Awesome video game idea

How awesome would a Transformers action MMORPG be? Totally awesome would be the correct answer. As long as there was a way of allowing for a procedural method of transformation (i.e. you can tweak your character’s appearance in a nearly infinite number of ways) I think the actual gaming mechanisms would translate well to a MMORPG format.

You can start by picking either Autobot or Decepticon, then specialise in various abilities such as vehicle mode (wheels, flight), weapons, etc. Quests could be against mega-robots, enemy facilities, Quintessons and PvP is a natural. Leveling up gives you better weapons, new transform options (triple-changers, extra AI-controlled componenets like Optimus Prime’s trailer) and the ability to customise more of your character. Players would have to use both vehicle mode and robot mode for different weapons, ability to heal and take damage, travel speeds, etc.

Naturally the world would be Cybertron, with possible Earth and space expansion packs. The more I think about it, the more it makes sense. That probably means someone is already making it, and while I hate them for stealing my idea, I can’t wait to play it, if they don’t fuck it up…

Random ideas

Here are some cool ideas I’ve had:

1. Saving the atmosphere.

Make a solar-powered dirigible (airship)  with a compartment that contains bacteria genetically engineered to consume harmful gases in the atmosphere. Details to work out – how to effectively condense air for bacteria to consume, and how to engineer bacteria that can sustain themselves off potentially toxic gases.

2. Anti-light.

I remember reading a kids book where a character had a dark light – essentially a flash light that cast darkness. Short of creating anti-photons (which would react… interestingly with normal matter) my idea is to utilise VR goggles, retinal projection or some such method to occlude the users vision of various elements of the environment. Ideally a flashlight emitting IR or some EMR invisible to normal vision would be picked up by a sensor and relayed to the retinal projector, so you would “see”  which parts are obscured by the flashlight.

One problem with this idea is that retinal projectors don’t have a way of generating “black” – it’s fairly obvious when you think about it (if you don’t understand why, look into how LCD monitors work). Ideally goggles or contact lenses that contain a matrix of black LCD or e-ink elements could be used to generate greyscale.

3. Smart contacts.

Continuing on with the idea of augmented contacts – something I’ve always wanted to do is to be able to take a photo of whatever you’re looking at. I won’t lie, the idea always seems to have the most merit when I’m perving on a an attractive member of the opposite sex. Engineering-wise the lenses would need to have an aerial for data transfer (which could be incorporated around the lens), an imaging sensor, a lens or focusing element, a means of telling what you are looking at, and a power source (could be invisible solar cells covering the lens).

If the imaging and focusing elements are placed directly over the pupil (assuming they can be made from clear or invisible materials), the focusing elements will disrupt your normal vision. Instead the imaging sensor could be implanted in the eye, or be located on the lens beside the pupil.

Taking a picture would be as simple as blinking rapidly three times. The trade off is having a couple of extra unintentional pics, but how often do you blink three times in quick succession? Perhaps four times could be a video mode.