The Mafia Discussion Thread

[Sousa]

...wow, I can't believe that worked.

SOUSA SHOULD WIN WWE MAFIA 2.

[Jimmy]

I'm really digging mafia's at the moment. I think we've got some good mods putting out some pretty damn awesome games. Anyway, random question for discussion. Gimmick games, or non-gimmick games? Which do you prefer?

...Yeah.

[Mr Evil Guy]

I want to say no for President-Maker but this no mafia shit is hard.

[Guest Mr. Potato Head]

Definitely prefer non-gimmick games as they discourage roleclaiming.

[TEOL]

Definitely prefer non-gimmick games as they discourage roleclaiming.

This.

[Pesci]

Definitely prefer non-gimmick games as they discourage roleclaiming.

This.

QFE.

[TEOL]

Not that it rules it out completely of course. You can still have people like Ace claiming cop, which is still the second stupidest thing you can do in a Mafia game (the first stupidest, of course, being claiming doctor).

[Ruki]

What if you claim doctor-cop?

[Matt]

Not that it rules it out completely of course. You can still have people like Ace claiming cop, which is still the second stupidest thing you can do in a Mafia game (the first stupidest, of course, being claiming doctor).

What about Cloudy claiming scum in Futuramafia?

[TEOL]

*stupidest thing you can do without actively trying to lose.

[Matt]

*stupidest thing you can do without actively trying to lose.

He wasn't... he thought because he didn't have an ability he wasn't a threat to the town.

[TEOL]

Well that's themed games for you. I was talking about non-themed games.

[Mr Evil Guy]

TradMafias have more skill in them. And I'm not saying that because I've won three TradMafias in a row and just won a TradMafia-style game. No, not at all.

[Gongsun Zan]

Definitely prefer non-gimmick games as they discourage roleclaiming.

If you're going to have a themed game, either have a non-obvious Mafia, or leave plenty of unused roles to give the Mafia a chance at fake-claiming. It also helps if you have a mix of obvious and non-obvious roles in the game, so that it doesn't look weird when some guy claims the only minor character in the game.

Someone should do a game design FAQ, or something.

Edited January 3, 2009 by Gongsun Zan

[Jimmy]

Yeah, I like gimmick games because it gives the game a bit more of a story. But there needs to be enough characters for roleclaims. That was my main downfall with DBZ Mafia. Though, I think I made up for it in Mage Wars as you could literally make a role-claim and it's possible that it'd be in the game. To answer my own question; Gimmick mafia games because of the story and if it's a good game it shouldn't really effect the mafia when it comes to role-claiming.

Edit: Zan, The FAQ's a nice idea. It could be added to -A-'s resource thread.

Edited January 3, 2009 by Split Second

[-A-]

I actually like the whole process of guessing which claims are fake and thinking up false claims, as long as there're measures in the game to make it possible. The various wrestling games are perfect examples of this - almost all that I've seen haven't broken the game and add something interesting to discuss. WWE Mafia 1 had a nice vague mafia grouping that didn't give many people a death sentence when their role came out and RW does things like give Dukes as Shane a fake claim.

The game design thing would be an excellent idea. I thought about how useful it would be when I was writing the resource thread but didn't think I should be the one to do it. I reckon a few people should get together to compile their different ideas and How To tips.

[Jimmy]

I agree. I think a lot of people would benefit from people's ideas on putting together a game. It'd also be interesting to see the thought that goes into building smaller, medium or larger games.

[Gongsun Zan]

I'd like to gather a mix of regular players/game-runners on msn, say, Pesci/GoGo/Sousa/TEVOL/MPH/Norro (whoever's online at the time, I guess) and have a round table discussion on Mafia game design.

You guys up for it?

[C-MIL]

I'd be in. Just not -vited.

[-A-]

Do it, and hopefully a co-operative game design comes from it. More co-produced mafia games!