[Suggestion] Hiring guards

(previously 'DEVELOPER') Private forum for registered community members. To register, please visit www.prison-architect.com/register.

Moderator: NBJeff

MathieuG89
level0
Posts: 5
Joined: Wed Aug 07, 2013 1:20 pm

[Suggestion] Hiring guards

Postby MathieuG89 » Wed Aug 14, 2013 2:42 pm

I have a suggestion concerning guards, more specifically how you hire them in-game. I believe it would be a great addition to the game if you could as a player choose between different guards with different skills and personality. The initial price for hiring them would be based on their skill levels. A rookie guard would not be as expensive as a veteran officer but wouldn't be as skilled. These guards could gain experience with time and become better at fighting and finding contraband. Their personality on the other side would affect how aggresive they're with inmates. Someone that would like to run a cruel prison could hire several harsh guards to punish and abuse prisoners. Someone that would like to run a rehabilitation centre could in the other hand hire more compassionate guards or a mix of the two. I think this would bring the players closer to their staff.
User avatar
xander
level5
level5
Posts: 16869
Joined: Thu Oct 21, 2004 11:41 pm
Location: Highland, CA, USA
Contact:

Postby xander » Wed Aug 14, 2013 6:04 pm

This has been suggested several times in the past. My opinion has not changed.

xander
weeby-vuit
level1
level1
Posts: 11
Joined: Tue Nov 06, 2012 11:38 pm

Postby weeby-vuit » Fri Aug 16, 2013 10:06 am

This is a great idea, I also think they should add a HR office and extra Finance Admins.
Anoniempje
level1
level1
Posts: 16
Joined: Sun Jun 30, 2013 8:31 pm

Postby Anoniempje » Fri Aug 16, 2013 5:44 pm

xander wrote:This has been suggested several times in the past. My opinion has not changed.

xander


Aw yes, because you're opinion is law.
User avatar
xander
level5
level5
Posts: 16869
Joined: Thu Oct 21, 2004 11:41 pm
Location: Highland, CA, USA
Contact:

Postby xander » Fri Aug 16, 2013 6:47 pm

Anoniempje wrote:
xander wrote:This has been suggested several times in the past. My opinion has not changed.

xander


Aw yes, because you're opinion is law.

I didn't say it was. I was simply expressing my opinion, along with my minimal frustration and mild annoyance that the original poster didn't bother search the forums to see that their idea was unoriginal. I'm sorry that you, someone to whom my post wasn't even addressed, decided to take offense. I'm sorry that you decided that I was doing something other than stating my opinion.

xander
Anoniempje
level1
level1
Posts: 16
Joined: Sun Jun 30, 2013 8:31 pm

Postby Anoniempje » Fri Aug 16, 2013 11:55 pm

xander wrote:
Anoniempje wrote:
xander wrote:This has been suggested several times in the past. My opinion has not changed.

xander


Aw yes, because you're opinion is law.

I didn't say it was. I was simply expressing my opinion, along with my minimal frustration and mild annoyance that the original poster didn't bother search the forums to see that their idea was unoriginal. I'm sorry that you, someone to whom my post wasn't even addressed, decided to take offense. I'm sorry that you decided that I was doing something other than stating my opinion.

xander


Its just my opinion, to some ones post. like you keep saying your opinion to op's post.
Why is what i do a troll attempt and you all shiny and happy and good?
smallfry
level0
Posts: 3
Joined: Thu Jun 06, 2013 11:39 am

Postby smallfry » Sat Aug 17, 2013 10:28 am

I think having a bit more put into the staff is a good idea. The idea of names and biographies is good, rather than faceless blue blobs. I also like the idea of them having personalities because I think it'd add a fun dynamic to trying to keep control and how to keep control. As the OP said, if you wanted an oppressive regime then hire big nasty brutish guards, or someone might hire guards with a bit more training and people skills and compassion and keep control using the carrot rather than the stick. I think it'd make the game more fun in the long run as I don't think there's much to do once you've got a functioning prison.
smallfry
level0
Posts: 3
Joined: Thu Jun 06, 2013 11:39 am

Postby smallfry » Sat Aug 17, 2013 10:41 am

xander wrote:This has been suggested several times in the past. My opinion has not changed.

xander



I'm against it. While I know that there will eventually be Wardens with names (it is one of the funding tiers), I can also hope that they will be limited to campaigns. The choice of not giving staff names is an interesting narrative choice. It suggests that while the prisoners are unique, individualized people, the staff are nameless cogs in a machine. The emphasis of the game is on the individuality and humanity of the prisoners, which is, as I said, an interesting take on the subject.

In the US, we are often conditioned to believe that people are in prison because they are bad people deserving to be punished. Guards that put down a riot or wardens who come up with unique forms of punishment (pink underwear, anyone?) are lauded as heros, and the human toll that the industrialized prison system has on the prisoners is generally disregarded. I am sure that this is true in much of the rest of the world, as well. I, for one, welcome a game that presents the prisoners as being at least, if not more, important than the machine which confines them.


I thought the game was about designing a prison. You can't really have a narrative choice if there's no narrative as such. If it's a simulation then surely all sides of the simulation should be included.

It's an interesting point about the wardens/guards/madly-right-wing-sheriffs becoming the "heros" but I think that if you wanted the game to make a point about the prison machine, having guard characteristics would support it. You could see the impact of hiring that under trained, underpaid, rookie guard on the control of the prison and the welfare of prisoners. Perhaps dehumanising policies will need more guards, costing more, perhaps suggesting TVs might be the cheaper answer even if it's less palatable to voters.
User avatar
xander
level5
level5
Posts: 16869
Joined: Thu Oct 21, 2004 11:41 pm
Location: Highland, CA, USA
Contact:

Postby xander » Mon Aug 19, 2013 12:37 am

smallfry wrote:You can't really have a narrative choice if there's no narrative as such.

The notion of a narrative choice refers to a choice made by the developers to embrace a certain narrative, not a choice given to the players. You might want to have a look at this short video on how video game mechanics can convey narrative.

smallfry wrote:If it's a simulation then surely all sides of the simulation should be included.

Any simulation has to lose some details. Consider that a map is a kind of simulation of the world. It is at a much smaller scale, which means that you can't show every speedbump and tree. The cartographer(s) responsible for any particular map has to make choices about what details they want to emphasize, and what details they exclude. A video game simulation is similar, and the details that are omitted or kept reflect the choices that the developers are making about what is important and not important to their view of the world.

smallfry wrote:It's an interesting point about the wardens/guards/madly-right-wing-sheriffs becoming the "heros" but I think that if you wanted the game to make a point about the prison machine, having guard characteristics would support it. You could see the impact of hiring that under trained, underpaid, rookie guard on the control of the prison and the welfare of prisoners. Perhaps dehumanising policies will need more guards, costing more, perhaps suggesting TVs might be the cheaper answer even if it's less palatable to voters.

Those are also interesting narrative choices. They are different narrative choices than have been made by IV thus far, and I don't think that they fit very well with the overall theme of the game as it has developed to this point. You are also suggesting a lot of new mechanics that don't currently exist, such as voters that effect the running of the prison.

xander
Hamen
level1
level1
Posts: 35
Joined: Wed Sep 26, 2012 4:31 pm

Postby Hamen » Mon Aug 19, 2013 4:33 pm

Staff definitely should get more details. This is not only a game but, coincidentally a teaching tool. The more detail the better. Sim City 4 or SimCity5? Civ4 or Civ5?
User avatar
Ric666
level3
level3
Posts: 484
Joined: Wed Oct 10, 2012 10:12 am
Location: Edinburgh, Scotland

Postby Ric666 » Mon Aug 19, 2013 5:58 pm

Hamen wrote:Sim City 4 or SimCity5? Civ4 or Civ5?


Simcity4 & Civ5 for me.

Return to “Community Members”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 15 guests