Hi guys, I'm aware that everyone has about 100 ideas for a game but I have been working on a concept that I think deserves to be made and could sell well. I have been involved in app development in the past but without any coding abilities myself. I am a doctor specialising in tropical medicine, I have worked around the world in some of the poorest countries across Africa, Asia and the Middle East. During my time working in field hospitals deep in the jungle I have seen the importance of resource management, but also in the immense satisfaction that comes from seeing a new piece of equipment or new batch of drugs revolutionise the care you can give your community. I think this translates perfectly to a time management slash hospital sim game. Picture a patch of land deep in the jungle and you are given a simple husk of a hospital surrounded by a community with various needs. In this scenario you work for an NGO that rewards your success with additional funds or items to expand your hospital. You can use funds to buy new equipment, hire new staff, set up new clinics for new diseases and so on. The initial playthrough would be story driven by various events providing challenges and opportunities, such a local warlord and his rebels rolling through town, disease epidemics etc. Meanwhile your progress translates to live stats such as life expectancy, maternal mortality etc. I propose that the game have a pixel art appearance with the characters and plot points provided by overlaid comic art, and as complex as it all sounds would be as simple to play and understand as any time management game but with added scope and a genuinely educational ambition. I would also like to sell this app and for it to generate enough profit to reward everyone involved, as well as a portion being donated to an organisation such as the Red Cross. So if you're an artist, musician or programmer interested in being a part of this team, just let me know!
I would be interested in helping! I do graphic/web design, and I can provide websites, logos, graphics, etc.
I have done music for some hit games, including Zombieville and Battleheart, and worked on a time management game last year. Drop me a line here or through my website (URL below).
Hey guys, I am still very much interested in making this project a reality, thanks for your interest, I would love to work with you both! That leaves a programmer!
Sometimes I wish I had done programming instead of medicine! Great to hear from you, will keep you posted
Well you have the brains then! Time to learn to code. Unless you are paying... you are unlikely to find a skilled programmer that will stick with such a project. Having lead many teams like this the BEST thing you can do is learn to code and drive the project yourself.
I'm not sure I have time to learn how to code an iOS app from scratch, whilst also doing all the game design, level design and writing, as well as working as a doctor. I guess I'll have to keep looking.
I have decided to get the rest of the team together and start producing mockup screenshots and a trailer along with ironing out some of the final gameplay mechanics, characters and plot. We will then launch a Kickstarter campaign to raise enough money to pay for a high quality freelance programmer. A portion of the proceeds from the game will go to MSF (Doctors Without Borders). This will be the last post in this thread, the next will be the Kickstarter, and after that we'll see you guys in the Top 10 list on the App Store
This sounds like a brilliant idea for a game and I'm happy that you're making it. Unfortunately I can't help since I'm an artist and I'm already burdened by too much work. I'm also in awe of what you do for a living and would encourage you to stick to being a doctor and not learn to code if you ever have to choose between them. There are enough of us hacks trying to make games and not enough people trying to save lives.
Bump! Still keen on this project, but experience since making this thread has taught me that nothing gets off the ground without an interested developer on board. If you're a developer or an artist and you'd like to get together to put together a preliminary design upon which to base a Kickstarter in order to fund the full development of the app, please get in touch.
I like that idea and being a developer I might able to help. Personally I use a cross platform development language called Monkey X which allows targeting almost everything with a CPU in it (including Android, iOS, Windows Phone 7/8, Flash, HTML5, PC/Mac...)
