Farm Phresh!!

The Farm Phresh Map!

We finally made it!  For our last board game, we were required to construct a game that would teach the players about which fruits and vegetables were in season.  To complete this task successfully, my group members and I were required to conduct research online about which fruits and vegetables were in season in Ontario.  Luckily for us, there were many resources available and we were able to compile an extensive list that revolved around the four seasons.  One re-occurring problem we noticed while creating our game, was the a wide variety of vegetables are grown in multiple seasons.  To eliminate this problem, we decided to have a yearly list of vegetables that were not worth as much in our final game.  After many long hours of working on card designs and different prototypes for our game board, we finally came up with our amazing game, Farm Phresh!

The Cards used in Farm Phresh!

Out of all of the board games Oiram has created this year, I personally believe that Farm Phresh is one of the most unique ones we have created.  This was one of our first games where we included end game bonuses that players can work towards, much like an achievement of Xbox 360 games! Listed below are the rules to help teach you how to play our the game!

Players: 4 or more

Dominate the market in this all-out battle for farm produce domination! Compete to win the most money by growing and selling a variety of fruits and vegetables - or even trading for what you think could be the produce that rockets you to the top!

Set-up:

-Each Season Deck must be shuffled separately and placed next to their respective Season on the board.  Farm Cards (White Cards) are also shuffled and placed off to the side.

-Each player receives $25 (each money piece is worth $5).

-The spinner is then set to “Spring.”

-Players can decide who goes first however they please.

Gameplay:

-At the start of a players turn, the player has the option to purchase a Farm Card by flipping over a Farm Card – your first purchase costs $10 and each subsequent purchase costs $5 more (2^nd is $15, 3^rd is $20, etc.)

-Players may also trade any Farm or Produce cards with other players before beginning their turn.

-The player then flips over a card from the current Season.

-The player collects the money listed on the Produce Card – the rarer the card, the more money its worth. PLAYERS KEEP THE PRODUCE CARDS.

-If another player has a Farm that produces the turned over card, the player who flipped the card must pay the Farm owner half of what they would have received. (Minimum of $5)

-After one whole round (e.g., when the first player begins their next turn), the Season changes to the next one in a clock-wise fashion.

-After all four seasons have been played through, a new year begins.

-Play ends after the end of the 5^th year.

-Players tally up all of the money in their hand at the end of the game.  The player with the most money wins the game!

-Players must also consider the End-Game Bonuses before confirming who wins:

:Most Vegetables: $20

:Most Fruit: $20

:Rock a P (2 Peaches, 2 Pears and 2 Plums): $25

:Garden Salad (1 Lettuce, 1 Carrot, 1 Cucumber, 1 Onion, 1 Mushroom and 1 Tomato): $35

Farm Cards!

 Although this game was fairly challenging to create, it was still interesting to research the different produce cycles that occur in Ontario.  Hopefully when people play Farm Phresh they won't just have fun playing, but they will also learn how to eat local and support local farmers!

Bollywood Dance Party Extreme!!

Chaiyya Chaiyya Dance Scene in Dil Se!

For third and final prototype, we were tasked with creating a new and innovative game centered around the Bollywood dance scene.  Although it seemed like a pretty straightforward task, we had to make this a game that had the players get up and physically dance along with the game! Suddenly, this easy assignment didn't seem as easy.  My group and I took a lot of time determining the best way to get the user up and moving, while still keeping the Bollywood essence that Dil Se portrayed so amazingly.  If we were to portray the Bollywood feel through our game, we decided that we would need up beat music and constant movement that kept the player coming back for more.  After many hours of planning and tweaking our game, we created Bollywood Dance Party Extreme!

Our final Game Board!

Not only does our game include dance moves from the song Chaiyya Chaiyya, it also includes moves from other famous films such as Slumdog Millionaire!

Even Jamal can't stay away from BDPE!

To allow our game to function properly, we payed very close attention to the rules and how the scoring system for the players would work.  We made sure to make things even, while still entertaining the players.

Setup

-  To begin a new game of Chaiyya Chaiyya Party Extreme, both the Easy Dance Deck and the Hard Dance Deck must be shuffled separate from each other.

-  From here, the easy deck and the hard deck are placed on the game board inside their designated areas

-  Determining which player goes first is simple.  The owner of the game goes first and then determines the order for the game.

Game Play

-  The Gameplay phase begins when the first player picks up either an Easy or Hard Dance Card

-  After choosing their card, the player will read off the card details to the other players of the game

-  On each card are three details: The Song Indicator, The Dance Move, and the Score Modifier

-  After the details have been revealed to the other players, the dancing player must find their corresponding dance move in the dance list

-  The player will be able to view the dance move twice before they are allowed their one chance to complete three consecutive repetitions of the move.  Dancing will be completed with the three songs provided.

-  The other players will judge whether the player has completed their move successfully

-  If the move was completed, the player gets to corresponding score and they keep add that dance card to their hand. If the move was not completed, the card is inserted back in the deck

-  Each player may only have a maximum of four cards in their hand at one time. The player may pick up a Dance Card and perform for their score however, they must discard before a new card can be added to their hand

-  Whenever a player has more than one card in their hand, they may attempt a Combo Dance!  This means that the player may try and perform all of their dances in one performance to earn all of the score modifiers combined! 

-  To win, a player must reach a score of 1000 points, or a player can win through the Special Combo Dance.  A Special Combo Dance is when the players four cards are all from the same Song Indicator.  If the is able to complete the Special Combo Dance for the duration of the songs provided!

Although this was a very challenging prototype, it really made my group and I think outside of our comfort zones.  I feel as though we accomplished that and made one of our best games yet.  Have fun playing!

Thomas "Tomahawk" Evans: The British Ace

Tomahawk's Plane of Choice

Thomas Hawk Evans, is a man in the prime of his youth, hailing from the Northern regions of the Canadian wilderness.  Many people believe that he is originally from an southern region of Quebec, as he speaks with a slight french accent, this is unconfirmed however as he only spoke of living in Canada.  Thomas was born on November 21 1920 to his single mother Jeannette Evans, who died giving birth to Thomas forcing him into an orphanage from birth.  Thomas was a very patient and well-rounded child when it came to his studies in the orphanage, but when it came to human interaction, Thomas would become easily irritable and push people away.  Among all people, Thomas would only interact with the kindly old cleaner who visited the orphanage twice a week, Bernadette.  Being the only motherly figure Thomas had ever known, Thomas told her of his love for planes and how one day he would find a way to fly for the Royal Air Force. In 1939, when World War II had become a global war, Thomas made several attempts to join the Canadian Military, in hopes that he could one day join the Air force  After several rejection letters on account of his inability co-operate with his CO's, Thomas went to see Bernadette to vent his frustrations.  Thomas found an ambulance and paramedics outside her home, who informed Thomas that she had passed away in her sleep.  Knowing that he had nothing left for him in Canada, Thomas boarded the first ship to Britain to chase his dreams.

Thomas spent a year in Britain attempting to join the Royal Air Force, however his lack of people skills made his unfit to join any form of military force.  After his year on the streets and his constant attempts at enlisting, Thomas was finally allowed to join the military, as a cleaner in the Dining Hall of the Royal Air Force.  Although this made Thomas furious, he knew it was something he would have to do to get off the streets and work his way up in the Military.

On a stormy night in April, 1941, Germany attacked the base where Thomas was stationed.  After being awoken by gunfire, Thomas sprung out of bed and ran to the airstrip to see what  was happening.  Hundreds of German fighters and Bombers were circling the air field destroying buildings and air craft wherever Thomas looked.  Before he realized what he was doing, Thomas jumped into an aircraft and took to the skies.  That night, Thomas along with five other fighters, shot down a total of 183 aircraft, with Thomas taking down over half of that number by himself.  Any fear Thomas had of dying that night was lost as he dodged through the alien looking German fighters.

The Fighters who Fought with Thomas

The men who fought with Thomas describe him as an unnaturally skilled pilot who can almost sense where the Germans were.  Thomas feared that he would be scolded upon landing the stolen aircraft, but instead he was met by his fellow soldiers chanting his new call sign "Tomahawk! Tomahawk! Tomahawk!".  From that point on Thomas was a valued member of the British Royal Air Force and he continues to fly with the same five fearless members that helped him repel the invasion on that night in April.  As it is the only thing that makes him happy, Thomas tends to spend more time in the air than he does with his feet on the ground.  He is truly one of Britain's greatest flying Ace's.

Tic-Tac-Toe Re-Re-Reeeeeemix!

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As Hurricane Sandy approached us here in Oshawa, we were given a break from creating another one of our exciting board games.  This week, we were responsible for making a modification to the classic game Tic-Tac-Toe!  This proved to be a more difficult task then I thought, as the classic game works so well, that many of my rule changes messed with the core mechanics of the game.  After a lengthy thought process however, I was able to implement a new rule into Tic-Tac-Toe that adds an element of luck that has not been present in the game.

Before I get into my rule change, let me outline the original rule set for Tic-Tac-Toe:

-  The object of the game is to get three in a row.

-  One player uses the letter X as their pieces, the other uses O

-  Players alternate placing X's and O's on the board until one player has three pieces lined up in a row (Horizontal, Vertical, or Diagonal)

-  If the board becomes filled before a player has won, the game board is cleared and the players start again.

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The rule I decided to implement that adds a sense of luck to the game is adding the role of a dice to the game.  If the player chooses to do so, they may role a die at the end of their turn to "Test their Luck".  If the player roles a Five or a Six, they have beat the odds and are allowed to add another X or O to the game board.  If however they take the chance and they fail the role (Four or lower), they will have to remove the X or O that they placed at the beginning of their turn.  This adds a certain challenge to the gameplay because players who feel as though they are going to lose are willing to risk their pieces for a chance at gaining the lead!  

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For the second part of this assignment, we were to take an old game designed in the Game Production class, and re-design it so that it was played with either pure luck, or pure skill.  The game I decided to remix was Battle for Asgolonia,  which was the second prototype created by Bobby Muir and myself.  The original rules for Battle for Asgolonia are as follows:

Battle of Asgolonia is an action packed game where four players must fight to become the rulers of all Asgolonia and claim the mythical treasure.  To begin, each player must roll a die. The player with the highest number will be the first to take their turn.  If there is a tie, then the two players will roll again until the tie is broken. Once the first player has been selected, the order will go clockwise from that player.  To eliminate a player, an opposing player must destroy their home tower.  These home towers are automatically fortifications until they are destroyed.  To begin the game, the starting player will roll a single 6 sided die to see how many tiles will be placed on the game board.  For example, if the player rolls a five, they may place five tiles adjacent to each other.  Once a tile has been placed, all the remaining tiles to be placed must start from the first tile.  If a player places a tile in a spot that is not adjacent to one of their own tiles, the move is deemed illegal and they must re-place the tile.  Combat is a very crucial part of Battle of Asgolonia.  When a player wishes to take over an opposing tile, they must roll the dice.  The player must have one or more moves left to initiate an attack.  Multiple attack sequences may be initiated as long as the player has moves remaining.  If the tile is unfortified, the player must roll a 4 or higher to invade the square with one of their tiles. However, if the tile is fortified, the player must roll a six or higher to successfully invade. If a tile with either a fortification or a siege engine is captured, the fortification/siege engine is destroyed.

To make a fortification you must give up any of the moves you gained from rolling the die. For instance if you rolled a 4 you may move 3 times and make one fortification on any of your tiles or move twice and build 2 fortifications.  If a fortification is being attacked multiple times in one set of moves (Example: The player rolled three and is attacking the fortification all three times), then for each failed attack, the amount of hits needed is reduced by one each time (Ex: If the first two attacks fail, the player only needs to roll a four instead of a six to destroy the fortification).  At the end of the attacking players turn, if all the attacks failed, the fortification returns to normal strength.
To make a siege engine you must give up your roll. A siege engine can only be built before you roll. When you move in your following turns you may move the siege engine along with them.  Siege engines allow the player to roll two dice during their attack.  The highest die will be used in the attack. Only one siege engine may be built per player.  

At the beginning of the game, the golden idol is placed in the center of the game board.  The first player to place a tile on the golden area will earn the golden idol, adding +1 to each attack role.   This idol will stay in the player’s possession until the game is completed, or they are defeated.  If the player with the idol is defeated, the idol will be transferred to the player who won the battle.  If a player’s home fortress is destroyed, the player who destroyed the fortress gains all of that players land tiles.

A Game of Battle for Asgolonia

I decided that I would take this game of skill and re-design it so that it is based purely on the luck of a die roll.  To begin, the fortifications and siege engines that added a unique dynamic to the game will be removed from play altogether.  The new rules will also have the golden idol removed, as well as all forms of combat and defence.  The new set of rules only requires that the player roles a die to determine what form of action they will take.  If the player roles a One, Two, or Three, they make no action and their turn ends.  If however, the player roles a Four, Five, or Six, they place the corresponding amount of tiles anywhere on the board.  This continues until all of the tiles on the game board are filled.  Players are not allowed to place their tiles on any space that is filled with another players piece.  The player who has the most tiles filled at the end of the game is the ultimate winner and champion of Asgolonia!    

Starry Nightmare!

The Starry Night

The Starry Nightmare by Vincent van Gogh has to be one of the most impressive paintings ever completed by the painter himself.  One of his most famous paintings, Van Gogh painted The Starry Night from the view he saw outside of his sanatorium window from which he was staying at the time.  Unlike many of his other works, Van Gogh painted The Starry Night purely from memory during the daytime instead of painting visually during the night.

Since this such a great piece of art, this week we were tasked with creating a game based on the emotions we felt while viewing this masterpiece.  After much deliberation with my group, we were all able to agree on the fact that this painting had a very different feeling about it.  While most people find this painting relaxing and calming, our group found that it made us feel cold, desolate, slightly fearful, and insignificant in the world.  From this point onward, we decided that since Van Gogh painted this during a time when his sanity was hanging by a thread, we would make a game that will pull at the players emotions and sanity.  This is how we designed our concept for Starry Nightmare.

Starry Nightmare is a new twist on art board games, as it is best played with only one player.  Multiple players can play the game, but it will love some of the deep meaning to the game while playing with others.  The player begins by arranging all of the Memory Tiles face down on the game board.  After this is completed, there will be four empty spots that must be filled on the board.  These tiles are the Key Memory Tiles and these are designed to allow the player to fill them with their own thought or positive memory.  Once the player has filled the board, they can begin moving their character.  The player can be placed on the board anywhere and will begin moving in a clockwise motion once they role the die.  When they land on a tile, they must pick up that tile and read it aloud to themselves.  The messages on the tile are used to inform the player of their decreasing sanity within the world.  To escape this world with their sanity still intact,  the player must attempt to remove all of the Memory Tiles, without landing on their Key Memory Tiles.  If the player lands on their four Key Memory Tiles, their mind has been lost and they descend into the cold, dark, loneliness that is Starry Nightmare.

The Game Board for Starry Nightmare!

   As a second part of the assignment, we needed to come up with a few games that portrayed the theme of the Starry Night.  Since the themes my group and I discovered were sadness, cold, desolate, and insignificance, here are the games I came up with:

Slender:   While walking through the cold dark forest, I personally felt as though the Starry Night atmosphere was portrayed perfectly.  This is because the player feels very alone and insignificant in this large forest.  Barren trees and old run down building portray a very cold fall night and help transport the player to the very forest they are trying to escape.  There is also a feeling that the player’s sanity is at a breaking point, similar to how Van Gogh was feeling when he painted Starry Night. 

I AM ALIVE: In this post-apocalyptic survival game, I felt that the image of Starry Night was portrayed fairly well throughout the entirety of the game.  The player adventures through a cold and desolate wasteland, fighting to find any form of food or water so they can survive for another day.  The player also experiences a deep sadness in the game as you search to find the protagonist’s family whom he lost over a year ago.  The player almost feels hopeless trying to find these people, as it seems as though no one could survive in the harsh landscape.

Amnesia:   Out of all of the games I have played, Amnesia has made me feel the most alone and insignificant in comparison to the huge castle landscape that can be explored in the game.  The feeling of sadness and deteriorating sanity is present throughout the entire game as the player unlocks the deep secrets of their past in the castle.  Amnesia is one of the few games I have played in which the feeling of melancholy stays with me long after I stop playing the game.   

Game Pieces for Starry Nightmare!

This was a very interesting take on a game style, as I have never designed a game that did not have to have some aspect of fun involved.  It is certainly a learning experience that I won't soon forget when I create my next game!

Liar's Dice: Changing the Rules!

The Tools of Liar's Dice!

For this weeks exciting journey into game development, we were required to take the classic games Liar's Dice and add our own set of rules to change the game.  Liar's Dice is in the dice game family that can be played by two or more people.  It is a fairly easy game to play as it only requires that the players have their own five dice, as well as something to keep them hidden from the other players.  To begin playing, each player will add their five dice to their own cup.  From here, each player will simultaneously flip their cup upside down, keeping their dice hidden from their opponents.  Each player is allowed to look at what is under his cup (I.e. 3 fives, 1 two, 1 one).  From this point, the first player will make a guess as to how many of a certain number are on present on the table.  This will not only include his own dice, but the other players dice as well. An example of this would be 2 fours.  From this point, the next player can do one of three choices:

- Lie:  The player can call their bluff by saying they are lying.  This means that there is less dice of a certain number on the table, than the previous person guessed.  i.e. If the first player says there are 4 twos and there are only 2 on the table, they have bluffed.  If someone calls a player out on a lie, the player who was bluffing will lose one die.

-Correct:  If the player believes that the person before them is correct with their prediction (i.e. There are exactly 4 twos on the table), they are allowed to call them out as being correct.  If the player who made the prediction was right with their guess and someone calls them out, then the predicting player will lose one die.

-Guess:  If the player believes that the person before them was not right with their guess, but they also were too low, they can choose to make a guess of their own.  The player can guess any dice roll they want; however, the next guess must up the amount of dice by at least one.  i.e. Previous Guess is: 2 fours, the next guess must be at least 3 of a certain number of dice.

The game ends when only one player has dice remaining under their cup.

Since our rule change had to affect the positive feedback loop present in the game, I first had to decipher what that positive feedback loop was.  After playing the game, I realized that the player who has the most dice under their cup experiences this loop, as they have the most knowledge of the dice on the table.  To remove this loop, I had to take away that advantage so that when the leader is doing something correct, they are not fully benefiting.  The rule I added to the game was the mystical tokens.  At the beginning of the game, each player is given one mystical token that they can cash in during any of their turns.  This token is used to make the current player with the most dice, lift their cup a reveal their dice to everyone.  If there is multiple leaders, then the person trading in their token is allowed to choose who lifts their cup.  This rule change turned out the make the game more even, as the leading player could lose their advantage at any time because of the mystical tokens.  

Lunar Landings!: The Lunar Lander Inspired Card Game!

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For this upcoming week of Game Design and Production, we were thrown a curve ball that gave us a new twist to the usual building of board games.  This week, we were required to take a classic Atari title and turn it into an entertaining card game.  I was very excited to hear this as my printer and I were beginning to dislike creating the boards for our board games.  After much debate with my group, we eventually decided that Lunar Lander would make an excellent Atari title to card game conversion.  We really tried to focus on creating an experience that not only resembles Lunar Lander, but one that also brings back memories of playing the game on the Atari system


The main goal of our game, is to create the best Lunar Lander possible and land with the highest amount of excess fuel possible.  This is done through by making the player assemble their own Lunar Lander using parts with different classifications.  Parts are classified from the "A" level, down the "D" level parts.  In our game, "A" level parts provide you with the most amount of fuel, while the "D" level parts provide you with a very small amount of fuel.  


- Rank "A":  80 Fuel Points

- Rank "B":  70 Fuel Points

- Rank "C":  60 Fuel Points

- Rank "D":  50 Fuel Points

Each player must collect a Hull, Landing Gear, Thruster, and a Docking system to create their Lander.  However, once the player has all the required parts to create a Lunar Lander, they are allowed to attempt a landing!  To attempt the landing a player must add up all of their fuel cards, to determine exactly how many Fuel Points they will have during their landing process.  After this has been established, the player will draw a card from the landing deck and check its multiplier.  The multipliers on these cards range from 1x to 5x.  The higher the multiplier  the more Fuel Points needed and the landing will be harder to complete.

5X:  300

4X:  200

3X:  150

2X:  100

1X:  50

If a Lander lands successfully, they will receive their excess Fuel Points score.  This is done by taking the ships Total Fuel Points, subtracting the amount on the Multiplier, and then multiplying the remaining fuel by the Landing Multiplier.  (Total Fuel - Multiplier Amount) X Multiplier = Remaining Fuel Points.  For example, if a ship with 300 Fuel Points is landing on a 2X multiplier space, the amount remaining would be 400 Fuel Points. (300 - 100) x 2 = 400.  However, if a player draws a Landing Card with a number higher than their ships Fuel Points, their landing was not successful and they will only receive 10% of their Total Fuel Points as a final score!  The player who can reach 2000 Fuel Points after multiple landings, will win the game!

Lunar Landings Cards

Sons of Noah! The Action filled Collection Game!!

Sons of Noah!

For this weeks exciting board game assignment, we were tasked with creating a Collection style board game.  This was a difficult task to complete, as we had to avoid all of the "Race to the Finish" elements and create a pure collection game.  An example of a pure collection game is Life, where the goal is not to reach the end first, but to have the most money by the time you finish your game.

Our game idea came from Divakar, who after a long day working at an animal shelter, suggested that we do an animal rescue game.  Our original idea was to build an animal shelter style game board, where the player must save stray cats and dogs.  We expanded on this idea by having the player save all types of animals in various Biomes.  Our final thought, was to have the player be part of a secret project called "Project Noah". An organization whose goal is to save the worlds animals before the apocalypse begins.  Since the player is a "Project Noah" recruit, they are given the title of "Son of Noah".  Since these events take place in a futuristic society, the player will only need to collect one species from each Biome.  Only then will they be able to enter their spaceship and leave their crumbling planet behind.    

The Temperate Forest Biome!

Set-up: Players shuffle the animal cards and put each pile into its respective zone. Players then roll for the highest number to see who goes first.  Players may start in the Biome of their choice.  The only restriction is that they must start on the corner of the Biome.

Play: Players take turns going around the board to the different zones while trying to collect matching pairs of animals. Movement is made by rolling the die. There are 5 zones present for the players to explore.  These zones are Desert, Tundra, Temperate Forest, Rain-forest, and Ocean.  Players may move clockwise or counter-clockwise around the zone.  If a player wishes to move to another zone, they must move to where the two zones overlap.  This is the only way to transition from one zone to the next.  Players must collect a pair of animals from each Biome, before they can take off in their ship and escape the end of the world. Players must land on an animal space in order to pick up a card from that zone’s pile.  Players may also land on a space that penalizes their game. These spaces range from missing a turn, to losing an animal of the player’s choice.  If a player lands on an advancement space, they must move in the direction specified on the board.

The Animals of Sons of Noah!

Before a player rolls, they have the option to attempt to trade animals with another player. There is no ratio on trading animals, i.e. a player can attempt to trade 3 animals for only 1 from another player. A player can deny any trade without question. If a player’s trade is successful, that players turn ends. However, if the trade is denied, then the player may roll and continue their turn as normal.

Sense and Sensibility: The Card Game!

When tasked with creating a game about one of Jane Austin's most memorable novels, our group went through extensive debating before we came to an agreement.  That agreement was Sense and Sensibility.  Our group believed the hard part was over, but the truth was that it was just beginning.  It was a very difficult  task trying to implement the elements from her novel, into our final product of the game.  We attempted board games and tile games, but none of these prototypes seemed to capture the essence of her Novel and the theme she was trying to convey.

We solved this problem by creating Sense and Sensibility: The Card Game!  The main goal of our card game is attempting to make it to the alter, by whatever means necessary.  The players may take two paths towards their goal.  They may take the loving route, which requires more time and patience, or the player may take the money route, which is faster, but has more consequences.  Listed below are the Setup and Rules of the game:

Setup:
 
-  Players shuffle the Greed, Love, Trait, Asset/Liabilities and Action cards into their respective piles.
        
-  The Action cards are split in half and each half is put into the Greed and Love cards.
   
- Each player draws 3 trait and 2 Asset/Liabilities cards. They are then placed face-up in front of them.

- A die is then rolled to see who goes first.

- Traits and Asset/Liabilities modify how many points you get from either Greed or Love cards – be it an increase or decrease boost. Read the card to see how your points are affected.

Play Rules:
                    
                         - Players draw a card from the either the Greed or Love pile and place it face-up in front of them at the beginning of the turn.
          
             -There are three kinds of possible cards: Love cards, Greed cards and Action cards. Action cards are mixed into both piles.
        
             -Players collect the points on the card they draw, unless it’s an action card. Action cards are activated immediately on drawing and are played towards another player.
         
               -Once a player has accumulated enough Love points (15) OR enough Greed points (10), they can go for a chance to woo their suitor.
        
                -The die is rolled to see if the woo is successful. If a player is going for the Love win, they must roll a 3 or higher.  If the player is going for a Greed win, they need to roll a 5 or higher.
      
               -If a players woo is unsuccessful, that player loses half the points in the mode they chose to woo with.  Play continues until a player successfully woos their suitor and wins their heart.

Battle for Asgolonia!

Battle for Asgolonia!

For our second board game assignment, we were required to create a territorial acquisition game.  My goal was to make a game similar to Risk, only a little shorter and a little simpler.  One of the biggest challenges of creating a territorial acquisition game, is developing a fair with condition for all of the players.  The combat system in my territorial acquisition game was also challenging, as Bobby and I included different types of attack and defense modifiers.  We eventually settled on a system that we decided was fair for all players.  Our final challenge was developing a map that allowed players to have different strategies for how they will defeat their enemies.  

Gameplay

After many separate prototypes, Bobby and I created Battle for Asgolonia.  Battle of Asgolonia is an action packed game where four players must fight to become the rulers of all Asgolonia and claim the mythical treasure.  To begin, each player must roll a die. The player with the highest number will be the first to take their turn.  If there is a tie, then the two players will roll again until the tie is broken. Once the first player has been selected, the order will go clockwise from that player.  To eliminate a player, an opposing player must destroy their home tower.  These home towers are automatically fortifications until they are destroyed.  To begin the game, the starting player will roll a single 6 sided die to see how many tiles will be placed on the game board.  For example, if the player rolls a five, they may place five tiles adjacent to each other.  Once a tile has been placed, all the remaining tiles to be placed must start from the first tile.  If a player places a tile in a spot that is not adjacent to one of their own tiles, the move is deemed illegal and they must re-place the tile.  Combat is a very crucial part of Battle of Asgolonia.  When a player wishes to take over an opposing tile, they must roll the dice.  The player must have one or more moves left to initiate an attack.  Multiple attack sequences may be initiated as long as the player has moves remaining.  If the tile is unfortified, the player must roll a 4 or higher to invade the square with one of their tiles. However, if the tile is fortified, the player must roll a six or higher to successfully invade. If a tile with either a fortification or a siege engine is captured, the fortification/siege engine is destroyed.

To make a fortification you must give up any of the moves you gained from rolling the die. For instance if you rolled a 4 you may move 3 times and make one fortification on any of your tiles or move twice and build 2 fortifications.  If a fortification is being attacked multiple times in one set of moves (Example: The player rolled three and is attacking the fortification all three times), then for each failed attack, the amount of hits needed is reduced by one each time (Ex: If the first two attacks fail, the player only needs to roll a four instead of a six to destroy the fortification).  At the end of the attacking players turn, if all the attacks failed, the fortification returns to normal strength.
To make a siege engine you must give up your roll. A siege engine can only be built before you roll. When you move in your following turns you may move the siege engine along with them.  Siege engines allow the player to roll two dice during their attack.  The highest die will be used in the attack. Only one siege engine may be built per player.  

A game of Battle for Asgolonia in action!

At the beginning of the game, the golden idol is placed in the center of the game board.  The first player to place a tile on the golden area will earn the golden idol, adding +1 to each attack role.   This idol will stay in the player’s possession until the game is completed, or they are defeated.  If the player with the idol is defeated, the idol will be transferred to the player who won the battle.  If a player’s home fortress is destroyed, the player who destroyed the fortress gains all of that players land tiles.

The last player with their home base standing is the winner and champion of Asgolonia! Have fun playing!

 

My First Board Game: Race of the Titans

A game of Race of the Titans in action!

For our first board game assignment, we were required to make a race to the finish game.  A race to the finish board game consists of players trying to mover their characters to the end of the board before their competitors.  The challenge was not having to design a game, but having a core gameplay structure that is fair for all players.  Obstacles must be added so the players have some challenge on the quest to the end of the board.

The game I created for this assignment was Race of the Titans.  Race of the Titans is an action filled game where 2 – 4 Players must race to the Coliseum at the top of Mount Kravoot to win the ultimate prize, Immortality.  To begin, each player must roll the dice. The player with the highest number will be the first Titan to roll.  If there is a tie, then the two players will roll again until the tie is broken. Once the first titan has been selected, the order will go clockwise from that player.  Once the player has rolled a single die, they must move their Titan the corresponding amount of spaces.  In the event that a player’s Titan lands on a sword, they will enter battle mode.  During battle mode, the player must roll both coloured dice.  The blue being the Titan’s attack, the orange being the enemies attack.  If the player’s die is a higher number than the enemies, they have won the battle and they advance two extra spaces.  In the event that their die is not higher than the enemies, they have lost the fight and their Titan must move back two spaces. 

In the event that a player lands on the same space as another player, these two players must enter battle mode.  The battle mode rules are the same, however, the losing player must retreat 3 spaces to safety.  In the event that during their retreat they land on another enemy, the player must again do battle until they land on a patch of safe ground.  Gameplay ends when one Titan reaches the Coliseum and claims their prize.

Since I did not have enough time to create full models to be the Titans, I used thumb tacks with the metal shaft cut off instead.  These pieces worked great as they are all different colours and the players can easily keep track of their Titan.  In the finished version of the game, full 3D models would be used to represent the Titans.

My Favorite Game: Half Life 2

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OVERVIEW:

When I was told that I needed to write about my favorite game's animations, I immediately thought of Half-Life 2.  Half-Life 2 is the critically acclaimed sequel to the 1998 game of the year, Half-Life.  Half-Life 2 was created in 2007 by the game development company, Valve, whose claim to fame has been their incredible Source Engine.  Not only do all of Valve's games use the source engine, but it has also been used in a variety of other games.  The Source Engine is very user friendly and because of this reason, many independent developers and modders use the source engine to develop their products.

The story follows Dr. Gordon Freeman.  A survivor of the Black Mesa incident in the first Half-Life game.  Dr. Gordon Freeman is thrown into a futuristic communist city known as City 17.  This society is controlled by Dr. Wallace Breen, a character introduced to the player as they first arrive into City 17. After an interactive exploring sequence, the player is introduced to many allies and enemies that all react differently to Gordon's presence.  Allies will attempt to assist you in fighting the security force that is terrorizing City 17, while hostile enemies will fire upon the player with no remorse. Once a teleporter incident leaves Gordon trapped in the middle of the hostel City, Gordon must fight to be reunited with his allies.  Once reunited, it is made clear to the player that many believe Gordon to be City 17's one and only savior.  

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ANIMATION

When it comes to the animations of the characters in Half-Life, the resemblance to real life is unbelievable.  A revolutionary concept Valve included in Half-Life 2 is seamless transitions between cut-scenes and game-play.  This is done through the use of closed areas where NPC's will play out their cut-scenes, all of which were recording using a motion capture device.  During these sequences, the player is allowed to move in unison with the NPC, however many other controls are disabled.  The NPC's movements during these sequences are very smooth and defined, as these sequences were all recorded during motion capture sessions.  Once recorded, the movements are attached to virtual skeletons, refined, and then textures are added to create the NPC.  

      

Over the course of the game, the player will run into many allies who will assist Gordon. The animations of these characters is not done in the same way as the cut-scenes involving characters like Alyx or Dr. Breen.  These characters have no set motion capture sequences and are all rendered on the fly.  They have rigid character bodies that are able to rotate at different sections of the body, including the neck, waist and arms.  The ragdoll physics acting on the characters are very apparent once the bullets start flying. Characters have specific reactions, depending on where they are hit by a projectile.  Lets say a character is hit in the shoulder by a shotgun slug. The character will switch from a rigid body to that of a ragdoll through a smooth transition, during which the target will have a force applied to the section hit.  Once this force is applied, the body will animate depending on the surrounding environment and how the ragdoll physics are applied.  This gives the game a very entertaining dynamic feel.

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An interesting feature added by Valve was how NPC's will change their current animation, based on the environment they are placed in.  For example,when an NPC comes into contact with an object in the world, they will move themselves around the object in the way a real human would.  Another example is when NPC's are running on an upward or downward slope, their knees will bend more, similar to the way humans do in real life.  All of these animations are generated during gameplay as certain NPC's do not have defined paths or scripted events.  This makes the gameplay even more interesting, as you feel responsible for getting this NPC to safety.

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Half-Life 2 is still one of my favorite games to re-visit from time to time. Although it still remains a mystery whether one will be made, I eagerly await the next Half-Life game from valve.

    

Yaaarrr Matey

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Game Name and Creator:  Munchkin Booty by Steve Jackson Games

Number of Players:  3 - 6 
Game Time:  1 - 2 Hours

Goal of the Game:  To be the first player to reach level 10

How to Play/ The Rules of Munchkin Booty:
- During the beginning phase of Munchkin Booty, each player starts at level 1, with an attack power of the same amount.
- Players draw eight cards each to begin the game. If a player draws any Class or Accent cards, they may immediately use these cards on their character.  Class and Accent cards remain face up in front of the player.
- At the beginning of each players turn, they are allowed to go through four unique phases.

- Kicking Open the Door is the first phase of a players turn. During this phase, the player draws one card from the door deck and immediately flips it over.  If the card is a Curse, the curse will become effective immediately and the card is discarded.  If a Buff, Weapon, or Class card is drawn, the player may choose to use it immediately, or keep it in their hand for later use.  In the event that the card drawn is a monster, the player will enter combat. In combat the player must attempt to combine their level, weapons, buffs, and items, to be a higher number than that of the monster.  While fighting, other players may choose to help their fellow player, or add a card to the monster to buff its current power.  If the monster is defeated, the player gains a level and may collect loot from the loot deck.

-  The second phase of Munchkin Booty, is the Look for Trouble phase.  If the player did not draw a monster while kicking in the door, they may play any monster cards in their hand and attempt to defeat them in combat.

- Looting the Room is the third phase of a players turn.  If they did not draw a monster card or look for trouble, the player is allowed to draw one more card face down from the door deck and place it in their hand.

-The Charity phase is how a player ends their turn.  If there are more than five cards present in the players hand at the end of their turn, they must either play enough cards to get their hand down to five, or they must donate their excess cards to the lowest level player. If the current player has the lowest level, the excess cards will just be discarded.