Describe your ideal Alien game.

[Soapy]

We Alien fans have put up with a lot of crappy video games over the years, with the recently released Colonial Marines perhaps being the most disappointing.

What I want to know is, what direction do you think the series should go next? And what would your dream Alien game be like? Who should develop it? What's the setting? Story? What is the gameplay like?


Just posting this because I thought it was cool.

 

[Silvermoth]

I suppose it's too easy to say a company like Irrational Games (Bioshock) should make it.

I love the idea of it being a shoot 'em up but it's gotta have it's moments of suspense too. Colonial Marines had some good ideas (such as using the tracker sound from Aliens).

Most of all, it's gotta have that creepy score. Also, if we play as a Xenomorph (and you pretty much should have to) you should have to work your way through the entire lifecycle.

 

[ProjectPat2280]

The best Aliens game would be the game GBX was supposed to make. Go back and read the very first details on Colonial Marines and that's the game that all Aliens fans would kill for. The early details sounded incredible. A true squad based shooter where every player had a role. Xenomorphs that were unpredictable and truly like their cinema counterparts and a story that would of fit in right with the films. Such a damn shame GBX dropped the ball.

 

[Nathan]

Can't really say what kind of story I'd want, I leave this to people who have better imagination than I have. But basically what Pat said.

A 4 man squad game, where teamwork is key for survival. 4 characters with different strengths and weaknesses. Wouldn't even have to be revolutionary. Like just having the tech savvy, the heavy, the jack of all trades and maybe a medic or another class. Dangerously intelligent Aliens, who rarely rush you, but constantly try to outflank you or lure you into traps. Equipment like the Motion Tracker would be crucial. Not walking around with it would be asking for to get horribly slaughtered.

Really focus on co-op. Quicktime events that would require another partner to succeed. As an example, you get jumped by a facehugger, but still manage to keep it away from your face. Now you have seconds left for a partner to aid you, to get it off you, throw it a safe distance and then blast it to bad place. Just like in the Movie. Or when an Alien jumps you, you are dead if you are all by yourself. No pistol whipping or pushing it off you by yourself. You couldn't get a rabid of dog of you, no way in bad place should you get a creature off by yourself, that breaks down reinforced steel doors. So basically, the Alien is on you and keeps mauling you till your health goes down to zero. Another player can help you get it off, but only by using his entire weight and drop kicking it off you. Which results in the other player lying on the ground as well, and being more vulnerable nearby Aliens.

Building defensive parameters under time pressure. Like in the Movie, there should be moments where you can barricade yourself, either waiting for reinforcements, or just to hold out enough till the Aliens aren't in the mood anymore to abduct your ash. Every character should have specific roles, or at least only one task can be done by a specific character. Like terminal hacking, that would be something only the tech savvy in the group can do. Maybe add a hacking mini game like in Deus Ex, and once hacked, you have control over the base you are currently in. For example, the player could open steam pipes near doors, just to scare the Alien off that is currently trying to creak through it. Simultaneously, since you are under time pressure, other players would set up sentry guns, seal doors shut and block of other entry points like vents. Depending on how well your team did, the Alien ambush could already stop at the sentry guns, or fail and they try to break through the steel doors, or use other entry points that you neglected to seal off.

Open world. This could have been awesome as one big world that you can explore, with outpost to protect and clear of Xenomorph infestation, somewhat like Far Cry 3. In the long run it'd the futile though and you just fight to survive long enough until evac arrives. Using the iconic vehicles like the APC, bombarding groups of Aliens with the Drop Ship. Or just flying from outpost to outpost under time limit, to save as many civilians as possible.

I would have the game take place on a completely different planet, filled with unique, alien wildlife, so you could go crazy with new Xenomorph variations.

 

[Jick]

I remember when the Alien first attacked me in AvP2. Something went awry, the characters started to worry, then the creepy and urgent theme came up and I just knew that an Alien would come up from somewhere in that dark place, I just didn't know where and I had no buddy to have my back.

My ideal Alien game would have that same atmosphere. Can't think of a story, but that game was really tense when it wanted to be and the score was one of the main reasons for that.

That was a great experience.

 

[Upset Spideyfan]

If we are going the Colonial Marines route then definitely just take the campaigns from AvP 1/2 and just expand and develop from that foundation. It should be child's play to make a decent Aliens game, Dead Space has done it about 3 times now.

Since Gearbox screwed the pooch on a straight up Aliens vs Marines game for the time being, I say do something like Alien where you are just a person on a ship or some such and go for the survival horror route.

 

[Nathan]

You know what would be awesome? An Alien game by Telltale Games.

 

[TheHeatKitchen]

I imagine a sort of mix between Ghost Recon Future Soldier and Dead Space. Co-op squad based with an exceptionally terrifying feel.

 

[Nathan]

[Cancelled] Aliens: Crucible - Obsidian Entertainment

I've talked about this game before...

There is a lot of could-ofs, should-ofs, and all that.

The problem with making successful horror games with the Aliens franchise is that the Aliens have been revealed... a lot. There is no mystery with them anymore. After 4 movies, countless comics and novels, countless video games - where the Alien and Alien variants have been killed multiple times, you have to tread new ground if you want to do something original. The horror with the Aliens no longer lies in the unknown, so we were going for the environment.

For example, the second or third time you watch Alien, it is no longer scary. My second playthrough of Amnesia was easy and scare-free.

NOT COUNTING JUMP SCARES! Jump scares are not true horror, though they can be used to effectively alter the tension temporarily.

Josh did have some ideas though on how to add horror and tension, and we had several scenarios into the game. Most of us were or had played SS2, Amnesia, and Call of Cthulu, but horror was not the goal of the game, survival was.

This was a game of limited resources and perma-death. If a party member got face-hugged, your choices were to mercy kill them, put them in a sleeper and wake them sparingly if you need them, or let them pop - but the bottom line was that once they got impregnated they had an expiration date.

As for the Alien variations, there are things that are simply expected by publishers and the fan base. The xenomporph variations also have a history in the aliens universe anyway. The first thing Josh and the concept artists did was to create the lifeforms the xenos would impregnate first. We also used some insect themes for the various xeno roles, from drones and scouts, to soldiers and queens. As covered in countless comics, novels, and films, the xenos take traits from their host, the idea being it would better enable them to survive in a dangerous habitat. One of the big mysteries Josh and the writers were exploring was what the caldera and how were the engineers (space jockeys) doing with the xenos.

The goal was not to kill all the bugs, but to simply escape from the caldera where you were trapped. Don't get me wrong, there was still a lot of killing of both xenos and humans in the game. Combat was real time - but we had a companion wheel to context system so that you could issue commands to your squadmates. For example, you could highlight a door with your reticule, and then based on what your squard could do, it would show you your options, like weld door, open door, or if you had a bomb, plant bomb on door.

As far as tech goes, we were using an earlier version of Onyx - which would later be used to create DS3. Our tech was stable, but we had pipeline issues to resolve but by milestone 25 or so were in pretty good shape.

Anyway, it is what it is at this point.

Source

 

[Spider-Vader]

Base it off 'Aliens'- Most Alien games already do this, but they all fail. A perfect Alien game needs to capture the spirit of that masterpiece. Every time I watch 'Aliens', I'm on the edge of my seat, a feat no other film can do to me. A game based off of that needs to get the perfect mix between action & intense horror that the movie has. If I wanted straight up action I'd go play Halo, I wanted to be frightened. Silly 'OOGA BOOGA BOOGA' pop-ups won't do either.

4 Player Co-Op- This is an obvious one. 4 player co-op has been proven time & time again to create amazing teamwork moments, as seen in the likes of 'Left 4 Dead' or 'Call of Duty: Zombies'. Now if a game can take that & place it in the Alien universe, it'd be amazing. But they need to go beyond just four dudes blasting Aliens, they really need to focus on the role playing. As said before, it'd be best for each character to have its own role & the only way to survive would be for each player to get into the role & help each other.

The Characters Can't Be Super Soldiers- As said before, the Marines shouldn't be able to whack the Xenos off like some generic shooter enemy. The Marines need to be normal people, well besides their personalities. Master Chief vs Xenomorphs isn't scary, you vs Xenos is.

Deadly AI- The Xenomorphs need good AI. The Xenos are the perfect predator, they're smart hunters & the game needs to show that. Not all of the Xenos should rush at you like mindless zombies, there should be segments where the Xenos stalk you; perhaps even doing hit & run tactics against your squad.

Replayabiity- Outside of the competitive multiplayer, the game should make you wanting to come back to it. Whether it be through fantastic level design like Left 4 Dead or an open world environment like Nathan suggested, you should keep wanting to come back to the game. I'd prefer for the game to be based off of L4D, but an open world game would definitely be interesting.

 

[Soapy]

For me personally, I'm kind of sick to death of the "Colonial Marines" as a broad concept because in video games it usually means lots of shooting and very little room for tension and horror, which is what drew me to the Alien franchise in the beginning. Judging by the responses so far, it unfortunately seems like no one else really shares my opinion.

 

[ProjectPat2280]

For me personally, I'm kind of sick to death of the "Colonial Marines" as a broad concept because in video games it usually means lots of shooting and very little room for tension and horror, which is what drew me to the Alien franchise in the beginning. Judging by the responses so far, it unfortunately seems like no one else really shares my opinion.

I dont think theres much room for anything else, when it comes to games. I mean maybe ya could make it like Dead Space, but even then theres still gonna be a lot of shooting. Anything less and few will want to play that game. People want to encounter the xenomorphs.

 

[Soapy]

Yeah, I guess it's a tricky balance.

 

[dude stannis]

Why not just make a great shooter using Colonial Marines with no Aliens at all? Marines vs those big guys from the end of Alien 3?

 

[Soapy]

Isn't that kind of what the new game is?

 

[ThePhantasm]

I think it would be cool to have you and your friends trapped in a massive facility, a la Aliens the movie, and you are trying to fight your way out. You'd have to move through different "wings" of the complex while shutting off rooms behind you. Your motion tracker would let you know when a pack of aliens was coming, and you'd have to choose a spot to defend and be aware of its vulnerabilities (can they come through the ceiling? the floor? are the walls weak? can you cover all the possible entrances?). It would build suspense as you prepare for a big fight. The game would be ideally played in some sort of co-op mode because it would be easier to defend a room with friends.

 

[Brother Jack]

To me there's basically two ways to go with it. Either Ridley Scott's Alien, which would be a survival horror game with minimal equipment and enemies or James Cameron's Aliens, which would be what Colonial Marines would have been if it was good. The latter has been attempted several times but it's never really come together. It's odd because the formula is so simple that you'd think it would be easy to do. What I'd like to see is the former with a more minimalist horror element. That would be much harder to pull off because it's never really been done before to my knowledge but I think it has potential.

 

[RCM]

The best Aliens game would be the game GBX was supposed to make. Go back and read the very first details on Colonial Marines and that's the game that all Aliens fans would kill for. The early details sounded incredible. A true squad based shooter where every player had a role. Xenomorphs that were unpredictable and truly like their cinema counterparts and a story that would of fit in right with the films. Such a damn shame GBX dropped the ball.

This

 

[Punisher_MAX]

and HD Remake of AVP2 would be my choice.

 

[KevanG]

and HD Remake of AVP2 would be my choice.

This but AVP2 Gold. Mofo Predalien!

 

[Jick]

I didn't play the Gold version. Was there a separate campaign for the Predailen?

 

[Punisher_MAX]

If gold came with primal hunt then yes the Pressburg had it's own campaign

 

[Nathan]

I'm trying to find the game again, but I can't find it cheap anywhere. Hopefully it'll make its way to Steam some day.

 

[Wesley Dodds]

I think, instead of Aliens, maybe they should take their cues from the first movie and make a straightup horror game.
Anyone ever play Amnesia or Penumbra? Make a game like that.
You and your crew are stranded aboard a dead spaceship. It's floating through space, lights blinking off and on intermittently.
You have no weapons. Medical supplies are low. And there's a Xenomorph on board.
Your sole objective: Stay alive.

 

[ThePhantasm]

Are xenomorphs that scary anymore though? I think it is easier to build suspense with them a la Aliens than it is to build actual fear / terror a la Alien.