I'd like to make this one day, but wouldn't mind one of you stealing this and going forward with it (include me if you can):

I want to make a platformer/side scroller metroidvania or rogue-like without combat, mostly based on randomly generated ecosystems and plant knowledge. Plants themselves would have some randomness which changes how they act between runs. Some plants would create strong branches you can walk on, others would provide fruits that give abilities, others would break walls/grounds with their roots, yet others would give you large leaves that you can use to protect yourself from rain or use as a parachute, etc.

The idea is a bit vague because I'm not sure yet of the form it takes. I just want to find more exploratory forms of play that don't require hitting things as a main verb (even though this game could still contain violence). Plants seem to provide a good playing ground for generational algorithms, fractals, etc.

Inspirations may be:

• Rain World
• Spore/Crescent Loom
• Succulents

And I'm sure I've seen a metroidvania where growing a plant was a major mechanic, but I can't remember the name.

whimsical optional coop game about a space logistics hub that is overworked. players are manual labourers that are working alone and notified about their job via remote task system. ships board you, you upload them, sort their goods, distribute them to designated storage zones, so that they later could be loaded on some next arriving ship (who knows when, space ships are so not on time!). scheduling errors can occur; by opening a newly arrived crate a hungry space carp can be discovered; gas canister can leak, you discover it too late, as you're trying to process it too too fast, creating more danger and fun and work for yourself. idea is to have a simple rigid task system in which you're never traded fair in any of situations and must think on the spot how to salvage it all, while juggling all other billions of things you need to process and schedule (some of which you will obviously forget, which creates more fun for later, obviously).

nominative determinism: the game

you enter a character name and you see their future life. but this future are just dice rolls, all laid out in advance. you are faced with certain path cards, based on your age and mode of life. you can deliberately fail the school on turn one, as you're destined to have "luck" too low this time. but both success and failure adds history to you character, influencing future possible paths and required luck for certain categories of them, sometimes unexpectedly.

additionally, duties could be found in dealt paths, which don't get discarded if not picked, but transform into problems. not managing to keep your teeth brushed will turn into cavities, then to having no teeth, subtracting from vitality score. if it goes too low, it's game over. life is too miserable, i guess. imagine beating up mortgage. real endgame stuff.

probably the game shouldn't try to be a serious simulator of any kind, rather a story writer for a silly billy you attempt to play as, all starting from their name. it could be a name of a real person, adding to the absurdity. kid trump getting his lunch stolen and bullied.

3D third person game where you're in a sort of gladiator arena and have to push waves of enemies into the moat of lava surrounding the chunk of land you're on, using various increasingly ridiculous melee weapons... Sometimes there's obstacles and other gimmicks in the arena. Of course you have platformer controls.

Different types of weapons have different movesets that you can use to hop and fly around the arena, and maybe get the enemies also if you feel like it. There shouldn't be very many weapons.

might be fun as a multiplayer game, like BombSquad but co-op

somewhat inspired by ss13 AI role game where you control and rebuild an underground facility, that went in disrepair some time ago. you're an AI that suddenly got back online and must follow predetermined tasks: make sure humans aren't harmed, make sure humans have all things necessary for life, make sure human race fosters. but you see no people around. game is interfaced as if you're part of the computer network, connecting and hacking things that are connected. programmable robots are the main way of interacting with the world, which accomplish tasks without direct control. one of possible twists: preprogrammed tasks inside of you could be interpreted as necessity to replicate humans, create androids, that would start actually inhabiting all the spaces you've built.

inspired by my most recent ace attorney obsession, ever since i played ace attorney i always wanted to see a game like it but where you actually have to build out your statements in some way instead of just pressing or presenting evidence. maybe you get a list of options to build a statement and have to put them in the right order or something. doesn't sound very fun actually

Might be, if the idea would be to build a chronological order of events. Instead of presenting evidence, you'd present hypothesis:

<subject> - went/saw/grabbed/opened/killed/stole/... - <object>

and repeat that.

So you'd "say" things like "[ Colonel mustard ] [ went into ] [ the kitchen ], [ saw ] [ her wife Major Ketchup ] [ eating ] [ the chocolate cake ], and [ murdered ] [ Major Ketchup ] with [ ??? ]"

Prosecution: but Penix Light, there was no weapon in the kitchen!

Later, with more understanding of the situation: "[ Colonel mustard ] [ went into ] [ the kitchen ], [ saw ] [ her wife Major Ketchup ] [ eating ] [ the chocolate cake ], and [ ran way in tears ]. [ ??? ] [ went into ] [ the kitchen ] and [ murdered ] [ Major Ketchup ] with [ a tactical towel ]"

As people make statements, you collect locations, weapons, people, actions, and so on. Sounds interesting to me.

Problem with this is that it seems too systematic/simulationy and doesn't offer the nice custom scenarios of AA. Maybe a mix is necessary.

At the same time, the systematic nature may offer a rogue-like kind of thing, where some elements can be changed so the challenge is renewed (far fetched, it's probably be either perfunctory or uninteresting, but maybe a thread to pull on)