Car Wars is an unexploited franchise that would make an excellent game. To clarify, I don't mean an ultra-violent driving sim, or a Mad Max inspired MMORPG. I mean a turn-based, near-future, vehicular combat game where the PC does the boring number crunching and record keeping. NWN did it for D&D, so why not Car Wars? Autoduel has come the closest so far, but the arcade-style combat eliminated the strategy aspect of the game.

Cars, highways and violence are familiar to everyone. No mechs, no aliens, no space, no zombies, no Nazis, just pure, uninhibited road rage. The concept may be too 80's for younger gamers, but I will continue to hope for a faithful Car Wars game. 

The franchise really has to be able to stimulate and hold the player's interest. The universe also has to be fairly large, so the player can explore plenty of areas. Personally, I don't like Star Wars/Star Trek/LotR games a lot. I admit, I played some of those Kyle Katarn thingies, but none of them will EVER be as good as the first one (the one where he wasn'ta Jedi.) That first game r4wked.

Star Trek is shit.

LotR seems much too limiting imo.

I can't really think of a franchise that SHOULD be made into a game that hasn't been already.
The Matrix? No, never should've been a movie in the first place.

AvP was good, the 2nd was ok, dunno about the rest.

Ummm.... that's all I can think of right now. 

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All action movies these days get a game tie-in. It is sad to see so many cookiecutter mediocre games based on potentially awesome IPs. I had an essay thought up in my head but then I saw this http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v133/scarystripes/grave002.jpg and forgot all about it.

I'd like to see a (PERFECTLY EXECUTED) Hellboy game (based on the comics, not the movie), episodic content, cel-shaded, get to play as different BPRD agents, lots of lovecraft stuff.

http://www.greenoise.com/lj/FIRE.gif 

they should be based on something original. or they should be made with better quality being based on movies...

czg i miss you :( 

I'll be back when it's finished. 

/me faints ejacing... 

Yes, I know there's a metric asston of these games already, but damn it, MAKE A PROPER SIMULATOR FOR ONCE. All these "DFA Pizza Challenge Quakewarrior Assault Fest" games are getting old. 

I have some ideas that I really, really want to see come to light with a mod... but I don't know when I might pursue this. I like to think I would make a good creative director or some such, because I tend to recognize when things need improvement (I mean, have you seen alot of the crappy Doom 3 mods or skins that people are eating up but they're really way behind id Quality?) -- now that may be pretentious, but it would be beneficial to have someone with this attitude (while still humble) in a mod team.

Now, what would translate well to the game world. I dunno, I think we have enough fictional games out there, I'd like to see more present-day oriented ones, maybe simulators. Call me a dork but I'd love to play the role of a police officer, not like Max Payne, much more involved. Remember the original SWAT (or was it SWAT 2 with the FMV?). 

could be ripe for the exploitation -- I'm thinking Zelazney's Lord of Light, Cordwainer Smith's Instrumentality of Mankind, or Bradley's Darkover series.

These titles are probably too obscure for a mainstream audience, so how about this -- ABC pays out a big fat wad of dough to Cyan (Myst)to develop Lost: The Game. 

could be ripe for the exploitation -- I'm thinking Zelazny's Lord of Light, Cordwainer Smith's Instrumentality of Mankind, or Bradley's Darkover series.

These titles are probably too obscure for a mainstream audience, so how about this -- ABC pays out a big fat wad of dough to Cyan (Myst)to develop Lost: The Game. 

There' s enough mythology and varietyt here to produce good games. 

jsHcK - sounds promising, you got any links for Car Wars media for us to check?

Zwiffle, I agree with that post in general. Star Wars etc, well they are strong universes, but they do little for me, just....the style doesn't appeal as much as others. AVP2 was great though, I think that definitely does have a well translatable style. I mean fuck, Aliens, who DOESN'T want to play that as a game??

nitin, well, that goes without saying!! You could probably make enough games for us gamers to play from the rest of our natural lives from GW universes =).

My thoughts....well when I think of gaming, I only really consider what I like - FPS, 3PS, RTS and RPG. And I do sometimes experience media that would translate well to that. Mostly books I think, don't watch too much visual stuff... Unfortunately I'm struggling to remember what ones have stood out at the moment!! Will think... 

I'd like to play a simulation as an animal. I've always wondered what it would be like. FPS style.
Think about it - being a salmon.
Or an insect or a bird - flying would be fun! You'd have to catch food, avoid predators, mate, build a nest etc.. There are lots of forces and conflicts going on in the nature all the time.
Of course you shouldn't make it boring but not too easy either. 

Reeling them off like a MOFO :

1) "Aliens" team strategy game (FPS). smartguns, pulse rifles, aliens. Like Republic Commando but FUCKING DARK AND SCARY AND PIDDLE RUNNING DOWN YOUR LEGS!! Couldn't go wrong if u tried. ALiens VS humans in multi-player of course.

2) Starship Troopers "mass combat" game, this is already being made... WOOT

3) Total Annihilation 2... this is already being made (Supreme Commander) :D:D:D:D

4) Time Team 3D! �_�

5) Hard Boiled 3rd person shooter. This would pretty much be like Max Payne except with evile japanesse people in it with massive guns that never run out of ammo ever. And stuff explodes 10x more violently than imaginable. Cinematic carnage. Has to have a "save the babies" subgame.

6) Like others said, any wh40k game has potential to own all, especially if they made an fps! (A good one that isnt GAY and a CONSOLE ported POS) Space Hulk 2006 anyone??? :D~~~ Also Necromunda would make a good game. Could even incorporate the rpg aspect of it (making your team better, getting better guns etc)

7) Yeah im tired now. 

 

Try these links for more Car Wars information.

Steve Jackson Games
http://www.sjgames.com

SJ Games - Official Car Wars Page
http://www.sjgames.com/car-wars/

AVRO - What Is Car Wars?
http://web.archive.org/web/19991105054230/avro.simplenet.com/carwars/history/index1.html

Classic Microgames Museum - Car Wars Page
http://maverick.brainiac.com/cmm/carw.html

Seattle Washington Autoduel Team - Links Page
http://www.serv.net/~owenmp/sitemap.html

I was a Car Wars tabletop fanatic until I got my first computer (Apple IIc) and discovered Wizardry. 

 

Isaac Asimov's Foundation universe as a Civ-style political strategy game.

Rudy Rucker's Software/Freeware/Wetware universe as an RPG or MMORPG.

Any game at all taking place in Bruce Sterling's Schismatrix universe. 

Great ideas, esp the first and last. Actually, the first interesting RTS idea I have heard in a while (no offense above posters, it is just no longer my genre of choice, Age of Empires is the antiQuake IMHO).

The last idea could make for a great Deus Ex killer. BTW, Heavy Weather was pretty decent, and the short story Dora Bangs blew my mind most bitterly (he has written a few dogs though). 

The Warhammer/WH40k universe has the potential to pwn each and every one of the other gaming franchises. It's just I've never really seen it done "right" yet.

I'd love to see a Massive Combat(TM) FPS based in the WH40k universe, and a proper single-player campaign, not this lightweight multiplayer bollocks. And maybe the same thing in the Warhammer universe, except it would be more of a slash-em-up/magic-em-up with the medieval fantasy setting. 

An Alice-type game based on the Labyrinth film. That could pwn =). 

Only if Jennifer Connelly got her puppies out. 

I agree with smabs - that would kick arse. (Was I the only one who was scared shitless of Labyrinth as a kid?) 

Yes. You pussy. 

David Bowie's hair gave me nightmares too.