[Discussion] Looking for feedback on a new WIP projecct

Hello KiA,

I've been working on a game for a few months now and I figured it was time to throw the idea out there and get some feedback from the type of gamers I'm targeting. It's an idea I started mulling over when GG really took off, and the increase in like-behavior we've seen over the past couple years has really solidified my desire to make the game. I finally decided to crack down and get started on it.

The game is heavily inspired by Town of Salem, and is also web based. In it, the player is thrust into a social media platform with 9-14 other people. When the game starts, one player is chosen at random to be the "rumor mill". It's their job to pick another player and start a rumor about them: they're sexist, they said X, they did Y, etc. These accusations are canned, meaning they're defined by the game and the "rumorer" can only pick from that list. The "target" then has to agree the charge is true or false.

From there it's up to the person who was accused to defend themselves, using only social media type tactics: Sharing stuff, commenting on other posts, etc. Everybody else in the game will be, basically, responding to the accusation (again using canned responses). They can also change the accusation ever so slightly (i.e: telephone). Shares will only ever be seen by some people, thus increasing the idea of "telephone" (what player A believes about the "Nazi" will be different from what player B believes).

Players will also have the ability to dig into the "Nazi's" (I need a better term for this person, lol) personal life -- other social media accounts, job, family, etc. Doing so will cost them some "social capital" with the potential for a huge payback if it turns out to be successful. Digging into the "Nazi's" personal life will give people more ammunition to use against them, target them jobs/friends/etc.

The goal is for the "Nazi" to vindicate themselves, and for the "mob" to stop him from being vindicated. Whether they are vindicated or not is up to the players to vote on. Here's the catch: The original rumor starter knows the truth. If everyone choses to vindicate the Nazi, but they're not actually innocent, they can correct the record for a huge take home in social capital. Likewise, if the Nazi is innocent but not vindicated, the rumor starter can correct that record for a huge take home. The opposite of those scenarios is true, as well. Doing that will cause the rumor starter to take a hit in reputation but also have a huge win social capital.

Both "social capital" and "reputation" are a currency of sorts. They are persistent and carry over between games. Social capital can be spent in game to increase the reach of something you're saying. Reputation is the base level at which people should trust what you say, how far it spreads, etc.

That's sort of a high level of what I'm building. The idea isn't 100% finalized, nor completely fleshed out, but it's what I'm starting from. It will no doubt change as I progress along with the project.

I wanted to get some feedback from everybody here: What do y'all think about the idea? Any suggestions? Any ideas how to make it better? etc, etc, etc.