Need Some Replay Value? Check Out This Scenario Generator

StewShearerOld

Geekdad News Writer
Jan 5, 2013
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Need Some Replay Value? Check Out This Scenario Generator


Gamer Daniel Lockhart has created a site where gamers can generate random play restrictions for a growing library of games.

In a world where even short games can cost a whopping 60 dollars, one of the biggest challenges that gamers can face is making sure they get enough <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/tag/view/replay%20value?os=replay+value>bang for their buck. Some games make this easy by including tons of content or addictive multiplayer modes to flesh out their core experiences. Even the most titanic titles run out of content eventually however, and it can take a bit of creative thinking to keep the fun going after you reach 100 percent completion. Or you could just launch Daniel Lockhart's <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/tag/view/scenarios>scenario generator and let it churn out a new way for you to play.

Originally launched last year for the game Dwarf Fortress, Lockhart's generator site has recently begun growing both in size and popularity. With the click of a button players can use it to produce random character builds and play restrictions for an expanding library of games including Skyrim, Kerbal Space Program, Baldur's Gate, Crusader Kings 2 and more.

According to Lockhart, the site began expanding "last month" when he started thinking about creating a new generator for Minecraft. "I quickly realized it'd be better to just allow the existing site to handle multiple games so I reworked it and released the new version of the site on r/crusaderkings a few days later," he said. "A few days after release Paradox Interactive shared the [Crusader Kings 2] generator to <a href=https://twitter.com/CrusaderKings/status/561201521451614208>their Twitter followers." Since then visitors to his site have "[offered] assistance" with some going so far as to write new generators for games like XRebirth that have since been added to the site. User feedback has also led to new features being added to the site, including the ability reroll "specific sections of a challenge" if particular portions of a generated scenario rub the player the wrong way.

Just speaking personally, this is something I'd love to see grow ever further. One of my biggest weaknesses as a gamer is my frequent inability to think of different ways to play games. I tend to gravitate toward playing the same sorts of character (burly melee fighters) doing largely the same things (killing everything that moves) over and over again. Having a bit of inspiration to help push me into different and interesting directions is something that I could really use and appreciate. Here's hoping it expands to include even more games in the future.

Source: Scenario Generator



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Sep 9, 2007
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Well, I was looking to roll a new character in Skyrim to try out a mechanics overhaul mod, so at least this gives me an idea of what kind of character to create. Here's what it came up with:

Race: Argonian
Birthsign: The Mage
Focus Skills Alteration, Speech, Enchanting
Required Factions Thieves Guild, Dark Brotherhood
Weapons: Warhammers, Destruction Magic
Armour Type: Heavy
Civil War Side: Stormcloaks
Dawnguard Side: The Dawnguard
Home: Vlindrel Hall (Markarth)
Companion: Derkeethus
Freelance Theft: Habitual
Unprovoked Murder: Occasional

My first character was a Redguard stealth archer that sided with the Imperials and never touched magic or the DLC quests... This could be an interesting experience.
 

bliebblob

Plushy wrangler, die-curious
Sep 9, 2009
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Here's another fun one: make an imaginary world map of the maps in an RTS or FPS, then go and play online. Based on the outcomes of matches you either lose or conquer maps and the goal is to conquer the whole world. It's great fun if you add bonuses linked to conquering certain maps. For example: base your tf2 world map on the real world and start with only the soldier 'unlocked'. The rest has to be earned by conquering all maps in each class' country of origin. Basically you're adding star wars battlefront 2's conquext mode into a game of your choice. It just adds that little more meaning to each round and depending on how into it you are you can make it as simple or as complex as you like.
 

putowtin

I'd like to purchase an alcohol!
Jul 7, 2010
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So I could play Mass Effect as something other than a paragon Femshep who only dates Garrus?

Who knew!
 

SmugFrog

Ribbit
Sep 4, 2008
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putowtin said:
So I could play Mass Effect as something other than a paragon Femshep who only dates Garrus?

Who knew!
For those people whose imaginations fail them, I suppose. I always thought it was weird that someone would need a "guideline" on how to play a game differently (unless it was something suggesting games like "Spleef" for Minecraft).

I had a friend that loved to create new characters for Morrowind with elaborate backstories (this guy is a rich noble who has come here to own land and won't do any fighting), and then he would play them all EXACTLY THE SAME WAY following his Prima Strategy Guide and collecting the same gear.
 

Strazdas

Robots will replace your job
May 28, 2011
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interesting. i liike this initiative. i always created my own restrictions to make the game more "fun" to myself and stuck to them even when they were not mechanically enforced. looks like im not the only one with that idea.
 

putowtin

I'd like to purchase an alcohol!
Jul 7, 2010
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SmugFrog said:
putowtin said:
So I could play Mass Effect as something other than a paragon Femshep who only dates Garrus?

Who knew!
For those people whose imaginations fail them, I suppose. I always thought it was weird that someone would need a "guideline" on how to play a game differently (unless it was something suggesting games like "Spleef" for Minecraft).

I had a friend that loved to create new characters for Morrowind with elaborate backstories (this guy is a rich noble who has come here to own land and won't do any fighting), and then he would play them all EXACTLY THE SAME WAY following his Prima Strategy Guide and collecting the same gear.
I have tried to play certain RPG's (Mass Effect and Dragon Age spring to mind) differently, but making choices I wouldn't (the gun ho kill everything racist Shepard for example) is the quickest way to make me stop playing.

Never have a problem with Fallout or Elder Scrolls though, maybe the sheer amount of options allow me to create multiple characters with different back stories
 

CaitSeith

Formely Gone Gonzo
Legacy
Jun 30, 2014
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Replay value added by using personal rules? At first it reminded me the Nuzlocke challenge; but in reality this is a little different.
 

Scrythe

Premium Gasoline
Jun 23, 2009
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Just when I thought I was done playing Skyrim, something comes along and tries to lure back into it's icy clutches.

I must resist this siren song, for however long such a thing may last.

It would be amusing to have a Smash Bros. generator that only outputs "Fox only, no items, Final Destination"
 

flying_whimsy

New member
Dec 2, 2009
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I really liked the challenge aspect that yahtzee and jim would have going for their last collaborative video series. It's nice to see something fun like that for single player stuff.

That said, I'm still not sure I have it in me to play renegade or evil in some of the games.
 
Jan 12, 2012
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putowtin said:
So I could play Mass Effect as something other than a paragon Femshep who only dates Garrus?

Who knew!
You could, but why would you?

OT: This is fantastic for Minecraft.
Main Base Biome: Savannah
Restrictions: Enchanted Gold Armour Only
Goals: Build The Colossus

You're going to look on my works and despair, people, if I have to put it in the easiest-to-view area of the world and dress like a carnival barker.
 

Denamic

New member
Aug 19, 2009
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I'm not new to X-Rebirth, but even I can't build 100 trading ships, have 50 million credits, have my main source of income being stealing from stations while never committing any crimes, in 3 in-game hours. That's not even possible.
 

SmugFrog

Ribbit
Sep 4, 2008
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putowtin said:
I have tried to play certain RPG's (Mass Effect and Dragon Age spring to mind) differently, but making choices I wouldn't (the gun ho kill everything racist Shepard for example) is the quickest way to make me stop playing.
I mean really how hard is it for the generator for say, Mass Effect, to come up and say "Make different choices than you did before." Having to hand hold through all of a person's decisions is ridiculous; it's not your game anymore at that point really.

I agree - I always play the good guy and then create another character to be a jerk, and through Mass Effect some of the twisted things you can do is just rough to watch. I asked myself 'why am I doing this? I don't want to do this.'