CAGD 170 Work

Assignment 5: Playtest 1 Unit 3

     List of games I played:

• Group 11: Barrier
• Group 10: Killer Campout
• Group 4: There's Something in the Closet

    Killer Campout Formal Elements:

• Players:
• 2 players
• Playstyles: 
• Achievers (will attempt to win the game)
• Killers (will kill the other player)
  
• Interaction Pattern: Player vs Player
  

• Objective:
• The objective is to grab cards and items to use in an effort to fight the killer if you are playing the camper or fight the camper if you are the killer.
  
• Rules:
• Players may only attack within their attack range based on their character.
• Only killers can use chainsaws, only campers can use backpacks
• You may only hold 2 items unless you have a backpack
• Killers may attack on any turn while campers may only attack on their turn.
• The turns must go as fast as possible.
  
• Procedures:
• Players place their resource collection spaces.
• Set a 10-15 minute timer.
  
• Take turns moving with dice and using their items.
• Players will place their resources down on the board.
• Players may attack using their items within their specified attack range.
• Game ends when one player loses all of their health tokens or the timer runs out.
  
• Resources:
• Items
• Resource Collection Spaces
• Traps
• Health tokens
  
• Boundary:
• The game board is the boundary.
  
• Conflict:
• Players will choose where to build their resource collection spaces.
  
• Camper may run from killer to see if they can get more resources before their fight.
• Killer may become aggressive from the get go.
• Players must fight at some point to win.
  
• Outcome:
• One player kills the other
• The camper survives the whole timer
• Zero sum
  

 

Assignment 4: Unit 2 Postmortem

     Our group number was group 4, and we had to make a board game related to magic and racing, for people in the Elementary school age range. It is a player vs. player game where players will choose their character, where each has a special deck and mana value each turn. They draw up to 5 cards each turn and place down the cards according to their strategy and try to finish two laps of the race track using their mana and cards.

    Players of the Competitor variety will tend to have fun with this game, as there is a clear objective to win over the other player. The Joker may also have fun with the game trying to prolong the game and making the enemy player mad or by joking around.

    Some problems that occurred in the development process were mostly on the art side, but there was a major issue we came across before the first playtest. Our first problem that we came across was that the way we were doing our mana gain and spell list was very static and overall not very fun. We decided to ask the teacher for an idea as to what could possibly change to make the game more fun, so we listened to his advice and changed the dice to a card deck system where the mana gain is static rather than the spell list being static. This made the game much less predictable, and more importantly, more fun. Some issues we had were making the art side of the game look good or very dynamic to make the game more engaging. The cards were just white with black text, and the character tokens were just single-color circles. 

 

    Overall, our task completion was very consistent and on time though. Something that was an issue though was the fact that we forgot to make a game board prior to the first playtest that we shared with other groups. We had to pump one out fast in order to have the other team playtest our game. Otherwise, we were able to brainstorm and complete our other respective tasks relatively efficiently and before the deadlines given to us.

    Some things that might help fix the task completion issues might be to make a trello board or checklist of things to complete, as that might help remind ourselves of what we need to do in order to get our game working and able to be played. Something that might make the art side of things more bearable to do was making one person be more art-oriented and do the art for the cards and game board instead of both of us working on the text for everything. It would overall mean more work for both of us, but in the end the end product might have seemed a little more complete and refined.

 

    Something I might take forward into my development process further on might be to do brainstorming sessions with my partner more and be more transparent about what things we plan on doing for the project. That way, we will be held more accountable to the things we need to get done and maybe work harder as well.

    

Assignment 3: Playtest 1 Unit 2

 Part I: Development images

 

Part II: Games that I played: 

• Group 2: Farming Strategy
  
• Group 9: Note Quest
  
• Group 13: Project Gemini 8
• Group 10: The Hungry Queen

Formal Elements for: Group 2's Board Game

• Players:
• 2-4 Players
• Playstyles:
• Competitor: Buys optimal plants and earns the most money
  
• Collector: Prefers to buy everything, explore all options
• Joker: Will buy gasoline and ruin opponents' crops at large expense to own money
• Interaction Pattern: Multilateral Competition
  
• Objectives:
• Earn the most money by the end of the game through buying and selling crops
• Construction: maintain and grow your money
  
• Rules:
• Start the game with $25 to buy crops and items from the shop.
• At the end of every new turn, pick up an event card from the pile
• Whatever the event card says applies to your next turn
• On your turn, buy crops, items or upgrades with your money
• Every turn, turn your crops once unless an event card says otherwise
• Once a crop is fully grown, it can only be sold on the turn after it is grown
• Crops can be bought and sold on one's turn
• When crops are bought, they should be turned so the "1" is on top at the start
• Procedures:
• Start the game with $25, choose who goes first
• Player will spend money on crops or items then place crops on board or use items
• At end of turn, player will pick up a chance card that will affect their next turn
• At the end of 20 turns, players will count up their money and whoever has the most wins
  
• Resources:
• Money
• Crops
• Turns
• Items
• Plots of land
  
• Boundary:
• Game board and table, 6 plots of land unless bought land upgrade
  
• Conflict:
• Grow plants to get more money
• Chance cards are unpredictable
• Gasoline can reset another player's progress
• Dilemmas:
• Should I spend the money on this crop?
• Is this crop worth the return on investment?
• Will I be able to grow this crop before my opponent destroys it?
  
• Should I destroy my opponent's crops?
• Do I have the extra money to make my crops grow faster?
  
• Outcome: 
• One player has the most money and wins 
  

 

Assignment 2: Unit 1 Postmortem    

 
    Our game is a version of solitaire that includes many changes that allow for the game to be much more strategy-based and allows for many different shuffles to give a win. Klondike usually tends to be hard to win because of a bad shuffle or bad play, but our version, Sponge Solitaire, can be beaten much more intuitively and strategically with the inclusion of the free cells.

    This version has a single player vs. game interaction pattern, similar to normal solitaire. It is very good for players like the craftsman, who will much prefer the gameplay loop as you need to puzzle your way through the game by placing cards in the free cells and preserving your single flip of the waste pile. The achiever may also get a lot out of this game, as winning is an achievement to strive for using your own skill.

    Some challenges that we came across in our game design process was coming up with meaningful ideas to use in the first place. Most of our changes in the start were just minimal changes like the way cards are stacked or how to set up the board. The way we set up the board in this version was just trial and error to finding something good. Changing the way that the cards are stacked also does not really change the way that the game is played, so we had trouble finding ways to make the game more engaging or interesting than standard Klondike.

    On our second iteration of the game's rulesheet, we had much better ideas, however we could not meet due to the unforeseen circumstance of one of us catching COVID-19. However, this problem was overcome by using Instagram direct messaging and shooting ideas at each other there. During this, we were able to overcome and create much better ideas to change the gameplay. Examples like the reduced number of times that the waste pile can be flipped over, or the cells that a player can place cards to be used. We were able to workshop these ideas and change to fit the game better.




    We were able to get done with all of the tasks we needed to get done. There may have been a little bit of getting distracted during our meeting times, and we did not use our time the greatest that we could. However, we still gave ourselves two hours to work, which was more than enough to get the job done.

    Something that we may change about our process moving forward is paying more attention to the task at hand. At times I would feel like I needed to check Discord to see if I missed any messages so from now on I will try and hold back those thoughts and keep working. We should use all the time we get and not leave early or sit there doing nothing. Being idle is not a very effective use of time, so I think I should be thinking and providing ideas instead, keeping myself useful and letting us move forward as a team.

    Another thing that may change is getting more playtesting in with the ideas that we pitch. We were unable to playtest some things as neither of us owned a deck of cards and one of us was sick and had to quarantine. Being prepared is a part of that, so we will have the materials we need to end up getting the work done and done well.

    Overall, the project went well despite a few hiccups, and we created a fun product that acted out the vision we had in mind.

Assignment 1: Solitaire Rulesheet

    Our group created Sponge Solitaire, a version of solitaire which spices up the regular Klondike gameplay with a new arrangement for the tableau as well as including elements of Freecell. This version of solitaire ended up a little bit easier than Klondike solitaire.

    When we first started, we had to work from scratch on a brand new form of solitaire and make a rule sheet for that, so we went to work thinking of ways that we could change the general gameplay loop of the game. My first thought was to change how the cards are laid out on the table. Maybe instead of increasing the number of cards placed in each column, we could change the layout to just be 4 per column to start out with. After that, we thought about the different ways the gameplay itself could distance itself from the standard. We decided that instead of alternating the colors that you stack cards, you would only place cards of the same color on top of each other.

 After testing this version of this game, we as a team decided that this version was much too easy to do with our unlimited flips of the waste pile (the pile of turned over leftover cards). Our fix was to limit the number of times that the waste pile can be flipped to 3 times. After further play-testing of this version we considered it to be relatively balanced for a first version, so we turned it in.

    The main issue when making this rule sheet was trying to word the directions in a way that someone who has never played solitaire before would be able to read it and get the gist. Concepts like the way that one would stack the cards or set up the board were particularly challenging things to try and explain in a short and concise manner. My team member was also having trouble trying to understand the things that I would write, as they were unfamiliar with the game themselves. This was both a blessing and a curse, as someone unfamiliar with the game getting to read the rulesheet so soon was good for seeing another perspective, but also frustrating due to them barely being able to help me correct any mistakes I make in conveying my meaning.

    As for the second version of our solitaire game's rulesheet, we decided to change a lot of the wording to sound better for a newer player, as well as update a couple of the rules to make things a little more interesting. I looked up different versions of solitaire and saw that Freecell had these interesting slots where one could place cards to use later, and I liked that idea a lot. I showed it to my partner and they liked the idea, but four would be too many, so we lowered it down to two slots. In turn for that, we decided to only allow one flip of the waste pile, leading to more difficulty and strategy to be involved in the process.

    There were some issues with play-testing this version, however. Neither my partner nor I own a deck of playing cards, and my partner had been borrowing decks of playing cards from people on their dorm building's floor to be used when testing the first version of our game. However, this week I had a case of Covid-19 and had to stay in my dorm, leading to me not being able to test my new changes that I had come up with, and my partner was not able to borrow any decks this time. This was an issue, and to fix this either of us could have just bought a deck of playing cards and tested to see if our ideas were any good. Some better communication between my partner and I would also maybe have fixed some of the issues we were having with the creation of the rulesheet as well.

    From now on in my development process it is essential that I am:

• Well prepared with the correct tools for the procedures

• Willing and able to work out potential miscommunication with my group members