Card Design Art

And for this week, i had to come up with the card designs.

Front of Money cards, item cards, action cards and event cards

Back of normal cards and event cards respectively

Board Game Art

For this week, i had to come out with logos, icons and cover art for my board game, Rabbit Apocalypse. This is what i have done.

Cover Art

 Company Logo

 Game Logo

 Icons

Box layout

Research on Fun

What is fun? There are the definitions of fun. Fun as a noun could mean something provides mirth or amusement and enjoyment or playfulness. As a verb, it could mean informal or joke. And as an adjective, it means something is of or pertaining to fun, especially to social fun and also it could be used to represent whimsical or flamboyant. 

There are many different views and opinions of fun. How I feel about fun is that, it is something one enjoys when doing performing certain acts. It you are enjoying a game of cards, you are having fun. That is what I personally think fun is.

Fun is a very vague topic, there are many different interpretations to it. But what I think is that, to have fun, you must be willing to immense yourself in the things you are doing in order to achieve fun. If you are not willing or reluctant to do the acts you are tasked, you would not be having fun.  If express as an emotion, it is similar to happiness, when you are having fun, you would naturally be smiling and enjoying yourself.

However, there are a few people who have fun doing acts like cutting themselves, torturing a living creature or simply being abusive and disrespectful towards others. These actions are deemed morally wrong but those people would still continue doing them to achieve their sense of fun.

Fun is rather easy to achieve, you can be having fun watching television to playing games to doing household chores and it all depends on how you look at it and how you face it. If you mentality thinks that you are not going to have fun, no matter how hard you try, you still will not have fun.

Fun is the enjoyment of pleasure, particularly in leisure activities. Fun is an experience - short-term, often unexpected, informal, not cerebral and generally purposeless. It is an enjoyable distraction, diverting the mind and body from any serious task or contributing an extra dimension to it. Although particularly associated with recreation and play, fun may be encountered during work, social functions, and even seemingly mundane activities of daily living. It may often have little to no logical basis, and opinions on whether or not an activity is fun may differ. The distinction between enjoyment and fun is difficult to articulate but real, fun being a more spontaneous, playful, or active event.

Psychologically, it has been suggested that games, toys and activities perceived as fun are often challenging in some way. When a player is challenged to think consciously, overcome challenge and learn something new, they are more likely to enjoy a new experience and view it as fun.

The definition of fun often gets hung up on the distinction between fun and entertainment. Some insist that fun requires interaction rather than just passive consumption. This however is clearly prescriptivist semantics, for plenty of passive entertainments have been called “fun” such as talking with others, learning things of interest, immersing yourself in any work or have a sense of progress.

There are multiples ways of having fun. First off, in order to have fun, you can find a new hobby or passion as you might have gotten bored of the hobby or passion you currently have, be positive in any situation because your mind will think based on how you feel. By thinking positively, you will be able to achieve fun despite not enjoying an activity. Another way is to get out of your comfort zone. By trying out new things that you would not have considered, you might be able to achieve fun in a way that you would have never imagined possible.  You can also listen to music and calm yourself down when you are stressed. When you are stressed, it is even harder to achieve fun.  It is also highly recommended that you should hang out with your close friends, as you will feel comfortable with your close friends, you can chat with them any topic you wish. By doing activities with your friend such as going on an adventure, doing something new or just idle chat, you can also have fun.  

Citations

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/fun

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fun

http://brianwill.net/blog/2012/02/06/what-is-fun/

http://www.wikihow.com/Have-Fun

Observation Journal

This week, i met up with my friends to play some board games. I took some pictures and interviewed them for my observation.

For our first game we decided to play was a game of Chess.

 Game setup.

 Making a strategic movement?

 Thinking of ways to win.

He seemed to be having fun thinking of ways to beat his opponents.

 Thinking.

More thinking.

 Winner of game 1.

Winner of game 2.

And for our second game, we decided to play Monopoly Deal.

 Game setup

Seems like someone does not know the rules. Let us give him a moment to read up about it.

 Game in progression

Myself, enjoying a game of Monopoly Deal with my friends.

Enjoying himself a game of Monopoly Deal with a side of Green Tea.

He looks like he is in serious mode. Must be thinking of winning the game.

Game face on. Thinking of ways to win the game?

Seems like he’s also enjoying the game.

We got ourselves a winner!















Interview Section

Interview with Nicholas for winning the game of chess.

1. How do you feel winning?

A sense of accomplishment.

2. How do you find the game?

I find the game enjoyable.

3. What do you think the game can be improved?

Allow more players instead of two.

4. What do you enjoy the most about the game?

It is fun and it requires strategic planning.

5. What do you think is the purpose of playing the game?

To train you to think strategically.

Interview with Yew Kiat for winning the game of Monopoly Deal

1. How do you feel winning?

A sense of victory.

2. How do you find the game?

Very interesting as it requires you to make use of what is available on the field and in your hand.

3. What do you think the game can be improved?

Too easy to win, conditions to win should be harder to achieve.

4. What do you enjoy the most about the game?

Winning the game.

5. What do you think is the purpose of playing the game?

To plan and outsmart your opponent.

Board Game Proposal

This is my proposed idea for my board game.

Name of board game : Rabbit Apocalypse

      

      1) What is the game idea about?

The game is about an evil scientist producing a concoction that turns rabbits into giant evil rabbits. The players are hunters who seek to rid of the giant evil rabbits to keep the town safe.

      2) Why do players want to play your game? What is the unique selling point?

The game utilizes an event deck that will cause random events that cause even more mayhem or blessing to the game. It also offers strategic planning and sabotaging as players have to think of ways to clear the rabbits on his board first before any other players. Most board game requires you to have more assets while this game requires you to clear your assets first.

      3) Who is the target audience?

Teens and young adults.

      4) How is the game played?

Number of players

2-4 players

Objectives

As a rabbit hunter, you have to get rid of all the rabbits in your board. The first player to do so wins.

Game assets

4 Boards

1 Deck of 30 event cards

1 Deck of 85 normal cards

100 rabbits

Gameplay (Turn Based)

Shuffle the event deck and place it in the center.

Shuffle the normal deck and distribute 5 cards to everyone.

Place 15 rabbits on everybody’s board.

Draw 1 card at the start of your turn.

A player is allowed to play up to 2 cards from his/her hands per turn. A player may also choose to pass.

At the end of the turn, the player will open the topmost event card and carry out the action stated.

Turn will then end and proceed to the next player.

Rules

A player can only have a maximum of 8 cards in his/her hands.

A player can only have a maximum of 25 rabbits in his/her boards.

A player may draw 3 cards in his/her next turn if he/her has no cards in his/her hands.

All used cards are to put in a discard pile beside the deck and reshuffle it and use it as a new deck if the deck runs out of cards. Similarly for the event deck.

A player may only have a maximum of 3 item cards on his/her board. If the player plays another item card, he must discard 1 item card from his/her board with no refunds

A player may choose to discard 1 card during his/her turn but is unable to play any cards.

No change will be provided. Example, a player steals 50 Money and you only have a 100 Money card, you have to give the 100 Money card and receive no change back. Similarly for the item cards.

Item cards are permanent.

For Unlucky gambler, you have to pay the amount rounding off to nearest 50 or 100. Example, you have 150 Money, you have to pay 75 Money which is half the amount. Rounding off, you have to pay 100 Money instead as there is no 75 Money card.

Idea inspiration

Giza the Pyramid Building Game - http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/17075/giza

Monopoly Deal Card Game - http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/40398/monopoly-deal-card-game

San Juan - http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/8217/san-juan

  

Normal Deck list of cards

Money card

10 x 200 Money

10 x 100 Money

10 x 50 Money

Item cards

5 x Teleporter

No effect. Needed for teleportation card.

Cost 150 Money

2 x  Banking system

Reduce the effect of gold reducing event cards by 50 Money

Cost 200 Money

1 x Curse rabbit staff

Removes 5 rabbits on your board. At the end of your turn, add 1 rabbit onto your board. Cannot be switched with the item switcher. Cannot be replace with another item card. Cannot be used when you have 5 rabbits or lesser.

Cost 100 Money

2 x Automated rockets

Remove 2 rabbit at the end of your turn

Cost 350 Money

3 x Trap bait

Remove 1 rabbit at the end of your turn

Cost 150 Money

Action cards

5 x Item disabler

Disable an item for 1 turn

10 x Teleportation

Teleports 2 rabbits from your board to any other board. Requires teleporter card

7 x Petty thief

Steals 50 Money from any player

1 x Ultimate burglar

Steals any item from any player

8 x Hunting time

Remove 1 rabbit from your board

1 x Item switcher

Switch 1 of your item with any item from the other players

3 x Rabbit bait

Places it in any player's item zone. Place 2 rabbits at end of the player's turn.

1 x Rampage killing

Remove 3 rabbit from your board

5 x More cards

Draws 2 card from the deck.

1 x Item destroyer

Destroys any item on the board.

Event Deck of cards

5 x Do nothing

No effect

4 x Add 1 rabbits

Add 1 rabbits to all the player

1 x Massive rabbits

Double the rabbits in all the boards

1 x Add 3 rabbit

Add 3 rabbits to your board

1 x Earthquake mayhem

Remove 5 rabbits from all the boards

2 x Mini quake

Remove 1 rabbit from all the board

2 x Thunderstorm

Remove 3 rabbits from your board

2 x Helpful player

The next player only needs to pay half the cost to play an item card

3 x Evil player

The next player needs to pay twice the cost to play an item card

5 x Skip

Skip the next player turn

1 x Extortion

Steals 100 gold from all the players

2 x Robin hood

Takes 150 gold from the richest player and give it to the poorest player

1 x Unlucky gambler

Loses half of your gold   

Assignment for GDP

So, during my Games Design Principles (GDP), i was tasked to find out the 8 elements in a board game. This is what i found out from Dungeon Twister.

(Link for image - http://www.jeuxdenim.be/jeu-DungeonTwister)


















1) Number of players : 2
2) Goals/Objectives/Aims : To acquire 5 victory points before your opponent to win the game.
3) Setup procedures : Flip the 8 map board facedown, shuffle and place it between the 2 starting line tile. Each player will choose 4 character tokens and place them in the map.
4) Summary of rules : Each turn, players are to play an action card that will give the players action points. Players will then carry out the actions by consuming the action points. If a character token lost a fight, it is wounded and thus, unable to carry out any offensive action. Characters may not end their turn on a unit or the trap tile.
5) Game components : 1 Rule book. 2 Quick reference sheet. 2 Starting line tile. 10 Action markers (5 blue and 5 orange). 8 map board. 16 character tokens (8 for each player). 12 Item tokens (6 for each player). 16 Character cardboard figurines and plastic base (8 for each player). 20 Portcullis marker. 32 Cards consisting of 18 combat cards, 6 jump cards and 8 action cards (16 for each player)
6) Conflict : 2 Teams of adventurers are trapped in a maze.
7) Boundaries/Limitations : The boundaries is the 8 map board between the 2 starting line tile and the limitations is that in the first round, the first player can only play a 2 action card, while the second player can play an action card that is lower, equal or higher by 1 of the previous action card till the 4 action card is played.
8) Outcomes/Victory conditions : The first player to acquire 5 victory points wins.

Idea Inspiration for Board Game Project 2

Sadly, i still do not have a clear idea for what i want to make for my board game. Thus, i decided to try out more board game as inspirations.

Oasis

(Link for image - http://www.gamersalliance.com/SP04/oasis.htm)

A game which requires you to create an area as big as possible in order to score points. You will also need to think strategically which offer should you take to help you expand your empire and to score as much points as possible







San Juan

(Link for image - http://seriouslyboard.co.nz/games/san-juan/)

A game which has five different roles and act on a round by round basis. The five different roles (Prospector, Councillor, Builder, Trader, Producer) will carry out different actions. The main objectives is to utilize the roles and buildings well in order to score as much victory points as possible












Both game utilizes strategic planning in order to win. The gameplay require you to think of several steps ahead in order to win. The rules was fairly long and complicated, but once we try it out. It was fairly easy to understand and have fun.

I would most likely make a strategic board game and i will try to add in simple rules to make it easier to read and understand so players would not spend a large amount of time figuring out how the game works. 

Idea Inspiration for Board Game Project

So, this semester, one of my major projects tasked is to create a board game. Sounds easy? Haha, i wish. Firstly, to come out with a game, an idea need to be generated and then proposed. If the proposed idea is approved, then come the process of designing and producing the assets of the game. Multiple game testing should be involved to improve game ideas and game rules.

For my inspiration, I have tried out and played these two games.

Giza the Pyramid Building Game

(Link for image - http://www.catawiki.com/catalog/board-games/general-names/giza/708511-giza-the-pyramid-building-game)

A game which requires you to build pyramids on the board and the one with the most score will win.










Saboteur

(Link for image - http://www.boardgamelifestyle.com/?p=search&t=detailed&p_id=224)

A game that has two roles - Gold Miners and Saboteurs. The aim of the gold miners is to forge a path to the finishing cards to get the gold while the aim of the saboteur is the disrupt the gold miners and prevent them from reaching the gold.











Both game utilizes strategic planning in order to win. It felt fun and engaging playing these games as it is a game of sabotaging one another and at the same time, you have to think of ways to win the game.

Based on these two inspiration, the board game which i plan to create would be a fun and engaging game, which requires strategic movement and planning. A game which most likely will cater for the teens and young adults. If possible, i would try to think of ways to improve the gameplay and rules making it easier and fun.

Some of my Illustrations

Here are some of my best illustration which i did on illustrator for one of my assignment, Hero's Journey for History of Theories & Ideas 1 (HTI1). It isn't perfect, but i'm happy and proud of it.

Main Character

























Angel (Companion) - Original image used : http://www.fanpop.com/clubs/kanade-tachibana-fan-club/images/22446921/title/kanade-photo
 

A perfect and ideal clone