And more game design exercises ... lesson four
Lesson four came with yet another game design exercise.
This time the goal was to: Make a board game adaptation of a videogame. Make a prototype in an hour. For extra challenge, make it an adaptation of a game designed for the Atari 2600.
ET The Extra Terrestrial - An adaptation by Carl de Visser from the Atari game
While there is a boardgame based off the movie, there is not one adapted from the game.
The Atari 2600 computer game is most well known as a disaster.
I haven't actually played the game, but a good description of the gameplay can be found here: http://www.giantbomb.com/et-the-extra-terrestrial/61-21595/
While touted as one of the worst games of all time, it has some gameplay elements that could work better in a boardgame than in a videogame.
My adaption is a push-your-luck boardgame, with memory elements.
Introduction
ET is collecting pieces to make his space telephone to "phone home." Help him find his phone parts, and also collect delicious Reese's Pieces on the way, to eat on the journey home (Yum!) (Note - The game makes has a big product tie in to Reese's Pieces, which seem to be some kind of sweet), or to swap for a much needed phone part. Watch out for FBI agents, they will stop you collecting what you need.
The game is for 2-5 players.
There is an initial set up phase where disks are placed face down on the board, the players getting to peek at a portion of them as they place them.
The players take turns moving ET and collecting disks. They may keep moving, but should stop and bank what they have before they find an FBI agent who will end their turn and force them to discard all they have found.
Each player also has a Bicycle Marker and an Elliot Marker they can use for special actions in the game.
The game ends once all markers have been claimed or discarded, and victory points are counted
Components
* A board made up of a web of 61 spaces. The middle space is a start piece for the ET piece. The other locations are for placing hidden markers on. There should be geographic landmarks showing in the background of the map showing locations from the game. While these are cosmetic, they will give players a means to remember where tokens they have seen are. 12 of the inner circles should be labelled to indicate where the first set of markers are placed. 2 of these 12 are labelled as only being for 2-4 players.
The circles and lines are the important bit of the board, the hexes are for my benefit in drawing it (these are excellent reusable mats by the way)
* An ET marker
* 60 cardboard disks - These should have a uniform pattern on one side, and the following items on the other:
- 40 Reese's Pieces
- 8 FBI Agents
- 12 phone parts, divided into 4 handles, 4 bases and 4 middle section. Ideally these should be a pale silhouette of the whole phone pattern, and a filled in section for which part they are
* A Bicycle Marker for each player
* An Elliot Marker for each player
General Gameplay
Play is divided into two broad phases: First a setup where tokens are placed on the board. Some are placed unseen by any player. The rest are placed in turn by the players, with players able to look at markers as they place them.
In second phase players taking turns moving ET and making markers, until they either choose to stop, run out of markers to take, or find an FBI Agent. If they find an FBI agent all the markers are lost, otherwise they keep whichever markers they have found. There are two special actions players can take during their turns.
Once all the markers are claimed or discarded, scores are tallied, and the player with the most wins.
The Setup Phase
Place the ET marker on the centre space of the board.
Mix the disks up, face down. With 2-4 players, place 12 on the board spaces near the Centre space, marked with an X, or 2-4. With 5 players only place 10 disks, on the spaces with an X.
Choose a start player; the player draws one of the remaining disks, looks at it so only he can see what is on it. He then chooses an empty board space to place it on.
Players repeat this action going clockwise around the table until all the disks have been placed facedown on the board. All spaces should be filled at this point.
The Play Phase
The player who started the Setup phase goes first. Play then continues round clockwise. Each turn follows this process:
If ET is not next to any markers he may be moved to any empty space next to a marker on the board.
If ET has not been moved, the player then has the option to spend his bicycle marker to move ET to any space. A player may only do this once per game.
The player moves ET along a line to a disk. He flips the disk over and reveals it. If it is an FBI marker his turn ends immediately and any disks he has gained this turn are discarded back to the game box.
If it is any other disk, the player puts it aside. The player may then either bank any disks claimed so far, or the player may choose to move ET along a line to another disk. If there are no disks next to ET the player must bank.
The player may continue until either an FBI Agent is revealed, the player banks, or there are no move disks that ET can be moved to.
After disks have been banked, the player may spend his Elliot marker to swap 3 of his Reese's Pieces for one Telephone part of another player. A telephone part must not be part of a complete set of three parts. This move swap can not be refused by the other player. Each player may only do this a maximum of once per game.
Play then continues to the player on the left.
If no more face down disks remain on the board, then the game ends.
Scoring
Each player scores 1 point for each Reese's Pieces disk they have. They receive 10 points for each complete set of three different telephone parts they have. Other telephone parts are worth 0 points.
The player with the most points wins the game.
List of materials used for prototype
- Crystal Caste Small Combat Mat
- Staedtler non-permanent Lumocolour marker (Art. Nr. 315-9)
- White 15mm wooden disks from Spiele Material (also used above marker on these)
- Plastic pawn taken from a Holdson Black Box set
This time the goal was to: Make a board game adaptation of a videogame. Make a prototype in an hour. For extra challenge, make it an adaptation of a game designed for the Atari 2600.
ET The Extra Terrestrial - An adaptation by Carl de Visser from the Atari game
While there is a boardgame based off the movie, there is not one adapted from the game.
The Atari 2600 computer game is most well known as a disaster.
I haven't actually played the game, but a good description of the gameplay can be found here: http://www.giantbomb.com/et-the-extra-terrestrial/61-21595/
While touted as one of the worst games of all time, it has some gameplay elements that could work better in a boardgame than in a videogame.
My adaption is a push-your-luck boardgame, with memory elements.
Introduction
ET is collecting pieces to make his space telephone to "phone home." Help him find his phone parts, and also collect delicious Reese's Pieces on the way, to eat on the journey home (Yum!) (Note - The game makes has a big product tie in to Reese's Pieces, which seem to be some kind of sweet), or to swap for a much needed phone part. Watch out for FBI agents, they will stop you collecting what you need.
The game is for 2-5 players.
There is an initial set up phase where disks are placed face down on the board, the players getting to peek at a portion of them as they place them.
The players take turns moving ET and collecting disks. They may keep moving, but should stop and bank what they have before they find an FBI agent who will end their turn and force them to discard all they have found.
Each player also has a Bicycle Marker and an Elliot Marker they can use for special actions in the game.
The game ends once all markers have been claimed or discarded, and victory points are counted
Components
* A board made up of a web of 61 spaces. The middle space is a start piece for the ET piece. The other locations are for placing hidden markers on. There should be geographic landmarks showing in the background of the map showing locations from the game. While these are cosmetic, they will give players a means to remember where tokens they have seen are. 12 of the inner circles should be labelled to indicate where the first set of markers are placed. 2 of these 12 are labelled as only being for 2-4 players.
The circles and lines are the important bit of the board, the hexes are for my benefit in drawing it (these are excellent reusable mats by the way)
* An ET marker
* 60 cardboard disks - These should have a uniform pattern on one side, and the following items on the other:
- 40 Reese's Pieces
- 8 FBI Agents
- 12 phone parts, divided into 4 handles, 4 bases and 4 middle section. Ideally these should be a pale silhouette of the whole phone pattern, and a filled in section for which part they are
* A Bicycle Marker for each player
* An Elliot Marker for each player
General Gameplay
Play is divided into two broad phases: First a setup where tokens are placed on the board. Some are placed unseen by any player. The rest are placed in turn by the players, with players able to look at markers as they place them.
In second phase players taking turns moving ET and making markers, until they either choose to stop, run out of markers to take, or find an FBI Agent. If they find an FBI agent all the markers are lost, otherwise they keep whichever markers they have found. There are two special actions players can take during their turns.
Once all the markers are claimed or discarded, scores are tallied, and the player with the most wins.
The Setup Phase
Place the ET marker on the centre space of the board.
Mix the disks up, face down. With 2-4 players, place 12 on the board spaces near the Centre space, marked with an X, or 2-4. With 5 players only place 10 disks, on the spaces with an X.
Choose a start player; the player draws one of the remaining disks, looks at it so only he can see what is on it. He then chooses an empty board space to place it on.
Players repeat this action going clockwise around the table until all the disks have been placed facedown on the board. All spaces should be filled at this point.
The Play Phase
The player who started the Setup phase goes first. Play then continues round clockwise. Each turn follows this process:
If ET is not next to any markers he may be moved to any empty space next to a marker on the board.
If ET has not been moved, the player then has the option to spend his bicycle marker to move ET to any space. A player may only do this once per game.
The player moves ET along a line to a disk. He flips the disk over and reveals it. If it is an FBI marker his turn ends immediately and any disks he has gained this turn are discarded back to the game box.
If it is any other disk, the player puts it aside. The player may then either bank any disks claimed so far, or the player may choose to move ET along a line to another disk. If there are no disks next to ET the player must bank.
The player may continue until either an FBI Agent is revealed, the player banks, or there are no move disks that ET can be moved to.
After disks have been banked, the player may spend his Elliot marker to swap 3 of his Reese's Pieces for one Telephone part of another player. A telephone part must not be part of a complete set of three parts. This move swap can not be refused by the other player. Each player may only do this a maximum of once per game.
Play then continues to the player on the left.
If no more face down disks remain on the board, then the game ends.
Scoring
Each player scores 1 point for each Reese's Pieces disk they have. They receive 10 points for each complete set of three different telephone parts they have. Other telephone parts are worth 0 points.
The player with the most points wins the game.
List of materials used for prototype
- Crystal Caste Small Combat Mat
- Staedtler non-permanent Lumocolour marker (Art. Nr. 315-9)
- White 15mm wooden disks from Spiele Material (also used above marker on these)
- Plastic pawn taken from a Holdson Black Box set