Simple DnD Map V3

 The players for the last playtest were Brandon, as the mage, and Izhaiah, as the ranger.

The concept of my DnD map was to get the players, who played as aliens, to break out of prison. Since the players were aliens, they could see in the dark, but their human enemies could not. In the beginning of the level, the players are meant to break out of their cell and destroy the power supply to the building. The goal was for the players to be as stealthy as possible and avoid making noise so they won't be ambushed by guards. The players were introduced to the stealth aspect when the first enemy they were introduced to was sleeping.

The things that went right were:

• Brandon and Izhaiah really liked the concept of the map.

• Players understood that since the guard was sleeping, they needed to be stealthy.

• Players did die once, which means the difficulty of the level was there and it wasn’t too easy. The checkpoints had a use.
• The difficulty of the enemies increased as the player’s got stronger, making the items that the players picked up useful and not just there.

• When players decided to break down doors instead of using a lockpick, the enemy closest to the noise would move toward it, making it more desirable to use a lockpick.

• There were less lockpicks than doors, so players had to make noise at some point, which forced conflict or a strategy to avoid conflict.

  
  

The things that went wrong:

• I had to tell Brandon to destroy the power supply. He knew he was supposed to interact with it, but he didn’t know he was supposed to destroy it. He just wanted to mess with it.

• The concept of the game would have been better if the enemies could move on their own and had set moving patterns, rather than needing the GM to move them.

Ways to improve:

• Somehow make it clear that the players can see in the dark, but the enemies can’t by adding something else to the GM script.

• Recreating this concept with a different software and play style would be the ideal solution; however a decent solution would also be to move every enemy a set amount of spaces each turn whether visible to the players or not.

The challenges were presented in an appropriate way because the players understood sound as an element shortly after game play began. The players developed strategies to make less sound, and even decided to break down a door instead of using a lockpick in their inventory so they could save the lockpick for later. The players understood the challenging aspects of the game quickly.

The critical path was very clear because the map was linear besides one turn off that the players didn’t know was a dead end from the beginning. The players did decide to explore, but when they did, they were rewarded with an item that helped them in combat later.

The overall flow of the game was very smooth. The players didn’t need to backtrack at all. Dying didn’t break the flow of the game either, because the players got a checkpoint very close to the spot they died in. The players were also able to develop strategies pretty quickly because of how much they understood the concept of the game.

The mechanics of the game were very easy to grasp. The items were easy to figure out once players had them in their inventory. Since the players understood how to use the items, they developed strategies for who should hold each item when going into combat.

Simple DnD Map V2 Feedback

 The players for the second playtest were Brandon, as the ranger, and James, as the mage.

The concept of my DnD map was to get the players to loot items from dead bodies that they needed in order to plant and grow a beanstalk that they, then, climb to reach the main boss and the treasure at the end. The changes I made were adding campfires to make the lighting in the cave make more sense, changing a bit of the layout to make the main path more linear with a spiral type path going inward, and adding items that players can pick up to help change their stats.

The things that went right were:

• The fire pits caused the players to explore a more linear critical path than before.

• The players could heal easier from the items that were added in the game.

• Players were very quick to think about looting the bodies of enemies they killed when I no longer took them off the map.

The things that went wrong:

• The enemy stats were changed, but adding items that increase player stats caused a bit of an imbalance in enemy difficulty and player ability. As players got stronger, enemies stayed the same.

• The items that the players gained for health weren’t needed when they were given.

• The overall aesthetic of the map still leaves a lot to be desired.

Ways to improve:

• The balance of players getting stronger and enemy difficulty needs to be balanced out more.

• An inventory for the players to see when they pick up items from the map.

The challenges were presented better for an introductory level; however the challenges were significantly easier and did not properly represent the difficulty that I would have wanted it to represent for a game like this as a whole.

The critical path was much more obvious than the original map. The firepits helped a lot with helping players choose paths of where to go, and making the critical parts of the map be part of the inward spiral was much better than having them be in turned out areas that weren’t part of the main organization pattern.

The overall flow of the game was a lot smoother than the previous time since the players didn’t have to backtrack in order to move on to the next area. There was one spot that they left unexplored when they initially passed it, and then later they both decided to go back to see what was there; that didn’t break the flow at all since going back to that spot was completely optional and wouldn’t have impacted the overall goal of the game. It would have simply made the goal easier to obtain.

The players knew where they were supposed to go because the fire pits helped lead the players in a certain direction. Making the map more round and much more linear, with a path that spiraled inward,c as before, rather than having side routes, also helped in having the players go in the correct direction. There were still small parts to explore, but they didn’t cause the players to get sidetracked from the main path.

Most of the mechanics of the game were taught just as well as before. The new mechanic of lighting fire pits was very easy for the players to figure out, as well as looting the enemies they just killed because I did not remove the enemies from the map. The only issue was that the players didn’t think about using the items they gained from exploring areas of the map when they needed health.

Simple DnD Map V1 Feedback

 The players for the first playtest were Brandon, as the warrior, and James, as the mage.

The concept of my DnD map was to get the players to loot items from dead bodies that they needed in order to plant and grow a beanstalk that they, then, climb to reach the main boss and the treasure at the end. The item they were first introduced to was a seed, which I hoped would give the player the initial idea of possibly planting it. The next item the players received when playing was a watering can, which made the players decide they wanted to farm things.

The things that went right were:

• They had the idea to loot the first dead body right off the bat

• The first dead body held the seed, and that gave the players the desire to plant something instantaneously.

• The second item the players received was a watering can, which made the players desire to farm something even stronger.

• The players were confirmed about their desire to start a farm when they decided to read a plaque on the cave wall. Not only did the players want to start a farm, but that was the actual goal of the game.

• Players were able to explore without being punished for going the wrong way at first.

The things that went wrong:

• The enemy stats were too high when the players could only roll a d6, which made battle longer.

• When only one player has a magic stat, it’s harder for the players to heal.

• Even though there was no punishment for players going out of order, the flow of the game is a bit disrupted.

Ways to improve:

• The enemy stats should be lowered so they don’t have as high of an attack and defense.

• The items needed to plant the beanstalk should be more linear to discover, rather than be side routes.

• The side routes could be replaced with more areas to entice players to explore, so the player can gain items that help them with health or combat, but the items won't be needed to complete the level.

The challenge of figuring out what to do with the looted items was very good for a tutorial level, because the puzzle had a clear solution. Even without reading the plaque that would confirm the goal, the players already had the desire to plant the seed in the first place. The challenge of the enemies was a bit too difficult because the stats were too high in comparison to the stats of the players.

The critical path was sort of obvious, but the side paths were necessary in order to move on to the next floor, and they were ignored at first. However, there was no consequence to moving the main path at first, and the players understood what the goal was regardless of the path they decided to move.

The overall flow of the game was good at first. It was a little disturbed when the players had to backtrack for the rest of the items. When the players encountered their first enemies, the fight lasted longer than anticipated, which interrupted the flow of the rest of the game.

It was sort of obvious to the players where they were meant to go, as well as what they were meant to do. The players went the main route first before taking the side routes, which overall wasn’t bad, but it caused the players to backtrack a lot.

The mechanics were taught very early in the game. The players quickly learned they could loot bodies, as well as how to fight enemies. The only issue with fighting the enemies is that the stats made it too difficult at first.

Postmortem Unit 3

 Group 2, AKA Forever Second Place

Race to Olympus Mountain is a strategy based game that is themed around Greek Mythology and contains humor of the highest quality. You are a demigod trying to obtain the spot that just opened up on Mount Olympus because you know that is where you truly belong. Unfortunately, you are not the only one after that position, and you must achieve full heroism before your opponent does it first. 

The target audience is people from 18 to 25 years of age, mostly for some of the language used in the rule sheet. People who tend to enjoy mythology, subpar attempts at humor, and absolutely amazing artwork would be interested in this game. The people who end up playing the game may enjoy the opportunities they have to sabotage their opponent, and A Rock; they may not enjoy the times when they are defeated by a monster, specifically Ouroboros, or when an opponent sabotages them because that can cause them to lose points. The game is created for two player types: the competitors and the jokers. Competitors would enjoy this game because of the constant competition between the player and their opponent. Competitors would also like the game for the same reason jokers would because of the many opportunities to sabotage your opponent. This aspect adds more competition to the game, as well as opportunities to mess with the person you are playing with.

Some problems that occurred during the design of the game was figuring out the amount of points each card should give, the ratio of each card in the deck, and the wording on some event cards. Players had to gain a certain amount of points every so often for the game to be enjoyable and go at a smooth, fun pace. For a while, the monster cards were not giving enough points after being defeated by a player. The Hades event card was also not showing up often enough, so the opportunity to earn points was not happening as often as we originally wanted. We had to fix the ratio of Hades cards in the deck by adding much more than we originally planned. The event cards were designed to tell the player exactly what it does, but the wording seemed a bit vague for the one-time-use gift cards. The Apollo card was one of the cards that had to be fixed, but there wasn't much more room for elaboration on the card. This was remedied by adding another spot in the rule sheet describing each one-time-use gift card, as well as when that card can be used to the player's advantage.

There were no issues with completing tasks in the group. We always finished our work by the time it was needed, and we figured out solutions to any issues together. We always made a clear goal for each of us to complete a certain task by the next time we meet. Since there were no issues completing tasks, we didn't need to find any solutions to fix that issue.

Moving forward, I would work on figuring out the perfect balance for the next game. Creating a game takes balance in one way or another; in this case the balance is between no effect on points, gaining points, and losing points. Some games could need a balance between the amount of enemies in a level and the time given to complete a level. No matter what game I work on next, I will work on figuring out the balance needed to ensure that the game will be played at an enjoyable pace.

Postmortem Unit 2

  Group number 6

Target Acquired is a military strategy game with a mystical twist. Players use special cards, weapons, and soldiers to defeat all of the opponent's soldiers.

The target audience is players in their 20s and 30s who are competitors. The game appeals to this target audience because of the use of strategy and satisfaction of outwitting your opponent.

Some problems that were encountered were formatting issues between Google, Word, and Blackboard. The format changed for every file type, so one master copy of the rule sheet had to be used on one computer to avoid reformatting every time a new version of the rule sheet needed to be turned in.

All group members did their part when creating the game by giving an equal share of ideas and solutions to problems.

Going forward, I would avoid using Google draw, despite the ease of sharing the file, because of the formatting issues that arise from using it.

Playtest 1 Unit 2

 The games I play tested for Forum Post - Rule Sheet 2 V.2 Part 2 were:

• Group 3 - Unnamed
• Group 5 - Think Fast Fries
• Group 7 - Unnamed
• Group 9 - Last Band Standing

The formal elements of Group 5 - Think Fast Fries:

• Players - player vs. player
• The game is a two player game where each player is trying to get more points than the other.
• Objective - outwit
• The game's win condition is the first to get 10 points wins. The way to gain points is by outwitting your opponent by being able to list more things in a category without hesitating or repeating a word.
• Procedure
• Starting action - shuffle the fries and place them in a stack in between the players
• Progression of action - a player takes a fry and reads the category and number of points on the fry. The players take turns listing a word in the category without hesitating or repeating a word. The first player to mess up loses and the other player gets the fry and the number of points on the fry.
• Resolving action - when a player gets 10 points, the game ends and that player wins.
• Rules
• A player cannot repeat a previously said word.
• A player cannot hesitate when thinking of a word in the category.
• The word the player says has to fit in the category.
• The player must list a word when the audio dings.
• Resources
• Time - the player can't take too long to think of a word to say, or else the opponent wins.
• Fries - each player is competing to get more fries because the fries give them points to win the game.
• Conflict
• A player has to list as many words in a category as they can without hesitating or repeating a word. If the player does either action, the opponent receives the points for the round.
• Boundaries
• The boundaries of the game are when the players decide to play and when the players decide to quit playing, or a player wins. There are no physical boundaries of the game.
• Outcome
• The outcome of the game is that one player will reach 10 points before the other player does, and the player with 10 points will win. It is unclear which player will win until the game ends.

Modified Solitaire Final Post

Group 1

The modified version is a lot like the original Solitaire, but with added challenges and implementation of the Joker cards. The Joker acts as a new lane when played, and the player has a limited amount of times they can reshuffled the deck of cards.

The target audience of the game is single players who are achievers, because the goal is to get all the suits in their own piles, but that isn't always possible to achieve.

There were a couple problems in the design process, such as the images that were included in the rule sheet, and the wordiness of the rule sheet. Different images were added to make certain rules more clear, like the images to help explain the Joker rule.

Another image that was added was an image to help explain the discard pile rule. The player can only use a discarded card up to 4 times after it has been placed in the pile.

Some things I would change about my own development going forward is making the rule sheet more concise while still making the point that needs to be made. I also plan to not assume any rules are implied in the rule sheet. Listing out every single rule before putting each one in the rule sheet would help ensure that I don't forget a rule that needs to be included in the game.

Solitaire Rule Sheet V.1 and V.2

 Group number: 1

My group member and I created a version of Solitaire that implemented the two Jokers and a point system, and it took away a lot of the player's choices. 

The game is set up as a normal Solitaire game, and the leftover cards in the deck are placed face down next to the lanes. Before the player can use the deck, they must assess wether they are able to move any of the face up cards in the field. The player must move the cards in the field if possible before they can go through the deck. Once all moves that can be made are made, the player can go take the top card on the deck. If the card can be used, it must be used; if the card can't be used, it is then placed in the discard pile. 

If the player comes across a Joker, the player can then make a new lane and pick a face down card from the lanes to place face up onto the Joker. The Joker lane is then played as a regular lane.

If the player wants to use a card they previously discarded, they can go through the discard pile to do so at a maximum of 4 times per round. Once the player goes through the whole deck, they then shuffle the discard pile and play as before. If the player goes through the deck 3 times, the player loses. A point is rewarded any time a card is placed or moved on the field, and 5 points are rewarded for putting a card in the Ace piles. The goal is to get all the cards in ascending order by their suit or to get as many points as possible.

Some issues that occurred were figuring out a way to make players need to reach into the discard pile. The solution was giving a point system rather than simply the goal of placing all the cards in ascending order. The point system also posed an issue if the player decided to move a card between two cards continuously, so we added a rule that points are only awarded for each card once.