It seems there's interest in this contest so i'll try again, please
support if you think it's a good idea!
I intend, with 2 Agoran Consent, to initiate a sanctioned tournament with
the following set of Regulations:
{{{
Subgame Idea Tournament Regulations
------------------------------------------------------
Regulation 1 (Suggesting Pre-Proposals):
{
A Pre-Proposal is a type of entity consisting of a body of text and other
attributes. A player CAN suggest a Pre-Proposal by announcement, specifying
its text and an associated title.
When a Pre-Proposal is suggested, the player that suggested it becomes one
of the authors of that Pre-Proposal. An author of a Pre-Proposal can make
another player become an author of that Pre-Proposal by announcement.
}
Regulation 2 (Role of the Gamemaster):
{
Snail is the Gamemaster for this tournament, and shall publish a list of
all Pre-Proposals and their authors each week, though e may leave out
Pre-Proposals made obsolete by newer versions of themselves. The Gamemaster
can amend these regulations with 2 Agoran Consent. Any player can amend
these regulations with 3 Agoran Consent. The Gamemaster shall resolve any
ambiguities in these regulations in the direction of properly rewarding any
players that substantially contributed to the creation of future subgames.
}
Regulation 3 (Winning the Tournament):
{
A Pre-Proposal can be Finalized with 3 Agoran Consent.
When the tournament concludes, each author of a Finalized Pre-Proposal wins
the tournament.
The tournament can be concluded with 3 Agoran Consent, and SHOULD be
concluded after two Pre-Proposals have been Finalized unless Pre-Proposals
are still being actively created.
Finalized Pre-Proposals SHOULD be submitted as proposals when appropriate.
}
Regulation 4 (General Guidelines):
{
This regulation only contains general guidelines that SHOULD be followed
during the course of this tournament.
Pre-Proposals should be suggested with the input of multiple players and
attempt to embody the Agoran Subgame Principles (listed below). Heavy
iteration is encouraged, and all players should voice their likes and
dislikes of certain mechanics and gameplay loops in each Pre-Proposal.
Finalizing should be attempted on any Pre-Proposal that lacks criticism for
a week. Such criticism should focus on gameplay effects rather than
specific wording, as proofreading can be done at the conclusion of the
tournament. The tournament is a place for brainstorming a large amount of
varying ideas and cutting away at anything that wouldn't work in service of
finding viable ideas that also interest the Agoran population.
Agoran Subgame Principles (including the work of ais523):
* Nomic is a game of changing rules at its core. Subgames should include
the proposal system and potential rule changes in their gameplay loop.
* A subgame should be intuitive for new players to understand. Getting
bogged down by complicated rules detracts from the experience. Don't forget
this principle when it comes time to finalize wording.
* Have a hook! Some kind of game, genre, or theme for the subgame to build
around as it changes. There should be clear places to add on but no
indication of exactly what should be added. Let players direct their
creativity into the subgame.
* A subgame shouldn't be too fast or too slow. The generally accepted
agoran participation minimum is once a week to keep up with everything.
This isn't to say gameplay must be limited to once a week or can't be less
frequent, but it is a good starting point to base any time constraints on.
* Utilize existing mechanics (Radiance, Stamps, Tabled Actions, the
boulder.) Having the subgame be interconnected with the rest of the rules
gives players more reasons to care about it.
* A subgame should be straightforward for an officer to track. The ideal
amount of officer work is zero, but if a subgame is poorly optimized, an
officer might have to take an hour to make a report. Consider example
gameplay for officer workflow, and include intuitive mechanics that only
need a few things to be tracked.
* Avoid "grindy" subgames. Having to take an action every week can cause
players that miss a week to fall behind and lose interest. New players
should be able to engage with subgame without feeling hopeless.
* Start simple. The subgame can get more complex as rules are added and
dominant strategies are discovered and changed. Making a complicated
subgame immediately will make it harder for players to engage. Lean on
easily understood gameplay loops and existing mechanics if you must include
something complex. The average agoran should be able to grasp the subgame
within a few minutes of reading the rules.
* Aim for emergent gameplay. If the optimal move is easy to calculate,
there's not much point in playing a game. The uncertainty of proposals in
your subgame can help remedy this.
* See if you can include burst-style gameplay in your subgame. Planning out
the perfect move and then executing it is a tried and true Agoran gameplay
loop. Give players things to plan for and think about in advance, and allow
for explosive combos.
* Consider if you want the subgame to be competitive or not. Losing
progress on a win has to feel fair. Determine how often a player can win
your subgame. If wins happen more than once a quarter it may make wins less
valuable. Strike a balance that makes the win hard, but achievable by
perhaps a few players. Don't leave out players that are behind in a subgame.
* Make your subgame accessible for players that have to become inactive, or
can't be available certain days. If players have to miss important events,
they should be able to play despite that. Avoid timing scams.
* Think outside the box! Don't be afraid try something that wouldn't fit in
the current Agoran framework. It's changed before, after all. Emphasize
creativity, originality, and fun above all else! We'll find a way to
implement it if players want it.
Players are encouraged to form committees for coming up with great ideas in
order to win the tournament. Group chats for quick brainstorming and
rapid-fire ideas are recommended.
}
}}}
--
snail
Steampunk Hat
