Band.
A game that Harold Bishop himself would be proud to play, Virtua Band let's you choose from a variety of instruments (providing you've got the pennies to pay for 'em), including the trumpet, flute, recorder (BWUHAHAHAHAHA!) and Harold Bishop's all-time fave, the tuba. The game would not only provide endless hours of brass band shenannigans, but would also give you a reason to take up that nerdy instrument without your mates having a few giggles at your expense.
Or, instead of playing in the band, why not shell out for the conductor's Stick of Power™, and do some jolly, grey-haired conducting…. and ultimately make the band produce a sound similar to a rabid hamster being forced through a drinking straw.
There's no doubt that with all of these ideas incorporated into the world of videogames, arcades and "going out for a laff" (giggles!), we could potentially be spending less and less time reading, socialising, and partaking in sexual intercourse (not that I ever get a chance for that, anyway! *hint hint*), which would ultimately end up in the extinction of the human race... but it'd be worth it, eh?
I recall an arcade skating game with a board, plus you can buy them anyway. Thing is, they're very expensive - same with Samba De Amigo and the maracas. If you're buying a novelty peripheral for one or two games, it's not worth it.
Right now, I feel that I can safely say that the videogames industry is pretty much at its' peak. Or it is at least without resorting to the likes of virtual reality devices... but let's face it; the Virtual Boy's attempt on this was hardly successful, was it?
But if there's one thing that the new steering wheel for the Game Boy Advance has showed us, it's that the industry still has some room left for intuitive new console accessories and games concepts.
So, in light of this, I have compiled some of my favourite ideas and fantasies (chortle!) for what I'd like to see in the future. Some of these I have already posted here on the forums in the past, but I thought the whole "new ideas" thing would work better with all of the ideas crammed into one post... so here you are.
Lightgun Arsenal.
Time Crisis, Point Blank, Die Hard Trilogy, House of the Dead, Confidential Mission, Resident Evil Survivor... all of these games were loads of fun to play, if a little short when it came to longevity. One reason for the lack of replay value might have come down to the fact that you were mostly limited to one weapon in the entire game. So, wouldn't it be fantastic if you had more than one weapon at your disposal? The games could combine the light gun concept and gameplay with elements from first person shoot-em-ups.
You would have all 4 lightguns (e.g. pistol, shotgun, rocket launcher and flamethrower) plugged in - say... the Gamecube or X-Box - but at the beginning of the game you could only use the pistol. Then, as you progressed through the game (which would on-rails, like all lightgun games), killing enemies as you go, you could gain access to the other weapons, and would need to collect ammo for each of them. It would be similar to an FPS in the way that you'd need to figure out which guns would be better for use in different situations and locations.
Admittedly, this set of accessories would be VERY expensive... with only the likes of Prince "Junky" Harry and Elton "Candle-In-The-Wind" John having sufficient funds to purchase the weaponry... but think of the possibilities these kinds of games could provide. Fancy getting your hands on some Turok-style lightgun weaponry? Of course you do! Think of the fun that could be had kicking prehistoric CPU butt while you're holding the bow and arrow, or the menacing Cerebral Bore! Gets you all wet, no?
Lightgun Arsenal (er, again...).
Extending on the above idea, this one would be the PINACLE of group fun!!! Ever been and played Quazar? Cooooourse you have! Fun, no? Cooooourse it is! But aren't you, once again, sick of only have a puny slow-firing single shot weapon to gun down your mates with? Cooooourse you are! So how about more? Oooooh, yes!!!
Once again, virtual pistols, shotguns, uzis, sniper rifles and even rocket / grenade launchers could be used, and you would have to step on special pads on the floor to collect ammo for these weapons. Pads and weapons would be colour co-ordinated, so you would always know what ammo you were collecting... and each person would not be able to just keeping stepping on one pad continuously, in order to prevent cheats. A pad would become disabled to a player for one minute every time he / she steps on it. Pads could also allow you to collect health pick-ups, "body armour" and special abilities which would last for a limited time, e.g. invulnerability and double damage.
The playing area would be multi-storey, with air ventilation shafts, tight corridors, large open spaces, staircases and "firemen's poles", all of which would make the experience even more varied, frantic and enjoyable. There could even be chaingun-armed guard towers, and the game could include team-based missions where each team must carry out a certain number of objectives to win the match.
Inline Fun... BRUDDAS IN DA HOOD! (*slap!*)
This idea would obviously only work in a games arcade... or a very large mansion-esque house. Another admittedly fund-guzzling idea, but another idea that would provide limitless entertainment... the player would strap on a pair of roller-blades that would be able to read the environment and calculate scores. Think of how much fun it would be to play a real-life version of Agressive Inline or Jet Set Radio; pulling off grinds and messing around on half-pipes, while the skates read what you're doing and at the end of the session tell you exactly what you did and how you scored. You could even have up to four people skating around at once, all competing against each other trying to rack up the highest score.
As I said before, this would prove expensive... and only those who can roller-blade and have some degree of skill at pulling off tricks would have a remote chance of being able to compete without making as total plonker of themselves. One possibility for this concept would be that you would go and play it in the same way as you would go and play Quazar or go ten-pin bowling. This idea could change the way we think about "going out for a laff" forever.
Ground Control to Major Tom.
I tend not to play games on the PC. With the exception of losing to Edgy on just about every Worms game in existance, the only PC games I'll play are first person shooters such as Quake III, and the excellent Descent series. One memorable gaming session I remember on the PC while playing Descent II was using a special controller that had two "joysticks". The left stick only moved forwards or backwards and controlled forwards or backwards movement, while the right stick controlled the ship's aiming and steering, and included the buttons for shooting etc.
Games like Star Wars: Rogue Leader, Top Gun and any yawn-tastic flight sims that Microsoft might decide to bring to the X-Box would be far more fun if used in conjunction with one of these special controllers... and multiplayer would be noticably more enjoyable if both players had their own X-Box, a copy of the game in question and their own flight-sim controller. Think of outer space dog-fighting shenannigans with your own screen and the perfect controller to allow all kinds of pilot-y skills to be pulled off with the greatest of ease... then drool.
Yet more Lightgun sorta stuff... or, X-tra Violent.
Seen those boxing gloves that you put on and use to clobber imaginary pugilists? Fun, no?Weeell, I'm a massive Marvel fan, and in particular I crave Spider-Man and X-Men comics and merchandise. So, I think that it'd be more-than-moderately cool to have a pair of "adamantium" (HA!) clawed gloves, not unlike those owned by fan-favourite X-Man, Wolverine. It would be kind of a lightgun-esque game, where you would need to "fight" enemies onscreen by actually taking swipes with the claws.
Or better yet, how about an actual visor (the one that Cyclops wears), where you would push a button on the side to unleash a virtual optic blast?! And you could hold down the button longer to charge up and unleash stronger and potentially more lethal blasts.
Chuck in some Marvel villians and other characters, along with a Marvel-y storyline and corny dialogue... and this could be a real winner.
Swordplay, not Safeplay.
There's no denying that using real swords against real people who are also weilding real swords can be mighty dangerous... so play it safe, kids! Invest in the Swashbuckler and have a go at virtual swordplay. This would work in a similar way to the X-Men claws / visor thing, except it would be set in Roman times, or in present-day Swansea.
Virtua Trampoline.
SEGA's Virua series (Soccer, Tennis and, er... Fighter) are among the best sports games around... which the exception of Virtua Soccer's latest incarnation, apparently. But what about a trampoline which you would actually, er, bounce on and compete in, er, trampolining championships.
Possible dangers would include:
Low ceilings
Being overweight
And, er, well that's it. On second thoughts, forget it. This would be potentially life threatening, with inevitable skull fracturing being one of the key things to prepare for, along with dislocated shoulders, multiple broken limbs, cracked ribs, smashed-in jaws, and bruised genitals.
Virtua Band.
A game that Harold Bishop himself would be proud to play, Virtua Band let's you choose from a variety of instruments (providing you've got the pennies to pay for 'em), including the trumpet, flute, recorder (BWUHAHAHAHAHA!) and Harold Bishop's all-time fave, the tuba. The game would not only provide endless hours of brass band shenannigans, but would also give you a reason to take up that nerdy instrument without your mates having a few giggles at your expense.
Or, instead of playing in the band, why not shell out for the conductor's Stick of Power™, and do some jolly, grey-haired conducting…. and ultimately make the band produce a sound similar to a rabid hamster being forced through a drinking straw.
There's no doubt that with all of these ideas incorporated into the world of videogames, arcades and "going out for a laff" (giggles!), we could potentially be spending less and less time reading, socialising, and partaking in sexual intercourse (not that I ever get a chance for that, anyway! *hint hint*), which would ultimately end up in the extinction of the human race... but it'd be worth it, eh?
But if there's one thing that the new steering wheel for the Game Boy Advance has showed us, it's that the industry still has some room left for intuitive new console accessories and games concepts.
So, in light of this, I have compiled some of my favourite ideas and fantasies (chortle!) for what I'd like to see in the future. Some of these I have already posted here on the forums in the past, but I thought the whole "new ideas" thing would work better with all of the ideas crammed into one post... so here you are.
Lightgun Arsenal.
Time Crisis, Point Blank, Die Hard Trilogy, House of the Dead, Confidential Mission, Resident Evil Survivor... all of these games were loads of fun to play, if a little short when it came to longevity. One reason for the lack of replay value might have come down to the fact that you were mostly limited to one weapon in the entire game. So, wouldn't it be fantastic if you had more than one weapon at your disposal? The games could combine the light gun concept and gameplay with elements from first person shoot-em-ups.
You would have all 4 lightguns (e.g. pistol, shotgun, rocket launcher and flamethrower) plugged in - say... the Gamecube or X-Box - but at the beginning of the game you could only use the pistol. Then, as you progressed through the game (which would on-rails, like all lightgun games), killing enemies as you go, you could gain access to the other weapons, and would need to collect ammo for each of them. It would be similar to an FPS in the way that you'd need to figure out which guns would be better for use in different situations and locations.
Admittedly, this set of accessories would be VERY expensive... with only the likes of Prince "Junky" Harry and Elton "Candle-In-The-Wind" John having sufficient funds to purchase the weaponry... but think of the possibilities these kinds of games could provide. Fancy getting your hands on some Turok-style lightgun weaponry? Of course you do! Think of the fun that could be had kicking prehistoric CPU butt while you're holding the bow and arrow, or the menacing Cerebral Bore! Gets you all wet, no?
Lightgun Arsenal (er, again...).
Extending on the above idea, this one would be the PINACLE of group fun!!! Ever been and played Quazar? Cooooourse you have! Fun, no? Cooooourse it is! But aren't you, once again, sick of only have a puny slow-firing single shot weapon to gun down your mates with? Cooooourse you are! So how about more? Oooooh, yes!!!
Once again, virtual pistols, shotguns, uzis, sniper rifles and even rocket / grenade launchers could be used, and you would have to step on special pads on the floor to collect ammo for these weapons. Pads and weapons would be colour co-ordinated, so you would always know what ammo you were collecting... and each person would not be able to just keeping stepping on one pad continuously, in order to prevent cheats. A pad would become disabled to a player for one minute every time he / she steps on it. Pads could also allow you to collect health pick-ups, "body armour" and special abilities which would last for a limited time, e.g. invulnerability and double damage.
The playing area would be multi-storey, with air ventilation shafts, tight corridors, large open spaces, staircases and "firemen's poles", all of which would make the experience even more varied, frantic and enjoyable. There could even be chaingun-armed guard towers, and the game could include team-based missions where each team must carry out a certain number of objectives to win the match.
Inline Fun... BRUDDAS IN DA HOOD! (*slap!*)
This idea would obviously only work in a games arcade... or a very large mansion-esque house. Another admittedly fund-guzzling idea, but another idea that would provide limitless entertainment... the player would strap on a pair of roller-blades that would be able to read the environment and calculate scores. Think of how much fun it would be to play a real-life version of Agressive Inline or Jet Set Radio; pulling off grinds and messing around on half-pipes, while the skates read what you're doing and at the end of the session tell you exactly what you did and how you scored. You could even have up to four people skating around at once, all competing against each other trying to rack up the highest score.
As I said before, this would prove expensive... and only those who can roller-blade and have some degree of skill at pulling off tricks would have a remote chance of being able to compete without making as total plonker of themselves. One possibility for this concept would be that you would go and play it in the same way as you would go and play Quazar or go ten-pin bowling. This idea could change the way we think about "going out for a laff" forever.
Ground Control to Major Tom.
I tend not to play games on the PC. With the exception of losing to Edgy on just about every Worms game in existance, the only PC games I'll play are first person shooters such as Quake III, and the excellent Descent series. One memorable gaming session I remember on the PC while playing Descent II was using a special controller that had two "joysticks". The left stick only moved forwards or backwards and controlled forwards or backwards movement, while the right stick controlled the ship's aiming and steering, and included the buttons for shooting etc.
Games like Star Wars: Rogue Leader, Top Gun and any yawn-tastic flight sims that Microsoft might decide to bring to the X-Box would be far more fun if used in conjunction with one of these special controllers... and multiplayer would be noticably more enjoyable if both players had their own X-Box, a copy of the game in question and their own flight-sim controller. Think of outer space dog-fighting shenannigans with your own screen and the perfect controller to allow all kinds of pilot-y skills to be pulled off with the greatest of ease... then drool.
Yet more Lightgun sorta stuff... or, X-tra Violent.
Seen those boxing gloves that you put on and use to clobber imaginary pugilists? Fun, no?Weeell, I'm a massive Marvel fan, and in particular I crave Spider-Man and X-Men comics and merchandise. So, I think that it'd be more-than-moderately cool to have a pair of "adamantium" (HA!) clawed gloves, not unlike those owned by fan-favourite X-Man, Wolverine. It would be kind of a lightgun-esque game, where you would need to "fight" enemies onscreen by actually taking swipes with the claws.
Or better yet, how about an actual visor (the one that Cyclops wears), where you would push a button on the side to unleash a virtual optic blast?! And you could hold down the button longer to charge up and unleash stronger and potentially more lethal blasts.
Chuck in some Marvel villians and other characters, along with a Marvel-y storyline and corny dialogue... and this could be a real winner.
Swordplay, not Safeplay.
There's no denying that using real swords against real people who are also weilding real swords can be mighty dangerous... so play it safe, kids! Invest in the Swashbuckler and have a go at virtual swordplay. This would work in a similar way to the X-Men claws / visor thing, except it would be set in Roman times, or in present-day Swansea.
Virtua Trampoline.
SEGA's Virua series (Soccer, Tennis and, er... Fighter) are among the best sports games around... which the exception of Virtua Soccer's latest incarnation, apparently. But what about a trampoline which you would actually, er, bounce on and compete in, er, trampolining championships.
Possible dangers would include:
Low ceilings
Being overweight
And, er, well that's it. On second thoughts, forget it. This would be potentially life threatening, with inevitable skull fracturing being one of the key things to prepare for, along with dislocated shoulders, multiple broken limbs, cracked ribs, smashed-in jaws, and bruised genitals.
Virtua Band.
A game that Harold Bishop himself would be proud to play, Virtua Band let's you choose from a variety of instruments (providing you've got the pennies to pay for 'em), including the trumpet, flute, recorder (BWUHAHAHAHAHA!) and Harold Bishop's all-time fave, the tuba. The game would not only provide endless hours of brass band shenannigans, but would also give you a reason to take up that nerdy instrument without your mates having a few giggles at your expense.
Or, instead of playing in the band, why not shell out for the conductor's Stick of Power™, and do some jolly, grey-haired conducting…. and ultimately make the band produce a sound similar to a rabid hamster being forced through a drinking straw.
There's no doubt that with all of these ideas incorporated into the world of videogames, arcades and "going out for a laff" (giggles!), we could potentially be spending less and less time reading, socialising, and partaking in sexual intercourse (not that I ever get a chance for that, anyway! *hint hint*), which would ultimately end up in the extinction of the human race... but it'd be worth it, eh?