Hello and welcome to our first Progress Update for the Purge Dilemma!
The game has been in development for over a year now - although the Steam page was only created a few months back. We've done three Developer Updates so far, going over the roles of the game.
We're here to announce that we have prepared three videos, each explains every single role in less than two minutes and goes over the features, explaining all you can do including a few tips and tricks.
We are also currently working on a new trailer. We intend to refurbish the previous one: the camera angles, the background, the content... they weren't really as explanative as we would've hoped.
As for the game itself, we have completely restructured the default level, adding more props and more references to a tyrannical regime. It now actually feels like a Dacha - plus we got rid of the red table. Now it's a regular table.
And if you don't like the current map, you're probably going to feel relieved after I tell you that we are currently implementing a customization mechanic, that allows players to customize each character in The Purge Dilemma through items which will go in your Steam Inventory and will randomly be dropped as a result of playing. But most importantly, we intend to create new levels - new maps, which means new scenarios that allow the Purge to shift away from the default Dacha room. New maps with new themes, from all over the world.
As for now, let us leave you a few in-game screenshots so that you can have a glimpse of what's coming.
Thank you for reading this Progress Update. See you in the next one!
Hello and welcome to the third Developer Update for The Purge Dilemma!
In this Developer Update we will talk about the end-game phase which we call The Purge.
In the last Developer Update we mentioned the Paranoia system, but we didn't really go into detail as to not end up mixing several things together which could've easily confused players.
What purpose does the Paranoia serve in this social-deduction game?
The Paranoia system undoubtedly lays the foundation for the entire game.
The Tyrant is a very paranoid character: he is afraid of those around him. He does not know who to trust in the Committee. He is sure that somebody is plotting against him and he must find out who. And he has to do so by avoiding killing innocent and loyal members of the Party.
The Paranoia Bar
But when it comes to game mechanics, how does it influence the game?
It's pretty simple and very straightforward: The Tyrant's paranoia bar is visible on top of your nametag (it's the red one).
The length of the Paranoia Bar is directly proportional to the number of players in a match.
As you complete tasks, you will notice that it will start filling up:
Sabotaging a task will increase the Paranoia Bar by two points.
Fulfilling a task will increase the Paranoia Bar by one point.
Oh no, the Paranoia Bar has filled up! What happens now?
The last discussion
When the Paranoia reaches its peak, you will have one final discussion time. The Tyrant player will have to wisely utilise the little time left. Discuss between players who you think the Dissents are, but be careful who you trust.
When discussion time is finished, The Tyrant will receive his final dossier.
This is the most important dossier in the game. With this, the Tyrant will decide who will die... who shall be purged.
The amount of people you can purge is equal to the number of dissidents there are in the match. The Tyrant player will have to accurately select the Dissidents based on his notes and his experience of the match. Leaving one Dissident alive will cause the entire Loyalist team to lose and the Dissident who remain alive will be the winners.
After selecting the players to purge, then The Purge begins.
The Purge
Eveything is dark. All you can do is look around - meet the gaze of your comrades, and pray that they will be shot instead of you.
All of a sudden you start hearing a shot after the other, as you notice Committee members slam their head into the table, lifeless.
And the game ends.
If the Tyrant purges all the Dissidents, the Tyrant and the Loyalists win the match.
If the Tyrant purges all but one Dissidents, then that Dissident will win the match.
Dissidents don't all win together. Only those that stay alive will appear in the scoreboard.
When you press Continue, you will see how the game judges other players based on what they have done.
The scoreboard and the player performance screens are still WIP.
Thank you for reading this Developer Update. See you in the next one!
Hello and welcome in the second Developer Update for The Purge Dilemma!
In this Developer Update we will talk about two subroles: the Informant and the Forger.
Last time we explained how the Task system works and we mentioned certain Effects that 4-player Tasks can have. Today we are going to talk about them.
As usual, stick with us to the end to hear about how these features apply to 5-player matches.
Why is there the need of "effects" in a social deduction game? Effects aim to introduce factors that severely determine the direction a match goes in based on a player's intuition, skill and general investigative capabilities. That is why we have decided to add the ability for all players to take matter into their own hands.
2 and 3-player tasks have no effects.
Every time a 4-players Task is successfully completed and discussion time is over, an informant and a forger will be chosen. The event will be announced in the Chat Log.
Informant
The first time an informant has to be chosen, a random player in the Loyalist team will be picked. A player cannot be an informant two times in a row.
The informant will then open up a dossier...
... in which they can choose which player to investigate.
The informant has to pick their player based on their past interactions with them or other listening to testimonies by other players. The choice is completely free. However investigating the wrong person will much likely result in a wasted investigation, especially if said person's identity has been falsified, in that case it will also lead to the Stalin player receiving the wrong information.
Forger
Just like the informant, the forger is picked randomly, and the same player cannot be a forger two times in a row. This time however, it is chosen from the Dissident team.
The chosen forger will also open up a dossier...
... in which they can choose which player to investigate.
The forger is an extremely useful role that however requires high intuition skills to be put to good use. The forger will have to guess which player the informant is going to investigate for that round. It can be done by picking a highly suspicious player targeted in the previous discussion breaks.
Forging is a useful tool. It could severely impact the course of the match. The forger may decide to shield a fellow dissident partner, falsify their own identity if they think their cover is at risk or even go as far as falsifying the identity of a Loyalist opponent.
Keep in mind that an identity will only be falsified for that investigation phase.
Investigation result
When both the informant and forger have picked their targets (or the time has expired, in which case their targets are picked randomly), the Chat Log will announce who has been chosen.
(keep in mind that the names between the brackets are for testing purposes only, in the actual match Steam Names will be displayed).
But only the Stalin player will receive information on the target's identity.
The identity of the forger and the informant WILL REMAIN ANONYMOUS. Feel free to claim it was you. In the end it is the other player's choice whether to believe you or not. This is a social deduction game, creating chaos is the main point!
At this point, it is the Stalin's player responsibility to either find the information truthful or claim it has been falsified.
Stalin Informant
The worst-case scenario for all dissidents is having Stalin as the informant.
How does that happen? If the dissident team decides to take it easy and go on without sabotaging any tasks, the Stability bar will start filling up.
The Stability bar is located right below the Paranoia bar ontop of your nametag...
... we will talk about the Paranoia bar in another Developer Update. For now let's stick with the blue Stability bar.
The Stability bar is a feature which mainly exists to punish lazy dissidents who for some reason forgot that their job is to give Stalin a hard time.
If three tasks are fulfilled in a row, the Stability bar will fill completely and the event triggers. Stalin will be chosen as informant and oh boy... that's going to be a real pain for you dissidents! The event will be announced in the Chat Log...
... and Stalin will be able to investigate somebody's identity the same way a regular Loyalist informant does. This time however the investigated player will not be shown in the Chat Log and there won't be a forger able to meddle with the information. As usual, only stalin will receive a dossier showing the player's identity. This time however, there is no doubt the information is truthful.
In the last developer update we have mentioned 4-player tasks not being available. This means that there will be no Informant & Forger mechanic in 5-player matches for game-balance reasons.
However the Stability is always there, no matter how many players. This means that Stalin will always be able to become an informant. So do your jobs you lazy dissidents!
Thank you so much for reading this Developer Update. See you in the next one!
Hello and welcome to the first of many developer updates for The Purge Dilemma!
In this Developer Update we will talk about the Task System and briefly explain all of its features.
The Task System is arguably the most important aspect, since it pretty much determines most of what makes the core loop of the game. Coming up with a functional and balanced system was not so easy and it took a lot of testing. What will be shown here is the result of weeks and weeks of testing, rewriting and balancing.
Before getting to it there is something we must clear out. Playing the game with just 5 players requires its own rules. These kind of adjustments are something you see often when it comes to board games, therefore I advise you to read the note at the end of the Developer Update that addresses the 5 player case.
The Commissar
What you're currently looking at is Stalin's Commissar selection dossier. At the beginning of the game a dossier will appear infront of Stalin, allowing him to choose who the next Commissar will be. The red bar at the bottom is the timer: if Stalin doesn't pick the Commissar before it reaches the end, a Commissar will be randomly picked. This puts both pressure on the Stalin player and prevents any attempt at holding the game hostage.
The Commissar will have a dossier infront of them appear after they have been chosen, with which they are able to pick a Task. A log will appear in the chat telling the players who was chosen as Commissar. Between the brackets will be the player's Steam name.
The Task
In the dossier you will have to choose between two randomly picked Tasks. As you can see, from top to bottom, the Task contains the following information:
A representative polaroid coherent with the title;
The title;
How many players will be involved in the Task, Commissar included;
The effects the Task will have on the match. A window will appear if you hover over the box with your cursor explaining what that effect does.
Once the Task has been selected, the Commissar will be able to either sabotage or fulfill the Task, a decision which will be based depending on their role. Right after picking an option the dossier will be passed directly to the player on the right, who will also be able to sabotage or fulfill the Task and so on until the maximum number of players required to partake in a Task has been reached.
If a player has decided to sabotage the task, then the players on the right will receive a sabotaged Task and will not be able to sabotage or fulfill.
Discussion time!
Once the last player has performed the Task, Discussion time begins. Voice chat and text chat is enabled. Every player, including Stalin, will receive a dossier which tells if the Task has been successfully fulfilled or sabotaged.
If a single player sabotaged the Task, then the Result is sabotaged.
If everybody fulfilled the Task, then the Result is fulfilled
Now comes the Social Deduction part. If a Task has been sabotaged, the Stalin player must interrogate the council members involved in the previous task. Through their testimony, Stalin will need to discover who among them is the Dissident. Everything can be noted down on a notepad on your right. Discussion time will expire once a five minute timer on Stalin's Dossier will reach the end, or whenever they decide to click End discussion at the bottom.
The result of a Task is what directly interferes with Stalin's paranoia. But we will talk about that in another Developer Update. Task effects will also be explained in another Developer Update.
As of now, there are exactly 22 tasks. Depending on the severity, 2-4 players will be required to perform the Task. The number of tasks depends on how many players are in a match. Tasks requiring 4 players will apply effects to the match.
Oh and you can run out of tasks. They are limited, meaning that if the players perform 4 player tasks one after the other, they will not appear anymore. This also applies to 2 and 3 player tasks. The number of available tasks decreases or increases depending on how many players are in the match.
Can Stalin take part in Tasks?
Nope. If a player has Stalin directly on his right, then the next player performing the Task will be the player on Stalin's right. The order in which Tasks are performed is counter-clockwise.
Does Stalin always decide who the Commissar will be?
Nope. Stalin will only be able to pick the Commissar at the beginning of the match. After that, the next Commissar will be the player immediately to the right of the last player involved in the previous task.
Remember the warning at the beginning of the Developer Update? This is what we have to clear out: as we said, playing the game with 5 players requires its own rules. So what will change?
A match with 5 players will not have Tasks requiring 4 players and Tasks are randomly selected as soon as the next Commissar is chosen.
Thank you so much for reading this Developer Update. See you in the next one!
