Chela
09-04-2008, 11:50 AM
Quite some years ago, I came across a game by the name of Killer, it was published by Steve Jackson games and was a variant of Assassin, a game played by students and probably staff in may colleges and universities. For those of you that don't know, this is a live action game of assassination, played out as part of your everyday life. I have been convinced for some time now that a variant of this could be played on Calypso and have spent several hours trying to figure out how, having figured out a possible method I have not been in a position where I knew enough people to test it, until now!
On Calypso we have weapons we could use for assassination and PVP areas where brutal murder can be commited, these two things blinded me for sometime after all weapons don't work on other players outside a PVP zone and how many of us spend enough time in PVP zones for this to work? I now belive I have a playable version of this but there is only one way to find out!
I have tried to put this together in a way that makes sense, I don't often succeed at that:)
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For the purposes of testing the game the weapon of choice is a scanner as these work anywhere. If this works out OK I intend to include methods to use guns, blades and blunt intruments, I have a rough idea of how to do this and will be conducting some tests over the next week or so.
In order to certify a kill a posting of a screenshot must be made, the screenshot must be:-
1) In 1st person.
2) Show the scan of the victim.
3) Have the victim selected (i.e. with the select box around them and their name showing)
4) The victim must be in direct line of sight.
5) The time must be visible in the chat box. (To prevent people from using old shots).
In addition the assassin must not have been previously eliminated by another assassin.
The screenshot will need to be posted to the thread for the relevant game as soon as possible, except when playing Ring of Assassins (see below). The first person to post a qualifying screenshot is the person who completed the assassination even if someone else posts later but with an earlier time in the chat box, this is not ideal but to do otherwise could cause problems. There are some examples at the bottom, if I have got them in the right order, the first one is the only success, the second one is a fail as obscured by object, the third one a fail as no date and time and the last one a fail due to the termination of an innocent bystander.
The killing of innocent bystanders is forbidden. To this end there must be no other avatars or non player avatars that could get in the way of the kill, i.e. between assassin and assassinated, even a partial blockage is a fail. The killing of innocent bystanders will result in disqualification or possibly a contract will be put out on you as well.
Assuming this method of recording a kill works it becomes possible to play many different games, for example.
The Individual Contract.
An avatar is chosen as the target, the first player to record an assassination wins. In this game there is no need for the victim to even know they are playing :)
The Group Contract.
Several avatars are choosen as targets, possibly an entire society, the winner is the player to record the most kills. Again the vicitms do not need to know they are playing.
Two or more group Contract.
A number of teams compete to wipe out all the other teams. The winners are the surviving members of the only remaining team.
The Ring of Assassins.
This one can get a bit complex. In this game no one knows who else is playing, each player is assigned a target, each player is also the target of an unknown assassin. When a player successfully assassinates another player they are assigned the target of the player they assassinated. The winner is the last one alive. This is a game of stealth and deciet, I have played this myself and there is a distinct feeling of unease that goes with this, after all someone is out to get you. When a screenshot is captured in this game it is necessary to PM it to the game moderator (normally called the Master of Assassins) so that the kill can be confirmed, the image is then edited to remove any traces of who took it before being posted by the Master of Assassins. The Master of Assassins would then inform the successfull assassin who there next target is and the victim of their demise. It is possible that an assassanition my be disallowed because the assassin has already been assassinated and does not know it.
Games can have a time limit or be completely open ended. Open ended games can be played alongside your usual Calypso activities, with you taking advantage of sightings etc. beware, others will be doing the same!
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I think that just about covers how far I have got with my reasoning so far. Any questions or sugestions or if you are interested in trying this then please post here. If you foresee any issues let me know and I will try to update the rules to resolve these before they occur.
If there is enough interest then I will initiate a contract.
On Calypso we have weapons we could use for assassination and PVP areas where brutal murder can be commited, these two things blinded me for sometime after all weapons don't work on other players outside a PVP zone and how many of us spend enough time in PVP zones for this to work? I now belive I have a playable version of this but there is only one way to find out!
I have tried to put this together in a way that makes sense, I don't often succeed at that:)
----------
For the purposes of testing the game the weapon of choice is a scanner as these work anywhere. If this works out OK I intend to include methods to use guns, blades and blunt intruments, I have a rough idea of how to do this and will be conducting some tests over the next week or so.
In order to certify a kill a posting of a screenshot must be made, the screenshot must be:-
1) In 1st person.
2) Show the scan of the victim.
3) Have the victim selected (i.e. with the select box around them and their name showing)
4) The victim must be in direct line of sight.
5) The time must be visible in the chat box. (To prevent people from using old shots).
In addition the assassin must not have been previously eliminated by another assassin.
The screenshot will need to be posted to the thread for the relevant game as soon as possible, except when playing Ring of Assassins (see below). The first person to post a qualifying screenshot is the person who completed the assassination even if someone else posts later but with an earlier time in the chat box, this is not ideal but to do otherwise could cause problems. There are some examples at the bottom, if I have got them in the right order, the first one is the only success, the second one is a fail as obscured by object, the third one a fail as no date and time and the last one a fail due to the termination of an innocent bystander.
The killing of innocent bystanders is forbidden. To this end there must be no other avatars or non player avatars that could get in the way of the kill, i.e. between assassin and assassinated, even a partial blockage is a fail. The killing of innocent bystanders will result in disqualification or possibly a contract will be put out on you as well.
Assuming this method of recording a kill works it becomes possible to play many different games, for example.
The Individual Contract.
An avatar is chosen as the target, the first player to record an assassination wins. In this game there is no need for the victim to even know they are playing :)
The Group Contract.
Several avatars are choosen as targets, possibly an entire society, the winner is the player to record the most kills. Again the vicitms do not need to know they are playing.
Two or more group Contract.
A number of teams compete to wipe out all the other teams. The winners are the surviving members of the only remaining team.
The Ring of Assassins.
This one can get a bit complex. In this game no one knows who else is playing, each player is assigned a target, each player is also the target of an unknown assassin. When a player successfully assassinates another player they are assigned the target of the player they assassinated. The winner is the last one alive. This is a game of stealth and deciet, I have played this myself and there is a distinct feeling of unease that goes with this, after all someone is out to get you. When a screenshot is captured in this game it is necessary to PM it to the game moderator (normally called the Master of Assassins) so that the kill can be confirmed, the image is then edited to remove any traces of who took it before being posted by the Master of Assassins. The Master of Assassins would then inform the successfull assassin who there next target is and the victim of their demise. It is possible that an assassanition my be disallowed because the assassin has already been assassinated and does not know it.
Games can have a time limit or be completely open ended. Open ended games can be played alongside your usual Calypso activities, with you taking advantage of sightings etc. beware, others will be doing the same!
--------------
I think that just about covers how far I have got with my reasoning so far. Any questions or sugestions or if you are interested in trying this then please post here. If you foresee any issues let me know and I will try to update the rules to resolve these before they occur.
If there is enough interest then I will initiate a contract.