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Dexterity Racing Game

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WinsmithGames
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Hey Folks

I have an idea for a dexterity combat, racing game (along the lines of Mario Kart and Twisted Metal), but have a question that I want to bounce off you all.

  • What would be your preferred method of car movement? Flick, roll, push, propel (with something like a bulb syringe)
  • Would you prefer the "car" to be something abstract, like a ball, disc (like Pitchcar), or square? Or would you prefer it to be like the actual vessel matching the game's theme (like a car, boat, plane, etc)?

Ideally, it'd be great to make the game real-time, as that would best mimic the pressure of a race. However, I'm not sure the best way to do it, since players would physically be crowding around a track (and I'm not yet sure how to manage that via game mechanics/rules).

What do you all think?

JewellGames
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Flickin' Cars with Guns

This home-brew game got a lot of attention a few years back. Seems like it used actual cars that you flicked.

Flicking an object in the shape of the vessel would be optimal but both of my own home-brew dexterity games (Banhammer and Sheepdogs!) use discs with stickers.

WinsmithGames
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Flickin' Cars With Guns looks

Flickin' Cars With Guns looks sweet. It's definitely very different from my game, but that doesn't make it less interesting.

The differences are:

  • It's pure combat, and no racing. I want mine to primarily be a race, with power-ups being secondary.
  • There's no defined track. My idea, b/c it's racing, is there is a defined track.
  • There's no primary action/resource selection mechanic. (Sure, you choose where to flick and maybe who to target, but you only have one action, ie flick the car. My thoughts are to have players either choose to flick or use a power-up card for their turn. So when you use the power-up cards could have a major implication to the game outcome. (Like you may want try to get further ahead to target someone with a power-up.)

FCWG looks sweet, but in terms of analogies, that's more like the Battle Mode of Mario Kart, and I'm looking more towards the Racing Mode of Mario Kart.

I'm glad to hear that you also prefer the actual vehicle pieces. I agree that it would make the game feel so much more real.

questccg
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For your track...

You can do something similar to "Nitro Dice" and use cards to configure a race track, which can be different each time you race:

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/94002/nitro-dice

"Formule De" is also another well known racing game:

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/64897/formule-de

That game comes with various board expansions for other racing tracks.

"Street Kings" is a newer production, I've never checked it out - but I had seen an ad about the game. Here's their bgg link:

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/175626/street-kings

That's about all that I know of in terms of racing... If I were you, I would try to blend an RPG and your Racing game so that you can BLING out your car with mods and nitro tanks. Sort of like customizing your vehicle in between races... Maybe use a Market Deck and offer up FOUR (4) mods and allow each player to buy 0 or 1 mod.

Just an idea. I always wanted to see a "car racing game" that had the whole "customize" your vehicle... But never saw that in any game... Meh, don't know why sounds like FUN to me!

Cheers!

WinsmithGames
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Thanks Quest for the input!

Thanks Quest for the input! Those are good references. I haven't played Formula D yet, but really want to. It looks awesome.

I watched reviews for Street Kings and Nitro Dice, which neither look that interesting to me.

Have you played Downforce? It's a fantastic game.

So my plan is to make a racing Dexterity game, where you Flick your car down the track or play a power-up card (hopefully an interesting decision). It wouldn't be that difficult to have race track tiles that lay together, so you could customize the track. Also, I would like the vehicles to be different from one another, and players draft their vehicle at the beginning of the game. The vehicles could be different sizes, shapes, and weight densities.

questccg
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Hmm... I don't know too much about racing

Indycar have to use the SAME identical Block and work-around that to customize the vehicle in that each player gets a specific set of components (cards) and then they can race and upgrade different aspects of the car as they gain more experience.

I can't say that I am a FAN of "dexterity" games... To me this sounds like a "gimmick". "Flicking a car" doesn't sound very appealing (to me). Nor would tracks that are comprised of cards be very compatible with the "dexterity" element. But it's your game ... and if you absolutely WANT it to be "dexterity"-oriented that's your choice as a designer.

TBH I just feel like the "customize" your race car with all kinds modifications by using RPG elements would be pretty cool. Never seen much racing games that allow you to customize your cars with all kinds of variation...

Or you could go "Street Racing" and then you can have pretty much the type of cars you choose to be included in the game. Streets might be more of what you might want to design... But still not convinced about the "Flicking" dexterity aspect. I would cut it out and focus on designing a nice "racing" game with plenty of variation

Anyhow let us know how your design progresses.

WinsmithGames
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Don't get me wrong, I like

Don't get me wrong, I like the idea of a campaign-style racing game, where you earn money and can buy upgrades (I could actually see that working well in a game like Downforce, where money is a real element to the game). That's just not what I'm looking to design right now.

I hear you loud and clear. Many people aren't into dexterity games. Personally, I'm a huge fan and they make up a sizable portion of my collection, but many of my friends aren't fans of them either.

However, the dexterity element is what I want to try with this game. If I find that it's not that interesting of a mechanic, I could see a Action Selection/Resource Management being a good style for a racing game.

While the flicking element is the core of the racing, I want the Power-Up Cards to be a major feature. Not only would they (theoretically) be interesting abilities, but my idea for utilizing them would (also theoretically) propose an interesting decision to the players. On their turn, they either Drive (ie flick their vehicle), or use a Power-Up.

Power-Ups will be things like:

  • Give to the player in front of you. Their next three flicks must be made with their off-hand.
  • Take a random Power-Up from another player.
  • You take three flicks immediately, but they are with your off-hand.

Another strategy/interesting decision would be the drafting of vehicles and power-ups at the beginning of the game. The vehicles would all be different (in size, shape, weight, speed), so the vehicle you choose matters. Maybe you go with the tank or bulldozer, because it's bigger and other vehicles won't be able to move you so easily. Or maybe you with the motorcycle or sports car because those vehicles are smaller and can maneuver around turns more easily.

A little off-topic, but the main issue I see with most dexterity games are very few interesting decisions or player strategy. My goal would be that at the end of a game, players really feel that their decisions had a major impact to the game's outcome, and that the game wasn't just won by the person who could flick the best. (Although, I know that will be a huge part of it, for sure.)

TL;DR I appreciate your input and feedback. While I know not everyone likes dexterity games, I hope to have a significant element of strategy/interesting decisions for the players so that it's not just a game of who can flick the best.

questccg
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I hear you...

No worries... I read your TL;DR post and I understand. It's the style of game that you want to design: a "partial" dexterity game.

I know of another "dexterity" game called "Fleets at Battle": you throw coaster sized hexes with various Naval boats, and your goal is to SINK your opponent's ships. It's pretty cool... Martin Maly (another BGDF member) is the designer.

Here check out his Video for his game (it's pretty cool game concept):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ssWs_ko-9BU

Martin's English is okay ... but his game is pretty interesting (for a Dexterity game...)

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