Alright so I was talking to some friends about how how Quake 4 failed to deliver adaquate entertainment for the amount of hype generated for it on the iD forums. This lead off to a discussion on storylines for games lately and how things seem to just be getting unoriginal. Well, thinking about this for a while, I started brainstorming on an idea for a horror/survival game that really isn't original as it is just an idea made of a bunch of old games cobbled together. What I would like from you is to hear your thoughts on it: Summary - The U.S. government has many military hospitals to treat wounded military personnel. The "hospital" is just a cover though. In reality the government experiments on the people brought in to the hospital testing biological/chemical weapons, brainwashing techniques, bio-mechanical implants, etc... All of this to protect themselves and to create a perfect killing machine (a good offense is a good defense). It happens to be that you're a personnel. You're wounded in a battle (intro battle to introduce movement basics, etc..) and brought into the hospital to be "treated". The idea of the game is to, naturally, escape. But you have not only the hospital staff after you but their experiments coming for you as well. You have nothing to fight with except whats at hand (surgicial scissors, scalples, saws, needles, and later guns from security rooms). You've already been experimented on though so you will find that you have some... unique abilities as the game progresses. End Summary. I'm thinking about adding in a twist where you dont escape and are put back in the battlefield as this modified, brainwashed soldier. Thoughts on this?

This would be an interesting ending:

once your character Escapes, go to a cut scene where he's escaping, but obviously getting set up (ambushed)
the last cut scene would be a super soldier wreaking havoc, but then the soldier takes off his helmet, and its the main character (your guy).

It's not great, but its all i could think of...

As you said, the story isn't very original, but i think it could create an interesting setting for the game. You asked for brainstorming, so here it goes:

I would probably make this game so that the "main timeline" would be the super soldier wrecking havoc on the battlefield. During the game the player would have some kind of flashbacks, where he would have to play as the patient in the hospital. All the "abilities" or whatever he discovers in hospital would be transferred to the "main timeline".

Now this should be done so, that player doesn't know that in "main timeline" hes actually a bad guy killing his former friends. This would be revealed to the player only in the end as in final flashback he escapes the hospital and is captured and put to the battlefield.

Not very original, but this would allow you to have varied gameplay. It could be something like sneaking and careful advancing in hospital flashbacks and reckless shoot-everything-that-moves in the battlefield.

Hmmm, I think the first part about using the battle to introduce the gameplay is a good idea, but beware! If you eventually make this game and release a demo, make sure the demo is not the introductory battle, since people who play the demo and don't really read up on the game itself might think the whole game is going to be on the battlefield.
Just a thought.
I love the part about scalpels, saws, and needles though. :D
And then instead of medpacks or whatever you could use stims and adrenalin needles. :P

a little research can go a long way...
so for example, you could read a few roleplaying games (paper ones) and their take on the role of the zombies.

A particularly relevant example would be All Flesh Must Be Eaten, where you play a zombie. There are numerous expansions on the basic book, with enough variations on the basic premises that I'm sure you'll find something to suit your tastes.

A look at the Frankenstein myth would also be relevant, IMHO, in which case you could check out another RPG called Promethean : The Created.

You could then look up the references that these games used to focus yourself on a paricular flavour of zombies.

I also cannot help but mention the episode of Southpark called Night of the Living Homeless. Their spin on the whole zombie thing might offend you, but you can't fault them for being original!