I have no problem with it. The game is about working together and I like the aspect of working together whether we like it or not. The stakes ARE pretty high.
If someone really has a problem with it we should be able to pay credits to hide it for a week, though.
Noggin alone would have figured out the puzzle on the second cycle because he had such a good guess in the beginning. Being able to see his inventory before and after the event, as well as knowing who was gaining how many points made it pretty easy to figure out what items were interacting. My chart shows that there were only 4 base items necessary to win the game.
I think that the DSG is a good idea, but i suspect that the puzzles will either be way too hard, and not worth the credits to try and solve, or that they will be too easy. This one was a lucky game and most likely not typical. I think one of the problems is having half of the reactions based on items bought on the first day. Had a snowballing effect.
With a 12 item base, a team of 4 people could theoretically perform a 'cycle one sweep' and map out the interactions they noticed, combine that information and then use that to finish the game on cycle #2. Thats basically what happened here, although i wasnt working with noggin or Kevlar.
I dont know if it would make the game too complicated, but i think one way to make the game more interesting is to have items that negatively impact the game, or that interact positively or negatively with different items. In the last game all items were of either no value, (creditsinks) or positive value.
Not being able to see inventories would make it quite challenging, but could drag the puzzles on for months, im not sure how many would play that long. After knowing the mechanics of the game as it stands now, only the most devoted of DG readers would want to even get involved, the small rewards are not big enough to be an incentive to anyone who wants to try and play casually, they wouldnt be able to afford to play anyway.
I dont have a real good solution or recommendation at this point. Myself id like to see the puzzle be winnable by someone who didnt participate in the first 2-3 days. With the current item advancement system that would be impractical though. As it is right now, a player who misses the first day, or even the first cycle has a dramatically reduced chance of winning, and thus may choose not to play entirely for that game.
The only way i can see to make a more 'open' game is to have only the base items interact with eachother to create new items, that way anyone who had the right items at the start of the next day could start building the solution to the puzzle. But that would basically create an entirely different game, and the combo tree would become vastly more complex.
Which is why I think inventories should be open--people who don't play the first few cycles can "catch up" by paying attention to other people's inventories.
The first game was purposefully easy. It was meant to give people a better understanding of the game. Making the first entry too hard would have had a negative impact.
I'm quite pleased with the results. I think people had a lot of fun playing. I think you'll all have more fun next game as well ;)
I really didn't think that we'd win the last cycle. I kept trying to find people who were getting more points with different items, thinking that every night there was a group of three items that would be effected. It was a pleasant surprise that the first game was so easy and I look forward to the games that are harder! (Especially now that I have the credits to not worry about the cost of the items so much. Damn me for startign to get involved all late-like.)
I really don't think items should negatively impact the game, though. At least not until the second or third cycles of the game. I'd imagine that would be a bitch to code in because right now it's a repeating code until someone beats it. I see it something like buying scissors for the army event. The first time you don't know the army is coming so your scissors don't have a negative or positive effect on you. If you buy those same scissors in cycle two for the army event you should lose 5 points for stupidity or it should cut down your flower or something. It's not necessary but it would give me a good laugh. :)
Voted for not hidden, even though I don't play the game (yet).
As with every other game (thinking along the lines of board games) the enemies actions are obvious, as the items should be; it is their underlying strategy that opposing players should be left to figure out, based on their obvious actions. As in war, you are aware (usually) of what your enemy is doing, but not why.
Edit - Thinking back on what I wrote, I think that the inventories SHOULD be hidable, but it should be some insane amount of credits so that people won't just hide it every week, it should be an amenity that you can only use so very scarcely.
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If someone really has a problem with it we should be able to pay credits to hide it for a week, though.
I think that the DSG is a good idea, but i suspect that the puzzles will either be way too hard, and not worth the credits to try and solve, or that they will be too easy. This one was a lucky game and most likely not typical. I think one of the problems is having half of the reactions based on items bought on the first day. Had a snowballing effect.
With a 12 item base, a team of 4 people could theoretically perform a 'cycle one sweep' and map out the interactions they noticed, combine that information and then use that to finish the game on cycle #2. Thats basically what happened here, although i wasnt working with noggin or Kevlar.
I dont know if it would make the game too complicated, but i think one way to make the game more interesting is to have items that negatively impact the game, or that interact positively or negatively with different items. In the last game all items were of either no value, (creditsinks) or positive value.
Not being able to see inventories would make it quite challenging, but could drag the puzzles on for months, im not sure how many would play that long. After knowing the mechanics of the game as it stands now, only the most devoted of DG readers would want to even get involved, the small rewards are not big enough to be an incentive to anyone who wants to try and play casually, they wouldnt be able to afford to play anyway.
I dont have a real good solution or recommendation at this point. Myself id like to see the puzzle be winnable by someone who didnt participate in the first 2-3 days. With the current item advancement system that would be impractical though. As it is right now, a player who misses the first day, or even the first cycle has a dramatically reduced chance of winning, and thus may choose not to play entirely for that game.
The only way i can see to make a more 'open' game is to have only the base items interact with eachother to create new items, that way anyone who had the right items at the start of the next day could start building the solution to the puzzle. But that would basically create an entirely different game, and the combo tree would become vastly more complex.
The first game was purposefully easy. It was meant to give people a better understanding of the game. Making the first entry too hard would have had a negative impact.
I'm quite pleased with the results. I think people had a lot of fun playing. I think you'll all have more fun next game as well ;)
I really don't think items should negatively impact the game, though. At least not until the second or third cycles of the game. I'd imagine that would be a bitch to code in because right now it's a repeating code until someone beats it. I see it something like buying scissors for the army event. The first time you don't know the army is coming so your scissors don't have a negative or positive effect on you. If you buy those same scissors in cycle two for the army event you should lose 5 points for stupidity or it should cut down your flower or something. It's not necessary but it would give me a good laugh. :)
Although nobody stumbled upon it, "negative" items were already in Game I.
What were they, if you don't mind sharing?
As with every other game (thinking along the lines of board games) the enemies actions are obvious, as the items should be; it is their underlying strategy that opposing players should be left to figure out, based on their obvious actions. As in war, you are aware (usually) of what your enemy is doing, but not why.
Edit - Thinking back on what I wrote, I think that the inventories SHOULD be hidable, but it should be some insane amount of credits so that people won't just hide it every week, it should be an amenity that you can only use so very scarcely.