InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "I'm <^..^>ty for you"

🍆 (eggplants) wrote in rp_tutorials,
@ 2012-07-23 19:46:00

Hello, lovely people of

rp_tutorials . I'm here today to ask for feedback, ideas and suggestions. I don't know if this is kosher, but if it isn't, I'll remove it.

A friend and I are making a game. It is an AU Batman Nolan-verse inspired game but with a completely different twist. We will be taking elements of video games, board games and table-top roleplaying games into our game's mechanics and I hope that you will take a look and tell us your thoughts. Is it too complicated? Is there something wrong? Have you done something similar and want to offer a suggestion? Please feel free to do so below.

So a brief intro to how our game works. We, the mods, will be acting as cheoreographers to the plots in the game, big and small. This means that at any point of a plot, you may suddenly get a message like 'your mole in the GCPD has been found out' or 'your communication system stops working when you enter the building'. We will also be rolling dices for fights, injuries, gang turf wars etc.

So far, we have a points system to help with activity checks, second/third/whatever character slots, and the overall running. Points will also be a way to reward players who are active by giving them options to buy 'character upgrades' and plot 'props' for their personal plots. I know this isn't for everyone so the store will be optionable and players can opt to not buy anything but they will be more vulnerable to hacks, invasions etc.

Like a video game, every character starts with different tech and gadgets and have homebases that they can upgrade with points. They may unlock special clues and maps to help them with mod-run plots and buy special gadgets or henchmen that they would require for plot purposes. Even a 'get out of jail free card' for villains with enough points. They can even hire NPCs.

Like monopoly, you can build different houses and lairs for each character on their own turf and if a villain get's captured, you roll for thee possible outcomes (your attorney wins your case, you manage to escape in the process, you go to jail) and of course, the 'get out of jail free card' as seen above.

Like Battleship and Risk, villains and heroes alike start out with their own territories. Villains can try to buy more 'gang land' with points or target other player's turf with dice rolls and risk points (like gambling). Whether they win or lose, the other player can of course attack back and start turf wars or vendettas. Likewise heroes start with patrol zones and try to eradicate the villains from the city. Likewise they can buy them with points or roll and risk points and a potential arch enemy scenario can be forged.

And finally since this is essentailly a rpg, we still focus on the actual writing side of the game. We plan to give out bi-weekly prompts that players can volunteer for more points to help move things along and encourage interaction between characters. There could be straight forward prompts like 'CHARACTER A starts a fight with CHARACTER B in a bar' or more mysterious ones like 'CHARACTER A find a package on a roof' whereby we reveal the surprise after someone volunteers.

...I think that's all for now. TL;DR eh? Thank you in advance.

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tessisamess
2012-07-23 02:05 pm UTC (link)

I think I'll start by saying this: Your game's functioning set-up will not be for everyone; learning new tricks can be scary and, sometimes, off-putting. That being said, don't let that fact alone discourage you, because the ideas you're working with could be really fun and interesting, broadening the core of a writing-based RPG, if done well. Using Batman as a setting to try this sort of thing out is, imo, a very good idea, and based on what you've presented it seems like you understand that and why that is.

My one/only real piece of advice would be this: Guides, guides, guides. You're working with a lot of elements that will be unfamiliar territory for some potential applicants (ie. the ones who only do writing-based RP), and having well put together information, guides, and examples of that territory will make the new content less overwhelming.

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eggplants
2012-07-23 02:30 pm UTC (link)

Yeah, we accept that this won't be everyone's cup of tea. We aren't looking for a large number of players however so that shouldn't be too much of a problem. The point system is somewhat inspired by

gamemaker (kudos!), Arkham City and IRL rps but hopefully not too complicated. Batmanverse seems perfect because we have all-knowing, all-controlling characters than can work as NPCs and it has that noir feel that would work for mystery plots and fighting/action.

There will definitely be guides and loads of examples. City maps, player point charts and even an example app will be prepared. Thank you for your advice and thoughts! <3

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	tessisamess 2012-07-23 02:33 pm UTC (link)
	It definitely sounds like you're up for the challenge, ngl. I hope everything gets off the ground okay and the game does well! ♥ (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	eggplants 2012-07-24 05:44 am UTC (link)
	Thanks! (Reply to this) (Parent)

mydecember
2012-07-23 09:20 pm UTC (link)

For a long, long, long time I've wanted to do something similar (though I was leaning toward fantasy/supernatural) and as the commenter above says the biggest problem I think anything like this would face is that it is new. It isn't what people know and are used to. I was actually thinking today on a set up like this where everyone would get a set amount of skills they could use and each skill is given a set amount of damage points and a cool down time (cool down being how many posts between the next use) and how everyone could have health bars etc.

I think it's one of those things where if you can get players who are into that then you'll be grand but if the right people don't see it then it's all your effort gone to waste.

Also as the person said above guides and guides and more guides. Personally I'd love something like this but I know not all the RPers I play with would so it's literally the players you get. I wish you all the luck though and will be keeping an eye out for it myself! :D

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	eggplants 2012-07-24 05:42 am UTC (link)
	Thankfully I am in a game that does use a point system so I know some players to pitch too and we're hoping to keep the game small so fingers crossed! I would love to see your idea at work :O Thank you for the advice! Hope to see you there when/if it opens! :D (Reply to this) (Parent)

passion
2012-07-26 05:57 pm UTC (link)

i agree with the above commenter - using batman for this type of thing is pretty much genius; it reminded me right away of arkham city. there are just a few things i wanted to add:

- the rolling dice part of it might be off-putting for players who want to be able to predetermine or decide with the other player involved who wins a fight between their character and another. for something on a much larger scale, like a huge gang turf war or an all-out battle between the forces of good and evil, rolling dice makes sense, as there are a lot of factors to consider, but having everything be left up to chance in one-on-one situations will definitely make some otherwise interested players uncomfortable, especially since the act of the rolling itself is being taken out of their hands by the mods. players tend to see their characters as just that - "theirs," and not for other people to take away and play with.

- the maintaining of atmosphere in a game of this scale and style would, i believe, be INCREDIBLY important. not only does the feel of gotham and batman need to be evoked to make the setting real for the players, but there are so many other elements than writing in the game that it would be incredibly easy to get bogged down in things like points and numbers and upgrades and forget that, hey, you're here to write and play these characters. in a video game, like in arkham asylum and arkham city, there is great integration of the points system and the upgrades system, but it's still not seamless. even while you're playing, the upgrades system feels sort of false. roleplay games rely very heavily on immersion to create a positive experience for players, and your other components of gameplay need to be weighed against the value of immersion in the game.

whew, i'm sorry for that tl;dr! honestly, though: i'm really looking forward to seeing what you do with this game and you might even find me around when it opens. you have put a lot of thought into this concept and i hope to see the full creation soon!

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seventhbeacon
2012-07-27 03:07 pm UTC (link)

I'm inclined to agree that in smaller encounter/fights, usually between two players, the outcome is determined by them. If they want a die roll or coin toss to determine outcomes, they can do it as well.

Immersion is definitely key. All of the points system values are based on RP posting, and apart from maybe a special event, we're hoping that only being able to (possibly) grab one turf in a two-week period will keep the game from being simply a board game. A player makes a turf grab request during the period, and we determine the outcome and announce it at the beginning of the next period when doing the bi-weekly prompts and story updates.

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gotham_mod
2012-07-27 05:35 am UTC (link)

O hi! I love the idea behind your game. I'm also making an AU Nolanverse game with a completely different focus, so hopefully they'll coexist nicely. (PS, don't look at the info because there are TDKR spoilers.)

ANYWAY.

I have worked in games that did point systems and they're wonderful, as a player, to rack up points to be able to buy things with. The downside was it was a lot of work. Who is going to do the work? If you make the players tally up the points it can get frustrating but it's also a great way to do an activity check. ("Okay, players, turn in your point sheets this week so I can see who's active!")

I also love tabletop games and I'm really excited and hope that your system works out. It sounds like you've put a lot of thought into it, which is great. I always missed the lack of dice in journal games to help move action and keep things exciting and interesting so you don't know who is really going to make it in a combat situation.

That said, my only concern would be player motivation. I used to do challenges and plot posts but wasn't always able to keep my players interested. You'll want to make sure you have players who are invested in the system. I really hope this works out. Hell, if my game falls through I'll probably come check yours out!

For my game I think I'm going to allow players to pick up "territory" in Gotham City through activity. "Do X number of posts and you get to stake a claim on one of the locations/territories. Do X more and you can have two areas your good guy or bad guy controls. Challenge a player to a territory battle and see who is the most active or does scenes with the most number of players, and you can take over one of their territory sections!" But for me, I think that's the extent I'm going to do.

Good luck! :D

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seventhbeacon
2012-07-27 03:16 pm UTC (link)

Thanks for the warm wishes! I reviewed your game page, and apart from being AU Nolan-inspired, we will be diverging a bit, yeah. We won't be doing the No Man's Land arc any time soon if at all, though there are elements of Battle for the Cowl at play (hopefully better, I wasn't a huge fan of most of that arc). We're leaning a bit closer to the comics in terms of characters allowed and the existence of some fantastic elements (such as Clayface, Ivy's plants), hoping to find that right fusion between Nolan realism and comics variety.

The challenges and plot posts will help drive the main thrust of the larger plot, but we fully expect and hope players will also generate their own stories and plots that fit within the game. Self-motivated players will, by generating their own content, also shape the larger part of the game, and those who may be short on ideas in a given period of time will be able to use our prompts. Our primary love is still characters, interaction with each other, and telling compelling stories that give us a stake in those characters' lives!

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	gotham_mod 2012-07-27 07:21 pm UTC (link)
	Awesome! My only other advice is prepare for the worst. Come up with a game plan in case your players aren't participating, or some alternative ideas. My game is still in rough draft mode and not technically public, but when you have a link available, I'd love to check your game out! (Reply to this) (Parent)