ya i'm really impressed with the elements this year actually. If someone would have mentioned ponies and accountants before the contest elements were actually released I probably would have laughed at him/her. But seeing how the industry should move/push toward the direction of creativity and innovation rather then the so called generic elements in many games now-a-days, I actually am very excited to see what the minds of all the contestants will come up with given the lack of reference.

Working Title: World Wild West
During the tutorial level you work as an accountant (along the same way gordon is a scientist in half-life). You meet an old friend who tells you that gold is so boring, and there is a train taking an expensive crystal from one place to another. He persuades you to quit, grab your six-shooters and team up with him to take the crystal and get rich.

Accountant: You. Apparent in the start of the level/tutorial and in some dialogs, along the lines of doom the movie's: "Are you really an accountant?"
Explosions: No wild west game is complete without dynamite sticks :)
Crystal: The main goal
Ponies: You can gain health by playing poker or picking up cards. The highest card is a pony(instead of a ace).

It's either going to be this idea or my other airplane crash/horror idea. This one seems more manageable though.

Quote: Original post by sirGustav
Working Title: World Wild West

I hadn't even considered how well the elements would fit into a western scenario. Good thinking. ;-) As for your use of ponies, couldn't you use them to catch and board the train? Technically, those would be horses and not ponies, which raises the question...

Can we use horses for the pony element or do they have to be ponies (at some point at least)?

Quote: Original post by coderx75

Quote: Original post by sirGustav
Working Title: World Wild West

I hadn't even considered how well the elements would fit into a western scenario. Good thinking. ;-) As for your use of ponies, couldn't you use them to catch and board the train? Technically, those would be horses and not ponies, which raises the question...

Can we use horses for the pony element or do they have to be ponies (at some point at least)?

I'm guessing it would be ok if you labeled them ponies in the game, and made them a bit shorter.

I'm guessing that if the player thinks he have seen ponies in the game you're in the green, and I guess it would be fine to use ponies instead of horses. But I feels that this is somewhat of a comical route, and I could get away if I was going down that road but I'm not, and it would feel tacked on.

I'm thinking more along the lines of going a emblem route. Ponies represent goodness in some form, so every time you see a pony/pony-logo in a alley you can get goodies there. On the other hand, during a horse-training mission you can practice your weapons skills on the back by shooting wild ponies :)