Been working super-hard on the game over the weekend, subtly transitioning to week. I've figured out exactly how the player can change the state of each district. One can do a quest to get it into any state, each quest is different depending on what state, district you're going for. Also, at around level 50 players will be able to 'lock' a state. Basically, if you are going for one state for a district, you can make it extra-that-state by (usually) summoning a god-like creature. But the lock isn't forever, around level 70 you'll be able to unlock it by killing the god-like.
When people hear '8-week game challenge,' I'm sure they don't think of a great experience. Maybe a quick, poorly animated platformer, maybe a half-assed puzzle game. This is why I'm keeping the locks and unlocks so high up in the chain. Just trying out the game should reward the player. With games like this, you have to approach things much differently than a game the player has paid for. They don't want to have 'wasted' their money, so they will always give a game the benefit of the doubt for at least an hour, usually around 2 or 3. I'm just basing these statistics off of bullshit at this point, but it's what seems to be the case. However, with a free game, downloaded, the 'this is broken, this is a waste of time' factor comes in very quickly. For me, as a kid, I would close down shit if it wasn't looking fun or open in the first 3 minutes.
So I have to present the core aspects of the game right away. Hopefully the player will feel compelled enough by the novelty of each district having different inhabitants long enough to level up. Then hopefully they'll see a gate with the level 5 seal. 'Oh, that's not too far off.' So they level up to 5, open the gate, new areas, new '10' seal. The basic setting-shifting quests are around levels 10-30, so if I've got them hooked until the level 5-10 area, I think they'll play until they can change the settings.
This also sets up a nice reward system for the players. You'll constantly have more of an effect on the world. There won't be many 'wasted' levels, because killing the gods you've summoned should still be pretty tough for a level 80, and levels 90-100 should feel like you're a god yourself (Morrowind factor). The goal is to immediately, slightly, top the player's expectations. Just to get that 30-minute to an hour chance they'd give a product they purchased with their potential food money. Then keep expanding the world that they have, and allow them to sort of craft their own entire world through their actions. The more they reward me by playing the game, the more I'll reward them by giving them more influence over the world I've created. It'll slowly become their world.
So, that first 5 minutes is key.
I've managed to come up with half(100) of the scene-shifting quests so far, and planned all the races who will give them to you. Also decided what half of the god-likes are. The god-like quests are really fun to plan. I'll post an example of a district's potential story-flows sometime soon. I started to explain one in this post, but it's getting pretty long now.
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