I have a city builder game I'm working on. In a sense, it is typical of most City Builders, like Evony for instance, but with some key differences.

Essentially, I'm looking for ideas to add emotional depth to a city builder game. Something that can be mostly ignored, but it would be great it if also tied into the development. I'm early enough in design/construction to make changes to support this.

I'll start an idea. I'm picturing that starting off, you are not alone. You create this city with a [brother/cousin/friend] and you two are working hard. Once you get to the point of adding a squad, naturally, your [brother/cousin/friend] takes the lead on it, and dies on the first battle. now your family (or friends) are unhappy with you. a couple avenues that were open to you for support (I.e. bonuses to help you early on) have closed their doors. Part of the story can be about re-opening those doors.

I guess this is more of a question about story bits that can be attached to game progression, I can create an emotional plot after.

I would probably have a lot more to say in this post but as a kind dentist managed to stick a needle through my nerve 3 weeks ago and I am still experiencing ridiculous levels of discomfort and the doctor is saying nerves can takes up to 6 months to heal (by which he means scar over) I shall instead put forward a minimalistic post (I am of course ignoring the long winded reason why ;|)

Types of Government rule (If you are involving family - nepotism issues) -- This can actually be quite fun to play with

Alien contamination - biohazards etc (after all you are on an alien planet

Competing cities enticing skilled workers away, winning in sporting events (stealing of mascots)

Making many promises to the electorate but delivering on none or as little as possible while still making them believe in you

Engage in scandalous behaviour without actually pushing public distaste beyond acceptable limits

meh mind scrambled too much -- will edit this post more when I wake up.

and back again.

Inline with the brother idea of your above - you might also look at the development of it from a clan perspective by where your city has been founded by a number of clans and you are trying to also ensure the survival of your clan and it's members. You might have bonuses attached to clan members in various city roles that makes working with them easier and negative bonuses if people are from different clans in those positions - so angling to get your people into key jobs to benefit your role in managing the city. You could deepen this with the wants of individual clan members who might want to do a role they shouldn't or turn out to be very bad at a role or even criminal...i.e. conceal the corruption or expose it and deal with the internal fallout etc.

Another aspect might be the creation of a newspaper by where the content of the newspaper reflects not only the disposition of the city but also individual stories that might be generated from incidents within the city. For example fire breaks out and people get saved - good story or fire breaks out people die - you get blamed for fire dept cutbacks or having used the fire department resources to water the gardens in your mansion etc.

hope those help :)

I'll start an idea. I'm picturing that starting off, you are not alone. You create this city with a [brother/cousin/friend] and you two are working hard. Once you get to the point of adding a squad, naturally, your [brother/cousin/friend] takes the lead on it, and dies on the first battle. now your family (or friends) are unhappy with you. a couple avenues that were open to you for support (I.e. bonuses to help you early on) have closed their doors. Part of the story can be about re-opening those doors.

I like this idea itself very much. It might not be as novel but is good nonetheless from a city builder game's perspective.

Even though my own idea for this might also not be something unique but anyhow, lets see.

There is a military raid going on, and you're one of the soldiers (maybe the best killing machine as well) in this raid. The reasons for the raid are unclear but you being the ideal soldier just believe in carrying out your mission. Once you've killed them all and razed the city to the ground, you stand on one of the ruins of a building and look around admiring your yet another feat. Then you catch sight of a few disturbing scenes that instantly spark something inside you. Few ideas for those scenes can be :

1) A small girl, without a limb, sitting beside the dead body of her brother, and there are no human emotions coming out of her.

2) An old man trying to pick up pieces off the ground, looking for the remains of his home where it once used to be.

3) Fire rising out of a temple with a priest sitting outside praying for, maybe dead people or peace?

This should trigger a change in the soldier's outlook on things and he swears to do a full cycle from destroying cities to building them.

And that's when he walks off into the darkness, pledging that no more destruction. Rather amend for this by building a new city.

I'll start an idea. I'm picturing that starting off, you are not alone. You create this city with a [brother/cousin/friend] and you two are working hard. Once you get to the point of adding a squad, naturally, your [brother/cousin/friend] takes the lead on it, and dies on the first battle. now your family (or friends) are unhappy with you. a couple avenues that were open to you for support (I.e. bonuses to help you early on) have closed their doors. Part of the story can be about re-opening those doors.

Except for the "battle" (???), this is more or less the historical flashback part of the plot of a city-building comic book miniseries, Gates of Gotham.

Batman confronts a terrorist who appears mysteriously related to two brothers who, two or three generations ago, built most of Gotham (including bridges and the Wayne Tower) on behalf of the leading families, until one of them dies in a diving suit and the other takes the blame as the plutocrats (including Mr Wayne) turn their back.

What's the role of characters, as opposed to abstract construction agencies, in the sort of city building game you have in mind? Is it an hybrid containing adventure or action elements?

Thank you for the ideas so far. I'll add a little more clarification about the game.

There is a war between dragons and humans across multiple planets. The humans, who were left to live meager lives as nomads, by their leaders who were starting to dominate the galaxy, are suddenly invited to start cities, to help produce the war machine. (I'm picturing World War II where much of the US was suddenly working together and working in general, except that the peoples current technology is typically a lighter level of masonry, Timber structures, etc... and being given pieces of future technologies capable of building machines to fight dragons.

There are no battles seen, and no fighting between the human cities. They simply support the war front. You could have been one of the nomads who some how proved yourself or was granted the rights to create a city, or you could be from the leaders, creating a city, potentially facing trust issues from the locals.

Most logical people don't like the government, and don't trust those starting cities. Troops are trained for war here, but you don't get to see/interact with the war. Your troops just dissapear and come back. Troops could include construction engineers who are trained in building bunkers quickly, or setting up sand bag forts, digging trenches etc... explosives/demolitions, rockets, gunners, tanks, trucks, etc... and of course supplies, but only those needed for a single mission.