Here's the problem. Lets use capture the flag for example. Lets say we have two teams; Red and Blue. Team Red has something Team Blue wants and Team Blue has something Team Red wants. If either team gets the item from the other team, the game is over and everyone is free. The only problem is, Team Red is evil and Team Blue doesn't want Team Red to be free. So Team Blue has vowed not to win the game until every member of Team Red is dead. Team Red doesn't really care about the game, they just want to be free so they can go and spread evil all over the world instead of being trapped in this silly game. Where is the motivation for Team Red to defend their flag? Why not just give it to the Blue Team and tempt them to end the game so they can all be free? The red team will fight to defend their lives and they will fight to get Blue's flag...but why would they bother fighting to defend theirs? How can I fix this dilemma? I need Red team defending their flag.
To expand a bit.At the end, Team Red (the Evil Team), comes up with a plan to make the Blue Team believe that they are all dead because Team Red is aware of Blue Team's objective and knows that the Blue Team won't end the game until all of Team Red is dead. So Team Red makes a decoy and the Blue Team falls for it. They think all of Team Red is dead and proceed to end the game. Once the game ends, they discover they were fooled and they've just released themselves and the remaining Evil team from their entrapment. And now their is a bigger issue at hand.
The only thing I can think of is; The Red Team is defending their flag because they don't want the Blue Team to suspect that they are up too something. If the Red Team just moved aside and let the Blue Team take their flag or personally delivered the flag to the Blue Team, then the Blue Team would obviously know something was up and that every member of the Red Team wasn't dead. So the Red Team isn't defending their flag because they want too, they are defending it because it's all apart of their plan.
Is there a greater world outside of the two teams? If it is only the two teams in the story, there is really no incentive to play if everybody wins in the end. Or, perhaps, if team Blue wins, everybody becomes blue or vise versa.
Yeah, there is a greater world outside. A world that the Blue Team doesn't want the Red Team unleashing it's evil on. The Blue Team's motivation is to save the outside world from the Red Team's tyranny, that's the whole reason they concealed themselves in the arena with them. It can't just be a deathmatch though, because I need to good guys to fail in the end and have to deal with saving the world from the evil outside of the arena. So that's why I made it a capture the flag type scenario.
Team Red can go on an all out offensive and mask their numbers leaving a hidden army behind and lose the battle, leading Blue to think they have won and end the game. However, what is Blue's incentive for ending the game? Why take the risk at all?
Team Red don't need to defend the flag if Team Blue don't want to attack it though. The whole thing would revolve around Red trying to get Blue's flag, the Red's flag could just sit there and no-one would take any interest until Team Blue thought all of the Reds were dead.
Could the Blues get word from the outside that there is another force that they need to help defend against and have no choice but to end the game to set themselves free? The message could also come from a deceiver.
Lets just say this is a century long battle and the world on the outside isn't getting any better. Blue wants to end the war so they can return the outside world to its former glory, before the Red team corrupted it all. By defeating the red team once and for all, the outside world would be cleansed. But if red were to win or if blue were to end the game with red members still alive, the corruption would just continue on and things would get worse.
Well, it seems that Red is the only team with any real incentive to win the game. Let them capture blue's flag
You're pretty good at this. Actually, the teams are in a bit of a stalemate. Red attacking, Blue defending and trying to kill off Red, but not personally attacking Red's base. Not until a third party mysteriously finds there way into the arena and let's the Blue team know what the world is like out there. The third party is what intensifies the battle. They have to get out to help the outside world, but they are trapped inside until the game ends. At first, the third party doesn't really care who wins, Red or Blue, they just want out so they can get back to helping the world but when Blue tells them that the world would be much worse if Red was allowed back in it, they decided to do it Blue's way and help defeat Red. That's when Red comes up with its master plan, to deceive the third party and have them end the game. Not sure why I'm still talking in code, I've pretty much giving away my whole story now. lol.
If in realitly team red is supposed to win, then why not have a member of team blue secretly working for team red? His motivation: a position of power when they unleash their evil. Then with the third party working for blue, you can use the blue member (who's working with red) be the one who comes up with the plan (reds plan) on how blue will destroy red (keeps blues motivation for killing each red team member in focus). This gets the third party involved directly, and red is now in control of the game (unknownst to team blue). Having the blue team do what team red wants them too at given times. And then the red team can simply have just a few team members scattered about making blues team follow them to other areas (sacrifices for the greater good of the team) while a small group of red head forth to capture the flag. On the blue team, only a couple members stay with the flag, the third party, and the one blue guy who is secretly working with red. The red team leader arrives at the flag with those two players there. And the blue (who's with red) kills the third party and hands the red leader the flag. The rest of the blue team don't know what hit them when suddenly the game ends. Evil goes forth into the world to unleash their pent up anger on all mankind! Some of that may seem a little confusing, but when you picture it happening in your head it seems a little clearer.
