Multi-player game in a believable, persistent world. Player wants to create offspring. How can this be made fun? Assuming that there''s a good reason/reward for creating offspring, how can it be made into a fun aspect of the game, while at the same time somewhat challenging? If, for example, creating a son or daughter gives me the benefit of being able to play that child when my primary character dies (due to a violent confrontation or merely of old age), will I go through all the required steps to produce that child? Will I meet up with a character of the opposite sex, mate, go through labor, deliver the baby, protect the baby while it''s helpless and raise the baby as a responsible parent? Will I go through all that even though there''s battles to be fought elsewhere, rewards to be reaped, things to do, things to see? How can this be kept believable? Taking human beings as an example, creating a baby takes about 9 months. Then it takes about 10-15 years before you have a human being that can start to try to attempt to live on its own. How fast does the cycle have to be in a computer game, to keep it interesting for the player? If a player decides he wants to create offspring, how long should the process be? How long would you spend on creating offspring?

Why not bend reality a bit, like science fiction so often does. That Schwartzeneggar movie about clones suggests that humans could be duplicated in hours. I''m not saying to follow that example exactly, but why not something similar? Setting your game in the "future" lets you get away with so much, and can make for interesting "reality-bending" ideas.

True, cloning is interesting.

But I''m trying to somewhat force onto players at least the fact that it takes two to do the horizontal mambo. In other words, I want the creation of a new being to be something two players have to work together at.

I guess that''s still possible, even when using the cloning solution.

Reality-bending does seem like the way to go.

quote:Your best bet would be to apply some type of ''genetic'' variable and make it where procreation will create some variations

Yes, this would be the reward part of the whole thing. A new being, resembling both its mother and father, unique due to genetic mutation. Generally, the offspring will be better, bigger, bolder than the individual parents (though NOT better, bigger, bolder than the two parents combined).

quote:Then force the female to ''stick it out'' so that she''s more apt to look for a more serious player to be the father.

I have no problem with this. Although the beings don''t necessarily have to be human. If the beings are fish for example, either parent could be responsible for making sure the little eggs are protected.

quote:Uh, if it takes two to make one offspring...which of you gets to play it when you die?

The offspring might be played by a third player as well. Or by either of the parents. It''s up to them to decide. And you don''t even have to wait until your parent character is dead. If you want to switch and play the offspring, go ahead. Maybe you can create more than one offspring, so both players will have a ''backup''.