[HEADING=1] Work In Progress - Will Update first two posts as and when I can [/HEADING]
[HEADING=2]First part of Mock up here:[/HEADING]http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.162130.4162439
[HEADING=2] Second Part - Combat Mockup here:[/HEADING] http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.162130?page=3#4171817
[HEADING=2]UI WIP Mockup here[/HEADING]: http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.162130?page=3#4193588
[HEADING=2] Third part of the Mock up - Inventory / Some game mechanics / Investigation skills:[/HEADING]http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.162130.4210097
[HEADING=2] Researching and Crafting items, plus some Minor points[/HEADING]
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.162130-UPDATED-23rd-Jan-Call-of-Cthulhu-MMORPG-A-Design-Proposal?page=4#5080095
[HEADING=2] Introduction [/HEADING]
How does one incite terror? Panic? Dread? And given the nature of the medium, how does one ensure that the player keeps coming back for more?
Certainly it would not be a game for everyone. Like niche MMOs like EVE where the possibility of huge financial loss actually breaks you out in a sweat from time to time may not appeal to everyone.
And given the PnP RPG of CoC basically takes it as a given that sooner or later your investigator is either going to get killed in the most gruesome manner possible or go completely bonkers, this does not exactly provide for a basis for MMOs with their emphasis on character progression, munchkin game dynamics and monty-haul inventories.
So how does one make a revenue model that would actually allow for people to continue playing the game without having to feel frustrated to the point of abandoning the MMO while maintaining a given level of terror and dread?
I hope that the following will provide some ideas:
[HEADING=2] The Investigation and the Gameworld [/HEADING]
All interaction within the world is centered around Investigations - which in turn are grouped at Player Hubs - Miskatonic University, Arkham, New England, and the player's Agency offices (See below) The world in effect is a series of instanced Hubs that in turn connect to investigation portals - instanced areas which compromise a full, discrete quest or campaign that can be accessed via devices like Maps, Subway Stations, Sewers etc.
[HEADING=2] Players as Investigative Agencies [/HEADING]
Players do not draw up merely one discrete investigator. Rather, they have to roll up an entire agency, the system will provide for a template of cookie cutter investigators which the player can customize to whatever degree they prefer. Since the MMO will essentially be factored around group play, should a player wish to commit to a solo encounter, he can have two more of his investigators along as Bots, but in Group play (i.e more than one player) there is capped limit on how many investigators can enter an instance.
More importantly, and Agency "levels up" . Allowing it to further gain in benefits for it's individual players such as legacies. (See below)
[HEADING=2]Permanent Death[/HEADING]
Your investigator just got eaten by a Shoggoth. Game over. Yup, sorry, no running back to your corpse, no resurrection spells, no money penalty. Zip . Nada. Your dead. Get over it.
The possibility that you actually loose your investigator is I think essential to creating an atmosphere of dread and terror. However, the mechanics of coming to the fatal point is somewhat more forgiving.
[HEADING=3]Healing and Cooperation[/HEADING]
When an investigator suffers enough damage to reduce him to 0 HP, he enters critical state where other players may attempt to stabilize him within a time frame. If stabilized he remains at 0 HP until additional medical treatment is provided. Increasing HP is only possible through medical kits, which essentially are finite and cannot heal an investigator beyond 25% of his total HP.
in the middle of a fight in case they have to run, or if comatose investigators cannot be revived, other investigators can carry him, ( which will cause fatigue, taking into account strength, endurance etc so the burden will be shifted from one player to the next), any comatose investigator which is brought out of investigation portal can be replaced by another investigator from the player's agency. The comatose investigator is in turn brought to the Agency's infirmary where he remains out of action depending on severity of injuries, endurance, quality of care etc.
[HEADING=2]Death, Phobias and Retirement[/HEADING]
In the case of Death, all investigators keep a Journal which is automatically updated whenever they complete an investigation. This journal can be passed on to a new investigator, or a current investigator from the agency.
An investigator can interact with the Journal and gain lore, which is basically insights into the Mythos that in terms of mechanics increases select skills and abilities but also has the unfortunate effect of increasing the insanity of the investigator. Hardened Investigators suffer fewer effects, but also do not gain as much in terms of lore as new investigators.
Any items that belong to the investigator are returned to the agency PROVIDED someone actually picked them up and returned it to the player's agency. Bodies fall where they die, and unless looted, items are considered to be lost at the end of the investigation.
In such a situation player trust and co-operation is crucial.
[HEADING=3]Phobias[/HEADING]
Increasing levels of Insanity will lead to various levels of Phobias, the worse the Insanity level, the worse the phobia and the more likely it will have a detrimental effect on the investigator. Phobias can be treated, but never reduced beyond a base line. Investigators with high Will will have better chance of resisting phobia effects. Investigators who fail thier phobia checks may panic, freeze up, get delusional or otherwise become dangerous in a group encounter.
[HEADING=3]Retirement[/HEADING]
A player may choose to retire his investigator at any time - generally when the Insanity level - which all investigators are fighting a loosing game with - becomes too high. The benefit of retirement however has substantial benefits to his designated heir, who is always a new character. The retired investigator essentially teaches the new investigator, much like reading the journal, but with the added benefit that Insanity costs are much lower, and there is more skill points available to non-mythos skills.
[HEADING=3]Committed[/HEADING]
An investigator who has gone insane is essentially committed. The journal can still be passed on with the usual pros and cons, however there is the additional opportunity to learn something new ONCE from the committed investigator. New or hardened investigators may attempt to gain some additional lore from the committed, but also at the risk that they increase their own insanity level at a much higher rate than merely reading the journal.
Committed Investigators are not permanent however. The player is given one opportunity to interview them, after which the committed is too far gone to be lucid and is effectively out of the game.
[HEADING=2]Legacies, Artifacts and Heirlooms[/HEADING]
Legacies are essentially major story based boosts to an agency. Legacies require at least one retired investigator to exist for the agency, and should also meet some other pre-requisites. Legacies can be of various kinds - A new library wing containing Mythos lore. A large financial boost. New areas to explore perhaps. In effect they are rewards for specific achievements that are beneficial to the agency.
Artifacts are essentially the magic items of the game. However unlike most games artifacts are in the main latent and hidden potentially powerful pieces of equipment with their own rewards and perils.
Using an Artifact frequently will slowly unlock its abilities as it "levels up" but also unlock potential dangers, as frequent use may bring the unwanted attentions of malevolent beings. Also Artifacts may actually be combined, since it is possible that one artifact is only a component of a larger whole.
Artifacts in themselves may prompt investigations, and lead to longer chains of investigations to discover and unlock all its secrets.
Heirlooms are items that are passed down by retired investigators to new investigators. They are not artifacts per se, but will provide an important boost to new investigators - an example would be a for example a revolver which gains a small bonus when passed down.
/to be continued
[HEADING=2]First part of Mock up here:[/HEADING]http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.162130.4162439
[HEADING=2] Second Part - Combat Mockup here:[/HEADING] http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.162130?page=3#4171817
[HEADING=2]UI WIP Mockup here[/HEADING]: http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.162130?page=3#4193588
[HEADING=2] Third part of the Mock up - Inventory / Some game mechanics / Investigation skills:[/HEADING]http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.162130.4210097
[HEADING=2] Researching and Crafting items, plus some Minor points[/HEADING]
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.162130-UPDATED-23rd-Jan-Call-of-Cthulhu-MMORPG-A-Design-Proposal?page=4#5080095
[HEADING=2] Introduction [/HEADING]
How does one incite terror? Panic? Dread? And given the nature of the medium, how does one ensure that the player keeps coming back for more?
Certainly it would not be a game for everyone. Like niche MMOs like EVE where the possibility of huge financial loss actually breaks you out in a sweat from time to time may not appeal to everyone.
And given the PnP RPG of CoC basically takes it as a given that sooner or later your investigator is either going to get killed in the most gruesome manner possible or go completely bonkers, this does not exactly provide for a basis for MMOs with their emphasis on character progression, munchkin game dynamics and monty-haul inventories.
So how does one make a revenue model that would actually allow for people to continue playing the game without having to feel frustrated to the point of abandoning the MMO while maintaining a given level of terror and dread?
I hope that the following will provide some ideas:
[HEADING=2] The Investigation and the Gameworld [/HEADING]
All interaction within the world is centered around Investigations - which in turn are grouped at Player Hubs - Miskatonic University, Arkham, New England, and the player's Agency offices (See below) The world in effect is a series of instanced Hubs that in turn connect to investigation portals - instanced areas which compromise a full, discrete quest or campaign that can be accessed via devices like Maps, Subway Stations, Sewers etc.
[HEADING=2] Players as Investigative Agencies [/HEADING]
Players do not draw up merely one discrete investigator. Rather, they have to roll up an entire agency, the system will provide for a template of cookie cutter investigators which the player can customize to whatever degree they prefer. Since the MMO will essentially be factored around group play, should a player wish to commit to a solo encounter, he can have two more of his investigators along as Bots, but in Group play (i.e more than one player) there is capped limit on how many investigators can enter an instance.
More importantly, and Agency "levels up" . Allowing it to further gain in benefits for it's individual players such as legacies. (See below)
[HEADING=2]Permanent Death[/HEADING]
Your investigator just got eaten by a Shoggoth. Game over. Yup, sorry, no running back to your corpse, no resurrection spells, no money penalty. Zip . Nada. Your dead. Get over it.
The possibility that you actually loose your investigator is I think essential to creating an atmosphere of dread and terror. However, the mechanics of coming to the fatal point is somewhat more forgiving.
[HEADING=3]Healing and Cooperation[/HEADING]
When an investigator suffers enough damage to reduce him to 0 HP, he enters critical state where other players may attempt to stabilize him within a time frame. If stabilized he remains at 0 HP until additional medical treatment is provided. Increasing HP is only possible through medical kits, which essentially are finite and cannot heal an investigator beyond 25% of his total HP.
in the middle of a fight in case they have to run, or if comatose investigators cannot be revived, other investigators can carry him, ( which will cause fatigue, taking into account strength, endurance etc so the burden will be shifted from one player to the next), any comatose investigator which is brought out of investigation portal can be replaced by another investigator from the player's agency. The comatose investigator is in turn brought to the Agency's infirmary where he remains out of action depending on severity of injuries, endurance, quality of care etc.
[HEADING=2]Death, Phobias and Retirement[/HEADING]
In the case of Death, all investigators keep a Journal which is automatically updated whenever they complete an investigation. This journal can be passed on to a new investigator, or a current investigator from the agency.
An investigator can interact with the Journal and gain lore, which is basically insights into the Mythos that in terms of mechanics increases select skills and abilities but also has the unfortunate effect of increasing the insanity of the investigator. Hardened Investigators suffer fewer effects, but also do not gain as much in terms of lore as new investigators.
Any items that belong to the investigator are returned to the agency PROVIDED someone actually picked them up and returned it to the player's agency. Bodies fall where they die, and unless looted, items are considered to be lost at the end of the investigation.
In such a situation player trust and co-operation is crucial.
[HEADING=3]Phobias[/HEADING]
Increasing levels of Insanity will lead to various levels of Phobias, the worse the Insanity level, the worse the phobia and the more likely it will have a detrimental effect on the investigator. Phobias can be treated, but never reduced beyond a base line. Investigators with high Will will have better chance of resisting phobia effects. Investigators who fail thier phobia checks may panic, freeze up, get delusional or otherwise become dangerous in a group encounter.
[HEADING=3]Retirement[/HEADING]
A player may choose to retire his investigator at any time - generally when the Insanity level - which all investigators are fighting a loosing game with - becomes too high. The benefit of retirement however has substantial benefits to his designated heir, who is always a new character. The retired investigator essentially teaches the new investigator, much like reading the journal, but with the added benefit that Insanity costs are much lower, and there is more skill points available to non-mythos skills.
[HEADING=3]Committed[/HEADING]
An investigator who has gone insane is essentially committed. The journal can still be passed on with the usual pros and cons, however there is the additional opportunity to learn something new ONCE from the committed investigator. New or hardened investigators may attempt to gain some additional lore from the committed, but also at the risk that they increase their own insanity level at a much higher rate than merely reading the journal.
Committed Investigators are not permanent however. The player is given one opportunity to interview them, after which the committed is too far gone to be lucid and is effectively out of the game.
[HEADING=2]Legacies, Artifacts and Heirlooms[/HEADING]
Legacies are essentially major story based boosts to an agency. Legacies require at least one retired investigator to exist for the agency, and should also meet some other pre-requisites. Legacies can be of various kinds - A new library wing containing Mythos lore. A large financial boost. New areas to explore perhaps. In effect they are rewards for specific achievements that are beneficial to the agency.
Artifacts are essentially the magic items of the game. However unlike most games artifacts are in the main latent and hidden potentially powerful pieces of equipment with their own rewards and perils.
Using an Artifact frequently will slowly unlock its abilities as it "levels up" but also unlock potential dangers, as frequent use may bring the unwanted attentions of malevolent beings. Also Artifacts may actually be combined, since it is possible that one artifact is only a component of a larger whole.
Artifacts in themselves may prompt investigations, and lead to longer chains of investigations to discover and unlock all its secrets.
Heirlooms are items that are passed down by retired investigators to new investigators. They are not artifacts per se, but will provide an important boost to new investigators - an example would be a for example a revolver which gains a small bonus when passed down.
/to be continued
