Ideal Video Game

The game would be set in a massive ocean. The player would be a mermaid (or merman) and they would be the last of their species. The game would be a survival game with some subtle story elements. The purpose is to survive in the open ocean, build a base, hunt for food, don't get eaten, and all the while you are trying to rediscover the lost route to the abandoned city of Atlantis. As you are the last of your kind, there is no hope to bring your kind back, so the most you can hope for is to preserve the legacy of your species. There are many artifacts, magical tomes and items that are scattered all over the world. You set out to gather them and place them in the vault of Atlantis.

Game Appeal: aside from the ocean and underwater exploration, the game would feature strong elements of gathering loot. Mermaids have grottos where they store their knick-knacks and the game would be full of thousands of little items to gather. The world you occupy was once a thriving planet, but it has now flooded. On top of searching for the scattered lineage of your kind, you can also find items about the other civilizations that used to live there and unravel the story of the planet's aquatic apocalypse.

Customization: the game would also feature a highly detailed character creation system. There would be many "tails" to choose from, such as dolphin, shark, octopus, jellyfish and lobster. Most tails would have the option of swimming "up and down" or "side to side" movement. Players could chose a pre-set tail pattern with adjustable colors, or freehand a design on their tail. Tons of hair options, a color wheel of skintones, and many extra fins to place on your mermaid. Even the ears, teeth and irises of the eyes could be adjusted. The mermaids would have gills on their neck for fresh water, and gills on their sides for salt water.

Biomes: the base game would come with many distinct biomes that the player can freely swim to. Each biome would come with its own marine life and loot. Some examples of biomes in the base game are: kelp forest, empty sand dunes, deep caves, coral reef, the shallows, whale graveyard, hot vents, arctic waters, blue hole, Atlantis, sunken city, mysterious ruins, dead boreal forest and The Trench.

Expansion Pack: there would be an expansion pack that brings a slew of fresh water biomes into the game. The players could swim up river mouths and find a myriad of new items to collect for their grottos and some new side stories to explore. Some examples included in this pack would be: mangrove swamp, clear spring, freshwater cave, estuary, salmon run and The Loch.

DLC: there would also be a DLC available for purchase that would send the player to the pool level of the Backrooms. There would be no items to loot here (as bringing something from here back to your reality would wrap it) but it would be a massive map to explore. There would be plenty of pools, canals, and water slides to traverse.

Base Building: there would be base building in the game, but since the character has no legs and is bound to the water, it would be limited. Your character isn't one of the grand architects that built Atlantis, so you would be limited to very basic things. You could weave kelp into baskets and curtains and mold clay into a variety of things. If you got the expansion back, your character would have access to lots of sticks for basic walls and shelves. Players would be encouraged to occupy one of the many massive cave systems for their grotto.

Other features: it would be a singe player experience but multiplayer would be available. There would be a variety of weapons and clothing that the player could craft, and also several weapons/clothing the player could acquire in the world. There would be an optional pacifist mode. The marine life would be based on creatures actually found on Earth, but there would be many cryptids and folkloric creatures to encounter. Some of those creatures would be considered "boss fights", such as the Krakhen, Megalodon and a Plesiosaur.

UGH I can only wish.