I'm making a videogame! Right now, it's called Part One. It's approximately about:
My notes are spread far and wide. Some are in notebooks, other are on various computer files. These are on accounts I have with other websites and benefit from their tooling,
Since the beginning of this project (let's say 2018), I knew I would explore themes of origins. Initially, I approached them via story. The game would follow three characters, born from three different cultures. By intermixing scenes of their childhoods with the present, I could juxtapose cause and effect. How did the character's origins lead them to where they are today?
In gameplay, this opens up an interesting question: "How might the future influence the past?" I usually hear talk about choices creating and destroying potential futures. However, if the past is still unfolding to the player, then choices made in the "present" imply that certain things must already have happened or couldn't have.
The more I thought about "part ones", the more I found them hiding around the world: seeds, prologues, ingredients, ideas, questions. I saw these as metaphors for opportunity within gameplay, as choices the player would make. By nurturing one outcome, what other paths were sacrificed? Time could be the instrument with which to play with origins and their eventual destinies.
What genre is your game?
I have a hard time answering questions about my game and its categorization because it's been designed to resist it. Its ever-queer spirit aims to draw from a wide range of genres, disciplines, and domains. The story will feel adventurous, but is it an action adventure? The gameplay will focus on character growth, but is it a roleplaying game? The world will be filled with natural history, but is it educational?
Maybe some examples will help. Imagine the following games mixed together in perfect harmony: Breath of the Wild, Legend of Mana, Chrono Cross, Knights on Bikes, Final Fantasy Tactics, Braid, BioShock, Where in Time is Carmen Sandiago, and Spiritfarer. Does that help?