The spy is one of the two player roles that can be chosen to compete as in SpyParty. The spy races against the clock to complete a number of assigned missions, but they must be cautious, for every tell they give off invites instant death at the hands of the sniper. While completely vulnerable, a skilled spy can mimic a partygoer's behavior and send false signals to confuse the sniper and perhaps even ensure that an innocent takes the fatal bullet instead.
Gameplay[]
Before the game begins, the spy selects the parameters of the game; they can pick the venue, the number of tasks to complete, specific tasks on an "X of Y" list, their identity, and the identities of the Ambassador, Double Agent and Seduction Target, if applicable.
Once the game begins, the spy starts mingling in the party under AI control; the spy may choose when to take independent control away from the AI. While under AI control, the spy will act like any random partygoer but will not take steps to complete any of the missions.
The spy is controlled from a third-person perspective; the spy may walk about the party and can rotate the camera freely, though the camera always remains centered on the spy. While in the party, the spy can see labels identifying the various cast members that relate to their missions; these can include the Ambassador, the Double Agent and the Seduction Target. They can also see labels identifying Toby the Waiter and Security Agent Damon, though the latter is not relevant to any mission (yet).
The spy can also see a laser representing the center of the sniper's current field of vision, although the Sniper might not be looking there. Certain items in the playing field are highlighted for the spy alone: statues (which are normally gold) will be colored green when swapped and blue when inspected, and books that have been removed from a bookshelf remain the color of the shelf they were removed from.
The spy has a number of context-sensitive actions; generally a spy can perform at least one regular action and one spy action depending on their location in the room. Regular actions are innocuous actions that AI partygoers perform, such as having a conversation or sipping a drink. Spy actions are usually actions required to finish a mission; for example, swapping a statue. Some spy actions are false; for example, while on the Contact Double Agent mission, the spy can fake the contact, creating all the cues of the action without being in the same conversation as the double agent.
Most spy actions involve an action test. A green (positive) result on the action test will increase the subtlety or effectiveness of the action, while a red (negative) result will mean that the spy performs the action in a more obvious or less effective manner. A white (neutral) result means the action is better than a red result but not as good as a green result; this is also what occurs if the spy chooses to ignore the action test.
The spy can add time to the game clock by checking their watch at a window; the tell separating this behavior from a normal watch-check is that the game time will increase on the sniper's screen as well, if the action test is either red or white. If the action test is green, the time will not increase in the sniper's clock. It will only get slower.
Victory Conditions[]
The spy wins 10 seconds after their last mission is complete, or if the sniper shoots an NPC. The sniper wins if they shoot the spy, or if the spy runs out of time.
Strategy[]
- Think, then act. Before you finish an action, look around for your next goal, so that you already know what you're going to do by the time you're ready to do it. A spy running around the room without focus is a very suspicious target.
- Always know where the sniper's focus is. Adjust your camera so that you can constantly see the sniper's laser.
- Take advantage of the map; corner statues are easier to conceal, as are talking tells if you can put your back to the sniper.
- Even if you prefer to play spy, play sniper enough to understand a sniper's mindset.
- Have a plan before the game starts; since the spy's camera always starts directly on the spy but the sniper needs to immediately get oriented, the spy frequently has an advantage in the game's first few seconds. Consider about rushing a mission before the sniper can adequately guard it.
- Be cautious if attempting to rush the Swap Statue mission. The first thing a good sniper usually does is go around memorizing the statues, and will generally highlight any character that makes an early statue visit. Consider rushing to the nearest bookcase or the ambassador instead, as most snipers are too busy with statues to notice you bugging the ambassador or grabbing a book and taking it with you to a conversation circle.
- Remember that you may not be as obvious to the sniper as you think. You know everything you're doing, but the sniper is dealing with the task of attempting to watch a bunch of people at once.
- Don't panic when the sniper's laser is on you. For one thing, they may not even be looking at you. (It's common for snipers to watch activities at the edge of their vision.) Even if their laser rests on you for a long time, you're not dead until the bullet fires. If they haven't shot you yet, it usually means that they aren't yet confident enough that you're the spy, and may be trying to confirm their suspicions by seeing if you'll make a mistake under pressure. Play it cool, and hopefully the sniper will give up and look elsewhere.
- If you know you've been caught and the sniper's moving to get a bead on you, your death is usually a foregone conclusion. However, you can try to get behind an NPC; if the sniper's trigger finger is too itchy, they may accidentally shoot them instead. On rare occasions, if you've already completed all your missions, you may even delay the shot long enough for you to secure the win.