I'm toying around with some of the base game mechanics for Z2K at the moment, specifically those regarding human players and non-player characters
( Read more... )
Talking of charisma and leadership/psychology, I am reminded of another "biological threat / infection" themed game -- "The Thing" on xbox. If you've never played it, your squad is somewhat independent, and their trust and fear play a part in their actions. If they don't trust you, they won't obey orders. If they trust you completely, they won't even blink if you kill another squad member in front of them. If they get too freaked out, they'll take their own lives rather than succumb to infection.
It occurs to me that leadership and psychology could be used similarly; leadership to inspire trust, psychology to deal with fear.
The Thing is one of the games that inspired the initial design for Z2K. The elements were there, they were just implemented poorly, and it's a real shame that no other game since has tried to work with what they started.
You've also broken down what the two charisma skills are planned to have an effect on, which is great because it means the skill names I've picked are reasonably intuitive.
Fear and Trust are the cornerstone interpersonal stat ratings for the current design. Someone who trusts you will obey orders more often than someone who does not - for example, you might have a broader combat strategy in mind that requires a non player character to move to another location. Someone who doesn't trust your judgement might just open fire and stay put, thinking that they know better.
I cannot wait to get this to an effective prototype stage where I can start playing around with these mechanics and get a real feel for how they work in practice.
er .. which means that the two charisma skills are um... kind of vital to gameplay, really. the penalties are somewhat subtler than those for low strength, but when one of your party members blows their head off because you couldn't chill them out, you're really going to kick yourself for not putting those extra couple of points into charisma.
Comments 4
It occurs to me that leadership and psychology could be used similarly; leadership to inspire trust, psychology to deal with fear.
Reply
You've also broken down what the two charisma skills are planned to have an effect on, which is great because it means the skill names I've picked are reasonably intuitive.
Fear and Trust are the cornerstone interpersonal stat ratings for the current design. Someone who trusts you will obey orders more often than someone who does not - for example, you might have a broader combat strategy in mind that requires a non player character to move to another location. Someone who doesn't trust your judgement might just open fire and stay put, thinking that they know better.
I cannot wait to get this to an effective prototype stage where I can start playing around with these mechanics and get a real feel for how they work in practice.
Reply
Reply
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6M_6qOz-yw
Reply
Leave a comment