You only get one?
Objective:
Develop a system of interwoven game mechanics that facilitates emerging narrative using a ontogenetic approach to procedurally generate an unpredictable range of engaging gameplay spaces.
Actionable Steps:
- Research existing narrative and academic sources, in order to identify narrative structures that facilitate our objetive.
- Research existing games, in order to identify game mechanics that facilitate our objetive.
- Develop a very simple javascript framework that contains this structure or structures.
- Design and implement a open ended scene spec.
- Develop or find a Editor suitable to create scenes.
- Implement a very simple input system to traverse scenes within this structure.
Notes:
You have experience points and levels just as Gygax and God intended, but to qualify to advance a level your PC must also do something new and interesting. Warriors must defeat a foe of equal level using a new weapon, either one they haven’t wielded in the past or an entirely new weapon of their devising. Warlocks must add a new spell to their spellbook. Criminals must come up with and execute a new illegal scheme. Doxies must find and seduce a new and more influential client. Pioneers must discover a new place or a new route between known locations. All this sounds like a great way to put the ball into the players’ court. “Hey, I’ve got enough XP for level 4. Would you guys help me rob a bank?“
Having a character class seems like a pretty core part of the D&D experience to me as well. On the other hand, everybody starting out as some jerk with a spear and no particular skills seems like a pretty good match for my usual “down-and-dirty” approach to starting a D&D campaign. What if the only character classes available were Prestige Classes? You want to play a wizard? You absolutely must seek one out in play and apprentice up. That’s a bit similar to the WFRP approach, except you wouldn’t necessarily hop from class to class.
The teleological approach creates an accurate physical model of the environment and the process that creates the thing generated, and then simply runs the simulation, and the results should emerge as they do in nature.
The ontogenetic approach observes the end results of this process and then attempts to directly reproduce those results by ad hoc algorithms. Ontogenetic approaches are more commonly used in real-time applications such as games.
This is the basic structure I got out of my research:
Quest
Description
Creation
The PC is created.
Call
The PC delves into a dangerous or unknown aspect of the campaign world.
Fellowship
The PC earns companionship, a powerful item, supernatural guiding, or a guardian.
Ordeal
The PC attains prominence, overcoming a series of trials, tests and tasks.
Initiation
The PC takes a great risk, culminating in a revelation of self, an ideal.
Expedition
The PC ventures forward to achieve that ideal, revealing his weakness.
Atonement
The PC confronts whatever holds the ultimate power in his or her life.
Enlightenment
The PC envisions how the ultimate goal can be reached, taking a stand.
Confrontation
The PC faces the ultimate opposition, surmounting it.
Mastery
The PC shapes the world with the power earned.
Freedom
The PC earns freedom to live.
I’m gonna build this structure, and use no art or interface besides javascript prompts and alerts for the time being.
Overly ambitious, not enough time, probably wont get far, but i think it can be damn interesting if I pull something playable out of this.
