Bellwether Games interviews Randy!

by Randy

Hey, all!

I just wanted to let everyone know about some upcoming projects by the Growing Up Gamers crew. Bellwether Games, publishers of Drop Site, did an interview with me about some game design work I'm doing (some with my wife Angie and Julian of Cool Factor 5). We discuss Princess of the Hill as well as some other projects in the works. Drop by and check it out! Here's the link:

Interview with Randy

A big thanks to Dennis of Bellwether Games for giving me this opportunity!

The Workshop: Princess of the Hill, Part Three!

by Randy

The creative gears are a-grindin' for the folks at Growing up Gamers! Angie and I are teaming up with our friend Julian of Cool Factor 5 on a big soon-to-be-revealed and super awesome fun project. 5-year old Katie just recruited programming talent to code her very own video game (yes, I am being serious... that girl has ambition!). Our two-year old son Jack is the only one not working on a game design, as far as I can tell... wait, scratch that... when I said that out loud he replied "No, I has a game project too! I own project" and its apparently involving a "beetle with a camera" (?). So in the midst of this, I decided to brush off Princess of the Hill and share the fun stuff I have simmering on the back burner. Since the original post, I have received a fair amount of feedback, both in comments and in drawings from my daughter. Since then, I have done a little more concept art and started working on the basic mechanics of attacking opponents.

So I have decided that there will be equipment to be used. Equipment will be findable on the board (unsure of exactly what that looks like...). Not quite so extensive as what Katie recommended, but it'll be there. First up, we have Crowns. Crowns are symbols of authority, and each princess will have one at most. Each is unique and will most likely add to an attack value, allow changing attack cards or give a draw bonus. Here are a couple examples:

The Crown of Assorted Errands: Fit for a Princess who likes to soften up opponents from afar first, this Crown allows a Princess to make a Strike attack at range.

The Crown of Irony: This Crown was into rulership before rulership was cool, as the hipster Princess wearing this will. This Crown grants a +1 bonus to Drag attacks, as the one who wears this will certainly be a drag to hang around with.

Next we have Scepters. Scepters are representative of a ruler's power, and the ones here are no different. Each Scepter is unique and will usually add to attack power and/or allow the Princess to keep her attack card instead of discarding at the end of the attack phase. Examples:

Scepterchucks, yo!: Scepterchucks... do they need further introduction? The joke may... it's a reference to 8-bit Theater. I haven't decided the exact effect of these, but I expect both keeping Strike cards played and granting +1 Strike.

Louisville Scepter: When you absolutely gotta knock a princess out of the park, the Louisville Scepter is a good, solid choice. This one will grant a +2 Push.

Additionally, there will be Scepter and Crown combinations called Regalia. WHen you have both pieces of the set, you will get a bonus. To make things simple, it will most likely just increase your draw valued by one, in addition to the individual effects of each item. These will most likely not be the only items, but we'll see.

To counteract equipment, I'm thinking that some attack cards will have a Steal effect upon the resolution of the attack: some will steal on a success, and some will steal on a failure. Just to mix it up a little.

Now on to mechanics. As stated in the original post, there will be three types of attack cards: Push, Drag and Strike. Drag beats Push; Push beats Strike; Strike beats Drag. Strike is the easiest to resolve: the player will discard cards equal to the value of the attack. Push is also pretty straightforward, both conceptually and in effect. Here is a diagram of Push:

Note the numbers; this will be where the defender ends up after a successful attack by the attacker.

Drag is a little more complex. I looked over the board and imagined what a Drag in a fight would look like. Basically, you grab the person, spin and let them careen to their fate. Here is what I see this looking like:

So that is a basic representation of combat. The examples I gave do not have other Princesses around that could be hit, nor Unicorn Poop to slip on, nor anything like a brick wall to suddenly arrest movement. We're not taking uphill/downhill into effect, either, nor are we worrying about facing (though the pieces in the examples have their front arcs marked. I'll get all that figured out in a rules mockup soon. Sound fun? I hope so!

Okay, that's it. Anyone have any ideas to share? Quirky equipment ideas? I'd love to hear 'em!

The Workshop: Princess of the Hill!

by Randy

I've decided that I'm going to go in a different direction for this post: I'm going to make a game. Now, it won't be finished at the end of the post, of course. But I expect that this will be a series of posts, hopefully culminating in a playable game! The idea is to share the process that I'm using and get feedback. I have not yet completed a game, so here's to hoping this is my first!

So, the concept: a hex-based tactical combat/area control game. The idea is to bank as many points as you can, doing this by maintaining control of the central hex on the board. Other players (at least one more, probably more) are trying to do the same. You will play cards to do everything in the game, I'm thinking. The game play will be focused on getting your token on the space and staying there, and moving others' pieces around the board (or at least off the space).

I even have a theme: Princess of the Hill! A knock-down, drag-out brawl  between the kingdom's elite offspring. I'll mock up some more pictures soon... that helps me get into the mindset more. I haven't decided whether they're going to be kids or adults.  I feel good about the theme and believe a fun theme is going to help get the creative juices flowing.

So here we go....

Hexes. My idea was a central hex with three or four concentric rings. I think this would be a good representation of our hill. Player tokens will be hexes, as well. As a matter of fact, I think that facing will be relevant, so front vs. back will have a game effect. The idea is that the player controlling the central hex will be in a more precarious place.

Combat. Combat should be simple and fun. Perhaps a rock-paper-scissors style resolution, similar to Yomi. My moves will be Push, Drag or Strike. So, Push beats Strike beats Drag beats Push. We'll get back to resolving same vs. same later... or maybe it just means discarding and choosing again. We'll see. Additionally, there will be special moves. I'm thinking Feint, Suckerpunch, Charge. Maybe also values for attack types. I'm thinking successful Push or Drags will move the defender farther or closer to the Attacker, respectively, and Strike will do damage to hand cards, as in discarding as "damage", but without player elimination. Since the combat is the central part of this game, we're going need to make this tight and refined.

Movement is a necessity, too. I'm considering paying for movement, or perhaps for movement beyond the standard allotment. Payment would be in hand cards (not special movement cards or something), if that gets figured in. I like the idea of being able to rush, but that this would result in you being a little weakened from the effort. With this added, and damage being applied to hand cards, this makes the ebb and flow of the hand size directly correlate to energy of the character.

Speaking of hand size, players need to get cards. My thought on this is that while on the top, you draw one per turn. Each successive ring adds one to your draw value. Without cards, it's tougher to fight and hold onto the prize. Also adds the consideration of stepping down to "rest" and regain a hand.

Scoring... we need a way to win. My thought is that if you end your turn on the middle hex, you can bank one hand card as a victory point. On the middle hex, you're only drawing one per round so you won't be holding it too long, assuming other players are attacking.

The full idea is this: I want to make a game with a fun theme (check!). I want it to be tactical, with somewhat of a resource-management element. I also what it, despite its theme, to be playable as a serious area-control game with serious tactical considerations. I'm of the opinion that my idea here is workable, and that I can bang this into working game. That being said, anyone have any advice to offer? I'm hoping to make this a work-in-progress type thing and spread it over several blog posts. I'll continue to work on this and share my ideas. That way, we can all learn about game design together!