Chris's Blog

We have lots of ideas for the next version of Epidemic.

Planned Changes

Make the score consistent with what is happening and update it more frequently.

Make diseases spread more gradually.

Make the game a little harder.

Do more research to make diseases more realistic.

Let the analysts play a more important role in the game.

Add Fog of war effects, definitely in water system.

Make game start more gradually.

Expose some of the hidden information, such as population density, transportation, infectuousness, and health risk.

Modify goals depending on what disease it is. For instance, when the disease is mumps, the infection count must be minimised.

Ideas for Discussion

Animation for actions - circles going out or in.

Different colours for disease dots in pipes.

Add a high score list for comparitive play.

Proper loading.

More actions.

More views.

More Disease types.

More information.

More levels, small town to city.

More city types (visual distinctions, for example desert and beach).

More color differentiation.

Game speed depends on player click speed.

Making the game moddable (diseases and environments).

Other Game play Directions - Play as the Disease

Role reversal, the player would be asked play as both roles. (Doctor curing disease and Disease fighting doctor.) The player could be challenged in Disease mode, because the methods for infection/spread etc. would strictly restricted to the methods that the real disease allows.

This would allow an two-way interactive learning experience, where the player would be forced to understand the disease (whilst playing as it) before being asked cure the 'damage' that he/she caused by playing the role of doctor.

When in Diseases mode, having multiple diseases spreading through the city could add another game play method. The player could use the flu, for example, as an aid to infecting people further.

Quite a few extras would be needed to achieve this

New GUI for the look/feel of Disease.

The game would have to have a system for storing game play states, allowing the player to switch roles!

A switch roles system would need to be worked out - can the user switch at anytime, or only at specific gaming events?

A potentially improved simulation (AI) will be required because it would now also need to be able to play as a Doctor.

Other Game Play Directions - Play on a Human Level

In this version, you play by curing individual people. First, you have to diagnose a disease, and decide an a specific treatment. Once it becomes apparent that the disease can become an epidemic, you have to take appropriate action.

What do you think?

We are keen to get feedback, so please leave a comment with your thoughts, big or small!