Goonhub
10-03-2018, 11:02 AM
I think that this is a step in the wrong direction if you want to make security more popular. You did touch on what I think is one of the biggest issues that make security so unpopular/hard to play. That it's all reactionary.
Even on goon2, playing security effectively requires RP if you want to have fun. Because if you just toe the line and "do your job" of protecting the station from antags it gets stale. People don't like having their antag rolls thwarted quickly, and security doesn't like getting murdered by antags silently. You have to create your own narrative to make the round fun, which is hard to do consistently.
But back to sec being reactionary in nature. Other than doctoring, it's the most reactionary job, and doctoring at least is more clear in the proper way to handle interactions. Or at least most clearly fun for everyone.
I think that there are two reasonable ways from a game design perspective to make security a more coveted role to play.
Give security officers some more interesting gameplay mechanics/tools that are not available to other jobs. Part of what turns people off of playing sec is that they think it's restrictive and limiting, having to play by the rules strictly for risk of ban. That's not exactly the case, so long as you're not assisting antags for no reason or permastunning or brigging people silently for no reason. That's where rp comes in, you can beat up someone you don't think is an antag if they annoy you or commit minor crimes, but you can't JUST beat them up. You have to engage them in conversation and stuff.
The other option is to give security officers something tangible to do while not responding to crimes, because patrolling can get tedious. Maybe let them do a bit of computer research or give them clear ways to "upgrade" the brig in some way in preparation.
Even on goon2, playing security effectively requires RP if you want to have fun. Because if you just toe the line and "do your job" of protecting the station from antags it gets stale. People don't like having their antag rolls thwarted quickly, and security doesn't like getting murdered by antags silently. You have to create your own narrative to make the round fun, which is hard to do consistently.
But back to sec being reactionary in nature. Other than doctoring, it's the most reactionary job, and doctoring at least is more clear in the proper way to handle interactions. Or at least most clearly fun for everyone.
I think that there are two reasonable ways from a game design perspective to make security a more coveted role to play.
Give security officers some more interesting gameplay mechanics/tools that are not available to other jobs. Part of what turns people off of playing sec is that they think it's restrictive and limiting, having to play by the rules strictly for risk of ban. That's not exactly the case, so long as you're not assisting antags for no reason or permastunning or brigging people silently for no reason. That's where rp comes in, you can beat up someone you don't think is an antag if they annoy you or commit minor crimes, but you can't JUST beat them up. You have to engage them in conversation and stuff.
The other option is to give security officers something tangible to do while not responding to crimes, because patrolling can get tedious. Maybe let them do a bit of computer research or give them clear ways to "upgrade" the brig in some way in preparation.