Justice in games.

[Rhett Butler]

If you were to commit a crime in a game it would be pretty cool if rather than just attacking you the authorities arrested you and brought you to trial. You would then have the chance to get off depending on your speech skills, standing with powerful factions or street smarts (who you should try to bribe/threaten, how much is enough). The amount of skill, connections, money etc needed to walk (or get a reduced sentence) would depend on the seriousness of your offense.

The only problem I can see with this is it is a lot of content to create when people might just reload when they are caught and never see it. I think though, that if the dialogues were varied enough, and reacted to the individual instance then you would probably keep playing.

Even if you lost in court and went to prison you could learn skills and make contacts there that would allow you to make a "career change" having lost standing with respectable factions.

 

[spectre]

Stop right there, criminal scum! Sorry. Couldn't help myself.

Even if you lost in court and went to prison you could learn skills and make contacts there that would allow you to make a "career change" having lost standing with respectable factions.

I like all ideas that make game elements that usually forced a reload actually become part of the gameplay, not punishment.

Added content and more meaningful interaction with the legal system (and inmates) are logical extensions, but how about whole quests that revolve around being incarcerated - assassintaing someone in a high security prison, meeting with an incarcerated crime-boss, smuggle something into a prison, break someone out, etc.

Also, it has potential for some humor, if you could actually bribe half of the jury, or have all the judges and witnesses in your pocket.

Now, for this to work, we need a well thought out system - you steal a spoon, you'll get a severe beating from the guards, no more. (And, may I ask, no more killing in cold blood 'cause I resisted arrest for stealing the said spoon?) You'll have to make an effort to be locked up in a maximum secuirity cell.

 

[kris]

This all could work very well in a focused game, say one that is almost entirely within a city. Should also work well in a sandbox game as it goes very well with its nature.

 

[dagorkan]

Well first you need to make it so punishments can actually add to gameplay. Otherwise you'd be doing a lot of work just for players to simply reload if they actually get sentenced.

 

[Destroid]

I can't see any studio putting in the amount of work required to make this actually good unless it was a major component of the gameplay. Caius Cosades, Ace Attorney?

 

[Admiral Rimjob POOBUM]

TESV could have this in true series style; a soap-dropping minigame where you have to frantically mash A to pick it up before the huge Redguard inmate reaches you.

Kidding aside, I think there was a Morrowind mod in planning about this, and I was disappointed when it fell through. The idea of being able to go to trial, end up in prison, break or bribe your way out... it could turn a simple reloading diversion into hours of gameplay. Not something we're ever likely to see in a commercial game, but I doubt it'd be too hard to mod into something. I expect it to be done by Thursday.

 

[JarlFrank]

Didn't Daggerfall have a very simple justice system? You could try to argue or lie in court and the success depended on your streetwise or speech skill. You could plead guilty or not guilty. If the court found you guilty, you went to prison.

 

[1eyedking]

Bricks were thoroughly shat.

 

[Admiral Rimjob POOBUM]

Didn't Daggerfall have a very simple justice system? You could try to argue or lie in court and the success depended on your streetwise or speech skill. You could plead guilty or not guilty. If the court found you guilty, you went to prison.

And if you were found not guilty, you were dumped out on the street with 1HP.
I'm not sure if that was a bug or not, but it was hilarious.

 

[Walkin' Dude]

Prison in Space Rangers 2 was an interactive experience via text adventure.

 

[Imbecile]

Personally I'd like to see much harsher in game punishments for twats who like to butcher whole populations. It would be amusing seeing them caught, brought to trial, and then put away. For evar!!!!

 

[Saint_Proverbius]

Guild 2. Get the Guild 2: Pirates of the European Seas version. Guild 2: Venice is horribly broken right now.

What's even more fun is you can have people who have robbed you arrested and testify against them. If you have a high rhetoric skill and charisma, you can talk your way out of the trials. Or you can bribe people during the trial, threaten them, and so on.

Of course, I'm not sure what happens in prison. Also, there's other options to the penalty than prison. There's fines, the pillory, loss of your title, the dungeon, and even death. I had a guy in another family burglarize my house and rob a few of my caravans. I went to the town hall and charged him with a crime using my high rhetoric Scholar character. I got him put to death. :D

 

[Virtz]

Liberal Crime Squad (from the creator of Dwarf Fortress) employs much of what's been mentioned. How well a trial goes depends on the person's social skills, general public views, the weight of the prosecution and amount of liberal "sleepers" in the justice system. It lacks bribery, but then there's also the option of busting your people out of prison with another squad before the trial. Sometimes the trial results can be quite strange, though.

 

[GeneralSamov]

Prison in Space Rangers 2 was an interactive experience via text adventure.

Thanks for reminding me. Man that game is so awesome.

 

[Cogar]

I like the idea, and suspect it would go over well with the hard core RPG crowd. Still, to make it effective for the average player I suspect that it would either have to become a minigame that starts when you were caught (to make the experience "entertaining") or put it in a MMORPG where the option of reloading is not there.

 

[S_Verner]

"The Judge is supportive of The Cause

ONE OF THE JURORS FLASHED YOU A SECRET LIBERAL HAND SIGNAL!"

 

[Jaime Lannister]

Didn't Daggerfall have a very simple justice system? You could try to argue or lie in court and the success depended on your streetwise or speech skill. You could plead guilty or not guilty. If the court found you guilty, you went to prison.

It did. I just reloaded. Then I uninstalled that POS.

 

[MINIGUNWIELDER]

Really, Liberal Crime Squad's justice system either is not very good, or is tied to the Liberal Agenda in ways I did not know before.

For disturbing the peace, at yellow free speech and police conduct I got around 3 months when I had a conservative jury.(also, the "Conservative activist" is a Conservative Crime Squad member)

Of course, defending myself when I had no Law skill probably made things worse.

Still Persuasion should figure in the legal system.

 

[Serus]

Darklands anyone ?