So here is the new emotion I will try to make a game around: courage. The main reason I picked it is because it’s not at all obvious how to make the player feel courageous. My bet is that at some point the player will have to feel afraid or intimidated, so this will add another level of complexity to the implementation. Let’s see what the formula gives us:
1) Pick an emotion. What actions can cause it? What choices does it lead to?
The player feels courageous. (Courage is fighting when you are outmatched. Courage is the balance between cowardice and recklessness.)
Note: I presume that there is something to be courageous against.
Actions leading to courage: Embracing the odds – understanding that you are outmatched, yet deciding to resist anyway. Embracing the inevitable – again, instead of running away or denying something, the player accepts it and deals with it. Embracing the unknown – willingly walking into or engaging with things beyond your understanding or control. More generally: Facing fear – this means acknowledging and embracing the fear, followed by immediate action against it (the action could be to continue to resist it or combat it outright).
Note: most of these actions rely on the fact that you perceive yourself to have less power then the thing you are facing. Sometimes when we face our fears we find out that there was nothing to be afraid of, but it doesn’t necessarily diminish the feeling of courage.
Note: actually these actions *show* courage, rather than cause it directly. What usually causes courage is an internal decision to act in a different manner, usually resulting in one of the above actions. Interestingly enough, it’s completely up to the player when to do this.
Courage leads to the following choices: resist – how to defend against the effects, mental or physical, that are inflicted upon you. Fight – how to remove the source of opposition. Denial – how to resist the feeling of courage or simply losing courage. Spread – how to spread the information/feeling to make others feel courageous as well. Inaction – since courage is a change in the mind of the player, it is not necessary for the player to do anything once the change is made; the player may even realize that there is absolutely nothing that should be done (e.g. realizing there is no reason to be afraid of the dark).