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Originally Posted by tshiggins

I don't particularly care for Rogue-like games, but yeah, something like that idea only implemented with a first-person point of view. I'd also want an MMORPG, and not a single-player, although you could start out with a single-player game and build it out, iteratively.

A MMORPG definitely changes the experience substantially vs. a single player game, but both have incredible potential.

Originally Posted by tshiggins

I'd even have the game start with each player on a sea voyage, c. 1850, when a banestorm manifests and pulls his or her ship into a different world. Mostly, it's the same as Earth -- but only mostly. I'd add some fantastic elements for the players to slowly discover.

Brilliant. I like this as an opener, and it would be an interesting dynamic if some of the other people on the ship survived the experience as well and either help or compete with the protagonist.

Originally Posted by tshiggins

The character gets built ahead of time -- either use a template as-is, or do some modifications, or (or for more advanced players), build one from scratch. Use the GURPS skill system, as much as possible, and add in some advantages and (maybe...) some disads suitable to a computer game.

I'd think a handful of templates to select from would be necessary for GURPS newbies as you wouldn't want them to miss out on critical skills. In fact, if allowing a totally custom character, it may be necessary during character creation to have minimum requirements (e.g., at least 1 ranged weapon skill, 1 melee combat skill, 2-3 outdoor skills, etc.). Without this as a guideline, a crucial skill may get missed that prevents the protagonist from accomplishing a key part of the early tasks.

Disadvantages are definitely needed as these are pretty key features of GURPS. Some possibilities might be Addiction, Chummy, Curious, Gluttony, Honesty, or Insomniac. For extra brutality, how about Bad Sight, Hard of Hearing, Hemophilia, Insomnia, One Eye, or One Arm? Amnesia might just be required given the protagonist's origin story.

Originally Posted by tshiggins

The character wakes up after the storm, on a small atoll , with the wreck of the ship in shallow water, visible, but a ways offshore. In that sense, it starts off a bit similar to Stranded Deep, but it's more granular and skill-based.

Perhaps there is more than one shipwreck nearby, and the materials and designs of some of the vessels are unfamiliar...

Originally Posted by tshiggins

Scavenge what washed ashore with you; locate a source of fresh water (a spring in some cases, a coconut grove in others, the ability to create an evaporative purifier, perhaps...); and then get some food; and then take stock of what's available on the island. Build a raft or something, to get out to the wreck, where at least one significant predator has been drawn to the bodies. Use fatigue as well as HP, and enforce encumbrance rules using GURPS so it's similar to, for instance, The Long Dark.

It would be good to give the player several options for getting around obstacles like this. Are there raw materials to scrounge together a usable weapon that could be useful in fighting off the predator(s)? Is approaching the wreck stealthily and sneaking on board an option? The skills available to the player would be really critical to determining the available options. It would increase replay value if there were many options here, but only available if the player had the right skill(s).

Originally Posted by tshiggins

Salvage what you can, fight off the critter, get what you've found back to the island, and realize you'll use up the food available faster than it can replenish itself, but fishing can extend that. Use the salvaged gear to build a larger vessel (a character with a "Survival" skill builds a raft or dugout canoe; one with the skill "Carpentry" builds a better raft or dugout; one with Area Knowledge (Polynesia) builds a large outrigger dugout; one with "Carpentry" and "Boating" can fix the hole in the side of the whale-boat or wooden dinghy found on the wreck; a character with "Carpentry" and "Boating" and "Crewman (Sailing Ship)" can add a mast and maybe a keel or leeboards to the repaired whaleboat) that allows escape to a different island. Find a tall island (the remnants of an old volcano), which is larger and has more resources (and dangers), and perhaps eventually discover a continent with many secrets.

I love this idea. I would want waterways to be a key feature of the game though to make sure all this boat crafting stays useful as the game unfolds. I'd really like it if the vessel could suffer damage from various events and need repairs. Perhaps over time the protagonist could become skilled enough to build bigger and better watercraft, eventually even being able to use the vessel as a sort of mobile base. For those completely devoid of these skills, there is always Swimming. Let's hope your character is not wounded and there are blood-crazed predators in the water.

Originally Posted by tshiggins

Allow crafting mini-games of all sorts, give characters the ability to trade with one another from the get-go (but only if they're face-to-face -- no EVE-type markets), and let the characters teach each other skills. Allow the characters to set up cooperative endeavors, so they can accomplish things together that neither could do alone (for instance, if a character with an "Engineering" skill has enough ropes and pulleys, he or she sets up a block-and-tackle, and more than one character can pull on the rope to lift heavy objects -- stuff like that).

I've spent a lot of time thinking about MMORPGs in my life, and I think having a host of NPCs around would be necessary as well. There are simply some repetitive tasks and certain skills that players will find less fun than others, and not having NPCs to dynamically fill in those gaps can lead to unbalanced economies (surpluses of things fun to build and scarcity of things not as fun to build). It may not always be valid to assume that players will always help each other, so having NPCs available to help in some instances could be needed so that all players feel like they can accomplish everything they want to accomplish. I've always tended toward solo play in MMORPGs myself, and I don't think I'm unique in that regard.

Originally Posted by tshiggins

Basically, the rules of a game influence how the players will play that game. If all you have is combat, then combat is all anybody will do. Allow crafting and trade, and permit players to set up safe areas where (for instance) they can create unique structures if their characters have the right skills -- or if multiple characters have the right combinations of skills, and agree to cooperate under a character with (say) the skill, "Administration."

I wholeheartedly agree with this. There are certainly players that will want the combat stuff, and there are lots of GURPS rules to back that up, but a big focus on crafting would be great too. Crafting buildings and vehicles would be a great addition to the game and GURPS has plenty of skills and rules to back up those activities.

It could also be fun to include the invention and gadgeteering rules for coming up with new items. Cross-TL skills would be fun if the protagonist was dropped into a lower or higher TL world or if there was a primitive tribe or particularly advanced settlement encountered. Things like Archaeology, Hidden Lore, and Occultism could be helpful for investigating those mysterious old ruins.

Originally Posted by tshiggins

Maybe let them declare their characters as part of a defense militia when the player is off-line, and allow someone playing a character with military skills to set up 1850s style lines of battle to defend the settlement.

This always gets into the controversial territory of "What happens if my character dies while I'm offline?" Maybe having an offline character participate in a logistical capacity by making his or her skills available to the defense militia would allow them to participate without risking their character directly.

If you're going to get into organizing defense militia and there are NPCs available to fill the roles of rank and file troops, then maybe there is an opportunity for some Mass Combat.

Originally Posted by tshiggins

Implement as many options as possible, for the characters to choose from, and all sorts of emergent game-play occurs.

Yes, there are so many options here to contemplate. Just looking at the GURPS skill list can generate all kinds of ideas for how to implement them in a computer game in a meaningful way. All of the skills that get included need to be useful in many ways to make them worthwhile to players. Nobody will want a skill that has a very niche application and doesn't bring much value to their experience.