Crimelike

Original post from the Bay12Games Forums in regards to a new roguelike, quoting Lap. This is the basic, basic foundation of what we're going to be working on.

"Alright, so we all watched in horror/amazement at the whole SK roguelike thread. Oddly enough, a lot of good gameplay suggestions did come up and I heard many people say that they were going to try and make it themselves. Please, let's not have like 6 unfinished versions by separate authors in the works. I'd really like for us to be able to work together and focus our efforts.

Anyways, this whole thing reminded me that I've had this old design document laying around my computer for a while, but I never really got to doing anything with it. It's a bit broader in scope than the serial killer focus so I think a lot more people would be able to enjoy and participate in it. Here's the basics of it:

Source of Inspirations - The Sting/The Clue, Crimefighters, Liberal Crime Squad

Setting - Modern day city or large town.

Atmosphere - Fairly normal. Definitely not crazy like HellMOO or extremely dark like Gotham.

Overall Player Goals - Most goals are greed based (money), but some specific characters might have more specific end game goals (ie. infamy, amassing X number of gang members, etc.).

Specific Character Types - Each type is based around a specific playstyle to keep everyone entertained.

Thug - Mostly violence based. Robberies, heists, and muggings. These characters are also likely to be members of gangs and have followers.

Dealer - Similar to thugs, but more focused on mercantile and smuggling then outright violence.

Thief - Stealth based and works mostly alone.

Scam Artist- Based on tricking others into giving money. Focuses on disguises, identity theft, and intelligence.

Hitman - Narrowly focused violence.

Serial Killer - I hesitate to add this in, but it does seem that he could be a viable variant. By adding "compulsions" or other mental sicknesses it would add a twist to the standard of just killing people. Something like each night a voice tells you to "Target X type of person with Y hair and then do weird ritual X". When you're forced to occasionally do very irrational things, it can get much more difficult than standard thug or hitman based gameplay and is less based on money.

These should satisfy just about every playstyle.

Of course, anyone can just play and do whatever they want. Player starting roles are there simply to provide a start or more direction for players who desire it.

Evidence/Heat System - The most important system in the game that is universal to everyone is the system that essentially manages how infamous you are. Things like leaving evidence and being seen are the primary ways to raise your heat. Doing things like laying low, having/forcing someone else to take the fall for you, hacking into police database, and wearing disguises are ways to reduce your heat.

[As far as the gruesome torture stuff, I could care less. If there's some sort of valid gameplay mechanic it can be linked to then whatever, but I'd prefer this to not be made purely for shock value.]

That's the basic premise without getting into too many specifics. I'm just trying to gauge interest and to see if anyone wants to collaborate. Most likely would be using an existing RL engine to save time (probably TE4). If someone really feels up to being project lead, by all means take the reigns. I just don't want to see so much scattered effort."