game:code_of_unaris [RPG Design Patterns]

Code of Unaris was written by Gary Pratt and is published by GoldLeaf Games. It is a game designed specifically to support role-playing on Internet chat sites. The game’s premise is that a renegade computer program has inadvertently created a wormhole to an ancient past set in the world of Unaris. One billion years ago, Earth's moon was lush and fertile, supporting an ancient human civilization of medieval level technology and fantastic magic. The mysterious Internet program not only allows players to see into this remarkable past, but also allows them to alter it in small ways so that history may be altered. This is fortunate, because one powerful mage, known as The Warlock, has taken notice of the wormhole's influence. His goal is to eradicate mankind forever, so his discovery that mankind has survived a billion years is disconcerting to him. His knowledge of the wormhole, though, may allow him to correct his mistakes and make humankind's downfall a reality. It is the players’ collective responsibility to see to it that this does not happen.

RPG Design Patterns Identified

Gift (Special Abilities), Hit Points (Life Points), Last Man Standing, Negotiated Contest, Rank, Resource (Hack Points), Skill, Template

Character Makeup

Characters are created through the expenditure of “Bonus Points,” or “Character Points.” Generally, players start their character designs from given templates. Players thereafter spend their Bonus Points in customizing their characters. These points are spent primarily in gaining ranks in various skills, such as “Jump” and “Alchemy” and may gain “Special Abilities” (Gifts) such as “Cold Resistant” or “Quickdraw.” Characters also have “Reputations,” such as “Charming,” “Hot-Headed,” or “Snooty.” Reputations provide modifiers to various pertinent skills. All characters start with a single reputation, but more can be accumulated (and/or dropped) as play progresses. Characters also have a number of “Life Points,” which act as hit points.

Conflict System

The most original mechanic in the game is known as “hacking.” Hacking is a process by which statements of recent past events or circumstances stated by the Game Master may be altered. Every session, each player starts with 20 Hack Points. The alteration of a single word costs a player one Hack Point. Changing a quantity up or down by 50% costs a player 2 Hack Points. In this way, a player can alter the circumstances of the game world so that an unfavorable situation can be transformed into a favorable one. “A lit bomb lands at your feet” could potentially be hacked into “A lit torch lands at your feet.” Thereafter, conflict resolution is very simple. When one skill is pitted against that of an opponent, the higher skill rank wins.

Turn Order

Code of Unaris takes advantage of the fact that it is a game specifically designed to support role-playing in Internet chat rooms. The order in which actions are taken is the order in which they are entered into the chat session. Thus, the faster you type, the higher the priority of your actions.

Reward System

The game master rewards players at the end of a session by giving them Bonus Points. The amount of points awarded depends on if they completed the mission, how heroic the players portrayed their characters, how inventive they were in overcoming their opposition, for pushing the story forward, and for how well the character’s role was played.

game/code_of_unaris.txt · Last modified: 2011/05/05 04:41 (external edit) -