Acid Tempest

protesters charging, from Indymedia Acid Tempest - Establish a New World Order, Globalize the Corporate Economy, and and Enforce Discipline and Morals on the unruly drug-crazed anarchists. What, you disagree? Whatcha gonna do, protest?? Game of civil disobedience and revolution in the 21st Century. Focus is on diplomatic/factional engine and strategic-level as well as tactical-level gameplay.

Gameplay Concept

The year is 2001, and discontent with the establishment is higher than it has been for decades. Each player represents one faction vying for power, control, and public awareness, hoping to make their message heard and establish their own vision of how the nation - and the world - should be governed. Players can also choose to be one of a variety of corporate interests, government agencies, and criminal organizations.

At the strategic level, players can increase the power of their faction through negotiation, alliances, takeovers, and plain old recruitment. Infiltration or subversion of neutral groups can be used to extend the faction's influence or provide covers to operate behind.

They may also choose to engage in one of a wide variety of Actions that will occur at a tactical level - political demonstrations, labor strikes, robberies, assassinations, or police raids. These can be based around various regular and irregular activities such as general elections, trade conferences, trials, and executions.

Factions

Players will be allowed to invent new factions within the game, using the Faction Design System (c.f.), however the following are some for starters.

Police: Governmental faction with the goal of maintaining order and rule of law.
Communists: Activist faction pursuing the objective of establishing a non-capitalist based society.
Anarchists: Activist faction pursuing the objective of minimization or elimination of hierarchical government.
Environmentalists: Activist faction engaged in struggle to prevent destruction of wild habitats and to promote recovery of lands already despoiled.
Free Software Developers: Neutral organization desiring the deprication of closed source computer software.
Indigenous People: Activist faction with the objective of preserving tribal identity and culture.
Agro-Pharma Conglomerates: Wealthy genetic engineering corporations defending their monopolies.

Tactical Level Activities

The following is a list of some actions that players can choose from at the tactical level. Note that the units under the player's control may or may not actually obey the order, depending on its nature, principles, discipline, and unity.

Tag - Place grafiti promoting faction's principles on structures
Protest - Carry signs and give chants.
Human Barrier - Chain selves to trees, doors, etc.
Perform Stunt - Creatively challenge authority. Actual effects are determined semi-randomly.
Crowd Control - Contain and moderate crowds to stop or mitigate protest action through intimidation or mild aggression.
Destroy property - Up-ending cars, breaking windows, and other similar acts of vandalism, but engaging in no harm to people.
Employ device - This makes use of a special weapon (gas, fake blood, tree spikes, bomb, watercannon, molatov cocktails, etc.)
Riot - Engage in semi-uncontrolled acts of violence and vandalism against opposing groups.
Skirmish - Employ weapons against opposing groups, but in a disorganized, hit-and-run manner. Used by police to drive off or arrest.
Storm building - Forcibly enter and take control of a particular building, neutralizing any opposition encountered in process.
Engage - Actively approach opposing forces using weapons to drive them away, while minimizing casualties.
Assault - Drive hard against opposing forces to kill or capture.

The game rules will be skewed in favor of conducting protests peacefully. The rebelliousness is there just for fun.

In the tactical view, there will be representatives of various factions, as well as zero or more bystanders (depending on the time of day), and zero or more workers (construction workers, bureaucrats, web designers).