RMVXA Story idea: Philosophical game with themes of justice and the future

[Tamsyn548]

I had an idea for a game where there's a kingdom with a group of prophets who foretell if someone will grow up to be a criminal. The king's agents then go kill that person as soon as they're born. The majority of the people born are killed, but all crime basically ends. The player character is one of those people to be killed, but his mother steals him away and hides him.

The game would explore themes of justice and whether someone can be punished for something they'd do in the future. Even though crime does end, is it still the ethical thing to do? It also asks whether the future is fixed or not, and provides starting point for some answers to these questions.

Would anyone be interested in playing something like this?

 

[ZombieKidzRule]

Whether or not I was interested would depend entirely on how the game mechanics are advertised.

It sounds somewhat like the movie Minority Report, which I did think was interesting.

The story wouldn't turn me off, but neither would it interest me to the point of playing the game unless I also liked the game mechanics.

But that would probably be my answer for just about any game story idea.

 

[SGHarlekin]

Minority report anyone?

Minority Report (film) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Like @kvngreeley said, it would depend on how the game plays. It's mechanics and so on. Story is nothing new.

 

[Tamsyn548]

Interesting, I've never seen that film before.

 

[Frostorm]

Yea, Minority Report is the 1st thing that crossed my mind when I read the OP. Maybe you can make it play like Kotor I & II where you're given choices with morally gray repercussions, a wise philosophical mentor figure in your party, and umm...wait is this game gonna have combat? My assumption is yes, but that may not always be the case.

Oh, you could also try the Morality, Utility, & Liberty thing that Triangle Strategy does. In fact, I think that would be very fitting for your game. But like, I still don't know what kind of game it's gonna be lol.

 

[Gensun]

There are huge political implications that come with seeing that people have unchangeable characteristics of being criminal. The game also takes an extremely violent solution to the problem, I would be more likely to take interest if instead of the solution being to kill the person, the solution is to divert them away from life choices that would lead them down a life of crime.

So how palatable this story idea would be IMO hinges on how you portray what criminality essentially is.

 

[FirestormNeos]

Since it sounds like the answer to whether the kingdom is in the right or not is going to be ultimately left up to the player to decide...

what kinds of acts does this kingdom consider to be unlawful?

 

[Ryanmcleod]

Yeah it totally sounds like minority report, if you haven't seen it, you should watch it or read the Philip K Dick novel, so you know what to avoid. I would hands-down play you game however if it turns out fairly early on that The king's agents are infact correct in their predictions, this would separate you from Minority report greatly, as well as other RPGs that deal with predetermination.
Furthermore, given the brutal nature of The king's agents, does this mean minor offenses are considered as well? Would jaywalking get you killed as an infant? lol. The further you go down the rabbit hole it becomes a theme of what is crime rather than what is justice.

 

[Tamsyn548]

Yeah it totally sounds like minority report, if you haven't seen it, you should watch it or read the Philip K Dick novel, so you know what to avoid. I would hands-down play you game however if it turns out fairly early on that The king's agents are infact correct in their predictions, this would separate you from Minority report greatly, as well as other RPGs that deal with predetermination.
Furthermore, given the brutal nature of The king's agents, does this mean minor offenses are considered as well? Would jaywalking get you killed as an infant? lol. The further you go down the rabbit hole it becomes a theme of what is crime rather than what is justice.

I was planning on them being correct. If minority report is different than that, I might use the storyline. I'll definitely read the book.

 

[nbgamemaker]

yeah that sounds really interesting.