deliberative

Hi Everyone,
 
My name is Nick Morris and I'm president of Deliberative Entertainment and a video game developer in Canada. Because the community here has an obvious interest in both law enforcement and gaming, I wanted to seek out your feedback about an in-depth law enforcement strategy game called Keep the Peace that we are currently prototyping. The game puts players in a combo role of Police Chief, Dispatcher, and Incident Commander, responsible for the safety and security of their town, city, or region. Players will make difficult decisions about the type of police force they want to create and the way they'll approach crime, disasters, and other issues in their jurisdiction. 
 
I'm here because I'm looking for your feedback. Many folks on these forums are extremely detailed-oriented and critical, and that's precisely what we need. I know you've all watched a litany of mediocre police games come and go -- especially simulators, but probably a few "strategy" titles too -- and I won't allow Keep the Peace to join that list. It either gets done well, or not at all. But I need your help --  your ideas, your feedback, your advice -- to make it the best game it can be. 
 
We're currently at a very early stage of development, which makes it relatively easy to incorporate feedback. We do have details about the current vision for the game and we've assembled a video and some screenshots describing that vision in more detail. If you've gotten this far and are interested in more information, here's a little bit more about the game.
 
Just some of the things you'll do in Keep the Peace:
Hire officers that are right for your department based on dozens of skills and characteristics Customize vehicles, tools, and weapons, to equip your officers appropriately for the tasks you'll be throwing their way Assign your units to patrols and prioritize their time between preventing crime, reacting to crime, and traffic enforcement Dispatch your units to the scene of dangerous emergencies -- break-ins, bank robberies, vehicle pursuits, shootings, natural disasters, car accidents, and much more, each with virtually infinite possible variations -- and decide which incidents get which resources first Choose tactics your officers should use for complex incidents. Should they negotiate with a hostage taker, or break down the door? Will you allow a growing protest to proceed unimpeded, or will you assign units to stand in the way? A variety of factors could affect your decision in each unique situation. Set policies (e.g. regarding the use of force), implement programs (e.g. DUI checkpoints), and expand your capabilities (e.g. with a crime lab, a motor pool, new training facilities, or new technologies) Train and promote your officers, and manage their physical health, mental health, and morale. Deal with long-term crises. Although Keep the Peace is an open-ended sandbox game, like SimCity or Civilization, various narrative elements will keep it interesting and novel. A serial killer could terrorize your streets for months or years; a new gang could come to town; a new mayor could withhold key resources and make your life difficult.  
We've uploaded a little teaser video to YouTube: 
 
And here are a few screenshots based on the prototype:




 
Though the video and screenshots are still very rough around the edges (just a prototype, after all), and you can expect the models and textures to be completely rebuilt during actual production, I would love to get your feedback about the overall game. For example:
Are there features you see here that excite you? Are there things you see here that you do not like, or feel could be improved/changed? Are there things you'd like to see that seem to be missing? What strengths or weaknesses have you seen in other games that could provide a lesson for a game like Keep the Peace  
If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask! I'll try to monitor this thread closely. You can also find more screenshots and information about the game, and you can reach out to me directly if desired, via our website (see signature below). 
 
Thank you in advance!

Nick
 
 

Hi Everyone,
 
My name is Nick Morris and I'm president of Deliberative Entertainment and a video game developer in Canada. Because the community here has an obvious interest in both law enforcement and gaming, I wanted to seek out your feedback about an in-depth law enforcement strategy game called Keep the Peace that we are currently prototyping. The game puts players in a combo role of Police Chief, Dispatcher, and Incident Commander, responsible for the safety and security of their town, city, or region. Players will make difficult decisions about the type of police force they want to create and the way they'll approach crime, disasters, and other issues in their jurisdiction. 
 
I'm here because I'm looking for your feedback. Many folks on these forums are extremely detailed-oriented and critical, and that's precisely what we need. I know you've all watched a litany of mediocre police games come and go -- especially simulators, but probably a few "strategy" titles too -- and I won't allow Keep the Peace to join that list. It either gets done well, or not at all. But I need your help --  your ideas, your feedback, your advice -- to make it the best game it can be. 
 
We're currently at a very early stage of development, which makes it relatively easy to incorporate feedback. We do have details about the current vision for the game and we've assembled a video and some screenshots describing that vision in more detail. If you've gotten this far and are interested in more information, here's a little bit more about the game.
 
Just some of the things you'll do in Keep the Peace:
Hire officers that are right for your department based on dozens of skills and characteristics Customize vehicles, tools, and weapons, to equip your officers appropriately for the tasks you'll be throwing their way Assign your units to patrols and prioritize their time between preventing crime, reacting to crime, and traffic enforcement Dispatch your units to the scene of dangerous emergencies -- break-ins, bank robberies, vehicle pursuits, shootings, natural disasters, car accidents, and much more, each with virtually infinite possible variations -- and decide which incidents get which resources first Choose tactics your officers should use for complex incidents. Should they negotiate with a hostage taker, or break down the door? Will you allow a growing protest to proceed unimpeded, or will you assign units to stand in the way? A variety of factors could affect your decision in each unique situation. Set policies (e.g. regarding the use of force), implement programs (e.g. DUI checkpoints), and expand your capabilities (e.g. with a crime lab, a motor pool, new training facilities, or new technologies) Train and promote your officers, and manage their physical health, mental health, and morale. Deal with long-term crises. Although Keep the Peace is an open-ended sandbox game, like SimCity or Civilization, various narrative elements will keep it interesting and novel. A serial killer could terrorize your streets for months or years; a new gang could come to town; a new mayor could withhold key resources and make your life difficult.  
We've uploaded a little teaser video to YouTube: 
 
And here are a few screenshots based on the prototype:




 
Though the video and screenshots are still very rough around the edges (just a prototype, after all), and you can expect the models and textures to be completely rebuilt during actual production, I would love to get your feedback about the overall game. For example:
Are there features you see here that excite you? Are there things you see here that you do not like, or feel could be improved/changed? Are there things you'd like to see that seem to be missing? What strengths or weaknesses have you seen in other games that could provide a lesson for a game like Keep the Peace  
If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask! I'll try to monitor this thread closely. You can also find more screenshots and information about the game, and you can reach out to me directly if desired, via our website (see signature below). 
 
Thank you in advance!

Nick
 
 

Wow, thanks everyone! Words can't express how much this encouragement and feedback means to me! I'm really excited, and hope you all are too!
 
 
 
Yes! And I not only want to do different maps, but different *types* of maps, which will present the player with different challenges. You could have a small town surrounded by interstates, and as such your primary responsibilities relate to highway patrol. Or you could have a busy metropolis, with rough inner-city neighborhoods. Or a college town. And ideally, players would be able to create their own maps either using a built in map editor, or something easy that's fairly easy to use. This would require additional effort so no promises, and it would probably come later on.
 
 
Fantastic, thank you for the detailed feedback! Excellent call on the aux units, and that was poor naming on my behalf. You'll be able to request support from state police or other neighboring agencies if you don't have the resources to handle a particularly complex call (especially when you're first starting out). I'll make sure units like that are more appropriately named in future demos! That said, it's an interesting idea to have a reserve officer program, I could definitely see that making its way into the game.
 
Complaints, inquiries, internal investigations, and lawsuits -- definitely! Your decisions will affect the frequency of those things occurring in the first place (based on the types of officers you keep on staff, the situations they find themselves in, your departmental policies, etc.) and your decisions will affect their aftermath (whether you apply punishments, whether you voluntarily compensate complainants, how you handle the press, etc.). 
 
Union relations are an area I'd thought about but never really finalized which pieces I wanted to incorporate, so it's nice to have some feedback there, and those are interesting ideas. I want players to feel like they've invested a lot in their officers -- most will start out very green, and will gain competence through training and experience -- so the implications of morale problems that lead to attrition should be painful for the player. Which would make those dynamics quite interesting. 
 
Dynamic patrol events: definitely. Everything from traffic stops (which can go in all sorts of different directions), to crimes in progress (or suspected ones), to Terry stops. What pops up will depend on the unit's patrol priorities (traffic enforcement? community policing?), your policies, and the neighborhood the unit finds themselves in. 
 
I definitely want players to be able put their own personal spin on their department, and I think customizing uniforms will be a good way to help do this. Especially since in one game you might run a Sheriff's department responsible for long stretches of highway...in another you might run a big-city department...most people would expect to see different uniforms. And vests and such would certainly have a practical impact on officer safety though maybe -- at least for the sake of interesting game decisions -- there would be a small cost to officer mobility. Interesting tie in with union relations there, hadn't thought about that!
 
Thought long and hard about shift schedules as well, and ultimately decided to abstract them out of the game. Officers will be able to be on the road 24/7. There will be so much other complexity in the game already, I decided there just wasn't room for shift scheduling, and the way the time system will work, units would spend too much time just starting and ending their shift (though I recognize there's realism to that). *That said*, there will be time management, in that you'll constantly be making tough decisions about where you want to allocate your units (proactive patrols? responding to incidents? investigating past crimes? running initiatives like DUI checkpoints or buy-busts?). Also, if you keep sending officers, especially inexperienced ones, to extremely stressful situations (especially alone), you will see it eat away at their health and morale, and you might eventually have no choice but to bench them for a period of time (assuming something more dramatic doesn't occur first). 
 
Completely agree with you about the need for dynamic events. The set up will be that event types (say, an arrest warrant) are "templates" rather than blueprints. There will be many different variables within each -- some will be random, some will be quasi-random because they could be influenced by the neighborhood, crime patterns, etc. -- that dictate things like (a) the background/context for the event (what crime is the arrest warrant for?), (b) the location of the event (indoors, outdoors? every single place in your jurisdiction could host any type of event, as long as it makes sense) and with that the layout of the area, any fortifications, the surrounding terrain, potential approach and escape routes, (c) the nature of the "opposition" (how many people are in the house? are they armed? are they fully willing to surrender, or would they rather die than be apprehended?). And then there could always be other mitigating factors....are there innocent people in the area? Is it day or night? Weather? Are your best officers on the other side of the city? And some event templates would be programmed with many different contingencies. A peaceful protest, for example, could go in many different directions as it progresses, and you'd have to be prepared to react quickly to anything.
 
TBD on population, but to your point, I think the limit will be what players decide is overwhelming. And that will have to come from playtesting. That said, I've taken a lot of influence from the grand strategy genre, and there are opportunities to help the player automate routine tasks as they master them and the game progresses, so they can focus their time on bigger, more interesting things. For example, in the beginning, you might have to personally dispatch your units to every car accident and domestic disturbance. But as your responsibility grows, maybe you can choose to automate that task so you can focus on other things. 
 
Thanks!!!
 
 

Wow, thanks everyone! Words can't express how much this encouragement and feedback means to me! I'm really excited, and hope you all are too!
 
 
 
Yes! And I not only want to do different maps, but different *types* of maps, which will present the player with different challenges. You could have a small town surrounded by interstates, and as such your primary responsibilities relate to highway patrol. Or you could have a busy metropolis, with rough inner-city neighborhoods. Or a college town. And ideally, players would be able to create their own maps either using a built in map editor, or something easy that's fairly easy to use. This would require additional effort so no promises, and it would probably come later on.
 
 
Fantastic, thank you for the detailed feedback! Excellent call on the aux units, and that was poor naming on my behalf. You'll be able to request support from state police or other neighboring agencies if you don't have the resources to handle a particularly complex call (especially when you're first starting out). I'll make sure units like that are more appropriately named in future demos! That said, it's an interesting idea to have a reserve officer program, I could definitely see that making its way into the game.
 
Complaints, inquiries, internal investigations, and lawsuits -- definitely! Your decisions will affect the frequency of those things occurring in the first place (based on the types of officers you keep on staff, the situations they find themselves in, your departmental policies, etc.) and your decisions will affect their aftermath (whether you apply punishments, whether you voluntarily compensate complainants, how you handle the press, etc.). 
 
Union relations are an area I'd thought about but never really finalized which pieces I wanted to incorporate, so it's nice to have some feedback there, and those are interesting ideas. I want players to feel like they've invested a lot in their officers -- most will start out very green, and will gain competence through training and experience -- so the implications of morale problems that lead to attrition should be painful for the player. Which would make those dynamics quite interesting. 
 
Dynamic patrol events: definitely. Everything from traffic stops (which can go in all sorts of different directions), to crimes in progress (or suspected ones), to Terry stops. What pops up will depend on the unit's patrol priorities (traffic enforcement? community policing?), your policies, and the neighborhood the unit finds themselves in. 
 
I definitely want players to be able put their own personal spin on their department, and I think customizing uniforms will be a good way to help do this. Especially since in one game you might run a Sheriff's department responsible for long stretches of highway...in another you might run a big-city department...most people would expect to see different uniforms. And vests and such would certainly have a practical impact on officer safety though maybe -- at least for the sake of interesting game decisions -- there would be a small cost to officer mobility. Interesting tie in with union relations there, hadn't thought about that!
 
Thought long and hard about shift schedules as well, and ultimately decided to abstract them out of the game. Officers will be able to be on the road 24/7. There will be so much other complexity in the game already, I decided there just wasn't room for shift scheduling, and the way the time system will work, units would spend too much time just starting and ending their shift (though I recognize there's realism to that). *That said*, there will be time management, in that you'll constantly be making tough decisions about where you want to allocate your units (proactive patrols? responding to incidents? investigating past crimes? running initiatives like DUI checkpoints or buy-busts?). Also, if you keep sending officers, especially inexperienced ones, to extremely stressful situations (especially alone), you will see it eat away at their health and morale, and you might eventually have no choice but to bench them for a period of time (assuming something more dramatic doesn't occur first). 
 
Completely agree with you about the need for dynamic events. The set up will be that event types (say, an arrest warrant) are "templates" rather than blueprints. There will be many different variables within each -- some will be random, some will be quasi-random because they could be influenced by the neighborhood, crime patterns, etc. -- that dictate things like (a) the background/context for the event (what crime is the arrest warrant for?), (b) the location of the event (indoors, outdoors? every single place in your jurisdiction could host any type of event, as long as it makes sense) and with that the layout of the area, any fortifications, the surrounding terrain, potential approach and escape routes, (c) the nature of the "opposition" (how many people are in the house? are they armed? are they fully willing to surrender, or would they rather die than be apprehended?). And then there could always be other mitigating factors....are there innocent people in the area? Is it day or night? Weather? Are your best officers on the other side of the city? And some event templates would be programmed with many different contingencies. A peaceful protest, for example, could go in many different directions as it progresses, and you'd have to be prepared to react quickly to anything.
 
TBD on population, but to your point, I think the limit will be what players decide is overwhelming. And that will have to come from playtesting. That said, I've taken a lot of influence from the grand strategy genre, and there are opportunities to help the player automate routine tasks as they master them and the game progresses, so they can focus their time on bigger, more interesting things. For example, in the beginning, you might have to personally dispatch your units to every car accident and domestic disturbance. But as your responsibility grows, maybe you can choose to automate that task so you can focus on other things. 
 
Thanks!!!
 
 

Hi Everyone,
 
My name is Nick Morris and I'm president of Deliberative Entertainment and a video game developer in Canada. Because the community here has an obvious interest in both law enforcement and gaming, I wanted to seek out your feedback about an in-depth law enforcement strategy game called Keep the Peace that we are currently prototyping. The game puts players in a combo role of Police Chief, Dispatcher, and Incident Commander, responsible for the safety and security of their town, city, or region. Players will make difficult decisions about the type of police force they want to create and the way they'll approach crime, disasters, and other issues in their jurisdiction. 
 
I'm here because I'm looking for your feedback. Many folks on these forums are extremely detailed-oriented and critical, and that's precisely what we need. I know you've all watched a litany of mediocre police games come and go -- especially simulators, but probably a few "strategy" titles too -- and I won't allow Keep the Peace to join that list. It either gets done well, or not at all. But I need your help --  your ideas, your feedback, your advice -- to make it the best game it can be. 
 
We're currently at a very early stage of development, which makes it relatively easy to incorporate feedback. We do have details about the current vision for the game and we've assembled a video and some screenshots describing that vision in more detail. If you've gotten this far and are interested in more information, here's a little bit more about the game.
 
Just some of the things you'll do in Keep the Peace:
Hire officers that are right for your department based on dozens of skills and characteristics Customize vehicles, tools, and weapons, to equip your officers appropriately for the tasks you'll be throwing their way Assign your units to patrols and prioritize their time between preventing crime, reacting to crime, and traffic enforcement Dispatch your units to the scene of dangerous emergencies -- break-ins, bank robberies, vehicle pursuits, shootings, natural disasters, car accidents, and much more, each with virtually infinite possible variations -- and decide which incidents get which resources first Choose tactics your officers should use for complex incidents. Should they negotiate with a hostage taker, or break down the door? Will you allow a growing protest to proceed unimpeded, or will you assign units to stand in the way? A variety of factors could affect your decision in each unique situation. Set policies (e.g. regarding the use of force), implement programs (e.g. DUI checkpoints), and expand your capabilities (e.g. with a crime lab, a motor pool, new training facilities, or new technologies) Train and promote your officers, and manage their physical health, mental health, and morale. Deal with long-term crises. Although Keep the Peace is an open-ended sandbox game, like SimCity or Civilization, various narrative elements will keep it interesting and novel. A serial killer could terrorize your streets for months or years; a new gang could come to town; a new mayor could withhold key resources and make your life difficult.  
We've uploaded a little teaser video to YouTube: 
 
And here are a few screenshots based on the prototype:




 
Though the video and screenshots are still very rough around the edges (just a prototype, after all), and you can expect the models and textures to be completely rebuilt during actual production, I would love to get your feedback about the overall game. For example:
Are there features you see here that excite you? Are there things you see here that you do not like, or feel could be improved/changed? Are there things you'd like to see that seem to be missing? What strengths or weaknesses have you seen in other games that could provide a lesson for a game like Keep the Peace  
If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask! I'll try to monitor this thread closely. You can also find more screenshots and information about the game, and you can reach out to me directly if desired, via our website (see signature below). 
 
Thank you in advance!

Nick
 
 

Wow, thanks everyone! Words can't express how much this encouragement and feedback means to me! I'm really excited, and hope you all are too!
 
 
 
Yes! And I not only want to do different maps, but different *types* of maps, which will present the player with different challenges. You could have a small town surrounded by interstates, and as such your primary responsibilities relate to highway patrol. Or you could have a busy metropolis, with rough inner-city neighborhoods. Or a college town. And ideally, players would be able to create their own maps either using a built in map editor, or something easy that's fairly easy to use. This would require additional effort so no promises, and it would probably come later on.
 
 
Fantastic, thank you for the detailed feedback! Excellent call on the aux units, and that was poor naming on my behalf. You'll be able to request support from state police or other neighboring agencies if you don't have the resources to handle a particularly complex call (especially when you're first starting out). I'll make sure units like that are more appropriately named in future demos! That said, it's an interesting idea to have a reserve officer program, I could definitely see that making its way into the game.
 
Complaints, inquiries, internal investigations, and lawsuits -- definitely! Your decisions will affect the frequency of those things occurring in the first place (based on the types of officers you keep on staff, the situations they find themselves in, your departmental policies, etc.) and your decisions will affect their aftermath (whether you apply punishments, whether you voluntarily compensate complainants, how you handle the press, etc.). 
 
Union relations are an area I'd thought about but never really finalized which pieces I wanted to incorporate, so it's nice to have some feedback there, and those are interesting ideas. I want players to feel like they've invested a lot in their officers -- most will start out very green, and will gain competence through training and experience -- so the implications of morale problems that lead to attrition should be painful for the player. Which would make those dynamics quite interesting. 
 
Dynamic patrol events: definitely. Everything from traffic stops (which can go in all sorts of different directions), to crimes in progress (or suspected ones), to Terry stops. What pops up will depend on the unit's patrol priorities (traffic enforcement? community policing?), your policies, and the neighborhood the unit finds themselves in. 
 
I definitely want players to be able put their own personal spin on their department, and I think customizing uniforms will be a good way to help do this. Especially since in one game you might run a Sheriff's department responsible for long stretches of highway...in another you might run a big-city department...most people would expect to see different uniforms. And vests and such would certainly have a practical impact on officer safety though maybe -- at least for the sake of interesting game decisions -- there would be a small cost to officer mobility. Interesting tie in with union relations there, hadn't thought about that!
 
Thought long and hard about shift schedules as well, and ultimately decided to abstract them out of the game. Officers will be able to be on the road 24/7. There will be so much other complexity in the game already, I decided there just wasn't room for shift scheduling, and the way the time system will work, units would spend too much time just starting and ending their shift (though I recognize there's realism to that). *That said*, there will be time management, in that you'll constantly be making tough decisions about where you want to allocate your units (proactive patrols? responding to incidents? investigating past crimes? running initiatives like DUI checkpoints or buy-busts?). Also, if you keep sending officers, especially inexperienced ones, to extremely stressful situations (especially alone), you will see it eat away at their health and morale, and you might eventually have no choice but to bench them for a period of time (assuming something more dramatic doesn't occur first). 
 
Completely agree with you about the need for dynamic events. The set up will be that event types (say, an arrest warrant) are "templates" rather than blueprints. There will be many different variables within each -- some will be random, some will be quasi-random because they could be influenced by the neighborhood, crime patterns, etc. -- that dictate things like (a) the background/context for the event (what crime is the arrest warrant for?), (b) the location of the event (indoors, outdoors? every single place in your jurisdiction could host any type of event, as long as it makes sense) and with that the layout of the area, any fortifications, the surrounding terrain, potential approach and escape routes, (c) the nature of the "opposition" (how many people are in the house? are they armed? are they fully willing to surrender, or would they rather die than be apprehended?). And then there could always be other mitigating factors....are there innocent people in the area? Is it day or night? Weather? Are your best officers on the other side of the city? And some event templates would be programmed with many different contingencies. A peaceful protest, for example, could go in many different directions as it progresses, and you'd have to be prepared to react quickly to anything.
 
TBD on population, but to your point, I think the limit will be what players decide is overwhelming. And that will have to come from playtesting. That said, I've taken a lot of influence from the grand strategy genre, and there are opportunities to help the player automate routine tasks as they master them and the game progresses, so they can focus their time on bigger, more interesting things. For example, in the beginning, you might have to personally dispatch your units to every car accident and domestic disturbance. But as your responsibility grows, maybe you can choose to automate that task so you can focus on other things. 
 
Thanks!!!
 
 

Thanks @ArchangelTwo! Agreed on all those points! I want different maps to be more than just a different collection of streets and buildings -- they should introduce different challenges to the player, and require the player to adapt their strategies accordingly.
 
Ideally, as much modding support as possible. I love the potential that modding provides, not just because it can exponentially increase the content for your game, but even more so because it can exponentially increase the community surrounding your game. I think there's a ton of potential here for modding -- people might introduce new vehicles, new types of equipment, new skins, new incident templates, new scenarios/narrative arcs, new maps. Maybe people go crazy and you see total conversions that set you up in the 1920s..or the 1850s..or the 2050s...   That said, incorporating modding support certainly requires additional effort, so it may depend on how successful things like the Kickstarter are, how much support we can get together, but we'll definitely be building with that in mind. 
 
This Sheriff's Office thing is very interesting... I had planned for a political element, in that mayors would come and go and different ones would have different platforms/priorities (and you could potentially influence popular political opinion to some degree), but hadn't thought about the player being an elected individual. As you say, it would shift who you're directly accountable to, and thus add a whole other dynamic to the game. Very interesting!
 
Policies -- yep! I really want players to be able to design whatever type of police force they can imagine. At the very least, that needs to permit mimicking popular police forces from around the world. Ideally players can experiment with some bleeding-edge / radical ideas as well.
 

 
 
Thanks!
 
 
Thanks for the support @Constable Lego and I appreciate your sentiment. Kickstarters, like Early Access releases, are tools which, in the right hands, and for the right type of project, can be extremely powerful and beneficial for everyone involved. In the wrong hands, or with the wrong type of project, they can be utter disasters. And then most probably net out somewhere in between... I have several options when it comes to funding this project. I chose to try Kickstarter because it helps build a large community of supporters (and future playtesters ) from Day 1, and it doesn't make me beholden to anyone but my team members (gotta keep the crew healthy and happy) and our player community. 
 

Hi Everyone,
 
My name is Nick Morris and I'm president of Deliberative Entertainment and a video game developer in Canada. Because the community here has an obvious interest in both law enforcement and gaming, I wanted to seek out your feedback about an in-depth law enforcement strategy game called Keep the Peace that we are currently prototyping. The game puts players in a combo role of Police Chief, Dispatcher, and Incident Commander, responsible for the safety and security of their town, city, or region. Players will make difficult decisions about the type of police force they want to create and the way they'll approach crime, disasters, and other issues in their jurisdiction. 
 
I'm here because I'm looking for your feedback. Many folks on these forums are extremely detailed-oriented and critical, and that's precisely what we need. I know you've all watched a litany of mediocre police games come and go -- especially simulators, but probably a few "strategy" titles too -- and I won't allow Keep the Peace to join that list. It either gets done well, or not at all. But I need your help --  your ideas, your feedback, your advice -- to make it the best game it can be. 
 
We're currently at a very early stage of development, which makes it relatively easy to incorporate feedback. We do have details about the current vision for the game and we've assembled a video and some screenshots describing that vision in more detail. If you've gotten this far and are interested in more information, here's a little bit more about the game.
 
Just some of the things you'll do in Keep the Peace:
Hire officers that are right for your department based on dozens of skills and characteristics Customize vehicles, tools, and weapons, to equip your officers appropriately for the tasks you'll be throwing their way Assign your units to patrols and prioritize their time between preventing crime, reacting to crime, and traffic enforcement Dispatch your units to the scene of dangerous emergencies -- break-ins, bank robberies, vehicle pursuits, shootings, natural disasters, car accidents, and much more, each with virtually infinite possible variations -- and decide which incidents get which resources first Choose tactics your officers should use for complex incidents. Should they negotiate with a hostage taker, or break down the door? Will you allow a growing protest to proceed unimpeded, or will you assign units to stand in the way? A variety of factors could affect your decision in each unique situation. Set policies (e.g. regarding the use of force), implement programs (e.g. DUI checkpoints), and expand your capabilities (e.g. with a crime lab, a motor pool, new training facilities, or new technologies) Train and promote your officers, and manage their physical health, mental health, and morale. Deal with long-term crises. Although Keep the Peace is an open-ended sandbox game, like SimCity or Civilization, various narrative elements will keep it interesting and novel. A serial killer could terrorize your streets for months or years; a new gang could come to town; a new mayor could withhold key resources and make your life difficult.  
We've uploaded a little teaser video to YouTube: 
 
And here are a few screenshots based on the prototype:




 
Though the video and screenshots are still very rough around the edges (just a prototype, after all), and you can expect the models and textures to be completely rebuilt during actual production, I would love to get your feedback about the overall game. For example:
Are there features you see here that excite you? Are there things you see here that you do not like, or feel could be improved/changed? Are there things you'd like to see that seem to be missing? What strengths or weaknesses have you seen in other games that could provide a lesson for a game like Keep the Peace  
If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask! I'll try to monitor this thread closely. You can also find more screenshots and information about the game, and you can reach out to me directly if desired, via our website (see signature below). 
 
Thank you in advance!

Nick
 
 

Hi Everyone,
 
My name is Nick Morris and I'm president of Deliberative Entertainment and a video game developer in Canada. Because the community here has an obvious interest in both law enforcement and gaming, I wanted to seek out your feedback about an in-depth law enforcement strategy game called Keep the Peace that we are currently prototyping. The game puts players in a combo role of Police Chief, Dispatcher, and Incident Commander, responsible for the safety and security of their town, city, or region. Players will make difficult decisions about the type of police force they want to create and the way they'll approach crime, disasters, and other issues in their jurisdiction. 
 
I'm here because I'm looking for your feedback. Many folks on these forums are extremely detailed-oriented and critical, and that's precisely what we need. I know you've all watched a litany of mediocre police games come and go -- especially simulators, but probably a few "strategy" titles too -- and I won't allow Keep the Peace to join that list. It either gets done well, or not at all. But I need your help --  your ideas, your feedback, your advice -- to make it the best game it can be. 
 
We're currently at a very early stage of development, which makes it relatively easy to incorporate feedback. We do have details about the current vision for the game and we've assembled a video and some screenshots describing that vision in more detail. If you've gotten this far and are interested in more information, here's a little bit more about the game.
 
Just some of the things you'll do in Keep the Peace:
Hire officers that are right for your department based on dozens of skills and characteristics Customize vehicles, tools, and weapons, to equip your officers appropriately for the tasks you'll be throwing their way Assign your units to patrols and prioritize their time between preventing crime, reacting to crime, and traffic enforcement Dispatch your units to the scene of dangerous emergencies -- break-ins, bank robberies, vehicle pursuits, shootings, natural disasters, car accidents, and much more, each with virtually infinite possible variations -- and decide which incidents get which resources first Choose tactics your officers should use for complex incidents. Should they negotiate with a hostage taker, or break down the door? Will you allow a growing protest to proceed unimpeded, or will you assign units to stand in the way? A variety of factors could affect your decision in each unique situation. Set policies (e.g. regarding the use of force), implement programs (e.g. DUI checkpoints), and expand your capabilities (e.g. with a crime lab, a motor pool, new training facilities, or new technologies) Train and promote your officers, and manage their physical health, mental health, and morale. Deal with long-term crises. Although Keep the Peace is an open-ended sandbox game, like SimCity or Civilization, various narrative elements will keep it interesting and novel. A serial killer could terrorize your streets for months or years; a new gang could come to town; a new mayor could withhold key resources and make your life difficult.  
We've uploaded a little teaser video to YouTube: 
 
And here are a few screenshots based on the prototype:




 
Though the video and screenshots are still very rough around the edges (just a prototype, after all), and you can expect the models and textures to be completely rebuilt during actual production, I would love to get your feedback about the overall game. For example:
Are there features you see here that excite you? Are there things you see here that you do not like, or feel could be improved/changed? Are there things you'd like to see that seem to be missing? What strengths or weaknesses have you seen in other games that could provide a lesson for a game like Keep the Peace  
If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask! I'll try to monitor this thread closely. You can also find more screenshots and information about the game, and you can reach out to me directly if desired, via our website (see signature below). 
 
Thank you in advance!

Nick
 
 

Hi Everyone,
 
My name is Nick Morris and I'm president of Deliberative Entertainment and a video game developer in Canada. Because the community here has an obvious interest in both law enforcement and gaming, I wanted to seek out your feedback about an in-depth law enforcement strategy game called Keep the Peace that we are currently prototyping. The game puts players in a combo role of Police Chief, Dispatcher, and Incident Commander, responsible for the safety and security of their town, city, or region. Players will make difficult decisions about the type of police force they want to create and the way they'll approach crime, disasters, and other issues in their jurisdiction. 
 
I'm here because I'm looking for your feedback. Many folks on these forums are extremely detailed-oriented and critical, and that's precisely what we need. I know you've all watched a litany of mediocre police games come and go -- especially simulators, but probably a few "strategy" titles too -- and I won't allow Keep the Peace to join that list. It either gets done well, or not at all. But I need your help --  your ideas, your feedback, your advice -- to make it the best game it can be. 
 
We're currently at a very early stage of development, which makes it relatively easy to incorporate feedback. We do have details about the current vision for the game and we've assembled a video and some screenshots describing that vision in more detail. If you've gotten this far and are interested in more information, here's a little bit more about the game.
 
Just some of the things you'll do in Keep the Peace:
Hire officers that are right for your department based on dozens of skills and characteristics Customize vehicles, tools, and weapons, to equip your officers appropriately for the tasks you'll be throwing their way Assign your units to patrols and prioritize their time between preventing crime, reacting to crime, and traffic enforcement Dispatch your units to the scene of dangerous emergencies -- break-ins, bank robberies, vehicle pursuits, shootings, natural disasters, car accidents, and much more, each with virtually infinite possible variations -- and decide which incidents get which resources first Choose tactics your officers should use for complex incidents. Should they negotiate with a hostage taker, or break down the door? Will you allow a growing protest to proceed unimpeded, or will you assign units to stand in the way? A variety of factors could affect your decision in each unique situation. Set policies (e.g. regarding the use of force), implement programs (e.g. DUI checkpoints), and expand your capabilities (e.g. with a crime lab, a motor pool, new training facilities, or new technologies) Train and promote your officers, and manage their physical health, mental health, and morale. Deal with long-term crises. Although Keep the Peace is an open-ended sandbox game, like SimCity or Civilization, various narrative elements will keep it interesting and novel. A serial killer could terrorize your streets for months or years; a new gang could come to town; a new mayor could withhold key resources and make your life difficult.  
We've uploaded a little teaser video to YouTube: 
 
And here are a few screenshots based on the prototype:




 
Though the video and screenshots are still very rough around the edges (just a prototype, after all), and you can expect the models and textures to be completely rebuilt during actual production, I would love to get your feedback about the overall game. For example:
Are there features you see here that excite you? Are there things you see here that you do not like, or feel could be improved/changed? Are there things you'd like to see that seem to be missing? What strengths or weaknesses have you seen in other games that could provide a lesson for a game like Keep the Peace  
If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask! I'll try to monitor this thread closely. You can also find more screenshots and information about the game, and you can reach out to me directly if desired, via our website (see signature below). 
 
Thank you in advance!

Nick
 
 

Hi Everyone,
 
My name is Nick Morris and I'm president of Deliberative Entertainment and a video game developer in Canada. Because the community here has an obvious interest in both law enforcement and gaming, I wanted to seek out your feedback about an in-depth law enforcement strategy game called Keep the Peace that we are currently prototyping. The game puts players in a combo role of Police Chief, Dispatcher, and Incident Commander, responsible for the safety and security of their town, city, or region. Players will make difficult decisions about the type of police force they want to create and the way they'll approach crime, disasters, and other issues in their jurisdiction. 
 
I'm here because I'm looking for your feedback. Many folks on these forums are extremely detailed-oriented and critical, and that's precisely what we need. I know you've all watched a litany of mediocre police games come and go -- especially simulators, but probably a few "strategy" titles too -- and I won't allow Keep the Peace to join that list. It either gets done well, or not at all. But I need your help --  your ideas, your feedback, your advice -- to make it the best game it can be. 
 
We're currently at a very early stage of development, which makes it relatively easy to incorporate feedback. We do have details about the current vision for the game and we've assembled a video and some screenshots describing that vision in more detail. If you've gotten this far and are interested in more information, here's a little bit more about the game.
 
Just some of the things you'll do in Keep the Peace:
Hire officers that are right for your department based on dozens of skills and characteristics Customize vehicles, tools, and weapons, to equip your officers appropriately for the tasks you'll be throwing their way Assign your units to patrols and prioritize their time between preventing crime, reacting to crime, and traffic enforcement Dispatch your units to the scene of dangerous emergencies -- break-ins, bank robberies, vehicle pursuits, shootings, natural disasters, car accidents, and much more, each with virtually infinite possible variations -- and decide which incidents get which resources first Choose tactics your officers should use for complex incidents. Should they negotiate with a hostage taker, or break down the door? Will you allow a growing protest to proceed unimpeded, or will you assign units to stand in the way? A variety of factors could affect your decision in each unique situation. Set policies (e.g. regarding the use of force), implement programs (e.g. DUI checkpoints), and expand your capabilities (e.g. with a crime lab, a motor pool, new training facilities, or new technologies) Train and promote your officers, and manage their physical health, mental health, and morale. Deal with long-term crises. Although Keep the Peace is an open-ended sandbox game, like SimCity or Civilization, various narrative elements will keep it interesting and novel. A serial killer could terrorize your streets for months or years; a new gang could come to town; a new mayor could withhold key resources and make your life difficult.  
We've uploaded a little teaser video to YouTube: 
 
And here are a few screenshots based on the prototype:




 
Though the video and screenshots are still very rough around the edges (just a prototype, after all), and you can expect the models and textures to be completely rebuilt during actual production, I would love to get your feedback about the overall game. For example:
Are there features you see here that excite you? Are there things you see here that you do not like, or feel could be improved/changed? Are there things you'd like to see that seem to be missing? What strengths or weaknesses have you seen in other games that could provide a lesson for a game like Keep the Peace  
If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask! I'll try to monitor this thread closely. You can also find more screenshots and information about the game, and you can reach out to me directly if desired, via our website (see signature below). 
 
Thank you in advance!

Nick
 
 

Hi Everyone,
 
My name is Nick Morris and I'm president of Deliberative Entertainment and a video game developer in Canada. Because the community here has an obvious interest in both law enforcement and gaming, I wanted to seek out your feedback about an in-depth law enforcement strategy game called Keep the Peace that we are currently prototyping. The game puts players in a combo role of Police Chief, Dispatcher, and Incident Commander, responsible for the safety and security of their town, city, or region. Players will make difficult decisions about the type of police force they want to create and the way they'll approach crime, disasters, and other issues in their jurisdiction. 
 
I'm here because I'm looking for your feedback. Many folks on these forums are extremely detailed-oriented and critical, and that's precisely what we need. I know you've all watched a litany of mediocre police games come and go -- especially simulators, but probably a few "strategy" titles too -- and I won't allow Keep the Peace to join that list. It either gets done well, or not at all. But I need your help --  your ideas, your feedback, your advice -- to make it the best game it can be. 
 
We're currently at a very early stage of development, which makes it relatively easy to incorporate feedback. We do have details about the current vision for the game and we've assembled a video and some screenshots describing that vision in more detail. If you've gotten this far and are interested in more information, here's a little bit more about the game.
 
Just some of the things you'll do in Keep the Peace:
Hire officers that are right for your department based on dozens of skills and characteristics Customize vehicles, tools, and weapons, to equip your officers appropriately for the tasks you'll be throwing their way Assign your units to patrols and prioritize their time between preventing crime, reacting to crime, and traffic enforcement Dispatch your units to the scene of dangerous emergencies -- break-ins, bank robberies, vehicle pursuits, shootings, natural disasters, car accidents, and much more, each with virtually infinite possible variations -- and decide which incidents get which resources first Choose tactics your officers should use for complex incidents. Should they negotiate with a hostage taker, or break down the door? Will you allow a growing protest to proceed unimpeded, or will you assign units to stand in the way? A variety of factors could affect your decision in each unique situation. Set policies (e.g. regarding the use of force), implement programs (e.g. DUI checkpoints), and expand your capabilities (e.g. with a crime lab, a motor pool, new training facilities, or new technologies) Train and promote your officers, and manage their physical health, mental health, and morale. Deal with long-term crises. Although Keep the Peace is an open-ended sandbox game, like SimCity or Civilization, various narrative elements will keep it interesting and novel. A serial killer could terrorize your streets for months or years; a new gang could come to town; a new mayor could withhold key resources and make your life difficult.  
We've uploaded a little teaser video to YouTube: 
 
And here are a few screenshots based on the prototype:




 
Though the video and screenshots are still very rough around the edges (just a prototype, after all), and you can expect the models and textures to be completely rebuilt during actual production, I would love to get your feedback about the overall game. For example:
Are there features you see here that excite you? Are there things you see here that you do not like, or feel could be improved/changed? Are there things you'd like to see that seem to be missing? What strengths or weaknesses have you seen in other games that could provide a lesson for a game like Keep the Peace  
If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask! I'll try to monitor this thread closely. You can also find more screenshots and information about the game, and you can reach out to me directly if desired, via our website (see signature below). 
 
Thank you in advance!

Nick