I basically wanted to create a clever “negotiation” or “haggling” video game. (Somewhat inspired by “The Lies of Locke Lamora”.)
You are Don Drama. You’re trying to impersonate as a wealthy merchant, selling great wares, trying to make as much money as possible.
Each run, the parameters are randomized:
- Different stuff is worth different prices
- Specific people want specific things, might pay a lot for those, or nothing for something else
In a sense, “haggling” is reduced to:
- Figure out what you’re selling is actually worth (or how much you need to get for it)
- Figure out what specific other people (in specific conditions) want
- Find the fine line between how many people you can fool/swindle, before it comes back to bite you in the ass (or the police catches you).
Maybe that’s the most interesting angle!
- You must do these deals in real-time, in an actual city.
- If people recognize you from before (and you swindled them), they’ll obviously alarm the police
- If your alarm level is too high, police will catch you on sight
- (Of course, you can also make deals/trade stuff to remove your picture, or reduce your alarm level, or bribe police officers. But that’s risky and costly.)