The Eternity Tower

Alright, this is a long one. I'm really passionate about game design, so this is an awesome contest.

I can go into more detail if the devs want, but there's a limit to how much I can practically say within the bounds of a Reddit comment. And I wasn't even able to fit it all into one comment - it took four. Please see my replies to this comment for the rest!

Basics

This game is a dungeon crawler where you manipulate the dungeon instead of the player character.

Basically, the player character is automatic. You don't directly control them. They walk around and perform tasks on their own - collecting items, battling enemies, talking to NPCs, and so on. As you progress through the dungeon, it changes and shifts, and you'll eventually reach the end.

Some of the specifics of this game may depend on the limitations of the console.

It would act similar to a maze or rubix cube - you twist to make the rooms meet. Maybe one room has an X shape for entrances while another has a + shape. They wouldn't be able to meet, so the player character (PC) wouldn't be able to leave.

Ideally, the dungeon would be randomised, so like a rogue-like. The issue with rogue-like is that it may be difficult to properly structure the rooms in order to have them connect properly if it's randomised. After all, you are changing the shape of it constantly.

Dungeon Crawl Mechanics

There are two main options. You start on floor 1, then either you have an exit to floor 2 and need to guide your character to it, or you automatically progress to floor 2 after visiting a certain number of rooms. I prefer the second, so that's what I'll be assuming is how the game will be handled from this point on. The number would either be fixed (8, for instance), or scaling with the floor. Visiting the same room twice would count it twice. However, if you start getting into bigger floors, and if you use the second method, then the first floors you visited should disappear as you climb. I prefer scaling with disappearing rooms after 8, so that's what I'll use from here on out.

Think like this. You start in room 1A. Room 1, Floor A. You eventually to 7A. 7A is right next to 1A (it doesn't have to be, but let's say you twisted it to be there for this example). If you enter 1A, this is your 8th room, but also the 1st, so it's basically still the 7th. Because the "1st room" doesn't really exist anymore - the room is still there, but now it's the 8th room instead. Step back into 7A, it's now 9, but you no longer have a 7, so everything bumps down. If you never leave those 7 rooms, they'll stay there indefinitely. What'll change is the order of which room disappears first when you eventually do leave them.

Once you leave and go into an 8th room, your 1st room is replaced with a new room. Once X number of rooms have been replaced, say 24 (though as I said, scaling with level would likely work better and allow much better pacing), the next room to disappear will be replaced with 1B, so the B floor. And then either it continues as normal, or the A rooms all vanish and get replaced the instant you enter a B room.

I'm using 1A because it's easier to communicate in a reddit comment than 1-1, but 1-1 or some other variation would probably be better, as it allows unlimited floors. It also makes it easier to count rooms than A1.

Premise

You climb a tower - that's the plot. As for story, this is a tower you've been tasked with climbing. You went to bed and one day you just woke up in 1A of the tower. An old guy in 1A, The Guide, tells you that your ultimate goal is to reach the end - only then can you go home. Actually, The Guide should be in room 1 of the Zero floor (so if 1A is actually 1-1, then The Guide is in 1-0), which is the tutorial level. So you don't need to repeat that every time. Have the tutorial level selectable as an option in the menu from the second time you start the game, or give people a backdoor that opens in 1-0 once the tutorial has been completed, so they always start in 1-0 and can just immediately proceed. This version only works if some degree of player control is granted through tilting and shaking - this can be used as a mechanic for using items and talking to NPCs or taking other special actions in a room. This depends on how well that would handle with the console. If this is allowed, The Guide starts with "Welcome to the Tower." For first timers, he automatically continues. For veterans, he says "shake/tilt to go to 1-1," then waits a moment, then continues.

The story is, the Tower is infinity. It loops back around on itself endlessly. Just going through the Tower is eternal. But if you talk to NPCs and connect the dots (or connect the rooms, from a literal sense), you can find the secret path that leads out of the eternity and to the top of the Tower. This is how you win. This would be X-X and wouldn't have a minimum floor you'd need to reach first, though you'd have to meet the prerequisites to get there, which involves actually talking to the NPCs, not just knowing what they'll say and act on it.