Does this idea show promise?

Ivyn · 2005-03-21T11:26:35

I've been working lately on designing a turn-based game (stay with me), Something that is not too complicated or resource heavy but will be fun to play and (hopefully) addictive. A while ago on this forum someone suggested a game where you take on the role of a prophet. That got me thinking and my mind churning out ideas. I've come up with the following premise: You begin the game by choosing a deity that you will serve, and take the role as oracle or prophet to go into the land and convert followers to your deity. You do this by travelling from place to place on the map and performing miracles and other actions which become more numerous and powerful as your deity gains more believers. Similar to Black & White, only in this case you are a disciple. To make the game interesting, of course there are a number of rivals in the land who are also trying to win followers to their deities. There's no peer bonding to be found here. I mentioned that I've devised for this game to be turn-based. In that fashion it works as a sort of board game or Heroes of Might and Magic esque experience. Each player has a limited number of actions per turn, these can be any of a number of interactions such as performing miracles or negotiating with the local government for city space to build a temple. More actions per turn become availible as the player's standing increases, so the turns grow in complexity as the game lives on. In between turns there can be random events -- I don't know if you're familiar with an indie game from 1999 called King of Dragon Pass, but if so then similar to that -- based on the state of the game and the choices the player has made up to that point. For example, if the player is converting an opponents followers at an alarming rate, said rival may take drastic action such as burning a temple in secrecy, or perhaps the ruler of said town may become a convert. The player may respond to these events in a number of ways depending on their nature. In addition to serving a deity, there could also be an option to play the game as a pretender. That could lead to interesting developments. Objectives may be set, where depending on the deity chosen and the belief system enforced these must be achieved by a certain turn to remain in the game. The overall objective may be to convert the world (map) or become the majority. That's the basic premise. There are still a number of design issues to be worked out, and nothing is set in stone. At this point, I'd like your input on whether this sounds like something that you'd be interested in playing. Any ideas or suggestions? Will this work?

Game Design and Theory Game Design

Started by Ivyn March 17, 2005 04:24 PM

10 comments, last by Guimo 19 years, 10 months ago

ishpeck

154

March 21, 2005 11:13 AM

I believe this game does show promise.

What really makes or breaks this game is how you deliver the premise.

Go for style, panache, moxie. . . and you should be in good shape.

-----------------"Building a game is the fine art of crafting an elegant, sophisticated machine and then carefully calculating exactly how to throw explosive, tar-covered wrenches into the machine to botch-up the works."http://www.ishpeck.net/

Guimo

463

March 21, 2005 11:26 AM

Your idea looks fine.

Just an advice. Ignore all those that say 'turn based games suck'. I think there is a lot of people that just love to play turn based games. They are more tactical thinking and can be very interesting experiences. Just Look Civilization.

Luck!
Guimo

Does this idea show promise?

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Does this idea show promise?

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