We've just launched our Discord community! Join us to view development progress updates and be the first to hear about our playtests.
The Game Design of Ringleaders
This post is designed to give an overview of the core game loop for Ringleaders, including our inspiration for the game, and where we plan to take it from here.
In its simplest form, Ringleaders is a social deduction shooter. We love video games like Among Us and Town of Salem, and tabletop games like Secret Hitler and Coup. They make for interesting (and often heated) moments, emergent gameplay, and are the perfect way to spend time with friends, either IRL or online. However, we felt there was a big opportunity to incorporate engaging action gameplay in addition to the social deduction mechanics.
In order for Ringleaders to capture the heart of social deduction combined with skill-based progression, we knew it had to have some key components:
Proximity Voice Chat
In-game voice chat is an important layer that puts the “social” in social deduction. We think a lot more social deduction games should have some kind of voice chat baked into the game, so that was one of the first features we implemented. And not just general team chat — proximity chat specifically. This creates many interesting opportunities to be deceitful, and makes it feel like you’re really inside the city of Carillon (where Ringleaders takes place).
Action Gameplay
Another thing we felt was missing from the modern social deduction landscape was skill-based gameplay, so we placed precision gunplay at the core of our experience. This social deduction game will put your sharpshooting skills to the test!
Opportunity for Different Play Styles
Before each game, players choose two weapons and two gadgets to bring into combat for each round. These weapons range from the short range burst damage shotgun, to a long range sniper rifle, and even a katana if melee is your style. Gadgets range from boosts for things like damage output and speed, a shield, heal, bombs, turrets, and door hacks.
Limited Map Information
We decided not to have a minimap in order to keep players on their toes, and to maximize the need for communication. Social deduction is way more fun when you have to rely on team comms for information.
Randomized Environments
To keep things interesting and varied, we’ve implemented randomization in our maps. Long term, we’d love to integrate more procedural content to maximize the uniqueness of every map and every play session.
Playtime Doesn’t End at Death
There’s nothing less fun then entering a game with your friends, only to die quickly and be stuck with nothing to do while your teammates finish out the game. In Ringleaders, we’re attempting to solve this by letting players “reboot” into enemy sentries, where they then have the option to help or hinder the team.
Persistent incentives
In Ringleaders, we’ve implemented a bounty system, which has big implications for how each game is played. It is meant to serve as a social correction mechanism, where players can use the rewards they earn in game to increase the chances of putting a big target on an opponent’s head. We also give players the option to reward teammates for great plays or good behavior. There’s a lot to unpack here, so we’ll share more details on that later in a dedicated post.
We’re continuously testing Ringleaders as we develop the game, so a lot of the exact implementation is subject to change. These core mechanics provide a solid rundown of how we are structuring the game, but we have so many exciting features in the queue that we haven’t announced yet, and can’t wait to share with you.
Have any ideas for your dream social deduction game? Have thoughts on our formula? Let us know! We’d love your feedback.
Want to be one of the first playtesters? Join our Discord and Wishlist us on Steam so you don’t miss an update:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2432260/Ringleaders?snr=1_7_15__13