I have been developing a cooperative firefighting game for 1-4 players. The game revolves around entering a burning building, fighting back the flames, searching for victims, and carrying them outside. Mechanically, most of the game's subsystems revolve around rolling two dice, which represent coordinates on the board. The dice determine how the fire spreads, where and whether victims are found, and targeting for the (powerful, but fairly indiscrimate) hose cannon on the fire engine. I recently received feedback from a blind playtest. Some of the criticism was related to the mechanics, and is easily fixed. The most common critique, however, was that the game needed a more "human" or "emotional" element. This has me stymied. Of course, the game rewards players for treating and rescuing victims (each rescue brings players closer to victory). It penalizes players for fatalities, whether it is a victim or their own players (the firefighters, who of course may become "victims" of the fire themselves if they aren't careful!). Each death increments a slider which can cause automatic defeat if it gets too high. An alternate losing condition is if the house sustains too much damage, in which case it collapses on everyone.
But of course, at heart these are all very mechanical processes. The victims don't count except as instruments of scoring. If they get caught in a conflagration and die, no widows will mourn, and no small children will cry. I don't know how to make players relate with a wooden meeple on an emotional level.
I am curious if anyone has confronted this issue before, and if they have any suggestions. How do you create an emotional connection in games? Are there any games that are especially good at creating an atmosphere and drawing in the players? Obviously, role-playing games are all about this, but I think at the end of the day I'd like to keep this a board game.
These are some very good ideas! I'm not sure I could actually implement more than a couple, but maybe there is a market for a good firefighting RPG! I am looking for a "simple fix" if possible, as a publisher has advised me that my game in its present state is "too complex." That's a subjective opinion, obviously, but if anything I'd like to pare down a bit with the rules and components.
Artwork for the victims is certainly doable, and would be an easy way to add character.
I especially liked the suggestion of a small-town volunteer force that rescues people (and property) from a burning building. Maybe it only circumvents my basic problem, but if the firefighters are also the victims then there is no question that fatalities are going to hurt. If each player starts with three volunteers (let's say), then losing one in the flames will cost that player 1/3 of his firefighting force. And historically, firefighting teams were much larger in terms of manpower - it was necessary to form long chains to "pass the buckets."
Perhaps I should clarify how fatalities work. If a victim dies, the "deaths" slider increments upwards, but a new victim may be easily found (in most cases). If a firefighter (player) dies, the deaths slider increments, but that player may re-enter the game on his next turn as a "just arrived" firefighter from outside the building. This is a bit contrived, but what should I do - kick the "dead" players out of the game? That would at least be realistic...