Developers look for new ways to involve the gaming community, such as when Insomniac held a contest to create a new weapon for A Crack in Time. The Bearded Ladies Consulting, creators of Landit Bandit, are taking community interaction to a whole new level.
The Bearded Ladies Consulting have announced Gameocracy; a series of contests to have fans choose many aspects of their next game. The main protagonist, storyline, and even the name of the game will all be decided by the gaming community. The only details known about the game is that it will be an action-platformer released under the minis section of the PSN. Every Friday for 8 weeks, the Bearded Ladies will issue a new challenge for fans. Ideas can be submitted here to the official PlayStation forums and you can vote for the top 5-10 submissions on their facebook page. The winning ideas will not only make it into the final game, but the creator will get a shout out in the game credits. The first weeks challenge has already been announced.
The first thing our game needs is a protagonist and story. This “hero” could be anything that fits a platformer (which historically is… anything!). A hero also needs some extraordinary circumstances in order to show of his or her heroics. So we would also like you to include a quest/setting that our protagonist will have to navigate. Try to include the following:
- A graphical representation of the hero (don’t worry, it’s not an art contest, we will make him look great in the end).
- An interesting setting/quest that will create good gameplay opportunities.
- Special abilities/characteristics of the character that could further enhance the gameplay.
From our side you will be judged not on your art ability, but on the overall concept. Remember however that in the end it is your job to sell it to the rest of the community, and some nice colours always help.
You can get specific details on the contest and get some tips from the developers themselves, if you go here. Head on over to the forums and start submitting your ideas, now!
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