Design-A-Week #7

Idea Anglo-Zanzibar War of 1896 Overview In a recent episode of Zero Punctuation on the Escapist (airing on 11-23-2011), Yahtzee put forward the idea of building a game around the Anglo-Zanzibar war, a conflict that lasted 38 minutes and is considered the shortest war in recorded history. Taking up that challenge this week, this design explores the concept of a Co-op game type based on that war. Design Players can take control of two soldiers within the war zone. o An Askari soldier on the ground attempting to seize the palace o A Warrant officer on the HHS Thrush engaging two enemy steam launches o Players can switch between the two roles on-the-fly, allowing them to engage both fronts in the war Each round of this game type lasts the full time for the war, which was documented at 38 minutes. o During this time, players have two objectives to complete: Primary objective: Unseat the current sultan from power. Secondary objective: Avoid any casualties on the British side. This is to maintain authenticity with the war, as no soldiers were lost. As each soldier, the player is given some secondary abilities beyond move & shoot. o As the Askari soldier, players can call in points for bombardment by the naval ships in the port o As the Warrant officer, players can command other sailors to certain points on the ship, including move to cover, man the machine guns or cannons, fall back, etc. Level Design The player is presented with two different areas to work within On the HHS Thrush, the player can use the games cover-based mechanic to switch between objects (crates, masts, etc) on the deck of the bridge in order to engage the enemy crew o Additionally, there are mounted machine guns with limited ammunition that the player can use o Players can also head into the belly of the ship to man the cannons These cannons can be used to sink the enemy ships Within the actual port town, players have a level of freedom to move around the town in whatever manner they see fit

o The town is modeled as a scaled down sandbox, with the limitations that the player cannot leave the area around the palace over a .5km radius. With this freedom, the player can enter the palace through multiple routes of their choosing. o Sewer systems should be available to enter the palace covertly o Neighboring buildings should offer the opportunity to enter the palace by jumping in. o Portions of the building should be destructible by calling in bombardments from the ships in the harbor as well. o Players can also attempt to secure the front gates of the palace, however, this entryway should be heavily guarded and difficult to secure.

Achievements Achievement could easily be based on factual events within the war. Some examples could include: o Only a flesh wound: While playing as the Warrant Officer, become grievously wounded but not incapacitated, then successfully win the war. o All hail me: As the Askari warrior, invade the palace and sit on the throne to claim the sultanate for your own. Im sure the British wont mind. o Hop to it: Visit the German consulate and jump from the consulates grounds to the nearby boat without touching the sidewalk.