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The Art of Game Creation


Metacognition

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For what it's worth, I'm not planning on running any non-SE games in the near future, as I feel it's easy enough to twist concepts to fit the Cosmere or other Sanderson works. As such, I am open to suggestions if they're PMed across - Make your cases as to why yours should be run more than any other :P.

 

And speaking of manipulating settings to fit Sanderson works... The following game rules and mechanics contain no spoilers other than the basic concepts for the NieR: Automata game, and the actual SE game itself should not contain them either, as I do not intend to explore any of the plot points beyond the basic setting (I have my own ideas for that at present, to avoid spoilers for the game itself).


The Roles are almost entirely standard, what I like to think of our 'base Roles', because I want the focus to be on the slightly different voting mechanics. Please, people who have actually played the game, do not point out that I have changed the nomenclature for Android types. I have removed Brass and Zinc to simplify things a little, but am open to suggestions if there's a different thing they can do or if there's a fairly simple way to implement them.

 

Mistborn: Automata (LG)

 

Transmission from the Council of Humanity

 

This transmission is to all androids fighting for humanity on the surface of Scadrial.

 

It has been many thousand years since we humans have been driven from our homeworld, but thanks to your tireless efforts in the war, we have not given up hope. While the war continues in a deadlocked state at present, it is only through an unwavering resolve that we will break through this stalemate and take back our planet from the invaders and their machine lifeform slaves. We ask that you continue to fight for humanity, knowing that it is only thanks to your efforts that we remain safe and have hope that we shall see its end.

 

Glory to mankind.

 


 

Transmission from the Council of Humanity

 

The following transmission is to all androids fighting for humanity on the surface of Scadrial in camp two-five-five.

 

One of our scouts has reported that he has discovered plans from our enemy that suggest there are traitors within your camp. We do not know why they would turn against us in this way, but we believe that this is merely a new form of warfare. Our theory is that the machine lifeforms are the true instigators here, and have corrupted them through some kind of virus, and that their full intentions are to use this trial to eventually corrupt all androids on the surface. We cannot allow this to happen.


Your current scounting and raiding duties are hereby suspended for the time being, aside from those that are necessary to protect the camp. Your new priority task is to use any means necessary to find and destroy these traitors before they destroy this foothold on our world. The data generated from this hunt will be used to improve androids elsewhere, to prevent this from happening again. Our hope is that the YoRHa units that are within your number are not compromised, but we believe that to be wishful thinking.  Any YoRHa units that are destroyed in the course of this duty should have their spikes sent to The Bunker in the usual method. We wish you luck in rooting out those who would wish to do humanity harm.

 

Glory to mankind.

 


 

 

Rules

 

This game differs from a standard LG game somewhat. The Day Turn does not last a pre-determined amount of time, and instead continues on until either a player or 'No Lynch' has more than half the (active) votes in the game. At the point where the 50% threshold is passed (and thus the game cannot have a tied vote), the Day Turn ends, though the Night will not begin until the rollover time. Any votes submitted or retracted after this would be ignored (the deciding vote will be clarified at the time of rollover). Players who have not posted, sent in an Action or responded to a PM for a complete Cycle are ignored for the purposes of counting the threshold for both votes and win conditions.

 

At the next rollover time after the threshold vote has been sent in, the Night Turn begins. It lasts for 24 hours. The game begins on a Night Turn.

 

As is standard in these games, the Corrupted Androids have a doc to collaborate on, and have a group kill action that one of their players may make during the Night. The first kill sent in by a Corrupted Android player will be accepted and all others ignored, unless the first is retracted.

 

The win conditions for both teams are also as normal. The Corrupted Androids win if they equal or outnumber the Resistance players. The Resistance wins if they kill all the Corrupted Androids.

 

Android Types

  • Android - You are a normal android, fighting to save humanity from the alien invaders. You have no special abilities.
  • YoRHa Type B - You have been imbued with Bronze Allomancy, and can detect the Corruption within the spikes of other players. During the Night, you may target a player and scan them. If successful, you will discover their Role and Alignment.
  • YoRHa Type C - You have been imbued with Copper Allomancy, allowing you to hide yourself and your allies. During the Night, you may target yourself and up to one other player. Anyone attempting to use Bronze on you will be instead informed that you are Uncorrupted and Roleless.
  • YoRHa Type I - You have been imbued with Iron Allomancy, and can defend other people from attack. Unfortunately, this protection does not extend to yourself. During the Night, you may target another player and protect them from any attack made on them. The attacked player will be revealed.
  • YoRHa Type P - You have been imbued with Pewter Allomancy, making you more resiliant. The first time you would be killed, you instead survive, but your identity and Role are revealed to the other players.
  • YoRHa Type S - You have been imbued with Steel Allomancy, making you a potent fighter. During the Night, you may target a player and kill them.
  • YoRHa Type T - You have been imbued with Tin Allomancy, perfect for a scout and messenger. While you are alive, players may send PMs to each other at any time and to any number of players. You may also send a message to the GM during the Night, which will be posted when the Day begins.
  • YoRHa Type M - You are an experimental Android, given one of each of the spikes. You may choose one to use each Cycle (Day-Night), but after using a spike, its  charge is depleted, and you cannot use that Spike again.
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Alright people of the SE people, that are people of the Shard people. I have a question for all the GMs out there and stuff, which should definitely be answered.

Any and all GMs, if you have any game ideas/concepts that are either not fully fleshed out or you feel like you won't run them (due to either being too complex or too simple), then please PM me with those game ideas. I will have to note that if you do PM me a game, then note that the game will most likely be run within the next 6 months, no matter how many I am sent, and that if it features secret roles then I will still be fine talking about them, knowing that I wouldn't be able to play them.

@Haelbarde, I will also note that you should be interested in what I am attempting, as you're the most vocal supporter of having the 'test games' where the duration is much shorter than a QF and is just for testing ideas instead of fully running games. I am attempting something similar, so we'll see how my attempt goes. 

I understand if y'all don't wanna send me anything, due to either wanting to run the game or just plain being secretive, however I can promise that the more 'ideas' I receive, my thing should also get better too. And there's really no loss for you at the end of the day, so please?

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3 hours ago, Ecthelion III said:

I would play test games if they existed.

^me too... If they were short enough, the new mechanics would definitely make up for potential imbalances that make the game a bit unfair. Plus, the possibility of test games sounds extremely useful in crafting a more balanced game... It would let one test mechanics they aren't sure about before running some massive LG.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Dark were the woods

Night has fallen in the forests of hell. The Bandits have chased the Merchants into the woods. Both are now trapped among the shades. You need to survive the night and make it to the Inn

 

Cycles last 48 hours. Turns are 24 hours each. There are no “Day” or “Night” turns. Only night turns, and actions can  be made each turn. Each cycle represents 30 minutes in the world (for RP). Should be fast paced :D

I’m going to make it like Into the Woods, and the night lasts as long as needed.

 

Compliments to OMEGA for creating this contest and providing us with entertainment. No Shades were harmed in the production of this game, OMEGA reserves all rights and insurance claims. Death, dismemberment and destruction are not viable claims. (Can’t sue us ganchos!). Any experiments conducted during the running of this game were conducted under safe conditions and all participants are still perfectly healthy.

 

Shades

Shades are a part of the environment and aren't played by any character. They have 3 denominations.

Green

When shades are classified as “Green”. They are passive and harmless. All is well.

Yellow

Yellow shades are engaged. When half the living players of the game make an action on the same turn, they change from “Green” to “Yellow”. Caution is advised. When in yellow state, players can only move half the distance they normally can, as they must move stealthily to avoid detection. If half of the players make an action during the turns the shades are “Yellow” once more, then the shades turn “Red”. The only way for the shades to return to “Green” state, is if NO players make a move during a turn that the shades are “Yellow” then they will revert to “Green”.

Red

When shades are “Red” they are active. No-one is safe, during the turn the Shades are red, two random players are killed and then the shades are “Green” next turn. Shades go into “Red” when a kill action is used and blood is drawn (There is a 50% chance that blood is drawn when kills are made, depends on the weapon however). There are ways to protect yourself from “Red” shades however, so some people may be safe :P (if they use the ability).

 

Merchants

Merchants are the “village” faction, the Merchants have been trapped in the forest with the Bandits and must escape the forest and make it to the Inn.

Win Con :

  • All surviving members make it to the Inn.

  • If the first is unachievable, then the remaining Merchants must outnumber the Bandits once the sun rises.

 

Merchants can trade items with others and create PMs that last 2 cycles.

 

Bandits

You have chased the Merchants into the forest and must now survive the woods. The Bandits are the “Eliminators”.

Win Con:

  • All surviving members make it to the Inn, and outnumber any Merchants that get there.

  • If not the first, then the bandits must kill all members of the Merchants, and have at least one member of the Bandits must be alive by the end of the game.

  • If not the second, then the Bandits must outnumber the Merchants once the sun rises.

Bandits can make a PM with anyone that lasts for 1 turn. They get an elim doc and a kill action. They also have a loot action, which allows them to steal a random item from any player.

The elim kill action has a 50% chance for bleeding, always works, and the player who submitted it moves to the location of the player killed (how far they are from the Inn)

 

Items

All players start off with at least one compass and randomised items.

 

Compass

All players start with at least one Compass, the compass allows for a move action. Should a player lose their compass, they are unable to move and are under the condition Lost . Possible ways to get a compass is to be sent one by a merchant or to loot one if you are a Bandit.

 

Silver Blade

Silver Blades are randomly given to random players at the start of the game. They  can be used to ‘ward off’, “Yellow” Shades, allowing them to travel the normal amount, not the half-amount. Silver blades also come with a kill action with a 50% chance to bleed. Kills are guaranteed.

(I had it more complicated before). Players cannot carry more than one Silver Blade. When using the kill action, the player moves to the location of the player being killed (how far away from the Inn they are).

 

Silver Powder

Silver Powder creates a protective circle that lasts one turn. Players cannot move during that turn but are safe from being attacked and killed by “Red” Shades. Has one use and counts as an action.

 

Crossbow

Crossbows have a kill action, and attack from a distance, so you remain the same distance away from the Inn as originally. Crossbows have a 50% chance of missing, players will be informed if you miss. 50% chance of bleeding.

 

Draught of Stamina

Resets the condition Exhausted and Dozing. Players may have more than one, and use of a draught does not count as an action.

 

Actions

Players can only make one action per turn

Move action

The goal is to make it to the Inn alive as a player win con. The Inn is 1000 feet from the players, and players can move 80 feet each move action, half when the shades are “Yellow” or when they are Exhausted. And not at all when they are Dozing or if they do not have a Compass.

 

Loot action

Only Bandits can use this action. Loot randomly selects one of the player’s items. It has a 50% chance of failing, and if succeeds a 50% chance of going unnoticed.

 

Kill action

Can be made by Elim kill order, Silver blade or Crossbow. Players who are killed drop all their items which are then randomly dispersed between the killer and their faction.

 

PMs do not cost any actions but last according to what faction you are in :) (easy way to discover who’s what faction :) ) *Though I will probably change that XD

 

Conditions

Exhausted

Players who are exhausted can only make move actions, and can only move half the distance. They have a 50% chance of being killed by “Red” Shades and crossbow attacks are guarunteed. After a cycle as Exhausted the player will be under the condition Dozing . Players can get exhausted by making 3 consecutive actions (three turns they made three actions).

 

Dozing

Players who are dozing cannot make any actions and cannot do anything besides consume a Draught of Stamina.They have a 50% higher chance of being killed by a “Red” Shade, and crossbow attacks on them are guaranteed. Players can be Dozing when they were either exhausted for a round or they were inactive during a cycle of the game (Did not make a game related post and 100 words of RP).

Lost

Players who lose their compass become Lost and each turn they either get closer to the inn or further away or stay where they are(randomly decided, amount is always 80 feet). Lost players are less likely to be attacked by “Red” shades however.

 

Pms will tell players of any attempts to loot or kill them, successful or not for the latter, not for the former. Conditions, items, distance to the Inn. 

There is no lynch.


 

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Overall, your game idea looks really interesting, @Darkness Ascendant. There's a couple of things I was wondering about however.

First, if I'm not mistaken, only Bandits get the ability to create PM's, and they can only be between themselves and another player. Since the bandits also get an elim doc, there is very little reason for them to create additional PM's, as it immediately identifies them as a bandit. There might be some edge cases in which it is useful, but overall it looks to be of quite limited use.

Next, there is the lack of lynch. The lynch is an important tool of the village, and an important discussion driver. Giving the village a kill-tool will probably help solve this somewhat, but if the bandits manage to steal it they become a lot more dangerous, while the village loses an important power.

I also don't really see why you differentiate between cycles and turns. almost everything seems to be on a turn-by-turn basis apart from the inactivity filter.

Lastly, moving and the distance to the inn. As the numbers currently stand, it would take at least 11 turns to reach the inn. Factoring in pissed of shades and people taking other actions, and it'll be more like 15 turns or more. Unless this game ends up rather big, there is only a small chance of the game lasting long enough to reach the inn. That makes it seem  it would be beneficial to get lost asap, as it reduces the chance of getting hit by a random shade. I don't think that's intended.

Anyway, that's my thoughts right now. It looks like an interesting, non-standard game, and I'm looking forward to playing it one of these days.

Edited by randuir
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1 minute ago, randuir said:

Overall, your game idea looks really interesting, @Darkness Ascendant. There's a couple of things I was wondering about however.

First, if I'm not mistaken, only Bandits get the ability to create PM's, and they can only be between themselves and another player. Since the bandits also get an elim doc, there is very little reason for them to create additional PM's, as it immediately identifies them as a bandit. There might be some edge cases in which it is useful, but overall it looks to be of quite limited use.

Next, there is lack of lynch. This is an important tool of the village, and an important discussion driver. Giving the village a kill-tool will probably help solve this somewhat, but if the bandits manage to steal it they become a lot more dangerous, while the village loses an important power.

I also don't really see why you differentiate between cycles and turns. almost everything seems to be on a turn-by-turn basis apart from the inactivity filter.

Lastly, moving and the distance to the inn. As the numbers currently stand, ti would take at least 11 turns to reach the inn. Factoring in pissed of shades and people taking other actions, and it'll be more like 15 turns or more. Unless this game ends up rather big, there is only a small chance of the game lasting long enough to reach the inn, so it would be beneficial to get lost asap, as it reduces the chance of getting hit by a random shade. I don't think that's intended.

Anyway, that's my thoughts right now. It looks like an interesting, non-standard game, and I'm looking forward to playing it one of these days.

Thank you! 

I knew there was some stuff that needed to be fixed...I had removed alot of stuff from the original idea as they would have made the game way too complicated >> . So most of the above is cropped, and I wasn't sure whether I had balanced it right again. The reason I didn't want the lynch was because of RP lol....kind of hard to band together and lynch someone in the dark of the woods. Perhaps I'll make some kill roles, or a secret faction hmm.

Ah, but everyone moves half the amount, and chances are, the shades will be yellow most of the time. And not to mention Exhaustion. Every 3 rounds they'll have to go slowly, then rest. And yeah lost....I should change that then >>

Thank you again! I will update this sooner or later.

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3 hours ago, Darkness Ascendant said:
 

I knew there was some stuff that needed to be fixed...I had removed alot of stuff from the original idea as they would have made the game way too complicated >> . So most of the above is cropped, and I wasn't sure whether I had balanced it right again. The reason I didn't want the lynch was because of RP lol....kind of hard to band together and lynch someone in the dark of the woods. Perhaps I'll make some kill roles, or a secret faction hmm.

 

Emphasis mine.

You don't really need the characters to be involved in a lynch. Keeping them uninvolved (at least directly) is perfectly reasonable, and I'd go so far to say more interesting. We've had enough lynch mobs in the history of SE. Let the characters run for their lives, then let the players decide their fate. It'll allow you to be a lot more creative with the deaths that way. I'm thinking the crazy, elaborate, Final Destination kind.

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16 hours ago, Amanuensis said:

Emphasis mine.

You don't really need the characters to be involved in a lynch. Keeping them uninvolved (at least directly) is perfectly reasonable, and I'd go so far to say more interesting. We've had enough lynch mobs in the history of SE. Let the characters run for their lives, then let the players decide their fate. It'll allow you to be a lot more creative with the deaths that way. I'm thinking the crazy, elaborate, Final Destination kind.

True! Good idea...

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Have there been roles used here that could circumvent the usual order of actions? Specifically, the games I play IRL often include a Gunsmith, who can hand out guns to people during the night (so no one else knows who has one). Those guns, however, can be used at any time during the day cycle to kill someone instantly. In the middle of discussion. It might be the lynch target, in which case we move on to voting on someone else instead, but the point is that they're dead instantly, with no recourse. Obviously it can be good or bad, like using most roles, and since the gunsmith is giving out the guns without knowing people's alignment, they don't prove anything, but it's an incredible way to make a "bang" to pardon the pun.

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5 minutes ago, Jondesu said:
 

Have there been roles used here that could circumvent the usual order of actions? Specifically, the games I play IRL often include a Gunsmith, who can hand out guns to people during the night (so no one else knows who has one). Those guns, however, can be used at any time during the day cycle to kill someone instantly. In the middle of discussion. It might be the lynch target, in which case we move on to voting on someone else instead, but the point is that they're dead instantly, with no recourse. Obviously it can be good or bad, like using most roles, and since the gunsmith is giving out the guns without knowing people's alignment, they don't prove anything, but it's an incredible way to make a "bang" to pardon the pun.

The issue is this specifically only really works in real-time games. I think Mafia Universe uses an automated system, though (they have a forum bot that tallies votes, controls who can post in the thread and when, reveals information after death, etc) so they might have roles like that there. Here, with player-only game masters? It'd have to happen when a GM is online so they can announce it immediately. I think a few people have been looking into us doing even quicker fixes on Discord, though. Games that might last about an hour overall, with everyone focusing on the game throughout the whole duration. It could work there.

That being said, we've had multiple games with "Ultimate Preservation" that basically makes it so for a 24-hour duration of a player submitting an order, no votes or action orders count, or something to that affect. Similar ideas could work since it doesn't require an immediate announcement / GM intervention

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@Amanuensis, an order wouldn't really be needed. The player uses it openly, so they'd simply post in the thread that they shot that person, and a GM would only need to confirm once they could that it wasn't illegitimate. It'd be easy to discipline anyone who tries to fake it, so I doubt that'd be an issue.

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Just now, Jondesu said:
 

@Amanuensis, an order wouldn't really be needed. The player uses it openly, so they'd simply post in the thread that they shot that person, and a GM would only need to confirm once they could that it wasn't illegitimate. It'd be easy to discipline anyone who tries to fake it, so I doubt that'd be an issue.

Ah. Good point. That would be interesting

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MR12 has a poisoner role that killed the target when the first vote is placed that day.

It's also something I've been toying with for a game. :ph34r:  A mid-cycle death would really mess with players heads.

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6 hours ago, Alvron said:

MR12 has a poisoner role that killed the target when the first vote is placed that day.

It's also something I've been toying with for a game. :ph34r:  A mid-cycle death would really mess with players heads.

Ooh, that's an interesting twist. It still needed an order to be placed prior to that, though, right?

The really fun thing about the guns is that sometimes we can be getting accusations seconded (since you need that IRL) and then someone will just shoot the person that's being accused. It gives the town a chance for another lynch after they've put a lot of discussion into it. Sometimes the Elims will get a gun or multiple, though, and sometimes that means they go and just end the game by surprise one cycle (or the town will, if there's a circle of trust of any type).

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On 4/25/2017 at 6:45 PM, Jondesu said:

Have there been roles used here that could circumvent the usual order of actions? Specifically, the games I play IRL often include a Gunsmith, who can hand out guns to people during the night (so no one else knows who has one). Those guns, however, can be used at any time during the day cycle to kill someone instantly. In the middle of discussion. It might be the lynch target, in which case we move on to voting on someone else instead, but the point is that they're dead instantly, with no recourse. Obviously it can be good or bad, like using most roles, and since the gunsmith is giving out the guns without knowing people's alignment, they don't prove anything, but it's an incredible way to make a "bang" to pardon the pun.

In LG26, there was a role called Bleeder that was semi-aligned with God's Own Hate, the elim faction. One of the things that GOH could do was to kill Bleeder anytime, Day or Night. Bleeder died the moment one of the GMs read the order from GOH.

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I think I'll include a Gunsmith or something similar in my Taldain game.  It's a role I'm familiar with enough that I can balance it without much trouble (I'll still consider this a basic game that way), but it'll be something new to this community it sounds like.  Good to know it's not completely out of the blue, but it's still very unique.

I'll probably require those with guns to use a particular color in the thread when they announce that they're using them.  The target will immediately stop posting, though that can be reversed if the GM says it was invalid (I'll count on the players being honest about it, though), and their role won't be revealed until it's confirmed that it was a valid kill.

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