So, this is something that hit me when I was about to go to sleep one night, and was tempted to use it as practice writing design documents and the like. However, I just don't have the time or energy right now, so, putting it here will do, and the Design Document can come later.
The basic premise behind this is to generate more content, but also to provide additional incentive to play older content, and doing it in the form of more emotes and social powers!
This works in three ways:
1. The player, while doing any content, will have a chance to drop a Very Rare recipe called an 'Arcanox Puzzle Box'. What's required to construct the recipe is random each time, but follows the standard formula of 2 common, 2 uncommon and 2 rare salvage items. Once constructed, this produces a Very Rare piece of salvage (which can't be deleted and is account bound) called an 'Arcanox Ticket'.
Due to the nature of the content, the puzzle Box has a higher chance of dropping during holidays such as Christmas, Halloween and April Fools.
using the ticket will give the player the mission 'Board the Transit', which can be accessed via transit system (so, Tram, Boat, Ouro Portal etc.). This takes you to Dr. Arcanox' Jokes and Mischief store. More on that in a bit.
2. While doing Task forces, you can have a chance to drop 'Arcanox Golden Tokens'. These tokens, like the Puzzle Box, are a standard purple drop, but as you add more challenge conditions to your Task Force, the more likely it is to drop, eventually becoming a guaranteed one if you really are harsh on yourself.
3. While speaking to a merit vendor (Incarnate, alignment and normal) you can change Merits to 'Arcanox Silver Tokens'. Silver Tokens are much easier to get a hold of, and with enough of them, you can make a Gold Token when at the Joke Shop.
Whether tokens, like the recipe, can be traded on the market can be debated, but since Merits are character bound, I don't think they should.
The Shop:
So, once you have a ticket, where do we go?
When you arrive, you appear outside the Joke Shop, and can enter freely. The outside should be explorable, though it's possible that such a map won't be large enough to yield much in the way of excitement, but I digress.
Entering the Joke Shop, you see the standard shelves, lined with masks, toys and jokes like whoopee cushions and mouse-trap bubble gum.
While there is a vendor, you can meet Dr. Arcanox standing in the centre. You can talk to him and he'll provide a short dialogue that may or may not have hints on certain Lore, and can change on each visit.
The vendor, also changing with each visit, will sell emotes, social powers, costume pieces and consumables.
The Vendor can also turn, say, 20 Silver Tokens into 1 Golden Token. Certain items, based on their complexity and usefulness, will be worth multiple Tokens of both kinds. There are also things that can be bought for plain old influence (can't walk away empty handed just because you don't have a Token, right?)
Before I get onto possible item ideas, I think we should also open up the discussion on how such a mission is completed so that it prompts the player to go forth and do more content and come back another day. I was going to put a limit on how many things could be bought before the mission completes and then auto-ejects the player, but that might seem a bit silly. if you guys have any idea on the matter, let me know.
Anyway, the items.
I had three ideas, but obviously, we need quite a few, so, item ideas can also be up for suggestion.
One idea I had was a social power, much like the Frisbee, which is a Water Balloon. Pretty self explanatory, works like a Snowball with an animation change.
Another I had was a canister of Silly String. Just take out the can and spray the guy, while he brushes himself down.
The last Idea would be a rather expensive one, as it's a Power Power, and has a combat use.
Ladies and Gentleman, I present the Perfect Decoy.
The Perfect Decoy works as a combination of a Summon and a Self Teleport power. The Way it works is that you use the power, and through a smoke bomb animation, teleport to a given area. In your place is an idle duplicate of you. For ten seconds, they take no damage, and don't react at all. The duplicate has an automatic taunt aura, higher than any Tank or Brute can hope for. After ten seconds, the duplicate will pop, dealing minor smashing damage (similar to an unenhanced Brawl) and minor knock up in a small PBAoE. With the duplicate gone, aggro returns as normal.
The recharge time and whether such a power has an ammo use can also be debated.
Tell me what you think! The more information I have, the more I can add to this design document, and therefore my possible portfolio!
So, this is something that hit me when I was about to go to sleep one night, and was tempted to use it as practice writing design documents and the like. However, I just don't have the time or energy right now, so, putting it here will do, and the Design Document can come later.
The basic premise behind this is to generate more content, but also to provide additional incentive to play older content, and doing it in the form of more emotes and social powers!
This works in three ways:
1. The player, while doing any content, will have a chance to drop a Very Rare recipe called an 'Arcanox Puzzle Box'. What's required to construct the recipe is random each time, but follows the standard formula of 2 common, 2 uncommon and 2 rare salvage items. Once constructed, this produces a Very Rare piece of salvage (which can't be deleted and is account bound) called an 'Arcanox Ticket'.
Due to the nature of the content, the puzzle Box has a higher chance of dropping during holidays such as Christmas, Halloween and April Fools.
using the ticket will give the player the mission 'Board the Transit', which can be accessed via transit system (so, Tram, Boat, Ouro Portal etc.). This takes you to Dr. Arcanox' Jokes and Mischief store. More on that in a bit.
2. While doing Task forces, you can have a chance to drop 'Arcanox Golden Tokens'. These tokens, like the Puzzle Box, are a standard purple drop, but as you add more challenge conditions to your Task Force, the more likely it is to drop, eventually becoming a guaranteed one if you really are harsh on yourself.
3. While speaking to a merit vendor (Incarnate, alignment and normal) you can change Merits to 'Arcanox Silver Tokens'. Silver Tokens are much easier to get a hold of, and with enough of them, you can make a Gold Token when at the Joke Shop.
Whether tokens, like the recipe, can be traded on the market can be debated, but since Merits are character bound, I don't think they should.
The Shop:
So, once you have a ticket, where do we go?
When you arrive, you appear outside the Joke Shop, and can enter freely. The outside should be explorable, though it's possible that such a map won't be large enough to yield much in the way of excitement, but I digress.
Entering the Joke Shop, you see the standard shelves, lined with masks, toys and jokes like whoopee cushions and mouse-trap bubble gum.
While there is a vendor, you can meet Dr. Arcanox standing in the centre. You can talk to him and he'll provide a short dialogue that may or may not have hints on certain Lore, and can change on each visit.
The vendor, also changing with each visit, will sell emotes, social powers, costume pieces and consumables.
The Vendor can also turn, say, 20 Silver Tokens into 1 Golden Token. Certain items, based on their complexity and usefulness, will be worth multiple Tokens of both kinds. There are also things that can be bought for plain old influence (can't walk away empty handed just because you don't have a Token, right?)
Before I get onto possible item ideas, I think we should also open up the discussion on how such a mission is completed so that it prompts the player to go forth and do more content and come back another day. I was going to put a limit on how many things could be bought before the mission completes and then auto-ejects the player, but that might seem a bit silly. if you guys have any idea on the matter, let me know.
Anyway, the items.
I had three ideas, but obviously, we need quite a few, so, item ideas can also be up for suggestion.
One idea I had was a social power, much like the Frisbee, which is a Water Balloon. Pretty self explanatory, works like a Snowball with an animation change.
Another I had was a canister of Silly String. Just take out the can and spray the guy, while he brushes himself down.
The last Idea would be a rather expensive one, as it's a Power Power, and has a combat use.
Ladies and Gentleman, I present the Perfect Decoy.
The Perfect Decoy works as a combination of a Summon and a Self Teleport power. The Way it works is that you use the power, and through a smoke bomb animation, teleport to a given area. In your place is an idle duplicate of you. For ten seconds, they take no damage, and don't react at all. The duplicate has an automatic taunt aura, higher than any Tank or Brute can hope for. After ten seconds, the duplicate will pop, dealing minor smashing damage (similar to an unenhanced Brawl) and minor knock up in a small PBAoE. With the duplicate gone, aggro returns as normal.
The recharge time and whether such a power has an ammo use can also be debated.
Tell me what you think! The more information I have, the more I can add to this design document, and therefore my possible portfolio!