Prototyping: Interlock

Interlock

It was a rainy Wednesday evening, when Ziwei and I decided to create a board game that requires some strategy to win the game. Meanwhile, we wanted to incorporate some abilities to the game, such as the ability to attack or defend.  Our initial setup of the game didn’t work out so well, the map of the board was too large that I was able to reach the commander before Ziwei was able to stop one of my soldiers from attacking. In the end we decided that we needed to change up how the game works, so we took out the commander and just used pieces instead.

Eventually, we decided on creating a game that deals with point-to-point movement. This means that on a board, there are certain spots that is being occupied by a piece. The goal of the game is to connect three pieces together and that will allow you to remove one of the opponent’s piece. I invited my girlfriend Ai-Vy to play this game with me.  Each of us had 6 pieces to start with and we took turn placing the piece to where we thought was the best move. Throughout playing the game, we were unable to connect anything, because the map didn’t contain enough movements for us to make. Every turn, we would go against one another and tried to block each other, which left to no one winning. We made a few more revisions regarding rules of the game and the amount of chips to be used.

During class on Monday evening, when we tested our board game for the third time. During the gameplay with Bryan, he managed to remove one of my pieces during the beginning phase of the game. This had left me with only 8 pieces to play against Bryan, who had 9 pieces remaining. It was tough match, because all of our pieces were in the middle and we couldn’t move any pieces that wouldn’t allow the other person to connect a 3-in-a-row. Eventually, Bryan had me trapped in every direction, any movement I make he was able to connect his pieces. After he wiped out the 7^th piece, it was a continuous roll of him, killing my pieces. Sadly to say, I’ve lost at my own game.

Session Report: Sequence

3 Player Sequence

During a Wednesday evening, when our professor at San Jose State University decided to let us play board games. I received this game from my girlfriend, because I thought it would be very fun game for other students in the class to try out. I thought this was a simple game, since the goal in mind is to create a sequence (5 chips going vertical or diagonal).

We began to play the game after explaining the rules of the game and how to become the winner. In the game of three players (Tuan, Kashan, Denny), each person is dealt out six cards each to begin the starting rounds. As the game progressed, I have created several patterns on the board where I am able to complete a sequence. Unfortunately, Kashan was holding onto a two-eyed jack (Wild Card) and has used it to block me from completing my sequence.

I realized that there are more chances of winning of this game, due to the multiples patterns I have created throughout the game. I made a remark to the other players that if you have the ability to prevent a player from completing their sequence, then you should attempt to.

Eventually, the game was finally coming to an end with only one winner allowed. Denny and I had a possible sequence to be completed. It is Kashan’s turn and he thought that Denny was bluffing, so he didn’t use his two-eyed jack to attempt to stop him. Instead he used his one-eyed jack to remove one of my chips. At this point I was complaining to Kashan that he had ruined my chance of winning. The next turn was when the game has ended, with Denny placing a two-eyed jack to complete his double-ended sequence.

Although, there was a chance of continuing the game, Denny’s hand carried 2 two-eyed jack and 1 one-eyed jack, which would’ve put him a winning position the next turn of rounds. During this board game lab, I only experienced this one game and didn’t get to try out others.

Link to Board Game: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/2375/sequence

List of Mechanics: Hand Management, Partnerships, Pattern Building

Link to session report by someone else (if available): https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/264335/great-lose-3-turns

Internet Arcade: R Type-II

Old School Game

            The game R-Type II is a spacecraft shooting game with its unique features of gameplay. The player controls a ship that is able to charge shots and gather power-ups to enhance weaponry. The ship is called R-9C, which is an enhanced version of its predecessor R-9. In my experience of playing this game, I’ve noticed the difficulty of reaching the next level. It’s a simple game, but you must maneuver the ship well or you will end up starting over. Whenever the ship touch an object or the enemy, it will consider as a death. Although, I didn’t make it too far into the game, I noticed that the further you progress, the harder the game gets. That includes, the amount of enemies that is being faced and their retaliation with their beams fire. The enemies can come from any direction, so you must be aware of your surroundings.

            Playing this game through an emulator is comparable to playing it on its original hardware, but the experience is different. An emulator uses arrows and keys, while the original hardware consist of a joystick and buttons. Playing on the original hardware can be more fun, because you get to experience being a child again. Playing this game through an emulator doesn’t give the same impression of playing in its original hardware.