Earlier I talked about making up a story for my characters and roleplaying it to add some depth to my games.
( @asynckronism/the-roles-we-play )
This week I wanted to see how the game would change if I held my 'Character' under certain parameters in accordance to what the story was.
I tried out this prospect on Hunt: Showdown as an Observer of the Hunters who entered the area.
What is Hunt: Showdown?
Hunt: Showdown is a 12-Player PvEvP (Player vs Environment vs Player) competitive first-person bounty hunting game with heavy PvEvP (Player vs Environment vs Player) elements game where the main goal is to hunt and destroy a bounty target, usually a monster, and extract from the area with the bounty token before other Hunters(Players) have a chance of killing you and taking it for themselves. The setting is 1895 Louisiana where a terrible curse has beset the land causing demonic looking monsters to appear and afflictions upon the residents to run rampant
Roleplay begins
My name is Kud Welters and I was hired by a sect of the American Hunters Association (AHA) to discern the intentions of other hunters that entered the Bayou, Were they banishing the monstrous anomalies that roamed the Bayou or were they using the opportunity to loot and kill each other with no mercy? My job was to observe without being seen, make a note of points of interest, and report back my findings. Simple but you never know what could happen on the Bayou.
I loaded up my Winfield rifle and Nagant Revolver and brought my Spyglass along, I'd surely be killed if I got too close to other hunters, and headed into the bayou. I was finally deep enough that caution would be key.
I moved from place to place slowly, avoiding the locals and the vermin that have made the area their home. Seems like I was too early as I couldn't spot anybody and there were no sounds other than the tired groans from the Infected Grunts that littered the Bayou.
As it grew closer to dusk I decided to take refuge in a lookout post and see the sights, it would also allow me a rest as I wouldn't have to keep checking my back for the horrors that lurked about.
Once night grew there was a noticeable difference in the air and I got ready to venture out, I would have be extra cautious as the locals would be more active and the beasts would probably be hungry.
I was climbing a hill when I heard gunshots behind me, they sounded far off in the distance so no worry but before I continued there was the sound of heavy footfalls right below me. I pulled out my Winfield and took aim. I would shoot if they shot first, I wasn't supposed to interfere but if a Hunter saw me than chances are they were going to shoot first and loot me later. As the Hunter appeared at the bottom of the hill he was running in the direction of the gunfire, He was in a hurry and didn't even notice me!
After calming myself and making sure there was nothing else I contined downward into the valley when more gunfire occured where I was headed, I took cover in a bush by the river and looked upstream when I caught sight of another hunter bandaging himself as he crossed.
I crossed the river and just barely made it when I spotted another hunter running in the same direction as the previous guy. I took cover with my rifle, using my ears to hear if he was going to run right into me. I didn't realize there were two Grunts right beside me but the running Hunter took care of them as they were in his way. I guess he REALLY wanted to finish what was started with the wounded hunter.
Along the way I saw two more hunters that were in the midst of combat.
Most of the hunters I've come across entered the Bayou just to kill, steal, and retreat into their hidey holes. The AHA will probably be disappointed that the people they enlist to figure out the problem aren't really working towards a solution. I'll head towards the nearby light house and wait until morning to exit the Bayou. The Morning is rife with gunfire and a monstrous scream echoed throughout the land. I peeped with the spyglass and saw the countriest duo walking out of a compound with a bounty token in their possession. So they had killed one of the many menaces in the land and were now walking towards a boat to leave the swamp.
It seems like a Grunt was near their boat but the two took care of it and sailed away with their prize in tow. There was one example of what the AHA was looking for, Hunters who were actually cleaning up the land as opposed to the ones that were only here for lucrative acquirement I gathered my things and began my exodus from this haunted land.
Roleplay End
The Experience
Playing this game as an observer felt similar to a wild life documentary, witnessing without interfering, Seeing players right next to me as they passed by was tense, I guess all those years playing stealth games paid off because I didn't have to shoot at another player! I did this as a challenge for myself and also to see what the fight between two hunters looks like from a 3rd party perspective.The Mindset
It was difficult at first for me to not pull out my rifle and start shooting when I had the drop on a player, but the whole point of this was to observe. venturing deeper in the map was also tough for me because that meant being more exposed, because in Hunt: Showdown if the character dies its permanent death, meaning I would have to pick and choose a different hunter, and while playing regularly that is fine but for this setting I wanted to keep the same character from start to finish. Playing the observer allowed me to see how players try and trick each other and how they sneak around the map while they gather Rifts.
My Hunter. I chose him because the dark clothes would allow me to blend in better
Having to sneak around the monsters was difficult because sometimes the area would be littered with them on top of each other
It's dark but there are 4 monsters in front of the shed and 1 on the bridge
I got jump scared a couple of times
Hunt: Showdown matches are usually 60 minutes and there are no time shifts from day to night but I wanted to weave a story that would make sense instead of having a mashup of photos be day and others night. It was fun coming up with a sort of storyboard and writing the tale that would become this post.
Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed.