Video Game TV Show idea

:  Team Player

Summary:  8 main contestants are selected for their ideas of original video games.  Winner gets the go ahead to develop the game to be nationally released based on their playable demo.

Outline:  Each episode shows a behind the scenes of the demo’s development (studios), and video game themed physical challenges (lead designer).  Winners of the physical challenges could win valuable face time with veterans of the industry who give valuable pointers in the game’s design.  The contestants total 64 people in all.  Eight lead designers and under them seven studio game designers.  Winning contestants for studios should be college graduates in the field, or otherwise qualified individuals with the skills to use the software and hardware proficiently, and a passion for gaming.  Some of the positions called for are level designer, character artist, animator, background designer, texture artist, programmer and sound designer.  Winners of the lead design are not so restricted and they are solely chosen on their concept and enthusiasm for their ideas. 

After the season ends, the winning demo’s team must complete the fully polished game that is eventually put on shelves across the nation.  Hopefully the game gets completed by the next season’s end. 

. The format of a typical episode shows the in studio work of the designers along with tasks and trials of the main contestants.  Here are some suggestions for episodes in a season.

1.  Classic platformer (Hit Reset) The meet and greet of all the players.  Lead designers are paired up with the amateur studios they will collaborate with in the development of their demo for their blockbuster video game.  The audience is acquainted with each studio’s projected plans and concepts, and all its members, while the main contestants take part in an obstacle course set up like an outdated platformer. The fastest one to complete the course wins.

2.  First person shooter (Suit up and shoot ‘em up) Studios are at this time organized and have each designer brainstorming or head long in some project.  The leads on the other hand are whisked away to an abandoned factory or other desolate location that has been remodeled to give it a feel of post apocalyptic degradation.  The contestants are taken to a room where they are told to pick armored protective suits from the lockers and are given a paintball gun and shown how to operate it.  Their mission is to reach the safe zone, through the zombie ridden chemicals plant. The first one there alive wins.  Players start together and must navigate through the landscape to the goal, while avoiding and subduing Zombies.  The Zombies are people in protective costumes that try to hinder their progress.  Extra ammunition and other goodies are scattered throughout the stage.

3.  Future city (You hopia) The episode has the lead designers teaming up to design a future city.  Starting from the ground up they implement their different ideas of what a possible city could look like.  Lead designers brainstorm on important aspects of the city.  Taking the best of their concepts on energy sources, renewability, transportation, structures and occupations of inhabitants.  From there they create a model of the city and conduct a presentation of their concept city.  The rest of the focus in the episode is on advances in technology ranging from medicine to communications. 

4.  Human controlled characters (Take the lead) The Leads leave the studio and are fitted with a headset and V.G. controller.  After choosing a character and distributing ability points they play their way through a basic mission.  The characters they control are real people fitted with a camera and earpiece along with a suit that is responsive to the movements of the Leads V.G. controller.  The contestants see what the characters camera sees and pushing buttons make them advance, jump, or other reasonable functions.  The controlled characters vision is blinded, so they completely rely on the input.

5.  Modern future shooter (Got’em in my lights) The leads are taken to large warehouse and outfitted with light guns and suits.  In a free for all death-match the last one in the game wins.  When the hit counter reaches zero a player’s gun doesn’t work and they must leave the course

6.  Sports in games (Finish with finesse) There are no special gadgets in this episode as main contestants compete in sports trials.  Competitions are races on land and swimming.  Since some contestants may do better than others, games of a different skill set can be involved.  Archery would give less physical people a chance to gain some points.  Other games might be golf putting, basketball shootout and a baseball homerun derby.

7.  Medical (Apply pressure) Leads are taught C.P.R. and given information on what to do in certain emergency situations. After their training they are thrown in to mock emergency situations.  Sets are created and every lead must utilize as much of their knowledge to follow the proper procedures in each emergency, Points transfer from doing the right thing in the given situations.  The different sets are an earthquake, fire, flood, tornado, hurricane, riot, and hostage situation.

8.  RPG (Let’s party) The eight contestants band together as a party and hack’n slash and magic use their way to the goal.  This entire episode is devoted to the adventure as they meet riddlers, minstrels, battle bandits and reach the goal alive.  Your basic LARP campaign. The eight leads start by picking what type of character they want to be outfitting themselves with weapons, armor and magic.  The first location is the town where they must locate a map.  The town is set up like a renaissance fair but with a grittier edge.  It is essential for the group to play in character lest they be run out or run through.  Next they travel through a forest where they are attacked by bandits.  The survivors travel to a castle and must make their way through it.  It is set up like a haunted house with creatures they battle.  Finally they join one side of two opposing armies and fight a final large scale battle.  After this final fight they are heroically celebrated and meet with a wise king.  Whoever proceeds the furthest through the scenario is the winner.

9.  Cooking (Cholesterol: The way to someone’s heart) This episode has the Leads creating a meal that each individual from all the relative studios gets to sample. Given the same ingredients it is up to them to concoct a dish worthy of being accepted in a restaurant’s menu.  Votes are cast and the winner is decided accordingly.

10.  Strategy (It’s your move) All members of entire studios are assembled before two large chess boards.  Two studios vs. two studios on one board and likewise on the other.  Each 16 member team draws from a hat to see what piece they will play.  The rules are standard speed chess with the exception of pieces suited in stylized inflatable sumo suits.  Example pawn vs. pawn, instead of the traditional black takes white they square off in the ring.  The first to fall or be knocked out of ring loses.  Winner is decided when either King is taken.  Board is set up with ring-like squares.

11.  Music (Sounds like noise) All studios of eight go into a music studio and create a song with real instruments.  With a live performance at the close.  The main contestants sing the lead vocals.  All band members collaborate to create the song.  Then record it and showdown at a battle of the bands.

Band breakdown:                1. Singer                       5.  Lead guitar

                             2.  Drummer                   6.  Bass

                             3.  Piano/Keyboard             7.  Optional

                             4.  Rhythm guitar               8.  Optional

12.  Espionage (Double o double u) Leads are fashioned with all manner of gadgets to complete two distinct espionage missions. The first mission is to infiltrate another studio to see how their progress is coming along without being detected.  The second is for them to follow another main contestant without detection.

13.  Build a base (This land is our land) Resource gathering RTS Main contestants must construct a base and launch an attack on the others.  Given the same materials they first build their base.  After all are completed they get into their protective automatic catapults and fire 15 rounds at any base they choose.  The winner is the base with the least damage.

14.  Mech fight (People are robots too) Leads are taken to an urban battlefield and put in Styrofoam mech suits.  Under the Styrofoam exoskeletons they wear protective gear.  There’s also a pressurized air tank in a protective backpack that hooks up to projectile weapon systems.  The weapons are bean bag rockets that break away pieces of the suits.  The battles are one on one until one person prevails.  If head gear is dismantled they are automatically out of the match.  Otherwise total damage to suits is tallied up at the end of the five minute rounds. 

15.  Racing bumper cars (Pedals of plastic) Just your basic race with emphasis on protective gear and obstacles.  One course is a bumper track where they do laps.  The other is a street course.  The bumper track is set up with obstructions and overlaps itself to encourage bumping.  The street course runs through alleys and closed streets with a larger variety of obstacles and different paths to take to reach the finish first. The best of both times tallied determines the winner.

16.  Puzzle (This piece goes there) Each team assembles to create a puzzle/maze for the main contestants to solve/navigate.   After the studios agree on what type of puzzle they would like to create they need to specify the materials and setting to start construction. The main contestants have no inside knowledge of their own studios contraptions.  Whoever solves the most puzzles wins.  The puzzles are only limited to the studios time and imagination.

17.  Character creator (Game plan) Main contestants are familiarized with character creation software that allows them to create a character of their choosing.  After deciding on final features and touches their designs are submitted to a makeup artist. The episode ends with them going to a makeup and special effects studio to begin their transformation into their characters.

18.  Character creator II (Team point) The episode opens with the time lapsed footage of the makeup transformation.  After they are in “Character” they create short films with the use of any available props, stages, locations, green screens and their imaginations.  Films are viewed and judged by studios and online votes to determine a winner.

19.  Charity (Share the love) Main contestants create a charity and set it in motion.  Not as “Characters”.

20.  Viewer suggestion (I wanna play) Votes decide the outcome of this episode.  The most reasonable episode suggestion is chosen and the show follows the viewer’s format as much as possible.

21.  Season finale (Arcade crusade)   Completed demos are voted on in originality, playability, potential etc.  Overall highest score is awarded studio time to complete the game to be released to distributors by the next season.  The demos are played by the judges and voted on.  The demos are also offered for online play so viewers can experience the games for themselves.  With the judge’s decisions and the online community’s votes the actual prize is awarded.  Winners are awarded extra resources to hire additional studio members so they can program and debug the completed game to be commercially released by next season’s end.