Announcement: What Comes Next

I've been doing a lot of thinking about what comes after Stationmaster. 

After a gauntlet of ideas, a couple design documents, and one abandoned prototype, I've finally settled on the game that will actually get developed. I've made some good progress already, and hope to have the first public release done at the same time as Stationmaster 1.0.

So, without further ado:

Quid Pro Quo

Overview

In Quid Pro Quo, you play as the ruthless incoming CEO of a struggling news corporation. While the old leadership used its investigative team to further the public interest, you see a more useful purpose: digging up the blackmail you need to rise to the top.

Use your investigators to dig up information on your friends and enemies. Use that information to turn their lives to your ends, whether that means making them your spies, your employees, or your sex toys. Above all else, buy up the world, and turn your small press into the cyberpunk megacorporation it was always meant to be.

You will be able to:

• Give employees raises, bonuses, and promotions in return for sexual favors.
• Use blackmail to pressure opposing directors into sabotaging their own companies, then force them to work as your interns when they are inevitably fired. 
• Force CEO's to reveal company secrets, then leak them through your media arm to reduce the value of the company before your hostile takeover.

Gameplay

Quid Pro Quo is a 4X game it its core, but instead of armies, you have information. The goal will be to execute hostile takeovers of the other major corporations, both by using your blackmail to reduce their value, and by amassing cash with your well-informed news arm. 

Gameplay in Quid Pro Quo will be broadly split into two parts:

• In first-person mode, you will be able to walk around your office, order construction of new facilities, and interact with employees while they go about their days.  
• From your office's computer, you will be able to hire new employees, summon characters for more intimate conversations, and execute your machinations for world domination.

Blackmail will be acquired either by using investigators to dig up dirt, or "convincing" friends to part with their secrets. NPC's relationships and secrets will be procedurally generated, and different for every playthrough.

Sexually, Quid Pro Quo will be more about corruption than slavery. Seduction will be a more gradual process, and will require charm, cash, or blackmail. There will be fewer characters overall, and they won't be as anonymous.

Technically, the biggest departure from Stationmaster is the viewpoint. Characters will be fully rendered in the first-person view, and face-to-face interaction will be a much more important (and more integrated) part of gameplay. To spare the need for quick action, Quid Pro Quo will have an "End Day" button, which will actually advance the economy.

Universe

Quid Pro Quo will be set in the relatively near future (compared to Stationmaster). There will be some science-fiction technologies and ideas at play, but it will still be set in a recognizable Earth office with coffee machines and cubicles.

Future Updates

I have a lot of ideas for updates that can be made after the first version is completed. This is by no means an exhaustive list, but a couple examples are:

• Penthouse: Somewhere to go after work. Contains conquests, trinkets, and, if you find the right people, slaves.
• More Facilities: The base game will likely have offices and a break room, but gyms, bathrooms, and other amenities could have interesting implications.
• Governments: Want to do something drastic, like roll back all environmental protections or legalize slavery? You'll need influence over more than just businesses.
• Outside: Things outside the office, like bars, could provide useful opportunities for corruption or information-gathering.
• Research: A tech tree would work well in a game like this. Things like personality profiles, water cooler drugs, and other useful tools could be unlocked here.
• Faction Leaders: Corporate faction leaders, like Stationmaster's, could add more stakes into the conquest.