So, this is a little bit of a complicated idea, but I'll do my best to explain.
For those who don't know, Bayesian Belief is a part of AI structure where said AI would develop based on evidence presented to it. In essence, if a blank AI observes that a man in his 40s were to get on a bus, then it would believe that only men in their 40s get on buses until something else comes along to prove otherwise. It's a kind of learning AI that will develop as time goes on and works towards the most likely outcome, and it got me thinking about how it could be applied to something like this.
With reputation, as far as I am aware, it will be based on how you interact with factions as well as your standing in the tri-axis morality system being used at this point in time. NPCs will talk to you based on your perceived actions, with their future social interactions being based on work you do for or against them and their faction.
What I propose is to use a Bayesian Belief system in addition to this to modify the NPC perception of the Players even further. After all, what might they think of the super community as a whole before they meet us?
This, of course, depends on how ingrained the superhero dynamic is on the people of the game world. If it's to the point that they aren't terribly surprised or impacted when you approach them, then this might not work, but if it's at the opposite side of the scale, it might work too well.
The basics would be that, in addition to an NPC's algorithm for determining initial impressions of the character, this information is modified with something based on the actions of the community as a whole, perhaps generating a form of Socio-Political PvP, as it were.
In a sense, there would be a series of universal traits associated with tasks the player will partake in, traits that work on a scale. For example:
Respect <-> Ire
Trust <-> Suspicion
Awe <-> Intimidation
As a mission is completed, certain information that is already associated with the Lawful, Honorable and Violent moral stats will also be put through a universal set up. Lots of collateral damage might increase the people's ire, and as a representative of the super community it might cause people to think that other colourfully costumed heroes aren't as aware of their environment as they would like them to be.
How this is applied can be on several levels:
Level 1: Media and Dialogue
As the basic level, this would merely affect written dialogue from NPCs, as well as sound bites from news and other contextual things. This would be purely fluff, and have no big impact on how the players continue to play the game.
Level 2: Rewards and vendors
Things gained from reputation, maybe access to certain vendors and the like would be harder or easier to get to based on how the world perceives the community, especially when your character approaches them for the first time. As you prove yourself an individual, separate from the general perception of the other supers, then maybe a modifier is applied to lessen the impact of this general perception of people.
Level 3: Missions and Leads
Special missions might appear based on the world's perception of the supers themselves; breaking up protesters who are decrying the freedoms of people with powers, maybe open world mini-missions like press conferences and interviews to help set yourself apart or try and redeem your fellow capes in the eyes of an otherwise disdaining public.
Maybe these stats can degrade over time, too, the impact of certain events causing people to calm down and think clearly as time goes by.
Not to bump my own thread, but I was just hit by something interesting a moment ago.
Let's say we take level 1 on our list. At this point, the core mechanics of the game are unaffected by the general opinion of supers by the people at large. We get some sound bites from nearby radios, or swapped out textures on newpapers and billboards about how great or terrible the powered populace is, which is all good, as it adds a minor change that's relatively easy to implement and provides players with a tangible display of their general impact on the world.
With the addition of missions from level 3 so that the players are given more to do and experience in the game, with press conferences and interviews and the like. These could also provide another IGC source for players to utilise beyond street sweeping. There's a lot of PR involved in being a hero.
However, with this sort of thing, we can also provide an IGC sink to go with it. Propaganda can be generated by the players to not only have an impact on the Bayesian system already in place, but also to have a direct, controllable impact on the world at large.
As an example, we could have specific blank walls around the city, which can be approached an interacted with. Here, players can spend IGC to add graffiti and/or posters from a select list for a set period of time (say, 24 hours real time?) before the slate is cleared. This would initialise a bidding system, where a player can arrive at a wall, place their posters and leave, and then another player would then spend more than the previous player to replace that propaganda with their own.
For a billboard, the person in it would use the list of key pieces of equipment in a standard pose, the string that contains the characters name, and the string with the stock message about what a player wants their character to stand for.
Before making the decision to adjust said image, the players will be informed how their propaganda might affect their reputation and the reputation of supers as a whole.
I do a DnD Podcast, which can be listened to here.
Additionally, I write up my sessions of a Teen Heroes game here.
i like it
whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster and when you look into the abyss, the abyss also look into you, -Friedrich
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