Hello everyone! After putting together a few simple ChoiceScript games to familiarize myself with the code, I think I’m ready to move on to a full-scale project I’ve been planning since I first discovered CoG. The thing is, I could definitely use some community input on what you want to see in the game.
A little about Happiness Drone- (sci-fi/humor)
The player assumes the role of Blissbot HD-R204, a newly activated robot (maybe, depending on player choices during character creation) responsible for maintaining the happiness of the citizens of Space Station 00-000-000000-094. Unlike your predecessor HD-R203, who was given the body of a cybernetic koala, you will get to choose how your chassis is assembled. It was determined koalas are frowned upon by the janitorial staff.
Success in the game will be determined by the overall happiness of the people on the station, your loyalty/obedience/reactions to the Master Overseeing Module (“M.O.M.”), and how you decide to handle certain ‘peace anomalies’.
Now where I need some assistance-
What kind of ridiculous problems should the player try and solve? I’m aiming for a Monkey Island style, kind of tongue-in-cheek humor. A couple of vignettes I might include:
-Administer an Unsick injection to a man who was suspected of sneezing (with a comically large needle)
-Disperse a protest against the use of staplers
-Give a presentation to rowdy elementary school children about being a Blissbot
-Help an elderly, senile woman cross the grav-strip road
-Conduct a wedding between a man and his favorite body pillow
-Settle an argument between a couple about how to dispose of nail clippings
I have the main plot and multiple endings worked out for the most part. My issue is that I’m not used to writing comedy so I’m a tad worried my sense of humor might not translate to a wider audience.
What kind of silly issues should the player try and fix? I’d love some suggestions!
Hm, well you’re going for a comedy, but this idea also has the potential for seriousness as well. The robot could play psychiatrist with a person upset at the artificiality of life and emotions on the station, (sort of like the wife in the Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep) the robot could rebel against the system, ect.
Eh, but don’t let me stop you, I wish you luck on this endeavor. I’ll try to contribute some comedy ideas when I come up with some, but I am not a very funny person, so feel free to shoot them down if they’re not good.
Based on the few I ideas you’ve put up of silly problems the blissbot would have to solve, I think any audience would be able to appreciate your sense of humor, how about the blissbot having to rehabilitate a teenager with an addiction to M&M’s or deal with a gang of rebellious kindergarteners who insist on painting with their toes and not their fingers…I’ll be sure to post any other ideas I get…I hope I’ve been helpful…
Hm, depends on how serious you want to be (by the sound of it, you want something extremely ‘light’ with little/no serious subject matter). If you’re looking for something with a touch of seriousness to its comedy, what you’re saying kinda reminded me of Space Station 13. Maybe something like these will give you ideas:
Other than that though, I don’t really do comedy, and so have little help to offer.
I think this would be a cute little thing to play! The world needs more Blissbots!
Some vignettes?
-There’s a feast for an incoming diplomat and no one knows what kind of pie they’re expecting, leaving the Blissbot to make the decision.
-The Blissbot has to try and wrangle a loose pet ferret that’s running around the station.
-A waterballoon fight breaks out and the Blissbot must make the peace.
Disposing of a comically large, old radiation umbrella that’s slightly radioactive.
Baby-sitting the Emperor’s overly active twin daughters.
Keeping the separated Mr Jones’ bitch on heat called Salmon away from Mrs Jones randy dog called Sandy, while Mrs Jones visits to discuss their impending divorce. Meanwhile, also prepare some Salmon sandwiches for the couple to enjoy.
Entertaining a suicidal clown until his lover, the trapeze artist agrees to take him back.
Making peanut-free peanut butter as a medicinal food for a squirrel allergic to nuts.
Solving a dispute between three lawyers who want to cut a cake in three, and all get equal parts. They are threatening to sue each other if their piece of cake is smaller.
Hahaha! Most of these suggestions are excellent food for thought, and damned funny!
It’s true that I wasn’t originally planning on having too much seriousness in the game because, well lets face it, the whole concept could very easily be given a dark twist. But it’s entirely possible that the tone of the game could change depending on player choice. No reason to exclude anything! I don’t usually write comedy so it’s actually quite fun doing something so far removed from my comfort zone.
@Reaperoa
I skpped around those Space Station 13 videos, and they’re hilarious! Totally the sort of humor I’m going for.
@Bastiaan
Yes! PARANOIA! Unfortunately I never got the chance to actually play the game with people but I’ve read the rule book. It’s one of those things that sort of inject a little bit of itself into new ideas
Just a quick question, if this drone is striving for happiness then surely one persons happiness will be another’s unhappiness or someones happiness will cause a blow back affect of others being unhappy?
Quite true… in the normal sense. But it’s established pretty much at the beginning of the game that a Blissbots entire perception of ‘happiness’ is skewed by M.O.M.'s (generally incorrect) observations of the human race.
Over time the player could potentially view things in a more human way as the story progresses or through particular actions. That’s what the Empathy stat is for!
Hmm, that sounds quite funny.
Maybe another Blissbot can have a strange (or a few strange) impressions that humans enjoy doing something they really don’t, like, human men like travelling on springs or something, and bot could be trying to force such things upon humans. You (if you too don’t have such impressions) could be either trying to help the bot, or stop it.
Kay, cool, I was just wondering. Is each bot assigned a different person to keep happy? Cause then it would maybe make sense a bit more as they would be concentrated on keeping their charge happy and they wouldn’t care if their actions upset anyone else
I think there WILL be personal happiness drones for individual people after all, and they’ve adapted to the quirks of their owners. The suicidal clown idea made me laugh and his happiness drone is also suicidal being unable to improve his mood.
A Blissbot however, is M.O.M.'s personal happiness enforcer that deals with larger issues. For example, a naked child starts smearing feces on the walls and M.O.M. thinks these are heretical symbols and is afraid of another religious uprising, so she sends you to root out this new theological dynamic. Over the course of the game you interact with all of these crazy station inhabitants, but the missions given to you by M.O.M. are the actual ‘story progression’ bits.
