Will begin short experiments using Visionaire Studio’s demo engine to create a simple test 2D Adventure game. From a glance, it looks a lot snappier than AGS (Adventure Game Studio) but that could be due to its website. I’ve seen AGS in action and it seems to handle larger background rooms a little poorly.
http://www.visionaire2d.net
The long leave of absence has been due to problems with my studies as I’m hoping of using this board-game as a project base for my thesis.
I’ve been looking around and this website seems to be a huge resource for board-gamers and proof that board-games are indeed alive and well.
http://www.discovergames.com/home.htm
Its time to re-open the can of worms.
This was the initial style for Dungeon Fodder which I felt would appeal to a larger demographic but now I’m having second thoughts on it. Would I alienate the niche market of role-players in exchange for a younger or female market? Dungeon Fodder was partially intended as a means of introducing people to RPG-lite through simple gameplay mechanisms that are stereotyped to certain character classes.
Maybe a more illustrative style might work better, or more details.
Have thoughts of hiring an illustrator for the artwork.
In Dungeon Fodder, there are numerous actions which are guided by chance. Success rates for combat, success rates for opening a trapped treasure chest, success rates for everything! Being a fan of pen & paper tabletop gaming, I’m biased towards the dice as a means of simulating random events.
Even after coming to the conclusion that using dice would be the most accessible method of determining random events in the game, the number of die was another issue that had to be looked into. A colleague brought into my attention that the odds are radically different when using different numbers of dice.
For example, a single die roll is pretty simple to think about and calculate your probabilities. On a regular 6 sided die, you have a 1/6 chance of getting a certain number. Thats about a 17% chance which ain’t bad.
Using two dice however ups the odds somewhat.
This is a simple table of all probably outcomes of rolling two dice simultaneously. There are 36 different combinations possible but that does not mean your odds of getting a certain combination is 1/36 (about 3%).
Here is the same table but now, it is based on total outcome of both dice.
Now, to count the odds.
Not that this is really important but its interesting to know. If rolling items from a specific table, common items should definately be placed on the Higher Odds portion of the table, (probably a 7) while overpowering items are placed on the lowest odds portion (maybe on a roll of a 2 or 12).
Majority of the results in Dungeon Fodder relies on a the results of a single die. I find this to be more straightforward and improves upon the pacing of the game. Some feedback has stated that there might be too many die rolls therefore that has to be looked into as well.
What is Dungeon Fodder?
by definition, a dungeon is a poorly maintained kennel for all sorts of monsters. Amazingly, treasure seems an abundant fixture in such places and adventurers throng dungeons in hope of making off with an enchanted sword or some silly bauble.
Fodder on the other hand, is food used to feed livestock. This could comprise of hay, straw, oats and grains which no self-respecting carnivore would touch. The term fodder also refers to something which is worth close to nothing. Something so worthless that to sacrifice it, would bring no sense of loss whatsoever.
Here is a quote ripped off wikipedia, “Cannon fodder is an informal term for military personnel who are regarded or treated as expendable in the face of enemy fire.”
Putting the two words together, you get a really expendable person whose life is worth less than a handful of barley having to journey deep into a dungeon to survive by making sure no one else does…
fun? I’m not sure…
Anyways, Dungeon Fodder is a board-game.
It is to be played between 2 – 6 players, DF puts you in the shoes of one such adventurer trapped in a dungeon forced to battle his way to be the last man standing (or woman!). The trick to defeating your foes is to use not only your natural abilities but also the environment (dungeon) as a weapon.
As of now, there are only 3 classes in development and 2 play modes which are still being adjusted to maintain a semblance of balance in the game.
More on the game later!…
This blog was rudely created out of nothingness to document the creation of my board-game which I shall christian “Dungeon Fodder”… (which sounded a lot better than Arena (beta).
It will serve as an online journal of my progress in my concievement, development, manufacture and marketing endeavor as a part of my research into commercialising board-games in Malaysia.
