Re: [s-d] It Lives! or, a modern subgame (Draft)

[Daniel Lepage <dpl33@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Dec 14, 2006, at 8:18 PM, Antonio Dolcetta wrote:

> === Bodypart Types ===
> Brightness is an attribute with the following properties:
> * Scope: Bodyparts
> * Range: head, arm, torso or leg
> * Default Value: torso /* eh, have to put something here */

Brightness -> Bodypart Type

> === Rarity ===
> Brightness is an attribute with the following properties:
> * Scope: Bodyparts
> * Range: common, uncommon or rare
> * Default Value: common

Brightness -> Rarity

> === Gaining Bodyparts ===
> Whenever a Player gains a random Bodypart (e.g. by Plundering the
> Graveyard) , the following method is used to determine which Bodypart
> is gained:
> * randomly select a Bodypart Type
> * randomly select a Rarity, if there are no Bodypart Templates of the
> previously selected Type with the selected Rarity, downgrade the
> Rarity one step /* rare becomes uncommon, uncommon becomes common,
> and common, uh, remains common, let's try to be sure there are always
> common Bodyparts for all Types */
> * randomly select a Bodypart of the selected Rarity and Type between
> the Bodypart Templates available.

Shouldn't rare body parts be... rarer?

> metal torso:
> * description: it's disgusting ! but not very strong
> * special: while the weather is stormy, the Creature gains an extra
> +3 on all Attributes
> * Type: torso
> * Rarity: uncommon
> * Dreadfulness: 4
> * Muscle 2

This has the same desc as the rotting torso

> wheel:
> * description: wheels! why has no one ever thought about that ?
> * special: none
> * rarity: uncommon
> * Type: leg
> * Speed: 10

Maybe there should be a bonus for having two wheels?

Or a penalty because you can't climb stairs.

> Create a new rule in section "It Lives!" that reads:
> {{
> === Things you can do ===
> Moves are Game Documents.
> Each Move lists:
> * one or more costs (if no cost is listed, it is assumed to be 1 Turn)
> * one or more requirement
> * one or more effects
> (any of these may be "none")

I'd prefer it if all the costs had to be explicit. Also, requirement - 
 > requirements.

> ==== Tinker  ====
> Tinkering is a Move.
> * cost: 1 Turn
> * requirement: the Player must have at least a Bodypart.
> * requirement: the player must clearly specify which is the replaced
> Bodypart and which is the replacing Bodypart.
> * effect: the Player may replace one of eir Creature's Bodyparts with
> a Bodypart e possesses.
> * effect: the replaced Bodypart is destroyed.
> * effect: the Muscle, Brightness, Speed and Dreadfulness of the
> replacing Bodypart are added to the Creature's Muscle, Brightness,
> Speed and Dreadfulness respectively
> * effect: the Player gains one Lit Torch

Am I correct in thinking that this allows me to replace a pitiful  
torso with a Strong Arm? Hey, I could make an entire monster out of  
Slimy Tentacles!

Also, you add the attributes of the body parts but don't subtract the  
attributes of the removed parts - if I got two Napolean's Heads, I  
could put one on the monster, and then replace it with the other, to  
give my Creature 40 points of intelligence. It might be clearer to  
change the definition of a monster to say that its attributes are  
always the sum of its components' attributes.

> ==== Wire Money Abroad ====
> * cost: 200 Gold
> * requirement: none
> * effect: the Player gains 2 Points

Heh.

> Create a new rule in section "It Lives!" that reads:
> {{
> === Attacks and Combat ===
> ==== Attacks ====
> Whenever a Player attacks another Player the player that is attacking
> is said to be the attacking Player, the player that is being attacked
> is said to be the defending player.
> Whenever a Player attacks another Player the following actions are
> performed in succession:
> If the defending Player's Creature is dead, the Defending Player's
> Gold is added to the Attacking Player's Gold Attribute,  the
> defending Player's Lab is Destroyed and the Attack is terminated.
> If the defending Players Creature is not dead the attacking Player's
> Creature, and the defending Player's Creature enter Combat.
> The Attack ends.

No need for a comma in the 2nd to last sentence.

> ==== Combat ====
> Whenever two Creatures enter Combat the following actions are
> performed in succession:
> the Creature with the highest Speed delivers a Blow to the other
> Creature.
> the Creature with the lowest Speed, if it's not dead, delivers a Blow
> to the other Creature.

What about creatures with the same speed?

> ==== Blows ====
> Whenever a Creature delivers a Blow to another Creature the following
> actions are performed in succession:
> If the delivering Creature's Brightness is greater than 9, choose the
> lowest non 0 attribute of the target Creature.
> If the delivering Creature's Brightness is not greater than 9, choose
> a random non 0 attribute of the target Creature.
> Subtract the delivering Creature's Muscle from the selected Attribute
> of the receiving Creature.

Does incapacitation factor into this? Also, how do you heal a  
monster? Just by replacing body parts?

> Create a new rule in section "It Lives!" that reads:
> {{
> === The Weather ===
> The Weather is a Subgame Object which can be in one of the following
> states:
> * sunny
> * rainy
> * stormy
>
> While the weather is stormy all Creatures gain +2 to all Attributes.
> Each Nday the Weather's state is selected at Random by the Shelley.

I wonder if updating this randomly every nday will be too much work.  
I suppose most of this prop is meant to be automated?

> /* whew, finally finished */

That looks pretty good. I have two worries
1) The amount of gold total throughout the game seems to be fixed at  
100 times the number of times players have joined; two players could  
gain ridiculous numbers of points by alternately joining and giving  
each other all eir gold, then each cashing in before quitting and  
rejoining.
2) In my experience, subgames tend to get old after a while, and many  
of them keep lurching onwards anyway, with nobody wanting to propose  
a new subgame until the current one is shut down, but nobody wanting  
to be the one to shut down the current one either. A related problem  
is that a few players could construct huge, invulnerable creatures by  
pure luck and then proceed to wipe out other players as they tried to  
rejoin, thus making the game inaccessible for new players. Both of  
these problems would be solved if there were some fixed termination  
condition - perhaps each player gains some sort of token whenever e  
destroys another player's Lab, and when somebody gets 10 tokens e  
gets a big heap of points and the game starts over?

-- 
Wonko


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