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Author Topic: Veil of Ignorance, Game Idea  (Read 9657 times)

Servant Corps

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Veil of Ignorance, Game Idea
« on: April 24, 2010, 06:53:57 pm »

You play as a member of a society coming together to come up with the laws to govern society. The problem is, you do not know who you are, and will not know who you are, until after the laws are passed. Yet, you are expected to pass laws that will benieft you. This is the delimma of the "Veil of Ignorance", proposed by Rawls as a way to promote justice.

Each player is assigned a Role Card, with their background deteriming if the player beniefts or is harmed by the issues. For example, a rich person would benieft greatly from Flat-Rate Taxation and will be harmed through Class Warfare. However, each player do not know what their Role Card says until after the game concludes. The goal of each Player is to maximize the personal benieft to his character, without knowing what his character is. Victory is determined through a point system that I will determine later on.

Issue 1:
Raising Government Revenue=
*Flat-Rate Taxation: Everyone who receive an income pay the same tax rate. The tax burden will be distributed equally to each individual (altough the flat-rate taxation is considered a regressive formation of taxation).
*Progressive Taxation: People with higher income pay more taxes than people with lower income, with the expected tax burden to be distributed as followed:
-Poverty: 0%
-Low-Income: 20%
-Middle Class: 30%
-Wealthy: 50%
*Class Warfare: Only the wealthy people get to pay for everything. Everyone else is immune from taxation.

All three forms of revenue are expected to raise equal amounts of money, and will be enough to pay for the rest of the budget.

Issue 2:
Unemployment:
-No Unemployment Aid: No taxes dedicated to the unemployed, the unemployed receive no beniefts.
-Modest Assitance: Government gives 12 weeks' support to unemployed people. This will be paid through taxes.
-Generous Assistance: Government gives 24 weeks' support to unemployed people. This will be paid through taxes.

Issue 3:
Health Insurance
-Private Health Care: No taxes dedicated to the sick, sick people (regardless of wealth) have to pay for their own treatment.
-Medicare: People in poverty will receive some health care. Everyone else must pay for their own treatment. This program will be paid through taxes.
-National Health Care: All people will receive some health caree. This program will be paid through taxes.

Issue 4:
Immigration Status
-Deport Them To Their Home Country!: Illegal people loses points. Those points are equally distritibuted to all legal people.
-Guest Worker Program: Illegal people receive some points, paid from through taxes.
-No Borders:  Illegal people gain points. Those points are all taken equally from all legal people.

If you have any idea for more issues, please let me know.

Spoiler: Role Card (click to show/hide)
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I have left Bay12Games to pursue a life of non-Bay12Games. If you need to talk to me, please email at me at igorhorst at gmail dot com.

webadict

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Re: Veil of Ignorance, Game Idea
« Reply #1 on: April 24, 2010, 07:46:08 pm »

Except there's no way to find out what we are and therefore is a game based on luck rather than skill.
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Cheeetar

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Re: Veil of Ignorance, Game Idea
« Reply #2 on: April 24, 2010, 09:50:51 pm »

It will end with everybody rich losing because of Class Warfare with all the high-tax options enabled.
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I've played some mafia.

Most of the time when someone is described as politically correct they are simply correct.

webadict

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Re: Veil of Ignorance, Game Idea
« Reply #3 on: April 24, 2010, 10:45:50 pm »

It will end with everybody rich losing because of Class Warfare with all the high-tax options enabled.
Especially since there will be more poor than rich. It's like playing the odds.
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Mr.Person

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Re: Veil of Ignorance, Game Idea
« Reply #4 on: April 24, 2010, 11:51:22 pm »

If you get too rulesy on how the money works, you get away from the mafia aspect. That's not automatically a bad thing, it just leaves this thread in the wrong forum.
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Hmm...I've never been a big fan of CCGs - I mean, I did and still do collect Pokemon cards, but I never got heavily into the battling and trading thing.

By definition that makes you a fan since you still buy them.

Criptfeind

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Re: Veil of Ignorance, Game Idea
« Reply #5 on: April 25, 2010, 10:00:00 am »

Needs uninformed minority to give it a mafia feel... which you cant have because if you go with saying the rich are informed than everyone else knows they are middle or poor.

Also too luck based.
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Servant Corps

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Re: Veil of Ignorance, Game Idea
« Reply #6 on: April 25, 2010, 12:17:43 pm »

I guess you're right that it is too luck based.

But I don't really see why people would automatically choose Class Warfare. The distribution of wealth, as well as everything else, will be randomly determined, and then revealed at the begining of the game so that people can make informed desicions based on the odds. It could be possible that the rich are in the majority, and thus will have to pay.
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I have left Bay12Games to pursue a life of non-Bay12Games. If you need to talk to me, please email at me at igorhorst at gmail dot com.

webadict

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Re: Veil of Ignorance, Game Idea
« Reply #7 on: April 25, 2010, 01:47:37 pm »

That still means you're playing the odds. Now if this game had a different style where everyone tried to get some kind of rule set voted on with special abilities or something like LCS mafia, it might work.
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Leafsnail

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Re: Veil of Ignorance, Game Idea
« Reply #8 on: April 25, 2010, 02:30:08 pm »

How about some mafia players get a specific agenda?  That could help make the game more tactical.
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Mr.Person

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Re: Veil of Ignorance, Game Idea
« Reply #9 on: April 25, 2010, 09:50:17 pm »

How about some mafia players get a specific agenda?  That could help make the game more tactical.

Well that could work, actually. The town's job is to both figure out the mafia member and what they want to do.
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Hmm...I've never been a big fan of CCGs - I mean, I did and still do collect Pokemon cards, but I never got heavily into the battling and trading thing.

By definition that makes you a fan since you still buy them.

Leafsnail

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Re: Veil of Ignorance, Game Idea
« Reply #10 on: April 26, 2010, 10:16:56 am »

I suppose that'd end up sortof like Do Doppelgangers Exist? except you aren't sure what the mafia will be fighting for...
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webadict

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Re: Veil of Ignorance, Game Idea
« Reply #11 on: April 26, 2010, 11:44:39 am »

I suppose that'd end up sortof like Do Doppelgangers Exist? except you aren't sure what the mafia will be fighting for...
Plus, the answer will be yes.

Maybe there's a goal you're trying to get to, but the Mafia know which goal it is and try to lead you away from it. Or whatever.
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