I believe a penal system is absolutely necessary.
Here is 2 quotes before I begin. Keep these little nuggets in your head if you will as you read the rest of this post.
“It is not power that corrupts but fear. Fear of losing power corrupts those who wield it and fear of the scourge of power corrupts those who are subject to it.”
― Aung San Suu Kyi
“Without strong watchdog institutions, impunity becomes the very foundation upon which systems of corruption are built. And if impunity is not demolished, all efforts to bring an end to corruption are in vain. "
— Rigoberta Menchú, Nobel Prize laureate
These 2 quotes are why I feel a penal system is not only recommended, but actually, needed. Reading through several replies from topics around the forum I feel like I can present a possible solution.
Posted By Snipehunter at 7:13 PM - Tue Apr 23 2019
We talk about crime and prison a lot in the office, because it's both an unsettled question in the game, and a really interesting challenge as a designer to address.
While it's not guaranteed to be a part of our justice system at all, one idea that I found sort of attractive actually deals with the idea of spirit loss and leaving prison. I'll present it as a thought experiment for you all to consider:
You are a murderer, whether by grim dance of fortune or intentional malice, you have unjustly ended the life of another mann. While pondering your fate, you are apprehended, brought before a judge, tried, and convicted of the crime. Luckily(?) for you, rather than facing execution, you are sentenced to 25 years of incarceration and brought to the kingdom's prison dungeon. Guards march you through the a stone archway that curiously has no door or gate or bars. They remove your restraints, and turn and walk away. On the inside of the archway are etched the following:
"A sentence given is a sentence earned"
The other inmates explain your fate: You can remain in the prison, serve out your sentence, and perhaps even find early release through service. Or, you can simply walk out through the archway. If you do, every day you should have served is stripped from your spirit and your status as an exile is permanently cemented: You will be attacked on sight by any officer of the crown that sees you.
Do you walk away, or do you serve your time?
This made me really sit down and consider this question deeply. I found an answer myself which surprised me so I reached out to ask family members who are local police force and state police force. Again, they came to the conclusion I did. Walk away, take your chances.
So again, to dive deeper I reached out even further to a Judge. Her answer was surprisingly (or unsurprisingly) the same. Given the opportunity even herself would walk away and gamble the odds of exile. Though she explained why quite clearly. In a box your rewards and thus reformation are limited by the size of the box. Outside the box has no leash or bondage so the belief of rewards are greater. Thus, we seek the greater reward. We discussed and came to the conclusion that in order for a person to decide to stay the reward and reformation for remaining in the box must be something that can be advantageous when one is out of the box.
My solution:
The "Penal System":
All crimes need to be punishable to varying degrees and all would be decided by the governments of where they were committed.
For crimes specifically where the player needs to serve time in a jail. Rather then viewing as "locking the player away from the game", it should be used as an opportunity to allow the player to engage with the game in a different way. At this point a player should be immediately given 3 options.
Option A: Permanent stripped time from your soul at a heavy cost but without being exiled.
Option B: Time sentenced stripped from your soul and exiled.
Option C: Serving the time.
Option C:
Player A steals from multiple citizens around the town and is finally caught and sent before the Judge. As this is Player A's 2nd or 3rd offense the Judge feels the only possible chance for reformation is to serve 3 Elyrian days in jail and a fine (This would be 8.4 real world hours). The fine would be handled by a contract.
Player A is now in jail.
··As the player I think about how I'm going to manage my time in this place. I could simply log out and wait the 8.4 hours then return. (The time should be persistent even on logout.) Perhaps though a dialog box opens from an NPC/Player saying if I do Task 1 my time will reduce 15 minutes. Task 1 is to empty the latrines. (For simplicity at the start or launch this can be a player just goes to the latrine area hits the interact button and a 25 second progress bar appears. Costly animations can be added later.) Then I can move onto Task 2, Task 3, etc.. Until my time is up and I may leave. Tasks present the reward of reducing time so I can get outside the box.
While I'm completing said tasks running around I run into an NPC who says they have something to show me if I'm willing to learn. An opportunity for reward that will affect outside the box.
While running around completing tasks I decide that I no longer want these bonds and I'm simply going to leave. I take the exit and I am seen leaving then I forfeited option C and now given Option B in which my remaining time is stripped from my soul.
This would be the punishment for all non-serious crimes.
Serious and/or Heinous Crimes:
Serious crimes though will lack Option B and C. Straight execution should not exist in the game as a viable punishment and instead crimes that would warrant execution should be handled differently. I'll explain:
Player B commits a serious crime, Murders an individual (NPC or Player). As time on souls is traceable then a percentage of that time should be added to the murderers "crime sheet" and if/when the player is caught and sentenced then they get option A but with a twist. All the time they've accumulated is then stripped from their soul. If you have murdered enough and gained enough then yes, in a sense, it will be an execution as all your time will be used up. This way time loss is "equal" time served. I overall, after deep thought, think this is a viable solution to the execution problem. If you are arbitrarily murdering individuals then once caught your soul will feel the wrath of all the souls you've killed. But, if you get into a very heated dispute which accidentally/intentionally turns into a physical confrontation resulting in the death of the other party you will not immediately be executed and will simply serve a punishment equal to the loss of life.
Speaking of equal to the loss of life the percentage I spoke about earlier would be also increase according to the individual you killed. This would integrate CoE multiplier system for more famous and/or impactful characters. Rough explanation:
Kill the following and get the following amount removed from your soul:
Normal Player: 10% of the player's who was killed remaining life.
Elder or Village Council: 15% of the player's who was killed remaining life.
Mayor/Town Council: 25% of the player's who was killed remaining life.
Magistrate/City Council or Baron: 35% of the player's who was killed remaining life.
Count/Countess or Sheriff: 45% of the player's who was killed remaining life.
Duke/Duchess: 65% of the player's who was killed remaining life.
King: 100% of the player's who was killed remaining life.
I do have a much more deeper explanations on several mechanics but this post is already long winded and I'd like to read the opinions of what the community and developers have to say.
