Expanding on my game idea (Ten Towns)
Ten Towns is a kingdom containing ten towns. Each town has 100 people, with a variety of character types - blacksmiths, food sellers, beggars, mayor, soldier, farmer, and so many others.
This kingdom is a fully-functioning world where food is grown, goods are made and sold, and governments rear their (sometimes ugly) heads.
When you start a run, the game presents 3-5 character options to choose from, and you will spawn in as whatever you select.
Then you pick a Situation - a problem facing the kingdom that you have 100 in-game days to solve and restore balance to the kingdom. Some examples: Oppressive Ruler, Starving Population, Racist Political Movement, Zombie Outbreak, War Between Towns.
Most of these would be about bringing balance, but there could be some number-go-big Situations, cuz that's fun.
The world is built upon complex systems, which I'll explain shortly.
It's day 1, you're a blacksmith, and there is a Poverty Crisis with many hungry, homeless beggars. Your goal is to eliminate (or drastically reduce) the amount of hunger, and to get people into homes.
You own (or rent, depending on RNG) your blacksmith shop, and your first task is to set your shop policy. How much do you charge? What items do you produce (weapons, tools, handrails, etc)? Will you donate some profits to feeding the hungry (raising your prices, but giving a social incentive to shoppers who are giving)?
The playable portion of each day is just ten minutes. With 100 days, that makes a run roughly 16 hours, not counting decision-time where the clock stops.
You leave your shop, and talk to a couple beggars on the street, one asking for drink, the other asking for food. You run to the merchants to buy some food. On your way, you pass a young man who is walking briskly.
He wanted to run, but his 'Social Mindfulness' (or something) is high, so he opted not to. Then upon seeing you, his 'Boldness' increased. Now he "decides" to 'Run'.
Each NPC has a complex set of stats and predispositions. Each NPC (and your player character) have available Actions (like 'Run' or 'Walk') based on the current Context. The action chosen in any given situation depends on these stats.
That young man's actions will also influence others he encounters, leading to a complex web of cascading effects.
A wealthy man sees you running and scoffs, judging you for it.
You buy some bread, ask the seller about bulk purchasing (you'll have more dialogue options later as you build a Relationship), and take the bread to the beggars from earlier. You offer the sober one a job, then return to market to find clients to sell your goods to.
You talk with that wealthy man, but he resists your effort to acquire him as a customer - because he found your running unbecoming. (High 'Judginess', low 'Tolerance', idk)
Maybe you do a couple other things with your day, before the clock runs out, and now you decide how to divvy up your actions for the day.
The Beggar decided to take your job offer. You hire them, and dedicate most your time to training them. You dedicate some time to finding customers. You dedicate the rest of your action to making lanterns for sale.
Day 2 begins. You review your shop policy (now including your Beggar's employment, wages, work to focus on, etc), and you go through another complicated day in the world.
Maybe you go to Town Hall and review the laws or bribe the mayor! Maybe the Mayor accepts (high Greed, low Morality) or has you arrested ... oops now you have to spend a few days in jail, where you build relationships with hungry thieves.
Maybe your beggar from yesterday steals from you, and you have to decide to seek "justice" or let it go and focus on serving the poor.
And yes, there is combat. Gotta have a really satisfying combat system. You might steal from the rich, fight off their security detail, or assassinate a corrupt politician. Or maybe it's an Evil Situation so you assassinate a good politician for your own personal gain.
That's the idea. It's been developing and growing for some time, and I like how it's looking in my head right now.
But how in the hell would I develop all of this? I don't know. There would be a few systems that would all play into eachother: Character Temperament, Context, Relationships, Actions, Influence.
Coding all of that would be a ton of work. Balancing it would be a herculean task. Making the randomness of the world satisfyingly unique while keeping things from going haywire would be ... idunno.
I doubt I ever build this game. I'm not a Games programmer. And quite frankly, I have things I care more about doing with my limited life. That and I'm disabled so my ability to work is quite limited.
But I freaking love this idea, and I think I'll keep ideating about it. Maybe one day I'll set aside the important things and just make a game for fun. Maybe it would be trash. Maybe it would be great. Who knows?