This is a new game mechanic that I'm planning on adding to the game. It's really been on my mind in one version or another since I started working on Frosh Life. Originally I thought about having some sort of social hierarchy/popularity status, but I just couldn't find a satisfying way to make it into a good game mechanic.

Now I think I have. But it's not really about social hierarchy/popularity anymore, think of it more as a social currency or social capital.

What this means is you can gain social capital by doing things that people around you see as socially desirable. The more people who are aware of what you are doing, the more social capital can be gained. And of course, the greater the achievement the more social capital can be gained.

Example 1: Winning the Frosh Week competition will give you quite a bit of social capital. It's something a lot of student strive for, and it's something a lot of student are aware of.

Example 2: In the undressing game on Tuesday in Frosh Week, you have some options how to react when the other guys exert some peer pressure to get Zoey to drop her bra. If you are after her friendship points it's pretty obvious what to do. But what to do from a social capital viewpoint? Well, give in to peer pressure of course! Since there are only a few people present and the achievement is small (pretty much non-existent) there won't be a lot of social capital on the table, however.

Social capital has nothing to do with morality. If you do something good and no one is aware of it, that's worth exactly 0 social capital. At least, that's how I imagine the mechanic right now.

So, what to do with this social capital? It will act both as a status indicator and as something to "pay" with. Some actions and events will require you to have a certain amount of social capital to trigger, but triggering the event won't decrease the social capital. It can also be used to unlock new options when interacting with people, generally options that are less socially acceptable. This will decrease social capital.

Example 1: Some girl who only hangs with "popular" people will decide to have sex you if your social capital is high enough.

Example 2: Ask a girl if you can have her panties. Clearly, this is not something you just ask someone and most people would probably consider you a pervert for doing it. Clearly not socially desirable behavior! Also, note that unlocking this option doesn't mean the girl will just hand over her panties, you may have to jump through a few more hoops to get those. As you can see from this example, some actions may cost quite a bit of social capital even though there's really only one person involved. This is simply a matter of game mechanics over realism. Why you would want her panties in the first place? More on that some time in the future  ;-)  (not planned for the next release)

Example 3: Someone challenges you on something and if you lose you'll have to do something embarrassing which decreases social capital.

In my mind, this social game mechanic pretty much renders the drunk mechanic redundant. They may be used for the same end goals (making less socially acceptable things happen), but the social mechanic is much more predictable and the player can see this option clearly and decide if it's something he/she wants to spend social capital on.

What do you think?