Next Project: Interactive Format

[Nathan]

Alright,

I don't remember if we've talked about this or not -- I have another game that is taking shape in the wing of my head cavity called The Cross. I don't want to publish it as a normal PDF or whatever. I'd like to do something different.

The thought is this -- when you get the file, it unzips and reveals haphazard directory that looks like it came from some folks computer. The directory will contain a series of emails, word documents, newspaper scans, and so on which reveal the background, rules, and premise of the game. Some of the files will require minor hacking to get into them (these will contain secrets, seeds, or things that are not EXTREMELY important to the game), but most of them will be in text. So in other words, the game itself will be a game.

That may make zero sense. The game itself revolves around a super secret organization fighting "evil" or whatever -- but I didn't want to do some sort of "fake" briefing document. I didn't want to do an encyclopedia like description of what is going down. I want it to feel like a super secret information -- where even the bottom level guy has very little idea what is actually going on.

Of course, this could end up heavily annoying. And how do I insert clear, readable rules in the mix of this?

What do you all think?

Preview of the Game Is Here:
http://www.mysticages.com/theCross

Thanks,
Nathan

[Paul Czege]

Hey Nathan,

This is the kind of game that could sell on CD-ROM. Rather than just a simple burning of HTML or PDF documents to disc, it would take advantage of the directory structure and the possible presence of executables. You could encrypt files and have executables on the disc that decrypt them, once the decryption key is discovered elsewhere. You could password-protect PDF files and have the passwords embedded in other files. I'd avoid making it too much of an egg hunt, but a few password-protected images and a couple of encrypted files would be fun.

Paul

[Ron Edwards]

Hi Nathan,

Maybe it's because I don't have the necessary foundation-information yet, but how is this product a game at all, let alone a role-playing game? As described, it seems like an excessively high-effort sourcebook or game prop.

Best,
Ron

[Clay]

I think that this project sounds pretty cool if the game relies pretty heavily on information gleaned through electronic espionage.  My concern is that it isn't realy reasonable to expect the average joe to be able to puzzle something like this out.  In particular, they're likely to lose patience with the project and chuck the whole thing.  Most people approach the computer with an "I turn the key and it goes" mentality, and figuring out what's necessary to make it work isn't their idea of fun.

Think about your car.  They're simple enough that a high-school dropout can build or maintain one, but do you know how to change your spark plugs or replace a water pump?  You probably answered no.  Most people get flustered when presented with such a task, and tend to hire someone else to do it for them.

Still, press on, and you may get something fairly interesting.  I think that it might be adequately represented by a well-designed web site, without the need for a CD-ROM (use the directory index feature of your web server).

[Jared A. Sorensen]

Alright,
The thought is this -- when you get the file, it unzips and reveals haphazard directory that looks like it came from some folks computer. The directory will contain a series of emails, word documents, newspaper scans, and so on which reveal the background, rules, and premise of the game. Some of the files will require minor hacking to get into them (these will contain secrets, seeds, or things that are not EXTREMELY important to the game), but most of them will be in text. So in other words, the game itself will be a game.

It's an interesting way to present a game.

Majestic did this. So did that web game...uh, Cloudchaser? The one that was all about AI (and was part of its unofficial ad campaign).

Anyway, your idea isn't so much a "game within a game" as it would be a game containing many contributing elements (essentially a collection of "mini-quests"). Peter Seckler does this all the time in his D&D campaign.

[rafael]

yeah, i was thinking of majestic.  god, that was a great idea, but executed badly.  i was one of the first people at EA to test it, and we all thought the same thing: awesome concept, but people are going to use it to burn each other.  badly.  we were right, and majestic is no more.

but if you were to create this yourself, as opposed to via committee (one of the many things that led to the demise of a good idea), i bet you could come up with something great.  just make it painfully clear that the nature of the game is to figure the game out.  if done well, i'd definitely play it.

the website idea's a good one -- embed data in the html code, hide information on password-protected pages, that kind of thing.

keep me posted -- im interested.