9.07 - The Social Mystery

Idea for July 21, 2010

Summary

You play as an average Joe as they make the transition into the digital life. Gameplay occurs both online and in real life where you go to in person meetings and work to make money. The world is tied together with a massive social network built off existing networks like Facebook and Twitter. In the multiplayer mode you play with your friends and try to discover who if anyone is a criminal.


Theme: Mystery

includes topics that expand on the theme

  • crime
  • unknown
  • whodunit
  • red herings
  • danger
  • witnesses
  • stealth
  • impersionation
  • observations
  • note taking
  • intimidation/bribes
  • disguises

Genre:

game genre with possible significant changes or important points

Mechanics/Systems

individual gameplay mechanics and mechanics categorized by system

  • Note taking
    • combines multiple mediums such as audio, text, images, and video
    • take screenshots as photographs
    • start with a pad of paper and progress to more digital devices like an iPhone like device
    • can post this information on a communal wiki with other players
  • Conversation system
    • player can type what they want to say but it is limited to what you discover
    • pulls from a shared community wiki that initially starts out blank that relates to in game events and items
    • can look through your knowledge base instead of typing
  • Your apartment
    • is your home where you spend a lot of time on the computer
    • really basihave a computer, bed
  • Activities
    • technology and an internet connection is expensive so you must go to work
    • trailing potential criminals and recording information
    • violence/intimidation system
    • compelled to tweet either the game truthfully does it for you or you can write them yourself
  • Outside environments
    • go to work to make money
    • meet person at places such as parks or cafes
    • public transit system
    • set in a metropolis
  • Winning/losing conditions
    • you might have put the wrong person in jail and you may never know if it is the right person
    • criminal gets away with it
  • Multiplayer
    • you can be the criminal and are trying to hide your trails
    • could be no one or multiple criminals

Story

narrative elements concerning plot, characters, world

  • Rather than hiding information, the player must filter through mountains of information. Cross referencing topics to cull away less relevant information.
  • Set in the near future since information is already very public
  • Connect to existing social networks to populate non-player characters with Facebook friends.
  • plot ideas: identity theft, murder, abduction
  • online and in person meetings
  • digital lifestyle
  • you start by getting into the digital lifestyle and play as an average Joe

Contributors

includes GDC members who contributed to this idea and were present during the discussion

  • Mediator: Scott Inglis
  • Eric Raue
  • Alex Ryan
  • Cody Church
  • Shawn Yu

Additional Comments

After the meeting if you have any additional ideas or comments please keep them in this section

Unless otherwise stated, the content of this page is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License