Original, simple and challenging...
Hello there Geekglue,
I must say that I'm impressed by your game. The concept is original and
fresh, at least something I haven't seen before. Your new approach makes
it very interesting to play and the way you've put this to a board game is works
perfectly. The concept has an excellent complexity level for a board game like
this. You just have to take a moment to understand its rules, but once that is
done the fun starts. (Also the music while playing really fits the game. You've
set a good mood / feeling to the game. It fits its level, style and genre.)
You've done an excellent job on explaining the rules, the combination of
pictures and short yet to-the-point text gives the player the necessary
information to understand the concept. Another plus is the interface that is
always available to the player like going back to the menu or whether to turn
the tutorial on or off. Only you can't go back to the Main Menu when you're
selecting the mode you wish to play. So the majority is very good... BUT...!
Here are some things for you to think about:
#1
There is one thing that I noticed when I thought about it for a moment. The
political setting doesn't really match with the actual game. The playing grid
represents a battlefield-like lay-out. I won't go into detail why this is caused,
contact me if you would like to know more about this sort of game design
theories. If we would visualise the game "battlefield" in the setting, we can
conclude that the political "game" as we know isn't much like this. It has some
appeal / feeling to it (so YAY), but it's not well fit for the gameplay context (NAY).
(I've done a 45 minute brainstorm on your concept setting, and believe me, there
are enough other things to use as a context to this concept! ;D And btw, I'm
not lying, I really had a 45 minute brainstorm! XD But try to think of other things
for yourself, I'm not going to make it easy for you. :P)
#2
Why should people come back and play again? What elements could increase
the game's replay value? You can set additional goals in like special modes,
or create some content for the player to unlock so he will be rewarded for
his effort. The game itself is an open game so that players can always adjust
their own type of game whenever they feel like playing again, which is good, but
you can think of ways to keep your players interested in playing again...
(Highscores is another one...)
#3
Think carefully about what you decide to add or remove from a game. For
example in your game, I find it odd why you've removed the "End Turn" function
in a 2-player game... Be sure to know what concequences it brings for the game
when you add / remove gameplay element (or other aspects). Another thing I
wish to share with you: "PROTOTYPE your game!" There's a flaw in your game
which you overlooked (while you thought it was balanced):
Blue always has the chance to move a pawn away before influence is removed.
While Red has NO chance to remove its pawn when blue tries to absorb his
influence. (If you don't get what I'm saying, try your 2-player game.) I've spotted
this: "Red moves to blue -> Blue absorbs red -> Red TRIES to absorb back ->
Blue walks away with the advantage of the last turn (so on the Blue side has
an actual advantage in the game). There are some other varieties of these kinds
of flaws in your gameplay system, so next time check your own game...
PROTOTYPE! Let others test out your system!
Please let me know what you think of this feedback. As a Game Designer by
profession I'm also still learning from YOUR feedback. If you would like more in-depth and detailed feedback about your game, or if you would like to know more about certain Game Design theories, pricinples etc.... Feel free to contact me any time. ^___^
Remember, I judge on skill level (NOT on professional level).
Keep creating things, you've done an excellent job on this one!
So don't stop, create more! And be sure to prototype alot. :P
Keep it up! Double thumbs up!
Regards,
Erik van Wees