This semester has been an interesting one due to the transition to online classes. I myself found it to be quite a struggle at times since everyone was trying to figure out we can make the switch work. I’m more of an in person and hands on learner so there were times where I would get frustrated not understanding the topics or missing important due dates. Luckily all of my teachers have been extremely helpful and sincere especially you James Morgan. You didn’t give up on me even when I thought there was no possible way I was going to survive the semester so I thank you for that. I like to think that I have an even better understanding of what goes on behind the scenes in the gaming community. It makes me appreciate the games I loved growing up a ton more now seeing how much time and effort went into them. One of my favorite or most interesting parts in the semester would probably have to be when we made our own board game. Seeing all different aspects and mechanics that goes into a good board game blew my mind. Plus I felt like I walked a way with some positive feedback on the game I made and now have it to play or even perfect some more. It was extremely rewarding to see the joy and laughter from the people who played my game after me spending countless hours on it. Overall, I really enjoyed the semester still and believe I got a lot out of it even when we had to make the transition to everything online. It was easy for everyone but we all made it through together! I am looking forward to continuing to expand my horizons on video games and hope to take another class in the near future.

For our final I decided to team up with three other people from our class to create a zombie shooter game. Our dream team consists of Dan as a programmer, Sean as the other programmer, Toni as an artist and me as the other artist. The game is a 2D side scrolling shooter called “Down By the Cemetery”. As you can probably tell the game takes place in a cemetery where zombies are spawning from their graves and you can say they’re hungry. They’re looking for that sweet taste of human flesh and you’re on their menu my friend. The player starts out with a shotgun to help protect themselves using the arrow keys to control which direction they move in. Ammo can be found around the map but it is limited so be sure to make every shot count or else you’ll end up as a meal. Zombies will also slowly start to spawn faster and in bigger waves. Don’t worry though there are gravestones and other obstacles to jump on to help evade these demon creatures. There is going to be a point system and also a health bar. For the health bar it isn’t going to be really a bar but instead three lives that will probably be represented as hearts or brains. The main focus is survival which should always be the top priority in that situation. With that said there aren’t different levels to the game but instead it is how long you can last before being torn apart by the infected. For the most part we have a solid working game we just have some minor bugs to fix and attention to detail.

I luckily got to experience the JackBox games on three different occasions recently for the first time ever. Two of the times were when I participated in the San Jose Game Jam and the other time was during our game design class. One of the games was some type of march madness looking bracket game and the other one was a Pictionary game but with a twist. When it came to the bracket game it started off with everyone getting the same random question to answer and after that the question changed but everyone’s answers stayed the same. It puts a funny twist on it because usually the next question makes everyone’s answers way more ridiculous. Some players face off against each other while the others vote for which they think is most accurate or funniest. There were some moments where I had to mute my mike over zoom because I couldn’t stop laughing. Player who makes it to the end and is everybody’s favorite wins the round. A mechanic behind this game I would have to say is definitely “Point and Click” for the most part. Another mechanic might be “typing” since you’re having to enter in your answer in the beginning. “Player Elimination” is a mechanic as well because if your opponent beats you you have to sit out until the next round but you do get to still vote for the winner. Overall, I am going to look into purchasing the JackBox collection so that I can explore all the other games it has to offer. Plus it is a perfect time to play with friends since we are social distancing during this pandemic.

The Game Jam was a blast! I am really glad I had the opportunity to participate in it and got a lot out of the experience. This year they had to switch things up obviously because of the pandemic that is going on but the cool part we got out of it is that we actually got to team up the Cal State East Bay game design department. It was the first year either school had to host it online but in my option I found it to be very organized and also flowed really well. Usually these types of online zoom meetings can be a little awkward from my experience but the instructors did an excellent job of making sure the students were engaged the whole time. For example, one of my favorite parts was the warm up activities we did through JackBox Games in the morning to get our brain functioning. It was also a nice ice breaker and good laugh between everyone participating. The rest of the Jam we sent time pitching ideas and then from there we joined the groups that we were most interested in working with. I ended up partnering with an awesome group of people to work on a Pictionary game that anyone can play over zoom called “Face Off”. We had one person work on tweaking the rule book, another work on the subject of the cards, another person work on the artwork for the thumbnail for the game and another even work on creating a website for it. After we all finished our tasks it came time to play testing which was the best part. I haven’t laughed that hard in awhile it was a hilarious experience. Overall, I walked a way with a fun game and new friends in the gaming community which in my books is a success.

When it came to my first playable game I had a lot of technical issues one could say. At first it seemed to be smooth sailing and I started to feel more confident in what I was doing. I also had a video for reference walking me through the process of what I was trying to do. The game was going to be similar to the alpha exercise we did in class where it has a Galaga or Space Invaders type vibe to it. Everything was good until I got to the coding section of it which didn’t make sense since I have had prior experience with coding in the past. I typed the whole entire code exactly how it appeared in the video walk through (instead of copy and pasting which took me awhile) yet it still wouldn’t work. An error would pop up telling me I had to correct the code which didn’t make sense to me. The only possible issue that I could think of was that I was using Dreamweaver instead of the text edit application the guy was using in the tutorial. Overall, it was a little bit of a frustrating experience but I am sure if I was able to get over that bump in the road I could have maybe got the hang of it. I plan on giving it another go in the near future. 

1st Game: This is the only level

• She started off not too strong because she thought the button to unlock the door was a pillow
• The second level she actually completed quicker and it had reverse controls
• On the third level she clicked the button but then found out she didn’t need it so she restarted and completed it quickly
• The fourth level took her a little bit to figure out the control but I gave her the hint of “what are elephants afraid of” and she then figured it out right away
• The fifth level was her quickest and it was the one with no jumping but the spikes are bouncy
• The sixth level we both gave up on

2nd game: Dating Sim “Jurassic Heart”

• The dating game she went with was Jurassic Heart 
• She doesn’t know how she feels about a human and a dinosaur having a love connection 
• And then her mind started to wander
• Overall she was not amused and more disturbed if anything 

3rd game: 7 things I mistake for my cat 

• The game is an 8-bit type of game
• She wandered around a house controlling a witch
• She goes up to things that appear to be a cat but end up being different objects
• An example of this was that she found a slimy towel
• The last object ended up being her cat
• The game was finished within 30 seconds

4th game: Emotica

• I’m not sure if I was just playing the game wrong or what but it appeared this game was about slapping different stickers around to create some type of little village
• Didn’t seem to have much objective but instead be a stress relief game

5th game: Hatlight

• I found this game to be a lot of fun and one of my favorites
• It was cool how the screen is completely blacked out besides the circle of light around your character
• The mechanics were simple and there was so much of the caves to explore that it seemed never ending

6th game: Robot Heist

• This was another fun challenging puzzle game that really made you think hard 
• An aspect of it that I liked was the undo button that would undo your last couple of moves instead of restarting the whole level which made it a lot more fair 

1. Critical connections

The two games that I played out of the six that shared big connections were “This is the only level” and “Hatlight”. They both have similarities in game mechanics when it comes to controls and movement . Both games control only one 2D character through the arrow keys on the keyboard. The movement speed and jump height of the character are also very similar. Besides that the games are very different in the sense of narrative and objective. 

2. The difference in observing and playing

The most interesting game and the one that had the biggest difference in gameplay between my partner and I was “This is the only level”. I started off playing the game and gradually got better yet struggled on some levels later down the road while my partner took notes on my game play. When we switched my partner seemed to have struggled a little more in the beginning with the easier levels but later on somehow conquered the more difficult levels a lot quicker. Our reactions to dying in the game were a lot different and humorous. I would say I got more frustrated and cursed a little more out of the frustration compared to my partner where we both just couldn’t stop laughing with each other the whole time.

The third game that I ended up playing after watching my partner play it was the “7 things I mistake for my cat”. I wanted to replay it to see if there was anything more to it besides literally the 7 things the witch in the game mistakes for her cat but there wasn’t anything I could find. I wouldn’t say it’s a horrible game but it is one of those games that are quick and has no replay value unless you stumble upon it later on down the road not remembering the outcome of the game.

The game is called “Abe’s Domain”

Description of the game: This is a war style game using a deck of cards to determine who gets to take over the land with their army. It is a head to head fight to the death to see who can be crowned winner of all thee land! But watch out… if you wander off into the middle island you might find yourself going up against a Necromancer Abraham Lincoln. If you can take over all of Abe’s land you are truly the chosen one. Good Luck comrades and I will see you on the battlefield.

Game Mechanics:

-Card Play Conflict Resolution: Each player simultaneously or sequentially plays one or more cards. These modify the base outcome of a conflict and allow various special abilities to apply.

-Dice Rolling: In wargames, dice are used in conjunction with a variety of tables, notably a “Combat Results Table” which produces a result by strengths of both sides (either as a ratio or a differential) and a die roll (1D6, 2D6, and 1D10 are most commonly used).

-Grid Movement: The Grid Movement occurs when pawns move on the grid in many directions. Usually the grid is square (like in Chess) or hexagonal (Abalone).

-Zone Control: Spaces adjacent to a unit impact the ability of opposing units to move or attack.

Play Session 1:

In play session one my partner Erik and I decided on a territorial strategy board game. So each player was given 25 colored circular chips and also half of a shuffled deck. We then flipped a card to see who goes first and the highest card wins. Erik won the first one and then rolled a 5 with a 6 sided die he was given. Therefore he was able to put 5 of his colored chips anywhere on the board besides the middle island. After that you play games of the classic card game “war” to determine who gets to roll to put down their colored chips. Winner also takes the losers cards. Erik kept winning but I eventually made a come back to where the board was half filled with my chips and half filled with his. At this point the middle island still wasn’t established as anything so instead we played to see who can fill up all the land surrounding it. The only difference when it came down taking over each others land was that the number of spots you were taking over that’s how many cards you put down and the last card is the one that counts. For example, I rolled a 4 and wanted to take four Eriks spots so we put down 3 face down cards on the table then the fourth one is shown which I had the higher card therefore I take his land and all of the cards. Surprisingly I ended up winning by taking over all the surrounding land but still was trying to figure out how to incorporate the middle Island.

Play Session 2:

In the second play session I decided to have one of my best friends Parker come over to come test out the game with me. I gave him the rundown of the game so we played until we got to the point where the outside lands were filled but still the middle island was empty. Then the idea popped into our head to make the middle island be some type of third party. I didn’t have any other colored chips but ran out to my car to check to see if I had any change. Most of the same coins I had were pennies so we used those to fill up the middle island. This was the moment when “Necromancer Abraham Lincoln” was born. There are certain parts on the map that have bridges connecting to Abe’s domain which are the only paths you can take in order to challenge him for his land. In order to even be worthy to challenge his greatness you must flip the penny and call heads or tales. If you lose it goes on to the next round but if you win then you challenge Abe to a game of BlackJack. The person not challenging Abe becomes Abe on for the Black Jack game so that he can deal the cards. If you lose to Abe it just goes to the next round but if you win you take that piece of land. For this we also brought in a second deck of cards since we couldn’t use our own. This brought a fun imaginative aspect to the game that made us constantly laugh and get excited to fight Necromancer Abe. Parker had successfully defeated Abe but unfortunately he had to leave so we weren’t able to finish the game.

Play Session 3:

For the third and final play session I played it with Collin in class. This time around we were actually able to finish the game and made some more adjustments along the way. For example, instead of starting the game by being able to put your colored chips anywhere you had choose a corner of the map and make sure you can only build off of the ones you have placed. By doing this it made it more fair or else you could place your chips near all of the bridges right away and try to fight Necromancer Abraham Lincoln. The game progressed and we came along another situation where there had been a tie between Abe and Collin when they had battled each other. We decided to make it interesting by doing a “double or nothing” aspect to where the winner of the hand gets to put two of their pieces down to defend that area of land. Collin lost resulting in there now being a Super Necromancer Abraham Lincoln prowling the area.

The ending of the game was the most intense because Collin was technically winning when it came to taking over the center island but I had rolled to take out the rest of his men and he was down to the last of his cards. So when we played the last of the cards we somehow came to a tie which wasn’t very likely. That is when we both agreed on rolling the dice and the highest number gets the cards with that area of land. We both roll the dice with excitement but unfortunately Collin ends up losing in the end. From that too we also learned that there are three different ways to winning which are: take over all of Necromancer Abe’s domain in the middle, take all of your opponents cards or wipe out all of their troops. Overall, we both had a good time playing and there didn’t seem to be a dull moment.

January 31st, 2020

Worst Case Scenario The Game of Surviving Life

Players: Sabrina, Ray, Baseball Brandon, Beanie Brandon

Link: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/26101/worst-case-scenario-game-surviving-life

Mechanics: On the website it showed “N\A” and I even tried googling them separately.

Link to session report: On the website it also didn’t show anybody elses reports. 

Experience: There wasn’t any session report from another source but on the website it did give this description 

“The newest addition to our line of Worst Case Scenario games takes players from birth to death through life’s stages – youth, college, career, family – with 600 thought-provoking, fun-filled questions. With game pieces that move across the board with removable body-parts, the challenge is to get through the game with all parts intact while gathering rewards along the way. The player who accumulates the most gold pieces while losing the least body-parts is the winner.”

For us this was pretty much the exact same experience with a nice challenge. The game is very straight forward with knowledge you can apply to the real world.

Our groups session report:

1. Sabrina rolled higher than one so she moves to school days.
2. Sabrina chose B and got it wrong. 
3. Sabrina removes a body part.
4. Baseball Brandon rolls above a 1 and moves forward. is next in turn gets his question wrong and loses a body part
5. Baseball Brandon answers correctly and gets a token
6. Ray rolls above one moves forward and gets asked a question
7. Ray gets it wrong and loses a body part.
8. Sabrina rolls 6 gets a part back and answers correctly.
9. The Dude rolls 4 and moves 4 and gets asked a question answers correctly keeps body parts.
10. Beanie Brandon rolls 1 moves 1 and answers wrong loses body part. 
11. Ray rolls 3 moves 3 and answers correctly.
12. Sabrina rolls 5 moves 5 and moves to red space answers correctly and gets a body part back.
13. Baseball Brandon rolls 1 moves 1 answers wrong and loses part.
14. Beanie Brandon rolls 3 moves 3 answers right gets gold coin.
15. Ray rolls 1 moves 1 and answers wrong and loses a part.
16. Sabrina rolls 6 moves 1 onto golden years answers wrong and loses a part.
17. Baseball Brandon rolls 2 moves 1 onto golden years and answers wrong loses a part.
18. Beanie Brandon rolls 5 moves 2 onto golden years and answers right and gets token.
19. Ray rolls 6 moves 1 onto golden years and answers wrong and loses a part.
20. Sabrina rolls 4 moves 4 and answers wrongs loses a part.
21. Baseball Brandon rolls 6 moves 6 onto golden years and answers right and gets a part back.
22. Beanie Brandon rolls 1 moves 1 and answers right.
23. Ray rolls 3 moves 3 onto golden years answers right and gets part back.
24. Sabrina rolls 3 moves 3 onto golden years answers incorrectly and loses a part.
25. Baseball Brandon rolls 4 moves 4 and answers correctly.
26. Beanie Brandon rolls 5 moves 5 onto golden years answers right gets a coin.
27. Ray rolls 1 moves 1 answers wrong loses a part.
28. Sabrina rolls 4 moves 4 onto red answers right and gets a part back.
29. Baseball Brandon rolls 5 moves 5 onto golden years answers right and gets a coin.
30. Beanie Brandon rolls 2 moves 2 onto golden years and answers wrong loses a part.
31. Ray rolls 2 moves 2 onto golden years and answers right gets a coin.
32. Sabrina rolls 4 moves onto golden years and answers right and gets a coin.
33. Baseball Brandon rolls a 4 moves 4 onto red and answers wrong dies and is in graveyard.
34. Beanie Brandon rolls 3 moves 3 and answers right.
35. Beanie Brandon gets declared winner.