Interest Check Thread

Agreed with point 1 & 2, and that’s already been incorporated with my plan for how this serial killer will work :slight_smile:.

Point 3, I personally don’t count them just based on my specific definition which I’m aware doesn’t truly mean anything since I’m not the one who sets these definitions. There’s obviously different categories for serial killer, they’re definitely not all the same, I just think an assassin or gangster tends to kill for vastly different reasons than a serial killer who’s killing for some personal reason. Like if they’re killing for an organization/hierarchy, it becomes muddy in my eyes. That being said, I understand they still fit the definition legally. Heck, I’m sure someone with the tendencies/drive to be a serial killer would potentially seek out a role as a gangster as a sort of “cover” to commit their crimes and get away with it. I just mean to say that’s not how the serial killer I plan to write about will be, just because I think it makes for a different kind of story, if that makes sense.

Point 4, definitely noted and I don’t mean to say all the victims will be the same either. That’s something I really want to get right: real life victims aren’t cookie-cut, they were human beings with complex lives, families, a past, etc. etc. Not all the victims will be sex workers necessarily, I’m sure I’ll have at least one runaway or something like that (the serial killer just won’t be very far into their spree, like 3-5, so they won’t be much variety in them at first). And I really want the player to be able to get emotionally connected to the victims, really understanding their past and interviewing people who knew them, etc.

Point 5, well thanks, I appreciate the dialogue. I’m an all-or-nothing kind of person where, if I’m going to finish this story/game (I’m about 5k words in with code, in just over a week), I’m going to try to make it as great as possible so discussing it in details with others is never harmful. I have a degree in psychology and I’m just fascinated by the puzzle-solving aspect of real-crime as well as the psychology of those who commit crime, so I have years of related research just from what I like reading/watching lol :smile:. I’m still worried I’ll make some mistakes in the finer details of being a detective and overall cop-culture, but in terms of having an actual realistic serial killer who also isn’t overly cliche, I’m not too worried.

1 Like

It’s me again. :upside_down_face:

Would you be interested in a harem game? Not the genre, but in a literal (fantasy) harem game? Royalty, romance, forbidden love, drama, fantasy, backstabbing, court intrigue, mystery, etc? [Note that you still could choose to be asexual or aromantic (or both) if you’d like, and make the game about the romance or friendships.]

  • Yes!
  • Heck’n YES
  • Not for me, personally.

0 voters

Second question:

Would you prefer to be the young emperor/ess with your own harem, or a concubine in a harem? For a better idea - a concubine would have to rise through the ranks, there’d be a lot of possible backstabbing, catching the eye of the ruler’s sibling oops, etc. As the young ruler, you’d constantly be plagued with the court politics as others are vying for your own attention, your own harem and having to choose who to rule beside you, constant attempts on your life, etc.

  • Emperor or Empress!
  • Concubine!

0 voters

Lastly, either following a strong influence from the Byzantine, Ottoman, Persian, a few others and surrounding mythology, staying true to that “feeling” and including for example djinn or, since I do adore fairy tales, still drawing influence from the aforementioned but set in a Fae Court and eliciting a more fairy tale “feeling” and surrounding stories (think traditional, darker fae)?

  • Fae Court!
  • Closer to historical drawn vibes!

0 voters

Thank ye thank ye.

17 Likes

That sounds really fun. Especially not reusing the same old Alice in Wonderland stuff. Capturing the magic of the unknown.

2 Likes

@KingMe Your idea sounds amazing! I would definitely play a game like that. :slight_smile: My beef with playing as an empress/emperor would be that I would never be entirely sure if my consorts’ love was genuine rather than a vying for power and favor; while as a concubine I’d get the satisfaction of competing with everyone else for someone’s love and feeling the smug fulfillment of crushing them into the dirt.

2 Likes

I think playing a concubine would increase the stakes and danger of the story, especially if you mean to do a forbidden love story. Nothing more forbidden than the love of a concubine for anyone other than the emperor/empress.

3 Likes

Hi! New writer here…
Anyhow, in the last few weeks I’ve had a great deal of fun GM:ing some roleplays set in the world of Kaiserreich, where Germany won the first world war, and since I also love gamebooks I had the thought: this would make an excellent gamebook! While implementation of that would be hard, there are very many options within the world, at least to begin with it would be set the character as a minor character with fairly low influence on the outcomes, but with an interesting plotline. (Alternate history, storytelling, drama, romance, possibly even adventure or action)… So, would you be interested?

  • Great Idea!
  • Intrigued…
  • Not for me

0 voters

At least to begin with I’d only be writing the one storyline, but there is the question of whether it should be more of a railroaded story (fairly closed storyline), simply telling of the kaiserreich world or more of an open-ended experience where the player is swamped in options (cleverly hidden in many choices of course) just like in the actual game. Obviously more choices = more work and slower progress, but I think making a first storyline with ending, and then adding others can work out fairly well. So…?

  • Go mad! As many endings and choices as possible!
  • Middle road - Classic gamebook
  • Storytime with occasional clicking

0 voters

Then there is the question of reader influence on the world at large, do we want fixed world events for each storyline? Otherwise there are three options - have the player decide by his choices (which considering the scale of things might be a bit ridiculous, but still interesting), or have it be pure RNG (which might seem arbitrary to the reader, and annoying if you want to head down a particular path i.e savescumming) or have it be a mix of both RNG and player choice. (Note that I’ll have to figure out how to use RNG in choice games first…)

  • I want a simple and clean storyline
  • I want to decide the fate of the world!
  • I want it random! I’m insignificant after all
  • Make it a mix between option 2 & 3

0 voters

Oh yes, and the fourth and probably not final question is: how salty are we?

  • Choices have consequences, even if I brutally die!
  • Choices have consequences, but this is a story…
  • Choices have consequences, but not to me…

0 voters

Thanks y’all!
EDIT: Oh yeah, a taste

5 Likes

Thank you so much!

:smirk: In either route, I can confidently say that this will be a major concern for key players. My only advice is to be careful who you trust. ~~

…Like your character, for example. Haha, but really, what fun would any of it be if you couldn’t completely destroy the competition? (Though real, true love will of course be very present as well.)

I am thinking so too. My only hang up at the moment is that it would be so much fun to have a group of people vying for your attention, genuine or not, but being in that group sets a very different pace. (After consideration, the the latter perspective will probably better fit the story I have.)

3 Likes

Wonderful idea I love Kaiserreich so go for it

2 Likes

in this game you are the head of a game development team, working on a project that you will deiced on what it is, like how you chose what movie you were making in Hollywood visionary. there will be 3 modes to it

Normal “Easy” - which you will head a indie team as the one founding of the studio you’re creating and this game will be your first. very Hollywood visionary like.

Medium “Normal” - in which it is very much like Normal except you’re the co-founder of the company while you stayed behind to lead the team your friend and co-founder became CEO of the company. he will meddle with you but is largely sympathetic and won’t do it much.

Hard “Hard” this one you are at a mid level company with 3 executives that will try to meddle with your game and within the team will be those who want to take your place.

  • I like the idea
  • I don’t like the idea
  • I like the premise not the modes

0 voters

4 Likes

Sounds like a great idea. You go meta with it like “Creatures Such As We” and have you be the head of the COG development team O_o

1 Like

I’ve been watching all the update and alpha videos for Prison Architect lately, as well as some documentaries on Youtube about maximum security prisons. I had an idea for a story where you’d play as an inmate, beginning in plea bargaining and lasting until eventual release from prison. I’d want to have a few very drastic alternate routes, to the point where two people on different routes might wonder whether they’re even playing the same game.

The regular chapter will involve your daily activities in the prison as sanctioned by the staff, and any deviations from it as called on by other inmates. Things like exercise, work, mealtime, and stealing stuff, among others.

I know people here care a lot about gender and romance. In what capacity would you like to see these themes explored in the context of prison? Specifically, should men and women prisons be different, should the prison be co-ed, and how much romance are you really looking for in jail?

7 Likes

Wow love this idea. I think it’s totally fine to have a story that doesnt have any romance options, honestly, and if you do choose to have some, it needs to be done well… it might be challenging to do justice to. As for the gender aspect, it’d make sense to atleast have the prison be the same gender, but of course that influences the romance options. If you go with a co-ed prison I feel that it’d be completely different from a same-sex prison, which then adds an additional challenge. I would personally not have romance options and have the prison be the same gender as the MC, but that’s just me. It seems like you really want to emphasize the adaptability of this story so maybe you’re more willing to deal with the extra challenges.

1 Like

My original pitch for this was quite some time ago, but the premise is the same.

You play as a paper pusher in the world’s largest bureaucracy, Inferno Inc. stationed in Hell. Deal with Satan, Beelzebub, Cerberus, your coworkers, and the souls of the damned. You work at the gates of Hell, assigning punishments, mediating arguments between angels and demons, and playing with the local hellhounds.

Despite the term, you have a lot more power in your hands than you know. Your tasks bring you closer to the principal demons and angels, especially since you are one of the early recruits in Satan’s new startup.

You meet four(?) main NPCs, all genderswappable.

  • Catherine/Cedric, your hacker coworker who is the only genuine smile in Hell.
  • Lucyfer/Lucifer, the very stressed and overworked Ruler of Hell.
  • Beelzebub, Satan’s right hand who very often serves as their left one too.
  • Eziraphale, intensely curious and nearly-Fallen angel.

The game will be mostly composed of assorted vignettes that cover many days of the MC’s life. I’m aiming for lighthearted, so there won’t be any grand plans to unseat the rulers or anything like that.

I’m currently working on the demo of this, so I thought it best to gauge any interest before laying out the entire plot.

18 Likes

I think that adding romances would actualy take away from the premise of the game, you are trying to survive, romances could add as a distraction towards the end goal, just my thoughts

2 Likes

I’m not yet at the stage where it’s integral to anything, so it’s easy enough to cut. Thanks for your input, and generally speaking, I agree.

1 Like

Thanks for your input. First, I’d note that yes, I do think the topic of sexual relationships in prison (which is ultimately what any form of romance here would entail) is a difficult subject and I’d ignore it than do it poorly.

Second, I agree too that co-ed is another difficulty that’s not strictly necessary. In my assessment, the main thing it’d serve is an optional romance aspect. Together, extra challenges might be the best way to put it.

1 Like

Alright So since the my Game devolpment idea the vote was so close for modes and no modes I will add a toggle at the beginning for no modes. but what mode do you likr best so I can work on it first.

  • Normal
  • Medium
  • Hard
0 voters
1 Like

I would view the concubine version as better for multiple reasons.

All nostalgia about my younger years aside. if it’s a political intrigue game then I think it’s a lot more interesting to be the one trying to manipulate the emperor and the higher up rather than a game about sitting on a throne listening to people trying to manipulate you. When you have absolute authority it’s not that hard to wrap up problems with traitors when you can execute them on the spot or can just overrule whatever people decide. But it requires actual ability to move pieces into place while letting someone think it was all their idea to do it. So I just feel like that would be the more interesting angle is all.

Additionally, I think a problem with the later is that if not done well, it’s going to come across as the mc just being really, really stupid and that’s generally not a favored trait among protagonists.

And let’s face it. We all know the real reason so many people want to play as an emperor/empress of their own harem. And I am going to go out on a limb here and say very little of it has to do with court intrigue.

6 Likes

Alright I’ve got an idea but don’t know if anyone else will like it. If you’ve seen Star Wars you’ll get the concept. You play as a fledgling politician caught up in the war between the last two major countries on Earth, the USA and China. What no one knows, is that as you make your way up the chain of command in the US, you are secretly the leader of China. My idea is that you are an anarchist and your goal is to destroy the Earth. In order to do this you must keep the war going for a certain amount of time. Anyone interested?

3 Likes

You might have a hard time competing with real life on this one, for a few reasons that I kind of would rather not get into.

2 Likes