Solo Project

Tools: Diagrams.net

Tasks: Mechanics Design, Economy Design, Art/Game Layout, Testing

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This game was adapted from an original video game concept as a means of testing the economy, in this case character stat points, for balance purposes. The aim of the game is to build your special meter to perform a finishing maneuver, ending the match if successful.

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Translation

1. Identify core functions

2. Substitute mechanical systems

The challenge of this exercise was in translating a fast paced skill based combat system into a turn based system with RNG, while maintaining the core design philosophy. The basic foundation I worked with was a D20 dice roll for actions, modified by relevant stat points and bonus skills. The randomness serving as a substitute for player skill/AI difficulty.

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The first draft was put together in an excel spreadsheet as I concepted the layout, set-up, numbers and game loop. Initial testing proved the core system to be balanced, although the game loop for this genre was boring, so I worked on adding in greater variety for the next iteration. Now having established a workable gameplay system, I moved the project to diagrams.net, to craft a more appealing and accessible version.

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The new setup used a card based system, making it easier to identify available options, keep track of each player's current state, and manually update the board. Each iteration was refined from a round of testing, updating the rules to remove areas of ambiguity, making the cards clearer as to their function, and further balancing newly introduced moves. The final product remained balanced even with strongly divergent stat distributions, while being more strategically involved than the initial prototype.