Easter Eggs for Top-Down Space Shooter

I'm making a top-down space shooter, plays like Asteroids, but with a great variety of levels, enemies bosses, a few different weapons, etc... the enemies are all aliens set to invade Earth, and you basically level by level move from our Solar system to wherever the aliens live(I know, totally original right).

I'm looking for some possible ideas for Easter Egg type things you can find. I don't know how many I will have, and I'm not decided if I will even have one per level. These things should in theory be somewhat hard to find(though likely easy if you already know where they are), so an example would be hidden in an area you can't get to behind indestructible walls, except a small section of the wall is actually destructible.... In fact, I'm open to ideas of things that could also be places to find these things besides just behind walls.

The first idea I had was that you find a cow, in outer space, or on a planet somewhere. It speaks and tells you how it was abducted by the aliens and then used for experiments, leaving it mutated. Its a pretty farfetched idea but theoretically makes a certain sense.

To sum it up, I'm looking for similar ideas, and possible ideas of where in levels you can find these things besides just finding walls that you can destroy. Thanks in advance for any thoughts!

 

- reference to The Last Starfighter
- reference to the non-existent, "legendary" video game: Polybius

 

I like the ideas...I'll have to figure out how to reference The Last Starfighter though since it is an actual movie(don't want to get into trouble of course). And with Polybius...there have been actual productions that exist, one that is based on the "original," but I'm thinking if I refer to the specific year the legendary Polybius would have been made(1981), I should be find in that regard.

Thanks for these, I'd never heard of either one before.

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I'm starting to have some thoughts on ways to use real, proper, parody for these things. I'm not sure what all I'll include yet, but it shouldn't be too difficult to do legally and correctly, making the reference obvious at the same time, due to the whole aliens story and whatnot. So if I choose to reference Mario(the plumber) I should be able to do it. And this type of thing fits perfectly with what I want the easter eggs to be like.

EDIT******** new info doesn't mean new post, gotta follow rules

Anybody have any idea how I can properly reference the Darmak episode from Star Trek TNG? Darmak and Jalad at Tanagra would be a pretty well known phrase to somehow reference.

 

You could have a number of real life space probes in your scene. Say if your around Jupiter, you could have the Juno probe high above you taking pictures.

 

That is a great idea indeed! I'll have to investigate what all probes are around and see if I can't have some levels around those areas. I was likely going to have a few levels within our solar system, so this should be good. Thanks!!!!

 

The movie Aliens is always a fun reference to see in games. "In the pipe 5 by 5"

 

Thanks! I can find or make a place in my story to add that...I may add in-mission radio chatter or communication, which would make it even easier.

 

If you weren't aware, using that specific line would be a reference to both Aliens and StarCraft, which was referencing Aliens.

 

as my nickname reveal I'm a huge Star Wars Fan, so thousand idea come in my mind.
- show the Falcon flying by somewhere
- or just a hint, I don't know if you have a sort of mentor to the main character he could say something like "your Father was the best star pilot in the galaxy, and a cunning warrior. I understand that you've become quite a good pilot yourself.."
- or just "Great kid, don't get cocky!" when u hit something big or first hit in the first mission

 

Thanks for the suggestions...I'm not sure why it didn't occur to me to include some references to Star Wars(and Star Trek).