Dungeon #1: Ruins of a civilization that's gone on some planet. Find the first piece of the puzzle, maybe along with some documents telling you what this thing that's now in three pieces is for. Ruins would be a good setting for low level opponents, scavengers, animals etc... You could also put in some areas with high level opponents so you can return here later, but that's bonus stuff.

Dungeon #2: ?

Dungeon #3: Infiltrate enemy base. Make up some story on how you get into the base and provide an extraction point. But you'll have all the time in the world to sneak around in the base and find the final piece.

Dungeon #4: Profit...

I put the ? in the wrong place now...

So then are we spaceships, little men INSIDE of space ships, aliens/astronauts with space-packs?

Are we going to be in an inside setting, or outside? Like, will it be a Halo-style indoor setting as we run around our own (or others') ships, killing baddies with all the effects of gravity, or something like Asteroids and Arcanoid where monsters come to ram our "hurdling aimlessly" persons into black holes?

Sounds interesting, define top-down, are we talking zelda, crimesonland or isometric style?

In anyway, I'm definitly in if there are any positions open.

Opinions on some questions that have been asked: I prefer C to C++, and a Zelda-type, square-grid, top-down view sounds good (easier to move around in than a platformer). Also, if there is an "infiltration"-type level, than an alarm going off shouldn't just automatically lose you the level, but should bring more guards to the area--like it's handled in Lugaru, if anyone's played that game.

no no no... we're doing the zelda thing, that's pretty much decided. Lets keep focused

Not really. You need to start somewhere. if the entire team is in on it from the start, you'll never get anywhere.

If you plan to do everything together you are all better off splitting up into 3 teams of 2 or 2 teams of 3, better chance of agreeing on things, and thus actually starting. Or just agree on a general outline, then let the leader go off and put things together in a format you can all then work on together.

Puzzle games isn't teamwork projects :/.

Anyway, I really hope something takes off, I was to sick to program during tins and now I really need to program.

Question: Is this vision somewhat right:
Zelda style game in futuristic space, where the player shoots stuff (probably aliens).

If this is right, Might i suggest multiplayer? sound like a typical coop-fun kind of game. I might be thinking larger than I should but I think at least hotseat should be included.

Why do you think 23 is trying to get the plot (at the very least, the outline) done first?

The only backstories I can think of for a game like this are either the character is trying to do something heroic (ie rescue the princess, prevent the bad guy from taking over the world, etc.) or because he/she is taking revenge for something in the past.

I vote for Trezker's story. its... erie...

as an addendum (for the sake of clarity):

Our investigation team is stationed on a large, nearby public space station (now I'm thinking more like the fifth element cruise ship interiors) retrofitted with advanced research equipment and a transport shuttle.

so... each dungeon would then be on the surface, transport there and back by shuttle, and since the world is so large we could plan levels in different environments... even areas that had been inhabited before, so that could give us step quest things like find keycard, open door, defeat monster, flip switch, etc.

Mah proposal for the three dungeons:

1. some basic world surface (grassland, mars-rock, swamp, jungle, ?)
2. underground cave (with some technology lab type stuff)
3. city ruins (Looks like the cruise ship except it also extends outside and is much more dirty, lots of broken sparking type tech stuff.)

for the most part I'm seeing the dungeons as being somewhat disorganized and cluttered (as opposed to the clean decor of the space station)

dude! idea!

after you find all three of the <whatevers> our protagonist(s) go back to the space station... and... ALARMS! ALARMS! >>BOOM!<<

a hulking space wreck, drifting through the void leaking atmosphere has crashed directly into the space station... why? how?... is it a malicous attempt to prevent our team from discovering the truth about the <whatevers>?!

Station Captain: "We couldn't avoid it. It came right at us like a magnet, no matter what maneuvers we tried."
Lieutenant: "It's a hunk of space wreck. It doesn't have any propulsion systems, no navigational sensors, nothing. Something sucked it right into our ship."

someone will have to go aboard to investigate, and who is more qualified than the investigators brought aboard for the research mission!

Begin level 4.

Here's an idea about how the wreck crashes into the station and actually causes the game to switch from having the player focus on a spot on the planet to being on the station for the last level, what you're finding are generators and you have to activate/destroy them.

If it's to activate them, maybe because you need power to a central city of sorts to get in, it causes a beam to appear that results in it causing the wreck to hit the station. Why that happened could be figured out while you're trying to save the station from crashing into the planet or blowing up, basically causing you to be stuck on the planet otherwise with no way to get home (along with the survivors of the station)

If it was to destroy them, maybe to remove some force fields, then the last one causes the area you targeted for the whole game to be a launch pad of sorts, and the last shield actually prevented its contents from be shot out into space, maybe causing other planet to require evacuation if it's not stopped. It was lucky (maybe) that it hit the space station and basically put itself in a position to be unable to get to other planets, but if not dealt with, may allow the station to be used as a way to other planets.

Seemed much better in my head... I need to work on that. Oh well, this is just brainstorming right.