Selfishness in Keeper RL and How it is Created

One huge part of making games is how they effect the player on an emotional and mental level. Most games do this by introducing interesting story arches or making the player interact with the world and its inhabitants in such a way that it changes his mind about something. Few games do so primarily through their game play. However when they do, and it is done well, the games can change the player without him or her even knowing.

A good example of this is KeeperRL (Or Keeper Rouge Like). A game about developing a kingdom of evil monsters and snuffing out all those who dare oppose you. The game quickly forces the player to develop a sense of selfishness. However the game has no story outside of the one that you develop in your mind. So instead of introducing characters that steal from you, or a world in which it's explained that it's every man for himself is impossible. Instead KeeperRL uses its aspects of design to make to player value everything that he owns more and the lives of those around him and those who serve him less.

You, our intrepid dark lord

The primary motivation behind your selfishness is brought with the loss status. The player will lose the game not when his fortress is destroyed or his orc army is ruined or his people rebel, but when he is killed. It is entirely possible to have your fort sacked, your gold stolen and your people slaughtered only to teleport away and hide in the ruins of a nearby town then rebuild your fort the day after. However if you are killed in the process then the hours of work required to build up an army are wasted. This incentivises the player to not only keep safe but also to hoard all of the best and most magical of items to him or herself. This means that the monsters that go out and fight for the lord are not provided with the tools necessary to succeed because the player wants to make sure that he is always the most guarded. This also means that the player almost never leaves his fort even though statistically he is the strongest unit he can control. This selfish protection is also reflected in the layout of your fort with your resources being poured into the doors and traps that protect you and not the areas around you.

Your pitiful minions

The second way that the player is made selfish is by how recruiting units works. The players units fill fast and often with weaker versions of what your enemies have. But the fortress also has high population restrictions. This means that the player has to expend a large amount of troops over a small amount of elite troops. These troops are more then likely sent to their death in an effort to whittle away at the enemies forces. The dark lord is taught here to selfishly waste the life of the people who would work and die for him.

KeeperRL uses an impressive combination of the incompetence of the people around you, and the time nessacery to restart the game after you lose to encourage you to devote as many resources as possible to keeping yourself alive and keeping the enemy at bay.