Utterly Mad

It's time for a Hibou Co. Certified Development Update

On Suburbia

So, my plan for the RP is to be a little more open ended than TSS was. The players will be free to do pretty much whatever they want. That doesn't mean the RP won't have plot, however. I'll be dropping bits and pieces of leads and hooks for the chunks of plot I'm putting around the town. A lot of the stuff is pretty wacky, and it's hard to tell who you can trust around here, but hopefully it will be engaging and interesting.

On to the Game Mechanics

KEEPING TRACK OF ALL YOUR MARBLES

There are three main stats you want to keep track of. RESPECT, CONNECTIONS, and FRIENDLINESS. Each one is affected by your job, as well as different events here in Suburbia. But before we get to that, let me explain these stats.

RESPECT is how much people respect you. It'll help keep your SUSPICION low and make people more likely to do what you tell them to. This is a more forceful trait, and abusing it can cause it to become lower. You can earn respect by doing good deeds around the neighborhood, showing your aptitude as a leader, or just doing insanely well at your job. Do things that people could respect, and your RESPECT stat will increase.

CONNECTIONS is how well connected you are. CONNECTIONS will help you get information, promotions, and favors in Surburbia. You can get connections through your job or attending social events that occur in the neighborhood. Using your CONNECTIONS will cause the stat to decrease, though, so you'll want to use them sparingly. Or not.

FRIENDLINESS is how well you get along with other people. This makes people more likely to talk with you in the first place, pay more attention to your good deeds, and will help increase your CONNECTIONS and RESPECT quickly. FRIENDLINESS can't be used directly, and as such it simply decays over time. Keep it up by talking with other people, sending gifts, and being a good neighbor.

IT'S NOT ALL SUNSHINE AND LOLLIPOPS

There are some negative stats you'll also want to keep track of in Suburbia.

SUSPICION is how suspicious you appear to other people. This can rise if you don't participate in your daily ROUTINE very often. People who are suspicious of you will be more likely to report you to the authorities if you do something unusual, and people are less likely to trust you if you are very SUSPICIOUS. Keep it low to avoid the eye of the law and maintain the support of your neighbors. Or at least prevent them from kicking your door down and torching your house.

INJURY is how injured you are. There's no health potions in Suburbia, so you'll have to either see a doctor, go to the hospital, or just rest at home to heal your wounds. This is also used to factor in sickness you might pick up as you go around, like tetanus or the flu. If it gets too high, you might pass out or even die. Big surprise there, right?

INSANITY is, as you could imagine, how sane or insane you are. The higher it gets, the less sane you are. For the majority of the game, if you play things safe, this will be rather low. As it gets higher, however, you might start experiencing nightmares, hearing voices, full visual hallucinations, or even black out for short periods of time. If it gets too high, you'll go absolutely bonkers and lose control of your character for a short while. This is increased by witnessing or experiencing things that are very, very out of the norm. This can be lowered by seeing a psychologist, talking with friends, enjoying a day at the park, or anything else that brings your character back to earth.

And remember, all your main stats can be positive or negative, and will affect your Suburbia experience accordingly. Keep them high, and your experience here in beautiful Suburbia will be fine and dandy.

In the next update I'll get into more depth about player jobs and maybe something about the actual town.