In a game world where the player can become a legend while the game is in progress, what would be some good ideas to make the human player want to hide that iconic status from other NPCs, and just pretend to be an ordinary person? It's easy to restrict dialog options to things that don't brag or accept responsibility for super heroism. But I want the human player to literally prefer hiding this information from most normal people, so the player will remain in the same mindset as the character, and possibly even take gameplay actions to restrict or limit visibility. I'm having difficulty coming up with reasons for the player to want this. The reasons can be gameplay-related or story-related. Preferably gameplay, with a story connection. The game is open-ended, so role playing their character the way they want may be more important to some players than playing out the main storyline. If the reasons to hide legendary status are connected to the main-story only, these players won't be drawn into that understanding. The setting is a grim dystopian future, and the gameplay is real-time (over the shoulder cam) shooting and fighting, but it hinges heavily on experience and skills. Anyone have any general ideas?

Every super hero has to have his flaw and a nemesis. If he makes his presence widely known, then his nemesis will know who he is and exploit his flaw.

Yeah I agree with zer0wolf, have it so that the more the player boasts about them being a hero, the more likely they are targeted by assassination attempts. Also, as the player becomes more renowned, then assassination attempts happen more frequently, which represents it becoming harder to hide your true personality.

A legendary hero passing through a town could have more impact to the environment compared to a normal stranger. Dungeons may get harder as villains strengthen their defences when a famous hero is in town. Shady characters may not interact with the hero simply because of their alignment. People may go out of their way to disrupt the heroes journey, for example a corrupt local official fearing that the hero is out to get him.

A powerful evil organization / overlord / whatever can have it in for the player, and have massive resources to put huge rewards on the player's head. I would think that a LOT of people living in a grim dystopian future would gladly sell out the "good guy" if it meant they could start living a good life.

What about having a unseen force that strips you of abilities and powers as you show off or talk about your abilities.

It could be karma or even a heavenly power.

Maybe god gets upset when heroes brag so he has to put them back in their place.

If your hero like abilities are derived from any mental abilities (e.g. spells), you could also have their potency effected by emotions. Ego could be the one emotion that weakens the concentration needed to use your abilities.

As a final suggestion, you could also have your character belong to an organization that monitors its members secrecy. The organization may be responsible for granting advancements (level ups) and won't advance you as quickly if you talk too much.

John

But if it's as black & white enough as to make the game worse/harder/punish you for bragging, you might as well not even have the option of letting people know who you are, because who is ever going to choose it? That eliminates the player feeling like they have chosen what they prefer (even though you're trying to bend their preference). There should still be some motivation to choose to tell people you are "that dude" in order for there to ... be more of a sense of the player being in control, even though you really bent their desires.

Some interesting concepts in here. I appreciate the ideas.

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Original post by popsoftheyear But if it's as black & white enough as to make the game worse/harder/punish you for bragging, you might as well not even have the option of letting people know who you are, because who is ever going to choose it? That eliminates the player feeling like they have chosen what they prefer (even though you're trying to bend their preference). There should still be some motivation to choose to tell people you are "that dude" in order for there to ... be more of a sense of the player being in control, even though you really bent their desires.

I think you're looking at it as more of a left or right decision, where left does bad things. I want it to be more of a dodge the sword or take damage kind of gameplay choice. The decision part is supposed to be easy, but executing it flawlessly will require some planning, caution, or playing skill.

Consider something like detection in the Hitman series. The player WANTS to prevent enemy characters from noticing that they're a hit-man. No one is going to question this, even if the designer had other reasons to make the player want to fit into the crowd. Actually, that's probably a bad example, since some players would enjoy jumping into an impossible firefight, but I think you understand where I want to go with this.

The first thing that comes to mind is the Vampire: The Masquerade series. In Bloodlines you have Masquerade points which decrease if you use your abilities in public. Too few points and you get vampire hunters - plus other vampires - appearing at random trying to kill you. Higher points gives you access to bonuses throughout the game.

This is perhaps a slightly artificial example, as this particular series has precisely the kind of backstory to justify the mechanic. Still, a simple points system does just what is needed for the game logic; give a detriment to players who ignore the mechanic, and give a bonus to those who follow it more closely.

As for the justification, what sort of superhero are we talking about? Thinking of the regular superheroes, why doesn't Peter Parker tell the world he is Spiderman? The actual reason is probably because it makes for a more interesting comic, but the given justifications are that he wants to protect his friends and family, and that he fears a media backlash inspiring a public backlash. Superman, on the other hand, doesn't seem to have much justification other than he wants to carry on the superhero cliche of having an alter-ego.

Avoiding sloppy cliches like a girlfriend who gets killed if you reveal your identity, how about your parents whose rhubarb crumble grants HP restoration whenever you visit them? There are plenty of ways you can reward a player for following a certain path. Still, I dislike such mechanics. In games with alignment systems (which is basically what this is, just in a different setting) I find myself (at least in the first playthrough, which is all that most games get) picking whichever gives me the better rewards at the end.

You say specifically a reason for the player to hide rather than the character. What would such a system gain that wouldn't be solved by having the character make these decisions? In other words, instead of letting the player choose to throw fireballs at the bad-guy even though he's in civilian clothes, thus ruining his disguise, why not make all the action buttons do stuff like bake bread and dissuade the terrorist from shooting the granny in the head, until the player finds a suitable place to hide and dress up as the superhero?

Rather than simply providing gameplay disincentives to revealing the player's superhero status, provide emotional disincentives as well. The previous post mentioned the character's family. Perhaps the character's father openly despises the superhero, and if the character reveals his identity, the father disowns him or her in a heartbreaking scene, and never speaks again. That, of course, opens the option of a reunion later on.

Game play disincentives depend, of course, on the game play. An example useful for a stealth game would be a crowd of onlookers slowly start to gawk and point, and whisper amongst each other as the hero walks by. Some players might like this. Some might not. Certainly, if onlookers ruined the player's hiding spot, it would be a big disincentive.

Since your game seems like an action-oriented shooter, perhaps onlookers will throw themselves in front of the hero while he's fighting bad guys, to help protect him. Or nearby trigger-happy onlookers will join in, start shooting randomly, throwing grenades and causing ruckus. Some might be trying to help the player, some might be trying to get famous by being the one that kills him.

Perhaps shop keepers will raise prices, figuring a hero can afford it, requiring the hero to perform some action before removing the penalty.

But, bear in mind that these game play disincentive change your game play. You will need to give the player adequate information to properly gauge his decision to reveal his identity before you start throwing gameplay changes at him. You must also give the player the option to undo his decision, if it so drastically changes the game.

Emotional disincentives provide, perhaps, a better method. Friends and family of the character who's lives are altered by the character's revelation is an easy connection to make. These things wont change the gameplay too much, and they provide additional opportunities for quests.