r1 ARG companion
I have been referring to the greater project that "Alchemy" fits into as the [r1 ARG companion]. Title not decided, but its essentially a personal high fantasy adventure.
The [r1 ARG companion] does not end at craft/gather gameplay loops. I would also love to include general “exploration” gameplay. Users should be able to interface with their r1 to learn more about their surroundings, potential activities, and nearby resources. As stated in the past, I want to fully utilize location data as much as possible. I would like to look at the user’s current weather conditions, temperature, biome, elevation, time of day, season of the year, etc. to influence what objects and events they can find around them.
Users should want to explore the world, both virtual and real, to gain insight and knowledge into the space around them. As the user gains more knowledge, the extent of gameplay loops they can explore and the knowledge locations of harvestable resources will expand. Included with this, I would love to spin some real world points of interest into “virtual” locations that offer the player narrative gameplay elements when prompted. Overall I would like the exploration aspects of the ARG game to fall more into narrative/RP gameplay. Exploration is both a means to gain resources, and learn about the world. As players become context aware, including puzzles that can be solved with craftable items, spells, etc. would be an interesting way to have multiplayer elements affect the world around the players. This could even include altering the types of resources players can harvest when certain events are active, encouraging players who need different types of resources to solve the “world event”.
Of course gameplay elements like this would require some sort of questing system, to lead players from narrative interaction. Not every encounter has to be completely spelled out for the player, but general guidance should be offered so the interactions do not become a hassle.
Setting Goals
One of the foundational “pillars” I have been designing revolves around the players desire to play. As the player explores more options of “play” and learns more about the digital world that surrounds them, they may start building their own ideas on how to influence their personal narrative. Some players may find joy in exploring Alchemy, Fishing, Mining, Exploration, Magic, etc. Each of these interests will influence what locations and sights the player wants to visit.
A point of difficulty in this design is creating mechanics that are loose enough to make players feel like they have control over their personal narrative. They may have goals in mind that the game will not allow for. Our job as designers is to ease this point of conflict and offer the player a reason they can not take the actions they desire. We should also keep in mind the players’ desires are in fact strong points of interest, and we can continue to design mechanics around letting individual players meet these desires.
A beautiful thing happens as the player learns more and more about their digital landscape. As they cannot interface with the gameplay mechanics of a certain location without being there, the player gains knowledge when they are out playing. Upon returning to the hearth, and putting their knowledge to practical use, they may find reason to return. Their overall goals may change. They may find new ways to achieve goals already in place. The player may even explore with the intention of finding something that brings them closer to their goal.
As far as initial implementation goes, players should find themselves in situations where using a potion would result in positive effects. This will push players in a direction that leads them to explore more potion crafting ideas, learn recipes, and start identifying what ingredients result in what effects. As players get deeper into the gameplay mechanics, they may start to discover how the different brewing methods, harvesting times, real world variables, and shelf lives affect each process. The pursuit of knowledge and understanding of the craft will be the difference between somebody interested in potion crafting and an artisan crafter, mastering their field.
These last two entries have been writeups from a separate design doc. Just wanted to find a place to work them in for public view. ~Argo