Harlan Roulette
Reason for picking the US Marshals over the Police: US Marshals are in charge of asset seizure, taking property that runs or has to do with criminal enterprises. They are also in charge of the hunting down of fugitives, which will in this game be the opposing team of criminals. This gives the opportunity to add elements of property acquisition and defence to the game, opening it up for more levels of strategy and adding more importance to the ability to build up money and gain property.
The name Harlan Roulette is taken from the television show Justified, where a criminal forces another into playing Russian Roulette, only to trick and kill him anyway. I used this title to symbolise the dangers of crime and how there is a chance that the criminal character in the game should be careful. Also because of this I chose the setting for Kentucky, of which Harlan is a part of, for the sake of poignancy.
The goals of this game will be
elimination and acquisition, and property buying. These goals must be
suitable and make sense for players playing on different sides of the
law, with one player playing as a US Marshal while the other plays as
an up and coming criminal. If a criminal lands on a place such as a
property they can chose to rob it for instant money, give protection
for money if they have enough crew members, or buy and run the
property for a cash bonus per go. On the other hand US Marshals can
perform busts, confiscating criminal gains, repossession properties
or thin out recruits by choosing to 'arrest' crew members. This will
be difficult to make balanced but is possible.
The Criminals:
This side starts with the standard amount of money ($1500) and just themselves as players. Their goal will to be to move up the crime ladder and acquire money by robbing stores. Stores can only be robbed once by the player, and will only be successful if they roll a four or up, with the amount of money they receive depending on how high they roll on their go. If they are unsuccessful they have the opportunity to try again after three goes, but if they are unsuccessful they will also be sent directly to Big Sandy (prison). After they gain more money they can recruit “crew members” (essentially the equivalent of hotels) to place on shops to signify that they are “in their protection” and therefore cannot be robbed by other criminals, if there are any in the game. The crew with members on buildings will receive a small sum every five goes to accrue money, giving them the opportunity to buy the property. When property is bought they will gain double the money from the property and this will stop other criminals from purchasing or offering protection to these places, giving the player the advantage.
This side starts with the standard amount of money ($1500) and just themselves as players. Their goal will to be to move up the crime ladder and acquire money by robbing stores. Stores can only be robbed once by the player, and will only be successful if they roll a four or up, with the amount of money they receive depending on how high they roll on their go. If they are unsuccessful they have the opportunity to try again after three goes, but if they are unsuccessful they will also be sent directly to Big Sandy (prison). After they gain more money they can recruit “crew members” (essentially the equivalent of hotels) to place on shops to signify that they are “in their protection” and therefore cannot be robbed by other criminals, if there are any in the game. The crew with members on buildings will receive a small sum every five goes to accrue money, giving them the opportunity to buy the property. When property is bought they will gain double the money from the property and this will stop other criminals from purchasing or offering protection to these places, giving the player the advantage.
The Marshals:
This side will start the same amount of money, but their goal will be to stop the criminals from buying property through the ability to set up protection, by paying for additional forces, and setting up safe houses in place of stores. These safe houses can be raided by criminals if they have the resources (a certain amount of “crew” pieces), and even taken over, which will depend on the results of a dice role from each player in the raid, criminals will again end up in prison, this will last for just two goes, or less if criminals are able to bail themselves out. Likewise the Marshals can repossess property, taking a cut of gang money to fund efforts to stop the criminal elements.
This side will start the same amount of money, but their goal will be to stop the criminals from buying property through the ability to set up protection, by paying for additional forces, and setting up safe houses in place of stores. These safe houses can be raided by criminals if they have the resources (a certain amount of “crew” pieces), and even taken over, which will depend on the results of a dice role from each player in the raid, criminals will again end up in prison, this will last for just two goes, or less if criminals are able to bail themselves out. Likewise the Marshals can repossess property, taking a cut of gang money to fund efforts to stop the criminal elements.
The winner will be determined by who
can hold out the longest. If the Marshals are able to hold and keep
property safe for long enough, and take enough of the criminal money
that they cannot rebuild, then they win. Likewise if they criminals
are able to hold all of the properties, be it just one, or two
criminals dividing the area between them, then crime will win the
game.
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