Cosmere Games?

[Wyrmhero he/him]

So we have a couple of RPs ongoing on the forum, and a few games here and there (like Sanderson Elimination. You should join us >>), but what games would you like to see? Be it card, board or computer game, what settings and rules would you want to play in one of the Shardworlds? I've had two computer game ideas that I really wish were things, myself:

 

Firstly, a generational game in which you (as the current head of your House) lead your House in Scadrial right from the beginning of The Lord Ruler's ascent up to the events of The Final Empire. I'd particularly like this because it would give us so much more information on the early empire, and we could first-hand see events such as TLR's burning, the creation of the Contract, the subjugation of all the other cultures around TLR's budding empire, and stuff like that. I think it'd also have the potential to be a brilliant multiplayer game, as the amount of backstabbing in the lore would pale in comparison to when friends are involved .

 

Alternatively, it could be done as some kind of Dominion-style card game, developing your House after turns with added Mistings or Mistborn or the like. This would be very different from the former incarnation, since it wouldn't have a narrative behind it, but it would be good for quick games with betrayal. The setting also lends itself to a more interactive set of rules than Dominion, which can sometimes be basically solitare in multiplayer, trying to compete to just be first to achieve a point score.

 

The other idea I would really like to see is a Mount and Blade-style game set on Roshar, preferably before or during the Alethi war of unification. Over the course of the game, you would travel Alethkar's nine Princedoms, raise armies, win renown and eventually work your way up to owning a slice of Alethkar for yourself, and winning Shards and the like. All this set in the backdrop of the war, allowing you to help determine the outcome. I just love the idea of developing yourself up to being a Shardbearer, or perhaps even becoming a Highprince. Not only that, but there would be so much replay value, with whether you are male or female (and thus a potential pariah in the eyes of Vorinism) or a Dark or Lighteyes.

 

So what sort of stuff would you like to see?

Edited January 29, 2015 by Wyrmhero

[Blaze1616 he/him]

The other idea I would really like to see is a Mount and Blade-style game set on Roshar, preferably before or during the Alethi war of unification. Over the course of the game, you would travel Alethkar's nine Princedoms, raise armies, win renown and eventually work your way up to owning a slice of Alethkar for yourself, and winning Shards and the like. All this set in the backdrop of the war, allowing you to help determine the outcome. I just love the idea of developing yourself up to being a Shardbearer, or perhaps even becoming a Highprince. Not only that, but there would be so much replay value, with whether you are male or female (and thus a potential pariah in the eyes of Vorinism) or a Dark or Lighteyes.

 

Are you suggesting the brilliant idea of getting BioWare to make a Stormlight Archive game? We'd have to inform them to emulate KotOR, though, and not the rest of their library.

 

Add in the possibility to become a KR, and it would be perfect...

 

Edit: Replay value as follows.

 

Male/Female

Lighteyes/Darkeyes

10 KR orders

Maintain/Break Oaths

= 2 x 2 x 10 x 2 = 80 play throughs.

 

Hot diggety dog that sounds great. I would love to play that game.

Edited January 29, 2015 by Blaze1616

[Kasimir he/him]

Are you suggesting the brilliant idea of getting BioWare to make a Stormlight Archive game? We'd have to inform them to emulate KotOR, though, and not the rest of their library.

 

Add in the possibility to become a KR, and it would be perfect...

I'm pretty sure some people felt KOTOR II dropped the ball, and I'm very much of the opinion that going for TOR instead of KOTOR III definitely did so.

 

I believe it's been mentioned at some point, but I'd love a Dishonoured/Shadow of Mordor/Assassin's Creed style game set on Nalthis. I feel like T'Telir is a very colourful (pun intended) setting for an urban game, the politics at the Court of the Gods already sets up for it, and there's gangs, for the darker side of things, the Lifeless thread that should never again be named, even though I'm briefly referring to it here--basically, I think there's much to explore...and Awakening (although admittedly, so would Allomancy/Feruchemy) synergises very well with the whole urban-rogue mechanic/premise.

[Blaze1616 he/him]

I'm pretty sure some people felt KOTOR II dropped the ball, and I'm very much of the opinion that going for TOR instead of KOTOR III definitely did so.

 

Which is why I said KotOR and not KotOR II or TOR...

 

 

I believe it's been mentioned at some point, but I'd love a Dishonoured/Shadow of Mordor/Assassin's Creed style game set on Nalthis. I feel like T'Telir is a very colourful (pun intended) setting for an urban game, the politics at the Court of the Gods already sets up for it, and there's gangs, for the darker side of things, the Lifeless thread that should never again be named, even though I'm briefly referring to it here--basically, I think there's much to explore...and Awakening (although admittedly, so would Allomancy/Feruchemy) synergises very well with the whole urban-rogue mechanic/premise.

 

I do not want this, if only because Awakening would become an event only power. You can't use Awakening on the fly, that's just not how it works. So it would simply be Assassin's Creed in a colorful, fictional town, in which the character uses magic during cutscenes. Lame.

 

Allomancy/Feruchemy, on the other hand (mainly allomancy), would make for a great Infamous type game.

Edited January 29, 2015 by Blaze1616

[Jo and the Bush all/any]

Actually awakening would make a great video System. You have a certain amount of breaths that can only do certain things. And Awakening can be done on the fly, it's a simple matter of Conversion. It would basically work like spells, as you get more breath, you have access to better commands, eventually unlocking things like "Fight as if you were Me" or Vasher's Amnesia spell.

[Blaze1616 he/him]

Actually awakening would make a great video System. You have a certain amount of breaths that can only do certain things. And Awakening can be done on the fly, it's a simple matter of Conversion. It would basically work like spells, as you get more breath, you have access to better commands, eventually unlocking things like "Fight as if you were Me" or Vasher's Amnesia spell.

 

Except you can't use Awakening on the fly. You have to maintain contact with the object being Awakened, have an object you are willing to drain color from, clearly imagine what you want the Awakened object to do, and speak the Command. In a combat oriented game, I cannot see Awakening working well at all. Where's the color going to come from? Clothing, all right, but that leaves you with limited Awakening, and considering a lot of color drains, you have what, two/three charges? Then you have to go buy new clothes. I just can't see it working well.

[Wyrmhero he/him]

I could see Awakening as an on-the-fly thing, but only at a terrible cost. You could perhaps use cloth from washing lines to fight for you, or use strawmen in order to take things without being seen. But it probably is better as a puzzle element/prepared ability, rather than for an action game. Allomancy and Feruchemy (and the world of Scadrial) would lend itself much better to Assassin's (Allomancer's?) Creed.

 

I'm not sure about Bioware though for Roshar. Bioware do RPGs, and Roshar doesn't really fit the RPG world, in my opinion. Maybe as a group of Knights Radiant, but even they tend to be in large groups for battles, rather than adventuring parties. That's why I suggested a more open-world and war-like game in Mount and Blade, since it already deals with low-magic settings and skirmishing kingdoms and the like. But in the right setting and story, with a small group of Radiants for some reason, Bioware could do well with it. Or at least, Old Bioware could. I'm not so sure about their recent stuff.

[Wyrmhero he/him]

Not only did I double post, but my first part was ninja'd by Blaze

Edited January 29, 2015 by Wyrmhero

[Kasimir he/him]

I'm of the opinion that playing with Awakening would generally require you to play like a wizard. That is to say, with some thought, and strategically. For those who neither like D&D nor playing wizards, little can be said.

 

Just because you have to memorise your spells in advance doesn't mean that a game would be destroyed when that happens. It just means you have to be selective about what you pick, and the way you use your Breaths could end up making a difference to gameplay or the options you get. You could go the Vasher route and generally make little decoys--the squirrel and the straw man come to mind. You could Awaken your clothing to enhance your abilities. Already, enhanced lifesense could be useful in gameplay--force a choice between either keeping enough Breath to achieve that or to expend it.

 

Going all the way up to Awaken carpets and have them grab or immobilise your opponents? You could carry items with delayed commands, such as the rope that holds things when thrown. I'm pretty sure that'd be a swell garrotte.

 

Lame indeed.

[Blaze1616 he/him]

I'm of the opinion that playing with Awakening would generally require you to play like a wizard. That is to say, with some thought, and strategically. For those who neither like D&D nor playing wizards, little can be said.

 

Which is why I love playing as the mage characters; the thought and strategy involved.

 

 

Just because you have to memorise your spells in advance doesn't mean that a game would be destroyed when that happens. It just means you have to be selective about what you pick, and the way you use your Breaths could end up making a difference to gameplay or the options you get. You could go the Vasher route and generally make little decoys--the squirrel and the straw man come to mind. You could Awaken your clothing to enhance your abilities. Already, enhanced lifesense could be useful in gameplay--force a choice between either keeping enough Breath to achieve that or to expend it.

 

Going all the way up to Awaken carpets and have them grab or immobilise your opponents? You could carry items with delayed commands, such as the rope that holds things when thrown. I'm pretty sure that'd be a swell garrotte.

 

But what you've suggested is no longer an Assassin's Creed style game. If I understand you correctly, you're suggesting a preparation point in which you perform your Awakening, and then you go into the battle, making use of whatever strategies you've chosen to use.

 

Now, I suppose you could use Awakening "on the fly" if by "on the fly" you mean after some casting time. Speak the Command like an incantation, and then it occurs. At that point though, we are way out of the realm of Assassin's Creed, and pushing our way into JRPG territory. I say JRPG, because Western RPGs tend to use Elder Scrolls magic systems (i.e. hand on fire, punch air, fireball comes out immediately, no incantation). So I could see Awakening being used as a magic system with a casting time, sure. I wouldn't call that on the fly though, as the character would be vulnerable, and staggering would need to be taken into account as well - I doubt you could continue the process while being stabbed in the side.

 

However, I concede to you. It would be a fun game.

 

A point that, maybe it is just me, but I feel it is important. If making a Cosmere game, it needs to be true to the magic systems. One of the main reasons I love Sanderson so much is his magic systems. When making a game (particularly video games), the game needs to stay true to the magic system. To use the Nalthis example above, if the system were altered so that Awakening were performed instantly, without any Commands/processing time, it would no longer be Awakening. If availability for color draining were not a factor, it would no longer be Awakening. If physical contact were not required (and your character wasn't at an insane Heightening), it would no longer be Awakening. If any of those sacrifices (as well as a few others) were to be made that made the magic system similar to but not Awakening, don't call it Awakening. Don't call the world Nalthis. Make your game, fine, but when the main draw to a novel is the magic system, why would it be okay to allow the game variant to not be true to source material? In my mind it isn't okay. Just call it something else, and don't drag the source material along for the ride. Maybe that's just me though.

[king of nowhere]

the probem with an awakening game is that awakening offers almost unlimited choices, but in a viideogame those choices would be strictly limited. you'd have a limited number of tricks, and that's all. would probably be no different from playing baldur's gate with a wizard.

[Mckeedee123 he/him]

Firstly, a generational game in which you (as the current head of your House) lead your House in Scadrial right from the beginning of The Lord Ruler's ascent up to the events of The Final Empire. I'd particularly like this because it would give us so much more information on the early empire, and we could first-hand see events such as TLR's burning, the creation of the Contract, the subjugation of all the other cultures around TLR's budding empire, and stuff like that. I think it'd also have the potential to be a brilliant multiplayer game, as the amount of backstabbing in the lore would pale in comparison to when friends are involved .

 

I've given this some thought before, and I came up with exactly the same thing! A freeform Mistborn game where you play as a line of Noblemen. Build up your house and try to keep strong allomancy in your bloodline as you gain (and lose) wealth and contracts for a millennium.

 

With an Awakening magic system, I would like to see the player traveling around, collecting commands from other Awakeners to become more powerful.

Edited January 29, 2015 by Mckeedee123

[Wyrmhero he/him]

I've given this some thought before, and I came up with exactly the same thing! A freeform Mistborn game where you play as a line of Noblemen. Build up your house and try to keep strong allomancy in your bloodline as you gain (and lose) wealth and contracts for a millennium.

 

Indeed, exactly the same! Either this is scary, or it's proof that it would make a perfect game .

 

I see each generation having choices that need to be made as well. The first is one of the original nine Mistborn - Ridiculous power and no other Allomancers and all that entails. Throughout the generations, you have to marry for wealth, alliances and Allomancy, but your peers counteract by forming their own alliances, and Allomancy weakens through the game. And then there's the fact that you need to keep your own House in-line and prevent the Inquisition from being expected, but also prevent your people from being too annoyed with your policies. There's just so much potential here, and I can't actually think of a game that's really similar .

[Mckeedee123 he/him]

Indeed, exactly the same! Either this is scary, or it's proof that it would make a perfect game .

 

I see each generation having choices that need to be made as well. The first is one of the original nine Mistborn - Ridiculous power and no other Allomancers and all that entails. Throughout the generations, you have to marry for wealth, alliances and Allomancy, but your peers counteract by forming their own alliances, and Allomancy weakens through the game. And then there's the fact that you need to keep your own House in-line and prevent the Inquisition from being expected, but also prevent your people from being too annoyed with your policies. There's just so much potential here, and I can't actually think of a game that's really similar .

 

And we would learn more about the people and places in the Final Empire. Mistborn has none of that info. 

[king of nowhere]

  but also prevent your people from being too annoyed with your policies

Why would you want to do that? it's the final empire we're talking about. if they rebel, just send for the nearest koloss garrison.

Unless  you are trying to play as elend...

Edited January 30, 2015 by king of nowhere

[Paragrin she/her]

Duuuuude. Mass Effect on Roshar, except instead of classes/Paragon/Renegade, there're all ten Radiant orders? That would be SO EPIC.

(As long as it had a better ending.)

[Jo and the Bush all/any]

I still don't see why people had so many problems with the ending of three. What were you expecting? A different ending for each possible playthrough?

 

EDIT: I'm being Serious here. I prefer to not use Sarcasm in text based environments.

Edited January 31, 2015 by The Only Joe

[Wyrmhero he/him]

With regards to keeping people happy, I meant your own House. They might get annoyed if you decrease their Skaa allowance, for instance, in order to keep in with the Inquisition
 

I still don't see why people had so many problems with the ending of three. What were you expecting? A different ending for each possible playthrough?

 
I'm not sure if that's sarcasm or not... I've played many games with notably different endings, some of them reaching into the tens, which amounted to more than a simple bit of info at the end. The problem is that Bioware tends to leave all the endings for the epilogue, as it were. Dragon Age does this terribly - small changes in the story between, but you always end up fighting the Archfiend - and in this case in particular, your choices make no difference as you never have to go back to the places you affected with them. There is no difference in your ultimate end, and there's so little roleplaying left by then - It's just combat. You just get a bit of exposition at the end regarding your choices, and that's it. That's not a different ending, because your choices don't matter. I've not played Mass Effect 3 myself, but in the second game it was pretty much 'Here is this linear story to follow. At the end make this choice', which is just as bad for giving you arbitrary decisions to make. While Bioware is so much better at making you invested in your choices than, say, Bethesda, I still think they've fallen quite a bit in this.

[king of nowhere]

well, I suppose the point of the choices of mass effect 3 was the result of the choices you made in the 2 and 1. for example, how you affected the confict between the quarians and the geths, how the older members of the party will react to you, what happens to the krogan, all this kind of stuff.

I felt that ME had lots of choices in that regard, but you have to play the whole trilogy importing the saves to really appreciate it. If you play the 3 as a standalone, you probably won't appreciate it as much.

The ending, however, I felt it was a bit contrieved and silly. "You arrived all the way here, and while I tried so hard to stop you all the way, now I will just let you do whatever you please." Yeah, that made sense. And the "synthesis" option made absolutely no sense whatsoever from a scientific point of view. I would like to point that out to that guy who said "fantasy is dumb because magic does whatever it pleases, sci fi is good because it is consistent". Yeah, really. As a scientist I prefer fantasy, because even the lamest "a wizard did it" is still much better than seeing the laws of physics raped by some author who had clearly no idea what he was talking about to justify something plainly impossible. Yeah, sorry for the rant. I'm sure there are tons of good sci fi books out there that do not fall under that. I refer mostly to videogames, as that is my main source of sci-fi.

 

EDIT: anyway, a game like mass effect for roshar or scadrial would work pretty fine for me, if it was well made

Edited January 30, 2015 by king of nowhere