Iowa Bob and the Jungle of Doom

One pitch a day: in August of 2011, I dedicate twenty minutes each day to writing an « elevator pitch » for a story or a game. 

This beat ’em up takes place on the dedicated applications or pages of a social network. The setting is made of connected player profiles. Each profile contains one location with thugs and traps, all of which can be upgraded. For example, Mark owns the jungle, David the Maya pyramid, and Maria rules over Chinatown. Every player can see what is happening on their friends’ profiles.

The game features adventurers (server-controlled bots) who keep moving from place to place (from player profile to player profile), in search of wonders. Nobody controls these adventurers. Players can only try to lure them on their profiles.

When an adventurer explores a place, he faces obstacles. Should he overcome them, the player begins to reap benefits. If the adventurer fails a challenge, it leaves this profile and travels to another one in the network of friends. All the while, other players export their thugs in their friend’s land to attack the adventurer. The status quo changes: the attacked adventurer flees to another place, potentially the attacker’s, made easier to explore by the departure of part of the garrison.

Success in the game is measured by the amount of time spent by the adventurer in one’s land and the value of bounty to be found there. The treasures allow the player to expand and improve their ancient tomb or jungle or kingdom of adventure, etc. Danger and value of a land grow together: a better place has more dangerous guardians and fiercer assassins.