A game idea that I had yesterday: "Mutiny"

[Indomitus 388]

i got an idea for a game, and I want to open it up for anyone else's ideas or possible collaboration.  (Or even someone else taking the idea and developing it, because let's be honest: I already have a bunch of incomplete games in my scenarios folder.)

The game (the way I imagine it) would be pirate themed, and would be called "Mutiny."  The players would be separated on two teams: Crew and Mutineers.  But here's the twist:  When the game starts, you only know YOUR team, and don't know which team anybody else is on.  They would start evenly split, but a mystery to everyone.  There would not be any color-coding to reveal it.

The two teams would have some kind of objectives, such as stealing treasure or defending something.  I'm not really sure about that part.  You would have the ability to capture players on the other team.  Actually, you would be able to attack or capture anybody, and if you do that to someone on your team, they could (randomly) be offered the option to switch teams without anyone else knowing.  The game ends when one team (or whatever is left of it) is entirely captured.

My preference is for the PVP aspect to be "soft" meaning you're not killing the other players.  The weapons would be nerfed, and there would be a custom hit counter that would "knock out" a player when they're hit a certain number of times.

Since it's themed around pirates, the play area would be modeled after a ship, with a deck (and rails you can jump over into the water) and probably a couple levels below the deck.  This would be bigger than a Ylands ship, by the way.  There would be a jail for each side, and the ability to release prisoners (by anybody except the prisoners themselves).  There could be a treasure room and an armory.  If a player jumps into the water, maybe they're knocked out for a short time then they spawn back on the deck of the ship?  Or they have a few seconds to get to a ladder?

My thoughts on it so far are pretty random, but it sounds to me like it could make a fun game.

[Indomitus 388]

Just to add a few more random thoughts...

- the Crew have to defend the Armory.  The Mutineers have to defend the treasure in the hold.  Each team gets points for stealing from the other team's room.  This gives them specific objectives that can reveal which team they are on, and help drive the rest of the game.

- each team would have a "stronghold" room, near to what they have to defend and their team's holding cell (jail).  Only members of that team can enter the room (use logic for that).  Their jail and armory/treasure room would be outside of it (so the other team can steal or release prisoners).  They have to enter it to gain the points for anything they've stolen from the other team.

- there could be specific parts of the ship that a team can claim control of, such as a map room or the helm, and the team gains points for the amount of time those parts are held by their team.  this would help drive direct confrontation between them.

Edited December 12, 2019 by Indomitus

[Adam Snellgrove 1451]

Love it! Hope this gets made as I adore "Traitor" boardgames and this is just it ?

[Indomitus 388]

Yeah I want to see it get made, too.  That's why I'm opening it up to the community.  I have a bad habit of leaving games incomplete.  This one sounds like too much fun to leave it to that fate.

I guess this is just becoming a brainstorming thread for me, though.

I realized, since each action that earns points can be traced to a specific player, the game can track individual points as well as team points.  It could even be tracked for the player per team if they've changed sides at any point.  When the game ends, the player with the highest points could be "MVP" or something like that (or "Captain").  That could motivate individual players to actively participate in the various objectives.  Following the theme, the individual score could be labeled "your share of the treasure" or something like that.

Game setup could be that the Captain is missing, and the remaining crew are fighting for control.  Highest scoring player on the winning team becomes the new Captain at the end of the game.

[TomasGestinger 41]

Wow, that's a cool idea right there! I think that this could be expanded to make two different game modes. We can have a chat about how to make it real, I'll write it down and I'll try to get people on board.?

[Indomitus 388]

Over the weekend I started putting together a rough version of it, just to test the concept.  (It's the scenario where I encountered the bug with changing roles, and I decided to use a different method to track player teams.)

The main challenge I think is going to be to build it in a way that can preserve the mystery of who is on which team as much as possible, while still letting them achieve team goals and get points.  For locations that are captured, there needs to be a way to tell who controls it.  At the same time, a player should be able to capture it without anyone knowing it was them, if they want to be sneaky.  I'm building the rough version with enclosed rooms, and flags inside to show which team controls it.  The only exceptions would be the Helm and the Crow's Nest, which won't be enclosed.  They might be worth more points, but more risk of being seen (and risk of falling from the Crow's Nest).

And I'm thinking of adding a few conditions where a player can change teams, such as captured by the other team but then staying there for a long time before rescue.  Maybe later in the game, it could be a direct offer instead of capture?  I don't want it to be something the player can trigger directly, though.

 

edit...

I'm curious about the other game mode you have in mind.  The concept would work for a few different ideas, like the TTT game mode in Gmod.

Edited December 16, 2019 by Indomitus

[jchob 354]

@Indomituswhy are you making that to us? ? We all have our shelves fulfilled with incomplete games ?

Just when I started one game myself, and you come with new ideas?

darn you ???

[Indomitus 388]

I've got a functional test for the game up and running (or at least, it works fine in local single-player; multiplayer features still need to be tested).  With my schedule, I doubt I'd be able to sync up with anybody to try it out before this weekend.

• Teams start off randomized, but as even as possible.  If there's an odd number, the "Crew" team will get the extra player.
• Specific rooms and parts of the ship are "claimed" for a team by flipping a lever (the full version would have something more sophisticated).  Points add up over time, and some locations are worth a little more than others.  The player gets credit for those points, as well as the team.  You can't claim a location that's already controlled by your team, just to get the points.
• Player points are per team.  If you earn points as Crew, but then become a Mutineer, your Crew points don't go with you.  But if you change back, that score will still be there.
• Players can also earn points (for themselves and their team) by stealing from the other team.  Mutineers steal weapons from the Armory, and Crew steal treasure from the Treasure Hold.
• Each team has a stronghold room, that the other team can't enter.  In that room, they can heal (manually, at a cost of points) and turn in their stolen items for points.
• The damage system is customized.  Players do not take actual damage from falling or being hit.  Instead, a hit from another another player costs one hit point and a fall will cost hit points based on what the actual damage would have been (divided by 40, if I recall correctly).  Players start with 5 points.
• You can regain hit points in your team's stronghold, with bandages supplied there.  1 bandage = add 1 hit point = cost 5 points for player and team.
• If your hit points go to 0, you are teleported depending on how the last point was lost.  If it was from a fall, you're teleported to your team's stronghold.  If it was from an attack, you are sent to the attacker's team's jail.  This will happen even if they are on your team, and you can be accidentally captured by "friendly fire."  After teleporting, you will have 1 hit point and any stolen item you're carrying will be gone.
• Anybody can release prisoners from either jail, as long as they're not on the inside of it.  And you can't just release one prisoner.  It's all or none.
• If you're captured by your own team, it will increase your chance of being asked to change teams, by 10%.  It will also increase by 10% for each minute you spend sitting in jail (either jail).  You'll only get the question if you're in a jail.  It checks the odds once per minute, and will stop asking if you agree to change.  The % chance will only decrease if you agree to change.  I might add code to increase the chance per hit from a teammate.
• The game ends after 20 minutes, or if everyone on one side is captured (in either jail).  If the timer runs out, the team with more points wins.  If someone drops out of the game, it will do a "JailRoster" check just in case they were the last one for their team.
• You can see your points and both teams' points, but not the points of other individual players.  And nobody can see how many are on each team until the very end.
• The player on the winning team with the highest points becomes the new Captain.  You're competing against the other team, and also against your own teammates at the same time.

The rough layout kind of mimics a ship, but right now it's just a big box with the different rooms and locations.  It should be enough for a quick test.  A full version would get much more attention to detail.

Edit for a quick extra comment:

I have it set to be Mobile-compatible, and it should allow cross-platform play if I have the settings correct.

 

Edited December 30, 2019 by Indomitus

[Adam Snellgrove 1451]

So how's this looking? Would love to give this game a spin ?

[Indomitus 388]

It hasn't really moved since that post.  I keep meaning to join in on a P1 party or something to see if a quick test could be organized, but I've missed nearly all of them over the past month.

And in the meantime I've gotten distracted by other ideas.  Really need to get this tested, and see if anyone wants to contribute to the design work.

[Spyler.X 625]

Hi @Indomitus, if you need to do a multiplayer test, we can help you, Christal and I are available and surely some of our players will be happy to join the test. You can also have your place here as creator and find people to help you.
It is a community created for everyone, you can use it as a tool for your work.?

 

https://discordapp.com/invite/p6GNkEs

[Indomitus 388]

I know I only need to ask, .  I'll try to stop by when I can (I'm at work right now).

[RedEagle_P1. 905]

23 hours ago, Indomitus said:

It hasn't really moved since that post.  I keep meaning to join in on a P1 party or something to see if a quick test could be organized, but I've missed nearly all of them over the past month.

And in the meantime I've gotten distracted by other ideas.  Really need to get this tested, and see if anyone wants to contribute to the design work.

P1 party is in 2 hours