CONTENDER

[masqueradeball]

I want to make a game based on all the movies out there that turn boxing into a metaphor... Rocky, Cinderella Man, Raging Bull, etc... I'm not very interested in replicating what actual boxing is like, but in showing the connections between who the man is and how he fights and catching some of the excitement and tension that the fights in those movies have.

My basis for all of this it have the Boxer be a single character that all of the players share. This boxer's traits would consist of the people, places and things that are important in his life. The players would take control of these things in order to narrate scenes that would be told in between rounds of the a boxing match between The Boxer and The Enemy.

I'm think of using a card based mechanic and I know that I want the Enemy to be represented purely with mechanics, i.e. no one is playing him, no one is on his side, etc... I was wondering if anyone had any ideas about scene framing and how it could create a positive feed back loop into the fight itself. Also, any thoughts on how to maintain tension (and fun) within a fight without having it be competitive.

A basic outline would be something like a game of war (the card game) played against a dummy deck in which the suits would color how the wins and losses where resolved where the players could call for scenes in order to add cards to The Boxer's draws/hand in order to increase his odds of winning.

Also, any ideas on how to maintain the sense of their being an active, achieved goal but having the actual outcome of the fight (win or lose), be less than important. The reason I ask is because I feel that sometimes loses can be very important.

I guess the way I see the game running would be something like across between a cooperative board game (like say, Arkham Horror), a storytelling game (like Happily Ever After) and something of the scene building from Panty Explosion...

[masqueradeball]

Happily Ever After? What am I thinking, I meant, Once Upon a Time...

[joepub]

Nolan,

what you are describing isn't that far off of the game Contenders, which is a boxing game based on those same inspirations. It also uses cards, also focuses on the boxer and why he fights, and also has more at stake than the ultimate fight.

It's not a "one boxer" game, though. Everyone plays a contender in the GMless game, which involves trying to build up enough cash to support the ones you love, balancing Hope and Pain and trying not to let the gritty world of boxing pull you down.

Have you read it?

[masqueradeball]

Hmmm... I looked at the demo and I think that what's going on their is definitely different from what I'd like to do. Still, I'm a little embarrassed at not having caught that.