Friday 28 September 2012

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.




Tuesday 25 September 2012

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!



 

Sunday 23 September 2012

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.

Wednesday 19 September 2012

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.

    



Monday 17 September 2012

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.