This is a followup to my "Games that Haunt Us" thread. As mentioned there, this thread is a place where game designers can swap "undead" games with other designers, who can then perform the radical surgery needed to make them viable. As this is a process that will create a hybrid effort, some ground rules are needed so everyone knows what they're getting into:
-The final product will list both designers as being equal designers in whatever "credits" area is used.
-The second designer can make whatever changes they feel are needed, up to and including a new name and theme, in order to make the original game work.
-Designers must submit an undead game to the pool in order to operate on someone else's game. Designer's need not trade games, and work on a game from the person who is working on theirs. Trades can be as desired.
-Everyone agrees to the principle that the other designers aren't just fishing for ideas to steal. If you see a fragment of your game in a future game by the other designer, you agree now to not complain or sue at that time.
-Any marketing or selling of the hybrid game must be done with the consent of both designers. The details of the financial arrangements are beyond the scope of this thread, and must be worked out between the two.
-Designers working on a hybrid should keep a journal of their efforts in the journal section, so that everyone can track the hideous alterations needed to get the lifeless game onto its feet.
-To submit a game to the pool, respond to this thread with a brief synopsis of the game, nto the full rules. The synopsis should include the "vision"of the game, as well as a bit about the mechanics and the problem, in very general terms.
-More than one person can work on an undead game, so a single game can give rise to more than one hybrid. Chosen undead games stay in the pool unless the original designer wishes to remove them, either becasue they like the new direction the hybrid is taking, or for other reasons (such as having a breakthrough themselves).
-Multiple entries into the pool require multiple posts in this thread, one post per entry.
-The rules of the undead game should be sent by e-mail, or other format, not posted in the thread.
-Desingers should PM each other about taking up projects, not communicate in this thread. This will keep the thread "clean". Think of this thread like a triage.
Good luck all! And remember your oath: "First, do no harm..." Okay, forget the oath! Let's get hacking!
The game that inspired my original thread is "Xeno". Basically an Aliens game, it pits the players versus anutomated alien invaders on a derelict spaceship or colony.
This game has undergone numerous mechanical changes, and continues to do so. But it never really gelled into a game that played the way I'd imagined it. sure, some of the versions worked. And sure, they were fun. But they weren't fun enough, and didn't work well enough.
The basic premise, present in all of the interations, is that each player controls a squad of marines. The game is meant to play well even solo. These marines explore a tile-based ship, with a mission to save X number of crew, which may or may not be host for emergent aliens. In addition, there is somewhere in play a single alien that grows in strength the longer it goes undisturbed. This adds to the urgency not only to find the crew, but to kill the alien while you still can. As the game continues, th psychological state of the marines deteriorates, the hosts start to hatch, and the aliens continue to grow and develop. This is countered by the marines finding better equipment, and learning the weaknesses of the alien.
Things I think are good include a random-alien system, a marine psychology system, and an off-board "blip" system.
The current rules set is very different in mechanics to the others, but the "good" concepts have always made new appearances in new forms each time.
One problem is that often the game becomes a "flee with your life" affair, adn the marines battle just to reach their shuttle and escape. Balance is a big issue. Also, the automated alien systems require a lot of brain-work the players must provide, and this is a drag.