Topic: [Death of a Husband] It seems like several of us had a similar idea.
Started by: thadrine
Started on: 4/10/2012
Board: Last Chance Game Chef
On 4/10/2012 at 6:51pm, thadrine wrote:
[Death of a Husband] It seems like several of us had a similar idea.
60-90 Minutes for exactly 4 players
Theme
Last Chance: The last moments before death a man life is layed before him as his friends and family watch. The problem is, he was not always all that loved, and his wife is cheating on him, with his best friend, which is also the Doctor that is taking care of him.
Elements:
The Lantern that guides him through the maze of his life. Where it points is directed by the other participants.
The Characters:
The Doctor is divided on what to do, and over what he has done. Did he do his job, can his friend be saved? Who will she love if he wakes up though?
The Wife is torn between the love of her life that has wasted away in every possible way, and his best friend.
The Patient lost lost his will to live that day when his daughter died, things were already bad enough.
The Coyote is living and mimicking a parody of the patients life making him face every wrong that was done.
The game plays through a series of 3 scenes for each character. Each of the scenes that are played come from 1 of the six "Memory" cards that a player has access too. When a "Memory" is played you add it to the "Path" on the table. The path is a simple sort of maze that the players make bids over to see which direction the Lantern will point the Patient in. Where the Lantern points on the path will reward certain characters with their resources (not certain on that part yet). All of the Memories have different rules on them that say who they need to be traded with and what will happen when they are (usually requiring "decisions" of another memory to be resolved). Sometimes if a memory is "Refused" (essentially, not willing to accept your fallacies) the memory is destroyed (card ripped up). Once the last memory card is resolved everyone narrates their closing scene to try and tie up loose ends by spending any additional resource tokens that they have left. Then a few of the memories have end game mechanics that can be revealed to show hidden treachery, "Lost Scenes," or even that the patient lives.
I am still playing with all of the Memories and how I want them to interact, but the it is coming along nicely. I am getting really excited to actually get a chance to play it this weekend.
On 4/10/2012 at 6:57pm, thadrine wrote:
Re: [Death of a Husband] It seems like several of us had a similar idea.
I am so used to posting, and then proof reading....
On 4/11/2012 at 2:07am, tor wrote:
RE: Re: [Death of a Husband] It seems like several of us had a similar idea.
This could possibly be the most serious (in terms of mood and genre) and down-to-earth entry I've seen. Pretty ambitious. Best of luck!
Will you be using playing cards, tarot or something custom for the memory cards?
On 4/11/2012 at 11:51pm, thadrine wrote:
RE: Re: [Death of a Husband] It seems like several of us had a similar idea.
Custom cards with a little blurb about a scene idea and what do with the card based upon the results of the scene. And hopefully some art.
And on the back it will be....
Well, pretty much http://boardgamegeek.com/image/237361/tsuro but with little mechanical bits like
"You'r a bastard, destroy two willpower" on it.
I also plan on covering the cards with the characters thoughts scribbled in the empty spaces. Like there is a card that just says a little blurb about the patient losing it and doing some bad to his dog one night, and the back might say how he kicked the dog and anger breaking its leg. The different paths will be if he just lets it run away, or realizes what he did and take it to the hospital.
On 4/11/2012 at 11:53pm, thadrine wrote:
RE: Re: [Death of a Husband] It seems like several of us had a similar idea.
Also
Yes, it is very serious, and dark. Not normally something I like. But, all of it came to me instantly upon reading the ingredients and theme.
I had to go hug my wife after righting all the cards down.
On 4/13/2012 at 9:46am, Troy_Costisick wrote:
RE: Re: [Death of a Husband] It seems like several of us had a similar idea.
thadrine wrote:
Also
Yes, it is very serious, and dark. Not normally something I like. But, all of it came to me instantly upon reading the ingredients and theme.
I had to go hug my wife after righting all the cards down.
Has she offered any advice on your game? Have you shared it with her yet?
On 4/13/2012 at 12:51pm, JTColeman wrote:
RE: Re: [Death of a Husband] It seems like several of us had a similar idea.
thadrine wrote:
Yes, it is very serious, and dark. [...] all of it came to me instantly upon reading the ingredients and theme.
That's exactly what happened to me, too.
My game is called "Ninety Minutes", and it's about the imminent death of a father.
On 4/13/2012 at 3:44pm, thadrine wrote:
RE: Re: [Death of a Husband] It seems like several of us had a similar idea.
Troy_Costisick wrote:thadrine wrote:
Also
Yes, it is very serious, and dark. Not normally something I like. But, all of it came to me instantly upon reading the ingredients and theme.
I had to go hug my wife after righting all the cards down.
Has she offered any advice on your game? Have you shared it with her yet?
Yes, I ran through a short concept test with her the other night. It made me realize how explicit I will have to be in the rules about making "Hard" decisions. She kept trying to make the "grey" decisions that did not really exist as options, and frankly I do not want them to exist. She wanted to make the "good" decision for someone that should be making really, really, bad decisions.
The memories function basically like this:
You are being a drunk asshole, and here are the two ways a scene can go. "Not, being a drunk asshole," is not one of your options.
Not real sure how to encourage horrible behavior. I thought about being upfront with the rewards, but felt that this made it too obvious. Any ideas on how to encourage people to be a dick in a game, without just dangling the "I'm a dick mistletoe over their heads?"
On 4/13/2012 at 8:54pm, JTColeman wrote:
RE: Re: [Death of a Husband] It seems like several of us had a similar idea.
thadrine wrote:
Not real sure how to encourage horrible behavior. I thought about being upfront with the rewards, but felt that this made it too obvious. Any ideas on how to encourage people to be a dick in a game, without just dangling the "I'm a dick mistletoe over their heads?"
I'm not sure if this can help, but anyway...
In the game I submitted, I wanted to stimulate conflict in the fiction between the father and the son, without forcing it.
So, the basic idea ofthe game is that a son receives a phone call from the hospital from a doctor who says that his father is about to die. The son takes the car, starts the engine and runs to the hospital, which is about 90 minutes away.
During the travel, he will have 4 memories of his relationship with the father.
So, to provoke conflict without forcing it, I thought that when the father (or the son) acts in certain ways during the memories, they will have greater chances to meet one last time in the present, at the hospital.
For example, if the father prefers an appointment to the company of the son during a memory, the Father takes a token and gives it to the Time (the 3rd player), who then adds 3 minutes to the maximum time the father will survive in the present.
(Narratively, it's because the father, in the present, tries to hang on, waiting for his son. There are also other reason for this mechanic, but they're probably not interesting for your game at the moment.)
As I said, that's how handled it... Not sure if it helps!
On 4/15/2012 at 11:11pm, thadrine wrote:
RE: Re: [Death of a Husband] It seems like several of us had a similar idea.
Well, isn't life grand. I had a weekend long business trip unexpectedly, so no game from me.