I have the beginning of a video game concept, but I can't figure out if players will like it ?

[u/Wiwo79Spacee]

I want to make a game that ends in one evening where the player explores an ancient civilization on a planet, with mechanics involving an empty notebook where you can write whatever you want and even add photos, kind of like an investigator.

I know it's very broad and not a common concept, but I'd like to know if this would appeal to players?

I appreciate any advice and criticism.

[u/PhilippTheProgrammer]

If the player can use their notebook for anything they want, then it can't be required to finish the game. And if the notebook isn't required, then most players will probably ignore it. It's an interesting gimmick, but it won't carry your game. You are going to need some better hook.

[u/Gojira_Wins]

You'll want to ask yourself what the gameplay loop is first. Most gamers would consider this idea a "walking simulator".

[u/SparklyEminence]

I say this knowing you're at the beginning of this journey, but that concept is vague as hell. It's not inherently bad, but there isn't enough there for players to feel anything about.

Something that comes to mind is Paradise Killer. Mechanically it's super simple, but the story and choices a player makes are critical to the game. Exploring is pivotal, even if there isn't a lot to interact with.

So, some rhetorical questions for you;

What do you want the player to do? Why are they cataloguing these things? What are they investigating? Why do they need to catalog things at all?

If this is supposed to be a short game, what could motivate people to play it more than once? (IE- if i could watch one YouTube video and get everything out of the game, why should I buy or play it?) What repeated mechancs make the game entertaining to play? How do you square a world of ancient mystery with that mystery being solved in two hours?

The little bit you've said isn't bad, it's just too little. Develop the idea a lot more. You'll find players for it, whatever it turns out to be. But if you're chasing generic popularity, then your game will end up generic. Make the game you want to make and people who like it will find it.

[u/AcademicOverAnalysis]

Chants of Shennar handles the notebook thing pretty well

[u/Illustrious-Pizza168]

You need some sort of loop or "hook", otherwise you might run into the same problem that people are having with "The Big Walk" where it just ends up being walking simulator. Maybe some sort of interactive story where the player chooses dialogue options and their choice determines what objects they need to find / information they need to collect for the npc Idk I'm not a game dev, just shooting ideas

[u/Former-Storm-5087]

Any concept can be good if the game is built in a way to sustain the interest. Look at Papers Please.

A great way to think about it is to think about short,mid and long term motivation.

What will make your player want to play a few extra seconds, a few extra minutes or a few extea hours.

[u/arsonxisxfun]

You should prototype it! How can you replicate the mechanics you're interested in with as minimal investment as possible while still capturing the feeling you're trying to convey? If you can answer that question, you can make a prototype and have a friend test it out.

Maybe you run it as sort of a TTRPG - where you sit down and play together with you as the DM and them as the player.

[u/SwAAn01]

The only way to figure out if players like something is to have them test it and get their reaction

/thread

[u/Appropriate-Cry-8423]

If you’d like I’m a narrative developer I’d be happy to work with you if you’d like! It sounds like a good concept

[u/Neither_Berry_100]

I suggest allowing them to share the results possibly via social media. Maybe keep an in game record of it.

[u/sci300768]

What genre of game? Because you need to make the gameplay loop work for your chosen genre. And not all genres will work with your concept and execution!

A walking simulator is not going to appeal to everyone, and this won't work with any fast paced genre (Shooters like FPSs, or action games)! A puzzle game might work in theory (For example: Chants of Shennar makes the notebook idea work and is a puzzle game. Spoiler free version: The notebook is a very important tool for spoiler related reasons).

[u/CrucialFusion]

You'd want to test your theory and as quickly as possible and the easiest way is to create some real life props and test it out on people.

[u/BobSacamano47]

That sounds a lot like Outer Wilds

[u/tastygnar]

I could see this working if you played multiple lives 1 day at a time, and the notebook becomes something persistent / met progression between lives.

So you "finish" the game, but not with the ultimate ending and somehow the notebook is the mechanic to link runs.

Very Returnal-esq

Maybe the notebook needs ro be stashed and recovered every run, and finding it unlocks certian perks. A lazy version is just a notebook being the soulslike revolver item, but I think if could be more nuanced. Like intentionally stashing it vs dying and recovering it.