Game Design Challenge: Romance

[Isaak]

Originally Posted by Retro

You COULD do it, but making a FPS where you shoot people to make them fall in love really sounds lame. I'd like to really see people submitting stuff that really breaks the mold without going into the realm of silliness. But that's just me.

Don't worry, I've got that covered.

[bob]

hahaaaaaa... nice.

[Nilbmar]

Originally Posted by Retro

2. I'm thinking on the saying "There's someone for everyone", and building a game where the player is sorting through a ton of people for a pair of matching soul mates. Something like... getting assigned a random person and then trying to track down the person they're meant to be with.

Hey, I'm new to the forums but had to comment on this since I like the idea.

Maybe do this from the point of view of a dating site (or the folks that did it as a business before those sites came about) where you choose who to match and score based on how accurate you were.

Romance games are completely foreign to me, I'm gonna have to do some research. Any tips?

[zarathustraa]

For this contest does Thousand Arms count as a romance game? I could see a Zelda style game which forces the player to date the females he saves to unlock special attacks possibly working out.

Correct me if I'm wrong but aren't romance games, in Japan, like Ogenki Clinic, or a mature version of that usually. This could definitly be done non-****ographically; but, I just see that losing some of the player base.

Now, if its a game that focuses on fps or rpg style gameplay it could do well; but, dating would be a side thing then; however, you could design the game so dating has some type of benefit for the player (More powerful guns, health boost, npc fights with you, etc)

[Kodiak]

I think converting one of the thousands of sci-fi / fantasy romance novels out there into a game would be interesting as well. It would certainly have a chance of reaching out to an existing customer base. I'd see it as an RPG where the player takes on the role of the female or male protagonist and must successfully develop the relationship with the other to have access to the right powers/allies to defeat the various challenges and end bosses.

[Philmography]

Is there any limit to how many ideas one person can submit?

I was unable to find any specific regulations about that on the GCG link. =J

[bob]

Phil,

I think you can submit as many ideas as you want.

Yo game designerz. Awesome blog right here. I'm not sure who this guy is but he designed a couple splinter cell games and Far Cry 2. And there's a ton of professional game designers weighing in on this very interesting article.

http://www.clicknothing.com/click_no...on-making.html

[Isaak]

Originally Posted by bob

Phil, Yo game designerz. Awesome blog right here. I'm not sure who this guy is but he designed a couple splinter cell games and Far Cry 2. And there's a ton of professional game designers weighing in on this very interesting article.

http://www.clicknothing.com/click_no...on-making.html

Aight dog, dis blog be bitchin' yo!

-ahem-

It actually nicely ties into a tip of sorts I can give after tackling the challenge, seeing as how the article is about the nature of games.

I see people trying to merge fiction with games, or mimicking other existing gamedesigns and tying romance into that. Perhaps you should take a step back and map out what the theme of this challenge is exactly, then design around that and try not to force it into existing forms.

Turn things around in your brain, go beyond the first mental connection you make. Perhaps you could do something about 'attraction' and do an abstract design around that.

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Now for the purpose of making this post even longer, my submission:

Also on GoogleDocs.

Hearthunters

Type: Competitive multiplayer dating game.

Platforms: Real world + smartphone/any mobile device with internet

Summary

Hearthunters is a multiplayer dating game which takes place in the real world, supported by mobile devices capable of synching data via the internet.

At its core the game revolves around bringing people together, breaking down barriers through the use of simple gameplay mechanics and turning socializing and romance into a game.

Prior to the Game

Prior to the game players are required to download a mobile application to their device and an online profile which will allow them to participate in the game.
This application will allow players to keep track of their score and the other players while at the same time locating Hearts.

In the default game Hearts and Hunters are each made up of one gender.

As said the game takes place in a real world location, for instance a city or a small town.
Before the game starts all players gather at a central location where each 'Heart' is instructed by the Heartmaster to each go to a seperate public place (museum, restaurant) and wait for the game to start.

The Game

In the game there are three roles, two of which are playable: the Hearts and the Hunters.
The goal for the Hunters is to gather as many 'Heartpoints' they can in a limited amount of time.

Hunters get Heartpoints by finding Hearts, introducing themselves and do whatever they can within the rules
Depending on how the talk goes the Hunter is rewarded by the Heart with points. The 'Heart' submits the score and the Hunters' leader board is immediately updated.

The Hearts' location can be found on a map which comes with the mobile application, along with the leader board and a rulebook specific to Hunters.

The Hunters don't start the application until the game starts.

Hearts wait in public places and give the Hunters points. The scores they give is based on a specific Hearts rulebook.
Like Hunters, Hearts also have an application which tracks the Hunters. This application however lacks the leaderboard, making sure a Hunter's score isn't a factor during the talk.
The Heart can give 1-5 Heartpoints per Hunter

Finally the Heartmaster only acts as a referee, scorekeeper and organizer.
It's the Heartmaster who starts the game, ends it and makes sure the game is played as it should be by tracking the players and the game's progress from the central location using an application on a personal computer.

The game can be played by either gender of any sexual orientation.

The rules can be adjusted to cater to specific ages, orientation or any other characteristic to allow themed games.

After the Game

After the game is complete all players return to the central location where there's room for people to get to know eachother even better and make plans for a more formal date.

Virtual Gold, Silver and Bronze medals are awarded to the winners to display on their online profiles.

(499 words)

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Designer Commentary

At first I was working on a fairly conventional design, I had little experience with the types of games listed as examples, but enough to know my design would have absolutely nothing to do with any of them.
Combining the classic Cupid, a 3D environment, interesting scenarios and stealth gameplay, I came up with a design where the player would have to make situations happen in order to bring people together, all while not being seen.
For instance making a girl slip who would fall in the hands of a young man, an event which would culminate in a relationship later on.

This was already based on the goal of the design being 'bringing people together'. But while the player's goal would indeed be bringing people together, the actual game wouldn't.
On top of that the whole game wasn't 'out there'. The context would allow for incredibly interesting scenarios, but the actual gameplay wouldn't allow the player interesting to undertake.
The effect would be cool, cause... not so much.

After trying to rethink it, I took a break and watched Jesse Schell's DICE talk, which was ludicrously inspirational.

In short it made my look on games change completely and I got rid of the tunnel vision that been plaguing me a bit.
Instead of trying to design a game into romance, I began to design romance into a game.

I was actually quite surprised how easy it was to combine readily available, existing elements into an interesting design after that.
All the pieces fit together and it was my shortest design stint ever, only taking a few hours to make (even after leaving my whiteboard eraser at college).
In those few hours I came up with:

- A basic set of simple rules
- A way to track the results for players
- A way for players to reach the goal of the game
- A way to make sure rules are followed

Given the millions of fairly obvious ways a player could fail and the whole word limit thingy, it was safe for me to omit that.
Even with that though I didn't expect I had to include every single detail that I could come up with, given the word limit.
So I just put in what I thought was absolutely necessary.

The result was a simple, elegant gamedesign playable for everyone while at the same time keeping the initial goal intact: bringing people together.
With the possible goal of actual, real romance for players to achieve.

[bob]

Isaak,

Cool Idea. I appreciate the designer commentary at the end. Just so you don't think I stole your idea, I also had the idea of bringing the real world into the game. One concept I thought of was pairing gamers together online and having them play a variety of games together that focused on the players interacting and learning about each other.

I think your design is great but it needs more to reach it's full potential. Maybe give shy players a chance to win (it seems to me the funniest/charismatic person playing will win 90% of the time) by having each heart list several "interests" that can be collected to gain points when the hunter meets them. For instance, one of my interests is "the chipotle on 4th and C" so the Hunter can go to the Chipotle, buy 2 burritos, and bring them to the heart, scoring additional points. Of course, they needn't (and probably shouldn't) involve money. An interest could be "the transhumanism movement" so if the Hunter looks up the transhumanism movement and brings it up with the heart, they score an additional point. This creates more complexity and room for creativity, and starts conversations and reveals common interests!

What do you think?

[Isaak]

Originally Posted by bob

Isaak,

Cool Idea. I appreciate the designer commentary at the end.

Thanks and you're welcome . I feel game designers should always try and explain how and why they designed what they designed.
In other industries its often normal, but not with games strangely.

Just so you don't think I stole your idea, I also had the idea of bringing the real world into the game. One concept I thought of was pairing gamers together online and having them play a variety of games together that focused on the players interacting and learning about each other.

Definitely not the first time this has happened. I was once designing a game where the player would control a drop of water as it would go to a sea, form into a cloud and rain down in drops of water.
Little did I know 'Cloud' existed...

I think your design is great but it needs more to reach it's full potential. --AWESOME STUFF--

What do you think?

I think the 500 word limit is... limiting. But that's only the submission, really.
I love a good discussion.

I had figured giving the Hunters several items they could use for bonus points, only I didn't contemplate any further than the typical roses and chocolate.
Money would never be a factor, outside of the fee one would have to pay for the application.

Charismatic players would definitely have the edge, but I figured the Hunters would already be made up of charismatic players as not everyone would go speeddating.
Still, you make a fair point as I'm basing this on an assumption and it's definitely something to factor in. I summarized it with 'Themed Games' so it's covered, but not in any depth I'd like.

Possible theme examples could be:
- People working in a certain field
- People from a certain country
- People from the same street

Etc.

The interests could be listed on the profile a player has to make, which would be accessible through the app, on the fly.
I'm not sure whether the Hearts' interests should be known beforehand though. I think if Hunters can only see them during the game, it would have to make them think on their feet and that coupled with the time limit would add tension.

Any info about the interests would be readily available through the mobile device with a browser built into the app.

Great input, bob. Thanks.