I'm keen for a little bit of a variant on the standard demogame as well; that's why
I suggested a "double civ" setup where each team in the demogame controls two teamed civs inside the game. That way you get quite a different game from the regular one, without venturing into unfamiliar territory. Instead of one unique unit, you get two; instead of one unique building, you get two; instead of two starting techs, you get up to four; instead of two traits, you get up to four. There are a lot of interesting possibilities as to how that could play out, IMHO.
I like that idea, the Double Civ Setup.
However, from reading through some of the threads regarding the last MTDG, this would definitely generate an interesing start, but would it be enough to keep people interested and participating?
(Disclaimer: I was part of Team Kaz until late January 09, when I bailed out. Not my finest moment, but that is my history.)
Here's my rambling background for my question, and then it might make more sense.
Some Post Game Analysis
In the MTDG the prized role is that of the Turn Player because you get to implement the desires and wishes of your team. It can also involve a lot of work. It appears that one or maybe even two teams fell apart when the 'normal' Turn Player(s) left or were unavailable. That suggests several things. First, that the team structure was faulty, in that the team only had one head and could not survive without that head. Or that no one wanted to be Turn Player, which implies a lack of committment of the team to the game. It might be the case that no one was groomed/mentored on how to be a Turn Player.
There are also other roles in the MTDG, the most visible being Ambassdor/Spokesman for the team to other teams and the MTDG world at large. Sometimes this is handled by one person and other times by one person for each team. But it does give someone a chance to do something besides just post their opinions on things.
At least early in the game, no one is needed to handle city development and city production since this is generally discussed quite thoroughly. Late game could be a different story.
All of which leads me to this less than earth-shattering conculsion: if there are more people on the team than roles to fill, those that have nothing to do will go away, especially if the roles are being performed competently, unless they can make a role for themselves (Team Historian, for instance). And then, if something happens to the team leadership, no one is in place to step in and carry on. Which is what seems to have happened in this game.
I'm not trying to slam any team in any way. Some game related events caused bad feelings and people decided to drop out of the game due to that fact. I did the same thing.
So, while I do like your Double Civ Setup I wonder how it would play out after nine months of gaming.