Improve old gameplay concept, win a game

BALANCE. And more risk x gain decisions. I will get back to those in the end.

Of course theres more to say but talking of modern day games you of course figured those out already; From scoreboards to achievements, different difficulty modes and such.

Of course your game may not be limited to 'grab chiken eggs', im not sure how far from the inspiration you're drawing or in wich direction you're getting it to; the concept is solid and simple enought to get the core gameplay to many directions (a feature old games had before most fresh ideas ran out; today games still use old core ideas to improve upon with few exceptions after all).

So we can easily depict a character running trought the screen grabing stuff (not necessarily eggs) falling from multiple spawn points. Level variety is of course in place since digital games nowadays aren't limited to hardcoded simple digits dedicated machines like those; One instance you could be dealing with one single drop at a time from above from any point upwards, another one 2 drops at a time from a angle... to the point of 4 spawn points like this one. A level would be perceived(and conceived) by its spawn points/rules and frequency, from two varieties: fixed spawns and broad spawns (not necessarily one easier then the other). Broad spawns meaning a overall direction(example: above; right/upwards, etc) where the precise point something would fell would vary in the spawn area.

Fixed spawns create another gamespace and line of tought; You remove the 'guessing' and the attention/perception skill involved, like in that old game; With that out of the players mind all focus goes to hand-eye reflexes and timing, so these kind of levels could be reserved later on for the harder bits; Where you horne your reflexes better. Vary between those to create some variety in the pacing, increasing play-time and mitigating game stress(getting tired of a game session).

Now, back to the main sugestions:

BALANCE: Some simple physics so that player input and momentum would matter to determ if an iten is kept at the basket or fall off. This adds depth and variables enought to keep on improving your reflexes; It also opens oportunities to explore other ideas, like some instance where the player should stack itens without letting then fall while catching them.

Risk vs Reward decisions: To add depth; Such a minimalist concept (pure reflexes, simple rules) is mastered to fast; In game design the end of the learning curve(mastering) is when a player grows tired of a game and leaves(games that are 'played forever' gian content somehow or are pvp games).
With added depth the player would feel inclined to replay and keep going longer, as theres more layers to master and more ways to get better scores.

Theres various ways such decisions could be added; The simples example would be variety of itens falling, for example, eggs more worthy then others... what happens when a special egg is falling way too fast or way too far across the screen? Is it worthy enought to try and catch it or catch the sure one right above you? Do you think you can do it? Will you try, or try again?

Another interesting addon would be other sorts of itens falling, some good, some horizontal variety (same value as catching a egg, but instead of score they could bring some other benefit), some bad.. cathing an good egg too close to another rotten egg falling by its side without cathing the bad egg would be a nice challenge.

Hope ive helped some how. Hope the giveaway is still open...

Either way, add me to steam if you want more ideas or discuss gameplay more. Majoring in gamedesign here, so im tottally into the subject, bioshock infinity or not.

Think i played that game when i was like 4 years old from someone that let me that machine.

There is a similar flash game called "Gnomes coins", google it, its almost the same game but with a diferent theme with gold,copper,rocks... much more adicting and with a bit more updated controls and "graphics", maybe you should try it, you may get new ideas by playing it. Its on that tremor games website:

http://www.kongregate.com/games/akobenin/gnomes-coins

Edit for typo + link.

One simple thing you could add would be rotten eggs. Have them drop rarely, and collecting them would either take points off either score, or briefly stop the character from collecting more eggs.

Levels would also be good. The game could start at level 1 where the eggs drop slowly. Then, when you collect 10 eggs, it increases to level 2, causing the eggs to drop faster. The excellent Tetris game for the NES had a level system like this, and I think it works well for this type of game.

Different color eggs might be good as well. Different color eggs might also help. Have messages randomly appear at the top of the screen, temporarily granting bonus points for collecting certain egg colors, or even (rarely) telling you to only collect eggs of a certain color.

As suggested a few times, power ups could be good. I'd have them roll down along the chutes like eggs do. At times, the player might have to decide between going for a power up or saving an egg.

I know some people have jokingly recommended hats, but I think some kind of unlock/progression system would be good. It helps keep players interested. Cosmetic features like hats could be part of that. You could also add unlockable perks. Players could choose two of their unlocked perks to help them, which would add some customization and variety. You could have a perk to start each round with a certain power up, a perk that would automatically catch the first egg that misses the basket, a perk to slightly increase the egg drop rate (increasing difficulty for a higher score), etc. The progression system could also unlock other things, like different backdrops, different game modes, and new titles for the player (eg. Champion Egg Catcher [player name]).

However, I think my most important suggestion is to keep it simple. It's good to add some features for more variety, but don't let it get out of hand. This is a simple game at heart, and adding too much complexity doesn't necessarily translate to more fun. If you're seeing a lot of suggestions you want to implement, then it might be a good idea to break them down into different game modes, so the player isn't distracted by too many considerations all at once.

Add different types of difficulty, just like the normal one with 4 ways, harder one with 6, hardest with 8, and chuck norris mode with more than 8 and super speed e_e

By the way i had this game when i was 4 ._.

Level ups and Rewards for leveling up, like a insta catch all eggs egg or a speed increase or decrease egg. eggs with different meaning like black egg=faster egg speeds. white egg=slower egg speed etc

I find it weird that you have a basket with a black hole in the bottom.

You could add a feature that the basket has to be emptied out every now and then, perhaps get bonus points

Even more interesting why not use the basket as a multiplier, the more eggs you drop off at a time, the more points you get. The drawback is that every egg makes you move slower and if you miss one egg you lose your entire basket. Risk vs reward.

THANKS EVERYONE! Most of you got an invite. Now I am debating what to call the game. Some suggestions so far were "Wolfs breakfast" and to name the wolf Ramirez.
I searched for some wolfs names/synonyms and got the flowing wolf names: Ranulf, Rannulf, raul, rodolfo, sandalio, seff, varg, vuk, zev, blonco. Anything shines from this? Anything to combine? If your name is chosen - free copy of Bioshock 1, The Walking Dead, and Telltale games for you.

1. Different, or changing, ramp angles/heights.
2. Bumps in the ramps that affect the rolling of the egg.
3. Different point counting. (Ex: 1 egg is 100 points instead of 1, so you can have varying point amounts)
4. Different sized eggs that could increase/decrease point value of the egg.
5. Random speed of eggs when they fall from the chicken that could increase/decrease point value of the egg.
6. Sounds when you reach a certain amount of points. (Ex: Every 1000 or 10000 points)
7. A baby chick in random eggs that could pop out in the middle of a ramp, save you a life if the egg falls or add a life if the wolf catches the egg. There could also be a crack or a way to tell that this is a special egg.

Cool sounds

• Chicken bawks when an egg is laid.
• Wolf says something after every 10000 points (Not sure if he's helping or stealing the eggs, I guess you can decide?)
• Baby chick chirps after being saved/breaking out of the egg.

Cool game names

• Cana's Coop (Cana is Gaelic for wolf cub)
• Scrambling Seff (Seff is a variant of Zeff, Yiddish for wolf)
• Ryker's Repository

I'll try to think of more things for you! (:

Tastiest Catch

It's a clone of a Nintendo handheld game...

http://s52.radikal.ru/i137/0812/ec/ebc2747b2346.jpg

They replaced Mickey Mouse with the Wolf. :)

You can make it a bit "RPG" like if you can buy "improvements" that will make the game a LITTLE easier every level, like:

Friction chute (make the egg drop X percent slower)
Chute holding area (holds 1 egg and end of chute, gives you extra moment to grab the egg)
Time limited assistant (15 seconds, an assistant will catch any eggs you miss)
Energy Drink (for yourself), you move X percent faster
Warning lights, warns you which chute is about to drop next

HUEVOS LOBO!

Seff Vukzev for wolfs name