Open-World PvP
I think I have cracked the code of open-world PvP. Particularly in a superhero game, open-world PvP can either not exist, or be relegated to zoned events.The idea that "Dr. Death" could be walking down the street and not be attacked by "Hero Man" because he hasn't put his "Open for PvP" flag just seems ridiculous. There will be missions where heroes will have to infiltrate villain zones and vise-versa, but these missions will put them as close to the objective as is narratively possible and the PvP aspect will be limited to a set number of player opponents who will be injected into the mission. In the open-world, PvP should be equally objective-based, but allow villains to move into position in a hero city without being defeated instantly. The solution is tied to another staple of superhero comics, the Secret Identity.
When you create you character, you will be given the choice to create a secret identity for that character and give him or her an occupation from a list of standard jobs. These occupations will give the player street-level access to information on the goings-on in the city. For example, a hero whose secret identity is a firefighter, he may hear on the streets that there is a building that may be a fire trap. That hero may use that information themselves to investigate, or trade that info to a water-based hero to let them put out a potential fire. For villains, they can move through a hero zone undetected, hanging out in "seedy" areas looking out for potential jobs or where the heaviest hero activity is, to minimize opposition. With that information they can "case" a location, planning their approach and their escape.
Lets look at a bank robbery in Midtown Manhattan. The villain "Slow-Burn", posing as a cab driver, heard chatter at a bar in Hell's Kitchen that the Midtown bank security will be augmented by the newbie hero "Speed". Knowing he can easily defeat this (NPC) hero, Slow-Burn makes his way to the bank, checks the general hero activity in the area, then enters than bank. Inside the bank he sheds his secret identity, causing a panic with people running and hiding. (Note: once inside a location, revealing intent caused the location to spawn an instance of that location, disassociated with the open world.) While battling Speed, an alarm is triggered that sends up a PvP flag to the open world. This flag is passed to any hero nearby, or using a police scanner. The police will surround the flagged area identifying the need for help. The flag is on a timer, based on how long it takes Slow-Burn to defeat Speed, crack the safe, and escape. The flag is also first-come-first-serve, so the first hero on the scene to interact with the police officer on the scene will get a shot at Slow-Burn.
In this scenario, the villain has three opportunities for infamy. The first is defeating any NPC heroes on the scene, the second is winning the PvP battle that may or may not ensue, and the third is making his escape with the objective. Once the flag is raised, if the villain can rob the bank and there is no NPC hero to fight, he can revert to his secret identity, slip out the back and disappear. If a player enters before the flag drops, the villain will have to engage in the PvP fight. If the fight is going against the villain, he may attempt to loose line-of-sight with the hero, change to his secret identity and flee. Although the villain avoids apprehension, he looses his loot, his potential infamy, and takes a hit to his reputation as people may think twice about giving jobs to someone who ran away.
True open-world PvP will also be flag-based, but using the reputation system, Gangs and villain organizations will put bounties on certain heroes who have meddled in their affairs. The police and hero groups will have "most wanted" villains. A hero can access the most wanted list from a police station or their organizations crime computer and select a villain to go after. Once selected, no one else may engage that villain in PvP battle and the heroes mission log will be inaccessible until he has finished his PvP. With PvP flag, the villain will have difficulty finding jobs until he can hack a police computer and clear his name. Upon selecting a PvP contract, the hero receives a clue to the villains location along the lines of "Your target is somewhere in a four block area of Midtown posing as a cab driver". The hero goes to the target area and searches for a cabbie. If he approaches the right cabbie, the flag will reveal the villain's true identity and PvP is engaged. If the hero wins, the villain spends a "timed-cycle" in jail, the hero gets a reputation bonus and the flag is cleared. If the villain wins, He gets a reputation bonus and the search criteria to find him becomes more difficult. The more difficult the challenge, the higher the reputation bonus for the hero or villain.
This is a truly integrated form of PvP that put heroes and villains on even footing letting skill and strategy be the deciding factor of any engagement. Let me know what you think. Is there anything that can be changed or improved?
