On 2/25/2019 at 3:17 PM, Nick Griffith said:
The system would be simple, you have a mobile app, and mark your charity as a "hot spot". There would need to be some sort of reporting system, so people wouldn't make fake charities. You should be able to enter google maps or something like it, and label charities from there. Since Google Maps has emails and phone numbers for all their businesses, the game could send a notification to the charity you marked if you label it as not being yours.
This.This must be!
On 2/25/2019 at 5:23 PM, Tom Sloper said:
Simply trying to cause a rise in positivity in the game would likely cause the player to do the same in real life. So how to measure? Perhaps by means of a forum dedicated to the game, in which people share their experiences both in game and IRL.
On 2/26/2019 at 3:21 AM, Tom Sloper said:
Or think Pokemon Go Meets Waze. Augmented reality, a massively multiplayer mood meter, showing blue bubbles of positivity and red bubbles of negativity on a map. A bubble is initiated on the map when a user reports a real-life interaction one way or the other. Bubbles can grow, shrink, brighten, fade based on multiple inputs. Looking at your display, do you see a positivity area nearby? Head over, see what's going on. Of course, the opposite equally applies. That sudden growing red bubble may indicate an accident, or a fight. Try not to head over and add to the crowd. You can input statistics into this (crimes, accidents. fire department calls, census statistics, zones, area codes).
It made me think... Maybe a player feature stating mood. If things are crappy in an area, moods go down. Those with problems can avoid it (think Yelp review style, but for public areas), while those with resources can investigate and see if this is a place that needs help. The moods would be more overall ratings of quality of life than immediate reactions to incidents, though. But basically, mood ratings as mission parameters,or something like that.... How does that sound?
On 2/26/2019 at 4:32 AM, Joseph Al-Tal said:
Embassy, my point about selling the environmentalism short was making it a higher tier "layer". I definitely see your point though.
Let's look at it this way, efforts made in the game reflect in the games microcosm. Even though the results of small environmental efforts are intangible, wouldn't that in game effort on such a small scale have a tangible result? That's where the player would get the reward. Naturally, if the microcosm idea is skipped for the app, then absolutely make environmentalism higher tier, but if something like it makes it into the game, then the small results should reflect in game.
If the microcosm idea stays: I just realized we're making Sim City with real world connections and different layers. Instead of utilities, finances, and emergency services, we're talking about "saving the world".
Still not sure what solutions you're thinking that individual players can provide for large environmental issues, can you give concrete eamples? And yes, I realized the Simcity anglewhen I read Tom's post, it's so obvious I should have spotted it long ago! A large chunk of this is basically Social Issue Simcity! Mix in some Pokemon Go features and an Animal Crossing / Stardew Valley sensibility, and the groundwork starts to show!
Apart from all that, I've been trying to put together a VERY early project document. It's still awful, but a few clearer structures have begun to emerge. I would love some feedback on two very simple initial concepts. Basically, I'm drawing up what might be considered "character classes", though less fixed. The two I'm fiddling with right now are meant as very early game initiators.
The Territory Coordinator (TC)
TCs are basically playing a strategy/management game. A TC can claim any territory that has not yet been claimed. The TC can then divide that territory according to some guidelines (stick to official borders, no territory with less than 100 players,etc.). Players can join up with the TC of a territory to get missions, connect to resources, form teams with other players, etc. The TC gets a certain number of points each time period (day? Hour? Not sure...) based on the conditions of the territory; improving a territory means more points. Those points can be warded to players for their efforts. Points (whatever they end up being called) are used for leveling up and getting access to new types of missions, both for TCs and players. They also serve as a kind of status, someone with many points no doubt attracting attention for tough assignments.
Research & Observation (RAO)
RAOs are essentially scouts. They study a territory to find problems, resources, special conditions, and so on. A TC can request RAOs take a look at a territory, but they operate entirely independently from TCs, and may actually be checking up on a TC to see if everything is by the book and no problems are hidden just to make a territory look better ("turd-polishing"). Any player can supply RAOs with anonymous tips,for them to evaluate. RAOs get a cut of the points awarded for solving a problem that they detected, motivating them to be thorough enough to make solving the problem easier.
Just thoughts,for now...
