Tailoring for platforms

I've had a few stray thoughts about games over the past week.
Claiming to want to make a AAA Mobile games is stupid.

If we look at budgets and earning, I just don't see a company investing as much to develop an IP on mobile on the same level as GTA V or Destiny, would be hard to get a return an investment as well - would mobile gamers pay console prices? Subscription based payment? Enough spending on microtransactions from whales? I know I wouldn't

Other areas would also lack. Graphics might come closer to claiming the same FPS or polygon counts, but you are still talking about a much smaller screen.

Would areas such as AI, storytelling or multiplayer support offer similar experiences as the big budget titles.

Controls will be different, and I think that trying to emulate a gaming pad on a touch screen is a lazy solution and a drawback on most games.

I think most people will agree that developing for specific platforms gives the best result.

That last thought reminded me of the other game related thought I had this week: facebook games are all the same.

Well, sort of. They come in several categories, all of which have a lot of samey games within them. The one I'm think about in particular is the strategy games: they all have base building, in all of them you have time counters for various resources, and they all have a real time element where you attack other players or NPCs. I guess they are still profitable enough to spew out, but I abandoned such games and have stayed away.

I think this platform could use some fresh new ideas tailored specifically to it.

One last thing - I've started entertaining the idea of getting a master's in game design from a South Korean University. I don't know which ones have good programs, what my chances are or if it will finally land me a job. I do like the fact there is a full ride scholarship including studying the language for a year and that it will give me a chance to revisit the country.

There's more pressure from my parents to just find a job, which is a breeding ground for these wild ideas, time will tell if this will take root.
Casual Connect Tel Aviv is next week, maybe I'll gain new insight there - I'll be volunteering, attending session, networking at parties, and hopefully collect some good swag. :)

Plenty of Ammo

2 Weeks since I've been back from Cologne, Germany, after my 4th GDC Eu / Gamescom.

Managed to get a spot as a Conference Associate again, and it was a blast seeing my friends and making new ones. Went on swag runs, took advantage of free food at parties, expanded my network, and yes, even played some games.

Brought a few games with me this year. Bought Orleans for myself and enjoying losing, Tier Auf Tier for my brother/nephew and even got a free game for free - Gremlins inc.

The conferences were a little disappointing. Most GDC sessions didn't seem that interesting, The games I was most excited about had exclusive videos rather than hands-on gameplay, and I didn't have my friend Alex to get me inside places.

I know I'm going to have a lot of inspiration and ideas from what I did experience, so maybe this blog will see the frequency of posts go up.

Having gained some insight on what makes League of Legends such an exciting e-sport, the first thing that comes to my mind is the lack of turn based entries for professional gaming.

The idea I'm currently mulling over is an arcade flight sim, with timed turns that play simultaneously, with challenges coming from choosing an aircraft and weapons to suit the play style, then carefully maneuvering the aircraft into the correct position, and predicting where the enemy might end up during his turn,

Who knows if something like that would be appealing enough to be as popular as Star Craft or LOL, even if I do make it, but that's the way it goes.  

The Game I Want to Play

I have 2 games on my mobile - Puzzle and Dragons and Terra Battle.
As a gamer I tend to give a lot of love to single games, especially when they are endless (although I'm fairly close to finishing the story mode of Terra Battle as it stands right now.)

I've been looking for another game to add, specifically one linked with Google Play Games, but nothing has made a significant impact quite yet. Maybe I'll learn of something at GDC Eu / Gamescom (Signed up to CA this year as well just recently) that will entice me.

While I have been looking, I've been looking through the data of popular games in various countries. South Korea has it's Kakao platform which doesn't work for me. Americans are generally more into the casual experience, while the Japanese have more hardcore games which is one of the reason they appeal to me more. I also appreciate the artwork and stories.

Looking at mechanics and genres, I came up with a mash up I might have fun exploring - Mixing collectible cards (with lots of sexy anime ladies of course ;) ) with city building and a dating sim?
It just seems that most, if not all, of these collectible card games end up in a turn based battle system, which made sense for physical games like Magic or even war, the card game, and I still enjoy it and think there's room for more, but maybe we can do more in digital media.
Some of my inspiration comes from the Suikoden series, where some of the characters you recruited during your quest build up shops and add mini-games to an ever expanding castle.
Another source of inspiration is what I consider my favorite JRPG - Thousand Arms, where improving your relationships with your female team members allowed to forge weapons with special abilities.

Maybe my game could have a sci-fi theme, where you build a space station, visited by various alien types, each must be persuaded to diplomatic relations in various ways in order to collect their cards and unlock new facilities of the station.

Post Conference Ideas

Bigor, the Israel convention for roleplaying, miniature, and board games was earlier this week, during the still ongoing passover holiday.

I've played some games I was familiar with, as well as a few new ones, including Yinsh, Cavemen: The Search for Fire and Kings of Israel.

Some were better than others, but the most influential so far has been the Pathfinder card game.

The idea of a co-op game where you can not only customize your deck to match your own style as play but help your teammates during the post scenario trading phase seemed different to me, and I started thinking about implementing and expanding this idea into video games.

I guess MOBAs have some of these elements of helping other people build their characters and form strategies to defend and attack on multiple fronts, but I think it could be pushed even further - if killing mobs gave out experience points to the entire team, which needs to decide on how to distribute it.

What if different characters were suited for different tasks, which would unlock equipment best used by team members going after different goals?

How about players unlocking abilities for their teammates but not themselves?

A game based on combat and magic linking all these abilities seems like the easiest and obvious choice, but I've also given some thoughts to some more unusual themes such as city building, or flying an airship.

Spiritual Successors

Played XCOM: The Board Game a couple of weeks ago. Fairly entertaining experience, especially when we barely eked out a victory.
This got me thinking about the game, which made me start a list of games I'll need to pay once I feel I've progressed enough in my career choice that I can relax at home... Might take awhile longer :/

It also made me think of the spiritual successors and clones for the original game, and whether this remake will spawn new ones. Maybe it will, or maybe it just isn't as innovative as the original and mobile games are where such things pop up now.

I've played quite a few number of these games, and rate them much higher than most reviews.
While analyzing what made these games appealing I started coming up with my own ideas.

The aerial combat of sending interceptors against UFOs always seemed on the slim side compared with the squad level combat - what if it had more depth to it?
What if there was ground combat element of using armored vehicles against a massive alien invasion, while still having squad based combat for terror missions or clandestine operations?
What if I used elements from the "chariots of the gods" theories and give an ancient Egyptian or Mesoamerican theme to such a game, shrinking down the geoscape but expanding base management into more of civilization building game?

Super villain guild - flavor

Going back to thinking about my programmable action deck building game, and the super villain guild leader theme.

There are a few mechanics and flavor ideas I don't want to forget.

a. Before regular play begins, players will choose a super villain card to add to their deck, in some form of bid, with some sort of balancing mechanic put into play - perhaps the one who chooses last gets to go first.

b. One super villain will be left over, and would dictate scenario conditions, special rules and winning conditions. A fun idea for that would be to have different artists prepare a small 4 pager comic to some back story fluff and cool art

c. The map will have area control aspects - each action would allow to place at least one cube onto an area, with certain cards improving upon this mechanic. Having a cube at a specific area would give certain benefits (influence,) having more cubes than any other player would give better benefits (control.)

d. Cube could be played to areas with influence (with a starting area designated by the initial super villain choice each player makes) or to adjacent areas.

e. Police cars and super heroes would foil player plans, by removing cubes, forcing discards, changing order of set cards, etc. These would be follow a specific rule set, perhaps with players turning a card at the end of each turn (AI)

Polar Opposites?

After finally going through the game trade publications I picked up at GDC Eu / Gamescom, a few new ideas started floating around in my head.

The one I am currently pondering most about is the possibility of mashing up the sandbox and point and click adventure genres.

In the former the player is given a universe and some tools to play with. Testing the boundaries, coming up with creative ideas and generally letting the players find their own way to have fun is what it's all about.

The latter has a very rigid and linear construction, and when the rules aren't followed, the player will find himself stuck.

I'm currently favoring an episodic approach to a possible genre bender: On one level the player will have a world to play with, but will unlock certain pixel hunting, inventory combining at designated points. 

One example might be a part of a pantheon of gods: Part of the game would involve building, populating and molding a world of your own, but to gain further skills you must perform fetch quests for the other gods working with you.

New theme idea

Popped into my head while thinking about Venture bros. and Sentinels of the Universe: giving my programmable deck builder a super hero (or rather super villian) theme.

Instead of exploring the galaxy or the wild west, each player would control an organized crime group, along the lines of the guild of calamitous intent, with a basic deck of henchmen to run around and create chaos in a city, gaining notoriety to hire more henchmen and eventually attract super villains with better skills, earn money and fight of AI police and superheroes trying to thwart them.

Drafthouse Poker

Came up with a card game using some of the rules of poker. Still fiddling with the rules, as usual, but I wonder how it would play.

Dealer starts by giving every player 2 face up cards. Antes up and draws 2 himself.

Places on of the cards next to his starting 2. Face down to keep it hidden, or face up to use it's ability.

The next player, in a clockwise direction may then fold or ante up. If he antes, the dealer then gives him his remaining card. He then draws another, chooses one to place and play continues.

When all players have 5 cards in front of them, the last card is discarded face up. All those still in the game reveal their hands, highest hand, according to poker rules wins the round. Dealer changes, play resumes.

Face up cards may have effects such as reversing play order, drawing an extra card, discarding and drawing 2 new cards, etc.

That part is still a work in progress.

Also considering changing the number of suits, number of face cards, number of number cards (will those have an effect as well?) and with the names of the cards, just to make it a little more unique.