August - Concepts, Ideas

7/31/2020 - I needed a creative outlet and have not been coping the best with the global pandemic. We're on the cusp of another recession and my generation is going to inherit tons of debt. Anyway, Survival Game, Working Title is a game that takes place some time after a pandemic breaks out and eliminates the majority of the population. The situation has since stabilized to the extent that people have come to grips with surviving in the environment of an empty city where no-one is around, and are beginning to truly mobilize for the first time.
The infection still exists, and as a result, people become very territorial. The map is divided into sections by Chicago's neighborhoods, their occupation and control differing. Part of the city, specifically the "billboard" neighborhoods surrounding the lakefront, continues to be controlled by what remains of Chicago's government and remains connected to the power grid. Other areas of the city are entirely independent. Some areas are controlled by new governments or anti-government groups. Violence is something the characters do have to deal with, but humanity and creating connections between people despite barriers, both physical and mental, takes a large or larger role.
The game begins with a "starting cohort" of three characters that have long cohabitated in a neighborhood on the North Side that has become an "independent zone" after the remaining locals decided to fracture a significant amount of time prior, the reasoning being it is historicially significant Native American land.
Each of the characters has a practice or skill that is both relevant to survival and relevant to the science and culture of human beings. Every obtainable character's knowledge makes it easier for you to survive, but also, you hope, will help you build towards a better future. New people can join your group via negotiation or teamwork, but you won't be able to befriend everyone, so you'll have to pick and choose. Certain decisions will make traversing certain areas a bad idea as a result of factional control.
Characters are divvied up into SCI, ENG, and ART categories. SCIence characters unlock "theoretical" skills that enable passives that interface with your overworld or specific objects. ENGineering characters enable the creation or upgrading of new objects. ART characters supply various (extremely important) stat boosts and sometimes let you create cosmetic changes to your area.
One thing I'm still trying to figure out is the combat. Who are we fighting? Should I take a funnier style and add some kind of eldrich horror? I've been fascinated by stories like The Sun Vanished, The Mill, and Mystery Flesh Pit National Park, but I'm not sure I can pull it off. Maybe just fighting faceless opposing factions works better, even though I hate the idea of people in need hurting each other. I think this might be able to work if nobody actually dies and the endgame instills a sense of peace and unity in the player.
We like the idea of light horror elements involving things like the sounds of faraway EAS alerts.