The team over at the Altered State Forums are asking for idea submissions. Here’s the quote: “So I’m looking for suggestions for the world from perverts, have you got ideas for a world gone over the edge, got some sick fantasies for a dystopian game from your sick troubled minds to fill the Altered State world with. “
So putting on my “Sick, troubled mind cap” on here are my game show themed ideas. The concept behind these ideas is simple. For many inhabitants of this world life sucks. It’s almost impossible to provide a safe, clean and loving environment for children. The game shows provide a way for parents to give their children the perfect start in life, a chance to get out of the slums and into something better. The benefit to the winner is in providing somebody else with the opportunity to not only survive in this world but also prosper.
The shows are broadcast on all channels and are incredibly popular, with no shortage of potential contestants. It’s not very different from the The Running Man except the benefits are real and the contestants willing.
Lastly I haven’t given the games proper names but that could easily be done, in fact I invite others to help create them.
Gladiators
There are plenty of these types of games around where the contestants fight to the death BUT here the contestants are all mothers fighting for the life of their baby. The style of fighting could take many forms, from straight combat to more specialist tactical matches. The point is that the contest actually has an important outcome for the contestants and their loved ones.
My preferred option is that the fight takes place in a medium sized arena with players having different equipment and weapons. The fights last from 2 or 3 hours up to 2 or 3 days. The winner has her baby proved food and education until the age of 14, at which time she or he is thrown into world to survive on it’s own. Both mothers are killed, so don’t think the winning mother survives, oh no. Other variations include search and kill, where the mothers and babies are in the arena together and the winner is the first to kill the other’s baby.
Another twist is where the children are a little older, say five to seven years old, and are involved in the fighting. Perhaps a separate fight would be the children on their own.
Suicide
Contestants are placed in a special arena and given 12 minutes to find the most inventive and spectacular suicide. The arena would of course have been built with this purpose in mind and as such have plenty of opportunities.
The “winner”, and I use the term loosely, is voted for by the viewers. There are set criteria that have to be considered including: resources used (the fewer the better), shock value, gore factor and creativity. The current highest score was recently attained by a woman who managed to use two other contestants and spread her remains over a 50-metre diameter!
Torture
Six contestants are given different pieces of information. The set is six glass cubicles in a curve, meaning each contestant can see the others. Each cubicle contains a specialist interrogator/torturer (IT) plus a variety of gruesome equipment.The ITs begin to attempt to extract the information. Once one contestant supplies the information she or he is out and there is a pause before the next round.
Eventually there are only two contestants left and the cubicles face each other. As with the other games there could be many variations. Perhaps the torture becomes automated and it is simply a case of enduring the pain longer than the person opposite. Other ideas could be giving false information! The contestant thinks they are giving the correct information but the IT requires something else.
There could even be a version where contestants torture other contestants but that may result in too quick a game.
Conclusion
Whilst all the games follow a similar theme I think they are different enough to provide entertainment for a sick world. Don’t forget we need to give the games some interesting names.
3rd September 2005
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10th September 2005
Hi Dean Avanti- Project Leader Altered State project.
I noticed on your other thread- improvable-and-transferable-physical-attributes/
Well guess what Altered States does have this, Strength stamina, speed, tech skill and psychic powers and skills, though you don’t improve by doing the activity you improve by spending EXP, i did think of having the stats improve through use but what happens when you come up with the concepts is that its OK on paper but when one is pushed for time and has other constraints often ideas have to be changed to work and be under the constrictions of the project
You will also be able to post the character over to Altered State 2, so you can keep the same character and his abilities, hey you have worked hard to make him what he is, you have invested time in your character you want to be able to carry over your creation into the next chapter of the adventure right?