So, this sorta came outta nowhere, but I was suddenly thinking about Bully... and how there's probably already a Bully game in development, annnnd it's probably going to be a college game. And that's cool! A new Bully fuck it sure whatever I'm game let's do it party on hard rock bro time.

However... I was recently thinking that it'd be potentially more interesting if there was to be a Bully game set in prison. I mean, when you think about it it would lend itself pretty well to the design of the original Bully. You'd have a set schedule, jobs to turn up to, subjects to maybe take up to increase your skills, and of course hardknock brawling... only now with more shivs. There's plenty of games out there where a prison is used as an environment, though games actually centred around the life and structure of prison are extremely rare. There's a few adventure games set during WWII at least... and there's The Suffering series, even if again the prison mostly serves as an environment, though it did at least use the psychology of being in prison to an OK effect. Then there's that Prison Architect too. But that's all I can recall.

So, yeah, it seems pretty simple when you think about it really. You could still have the same ''cliques'' stuff with all of the different gangs, and of course an overall reputation could build depending on how you act and react to said gangs; have it like Mercenaries style where you simply can't work with 'em all without pissing someone off. You could also engage in selling smokes or what have you for cash on the side, engage in unofficial fight club brawls orchestrated by crooked prison officers, engage in a lot of mundane minigames like washing dishes for dat social commentary, maybe design your own tattoos, and probably have some sort of epic jailbreak mission in there, too. One that should also end tragically because Crime Don't Pay, Son.

I guess to keep it with the teenage theme of the original, it could instead be set in a youth correctional facility instead, though I'd prefer if it was a straight-up hard-as-nails prison drama instead.

My only issue with that idea is that it greatly constrains the open world aspect of the original Bully. The idea of navigating a prison class system is a neat idea, but I can't really see that being conducive to an open experience.

Now, have it set on a prison colony (Devil's Island, etc.) with the ultimate goal of escaping the island, that would allow for a larger play space and provide an interesting locale to boot.

@banefirelord: Isn't that basically what Mars: War Logs is? But yeah, I see what you mean all the same. Though it could just be a... really big prison or something. Plus after so long there could maybe be a narrative event that forces you to be transferred to a different prison, one that's ''experimental'' and is extra harsh or something, to give the locale a fresh coat of paint somewhere in the game.

@yummylee: That would be interesting. Maybe being wrongfully shuttled off to an asylum-esque place and having to deal with Hannibal Lecter and Nurse Ratched-type characters.

@jaytow said:

Well, yeah. This wouldn't be a sim of course, this would be Rockstar's take on prison life. So naturally it would all still be larger than life. It's hardly like Bully was a completely realistic portrayal of living in a boarding school... I'm guessin anywhoo, as I've never been to one.

There is an indie game that's in development called Prisonscape that seems like exactly what you want.

Huh, that actually does seem rather interesting. Definitely going to hafta keep an eye on that one. It basically looks like Theme Prison :P Looks like it'll have a rather complex social structure too, though... y'know, who knows how it'll all actually pan out. But still, sure, we're a little short on Prison games after all so... whatever's on the table!

You mean like that beloved classic, the Prison Break game?

It's an interesting idea, but I think it would also be really hard to do well. I think it's telling that most games relegate prison to a brief segment rather than staying there the full 10-20 hours. Exceptions like Escape from Butcher Bay are so far removed from what we think of as 'real prison' that it doesn't exactly count. If it was set up as something like A Prophet, where you climb the ranks of the criminal organizations while incarcerated, that might be interesting? I dunno.

While R*'s habitual method of setting up missions as you doing whatever shitty thing people ask you to do, for no particular reason, might actually make more sense in prison, between that and what's sure to be wall-to-wall prison rape 'jokes' I can't say this is something I'd want to see them make. Granted, I thought the first Bully was pretty fucking shitty too, so maybe I'm not the target audience.

@markwahlberg said:

Yeaaah... I didn't want to bring it up but, with Rockstar at the helm putting an awful lot of focus on the idea of prison rape sounds like it would be inevitable. Nothing wrong with that of course, even if it's obviously not nearly as prominent as stuff like Oz would have us believe, but Rockstar aren't usually ones who know how to put on a little restraint, least if GTAV is now anything to go by. But then hey, RDR happened, so as long as I keep that in mind, Rockstar still theoretically have the potential to do anything <3

...I'm gonna guess you probably didn't like RDR that much either did you?

Also, how have I never seen that QL before??

Do you ever find out if you actually belong there or if you're innocent?

It's a great idea and to the people who say Rockstar's "type of humor" would not be appropriate for this....just look at RDR. They are perfectly capable of making a serious game. However I feel a lot of what made Bully special would be lost by taking a serious approach.

Wonder how much shit Rockstar would get for the inevitable soap drop scene.

Seriously though, that idea isn't bad but… I don't know. As much as I liked the original I really don't think I want a Bully 2.

I hate it. When I think of Bully, I think of its fun environment and campy nature. This is what gave life to the whole thing, supported by the music, quirky characters, holiday events... A school environment was perfect for that and it would be completely lost with a serious, prison environment.

I kinda agree with this. I think Rockstar could do a great prison game, but I'd rather see a theoretical next Bully game maintain the levity of the original. It's much easier for me to envision a new Bully inspired by Animal House, Old School, and Revenge of the Nerds than it is for me to see one inspired by Oz and Escape from Alcatraz.

Guess they could just technically make this an off-shoot of Bully, much like RDR is of GTA. So then you could still have both, and in this sense their own respective tones. RDR and Prison game for srs bsn, and GTA and Bully for the light-hearted goofy antics.

Dude, that would awesome! It would be like the Prison Break game i've always hoped for(and not this hot mess).

It could potentially work. I remember renting Prisoner of War on the Xbox and enjoying it, even with it's clunky-ness. Not exactly open-world, but it was a neat WWII stealth game.

Not sure if it's best for a bully game but I like this idea anyways

It would be fucking amazing if they took this idea and then called it Scum.

They just need to make "Mean Girls" the game. That would be basically what I want out of Bully 2.

Bully: College Edition or Military School

Done - take my money

Man, that's a film I still need to get around to watching sometime. Always been a fan of Ray Winstone; he's basically our English equivalent to James Gandolfini <3

I think a prison part may make a great segment in a GTA game. I think it might be to much for a stand alone game.

As others have pointed out, that sounds like a really great idea for a prison game, go a bit unrealistic with it to allow for added drama (like what OZ did with the experimental Emerald City stuff) and that would be awesome.

But for a new Bully I wouldn't want it to go that hard core, I loved the school atmosphere of Bully and I would want that to stick around, not saying I would want just the same thing again, but not as drastic as prison, but hell, if Rockstar ever did say Bully 2 and Prison in the same sentence I'd still dig it.

How come? I mean if Bully could make a boarding school environment work, why not a prison? They both share a very similar structure, least from how I'm envisioning it, and in fact it could probably make for some funny little commentary on how prison is sorta like going back to school. Sure, Bully eventually lets you explore the town, but... prisons can get to be pretty big so, in terms of space I'm sure they could give plenty for you to see. Plus the meat of Bully is still set within the school itself.

It wouldn't need to be this huge, expansive 60 hour thing, either. Like Bully, it would undoubtedly work better as a more compact, 20-hour deal instead.

...INVEST IN ME DAMMIT.

I still like the girls summer camp idea Ryan had on one of the podcasts.

I still think a bully game with a female protagonist could be really interesting. Not sure how I would feel about a college Bully. To me, Bully is all about high school drama and a thin veil of camp. College drama is a bit too adult, and would (most likely) bring the game closer to GTA, which I think is a bad idea.

As for the prison thing, there's an interesting game there, but I don't think it should be called bully.

I stopped reading at the word prison so I could respond with a one word answer:

YES.

Anybody else imagining the visitation aspect of this game? Like you could use it for side quests in the prison, maybe with a gang alignment aspect?

The biggest difference between Bully and a Prison game, at least for me, is that the oppressive environment doesn't lend itself to a game I'd like to play for 20 hours. You'll either have Oz the game or you'd have Orange is the New Black the game and neither is that exciting for a full game. Plus I just don't see a prison being big enough both in area and to provide a variety of environments.

But a section in GTA with a GTA type humour may not be bad if it's a couple of missions, or possibly a great way to start a character with them breaking out.

I think a game about prison life would be awesome. There's a lot of potential for a good story there, though I don't think the tone of Bully could be maintained in that environment. For one, I think there would be way more butt-fucking mini games than the original had.

Always nice to discover an old one, eh?

I feel like I end up getting into this conversation on here every 6 months or so, but basically I think Red Dead has an unfortunate number of issues but overall is quite good. And is even better if you skip the cutscenes...

In middle school, one day we jokingly compared how our school was run with how prisons are (what we knew of prisons)... and then started to get freaked out when we realized how similar they actually were.

Bully: Wet Hot American Summer Edition. That I would play.

@yummylee:

That does sound like a setting that would really work.

But man that game could go to some pretty dark places pretty quick. Definitely an M rated affair. Probably not for me man.