[HEADING=1] WORK IN PROGRESS - FAR FROM PERFECT - PART 2 SOON[/HEADING]
[HEADING=2]Introduction[/HEADING]
The following is a mock up of what a typical small scale investigation in a CoC MMO would look like. Before we actually begin there are a few concepts that should be elaborated on so that you get a feel for what players should actually encounter both in the game world and their own emotional reactions.
For one thing, the medium of a multi-player game as opposed to a single player immediately throws up some problems and such makes it rather difficult to impose a feeling of dread and terror in most situations.
Therefore, a number of mechanics need to be implemented in order maximize dread and terror. One of the most important, Time; will be touched on below.
[HEADING=2]A Few Initial Concepts[/HEADING]
Permanent Death - The possibility of actually losing an Investigator which you have spent time and resources in crafting - is an important aspect to ensuring dread.
Isolation - Here is the other main problem. Isolation is a key component of terror, and unfortunately its hard to feel isolated when you have a bunch of other folks blaring away on the headset. Nevertheless some degree of isolation is possible by imposing it in two ways.
* Players in investigation zones are completely isolated from the rest of the world's community. There are no global channels WITHIN the investigation zone through which they can communicate to people on the outside. (Out-of-game mechanics notwithstanding)
* Player to player chat is limited to an in-game radius, either LOS, environmental or through architectural constraints (i.e if someone is in one room, chances are that he wont be able to hear someone who is either out of sight, too far away, or in another room)
The above should increase the feeling of isolation, and create a more conducive atmosphere.
Time - An important factor in conveying a sense of dread and ensuring that players do not take things for granted is the application of time to their activities. In the MMO time is subject to the narrative context and therefore has to be elastic - in order to suit the given situations.
Time factors can essentially be broken down into three forms:-
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Global Time: This is limited strictly to Agency Offices and World Hubs (The Ironforges of CoC if you will) - Arkham, Miskatonic University and so on. Time is pretty much irrelevant for matters in the Hubs, as no encounters that are time bound take place, so it would not matter if six hours pass or six days. The world is pretty much static, therefore it will be effectively real time with standard day / night cycles.
*
Combat / Encounter Time: Encounters - Combat or otherwise are all played out in real time in order to accommodate the tactical aspect. Guns need to be fired and reloaded, Abilities need to be used and go on cool-downs, Spells need to be cast and their effects determined. Pretty bog standard much like WoW.
*
Zone Time: Zone time is probably the time which is most important, because zone time needs to be managed. Zone time takes place at a 20:1 ratio - for every one minute real time, twenty minutes elapse in zone time. Some monsters may only come out at night, Investigators need to rest in order to heal up after an encounter, others need to do research, new investigators that are called in need to actually transit to the zone - and Mythos forces slowly become more and more active. Zone time then is a resource that is slowly being expended and it is time that players cannot afford to lose. Why is this? Because of the Mythos Meter.
[HEADING=2]The Mythos Meter - Introduction[/HEADING]
Static Vs Dynamic Zones - A key issue in most games is the fact that even within encounter zones, dungeons, instances, complexes - whatever you want to call them - things are pretty much static. Mobs may patrol, but they never change their routines, and in the main they are pretty much static areas.
Imagine then if you will, a game like World of Warcraft, where players can happily leave and enter the dungeon, switch characters and basically even do some shopping before heading back to take another crack at the mobs within. Even if there are re-spawns, they generally are on pretty generous timers and even then they are the same group of spawns so its not too difficult to hack your way through if you really wanted too.
All of which is not conducive to a sense of dread. Players can essentially procrastinate and dilly dally in the full knowledge that no matter what they do, at the end of the day (providing they don't decide to leave for other reasons) they can basically work their way through to the end with no penalty.
Mythos Forces - However CoC is never like that. For one thing CoC does not entertain too much combat, as mythos monsters are generally very dangerous and powerful. Players do not fight monsters to gain experience (though this will be the case, but only indirectly) but merely because they have no real option - especially when it comes to survival. Also keep in mind the investigators' sanity is at stake during combat, so the more he sees, the more insane he becomes.
So what then is the Mythos Meter? Well it is a means by which players do not take the encounter for granted, as the more time they waste, the worse things become. This is essential because otherwise encounters get prolonged and the whole concept of terror is slowly drained away. Investigations are meant to be tight, brief affairs for otherwise it slowly starts losing the feel of terror. Players become jaded and complacent and start taking things for granted.
Therefore it is literally a race against time (though there will be some fallback options as well as a certain amount of leeway) , since the Mythos forces do not merely sit around waiting for the investigators to stumble upon them, but actually slowly begin to infiltrate the investigation zone, reaping havoc and causing mayhem.
As you hunt the Mythos, over the course of time the Mythos begins hunting YOU.
[HEADING=2]How the Meter Works[/HEADING]
The Mythos meter will as a rule of thumb be about four real time hours long. This should give players a comfortable margin to complete the investigation taking into account any potential deals - coffee, bio-breaks etc etc.
As the meter fills up however, bad things start to happen. The meter essentially represents the Mythos forces creeping into the world, disrupting Services (more on this later) and spawning monsters that start hunting down the players.
The meter is divided into four levels, each level more deadly than the last:
*
Green: Starting level, No active danger. Players are free to make use of any services and venture anywhere outside of lairs or pre-scripted encounters without getting into trouble.
*
Yellow: A service begins shutting down as the Mythos begins sabotaging the area. Services that get shut down are random, for example, the local general store is ransacked, the local clinic is set on fire etc etc, these services may come back online through player intervention. (see below) No mythos spawns are active.
*
Orange: Mythos forces begin actively patrolling near lairs, further services get shut down (though this can be repaired) and if spotted, some intelligent Mythos forces will actively begin hunting the players (examples would be Cultists, Deep ones and so forth).
*
Red: Even more Mythos forces spawn, and some actively begin hunting the players - whether they have been spotted or not. All services are shut down, and cannot be restarted (i.e the people have fled, buildings have been burned to the ground etc etc).
It is important to note one thing however, for every segment Mythos forces spawn only ONCE for a given segment. So theoretically players can allow the entire zone to go to Red-level hell and then fight off all spawns and go about their business without worrying about new re-spawns. Of course the problem with allowing things to progress so far is the fact that they expend valuable resources and may be more and more injured, as well as increase their insanity levels.
[HEADING=2]Beating (and breaking) the Meter[/HEADING]
In case of a total and utter SNAFU, players can actually beat the meter. Killing the spawns is the most obvious manner, but also carries the greatest risks.
However this is not the only way. When ever a new level of the Mythos meter is filled, players obtain a new objective that will allow them to stop the danger in its tracks.
Lets take an example:
Assume for a moment that the players have managed to waste time and the meter has just entered the yellow level. The doctor at the local infirmary has been attacked (knocking it out as a service) and this throws up an optional objective for the players.
The players can then go and treat the doctor (if they have the skills) and bring him back to health, bringing back the service.
Getting rid of Mythos spawns is also possible in more or less the same way, but since the spawns become active only at orange and red levels, there is some cost attached.
Lets take another example: The meter has entered the orange level, and near the investigation objective lair Byakhees (presumably summoned by the force behind the investigation) have taken up sentry positions. Players can attempt to actually gun them down or else use the spell that will dismiss them. They still loose a couple of points of sanity if they fail their will saves during combat or cast the spell, but hey, that's the price you have to pay.
[HEADING=2]A quick look at a few final concepts[/HEADING]
Players, Agencies and Investigators - In World Hubs, The onscreen avatar represents the Agency. The player selects one of his investigators as his Avatar, and can switch between any of his investigators with impunity. Money is essentially held in common between the investigators, but inventories are exclusive to each investigator, though its simple matter of equipping your investigators via a the vendor and inventory screens - Think X-com.
In an investigation zone, (assuming there are no bots) The active avatar is solely ONE investigator, and the player can switch between investigators only at the Transit point.
Investigator Levels, Skills and Special Abilities - Investigators level up individually, and are awarded Skill points once they do. Meeting specific attribute and skill requirements provides them access to specific special abilities - passive or active.
Active or Triggered Abilities generally work on a cool down and / or fatigue cycle. So if you happen to be a combat oriented investigator and you have invested points in a skill known as "Conditioning" - which increases your fatigue points - you can then select as a special ability "Adrenaline Surge" which temporarily increases your HP, Melee attack and Defense rating. The ability then goes on cool-down, and may cost a few fatigue points.
Agency Rating: Agency Rating is essentially the level concept as applied to the agency as a whole instead of individual investigators. A Rating is essentially a numerical value that represents the Agency's prestige, resources, contacts, etc etc.
Where it comes in handy is that whenever it levels up, the player can draw upon a more experienced pool of Investigators should he need to replace lost investigators, so that way he is not always stuck with a bunch of level one investigators.
Also: It allows the player to customize his agency with Legacies - specific rewards such as research labs, libraries, Clinics etc, that provide boosts to all his investigators.
Transit Points: Transit Points are generally represented in the form of some kind of transit system - A Bus Stop, Railway Station, even a Car. Transit Points basically connect the World Hubs to investigation zones and vice versa - just think of them as portals from Wow, except that you activate them rather than walk through them. Once the player has entered the investigation zone, he can only switch between investigators while within the transit area (An Icon "Buff" will appear to signify he is in the transit area). Replacement Investigators take ten real time minutes to Transit - in order to simulate actual travel time - and then the player can dismiss his current investigator and replace him with the new one. This is also the case if the current investigator is comatose. (Hey the guy got an Ambulance with him!)
[HEADING=2]The Mock Up - A quick run through as to its structure.[/HEADING]
So lets assume that there are five live players and no bots, for the sake of brevity and feedback some of the details will be kept a bit sketchy as to not bog down the narrative with too much back end mechanics coming into the picture. We wont delve too deeply into combat mechanics - Theorycrafting, determining hit %, dodge etc etc.
Everything in Italics is descriptive narration of the ongoing action, everything in [Parenthesis] is an examination of the mechanic and game concepts involved.
So lets begin shall we?
[HEADING=2]The Thornhill Incident[/HEADING]
| Player | Agency Name | Investigator Type |
| Jake | Jake's Gumshoes | Hard Case [Combat / Tank] |
| Tom | Malone & Associates | Sapper [Demolitions / Traps] |
| Harry | Maltese Falcon Investigations | Sneak [Stealth / Lockpicking] |
| Phil | Watson & Co. | Doctor [Medicine / Biology] |
| Alex | Dunwich Detections | Merlin [Magic / Lore] |
[Above is a basic representation of which represents the players, thier agencies and the investigator template that they will be using for the quest. I have deliberately stuck to cookie-cutter and generic "classes" just to keep things clear and easy to work out.]
Jake logs on into the agency office and switches to his level 5 Hard case Investigator before interacting with the mail in-tray.
[Nothing much to say here, I envision jake using the F1 to F5 kes to quickly switch between his investigators while in the World Hubs or Offices. Investigations Briefs are generally available as
* Newspaper articles - low level quests which can be done with bots, easy tasks.
* Telgrams / Mail - Group Tasks that need a full group - medium difficulty
* Miskatonic University Staff - Chained or Campaign Quests that increase with Difficulty]
Jake begins going through the post, and finds a quest that he would like to take on. the sea side town of Thornhill is reporting strange lights at night, and some cattle have disappeared.
[ Irrespective of the medium, All Investigation Briefs outline difficulty in:
* Recommended Investigator Level - In this case three
* Agency Rating - In this case Three
* Recommended number of players
* Summarized Details about the case
* Services available in Zone - In this case, General Store, Clinic, Gun Shop, Town Library
* Transit Point - Bus, Car, Train etc. In this case a bus stop]
Jake accepts the Brief as an active investigation by simply clicking the accept icon on the Brief - this is then transcribed to his journal, and hightlighted as his current active investigation.
[An active investigation merely means that should he enter a transit point he will enter that particular investigation zone,and the current objectives displayed in the objectives page of the journal will be about the active investigation]
Jake then decided he wants to assemble more players and run the investigation himself. He clicks on the Agency Directory icon, bringing up the Agents Directory Screen which allows him to either browse current quests being run by other players or post his own and shift clicks his Active investigation into the window.
[ For the moment this is more or less like the current WoW LFG Screen, combined with a global chat window that pops up while the Agents Directory is active. Active Quests are automatically shared between players.]
Jake gets pings for invites and adds them to the team. And so it begins...
Jake (Hard Case, Team Leader): Ok so everyone ready?
Tom (Sapper): Yeah almost, getting a few more trip wires and fuses, brt.
Harry (Sneak): Getting my inventory organized give me a mo.
Phil (Doctor): Yeah Good to go, see you at the transit point.
Alex (Merlin): BRT
[For all intents and purposes transit to the investigation zone is instant for all players the first time around, its only if they want to switch between investigators does the ten minute lag come into the picture]
All players have transited to the zone. They arrive on the scene at the Bus Transit point. A general zone map is available, detailing location of services and quest objectives. The first quest objective is go speak to the deputy mayor who sent the mail.
Jake (Hard Case, TL) : Ok guys clock is ticking, lets get moving.
[Jake speaks to the deputy mayor - the convo is done via series of questions color coded to signify player stance - threatening, cajoling etc. All the players can read the convo, and all important information is automatically backed up to the intelligence and objectives tab on the journal, more importantly any of the player's relevant skills are taken into account when interacting with NPCs, opening up further questions and dialog options, so there is no need for multiple players interacting with the NPC in question. ]
The Deputy Mayor does not say much intially but Harry happened to have a few points in speech, which prompted a question that fortunately came out as a success roll, the deputy mayor informs the players that the strange lights seem to be coming from an old abandoned house near the beach.
Harry [Sneak]: Ok cool, my Speech check worked we can go check out the Town library, since we might as well find out who the house belonged too before we head on in.
Jake (Hard Case TL): Sure lets go for it.
Alex (Merlin / Lore): Yeah good idea, maybe we will find something of value, this char has pretty decent research skills so that should come in handy, err..
Jake(Hard Case TL): Err.?
Alex (Merlin / Lore): Well its just that my sanity rating has been taking a beating recently, its still ok, no biggie, small phobia about spiders.
Phil(Doctor) : Oh Wonderful. And how do we all feel about that?
Tom (Sapper): Dont think it will be an issue, hopefully if we all play our cards right we should be able to do this without loosing our marbles.
Heading to the Library, they find that most of the books are not properly categorized, so they will have to actually start searching for the Real Estate Records. Each players attempts a "Search Hidden" encounter check. This is represented as a hotkeyable special ability that then goes into a five minute real time cooldown, Jake succeeds and finds the record, which is updated in every player's journal under "intelligence".
[A note about Cooldowns: In order to simulate relatively long periods of time spent doing some task - research, searching, studying etc., cooldowns represent the time taken to do so. In real life if you are researching some subject, you may spend time before you finally find what you are looking for or may not find it at all. Unfortunately no one is going to wait that long in a game, so cooldown represents a "pay it forward" of time. You get your result immediately, but have to wait for the cooldown to end before trying again.]
/ to be continued
I'd love to see this game come to fruition and I would play it, often, or all the time.