Chronos

The working title for this is dumb, but here's the idea:

Chronos is a multiplayer game in which a small group of players are in conflict with a single player. The gimmick is that the single player has control over the flow of time in the game world.

Let's call the single player the Escapee. Her goal is to complete a set of objectives within a map so as to escape a military facility. The other players (say, 4 or 5) are Soldiers tasked with capturing the Escapee before she can get out.

The Escapee has a number of time-manipulative powers that rely upon a "fatigue" or "power" meter to limit their use.

1. Slow forward motion of time. (a la The Matrix)
This can be used for dodging bullets, making a fast escape, or performing a delicate task. The Escapee still moves at a normal rate.

2. Briefly rewind time (a la Prince of Persia)
This allows the player to instantly replay an encounter and correct mistakes.

The following powers rely on a system of "timelines." Remember Doc's drawing on the chalkboard in Back to the Future II? It's something like that in that the Escapee can actually create different timelines and jump between them.

3. Parallel timeline. With this power, the Escapee moves backward in time, then begins again from a certain point. However, rather than the Prince of Persia-style "retry," her original self performs the same actions again, while the new incarnation can do something else. Essentially, the Escapee duplicates herself. This power is used to perform actions that would require the Escapee to be in two places at once, such as simultaneous activation of a door.

4. Branching timeline. This is how the Escapee creates "new lives." Like a parallel timeline, she first moves backwards, but when moving forwards again, she creates an entirely new branch. Her other selves do not exist here. When she is killed in one timeline, she may immediately select a new one to continue the game in.

5. Merging timelines. With this ability, the Escapee can merge two branches into one timeline. This is used if an objective has been accomplished in one branch but not another. An Escapee could restore power in one branch and hit a switch in another, then merge the two for the resulting door to open. The immediate disadvantage of this ability is that it briefly doubles the number of Soldiers (half controlled by players, the others AI), until a Soldier encounters his double, at which point the double disappears.

6. Jumping timelines. The Escapee may leap at any point to any other point on any other branch.

The Soldiers are tasked with recapturing the Escapee. Their weapons are easily able to disable the Escapee, so she must work hard to avoid them. The Soldiers have other advantages in time-sensing technology that can identify neighboring timelines. They can identify the status of goals and the positions of their teammates instantly upon switching timelines. They have tachyon traps than can limit or disable the Escapee's time powers.

The Escapee's player's objective is to disorient and avoid the Soldiers as she completes objectives and to attempt to keep them guessing as to how close she really is to escaping. The Soldiers must maintain their bearings and try to think four-dimensionally in order to trap and disable the escapee.

Black: a PnP RPG

Black is an idea I've had floating around for a while. Basically the idea is to have a pen and paper RPG with two sections, each section with a different system that feeds into the other.

Players are agents for a shadowy organization that performs some sort of "mission." This could be international spying, counterterrorism, or something more fantastical like an alien or paranormal containment agency. The only requirement would be that the player has a second identity as a "normal person" with family and friends.

In Forge jargon, the first system would be "Gamist," which is to say, focusing on challenges and goals that must be overcome. This system will drive play during missions. The second system would be "Narrativist," focusing on storytelling and character development, which will be in play between missions. The two systems would have a "currency" between them. Stresses during the mission are resolved outside of them. Relationships established outside missions may be brought into them. The separation is valid because as highly-trained operatives, emotions can be suppressed for the sake of the mission, while the training used to complete the mission is of no use in the "real world"

One such currency could be "Values." Characters have a list of things that they believe in: Truth, Justice, the American Way, a merciful God, Murphy's Law, etc. These Values could be challenged or put into conflict during a mission, not affecting performance, but providing internal conflict for the home section.

Another could be "Relationships." Relationships would reflect ties with people both at home and at the agency. Relationships could be stressed by things that happen in mission. Also, one method for relieving stress on Values could be transferring them to Relationships - ie. bringing your work home.

Finally, "Secrecy" is the most important currency. Secrecy could be sacrificed to resolve other conflicts. The structure of the game would be such that over time the two systems would pull closer together until a dramatic conclusion forces them to collide along with the story. Secrecy measures the degree to which the PCs home life in in touch with his secret life.

An extremely rough sketch, to be sure, but could be fleshed out.

Xanadu: Attributes

Heroes in Xanadu have three attributes, or rather, methods by which to solve problems. First are Physical attributes, which includes primarily combat skills as well as a subset of stealth abilities. Second are Magical abilities, including crafting skills. Third are Social skills, including leadership and diplomacy.

The objective here is to have a number of different ways of approaching any given problem. A Physical-oriented character would be the guy who rushes in and smashes everyone's head in (or perhaps sneaks past the guards and assassinates the leader, rescuing the hostage in the ensuing confusion). A Magical-oriented character would perhaps be similar, but with more options for manipulating opponents, such as illusions or mere impressiveness. A Social-oriented character could perhaps sweettalk his way through a mission, trick his enemies, or gather together a mob of townsfolk.

Xanadu: an introduction

Xanadu is the MMORPG that I would like to play.

Goal:
I have observed that most MMOs have a singular goal: The improvement of a character, via stats or gear. Tangentially, social interaction, teamwork, and indeed "fun" are also goals and valid reasons for playing the game, but they are dependent upon the first goal. They are "player objectives," but not "rules goals." This is to say: within the game, the objective that is supported most heavily by the rule sets is character improvement, level gaining, rare equipment, &c. It is analogous to a group of D&D players creating a fantastic and meaningful story, while the rules they are using drive merely the combat and technical skills of the characers.

See: http://www.indie-rpgs.com/_articles/system_does_matter.html

In this case, the world affects the players. The world is essentially static, the tools by which an effective character is formed. I would like to play a game in which the objective is to affect the world, in which the character is the tool by which the world itself changes. This seems more in line with the mythic hero most rpgs purport to simulate: it is of little importance how a character advances his skills in a story, what is more important is how he uses those skills and whether they are sufficient to cause a change. Personal change is important as well, but this seems an unlikely topic for an MMO, being better supported by a single-player RPG (see: Planescape: Torment). In any case, that is not what Xanadu is concerned with.

So, the goal of the player in Xanadu: To change the world.

What this blog is for

This blog is a depository for various ideas that I have for things. Probably they will never actually be made, but it is fun to think about them. Comments are encouraged.