What I would do for Cyberpunk.
A few features I would like to see.
Player generated multiplayer content, creating infinite or at least generational replay value.
This would need a limited multiplayer mode interface that one player can use to game master content that he or others have written, with a minimum of up to six players through the story. Like an updated version of old school pen and paper RPG that spawned this game.
I don't know if your combat will end up turn based or real time. Turn based could give GM a lot of control, but you would have to scale that control back a bit for real-time. For real-time the GM would need access to an integrated GUI control panel for the AI, things get more complicated, I'd totally understand if you didn't want to do it but think what you could do with such a feature.
You can include a voice changing feature that can alter the voice to fit the model to form seamless integrated interactive live content without breaking immersion. Sadly, lip synchronizing may be tough as hell, it would need to anticipate various lip positions to sounds, and localization problems would be tough too. Of course if Kinect with PC comes out you could implement and map facial expression recognition.
With voice changers, you could have in-character and out-of-character voice modes between regular and changed in case you need to ask the GM a question or explain a complicated task.
You could enforce mandatory voice change to try to limit the harassment that comes with other online multiplayer games since character genders would be enforced. On the same line, you could also enforce the random race roll in the old game for multiplayer for the same reason. Especially since, you will need to run a matching service, which leads into the next point.
You build these small groups around a limited social networking site. Therefore, players can find each other persistently or even just each other's characters. Creates an interesting paradigm for multiple online personas.
On a social network like this they can trade their stories, separate them into genres and create player rating system, you could model it to a limited extend using metrics similar to Netflix.
Players could sell their services as a GM if they end up highly rated. Trade them for in game currency or sell them outright, which you could then transaction fee (I'm a realist and you have to keep them servers up somehow.)
They will probably have to meet through a random service to break the ice and meet people but you're going to need prebuilt automated content anyway just to get the ball rolling so you could use those tutorials for both running and playing.
Just think of all the content created for Portal 2 by players and now add stories and actors. A record feature so the GM or players could record and edit their games so they can release as on line content. You would see an explosion in player created videos showing up on YouTube. Maybe even a subgenre of Machima. They could then use it to enact whole plays. Original works in the cyberpunk setting.
Would a six player multiplayer client server setup really be that hard, you have to make the tools anyway to implement your own content; it's just user friendly...-ish GUI.
Of course, that might make the whole thing a little rated M too. Because you know, people are going to make porn. Realistically unless you can police that, it's going to go there.
Now just a little bit on the subversive side.
Imagine buying that content with Bitcoins, an actual real life Cyberpunk currency. Adding an interesting metagaming opportunity. It would actually be a good way for players to break national barriers and help establish a currency independent of nationalities and borders, traded not for guns but stories and original content of players.
It becomes feasible with a built Bitcoin miner that they can run in a worldwide Cyberpunk Pool, I recommend Double Geometric Payout Method to curb pool hopping, it's a thing.
However, you know people could actually make a living internationally in India just being a freelance game master. That would fit in with Cyberpunk ethics.
This might be a subversive idea. Especially you could save on server overhead you provide a matching service to the game master's machine, which would be running the actual module. Then people could meet over an encrypted connection that actual oppressive governments couldn't wire tap. A distributed Tor mode where all the servers act as onion network to make dissidents entirely untraceable.
I mean if your game isn't banned in Tehran it's just not Cyberpunk enough.
A few features I would like to see.
Player generated multiplayer content, creating infinite or at least generational replay value.
This would need a limited multiplayer mode interface that one player can use to game master content that he or others have written, with a minimum of up to six players through the story. Like an updated version of old school pen and paper RPG that spawned this game.
I don't know if your combat will end up turn based or real time. Turn based could give GM a lot of control, but you would have to scale that control back a bit for real-time. For real-time the GM would need access to an integrated GUI control panel for the AI, things get more complicated, I'd totally understand if you didn't want to do it but think what you could do with such a feature.
You can include a voice changing feature that can alter the voice to fit the model to form seamless integrated interactive live content without breaking immersion. Sadly, lip synchronizing may be tough as hell, it would need to anticipate various lip positions to sounds, and localization problems would be tough too. Of course if Kinect with PC comes out you could implement and map facial expression recognition.
With voice changers, you could have in-character and out-of-character voice modes between regular and changed in case you need to ask the GM a question or explain a complicated task.
You could enforce mandatory voice change to try to limit the harassment that comes with other online multiplayer games since character genders would be enforced. On the same line, you could also enforce the random race roll in the old game for multiplayer for the same reason. Especially since, you will need to run a matching service, which leads into the next point.
You build these small groups around a limited social networking site. Therefore, players can find each other persistently or even just each other's characters. Creates an interesting paradigm for multiple online personas.
On a social network like this they can trade their stories, separate them into genres and create player rating system, you could model it to a limited extend using metrics similar to Netflix.
Players could sell their services as a GM if they end up highly rated. Trade them for in game currency or sell them outright, which you could then transaction fee (I'm a realist and you have to keep them servers up somehow.)
They will probably have to meet through a random service to break the ice and meet people but you're going to need prebuilt automated content anyway just to get the ball rolling so you could use those tutorials for both running and playing.
Just think of all the content created for Portal 2 by players and now add stories and actors. A record feature so the GM or players could record and edit their games so they can release as on line content. You would see an explosion in player created videos showing up on YouTube. Maybe even a subgenre of Machima. They could then use it to enact whole plays. Original works in the cyberpunk setting.
Would a six player multiplayer client server setup really be that hard, you have to make the tools anyway to implement your own content; it's just user friendly...-ish GUI.
Of course, that might make the whole thing a little rated M too. Because you know, people are going to make porn. Realistically unless you can police that, it's going to go there.
Now just a little bit on the subversive side.
Imagine buying that content with Bitcoins, an actual real life Cyberpunk currency. Adding an interesting metagaming opportunity. It would actually be a good way for players to break national barriers and help establish a currency independent of nationalities and borders, traded not for guns but stories and original content of players.
It becomes feasible with a built Bitcoin miner that they can run in a worldwide Cyberpunk Pool, I recommend Double Geometric Payout Method to curb pool hopping, it's a thing.
However, you know people could actually make a living internationally in India just being a freelance game master. That would fit in with Cyberpunk ethics.
This might be a subversive idea. Especially you could save on server overhead you provide a matching service to the game master's machine, which would be running the actual module. Then people could meet over an encrypted connection that actual oppressive governments couldn't wire tap. A distributed Tor mode where all the servers act as onion network to make dissidents entirely untraceable.
I mean if your game isn't banned in Tehran it's just not Cyberpunk enough.