Dynamic Rumor System
Living Information Economy
Rumors evolve as they travel, creating investigative gameplay and a reactive city. The system’s perception hooks are shared in the Threads & Thoughts devlog if you want more narrative context.
- Evolving Accuracy — Each retelling can distort locations, witnesses, and descriptions. Accuracy ranges from 0–100% and is only guaranteed when the original source is found.
- Degraded Details — NPCs misplace landmarks, forget names, or embellish events depending on their personality and relationship to the source.
- Spread History — Every rumor records who told whom, letting players trace the most reliable version by interviewing the network.
NPC Schedules & Presence
- NPCs follow daily routines—work, errands, rest—that determine where rumors propagate.
- Errand states send characters wandering markets or docks, creating lived-in crowds.
- Pathfinding keeps traffic flowing realistically through districts.
Investigative Tools
- Rumor Journal — Track all leads with source NPCs, accuracy ratings, and version numbers.
- Dynamic Conversations — NPCs naturally mention rumors mid-dialogue, seeding new objectives or clues.
- Skill Impact — Perception and wisdom skills improve the fidelity of information heard.
World Reactivity
- Player actions seed new rumors about heroism, theft, or infamy.
- NPCs share intel with each other, altering faction attitudes and opportunities.
- Time-of-day awareness ensures rumors circulate differently across shifts and neighborhoods.
Selling Points
- Organic network of evolving information keeps investigations engaging.
- NPC ecosystem that feels alive thanks to schedules and rumor sharing.
- Player-driven detective gameplay—separate truth from fiction.
- A reputation layer where the city reacts to your deeds long before you arrive.