Dynamic Products

[enemyviolent]

So, I've been thinking about how Products work and feeling not very satisfied with it... I usually play on the No Style Style, because I find anything else a bit too restrictive. Then I had a bit of an epiphany about what I would want. See, right now, the Product decides what you can do, but what if, instead, what you've done decides the Product. Sounds difficult to implement, but hear me out.

 

Here's how it works. If you start a brand new promotion, you effectively start on No Style. As you play the game, and you start to do the same kinds of things repeatedly as you book, fans start to develop Expectations (capital letter because it's a mechanic) around what you've done in the past. Those Expectations together make up your promotion's Product, and each Expectation gives your Promotion Attributes.

 

For example, if you don't book dangerous, controversial, or bloody matches for long enough, fans will come to expect a show without those things on it. That'll give your Product the Expectation of Family Friendly Matches. The upside of that Expectation is that your promotion will get the Advertiser Friendly Attribute, increasing your sponsorship revenue. The downside is, if you ever do want to book a bloody spectacle match, it'll subvert that Expectation, causing penalties.

 

For another example, if you consistently book TV shows of about 35-40% matches and 60-65% angles, your Product will get the Angle Driven TV Expectation. The upside is, this will give your promotion the Angle Focused attribute, which will increase the effect that angle ratings have on your show ratings. The downside is, that Attribute will also reduce the effect of match ratings on the show's overall rating, and if you ever do start to book shows that spend more time on matches, those shows will be penalized.

 

All the Products that exist in the game right now can be broken down into Expectations, such as:

- Gimmick Use

- Heel/Face Importance

- Number of Ongoing Storylines

- Eye Candy use

 

As your Product gets more defined, some Expectations will have cumulative effects with each other, and your Product will actually get a name that matches one of the Products that exist now. If you've got a Product with lots of Angles, short matches, lots of storylines, eye candy, and hardcore matches, your Product becomes Attitude Entertainment and effects like bonuses to crazy spots and sponsorship will kick in.

 

So how do you change your Product once it's been established? Well, you have to start consistently subverting those Expectations that have been created. That'll result in penalties temporarily, but eventually the Expectation will go away, and all its effects will no longer happen. What if you don't want to be limited by Expectations? Fine, you just have to book shows that are all significantly different from each other. Keep the fans guessing and they'll never know what to expect.

 

It's also almost like a booking personality test. Just book the way you want and you'll end up with the Product that matches your booking style, rather than having to predict the Product that you think matches your booking style ahead of time.

 

Oh, and, of course, if you're starting to book a Promotion that already exists, it'll come with a Product already pre-loaded with Expectations, so those who want the challenge of staying within an existing Product just need to start with a Promotion that already has the appropriate Product. Perhaps with an Owner Goal requiring certain Expectations to stay.