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[Talarion]

I like minecraft. I like DF. I'm insane (As proven by Draignean). Sign me IN, Irony?

[Darvi]

Players take on the role of a creature in a vaguely Minecraftish world, punching down trees or digging burrows or whatever else it takes to not be eaten alive when night falls.

So we're the slender men now?

[Yoink]

One of the major ones is the default cooperation level. Should players all be doing a DF-style communal fortress, but players can bail out and do their own thing if they want, or should everyone be off on their own, and can band together if they really want to? Should I encourage feuding/competing tribes?

Well, I think people should mostly be seperate, playing as their own bizarre race of creature as you mentioned in your post. Of course, they can band together, or even enslave other players! It would be pretty freaking funny to see some poor sod get captured in a cage trap and put on display in a dining room.

Stat/skill/quality levels is another. I'm not sure if/how I intend to differentiate players with different skillsets or focuses, or how I'm going to make your migrant peons differ from each other and yourself. I'm also not positive if there'd be equipment or other items of varying quality, or how exactly that'd work if they were.

I'm not really sure how you should work this; perhaps keep the skills fairly basic, and focus more on racial bonuses? I don't know about this one.

Scope/scale/etc. is a final one, though it's kind of odd. Basically, I like the idea of players commanding tribes bigger than is really reasonable to care about each individual for, but I'm not sure if/how I'd abstract that out, or even if it's a good idea or if it's just a totally different concept bleeding through.

I'd say a smaller or medium-sized scale would be good, especially to start with, as then players have to be more thoughtful about how they use their migrants. Although if the game went long enough, we'd probably see at least one big empire. 

And yeah, I'd definitely be interested in joining if/when this happens!

[IronyOwl]

I like minecraft. I like DF. I'm insane (As proven by Draignean). Sign me IN, Irony?

Oh no you don't. If I start doing that the game'll be filled well before it even exists.


Anyway, I think I'm in agreement that players should be separate, at least initially. I'll have to think about various ways they can (and would want to) interact with each other, so it doesn't just default to "stay away from my stuff and trade me your racial bonus items for mine." Maybe periodic competitive objectives with neat rewards or something.

Also, player on display in a cage trap. That's... actually beautiful, I'm going to need to make an achievement for that or something.

And yeah, complexity is in danger of swallowing this thing whole. I know better, but it's reeeeeal easy to make too many numbers to keep track of.


For items... I'm wondering if maybe items (or at least equipment) should have a handful of HP, but only be depleted on a low (or maybe high?) roll when using them, with higher-quality items having a better damage number. I guess that might not be necessary if they add a bonus to actual using-them rolls instead, but this way might be better because it means high quality pickaxes or whatever are more convenient rather than more powerful, which might keep things mellower balance-wise.

For skills/attributes, still uncertain. Tempted to mark migrants with a Power value, randomly generated when they show up, that then just adds/caps/modifies whatever they do, but still uncertain about how that'd work, especially since that'd imply players would need something similar but presumably better.

[TolyK]

IRONY, I AM SO Pre-IN-ing
...

Basically, imagine a hybrid of Minecraft, DF, and maybe Dungeon Keeper. Players take on the role of a creature in a vaguely Minecraftish world, punching down trees or digging burrows or whatever else it takes to not be eaten alive when night falls. Then it falls and they sleep or dig or saunter out into the night and kill or be killed or whatever.

Me like. Next!

Anyway, that basic cycle continues, but with several adjustments. For one thing, Bad Things might happen from time to time, so we're not relying on extreme circumstances or careless players to weed out the waiting list too much. It's okay though, because for the most part when former players got back in they'd be able to pick up where they left off, at least to some extent.

Have a volcano

Secondly, if you do well enough, you get migrants of whatever you are. These migrants would probably vary in effectiveness in some fashion, so it might be kind of a crapshoot as to whether you got elite warriors or sniveling peasants, but there you go. They could drastically boost the power you've got available for whatever it is you're doing, but they'd of course expect luxuries like food and shelter.

Uh-huh, DF. Me like. Next!

Third, players could research things to change the world. Basically, instead of tending crops or building another tower or whatever, they could devote time to researching another type of stone or animal or weapon, and then once they succeed the stone or animal exists and they can go find it or the weapon exists and they can make it, and so on.

Not with animals, but yes about the ores and such. If you get a map pre-done...

So, that's the basic setup I'm thinking about. There's a couple things I'm not sure of, though I'd like feedback on any/all of this.

One of the major ones is the default cooperation level. Should players all be doing a DF-style communal fortress, but players can bail out and do their own thing if they want, or should everyone be off on their own, and can band together if they really want to? Should I encourage feuding/competing tribes?

I think it should be up to the players, as in they start close but don't have to co-op. Plus factions...

Stat/skill/quality levels is another. I'm not sure if/how I intend to differentiate players with different skillsets or focuses, or how I'm going to make your migrant peons differ from each other and yourself. I'm also not positive if there'd be equipment or other items of varying quality, or how exactly that'd work if they were.

DF-level is probably too much. Simplified? Or maybe like in Minecraft, quality based on material? I guess more skill = faster then...

Scope/scale/etc. is a final one, though it's kind of odd. Basically, I like the idea of players commanding tribes bigger than is really reasonable to care about each individual for, but I'm not sure if/how I'd abstract that out, or even if it's a good idea or if it's just a totally different concept bleeding through.

You could try going individual, then we become the "leaders" when enough migrants come. Then the others just fall into the "grey mass" and we just say "4 miners, 7 woodcutters, 2 meatshields, etc.

@Ninja: me like that idea.

[wolfchild]

Oh and because i didn't do it in my original post in

[lawastooshort]

Has anyone done, or have any ideas for how it could best be done, a game in which there are for example 6 players of which 1 or 2 are traitors to the group and they must go along with the group all the while trying to make sure their main and most important objective isn't achieved?

And where the group would know that there is a traitor / informant but obviously not who it is?

Say for example (please don't anyone use this specific idea ) there are a group of 6 Edwardian anarchists who are going to try to assassinate the King of X, and there is a police informant who is in the group to sabotage the plan somehow?

[I have a distant plan for an RTD]

Another question: does there seem to be any correlation between the complexity of rules and the seriousness of the game? Or put it this way - can a serious game be done with simple rules? (and my own question to me - could I even do serious?)

[Darvi]

It's called mafia.

[lawastooshort]

No that's not entirely what I meant but point taken, especially since I can't expand any further yet.


I'll have to stick to Roll to be a Prussian Gentleman Villain as a second RTD then.

[TolyK]

We have a mafia subforum.

[scriver]

Well, it's the same premise as a mafia game has. If you do it as a RTD, it's obviously won't be the same kind of game.

[IronyOwl]

No pre-inning! I'd be up to my ears in signups before I knew whether or not skills would exist if I let people pre-in!


As for lawa:

It's called mafia.

Pretty much this. I think someone tried or at least theorized a Mafia RTD, but it either never happened or didn't work. There was also a Knights and Knaves forum game recently, I think, but I don't know what happened to it.

As for seriousness vs complexity, yes, it's possible. Note that more complex systems often allow for more customization, which encourages getting attached to and liking your character, which encourages seriousness, but there's no ironclad rule about it.



Now, back to my stuff:

Have a volcano

I was thinking more like ravenous werewolves or maybe even social problems, but I guess apocalyptic natural disasters centered precisely on your village/burrow/fortress could work also.

Not with animals, but yes about the ores and such. If you get a map pre-done...

Well, animals could be a useful source of domesticated goons and materials.

Also, there will be no map. I'll be recording things as either "Medium Hut x4" or "4x4x2 Wood Shack x1."

I think it should be up to the players, as in they start close but don't have to co-op. Plus factions...

Funny you should mention that, I really like the idea of factions, or at least distinct groups, within each player's tribe. That's actually part of the reason for the scope issues, as it's kind of hard to have multiple factions in a four-man tribe.

DF-level is probably too much. Simplified? Or maybe like in Minecraft, quality based on material? I guess more skill = faster then...

Quality will probably be based on material also, but I'd like some method of items being better than others. Probably with almost all items being basic, and likely nowhere near as many tiers as DF.

You could try going individual, then we become the "leaders" when enough migrants come. Then the others just fall into the "grey mass" and we just say "4 miners, 7 woodcutters, 2 meatshields, etc.

Maybe, but I'm still not sure how I'd handle those masses of woodcutters and so on.

Actually... I'm wondering if maybe I could use some sort of champion idea, wherein you've got your character and maybe 3 heroes, and then everyone else is some mook you use to assist said champions, almost like gear or something. Or hell, maybe actual migrants could attract basically-equipment mook equivalents, or something. Hm.

[Darvi]

There was also a Knights and Knaves forum game recently, I think, but I don't know what happened to it.

The second game is on its first voting phase.

[Talarion]

So I've recently been thinking up a new Modern Fantasy world... Seriously, they seem to be my forte for some reason... And basically, for centuries, the supernatural 'world' has been hidden from ours, but now the rule of secrecy has been lifted. Meaning, very soon, the world will know of the supernaturals. Or do they already know?

Conflict has settled on the horizon, and you # will be the ones 'helping' this. Basically, a group on the side of order trying to fight the oncoming chaos. Personally, I believe being aligned with the UNASC (United Nations Anti-Supernatural Corps) would be best ad they believe 'Fight fire with fire', but you could be aligned with a supernatural faction too.

Interest, does anyone have it?

(Note: I might not even get around to doing this. So don't expect much, unless an enormous amount of interest has been generated)

[wolfchild]

I have interest I would be in you're other one but i missed it