Shred: The Deck Building Game

Let's blow the dust off this little corner of the net and share some thoughts.

I am still floating ideas about my action programming deck building game. In a recent epiphany I realized I could use the fact I have a specific series of cards, corresponding to player choice.

This series of cards could be used as a new way of expanding the deck, making me think of mastering tricks and unlocking them, which lead to the theme of skateboarding (or snowboarding, bmx, inline skates, or any similar Extreme sport)

Basically the top level idea is that each player sets a number of cards down. Each player then flips a card, performs the action printed on the card, and passes to the next player. If a move is successful, a player continues on to the next card. If the player fails his move by ending in the wrong place (i.e. on a ramp instead of a rail) crashes into another player, or is crashed into, he wipes his sequence of cards and becomes a static obstacle until the next round.

At the end of a round, players look at their sequence of cards, and may purchase a new card fitting the pattern they created, or part of it (i.e. if a player played a straight, a straight and a right turn, he may add a deck to his card that requires two straights in a row.)

Cards would come in several stages, ranging from easy moves with smaller benefits, to more difficult maneuvers that offer greater rewards for a player who pulls them off.

I can think of a few options for an end game: one might be to add an 'ultimate' type trick to a deck and land it successfully. Another might involves a final round where the player who racks the most points on a single run (with each card in the series he plays have a numerical value towards that end) wins the game.

More to think about: Specific cards, and potential powers. Adding a counter to denote special abilities unlocked, especially for adding cards to a trick. Throwing unique player abilities into the mix.

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. :)

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.

New theme for my game

Been playing around with the theme for my programmable action deck builder, changing it from a space opera to a game about going an expedition to explore north America, in the same vein as Lewis & Clark.

Players would start at a major city, a set amount of money and supplies and a basic deck. Before heading out to explore, they would bid on a random set of cards to enhance their deck, with the player who payed the least (or has the fewest cards, or a similar device) starting first.
Each player could move forward at least one space. Those falling behind could move faster, as the territory was already explored, giving a bit of a catch up mechanic and something players must consider. Those discovering new territory would also flip over an event card, with various beneficial, harmful or neutral effects.
Moving would also exhaust supplies which would have to be replenished through hunting or bought at various checkpoints (towns/forts) along the way.
Recruiting people such as European traders or native guides would also be an option along the way, with these having benefits over the basic cards.
Some cards would go onto a players board, rather than into his deck, giving a permanent effect.

Finally, the length of the game could be changed to suit players wishes by giving different paths to explore.

Musician brand - another thought exercise

Went to the GameIS convention last week.
Didn't really change anything about how I feel about the Israel game industry and my chances of breaking in through it. Brought my portfolio, but only showed it to a couple of people. Met a few familiar faces and a few new ones, collected the few freebies available and sat through a few sessions.

One of the sessions talked about music in games and how difficult it is to license for a low budget production. On the other hand, using the name/image/brand of an artist is easier to accomplish, and adds theme to a game.

This lead me to think about board games, and if that can be applied.
I'm sure there are board games out there with a musical theme, mostly of the party / trivia variety, but I can't think of anything that uses a personality like Michael Jackson or Ozzy Osbourne as a theme.
Been thinking if something like that could work.
Not looking for another Monopoly or Love Letter retheming, but something custom.
Probably something small in physical size, like a deck of cards and a few counters, with a set of simple rules that would draw non-gamers into the fold.

Stripping the Theme Out

My deck building programmable action card game is still popping up in my thoughts. I like the science fiction theme I started with, but I have some issues making it all fit.
Sometimes I think it is an entire race/culture you are controlling, but then I have an issues with the mechanics of area control.
Sometimes I think a player controls a space ship, but then I have issues with some of the player interaction.
Sometimes I think of a completely different theme, such as sailing ships at the age of exploration.

I think that stripping out the theme and concentrating on pure mechanics may be the way to go for now, and figure thematic issues once everything is ticking well enough for testing.

A track for laying down actions and having them unfold is a must.
Powerful deck customization is also important, with the possibility of adding or removing multiple cards from the deck in one turn, searching the deck and combining cards for powerful combos, etc. - something that Dominion still does very well.
I also like the idea of adding customization to the player board during gameplay.

Now to figure out how the cards could interact.

Post-KGC Thoughts

The theme of this year's KGC was "Hello World Beyond Korea," and many of the talks that were either in English or simultaneously translated had been about localization, and a lot of that had been about art styles.
One of the keynote speeches was about the Oculus and how much potential it has for exposure when compared with the flooded PC and mobile markets.
I also sat through a session talking about the production of Tearaway, a game with a very fresh papercraft art style, developed by Media Molecule, the guys who made Little Big Planet, another game with an unusual crafted look to it.

All these elements came together for me in the form of an idea of a Super Sentai game for the Oculus rift, putting the player in command of a sword wielding mega robot, trying to defend a city from giant monsters.
I think that taking the cheesy route isn't something that we see a lot and could have a lot of international appeal. Monsters would look a suit built around a person with a central theme, buildings looking like models with camera angles to make them look larger, colorful and nonsensical explosions all the time, and more.
While most of the Movies and TV shows that inspired this - the Super Sentai / Power Rangers series, Ultraman, Godzilla, Voltron, use cool themes for their monsters such as animals and vehicles, I'm trying to think of weird ideas to make my game more unique - such as a mutated chair. ;)

I'm also giving some thought to the control scheme - I don't really see myself strapped into an omnitread  to walk around a virtual world, so they should revolve around a game pad. I've been thinking of giving it "loose" controls, like you find in Octodad or Surgeon Simulator.
I think it fits the Power Rangers theme, in which a group of teenagers jump into a giant robot and somehow they all coordinate their attacks together via gesture.

Starfleet Manager

Been to Japan for the Tokyo Game Show. I enjoyed it, but it wasn't as good as the GDC Eu + Gamescom combo are for meeting people, getting my portfolio looked at or for collecting swag.

After a few more hectic, 10 bed dorm room, days - I headed out to Seoul, where I'm writing this post from my room at a serviced apartment hotel.

I like it here in Seoul, and could see myself staying, if one of the game studios I've been giving surprise visits to and dropping my resume at decides to embrace me into their midst, despite the usual work permit, language barrier difficulties.

Korea Games Conference is next week. A couple of weeks later I'll head to Busan for G-Star to wrap up my trip in South Korea. If nothing changes, I'll be out of options but to start making real progress towards becoming a freelance illustrator.

Watching people play on the Tokyo and Seoul subways has been delightful, people of all ages and walks of life enjoying the same thing I do (and some even pay money to do sod maybe I'll have a slice of that in the future.)

Seen a few people play sport manager games, and started thinking about taking the concept and adding a theme I'd actually be interested in: Science Fiction.

Grand scale space opera to be exact - instead of recruiting star players to my fantasy soccer team, what if I micromanaged the promotion of spaceship recruits?

Batting averages replaced by damage reports?

Diplomacy with alien species, research fund allocation, communications with other players?

Developing the world in which these stats would "live" would probably be the hardest part, and the main reason this will probably be just another pipe dream. Maybe I could connect it with my sci-fi programmable deck builder game, which I still think about on occasion.

Narrowing the Playing Field

Been giving a lot of thought as to the all important basic actions one could perform in my game (which I think I'll start calling Starguments, after a funny exchange on facebook)
What I came up with, which also affects the game board, is a politics action for exerting control over the galactic house and the various planets, a navigation action for reaching and connecting these planets and a trade action for collecting bonuses from said connections.

Each player would start with a home planet of his color and a connection to the planet where the government is seated.
The full board will be build from modular components selected by the players according to their actions in the initial tutorial phase, as well as choose their unique alien race with it's specific powers (and goals?)
Tutorial actions will also allow for deck customization by replacing basic cards with randomly drawn powered up version, if the player so chooses.

Everyone likes lists

Things to possibly include in my game:

Galactic map - possibly modular

Tutorial - A short explanation of game mechanics that would double as a set-up randomizer

House of Representatives - area control type deal for various combos and end game victory points

Multiple victory paths - with some randomization available

Variable player powers.

Different ways to add cards to deck, i.e. playing an action that involves the house of reps may allow to add Politic cards, visiting cantinas may allow to add smuggler cards, visiting a starport for ship upgrades.

Player pieces moving around the board to collect cards and change spheres of influence.

Looking to the Stars for Inspiration

First, a confession: I forgot my game idea. I remembered it was a good one, so I came back to this very blog, and reading my posts sparked inspiration for a new round of ideas.

Been thinking about Race for the Galaxy and how they didn't introduce combat rules until the 3rd expansion. I hear it's a bad mechanic, but I like the idea of having a game in which you build your engine toward your goal without someone else tearing it down, though they can obstruct your way as they build their own.

To this end I have been looking at the Star Wars universe as my main source of inspiration, and chewing on whether there is enough in if I remove all the combat.
Political intrigue, trading via legal and illegal means, bounty hunters, and more go along in the background, so I think there is something to work with.

I've also been thinking of some of the 4X video games I've played, such as Master of Orion and Civilization and looking for ideas - possible victory conditions in particular.

As I was typing this, I actually thought to look some things up, and an idea sparked - what if instead of playing a supreme leader type of role players took the role of some sort of galactic criminal. Like Firefly, I guess? (Not a huge fan of the series.)

Galactic Senate - Deck Building

The latest game thought exercise, the tutorial level thing, has brought me back to an older theme: that of a Galactic senate in which culture differences and language barriers pose obstacles to the players. Overcoming these obstacles in the best way possible is how players make points and win the game.

Originally with a worker placement mechanic, I'm now mulling over deck building to tackle the theme.
One way in which it differs from Doiminion and company is that instead of purchasing cards with a hand full of treasure, you would need a card that speaks the same "language" as a card you wish to add to your deck (or a crisis to solve?)
A second difference would be programmable actions, similar to Wings of Glory, where you need to place a card in advance to determine movement, and hope it works out the way you planned.
Finally, in similar fashion to Trains, cards will give you actions (and reactions) to make changes over the player board, such as persuading representatives to your cause, to affect scoring.

Tutorial Level

An abstract idea has popped in my head, fallout from a past Ludology podcast, I believe.

Ryan and Geoff had been talking about the difference between board and video games, and how most people would want to jump straight into the full board game experience, without messing around with truncated versions designed to teach the game...

...What if a compressed version of the basics of the game would change how the main game would play out?

A simple example could be one timed lap of a race to determine pole position, but that would have a lot of player downtime, not cool.

Single cells organisms competing with each other to evolve into complex creatures, changing the game map and gaining special abilities according to performance is more along the lines of what I'm going for.

Snake Oil

My roll and move game has a snake oil salesmen theme to it.

The basic premise involves moving around a track and choosing the action that would be most beneficial for you while being careful not to help your opponents even more.

After rolling and moving your pawn, you may choose an action, perhaps from a limited set according to location, and receive a bonus for it, which your opponents can then follow (to help eliminate down time, one of the problems of classic roll and move.)

These actions may include collecting ingredients, brewing concoctions, improving potions and equipment for a variety of bonuses and combos, and selling your product for gold and reputation.