Continuing our top down design process, what are the mechanics of a game about mad science? What is mad science? For the most part, it seems to be about making bizarre, fantastic creations and turning them loose on an unsuspecting world. So you build things, but you also have to build up a lab in order to build bigger and better things. And there we have the core of a strategy game.
However, mad science tends to be rather destructive, and people who play strategy games tend to get not a little frustrated when the economy they spent the last half hour nurturing is demolished in one fell swoop. The game Grave Robbers From Outer Space has this problem. If players take it in stride, the immense sways in fortune can be fun, but it also means the winner is usually the person who put a fist full of character cards down before rolling the credits. Random. Unsatisfying. There are enough mediocre games out there that I swear I will not release such a game. I hope you guys hold me to that.
One tension I want in the game is balancing the needs of winning prestige now against building up for the long haul. And, as stated, it should be easier to build up than tear down, otherwise there will be little reason to build up. It seems logical for the tearing down to be tied to the fighting mechanism, but there is the danger that weakest player (who probably isn't doing too well, which is why he is the weakest) will be picked on and stay there. This is a definite problem in Cities and Knights of Catan. Through the Ages has a military component that (from what I read) is more balanced, so that may be something to look into.
Monday, June 2, 2008
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Saturday, May 31, 2008
What a character (part 2)
(Character attributes.)
Yesterday, we mentioned how the characters have to be different, have interesting play, and have a chance of victory. We'll mainly address the first issue today.
Let's see what the characters are like at the start of the comic:
But, as Helen puts it, "Dave isn't a computer genius... I think that was just what his brain did because he wouldn't let it do anything fun." [1] And when you think back to what Dave has done - the weather controller, orbital laser, teleporter, dimensional portal microwave, black hole coffee maker, and universe-destroying time travel - his best work isn't computers, and I'm going to lump them under the heading of physics.
So here's a tentative mock up of the cast's ratings:
** Artie should also have some bonus for being too cute to squish, being good, or both.
This reflects, at the start of the comic, that Helen and Madblood are the only full-blown mad scientists, and Artie can outsmart Dave and Mell. Both having Computers and Physics should have Davd and Madblood competing against each other for those cards, though I'm not sure about Artie's Biology 1 pushing him to get into Helen's air space.
Like many things in this project, I decided on game mechanics based on the theme rather than the other way around. This feels backward, but it seems to work. At least, the 4 basic character attributes selected above seem to make sense.
Tomorrow, gameplay.
Yesterday, we mentioned how the characters have to be different, have interesting play, and have a chance of victory. We'll mainly address the first issue today.
Let's see what the characters are like at the start of the comic:
- Helen Narbon: mad geneticist (biology)
- Dave Davenport: computer guy / henchman
- Melody 'Mell' Kelly: gun-toting intern
- Artie: superintelligent gerbil / progressive
- Lupin 'Wolf' Madblood: mad cyberneticist (computers)
But, as Helen puts it, "Dave isn't a computer genius... I think that was just what his brain did because he wouldn't let it do anything fun." [1] And when you think back to what Dave has done - the weather controller, orbital laser, teleporter, dimensional portal microwave, black hole coffee maker, and universe-destroying time travel - his best work isn't computers, and I'm going to lump them under the heading of physics.
So here's a tentative mock up of the cast's ratings:
- Helen: Biology 2, Genius 2
- Dave: Computers 1, Physics 2
- Mell: *
- Artie: Biology 1, Genius 1, **
- Madblood: Computers 2, Physics 1, Genius 2
** Artie should also have some bonus for being too cute to squish, being good, or both.
This reflects, at the start of the comic, that Helen and Madblood are the only full-blown mad scientists, and Artie can outsmart Dave and Mell. Both having Computers and Physics should have Davd and Madblood competing against each other for those cards, though I'm not sure about Artie's Biology 1 pushing him to get into Helen's air space.
Like many things in this project, I decided on game mechanics based on the theme rather than the other way around. This feels backward, but it seems to work. At least, the 4 basic character attributes selected above seem to make sense.
Tomorrow, gameplay.
Friday, May 30, 2008
What a character
(Characters.)
Narbonic is a character-driven comic, and I don't really feel it would be a Narbonic card game if all the players are exactly the same at the beginning of the game. Thus, I decided that players would actually play characters from the webcomic, and it was pretty easy to pick 4 characters: Helen, Dave, Mell, and Artie. However, I don't like games capped at 4 players; I can't entirely explain why since the sweet spot of many games listed as 3-5 players is 4. Anyway, it would be weird to have the lab only fighting amongst themselves.
Of the recurring characters that can actually stand against the main characters (Antonio Smith, Madblood, Dr. Narbon, Dana and the superintelligent hamsters, the Dave Conspiracy), Madblood is the obvious choice. His role in the webcomic is to serve as Helen's rival mad scientist. Antonio Smith, forensic linguist, is neither mad ror evil. Dr. Narbon, while quite mad, is just too similar to Helen. Dana and the hamsters are more experiments gone wrong. And the Dave Conspiracy is too chill to do anything. But don't worry: these characters will have their place in the game as well.
The problem (problems, really) with having specific characters is that 1) each must play sufficiently different from each other, 2) they must be interesting to play, and yet 3) they must be balanced. This is not a trivial problem, as anyone who has played a strategy game with different characters (or tribes or races or whatever) can tell you.
Tomorrow, how to address this problem of being different, interesting, and balanced.
Narbonic is a character-driven comic, and I don't really feel it would be a Narbonic card game if all the players are exactly the same at the beginning of the game. Thus, I decided that players would actually play characters from the webcomic, and it was pretty easy to pick 4 characters: Helen, Dave, Mell, and Artie. However, I don't like games capped at 4 players; I can't entirely explain why since the sweet spot of many games listed as 3-5 players is 4. Anyway, it would be weird to have the lab only fighting amongst themselves.
Of the recurring characters that can actually stand against the main characters (Antonio Smith, Madblood, Dr. Narbon, Dana and the superintelligent hamsters, the Dave Conspiracy), Madblood is the obvious choice. His role in the webcomic is to serve as Helen's rival mad scientist. Antonio Smith, forensic linguist, is neither mad ror evil. Dr. Narbon, while quite mad, is just too similar to Helen. Dana and the hamsters are more experiments gone wrong. And the Dave Conspiracy is too chill to do anything. But don't worry: these characters will have their place in the game as well.
The problem (problems, really) with having specific characters is that 1) each must play sufficiently different from each other, 2) they must be interesting to play, and yet 3) they must be balanced. This is not a trivial problem, as anyone who has played a strategy game with different characters (or tribes or races or whatever) can tell you.
Tomorrow, how to address this problem of being different, interesting, and balanced.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Genesis
(Why a card game? Theme versus mechanics.)
As a gamer, my tastes lean more towards eurogames than ameritrash (they really need to re-brand), meaning game mechanics come before theme. Yet this game started with the idea, "Hey, let's make a game based on Narbonic!" Thus I had my theme; now to think of mechanics that go with it.
Well, what do I think of when I think of Narbonic? I think of a character-based webcomic, the volumes of backstory, and the hilarious side of mad science. Following this line of thought doesn't get me very far, though I knew the players would play characters from the game.
Then I envisioned the game as a card game. This is a bit odd since, up to now, I've mostly thought up mechanics more appropriate to boardgames. But as a card game, things started clicking. Card games are naturally good at displaying the diverse Narbonic universe (think how big the M:TG universe must be by now) and showcasing a visual medium like a webcomic.
Though I've never heard the word "narrative" used in conjunction with board and card games, I think there's something in it. Almost all games with a theme at all have the players working toward some objective (victory conditions), usually reacting to the changing situation (game state). So what is the narrative of Narbonic? Told through Dave's eyes, it's an exploration of the wild, terrible, fantastic world of mad science, his losing battle between evil and how cool (read: geek-tastic) it is, and eventually his Breakthrough as a full-fledged maddy. For Helen, there's her constant attempts to prove herself against Madblood and the shadow of her mother, and then there's her romance with Dave and her inner conflict over saving him from madness. For Artie, it's a struggle to show that genius can be used for good as opposed to evil. For Mell, it's finding more things to blow up and more ways to blow them up.
I settled on a rather traditional theme: mad scientists trying to outdo each other. The trouble with personal drama and romance is that it's hard to do in the confines of a board or card game, and they belong more in the realm of RPGs, and that is already in the works. However, since each character has a different take on this theme, I think I can work with this.
Tomorrow, a closer look at the characters.
As a gamer, my tastes lean more towards eurogames than ameritrash (they really need to re-brand), meaning game mechanics come before theme. Yet this game started with the idea, "Hey, let's make a game based on Narbonic!" Thus I had my theme; now to think of mechanics that go with it.
Well, what do I think of when I think of Narbonic? I think of a character-based webcomic, the volumes of backstory, and the hilarious side of mad science. Following this line of thought doesn't get me very far, though I knew the players would play characters from the game.
Then I envisioned the game as a card game. This is a bit odd since, up to now, I've mostly thought up mechanics more appropriate to boardgames. But as a card game, things started clicking. Card games are naturally good at displaying the diverse Narbonic universe (think how big the M:TG universe must be by now) and showcasing a visual medium like a webcomic.
Though I've never heard the word "narrative" used in conjunction with board and card games, I think there's something in it. Almost all games with a theme at all have the players working toward some objective (victory conditions), usually reacting to the changing situation (game state). So what is the narrative of Narbonic? Told through Dave's eyes, it's an exploration of the wild, terrible, fantastic world of mad science, his losing battle between evil and how cool (read: geek-tastic) it is, and eventually his Breakthrough as a full-fledged maddy. For Helen, there's her constant attempts to prove herself against Madblood and the shadow of her mother, and then there's her romance with Dave and her inner conflict over saving him from madness. For Artie, it's a struggle to show that genius can be used for good as opposed to evil. For Mell, it's finding more things to blow up and more ways to blow them up.
I settled on a rather traditional theme: mad scientists trying to outdo each other. The trouble with personal drama and romance is that it's hard to do in the confines of a board or card game, and they belong more in the realm of RPGs, and that is already in the works. However, since each character has a different take on this theme, I think I can work with this.
Tomorrow, a closer look at the characters.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
First post!
(Legal concerns.)
My original idea was to create a card game based of the Narbonic universe using Narbonic artwork for my personal amusement and send a copy to Shaenon Garrity as a thank you for hours (adding up to days or even weeks) of hilarious procrastination. Yet I haven't told her nor asked her permission, and something niggling in the back of my head tells me there may be legal issues dealing with the use of her creation and artwork. This could all probably be cleared up with an e-mail or something, but I haven't gotten around to it. If you think Shaenon really should know about this, her e-mail is linked above.
Let me just say that I have no intention of making a cent off of this. I'm a gamer, and I just want to design a game. I also have enough hubris to believe I can make a game good enough for commercial publication. If this game ever gets to that stage, and they okay submission and publication, I'll give the proceeds to Shaenon and Andrew or the San Francisco Cartoon Art Museum. But right now, I'd be happy to finish this project and self-publish a copy for me and any other Narbonic fans.
Tomorrow, actual stuff about the game.
My original idea was to create a card game based of the Narbonic universe using Narbonic artwork for my personal amusement and send a copy to Shaenon Garrity as a thank you for hours (adding up to days or even weeks) of hilarious procrastination. Yet I haven't told her nor asked her permission, and something niggling in the back of my head tells me there may be legal issues dealing with the use of her creation and artwork. This could all probably be cleared up with an e-mail or something, but I haven't gotten around to it. If you think Shaenon really should know about this, her e-mail is linked above.
Let me just say that I have no intention of making a cent off of this. I'm a gamer, and I just want to design a game. I also have enough hubris to believe I can make a game good enough for commercial publication. If this game ever gets to that stage, and they okay submission and publication, I'll give the proceeds to Shaenon and Andrew or the San Francisco Cartoon Art Museum. But right now, I'd be happy to finish this project and self-publish a copy for me and any other Narbonic fans.
Tomorrow, actual stuff about the game.
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