Here’s a few ideas for some new games that some friends on Live and I came up with a couple of days ago. They’re nothing serious, but they could actually work pretty well if made by the right people (i.e., not EA).

A Harry Potter RPG

A role-playing game based around the school life of Mr Potter. Perhaps start out pre-Hogwarts, being collected by Hagrid. As the player progresses through the game, he/she will level up and increase their skills in various areas such as spell casting, sneaking, and potion making (it’s very similar to The Elder Scrolls, so far), and gradually follow the story line of the 7 books and/or films.

The main quests would follow the plot of the story, of course. Side quests can include all sorts of things from the books and films; anything that got even the slightest mention in the storyline can be expanded on in the game. Starter quests could include things like, “Follow Hagrid to Platform 9¾",” or, “Find Filch’s cat.” There’s a great opportunity for a Quidditch mini-game, as well.

The player won’t necessarily have to play as Harry, either – perhaps let the Sorting Hat choose for itself, based on actions in the opening quests before you arrive at Hogwarts (something to do on the train, maybe?). This way, the player’s traits and skills can be adjusted depending on their house, with exclusive side-quests or the same quests but with tweaks (“Find Filch’s cat” could come with an optional objective of, “Turn the cat into a toad,” for Slytherin members).

As for the game world itself, it will need to be centred around Hogwarts. Villages and towns like Hogsmead and Godric’s Hollow should feature, as well as areas like Diagon Alley and the Ministry of Magic. Due to the distance between a lot of these places, it won’t quite be a traditional single open world, but multiple mini-worlds linked by the Hogwarts Express or ‘portkeys’, etc..

Endless possibilities!

A Star Wars-themed RTS

Something along the lines of Age of Empires but with Star Wars locations, characters, weapons, etc.. Probably won’t be much of a story line, and it would be quite limited. It would probably have to be just land-based battles like the one for Theed, Hoth, or Endor. In fact, along with Geonosis, that’s probably all there is from the films…? But that’s where all those other Star Wars games come into play with the endless number of planets they use. Think back to the Star Wars Battlefront games – loads of different locations that weren’t main features in the films.

As for ‘teams’, there are plenty of different factions in the hexalogy. All the main ones would feature: the Trade Federation’s droid army, the Republic/Empire (at various stages), the Rebel Alliance, and even the Wookies, why not?

A massive Lord of the Rings RPG

This is just crying out for some sort of RPG game. Again, it would follow the main story of Frodo and the Ring and feature all the main characters, but it could expand on it further with all kinds of side-quests and a large open world to travel around in, on foot or horseback, or even use the Buckleberry Ferry! The player could travel to all the major locations: Minas Tirith, the Shire, Rivendell, and so on.

Middle earth is a vast land, perfect for this type of game (especially if Oblivion and Skyrim are anything to go by). Just a glance at Middle Earth’s Wikipedia page proves that! Each village has the potential for large amount of side quests to help build up the player’s level in traditional RPG style. They could witness or even take part in the enormous battle scenes.

Grand Theft Auto: Coruscant

Finally, this is a bit of a silly one that probably wouldn’t work but would be a laugh regardless. A GTA-styled game based in Coruscant, the galactic capital from the Star Wars saga. Life is a lot different on the planet’s surface than it is up at the top of the skyscrapers.

Places like the Uscru Entertainment District are perfect examples of locations that could be used in-game. I’m sure there could be lots of criminal deals and people in corrupt authorities for the storyline to take advantage of. Instead of jacking cars, you’d be jacking speeders (of all shapes and sizes, of course!). There’s a large selection of weapons available, as well – fits in perfectly!

Someone hire this guy!

No, no, just kidding; these are pretty bad, I must admit. Although to be fair, the LOTR and Harry Potter ones do actually sound feasible… Got any ideas yourself? Leave them below in the comments!