Players influenced city

[Chris]

RPG city (modern/futuristic/steampunk), size 25x25 grid (or 15x15, generally reasonably small so players can memorize it and you get crowding feeling). Each grid contains exactly 1 building which can be entered (city owned, no private property). The map display shows 3x3 grid at once (rather big pictures with building names, icons, etc).

What possibilities there could be for players to shape the environment (city)?

- destroying buildings/erecting buildings (I want to avoid these, unless a rare exception, generally the city is too small for players to reshape it this way)
- vehicles that could be moved around (visible to others, public - everyone can use them)
- upgraded building (better services provided) if players collectively met some criterias

[dsheroh]

- Graffiti or another means of leaving messages in an area visible to others who go there (as well as a way for future players to erase these messages)

- Extending that, trash.  Players eating candy bars or firing guns leave wrappers and shell casings on the ground.  Let other players pick up the trash (possibly with some in-game benefit for doing so (reloading the bullets), possibly not (what do you do with an old candy wrapper?)) and also have one or more NPC trash collectors who drive a garbage truck around the city, collecting old trash and muttering to themselves.

- Electronics stores selling TVs which occasionally display news reports about major things players have done recently.  Or just newsstands/town criers reporting on them, if your tech level is pre-widespread-TV.  If you have a generic NPC population, they can talk about events, too.  (c.f. City of Heroes/Villains, where passing civilians will randomly comment on storyline missions recently completed by nearby player characters.)

[Topazan]

-repairing or maintaining buildings
-redecorating buildings
-buying and selling to shops to change stock (eg selling raw materials to a factory causing finished goods to be put up for sale)
-being employed at buildings
-managing, buying, and selling buildings