About 10 to 12 years ago, I was extremely upset with RPG's lacking 1 core immersion feature, so I 'developed' a system that was interactive, immersive, yet not too tedious. When I say developed, I merely thought it up, wrote it down on paper, and did nothing with it. I had been constantly thinking of a way to completely incorporate the element to a large-scale RPG, without some settings seeming 'out of place'. I'd come up with a neat story every now and again, but couldn't quite get one that fit.

The other day while driving home from the store, it finally hit me. For the past few days I have been writing down the main story as well as game play elements. It's not perfect, and I don't expect it to be. There will likely be multitudes of changes along the way. However, I would love to see this project get started. Although I have dabbled with coding here and there, it has never been anything major. A dice roller, a craps game (the casino game), a phonebook, and a survey printer. I'm also terrible with art. I can see what I want in my head, I just can't get my hands to do what I want.

I thought about trying to come up with a 20-30m demo using the Construction Kit as a mod attachment for Skyrim, displaying one of the core features, and presenting that to various companies. I've also considered starting my own development company and hiring people (as I have a few other stories bouncing around from the past years) so I would be free to develop the game I want. However, funds become an issue there, as I have no immediate way of paying someone for the 2 - 3 years it would potentially take to develop this game. Currently, my best APPARENT option is to make the mod demo, and present it to various companies along with snippets of the story to get hired on as the writer/visionary, whatever. If I do present this idea to companies, it's my personal fear that I would just get turned down only to see the ideas incorporated in to some new game.

Advice?

Pitch to someone that has already been successful with Kickstarter?

Do you know how to program?

I have a 1993 Chrysler LeBaron, so I feel obligated to give you the best advice I can. It's not easy creating a game, and ideas are cheap when it comes to them. Trust me, everyone has ideas for creating a video-game. However, your first couple paragraphs gave me a feeling that you have actually thought of an innovative way to tell a story. Am I right in this assumption? If I am, then using what programming experience you have, you could create a text adventure to give a sort of proof-of-concept.

If it's a storytelling mechanic, then a text adventure would be fine. You won't have to worry about artwork and creating a GUI, but that doesn't mean it will be easy. You're just taking out the complexities of assigning graphics to certain elements; the rest of the game will still need to be created. You can then take your prototype and shamelessly prosttute yourself to various communities, forums and -- if you feel so bold -- game dev studios. Starting a Kickstarter might be cool, but if no community is interested in helping you, then perhaps your energy is more wisely spent developing the game until it gains some traction.

As the 90s told us, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iqT8ELJdI7E. Create a prototype and people will take you seriously. Write a story and expect others to spend hundreds of hours realizing your vision? Nope, not gonna happen.

I understand the LOGIC of programming (which in my opinion is far superior than knowing how to write in strictly one language).

I like the text adventure idea. And yes, I have (in my opinion, at least) an innovative way to tell the story. In fact, I can SEE the story in my head, the way I imagine it. I still have to write down the complete story, and I may be able to get my hands on one of the most unique MUD engines I have ever seen (Ishar). The last time I wrote a scene I envisioned, this is what I came up with:

As far as elements, it's not JUST a story-telling element, but a game play AND immersion element as well (both of which won't be correctly portrayed via text).

I am still cranking away on the story, and will figure out what to do afterwards. Most likely I will create a mod demo in the creation kit for skyrim, as well as a text adventure companion to delivery some story.

Pretty much what I was going to say, there (not that I'm any sort of expert or I'd have taken my own advice years ago... )

I can't seem to be able to dig it up, but there was an article not terribly long ago explaining why no company is likely ever going to have any interest in stealing your idea. You of course want to protect yourself with basic copyrights (that's just common sense,) but as I remember the bullet points were basically:

It's firstly just bad business in the long run to "rip off" someone else's idea. If your concept is so great it's worth stealing, then you yourself are a more valuable asset than the idea itself. If you're in the business of buying, packaging, and selling fish to market; and you come across a really great fisherman, you don't steal his fish - you hire him to catch fish for you.

Everyone in the business likely got in because they have their own games they want to make, and chances are they're going to prefer theirs over yours anyway. And an idea isn't anything until there's been some execution on it. Keep in mind that no matter what you do with your idea or where you go with it, that it's the nature of any creative field that you're competing against other people. And they've likely already completed a proof-of-concept at least. I mean, look at Kickstarter, for example. It's been a great way for indie games to get funded, but unless you're already an established name you basically need to already have a working game at least in alpha testing to have much chance of success.

To that end I'd recommend the same stuff Average Porcupine already said - do what you can and that you know how to do. No one is ever going to hire an "idea guy" anyway. That's not going to impress anyone with the power to do anything about it. They're going to want to see someone who's already passed the first few hurdles and done something with it. If you know any programming, then do a mod or something. Failing that, there's plenty of basic game design programs out there for those who aren't inclined in that way. At the very least there's some very good text-based programs out there.

So far, this is the chain of events I forsee:

1) Complete story/plot

2) Create short mod for Skyrim to incorporate gameplay elements

3) Create mini-mud to display Story

4) Present it to game development companies