[sciwiz12]

I'm a game designer interested in incorporating chemistry into games and applications for the purposes of blurring the lines between application, learning tool, and game. There are two primary modes of thought for me where this is concerned.

Firstly, I am currently working with a team to design a game in which alchemy and magical are central components in game play. In this I have the desire to borrow ideas and inspiration from real world chemistry to create an alchemy system that allows players to experiment in a way most systems do not allow.

Going beyond that however I'm interested in creating a computer application that takes the rules of chemistry and properties of atoms in order to allow for more gamified chemistry simulations with simulations of some of the more advanced pieces of chemistry equipment available. I would like to even expand upon this concept to create teaching tools but I'm not sure what barriers will be in my way going forward.

[Dan]

I like this idea, and have casually wondered about how it might be possible in the past.

I think you will get more interesting results if you can outline a design or game mechanic, which we can comment on. I mean meet us a bit closer to the middle - you come up with the design and then ask for technical advice. Similar to how science advisors are used for films.

One issue I see is that a game in which items are combined to produce new items generates complexity rapidly. I don't play computer games anymore, but there was a game I used to play in the early 2000s called Vagrant Story that had a complex weapon customization/building mechanic that got really complicated. I used to study the combination tables and work with my current inventory to see what interesting new things I could make. Now, I can see that might be boring for a lot of people, but it was an aspect of the game that I really enjoyed. Maybe worth checking out (as well as its strategy guide) for inspiration if you don't know it.