Possible Game Idea, Feedback Appreciated

zorbees

Chwa for no reason!
is a Forum Moderator Alumnus
I've been brainstorming ideas for games for this whole circus revival that seems to be going on, I figured I would make a thread about one of my ideas to get feedback before actually drawing up the specifics.

The game would have some sort of leveling system, similar to LN's WoW mafia that never took off. However, unlike that game, players would choose new abilities from a pre-determined list of available abilities (similar to Red Panda Mafia) upon reaching certain levels.

To combine with the previous fact, role PMs would be very minimal, possibly with faction as the only game-important info. I would probably use the no pasting rule as well to make it easier for new players.

Part of my justification for this is that mafia can be a lot of fun when you are able to pick and choose who you work with to an extent. If your friend gets you to sign up for the game, you could still form a party and level up with him, although you will probably want to go your separate ways once you find out you're on different factions. Another reason is I feel like it could be a method of reducing the effects of a village leader, so that more people have an active say in what goes on rather than just taking orders. Additionally, I quite like the idea where everyone starts off very similarly, in terms of game balance. Lastly, I think it would be good for new players if a majority of how the game works is spelled out in the rules of the game.

I've tried to brainstorm ideas that would be easy for a mafia beginner to pick up yet still be interesting for the veterans. I think this is the key (along with better advertising) to bringing in newer players.

Do you think something along these lines could work or would I be better off working towards a more standard type of game?
 

Yeti

dark saturday
is a Community Contributor Alumnus
I've wanted to/hoped someone else would make a game with a riff on Red Panda.

The only concern I can see is our role power levels tend to be different than other sites' and newbies may misinterpret what a role does (thinking the doctor dies if he successfully stops a kill versus our bodyguard for instance) or misjudge its power level in comparison to other roles. You'd have to be very clear about what each role does, how often, and what it doesn't do, so that people would know what good upgrades/abilities are in relation to the others on their team.

Would you have a maximum number of hookers/hooker-like roles per faction? Could that be used to clean people on the village or identify them as scum (IE failed to obtain new hooker ability upon leveling)? Would the mafia(s) have the same list as the village? Red Panda was gated by the total money each faction began with so they couldn't buy UNLIMITED HOOKERS or if they did, they'd have no protection/info roles. And was multifaction.

I'm not sure if the leveling/party system will be particularly beginner friendly. I actually think that was a deterrent in LN's mafia signups and part of why some people didn't opt to join his game (in addition to anyone skeptical of LN's hosting consistency or bitter about Vampire being a. garbage b. unfinished). Games that have tl;dr rules and new mechanics will cause peoples' eyes to glaze over and aren't particularly welcoming to newbies who a. don't understand smogon meta yet b. don't understand smogon power roles in relation to each other yet c. don't know the communtiy members yet and now have to learn, on top of our preexisting differences from other forums' mafia formats, this new mechanic that even more experienced players may not care for the burden of.

LN's game was short half of its needed playerlist and a fair amount of experienced players opted out of signing up for it. idk how much of that was timing as a few people initially signed up then had to back out, doubts about LN as a host (and Acklow as a cohost) re: reliability, or disinterest in learning SO many things. Because it's not even just how your role works you need to keep track of, it's how everyone else's COULD turn out and how those can impact you. The variables are a lot to invest in to play seriously.

I don't think you NEED a more standard type of game but I might consider how you can streamline and simplify this idea to make it easy for anyone to pick up and understand without needing a 17 page essay on the mechanics. Length and intricacy can dissuade beginners (and pressed-for-time experts) from feeling like it's a good starting game or they can comprehend it without being a hindrance.
 

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