No investigations? II (split)
contracycle:
It's very wasy to handle. Computer games do it all the time; dump data x, assign mission y. In this context the CRPGs provide an excellent baseline, as they are in practice one GN talking to one Player. Data dump leads to combat mission.
If you really need advice on how to do this, then you need to concentrate on NPC's who will provide info and missions. There are countless examples from TV. The only diffuculty, in as much as there us any, is constructing a trusted relationship with said NPC's, such that if they are told so-and-so is conspiring to nuke the Vatican* they believe it. All the rest is combat adventure staging.
** or an orphanage, etc., whatever.
Gwynplaine:
Investigation in role-playing games is always a hard thing to work as, at the very least, it is several people working to figure out something only one person has created.
I tend to find that the player’s and their characters should be in on some of the secrets, to some extent, so that not only do the players have a handle on what is going on, but they’re able to act that out too. (Plus when players aren’t totally in the dark I tend to find that they help create more detail and flavour for what is occurring, but when they’re clueless there’s a limit on how much they can help out that way.)
Also, depending upon how involved they are in the investigations, failure should be just as dramatic as success. If you are planning to pretty much predetermine success on areas of investigation then one way could be to pre set-up a seemingly impossible situation down the line (or invincible bad guys etc), and the success gives them a way to overcome this immense obstacle without trivialising it.
Equally though, certain parts (especially early on) could be set up so that they could see the ‘downside’ or ‘cost’ of failure (handy for establishing drama and personal stakes in a story, but tricky in that players can get disheartened/ annoyed if it comes across as too rail-roaded).
Lastly I would say that investigations that involve interacting with NPC’s to gather info, find secrets and so on, tend to come off better than ones where the players are attempting to interact with a passive scene, as the NPC element gives you more control of the situation and a more ‘living’ atmosphere to the investigation (also if worst comes to worst you could have the NPC 'slip' up in a way that gives the players a new angle on the investigation).
Oh! Just thought; if the players are aiding a professional investigator (or group thereof), who are looking into something. That way the players can get some direction as to where to go/ what to look for, and it’s the NPC investigator that can ensure success if the players fail to sort out whatever, but then equally (probably about half-way through or maybe little earlier), the NPC needs to become overshadowed by the players (perhaps the NPC is captured/ killed, leaving some clue for the players to latch onto and follow). Of course the problem here is ensuring that not only is the focus staying with the players all the time, but they do not feel the NPC’s are ‘better’ than them, it needs to be clear that the NPC is only a holder of some specialised info, but in other ways inferior. (Of course another spin on this could be a game whereby the players –are– inexperienced assistants to some great Sherlock Holmesian fellow).
simon_hibbs:
Investigative games can be frustrating if the game effectively comes to a standstill while the party look for/try to interpret the clues. However it doesn't have to be that way. An investigation where the question is "who is the bad guy, and where is he so we can progress with the plot" is one thing, but an investigation where the question is "Why do these ninjas, gangsters and corrupt cops keep trying to kill us" is another kettle of fish. Mysteries don't have to block progress, nor do they even have to be resolved by conventional investigation. After all, you can always just capture one of the bad guys and ask him "Spill the beans, or swallow a bullet!".
Here are some mysteries you might use:
The party find secret papers ordering the re-capture of a monastery. Why do the Nazis want the monastery so badly? It's a mystery, but it motivates action - stop the Nazis taking the monastery, while trying to find out what they are after. Ways to resolve: Capture a bad guy; Research about the history of the monastery; Don't bother, just blow up the monastery.
The party discover that the Nazis have a secret agent among the allied ranks. Who can it be? Ways to resolve: Capture a bad guy (I like this one); Feed misinformation to various suspects and see which misinformation the Nazis act on; If you know how the Nazis feed info to the spy, send him a bogus message and trap him (or her).
Mysteries should impulses to action, not obstacles to progress. If the players don't come up with ways to resolve them on their own, just have NPCs suggest them or hint at them - that's fine because at the end of the day it's carrying out the actions that matter, not necessarily figuring out what to do. Especially if you provide them with several options, as above, it's up to them to choose which approach they take, so they are still in the driving seat.
Simon Hibbs
stefoid:
I like your thoughts there. There is a difference between mystery and investigation.
You could look at it this way, one is a noun and the other a verb. Situation and action.
But its not really 'action' in the high-stakes conflict sense. Its more just about decision making, as you say, which can/should lead to high-stakes conflict down the track.
This actually does fit in well with recent thoughts I have had with the game I am designing and playtesting at the moment. Breaking play up into descision making and high-stakes conflict phases is a lot better description than low and high drama phases. After all, decision making can sometimes be dramatic.
Gryffudd:
That sounds interesting. I haven't been able to come up with a solution to the problems I was having with investigation in Air Patrol, but these last two posts have gotten me thinking again. I like the idea "mysteries should impulses to action, not obstacles to progress." Also decision making phases and conflict phases being separate. In AIr Patrol I wanted to have the focus on the 'cool scenes,' which sounds to me like the conflict phases with the decision making phases being what leads to them. Or something like that. Have to think on how it could apply to the game structure I wanted for Air Patrol.
Pat
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