Rejusu
2013-04-03, 08:56 AM
So I've got it in my mind to design a board game inspired by a Warcraft III custom game known as Parasite (which was in turn likely inspired by the Aliens franchise). Essentially the premise is that you're on a ship and one person has been infested by an alien parasite, only no one knows who it is. It's a game of paranoia and mistrust, no one knows who the enemy is and killing your fellow humans by mistake only weakens your chances of survival. Meanwhile the aliens objective is (naturally) to kill all the human players. There's also an android, essentially the only character the humans can trust (so more Aliens than Alien) not to be infected. The alien can sabotage the ship, convert human players to minions (who become the main alien if it dies) by killing them first, and grows stronger over time.
Now obviously I'm not going to be able to translate all the games mechanics over to a tabletop version, and there's things it doesn't really need either. What I really want to capture is the main feeling of the game where no one knows who to trust. It's a lot like the Mafia party game in some respects. It also has the same problems. Namely how to enable players to act without attracting attention. Mafia has a GM of sorts and relies on everyone closing their eyes and then the mafia opening theirs and gesturing. It's not a great method as being blind doesn't make you deaf and you can often hear if someone sitting next to you moves. There's also a limit to what can be communicated with a gesture, and I want to avoid requiring a GM for play.
My idea is to use cards drawn from a common deck by all players. On the top half is a "Human" effect and if you turn it upsidedown the bottom half is an "Alien" effect, with the cards rear symmetrical. Each turn the players add a card to a bag or a box of some kind. One way round if they're human, the other way round if they're the alien. The cards are then revealed and their actions resolved. Interactions between players could also be handled in a similar manner, by exchanging cards that can't be seen by other players. You could be fighting or you could be trading.
There is one thing that I'd like to have in but I don't see being possible in a tabletop format though. And that's the alien being able to directly attack another player without revealing which human they are. In the game they can switch between an alien and human form at will, and it's only if they're caught transforming that you'll know who they are. Or of course if you see someone walk into a room and the alien walk out. The card reveals work well for general actions, but for direct interaction I don't see how to do it without giving the game away.
Any feedback or suggestions would be appreciated.
Now obviously I'm not going to be able to translate all the games mechanics over to a tabletop version, and there's things it doesn't really need either. What I really want to capture is the main feeling of the game where no one knows who to trust. It's a lot like the Mafia party game in some respects. It also has the same problems. Namely how to enable players to act without attracting attention. Mafia has a GM of sorts and relies on everyone closing their eyes and then the mafia opening theirs and gesturing. It's not a great method as being blind doesn't make you deaf and you can often hear if someone sitting next to you moves. There's also a limit to what can be communicated with a gesture, and I want to avoid requiring a GM for play.
My idea is to use cards drawn from a common deck by all players. On the top half is a "Human" effect and if you turn it upsidedown the bottom half is an "Alien" effect, with the cards rear symmetrical. Each turn the players add a card to a bag or a box of some kind. One way round if they're human, the other way round if they're the alien. The cards are then revealed and their actions resolved. Interactions between players could also be handled in a similar manner, by exchanging cards that can't be seen by other players. You could be fighting or you could be trading.
There is one thing that I'd like to have in but I don't see being possible in a tabletop format though. And that's the alien being able to directly attack another player without revealing which human they are. In the game they can switch between an alien and human form at will, and it's only if they're caught transforming that you'll know who they are. Or of course if you see someone walk into a room and the alien walk out. The card reveals work well for general actions, but for direct interaction I don't see how to do it without giving the game away.
Any feedback or suggestions would be appreciated.