Mobile Game Concept: AdventurerDiscoverer

[WorldTradeRichard]

WorldTradeRichard was thinking about this concept for a mobile game called AdventurerDiscoverer. Basically, the game starts with a basic google map that's been grayed out. There's a little drop down menu on the top right hand side, all yellow and happy or something. The player is pinpointed at the player's location, and a five foot radius of the Google map is unlocked, or "ungreyed" at that player's location. As The Player moves, the Player unlocks more of the map.
As the Player unlocks more of the map, the Player gains points. Let's say, for every mile diameter circle The Player gets 5 points.
The drop-down menu contains a few tabs that organize AdventurerDiscoverer.
The drop-down Menus have a switch between satellite and regular map views, and under The map views is an upgrade tab, which lets The Player's use points to improve The Player's discover radius a foot at a time(or something).
Under the upgrade tab is the share button, which lets the player save it as an image file OR share the player's map with whomever the player wants.
There are also several game-modes. There's common single-player play, public play, and territory play.
Public play allows the player to continuously share the player's map with other online players. This means that if Another Player has explored the player's area, the player will have a different color over the area(regardless if that area is grayed out or not)
Territory play means that the colors put down by other players can be written over by the player's color, making that area the player's territory.
writing over another player's territory also grays out that spot for the written over player.
The player may choose what type of game you play at the start of the game.
The player can switch, but it erases the player's explored map.
And then under those tabs, there is a world leader board for the amount of space covered.
And a leader board for the most land covered by only one person.
and that's it.

[Zohar]

So basically the purpose is to walk around/explore as much as possible? I would not be interested. The game as you describe it doesn't offer any reward or incentive to play - you don't discover or have adventures, either. What you're describing is a game mechanic, not a game.

[WorldTradeRichard]

Exactly. Its a concept.
Maybe one player could set paths to challenge other players to go to a place.

[WorldTradeRichard]

So basically the purpose is to walk around/explore as much as possible? I would not be interested. The game as you describe it doesn't offer any reward or incentive to play - you don't discover or have adventures, either. What you're describing is a game mechanic, not a game.

Firthermore, the incentive is to earn points.

[Felstaff]

One incentive would be to fill these areas with monsters. Not big monsters; just pocket-sized ones. You could help ensnare these creatures and collect them. There would be around 150 species in all, and you could compete against your friends to see who could collect and identify every specimen first.

Anyway, you've basically conceptualised "Fog of War: The Game". So, what you're

↶
describing is a game mechanic, not a game.

[WorldTradeRichard]

I feel like that's to much like pokemon.

[ConMan]

I feel like that's to much like pokemon.

I feel like you have trouble picking up on sarcasm.

[Weeks]

There's plenty of games that have fog of war mechanics, along with other things too that incentivize you to play the game.

[plytho]

Your single player is just points for walking, similar to the pokemon go egg hatching mechanic, which I don't think would work on it's own.

I use google maps all the time, so discovering it is not very interesting for me. If you would use something like the 8-bit version it would be a little more interesting just to see what it looks like (discover). But to be really fun you would need some pokemon enemies or quests (adventure).

Your multiplayer sounds like run an empire. That's an area control game where you gain control by running or walking around an area. The more you do it the more points you get in that area. The person with the most points in an area gets control, control gives you prestige which you can spend on your avatar.

Incentives here are: it's cool to control a real world area, there's competition, it's a fitness motivation tool.

That I would play, if they had an android version.

[Tyndmyr]

So basically the purpose is to walk around/explore as much as possible? I would not be interested. The game as you describe it doesn't offer any reward or incentive to play - you don't discover or have adventures, either. What you're describing is a game mechanic, not a game.

Firthermore, the incentive is to earn points.

Points are meaningless save for high score bragging rights, ala arcades. Look back to Super Mario Bros, and yeah, it had points, mostly through a sort of inertia, but do they matter at all? Does anyone care about the points, or do they just care about completing the level or whatever?

Points are not a purpose. They are a way of monitoring progress towards a purpose.

Let's talk about your core gameplay loop. What do people, when playing, actually do? In a cover based shooter, for instance, this is something like "recognize target, utilize cover, exchange gunfire, kill, return to beginning of loop".

This seems to be "walk". That's...pretty weak.

[SDK]

Your "territory play" is the only one that's a little bit interesting. You can't just base it on square miles uncovered though. That can be an aspect of it, but discovering lost temples or ruins or shrines or dragon lairs or whatever else, then fighting for control over those areas would at least give it more defined goals. As other posters have said, goals (especially long term goals) are really what your concept is missing.

[WorldTradeRichard]

WolrdtradeRichard was thinking about adding dungeon crawls and adventure paths, where a Player would get points from taking a certain path to a destination or exploring all of an area like a 'dungeon crawl'.
While doing the Paths or crawls they could be attacked by creatures pulled from the real world (and the D&D Monster's manual (redone to look original ) )
Hell, Why Not use points to instead increase a number of different stats?
The discover stat allows the player to cover a larger area when the player moves.
Attack determines how much damage One can do to wandering monsters or to home bases.
One could add in the Stamina stat, which is the amount of time before you start to take damage away from your 'home base.' A player's home base is determined by A) where the player starts or B ) Set by the player using points. They also lose stamina if they are attacked.
Health could be played as the activator for exploration, so players cannot explore areas if the player's health was at 0, and the player would have to return home to restore the player's health.

[SecondTalon]

Ingress has missions that require the player to travel to nearby portals in addition to everything else it does.

I strongly recommend playing it and Pokémon Go before planning more of your game. Both involve walking as gameplay mechanics. Both have far more mechanics and elements beyond just walking.

[siloguist]

It could be cool but, as others have said, only as a mechanic within a wider game concept. Other issue is, if you don't have a car or bike, like me, aren't you basically doomed from the start? In terms of competition I mean...

[Dauric]

The hazard of this game mechanic I see is incentivising someone to trespass on private property. Pokemon Go has problems with gyms and pokemon getting placed in private places and in cemeteries and national monuments. Now Pokemon has a big enough company behind them that they can take e-mails from private property owners and managers of public spaces and adjust their spawn locations, you'll have to figure out how you're going to manage complaints that your players are going places for dungeons and quests that the property owners/managers don't want them going.

[Thanosaekk21]

I actually had an idea a about a game using google maps too a few days ago(but you don't need to actually move all around the world)The concept is that you start in a random point at the earth. Then, you have to travel to A.your location B.a specific point(which might also be randon). Because this would take forever, time would run faster then normal. You would probably fall in the sea, where you have to swim and you have to be careful not to die out of fatigue or hunger or thirst. You will have to find an airport, a port or a patked car if you want to get easier and faster to your goal. It could get really realistic with Google Earth and you will be able to play in "live" or "multiplayer" mode, where there will be live data not only from other players, but also from ships, trains, airplanes and any other method of transportation available. What do you think?