The Art of Game Creation

[the winter system]

Spoiler

 

Steven Universe Game!

All roles are known, but the information about what each role means in unknown. The Off Colors are only known about by Off Colors and Crystal Gems, although the Crystal Gems don’t know who the Off Colors are. The game is won by the Crystal Gems when any GM is lynched. Manipulated votes count towards this goal. Standard long game cycle length. Off Color gems win if the majority of them survive. Failing that, the rest win if the Crystal Gems win. The Homeworld Gems win if they lynch all of the Crystal Gems.

The Crystal Gems can chose to convert instead of kill, but it's only successful if they chose an Off Color to convert.

Preferable three GMs, one Blue Diamond, one Pink Diamond, and one Yellow Diamond. If not three, then two with one Diamond being managed by the main GM. They would each oversee their court’s document and have their own Pearl. They also manage the DMs of all gems associated with them.

 

All Gems are sorted into one of three courts: Blue Diamond, Yellow Diamond, or Pink Diamond. Each court has a group PM during the day. Off Colors are slightly more common in Pink Diamond’s court.

The Off Colors don't have the normal abilities of their class, instead, they have a twisted version of it. They do have a doc.

The specific subtype of each gem, as long as it is in accordance to the color assigned to them, is open each roleplayer. For example, a Jasper can choose which specific kind of Jasper they are. Due to open roles, every player is asked to wait on choosing their official roleplaying nicknames until the game begins. Anyone who wants to roleplay with a random gem until the game begins is permitted to, but this won't affect their role at all.

 

(Roles organized by level of rarity and nobility. Gems that can be assigned to other gems are more common in the higher ranked gems..)
 

Pearl- A Pearl may be assigned to any player who is above a Peridot. They cannot vote, unless they are a Diamond's Pearl (See Diamond's Pearl's role). If their owner is lynched and they're a Crystal Gems, the Pearl is killed too. If their owner is lynched and they're either an Off Color or a Homeworld Gems, they're reassigned to a gem of the same rank as their previous owner if possible, or if not, a lower ranked gem of the same court. Their victory condition is the same as their current owner. They can PM their owner during day and night a Crystal Gems Pearl has the passive ability to defend themselves from one attack and can vote. This is not revealed in the write up. An Off Color Pearl has to passive ability to redirect a single attack. They must designate a player as the character they'd redirect it to. A Pearl voting will give away their alignment. In the same court as their owner.

Ruby- A bodyguard gem, can be assigned to any gem above a Peridot or just go on jobs. A Ruby that goes on jobs can only be targeted for actions every other night. Rubies on missions have a group PM. A Ruby that works as a bodyguard can protect another gem. They don't have to protect their owner, but since the owner and the Ruby have a PM, the owner will probably be miffed if they let them did. An Off Color Ruby has an extra life. Rubies are reassigned when their owner dies, in accordance to the same rules as a non Crystal Gems Pearl. Gems Aquamarine/Emerald and above can have both a Ruby and a Pearl. In any court.

Bismuth- You're muscular from building the structures on Homeworld. You can survive one attack. If a Bismuth is a Crystal Gem, they have one extra attack that doesn't count as their eliminator attack, but won't have an extra life. An Off Color Bismuth can survive one turn past an attack. Any court.

Peridot- A peridot has advanced technological skills. They can scan one gem and find out who they targeted with their action at night. An Off Color Peridot can scan one gem and find out their targeted action in the day. In Blue or Yellow's courts. They can vote.

Ziricon- You're a lawyer, and as such are experienced at making your argument. You can change one gem's vote every day to another of your choosing. An Off Color Zircon can nullify a single vote.

 

Quartz Soldier- Each Quartz soldier gets one attempt to kill in the entire game. An Off Color gets one protect in the entire game. They can vote. They belong mostly to Pink's court, but different varieties of Quartz can belong to a different court. (Rose Quartzes are pink exclusive, Amythests are Pink and Blue, and Jaspers are Pink and Yellow.)
 

Agate- You are just above Quartz soldiers. You are in charge of all lower gems and directing their movements. Each cycle you can redirect an action, day or night, but this is public. Any court.

 

Aquamarine/Emerald- You’re an elite gem who goes on important missions. You can roleblock anyone during either the day or night, but only once each cycle. Aquamarines are exclusivew to blue gem, but only once per cycle. Aquamarines are exclusive to Blue Diamond’s court and Emeralds are Blue or Yellow.
 

Topaz- The same rank as Aquamarines or Emeralds. They come in pairs and each pair can DM. They must both decide on a target to roleblock. If one is Off Color, then they are informed their roleblocks don’t go through, but they're not informed why. If one is a Crystal Gem and one is not, the other is not aware of the fact and can still roleblock. Both have to send in orders for the same person. One person can refuse to send in an order or target someone else and it won't go through. A pair of Topazes would share a Pearl, Ruby, or both.

 

Lapis Lazuli-  You are a terraformer with massive levels of control over water. You also can fly. For (amount of time determined by number of players and input from other GMs) per game, you can fly up in the sky for a cycle and not be affected by any actions taken by other players. However, your vote won't count. You're also prone to fits of edginess. An Off Color Lapis can have all actions on them redirected to a player they designate for that cycle. Their vote also doesn't count.

 

Sapphire- Can chose a gem to target during each cycle and is told all of what happened to them and by them during the same cycle. An Off Color Sapphire can do the same, but they're told what happened the cycle before instead. They can't do anything on the first cycle. Any court.

 

Diamond’s Pearl- outside of the ranking. Cannot be Off Color. Can vote, but their vote will not do anything if they are the only person voting for one person. One for each Diamond. Can ask their Diamond a question about hidden roles or the secret alignments once each cycle, but cannot ask any direct questions about who the eliminators are..

 

I dunno if anyone here is into SU like I am, but here's a SUE (steven universe elimination) game suggestion.

Edited August 16, 2017 by winter devotion

[Darkness Ascendant]

16 hours ago, winter devotion said:

  Hide contents

 

Steven Universe Game!

All roles are known, but the information about what each role means in unknown. The Off Colors are only known about by Off Colors and Crystal Gems, although the Crystal Gems don’t know who the Off Colors are. The game is won by the Crystal Gems when any GM is lynched. Manipulated votes count towards this goal. Standard long game cycle length. Off Color gems win if the majority of them survive. Failing that, the rest win if the Crystal Gems win. The Homeworld Gems win if they lynch all of the Crystal Gems.

The Crystal Gems can chose to convert instead of kill, but it's only successful if they chose an Off Color to convert.

Preferable three GMs, one Blue Diamond, one Pink Diamond, and one Yellow Diamond. If not three, then two with one Diamond being managed by the main GM. They would each oversee their court’s document and have their own Pearl. They also manage the DMs of all gems associated with them.

 

All Gems are sorted into one of three courts: Blue Diamond, Yellow Diamond, or Pink Diamond. Each court has a group PM during the day. Off Colors are slightly more common in Pink Diamond’s court.

The Off Colors don't have the normal abilities of their class, instead, they have a twisted version of it. They do have a doc.

The specific subtype of each gem, as long as it is in accordance to the color assigned to them, is open each roleplayer. For example, a Jasper can choose which specific kind of Jasper they are. Due to open roles, every player is asked to wait on choosing their official roleplaying nicknames until the game begins. Anyone who wants to roleplay with a random gem until the game begins is permitted to, but this won't affect their role at all.

 

(Roles organized by level of rarity and nobility. Gems that can be assigned to other gems are more common in the higher ranked gems..)
 

Pearl- A Pearl may be assigned to any player who is above a Peridot. They cannot vote, unless they are a Diamond's Pearl (See Diamond's Pearl's role). If their owner is lynched and they're a Crystal Gems, the Pearl is killed too. If their owner is lynched and they're either an Off Color or a Homeworld Gems, they're reassigned to a gem of the same rank as their previous owner if possible, or if not, a lower ranked gem of the same court. Their victory condition is the same as their current owner. They can PM their owner during day and night a Crystal Gems Pearl has the passive ability to defend themselves from one attack and can vote. This is not revealed in the write up. An Off Color Pearl has to passive ability to redirect a single attack. They must designate a player as the character they'd redirect it to. A Pearl voting will give away their alignment. In the same court as their owner.

Ruby- A bodyguard gem, can be assigned to any gem above a Peridot or just go on jobs. A Ruby that goes on jobs can only be targeted for actions every other night. Rubies on missions have a group PM. A Ruby that works as a bodyguard can protect another gem. They don't have to protect their owner, but since the owner and the Ruby have a PM, the owner will probably be miffed if they let them did. An Off Color Ruby has an extra life. Rubies are reassigned when their owner dies, in accordance to the same rules as a non Crystal Gems Pearl. Gems Aquamarine/Emerald and above can have both a Ruby and a Pearl. In any court.

Bismuth- You're muscular from building the structures on Homeworld. You can survive one attack. If a Bismuth is a Crystal Gem, they have one extra attack that doesn't count as their eliminator attack, but won't have an extra life. An Off Color Bismuth can survive one turn past an attack. Any court.

Peridot- A peridot has advanced technological skills. They can scan one gem and find out who they targeted with their action at night. An Off Color Peridot can scan one gem and find out their targeted action in the day. In Blue or Yellow's courts. They can vote.

Ziricon- You're a lawyer, and as such are experienced at making your argument. You can change one gem's vote every day to another of your choosing. An Off Color Zircon can nullify a single vote.

 

Quartz Soldier- Each Quartz soldier gets one attempt to kill in the entire game. An Off Color gets one protect in the entire game. They can vote. They belong mostly to Pink's court, but different varieties of Quartz can belong to a different court. (Rose Quartzes are pink exclusive, Amythests are Pink and Blue, and Jaspers are Pink and Yellow.)
 

Agate- You are just above Quartz soldiers. You are in charge of all lower gems and directing their movements. Each cycle you can redirect an action, day or night, but this is public. Any court.

 

Aquamarine/Emerald- You’re an elite gem who goes on important missions. You can roleblock anyone during either the day or night, but only once each cycle. Aquamarines are exclusivew to blue gem, but only once per cycle. Aquamarines are exclusive to Blue Diamond’s court and Emeralds are Blue or Yellow.
 

Topaz- The same rank as Aquamarines or Emeralds. They come in pairs and each pair can DM. They must both decide on a target to roleblock. If one is Off Color, then they are informed their roleblocks don’t go through, but they're not informed why. If one is a Crystal Gem and one is not, the other is not aware of the fact and can still roleblock. Both have to send in orders for the same person. One person can refuse to send in an order or target someone else and it won't go through. A pair of Topazes would share a Pearl, Ruby, or both.

 

Lapis Lazuli-  You are a terraformer with massive levels of control over water. You also can fly. For (amount of time determined by number of players and input from other GMs) per game, you can fly up in the sky for a cycle and not be affected by any actions taken by other players. However, your vote won't count. You're also prone to fits of edginess. An Off Color Lapis can have all actions on them redirected to a player they designate for that cycle. Their vote also doesn't count.

 

Sapphire- Can chose a gem to target during each cycle and is told all of what happened to them and by them during the same cycle. An Off Color Sapphire can do the same, but they're told what happened the cycle before instead. They can't do anything on the first cycle. Any court.

 

Diamond’s Pearl- outside of the ranking. Cannot be Off Color. Can vote, but their vote will not do anything if they are the only person voting for one person. One for each Diamond. Can ask their Diamond a question about hidden roles or the secret alignments once each cycle, but cannot ask any direct questions about who the eliminators are..

 

I dunno if anyone here is into SU like I am, but here's a SUE (steven universe elimination) game suggestion.

think you might have to change GM and DM  XD 

I haven't watch as much Steven Universe as I would like, but what I have seen has been flipping awesome and amazing 

I like the double power thing, but it would be easy to tell the difference between the two and deduce what each player is...perhaps should have kept them hidden? *shrugs

The rank thing is cool. Not sure how it would work distribution-wise.

[the winter system]

40 minutes ago, Darkness Ascendant said:

think you might have to change GM and DM  XD 

I haven't watch as much Steven Universe as I would like, but what I have seen has been flipping awesome and amazing 

I like the double power thing, but it would be easy to tell the difference between the two and deduce what each player is...perhaps should have kept them hidden? *shrugs

The rank thing is cool. Not sure how it would work distribution-wise.

You need to watch more. There's two new specials coming up and the latest few have been amazing. There's been massive changes to the show's status quo. We're gonna see more and more and we're gonna finally figure out once and for all-- 

Spoiler

what the heck happened to pink diamond

It's amazing. <3

I was inspired by the latest MR: It'll be mostly blackout so people can't reverse engineer who does what. 

Yeah the rank thing's gonna be hard to distribute, that's why, besides mechanics that depend on it, I need at least one co GM, presumably one who's a more experienced GM than I am. I've only run two games.

[Straw]

Winter, it's a non-Sanderson game so wouldn't you have to get Wyrmhero's backing?

[the winter system]

3 hours ago, Straw said:

Winter, it's a non-Sanderson game so wouldn't you have to get Wyrmhero's backing?

I'm not sure about the non Sanderson game rules, so, I guess yes? 

[Straw]

The non Sanderson game rules are that you have get the backing of one of the three AG CR contest winners, however, Mathilda and Sart have already given their backing to non Sanderson games.

[Amanuensis]

42 minutes ago, winter devotion said:

I'm not sure about the non Sanderson game rules, so, I guess yes? 

39 minutes ago, Straw said:

 

 

The non Sanderson game rules are that you have get the backing of one of the three AG CR contest winners, however, Mathilda and Sart have already given their backing to non Sanderson games.

New AG coming soon mean more Non-BS Credits, I reckon

[Steeldancer]

2 minutes ago, Amanuensis said:

New AG coming soon mean more Non-BS Credits, I reckon

Hmmm I'm all over that. Look out guys, I'm looking at creating another brilliant character. His name is Jai. 

[the winter system]

1 hour ago, Straw said:

The non Sanderson game rules are that you have get the backing of one of the three AG CR contest winners, however, Mathilda and Sart have already given their backing to non Sanderson games.

AG CR contest? What's that?

[Sparkrunner]

Every year they have an AG, or anniversary game. CR stands for Cosmetic Role, which a few people win for doing something with cosmetics and roles.

[the winter system]

9 minutes ago, Roadwalker said:

Every year they have an AG, or anniversary game. CR stands for Cosmetic Role, which a few people win for doing something with cosmetics and roles.

I was in the first one, and I'm really confused.

[Steeldancer]

1 minute ago, winter devotion said:

I was in the first one, and I'm really confused.

I think it's a newer thing, with AG3. 

[the winter system]

Just now, Flash said:

I think it's a newer thing, with AG3. 

What does cosmetic role mean? Is it something with roleplaying or just doing something extremely convoluted with roles?

[Steeldancer]

Just now, winter devotion said:

What does cosmetic role mean? Is it something with roleplaying or just doing something extremely convoluted with roles?

They did it in AG3 and MR something. The MLP one, my first game. 

[the winter system]

Just now, Flash said:

They did it in AG3 and MR something. The MLP one, my first game. 

What does it mean?

[Steeldancer]

Just now, winter devotion said:

What does it mean?

Follow the link in my signature about the evil ponies. That's the game. 

[Jondesu]

11 minutes ago, winter devotion said:

What does it mean?

This post includes the explanation of the Cosmetic Roles themselves:

And here's the announcement of the winners and their prize:

 

[the winter system]

On 8/17/2017 at 2:51 PM, Jondesu said:

This post includes the explanation of the Cosmetic Roles themselves:

And here's the announcement of the winners and their prize:

 

Okay, thanks

Not to double post, but could I have some more help balancing the game?

 

Edited August 23, 2017 by winter devotion

[StrikerEZ]

Oh, I just came up with an idea for a QF based on Sixth of the Dusk.

Spoiler

Basically, it's a group of people going on an expedition to reach the pool thingy where the worms that the Aviar eat to get powers are. 

There's the main faction/group which is the expeditioners. The game would last ten cycles, and at the end of the ten cycles if any of them remain, they win. Hidden among them are two groups: the trappers and the Ones Above. The trappers' goal is to make sure that there are no Ones Above remaining when the game ends. The Ones Above have the goal of surviving to the end of the game. This is very basic right now, but that's the basic idea.

Ever player would have about a 20% chance of getting an Aviar. You don't have to be a trapper to have one, though all trappers have an Aviar. Ones Above do not have an Aviar. Who has an Aviar would be common knowledge.

I would just need help coming up with ideas for Aviar abilities.

It might actually be better as a MR.

Edited September 4, 2017 by StrikerEZ

[Straw]

Could you put the game into a rules format?

[Steeldancer]

Ok so last night I had a crazy idea that I need to work out the kinks in, but I think would be really cool. It's based on Inception. 

So there are 2 factions: the Inception team and the Constucts. Inception team has most of the roles, and is the "elim" team. But here's where it gets fun. They, at the beginning of the game, get to choose how "deep" they will go. the deeper they go, the greater the probability of winning. However, with each level, extra time is added, probably a turn for each level. Going to level 5 would be a 100% chance of successful Inception. They also have to have at least one person survive the game. 

The constructs win if they prevent the Inception team from winning. 

So the first turn would be in the top level, and the Inception team would decide how many levels down they think they can go, and have at least one person survive, and have successful inception. 

The second turn would be in the first level of dream, and would be 1 day. The second level would be 2 turns. 3rd level, 3 turns. Then, once max depth has been achieved, they go back up. 3 turns, 2 turns, 1 turn.

I have the vague idea of having an architect, and I, the GM, being the "dreamer." A kick mechanic of some sort may be necessary to make a win possible for the Inception team. 

I still have to work out the specifics. I also know it's non sanderson, so I'll take care of that eventually. I also have a really cool inception worthy twist. 

I've also worked out a cool game based on Dreamer, which would probably end up being a quick fix. that is sanderson. It focuses on body hopping from person to person. It's interesting because the bodies aren't cosmere bodies, but normal people bodies, with items  like that. I think it would be a cool mechanic. 

edit: Ok I've been thinking it over some more, and I've worked out a few more details. The Inception team will not have a night kill. Instead, each level will have an architect in the team. I will set up the general set up for each dream level (each one will have the village start off with different items and such. Items will not transfer into other levels). but the architect will have the power to change things (pending my approval). All changes will show up in the Write ups, as each little change calls more attention from the dream constructs... Also, only active people from a dream level will be put into the next dream level. 

Once Inception has been achieved, the kick will occur, and instead of a pyramid formation in terms of number of turns, it will be 1 turn in each level, ascending until the game ends. If you're confused, I'll explain it again for you in another post. 

Each turn will have a lynch. 

I will work on the rest of the team roles, and incorporating the totem item. 

If an architect dies, the dream will descend to the next level, and when ascending, will only spend one turn in that dream level. 

I'll try to organize this into something other than discombobulated thoughts. 

 

Edited September 6, 2017 by Flash

[DrakeMarshall]

16 hours ago, Flash said:

Ok so last night I had a crazy idea that I need to work out the kinks in, but I think would be really cool. It's based on Inception. 

So there are 2 factions: the Inception team and the Constucts. Inception team has most of the roles, and is the "elim" team. But here's where it gets fun. They, at the beginning of the game, get to choose how "deep" they will go. the deeper they go, the greater the probability of winning. However, with each level, extra time is added, probably a turn for each level. Going to level 5 would be a 100% chance of successful Inception. They also have to have at least one person survive the game. 

The constructs win if they prevent the Inception team from winning. 

So the first turn would be in the top level, and the Inception team would decide how many levels down they think they can go, and have at least one person survive, and have successful inception. 

The second turn would be in the first level of dream, and would be 1 day. The second level would be 2 turns. 3rd level, 3 turns. Then, once max depth has been achieved, they go back up. 3 turns, 2 turns, 1 turn.

I have the vague idea of having an architect, and I, the GM, being the "dreamer." A kick mechanic of some sort may be necessary to make a win possible for the Inception team. 

I still have to work out the specifics. I also know it's non sanderson, so I'll take care of that eventually. I also have a really cool inception worthy twist. 

I've also worked out a cool game based on Dreamer, which would probably end up being a quick fix. that is sanderson. It focuses on body hopping from person to person. It's interesting because the bodies aren't cosmere bodies, but normal people bodies, with items  like that. I think it would be a cool mechanic. 

edit: Ok I've been thinking it over some more, and I've worked out a few more details. The Inception team will not have a night kill. Instead, each level will have an architect in the team. I will set up the general set up for each dream level (each one will have the village start off with different items and such. Items will not transfer into other levels). but the architect will have the power to change things (pending my approval). All changes will show up in the Write ups, as each little change calls more attention from the dream constructs... Also, only active people from a dream level will be put into the next dream level. 

Once Inception has been achieved, the kick will occur, and instead of a pyramid formation in terms of number of turns, it will be 1 turn in each level, ascending until the game ends. If you're confused, I'll explain it again for you in another post. 

Each turn will have a lynch. 

I will work on the rest of the team roles, and incorporating the totem item. 

If an architect dies, the dream will descend to the next level, and when ascending, will only spend one turn in that dream level. 

I'll try to organize this into something other than discombobulated thoughts. 

 

The dead doc would naturally be called limbo, I hope.

Also what if the dreamer was an actual, uninformed player (possibly with some rather interesting abilities... in the very least, a vote manip), and part of the eliminator team's goal involved locating / doing something to the dreamer?

[Steeldancer]

5 hours ago, Drake Marshall said:

The dead doc would naturally be called limbo, I hope.

Also what if the dreamer was an actual, uninformed player (possibly with some rather interesting abilities... in the very least, a vote manip), and part of the eliminator team's goal involved locating / doing something to the dreamer?

Good idea, but I don't think it'll work. Simply because if they die, both teams lose, because the dream should collapse. Therefore, it would be in their interest to promptly claim, at which point they would experience no danger, like it L35. Plus, I'm not sure what the win condition would be. Still a cool idea though. 

Limbo obviously lol. How could it be anything else. 

Edited September 7, 2017 by Flash

[DrakeMarshall]

Hmmmm...

Out of curiousity, what are some of the most complicated games that have been run on the shard?

I am interested because I am making a game I suspect will end up being pretty complex (that said, I am inordinately pleased with all of the mechanics I have come up with so far).

And I'd like to examine some of those past games and see what worked and what didn't work. I am fully aware that complex games are exponentially more difficult to balance, and I need all the information I can get if I am going to make this game into something that approximates my vision for it.

[Straw]

The ranking is probably:

1. LG26

2. LG33 (Re-run of LG18)

3. LG18