So I've had some vacation driving through Europe, visiting Friends in Germany, Switzerland, Italy and Austria. On this trip I spend a good chunk of that thinking and talking about Burning Roads and I have a very solid grasp of all the involved systems now. I'm currently busy documenting the ideas and building prototypes for the different systems.
Here's a quick overview diagram:
To elaborate a bit, the systems are:
Map Travel
Here the player controls the convoy, moving it across the map. Speed and performance depend primarily on the lead vehicle, which carries the players' raiders, and is affected somewhat by the convoy. As the convoy travels they will consume resources (Food) and eventually accumulate Exhaustion. Exhaustion reduces the general performance of the convoy and the Raiders in combat. To get rid of it the player needs to spend time to rest and recuperate, which of course consumes more upkeep resources (Food).
I've already started work on a very simple prototype for the Map Travel gameplay. Here's a filtered-up photograph of the prototype:
(yes, this is the Dothraki Sea in the background. I need to use something as a stand in while I have no map myself yet ;) )
Settlement Exploration
Across the map the player can encounter Settlements of various size. These can then be explored, once the Convoy reaches them. In the smaller settlements only a few options are available, while the bigger settlements offer more. Here the player can get new Resources, Equipment, Followers etc. He can also learn more about the surroundings, getting potential warnings and finding out about new nodes to travel to
Random Events
These happen while travelling the map. They are very simple multiple-choice options that can cost or reward resources. Often though they will lead to combat of one sort or another. The stats of your Raiders can affect the outcomes and options of these events.
Resource Management
Is managing regular resources (Food, Supply), items and convoy. Aquiring new followers, spending Supply for equipment or to upgrade your Raiders.
Character Development
This is where you upgrade your Raiders, get new skills and give them new equipment
Card Combat
The core gameplay. Combat with other raiders, groups, beasties and whatnot is represented with the card game system. This system is used both for physical combat (shooting mans in the face) and for social combat (shouting mans in the face).
So from here on I'll document the different systems, making the design more grounded and detailed. Meanwhile I'll continue building prototypes for the different systems. First independently before I will glue them all together to get a very crappy version of the game.
