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The Game of Games

Started by Cramulus, March 03, 2011, 07:51:32 PM

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Cramulus

This may be one of the weirdest game ideas I've ever had. This is a very early, rough idea so I'd love to hear your thoughts even if they are WTF ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT.



Here's the one sentence summary:      (read this slowly)

The Game of Games is a card based RPG where you play the role of people who are playing an RPG where you (in real life) are a character.




More:

Visualize the room you are sitting in right now as a tabletop board game. You are a piece on that board. Above, giant people look down through the ceiling. To them, this universe is just an RPG and you are just a character in it.

We will call our world "Meat Space".
We will call their world "Meta Space".

In this game, you play a character who lives in Meta Space, but controls somebody in Meat Space.

You are playing as the person controlling somebody else in the room with you right now.

The object of the game is to entertain your meta-character. You must entertain your character better than the other players entertain their characters.


How To Play:

The Set Up: Everybody picks one of six pre-written character sheets. These sheets represent one of the people playing in meatspace (hereafter referred to as a meta-character). Each character card has a name and a few adjectives to describe their personality. Each meta-character has a motivation for playing. When you play a card which satisfies that motivation, you gain an enjoyment point. The object of the game is to accumulate five enjoyment points. (meaning games will last from 25-60 minutes, plus setup)

the Meta Characters
Victor - is playing to win. He gains enjoyment from playing cooperative cards.
Jax - is an antagonist. She wants to ruin the game for other people. She gains an enjoyment point whenever her character completes an action on an antagonize card.
Brian - is a social player. He wants to have a good time with his friends. He gains an enjoyment point whenever his character completes an action on a cooperate card.
Greg - is a leader. He wants to be the first person to do anything. He gains an enjoyment point if his character is the first person to act in a round.
                        [...and two more]


Game Play

The game takes place in rounds. You (the person in meat-space) hold a few cards. At the beginning of each round, you give one card to the person you are controlling. for the duration of the round, they must act out the instructions on the card. Most rounds last about 5 minutes.



Cards

Here are some examples of possible cards:

Action Cards: Bring up a topic, suggest an activity
Cooperate Cards: Give praise, support a decision, give advice
Antagonize Cards: Shoot rubber band, cheat, argue, disrupt the game

there's also a card which lets meta-characters swap characters with each other. This means that you'll be controlling somebody else in meatspace.

LMNO

I think my brain just sharted.

Bebek Sincap Ratatosk

Reminds me a bit of the "Chez Geek" style game. I like it.

:lulz:
- I don't see race. I just see cars going around in a circle.

"Back in my day, crazy meant something. Now everyone is crazy" - Charlie Manson

Cramulus

would it even be playable??

From a design perspective I guess the trick is to make the cards interact in interesting ways. The actions on the card should be fun to act out, and should have their own "succeed" or "fail" conditions. For example if the card is "Suggest a movie," you have to convince 50% of the room to watch the movie you suggest. (You don't actually have to watch it, you just have to come up with a suggestion everybody can get behind)

The mindfuck is that you're interacting with people on two different levels - you're interacting with them like you normally do, and you're also acting on behalf of a meta-character while trying to figure out what their meta-character is using them to do.


The Good Reverend Roger

Quote from: Cramulus on March 03, 2011, 08:18:25 PM
would it even be playable??

From a design perspective I guess the trick is to make the cards interact in interesting ways. The actions on the card should be fun to act out, and should have their own "succeed" or "fail" conditions. For example if the card is "Suggest a movie," you have to convince 50% of the room to watch the movie you suggest. (You don't actually have to watch it, you just have to come up with a suggestion everybody can get behind)

The mindfuck is that you're interacting with people on two different levels - you're interacting with them like you normally do, and you're also acting on behalf of a meta-character while trying to figure out what their meta-character is using them to do.



You're going to have to add some "block" cards, or the game will last about 3 minutes.

Example:

"GM went to the bathroom.  Cancels last card played."
" It's just that Depeche Mode were a bunch of optimistic loveburgers."
- TGRR, shaming himself forever, 7/8/2017

"Billy, when I say that ethics is our number one priority and safety is also our number one priority, you should take that to mean exactly what I said. Also quality. That's our number one priority as well. Don't look at me that way, you're in the corporate world now and this is how it works."
- TGRR, raising the bar at work.

The Good Reverend Roger

"Left your snacks unguarded.  Steal one (1) enjoyment point from target player."

"Negative level made permanent on your PC.  You now need +1 enjoyment point to win."

"Left the back page of your character at home.  Lose one enjoyment point."

" It's just that Depeche Mode were a bunch of optimistic loveburgers."
- TGRR, shaming himself forever, 7/8/2017

"Billy, when I say that ethics is our number one priority and safety is also our number one priority, you should take that to mean exactly what I said. Also quality. That's our number one priority as well. Don't look at me that way, you're in the corporate world now and this is how it works."
- TGRR, raising the bar at work.

The Good Reverend Roger

"GM's kid threw up.  Game ends immediately.  Person with the highest enjoyment points wins now."

"Boss is calling your cell phone.  Target player misses a turn."

"TV on in background.  Everyone except Jax loses an enjoyment point."

"GM prepared for once.  Everyone except Jax gains an enjoyment point."

" It's just that Depeche Mode were a bunch of optimistic loveburgers."
- TGRR, shaming himself forever, 7/8/2017

"Billy, when I say that ethics is our number one priority and safety is also our number one priority, you should take that to mean exactly what I said. Also quality. That's our number one priority as well. Don't look at me that way, you're in the corporate world now and this is how it works."
- TGRR, raising the bar at work.

Cramulus

#7
:mittens:

now we're cooking with gas!

good insight that some of the cards should represent random events in meta-space affecting the game in meat-space... I wonder if those cards should be separate from action cards.



edit:grammarfail

Luna

Quote from: Cramulus on March 03, 2011, 08:31:58 PM
:mittens:

now we're cooking with gas!

good insight that some of the cards should represent random in meta-space affecting the game in meat-space... I wonder if those cards should be separate from action cards.

Do environment cards, can be played instead of action cards, only one in effect at a time. 
Death-dealing hormone freak of deliciousness
Pagan-Stomping Valkyrie of the Interbutts™
Rampaging Slayer of Shit-Fountain Habitues

"My father says that almost the whole world is asleep. Everybody you know, everybody you see, everybody you talk to. He says that only a few people are awake, and they live in a state of constant, total amazement."

Quote from: The Payne on November 16, 2011, 07:08:55 PM
If Luna was a furry, she'd sex humans and scream "BEASTIALITY!" at the top of her lungs at inopportune times.

Quote from: Nigel on March 24, 2011, 01:54:48 AM
I like the Luna one. She is a good one.

Quote
"Stop talking to yourself.  You don't like you any better than anyone else who knows you."

The Good Reverend Roger

"Table talk.  Antagonism level goes up by one."

This implies a condition that's universal, and could be Jax's victory condition:

Table flip  When the antagonism level reaches X, someone loses their shit and flips the table over.  Jax wins.

Also,  Monkey-stomp level.  When enough successes are gained, Victor wins:  Dungeon cleared

The various levels could influence cards.  For example:

"Aid another:  If the current cooperation level is below 3, lower the antagonism level by 1.  If the current cooperation level is above 3, raise the cooperation level by 1."
" It's just that Depeche Mode were a bunch of optimistic loveburgers."
- TGRR, shaming himself forever, 7/8/2017

"Billy, when I say that ethics is our number one priority and safety is also our number one priority, you should take that to mean exactly what I said. Also quality. That's our number one priority as well. Don't look at me that way, you're in the corporate world now and this is how it works."
- TGRR, raising the bar at work.

The Good Reverend Roger

#10
Proposal:

3 levels in play, which are influenced by cards and which can themselves influence cards, and each condition grants a victory condition.

Monkey-stomp:  If this condition reaches X, Victor wins.

Antagonism:  If this condition reaches X, Jax wins.

Enjoyment:  If this condition reaches X, Brian wins.

Greg wins if Monkey stomp + Enjoyment - Antagonism = X.  This adds a huge amount of complexity required for Victor and Brian to win, as if Jax is too far behind, Greg wins before either of them can.

A way to make things even MORE interesting is to have the players not know who the other players' identities are.  For example, I know I'm playing Brian, but I don't know who anyone else is playing.
" It's just that Depeche Mode were a bunch of optimistic loveburgers."
- TGRR, shaming himself forever, 7/8/2017

"Billy, when I say that ethics is our number one priority and safety is also our number one priority, you should take that to mean exactly what I said. Also quality. That's our number one priority as well. Don't look at me that way, you're in the corporate world now and this is how it works."
- TGRR, raising the bar at work.

Captain Utopia

#11
Not trying to yank everything in another direction and make it more complex, but the OP inspired this thought:


In each dimension, you've got two opposing directions/motivations.

Game dimension:
Meat: Focus on what is "really" going on here-and-now
Meta: Focus on the meta-characters reality, where "this" reality is the game

Group dimension:
Team: Focus on everybody getting lots of points
At Em: Focus on no-one else getting many points

Individual dimension:
Tame: Focus on doing as little as possible - blending into background
At Me: Focus on being the center of attention


So each player picks a blue card at random with one of those six directions.  And each character also picks a red card at random - again - with one of those six motivations.

As a player then you may be focussed on blending into the background, while your character is trying to focus on nobody getting many points.  You'd have to balance those motivations.  For example if you were to get confused and mix those motivations in the same dimension, then whichever player or character held the "meat" motivation could score a point.

To score a point, you say "point" or "my character says point" - without saying why or where you think a point should be awarded, and the other players have to decide what, if any, points should be awarded under which category.  E.g. a 2x6 grid with tallies would be sufficient for the players.  The meta-characters get points based upon what the meat-players do.  The eventual winner is decided when the cards are revealed.

Game-time around 10x real-time.  So if the characters all agree it'd be fun to watch a movie then it'd take about 9 minutes.

Triple Zero

(know it's not the same, but kinda relevant)

Ex-Soviet Bloc Sexual Attack Swede of Tomorrow™
e-prime disclaimer: let it seem fairly unclear I understand the apparent subjectivity of the above statements. maybe.

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Telarus

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