strategy games student packet

75 Pages·2011·5.06 MB·English

ENGINEERING
STRATEGY
GAMES

th
7 Grade Apogee
Ladue Middle School

Kathleen Gardner
1
Table of Contents
Strategy Games Introduction.......................................................... 4
Z-Man Games Submission Screenshot................................................................................6
Advice from Real Game Designers.....................................................................................7
Game Design Features & Flaws by Bruce Baskir .................................................................9
Iterative Design..............................................................................................................10

Game Theory............................................................................. 11
Prisoner’s Dilemma.........................................................................................................13

Apogee Game Design Benchmarks ................................................ 14
Thinking About the Experience ........................................................................................15

Themes ..........................................................................................................................16
Theme Development....................................................................................................16
Common Themes in Game Design................................................................................17
Brainstorming Themes .................................................................................................18
Theme Research..........................................................................................................20
From Theme to Game..................................................................................................21
Theme Development Rubric .........................................................................................22

Game Mechanics............................................................................................................23
Review.......................................................................................................................32
Selection....................................................................................................................35
Game Mechanics Rubric..............................................................................................36

Victory Conditions..........................................................................................................37
Player Objectives........................................................................................................38
End-Game Conditions..................................................................................................40
Victory Conditions Decisions........................................................................................41

Special Considerations in Game Design ......................................... 42
Player Skills....................................................................................................................42
Common Design Problems...............................................................................................44

Game Proposal.......................................................................... 46
Game Proposal Rubric....................................................................................................48

Game Prototype......................................................................... 49
Materials List..................................................................................................................40
Game Prototype Rubric...................................................................................................51
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Strategy Game Rules .................................................................. 52
The Five C’s of Writing Rules by Brett Gilbert....................................................................53
Required Elements..........................................................................................................57
Board Game Rules Evaluation.........................................................................................58
Rubric............................................................................................................................59

Playtesting a Game .................................................................... 60
Playtesting Log...............................................................................................................63

Package Design ......................................................................... 65
Elements of a Game Package..........................................................................................65
Expectations...................................................................................................................66

Final Product ............................................................................. 68
Submission Form.............................................................................................................69
Final Product Rubric........................................................................................................70
Final Process Rubric........................................................................................................71

Appendix.................................................................................. 72
Resources.......................................................................................................................72
Personal Game Log........................................................................................................73
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Strategy Games Introduction

Games are planned experiences for players. Some games provide significant intellectual
challenge and the opportunity to plan and carry out a myriad of strategies. Other games
provide players with emotional experiences like tension, fun, or even fear. Successful
games match the designer’s expectations to the players’ actual experiences.

Games have provided humans the opportunity to engage in
mental challenges, social interaction, recreation, and
competition for thousands of years. Many new games are
introduced each year, but few are successful enough to merit
production in subsequent years. You, however, will create a
classic bound to be played for all eternity.

What is a “strategy game?”

A game is any activity undertaken or regarded as a contest involving luck,
skill, or a combination of both, and played according to a set of rules for the
enjoyment of the players or spectators.

A strategy game is a game where players’ decision-making skills have a
high significance in determining the outcome of the game.

These decision-making skills do not occur by accident; game designers create games to
generate specific actions, behaviors, and outcomes. These decisions take place in the form
of strategy, the long-term, overarching ideas a player has to winning the game
that inform his or her choices as they play the game.

Many games incorporate a theme, which is the utilization of a particular
subject or scenario world in which to immerse players. A familiar example is
Monopoly where players take the role of landlords as they buy, sell, and rent property. In
Detroit Cleveland Grand Prix, players race cars around a track. In Jamaica, players sail
pirate ships and battle rival ships. A great theme, fully fleshed out, can attract and keep
players.

A great theme can also put players in the right frame of mind to make better, more informed
decisions because they can use existing knowledge about a subject to help them. In these
games, outcomes reflect real-world consequences of a player’s decisions. In Risk, when you
lose an army, you lose actual army pieces.

Abstract games are the alternative to themed games. Abstract games do not simulate
reality, and examples include Chess, Go, and Checkers. In abstract strategy games, players
must think about the problem logically as the rules describe in a straightforward manner.

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The Objectives are the stated ways players reach the end of the game. Games
can end in a variety of ways from achieving a stated level of points to number of rounds to
other triggering events. Achieving an objective for yourself or delaying another player’s
achievement determines the overall purpose of the game.

Mechanics are the specific ways that players physically play the game. There
are over 30 commonly used mechanics like Roll and Move, Action Point Allowance, Set
Collection, and Pattern Recognition, but there are many new and innovative mechanics that
game developers have created. In Niagara, clear plastic disks move based on player
decisions simulating a river’s movement. Game manufacturers are always looking for unusual
and new mechanics in game prototypes.

The End Game Condition is the particular event, condition, or combination that
players work towards and ultimately achieves to end the game. Some games
end after a fixed number of rounds, where others are a race to the end. Some end
based on points accumulated or spent, while others are based on accumulation of money or
territory. Other games have players solve a puzzle, eliminate all other players, or comprise
some combination of these listed. Victory Conditions are the combination of Objective and
End Game Condition; it is important to note that in strategy games, ending a game first does
not always make you the winner.

Rules are the most important document of the game. Rules enable (or prevent) players from
playing the game. Successful rules clearly and concisely communicate to players what they
need to know and what they need to do in order for them to play the game as you expect it
to be played.

The prototype is the physical product that represents your ideas—the board and
bits. Every aspect of the prototype should reflect the game’s theme and should easily
facilitate the mechanics. If the pawns are representing pirate ships, the pawns should look
like pirate ships. In addition, the pirate ships should fit neatly onto the spaces. The artwork
should reflect the theme and the layout should be clearly organized.

Playtesting is the iterative process of playing a game, evaluating what
occurred, fixing the game prototype, pieces, or rules, replaying, reevaluating
what occurred, many many times, so that the game plays consistently according
to your intentions and as the rules dictate. Playtesting occurs alone and in small
groups. Playtesting occurs when you are present or “blind,” when the game developer is
behind a glass wall, videotaping the game, or later reads evaluations players fill out while
they play.

Metagaming is any strategy, action or method used in a game which transcends a
prescribed ruleset, uses external factors to affect the game, or goes beyond the
supposed limits or environment set by the game. Consider creating a structure
whereby players can make the game their own, different tactical strategies to win,
having a variety of winning scenarios, several different playing frameworks.

This is going to be so fun! You can do this!
5
Humanity
has
advanced,
when it has
advanced,
not because
it has been
sober,
responsible,
and
cautious,
but because
it has been
playful,
rebellious,
and
immature.
Tom Robbins

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Advice from Real Game Designers

Write the game you want to play.
--James Ernest

Design for yourself and have fun making and playing your games.
--Richard Borg

Every good product is a success because several people have had a hand in adding their
expertise to the process. Believe in teamwork.
--Reyn Guyer

Listen and adapt. Playtesters (strangers, not family and friends), inventor relations folks,
retailers, distributors, agents... all have valuable input. Evaluate it carefully and adapt what
makes sense. Don't assume you have all the answers. But be the guide to the vision and
make it better with the input you may receive.
--Curt Covert

Playtest, playtest, playtest. And play nice with others.
--Colleen McCarthy-Evans

Test. Test. Test. Don't rely on enthusiastic relatives and friends. God bless them, they lie!
--Brian Hersch

Do not look for what sells. Nobody really knows what will sell tomorrow. just do what you
love and then look and find those who love what you do.
--Haim Shafir

Stop working alone. Find people who are as smart as you, or preferably even smarter, and
harness their creative energy along with your own. I've created few games by myself, and so
I've gotten to work on everything. Because the more everyone contributes, the more insane
ideas you'll be able to try out, and the better off your games will be.
--Mike Selinker

If you are creative enough to invent one game, you are creative enough to invent several
games. Hanging all your hopes on one game is a shot in the dark. By pitching a handful of
games, you not only increase your chances of success, but you establish yourself as a
'serious' inventor.
--Keith Meyers
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How Are Strategy Games Different from Luck-Based Games?

In general, a strategy game has all of the following elements in varying degree:
• Game is based on a grid, rather than a linear line or lines.
• Players succeed (or lose) based on strategic decisions, not luck.
• Players have equal knowledge to play; no trivia.
• Play is based on multiple decisions a person could make on each turn with possible
advantages and disadvantages each time.
• Players can plan strategies that will take multiple turns to complete fully.
• Players can replay the game a bazillion times and have a different experience each
time.
• Winning (and losing) is specific and achievable.

Your Game

You are to create a strategy game for others to play. Your game must include:
• A theme or story
• Specific achievable objective to end the game
• Well-defined mechanics that foster play
• A complete typed set of rules including setup instructions
• Professional quality board, and pieces
• A box that all pieces and board fit neatly inside
• A design on the box that advertises your product.

Your game can include:
• ONE luck element (draw pile, dice, spinner) that enhances game play but allows a
player’s decisions to be the determining factor of the outcome.

Your game may NOT include:
• A sports or war theme
• Player movement through rolling of dice
• No overt killing—pieces may be eliminated or knocked out, but you must think more
creatively than just destroying other players.

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Game Design Features and Flaws
By Bruce Baskir, Game Designer

1. A game should have a clear objective. Once the game is over, it should be simple to
determine the winner.

2. A game should have a well-defined end point. It should be easy to tell when the
game is over.

3. A game should involve choices. Any game that plays itself is not worth playing.

4. A game should have interaction between the players. Otherwise it’s solitaire with a
time limit.

5. A game should have rules that are clear and complete. While it may be impossible to
foresee every situation that may arise, the designer should try to minimize the number
of situations where different rules are in conflict.

6. A game should not have a single obvious path to victory. If there is always a single
best move to make, then the game has no real choices, and will not be likely to be
fun to play. As a corollary, if it can be proven that a certain series of moves will
nearly always lead to victory, then there is a flaw in the game design.

7. A game should not have excessive down time. Playing a well-designed game is fun.
Waiting for other players to finish their turns is usually not so much fun.

8. A game should not provide an advantage to the first player (or to the last player).
Games should be designed so that any advantage due to order of play is cancelled
out over time. Similarly, different sides in a game should be balanced so no one has
an advantage over another.

9. A game should avoid the runaway leader problem. If your game favors the player in
the lead, then getting a small advantage early can turn into an insurmountable
advantage later. Minimizing the possibility of anyone else winning makes the game
no fun for all the other players.

10. A game should not rely on random chance to determine the winner. Having a
random element in many games can be desirable to improve replay ability, but
having too much of the game rely on a single lucky die roll will kill the enjoyment for
many players. For this reason, roll-and-move games should be discouraged, unless
they are done well, because the excessive randomness in the movement overwhelms
the strategic elements.

9
Iterative Design

Iterative Design is an engineering process where a design follows a cyclical process of definition and
development. First, an idea is discovered and elaborated into a prototype. Next, the prototype is
testing and data is collected. Third, the data is analyzed and the prototype is adjusted or advanced
depending on the needs of the prototype. This cycle continues, with the results allowing for the
evolution of the product’s successive versions (iterations) in the repeating cycle until the product is
complete.

START

IDEA
DISCOVERY
ANALYSIS PROTOTYPE
DEVELOPMENT
DATA TESTING
COLLECTION
PRODUCT
DELIVERY
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