112 lines
4.7 KiB
Plaintext
112 lines
4.7 KiB
Plaintext
The general form of the game is that you play several different
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characters. Different puzzles are presented and solved as
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different characters. When the game begins, you are
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Blackthorne, but later you can (must?) be Mariko, Toranaga,
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etc. in various situations.
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Some puzzles are pretty clearly defined. These are marked
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with a *. For others, it's not obvious what the puzzle is.
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These are marked with a ?.
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Puzzles:
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* As Blackthorne, you must navigate the Erasmus through the
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storm and reef into Anjiro harbor. This is primarily just a
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puzzle where you must steer the Erasmus in the right
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direction. Minor additional parts include being lashed to
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the rudder, commanding the sails to be reefed, etc.
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? As Blackthorne, you must learn Japanese. How this is done
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is an open question.
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* As Blackthorne, you must rescue Rodrigues when he is washed
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overboard. This may include convincing Hiro-matsu to let
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you go ashore, finding Rodrigues (?), causing Yabu to climb
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down the cliff (since the guards won't let you do it),
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attracting his attention to the ledge, etc.
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* As Blackthorne, you must help Toranaga escape from Osaka.
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This would be in several parts. First, you must notice that
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Toranaga and Kiritsubo switch places. Second, you must
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distract Ishido and the guards.
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* As Toranaga, you must get to the galley through the maze of
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Osaka's streets. I see this as a maze-type puzzle where
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there are bands of Ishido's Grays and an ambush at some
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point by "bandits." At some point in the maze is the place
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where you find your extra men (the sign of a fish). At some
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time after the ambush, Ishido will know you've escaped, and
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more Grays will arrive.
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? As Toranaga, you must negotiate with Ferriera and the
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Jesuits to get out of the harbor. How this is done I
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haven't a clue.
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* As Blackthorne, you must maneuver the galley out of the
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harbor by staying close to the frigate, but not too close.
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* As Blackthorne, you must teach Toranaga to dive. This might
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be too hard; instead there could be a swimming race puzzle,
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where you must try to beat Toranaga.
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* As Blackthorne, you must threaten (and mean!) to commit
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seppuku, but the timing must be perfect, otherwise you will
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succeed. You must bring things to a head just as Omi is
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ready to stop you.
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? As Mariko, you must teach Blackthorne Japanese. How?
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? As Mariko, you must try to commit suicide. How to make this
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more than just a timing puzzle? It is important to not do
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it before Ishido gives in. Maybe you should play someone
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other than Mariko in this puzzle? Ishido?
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* As Blackthorne, you must fight the ninja during the attack,
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help Mariko escape into the secret room, not open the door
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when the ninja say they only want you, break the bolts on
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the other door, not stop Mariko, etc.
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? As Toranaga, you must detect Yabu's treachery?
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Overall Puzzles:
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As Toranaga, you are constantly trying to influence people
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to come over to your side. How to do this? Possibilities
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include a diplomacy-type structure, a swapping structure
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("Offer Izu to Yabu," "Tell Zataki about Ochiba," etc.). You
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must also delay things as much as possible after your escape
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from Osaka. Perhaps various people come to you with
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information, as Gyoko does in the book. To get the
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information, you have to consent to speak with them. Some
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of it is true, some is not, and you must act on the true
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information. This might also be how Omi reports the news
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about Yabu's betrayal during the attack. There are various
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"players" you can negotiate with. These include the other
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regents, the Jesuits, Ferriera, some of your own people
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(such as Yabu), Blackthorne, Mariko, etc. They will ask for
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things, and you have to decide what to give them. You also
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have limited resources to give away, and if you promise them
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twice, you might get in trouble (like Ishido giving the
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Kwanto to both Zataki and Kiyama).
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Learning Japanese. This is a puzzle for both Blackthorne
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and Mariko. Perhaps there is a vocabulary you must learn,
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and as Blackthorne, you can only communicate through an
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interpreter or in Japanese. As the game progresses, you
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have less access to an interpreter. One implementation
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problem is that some Japanese words are longer than 9
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characters, for example "wakarimas-u" vs. "wakarimas-en".
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Scoring. Your score as each character must depend on how
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you are doing at achieving your goals. As Toranaga, it's
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your influence. As Blackthorne, it could be your
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proficiency in Japanese, and your adoption of Japanese
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customs. Suppose that at various points, Blackthorne is
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given options. One is a "barbarian" option, and one is a
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"japanese" option. Examples would include eating meat vs.
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not eating meat, or wearing European clothes vs. wearing a
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kimono. These might be scored subtly (not appear on the
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status line, for example?)
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