This is my second entry for the #archdruid community contest running right now. Check out @enjar's post to see how you can participate.
https://steemit.com/archdruidcontest/@enjar/contest-describe-your-dream-game

Round Two of making the Game of My Dreams.

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Briefly, here is an overview of the type of game I would like to see made.

Title: Ashes to Empires

Game Category

• City Builder
• Simulation
• MMO
• Fantasy
• Action RPG
• Sandbox
• Second Life

Now let's look in-depth at the primary key features of the game.

Key Features

Battles

Fight beasts, monsters, bosses, NPC's and other Players.

Loot

Winning a fight gives players experience, skill training, gear, and resources. Loot can also be stolen from other players's homes, but it might cause a bounty to be placed on their head, dead or alive.

Build

Pre-made designs for special buildings can be made, such as Blacksmith, Inn, Tavern, Apartments, Mansion, Tower, Castle, Palace, Walls, Stable, Farm, Barn, and more. Alternatively, you can build your own unique crib, and add various rooms, and attachments to it for various shopkeepers.

Customize

Expand buildings with additional custom rooms, furniture, tools, and equipment.

Realism

Certain laws of physics will have to be obeyed in the construction of buildings. The taller the building, the more foundation structures will also need to be included. Other than that, players can let their imagination run wild.

Architecture

Although standard buildings will use the same boring wall, roof, floor, door, and window panels of a certain height, width, and thickness, a skilled designer will be able to modify the dimensions and shapes of the basic construction materials to create non-traditional room and building shapes. This will allow for the construction of more creative buildings.

Blueprints can be made for new construction parts. It could be something as small as a plank of wood, or something as complicated as the fully rebuilt Taj Mahal. Blueprints can be shared, modified, traded, and sold.

Construction

Open a construction site, and become the Foreman over a plot of land. The Foreman can choose the design of what will be made, whether it is a standard building, or a custom blueprint. The Foreman can change the design mid-way through construction. Just be careful not to put a wall to block a doorway or window. Designs that interfere with existing structures (like a beam heading into the neighbor's walls) cannot be constructed.

Other players can volunteer or be hired by the Foreman to help collect resources and lay materials into place. Workers approved by the Foreman to assist in construction will be able to see a 3D transparent outline of where to construct parts of the building, like lego bricks. Materials are stacked from the ground up. No floating bricks. Advanced forms, like archways may require scaffolding, temporary beams, or cranes to assemble them.

Once construction is complete, the Foreman can open the room for business, or extend construction to further modify the design by adding rooms and additional features.

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With these features alone, I think this would be the kind of game I would enjoy pouring endless hours into. Players would be able to upload new content daily into the game, to make it a more immersive experience to share.

Beyond the above features, below I have added advanced features that I think could be added to expand the game to richer levels of enjoyment beyond a simple building simulation MMO...

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Artisans

Tailors, Leatherworkers, Armorsmiths, Bladesmiths, Toolsmiths, Livestock Breeders, Horse Trainers, Weapon Masters (Weapon Training), Sages (Magic Training), Bakers, Cooks, Farmers, Winemakers, Potion Makers, Potters, Painters, and Master Masons. The more useful professions that exist in game, the more creative players can get in making immersive content.

Specialists in each field can also modify the recipe for basic items into new custom items. They can save custom recipes to use again. Rare, and powerful, one-of-a-kind items can often sell for more than a regular stock item. On each specialty item made, Artisans can spend more resources to modify the quality of the item, the appearance, and its size dimensions, just like Architects can.

Mods

For many players, immersion is a big deal. They might want the city to look and feel more like a real medieval town, or they might want something that looks like a futuristic steampunk metropolis. These altercations can be incorporated with player made mods.

Without mods, players will experience the game with the normal sights and sounds that all players can expect by default.

With mods, players can customize nearly all details of the game to suit their play experience. Yes, you can even have control over the clothing other players might (or might not!) be wearing. That doesn't mean other players will see what you see though, unless they are playing the game with the same mod you are using.

Mods cannot be made to provide gameplay advantages, such as opening a hole in someone's house so you can crawl through and steal all their stuff. You can't build a mod that gives you free stuff. Mods are cosmetic only.

Skins

Players can also make mods for custom skins, painted surfaces made outside of the game to fit around 3D items surface. Outside of the game, a 3D paint program would be available to help players tailor their skins, and save them to be uploaded into the game server.

Skins can be applied to items crafted, which can be shared, bought, and sold with other players.

Alternatively, players can disable skins made by other players, and simply view them in the default scheme, or use their own mod. Specially skinned items in a player's inventory will be marked as such, so they can toggle the skin off or on, according to their preferences. Immersion, is king in this game.

Custom skins will allow players to create custom sigils, brands, and logos on their items, gear, and buildings.

Hired NPC's

Owners of specialty buildings and shops can employ NPC's to assist in running a business. These can be shopkeepers, servers, maids, bards, farmers, guards, pages, and other simple task workers.

To get resources to sell within those business, players will have to find resources and craft them. Other players can also help a lot by locating items to sell to shopkeepers.

Businesses

A successful business can earn revenue and acquire resources from other players if they open a shopkeeper's desk stand. A shopkeeper's desk opens a basic interface for visiting players to see what sort of items are stocked there that is for sale, and what sort of items they are willing to buy. They will be able to see prices, or haggle for a better price if they want to buy/sell in bulk.

Crimes

Large and lucrative businesses need to be careful. Even NPC workers might take a little under the counter, engage in illegal money laundering, or try to buy the land lease (and close the business).

Fire workers, turn them over the magistrate for their crimes, or turn a blind eye.

Ensure that your business runs a legitimate operation, pays its taxes, and doesn't cheat its customers, and you can improve your sales and trust with customers. Alternatively, you can become the town's best kept secret rat's nest for thieves to fence stolen goods, and allow players to bet on cage matches between pit fighters.

Dangers

Buildings can be robbed, burned, plundered, vandalized, and damaged.

Quality materials, and ingenious design, and a team of watchful eyes can go a long way to ensure a building is secure and protected.

Repairs

Repairs can be made. Sometimes it is better to start over from scratch, with a better plan for security and protection.

Cooperation

Players will often find that the best protection is to form towns, cities, and even kingdoms to pool their resources together to make lands protected by walls, guards, and even laws (with taxes, fines, and magistrates to make decisions for imprisonment/exile/executions).

Government

To form a town, city, or kingdom, players can join other players willing to start one together. They will need a certain number of players before they can create a government management system. Once enough players have joined, they will each be messaged to vote on the type of government they want. The new government will become the law for the town as soon as enough players have cast their vote.

Government Types:

• Town Council
  Requires: Town Hall

Citizens elect a Mayor, and the Mayor can appoint Council Elders. Together they vote on policies that will become laws. They can also choose to let citizens vote on various laws. They can choose often elections will take place and how often laws can be changed. They can set up taxes, designate certain behaviors as crimes, and define consequences for crimes. Often times Council Elders will act as Magistrates to judge criminals in an open trial to decide whether or not they deserve punishment, and what punishment is deserved.

• Tribal Chiefdom
  Requires: Fortress

The elected Tribal Chief becomes the hereditary, anointed ruler. They set all laws, taxes, and their judgement is final in punishing criminals for their crimes. A Tribal Chief can pass the mantle of rulership onto anyone they feel is deserving to rule, without the consent of the people. After all, the Tribal Chief practically build the town alone from their own bare hands. They can even will this title to another player, should they die. Alternatively, the title of Tribal Chief can stripped away forcefully if citizens join a faction that manages to assassinate the Tribal Chief. Members of the faction have already voted on what type of government they would like to have, and who will become the new leader.

• Barony:
  Requires: Mansion

Instead of electing a leader of their own, the citizens have instead decided live under the protection and rulership of the Kingdom of a greater nation. The King appoints a Baron to live in the Mansion and rule the city. The Baron should enforce laws of the Kingdom, but the Baron can also create additional laws. The Baron can also set up a local tax on top of any taxes the Kingdom demands. If the Baron proves to be a poor ruler, the King can have him replaced, or citizens can form a faction to have him removed, and appoint a new ruler or start a new government.

Upgrade: It is possible for a Tribal Leader to become a Baron if they petition to join a Kingdom and they are accepted. A Tribal Leader will need to have a Mansion in order to be approved.

• Kingdom:
  Requires: Castle, and two Mansions

Upgrade: A Tribal Chief can become a King if they manage to build two mansions far enough away, and appoint Barons to rule from afar.

A Kingdom can set laws for their local city lands, and apply the same laws or different laws for the Baronies to follow. A King can become extremely wealthy and powerful from taxation, and ownership of various businesses and land. Wealth of the Kingdom would be best spent on creating defenses and a large offensive army to drive away highway criminals and rebellious citizens. A ruthless king might even sack nearby cities, or even invade other kingdoms. A benevolent king may offer safe refuge and ensure peaceful boundaries to all citizens.

• Dukedom:
  Requires: Castle

When a Kingdom has more than two Baronies, the king can appoint a Baron to be promoted to the position of Duke. With many baronies, a king can appoint more Dukes to rule those Baronies. Each Duke must have at least two Baronies that to rule. The Duke will continue to rule from their home Barony, where they can continue to set local laws and taxes. The Duke can also create laws and taxes for the Barons in their Dukedom to follow.

When any of the the Baron(s) that they rule die, the Duke (not the King) gets to appoint a new Baron for that Barony. At any time, a poorly ruling Duke can be demoted by the King, back to the meager rank of a Baron, and a Baron can be replaced by the king with someone they think might rule better.

Dukes can expand their power by conquering other cities outside of the Kingdom. A ruthless Duke might also invade cities within the Kingdom to expand their domain, with the intention of forming a rebellion faction to conquer the Kingdom.

High Level Gameplay

Enjoy starting out as a lowly peasant, and venture out into the world with a dream of one day becoming a mighty king. With early skills, you can carve out a living to gain power and hire some followers. In competition with other businesses, how will you corner the market to make yourself invaluable to the success of the city. Later on, you might need an army of loyal players at your back to protect your plan to take the throne. How will you do it?

• Peasant > Warrior > Guard > Captain > General > Duke > King
• Peasant > Merchant > Council Elder > Mayor > Baron > Duke > King
• Peasant > Wizard > Chieftain > Conqueror > King > Lich Lord

Sandbox

Not everyone will want to play a game where they constantly have to look over their back to see if someone wants to kill them, rob their house, and take away everything they worked so hard on.

There will be a sandbox style kingdom with lots of open land and space for casual players. They can still train in combat abilities and fight opponents out in dangerous lands, but they will never have to worry about those villains coming after them in their home town.

In the sandbox kingdom, there won't be any taxes or crimes players will have to worry about. People can generally do whatever they want, and won't have to worry about any abuse from other players.

Intrigue

For players who want a greater sense of danger, they can join a separate game server where players can kill other players and perform various other nefarious deeds.

• stealing/mugging
• taxation/tax evasion
• murder/execution/assasination
• imprisonment/escape
• vandalism/destruction
• arrest/imprisonment
• embezzlement
• invasion/trespassing/banishment
• broken treaties/invasions/conquests/revenge

Conclusion

This game could be expanded on in nearly any direction. Ultimately, I love city building type games. Most games of this genre are little more than a cookie-cutter building replication simulation. I would love to have a city building game with lots of immersion options to customize how everything looks in game, and lets you walk through your creations with your friends.

By adding the various government styles, it provides a way to expand beyond a city building sim, and into the realm of a king-of-the-mountain style MMO, where players will have to re-evaluate their trust at every moment with their closest allies. Players might team up to raid the undefended farmlands, only to find out too late that the Warlord recruited only low level mercenaries so he could take all of their spoils at the end. Your best friend might stab you in the back once you are crowned king.

An environment filled with dangerous intrigue at every corner allows players to self-police the entire world. Will it become an apocalyptic graveyard, or will a haven of peace be able to stand united against the evils of the world, only to crumble to corruption from within. It would be a constantly rebuilding and crumbling world, to say the least.

Sources:

• Photo 1: Pixabay
• Photo 2: Pixabay
• Photo 3: Pixabay
• Photo 4: Pixabay
• Photo 5: Pixabay