Iterative Design

Apotheosis

Overview

Apotheosis is a game based on the “roll/spin and move” and “set collection” game mechanics. Players compete against each other to be the first to collect one of each type of resource either by visiting each continent or stealing from the other player. Players take turns either rolling a die to determine which continent they will end up on (and thus which resource they will collect) or challenging the other player to a battle in which the victor can steal one of the loser’s resources.

Play Log

The first iteration of Apotheosis had much different rules than the final version. Originally the only way to collect all of the resources and win the game was by visiting each continent. My partner and I alternated turns where we’d roll a die which corresponded to the continent that we would visit and the resource that would be collected. After six or seven turns of this we realized that the game was horribly boring and needed something to make it more engaging and exciting.

In an effort to make Apotheosis more fun, the second iteration introduced a player vs player aspect. Players could now either collect a resource or a “power-up” from the continent that they visited. Each continent corresponded to a specific resource and power-up. Players could either collect a resource or increase their stats so that they could battle the other player and hopefully steal their resources. I took my first turn and decided to increase my attack. My partner took his turn and also increased his attack. I then challenged my partner to a battle and awaited for him to complete his next turn. My partner increased his defense and met me inside the battle square. We had a fairly complex system for calculating who would go first and how damage would be calculated. As we played a couple of rounds of the battle it quickly became evident that the whole system was flawed and whoever was lucky enough to go first would always win. The battle system became far too complicated when trying to factor in player stats and how damage would be calculated.

The third and final iteration of the game addressed the overly complicated battle system that was introduced in the second iteration. I decided to abandon the player stats and power-ups in favor of a much simpler, luck-based battle system. I also added the following rule: in order to challenge someone to a battle, both players must have at least one resource in their possession. In the battle, both players roll three dice each and whoever has the highest total wins. The winner gets to steal any one resource from the other. Playing through this version of the game was actually fun enjoyable. My opponent and I each took a few turns where we collected resourced before I finally decided to challenge my opponent to a battle. We each rolled our three dice — and I lost. I was down to two resources and my opponent had four. My opponent only needed an ice and a metal to win. I had in my possession a metal and a fire, so my opponent decided to challenge me to a battle. He won and stole my fire. Rather than press my luck at another battle, I decided to collect a resource by visiting a continent. Incredibly, my opponent decided to do the same and was lucky enough to land on Metallic Mountain where he was able to collect his metal and win the game.

Board Games & Session Reports

The board games that I played in class were Tsuro and Wits & Wagers. I had never played either before and while I enjoyed both of them I found Wits & Wagers to be quite a bit more fun than Tsuro. In this post I will be giving a session report of Tsuro.

Tsuro Session Report

Players: Danny, Kenton, Linda, Shivani, Jonathan (myself)

The game begins by each of us selecting a token and picking up three random tiles. Each of us placed our tokens pretty far away from each other to give us the best chance of survival.

Kenton goes first and places a tile down on the board and advances his piece.

Linda goes next and places a tile down far enough from Kenton that there are no foreseeable issues.

Shivani places her first tile on the board somewhat near where Linda started, but not close enough to signal impending doom.

Danny’s up next and places a tile that leads him straight across to the next square.

Being that I was the last to go, I had the advantage of seeing where everyone else was and might be headed. I decided to place a tile down that would hopefully keep me well away from everyone else.

We’re back to Kenton who places a tile that moves him forward and to the left.

Linda places a tile that changes her course.

Shivani also places a tile that changes her direction, now on a potential collision-course with Linda.

Danny places a tile which also changes his direction but directs him away from the others but right at me.

Trying my best to stay away from everyone else, I placed a tile that led me straight, in parallel to the chaos that was about to ensue in the center of the board.

Eventually Linda and Shivani collided which took them both out of the game. Shortly after, Kenton was led off of the board and was out of the game, leaving just Danny and myself. That same round, Danny also found himself led off of the board, leaving me as victor.

Adopted Arcade Game

Adopted Arcade Game: Flying Shark

The classic arcade game that I decide to "adopt" and play was Flying Shark. It was released in 1987 by Toaplan / Taito Corporation and is classified as a vertical scrolling shooter game. My experience playing the game was a bit frustrating. Maybe I am just completely inept at playing arcade games, but I found Flying Shark to be surprisingly difficult. There seemed to be no progression of difficulty; as soon as the game started it seemed to have been on "hard mode." Playing this game via an emulator made the experience a lot worse. There were no clear instructions on which keys mapped to which functions. With that in mind, I do believe that this game was probably a lot of fun when it was played on the original hardware where all buttons clearly mapped to their respective functions. Furthermore I would imagine that the game was a lot less difficult when played on the original hardware as the player would have all of the functionality available to them. From the screenshots it appears as if the plane you are flying should be able to shoot. I was not able to shoot because I could not figure out which button mapped to shooting. Had I been able to play this on the original hardware and had the ability to not only move evasively but also attack I believe it would have been far less difficult and much more enjoyable.