Weeks 1 & 2

Game Design

Please note, this game is in development, anything listed here is subject to massive change.

                The basic race-to-the-end game is generally not fun or engaging enough for a general audience... under 80 years old. So our job was to add a few, if not many more factors determining loss or victory in our game.

-          My ideas

o   White dice

§  Determine the amount of spaces the player moves

o   Blue dice

§  Positive effects on you

·         More moves

·         More lives etc.

§  Combinations effects with red dice

o   Red dice

§  Negative effects on other players

·         Slow them down

·         Less lives etc.

§  Combination effects with blue dice

                The team has thus far agreed on an end of the world theme for our game, where players race to the end to be named ‘survivors’. We call this game 2012, appropriate for current events, and an easily recognisable conceptual method behind the game. Currently, the players race:

-          To the top of the mountain

-          From the rising water

Having a successful theme diverts attention away from the mundane simplicity of a dice game, and adds to the overall experience.

                Basically, to make it to the end and be declared the winner, players roll a die/dice to advance the corresponding number of spaces, the same mechanics as almost all race-to-the-end games. Not necessarily a bad thing, as rolling dice is a familiar part of board game culture, and although players like a bit of new content every now and then, they also like a bit of nostalgia, and to know what it is they’re doing.

-          2 or more players

-          Positive/negative/neutral spaces to land on

                As mentioned above, the narrative of the game involves rising water that constantly chases all of the players on their ascent. The water is also controlled by a dice throw. This is one of the CONFLICT factors of 2012, and is also a factor in deciding a winner. If a player is under water for long enough, they will lose all of their lives, and be knocked out of the race for survival.

-          Chance cards/Chance rolls

o   Positive or negative effects

-          Tokens

o   Lives

§  If the water rises to meet your position, you lose a life

§  For every turn spent under water (failing to advance through rolling the dice) you lose a life

§  Lose all your lives, be knocked out

o   Currency?

o   Sacrificing tokens

o   RISK!

-          Conflict

o   Obstacles

o   Lifepoints

o   Other players

o   Rising water (end game)

§  Represented by a dice role

§  Rate inconsistent and unpredictable  

·         Engaging

                The game has been designed to pit the players against each other (still in development) more than the conventional race-to-the-end game, the players need to strategise to their advantage. The rising water affects all players, and is partially unpredictable, sometimes impossible to outrun, but this is rare. This way the game isn’t too hard, or too easy, it lies on the medium between boredom and anxiety.

-          Obstacles

-          Alternative paths

o   Quick

o   Risks

§  Benefits

·         Boosts etc

§  Disadvantages

·         Traps etc

·         Spaces that affect your next role

·         Aoe (area of effect) conditions

-          Normal routes

o   Medium length

o   No benefits or disadvantages  

                Digital versions of this game might include avatars, 3D environments, cutscenes, and voiceovers to name a few.