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[WIP] (Components Ready) The Time Machine: Future Assault (Design for Novel Games Contest)

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LoveInPaintCreations
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Hey! I'm back again with another game design! My latest game is based off of the HG Wells novel 'The Time Machine'.

This is a very quick semi co-op battle card game where you will be playing either the Morlock, Time Traveler, or Eloi fighting for your race's survival.

I have the Rules and Components ready to check out and try out. If ya'll would be so kind. Keep in mind, this is before the artwork, of course.

I feel like this will be ready for playtesting!

Here's the link: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1NK9LZxKSzaOytH9FvbtFsEJUpw5IluT-...

Thanks for everyone's help and opinions!

Jessi

wob
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hello. i love the concept and

hello.
i love the concept and cant see any obvious problems so far but it is hard to judge without seeing the cards.

during the day all players draw 3 and discard 1 of them, but each character has a different number of skill slots. are there multiple rounds of this or does each player repeat until their slots are full then the next player begins? it might be easier to say " draw the number of skill cards stated on your character card +x, discard x"
this could even be an extra ability ie some characters have more skill slots but others have more choice of skills.
i look forward to seeing the card mockups.

LoveInPaintCreations
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wob wrote:hello. i love the

wob wrote:
hello.
i love the concept and cant see any obvious problems so far but it is hard to judge without seeing the cards.

during the day all players draw 3 and discard 1 of them, but each character has a different number of skill slots. are there multiple rounds of this or does each player repeat until their slots are full then the next player begins? it might be easier to say " draw the number of skill cards stated on your character card +x, discard x"
this could even be an extra ability ie some characters have more skill slots but others have more choice of skills.
i look forward to seeing the card mockups.

Thanks for checking out my rules!

The players will be repeating drawing the cards until they have reached their slot number. I have it done like this partly because there are race-specific skill cards, so they'll be "stuck" with the other 2 cards they drew. Also, there are a couple cards that gives them a special chance to take an opponent's cards, making them lose a skill.

wob
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race specific cards in one

race specific cards in one deck are a fine idea but you need to be careful. in a worst case scenario a player could only draw cards they cant use (just a guess, your maths might be right). you could gaurd against that with a "default" on each card. for example a morlock weapon that does 5 damage when used properly but only 1 when used incorrectly (by an eloi).
again this might not be a problem, i suspect you would be very unlucky to never get a useable skill, but edge cases should always be considered.

LoveInPaintCreations
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wob wrote:race specific cards

wob wrote:
race specific cards in one deck are a fine idea but you need to be careful. in a worst case scenario a player could only draw cards they cant use (just a guess, your maths might be right). you could gaurd against that with a "default" on each card. for example a morlock weapon that does 5 damage when used properly but only 1 when used incorrectly (by an eloi).
again this might not be a problem, i suspect you would be very unlucky to never get a useable skill, but edge cases should always be considered.

I have tried to thwart that happening by having very few that are like that. However, I may go ahead and look to your advice for using 1 when incorrectly. That may well work!

wob
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hi. i like the simplicity of

hi.
i like the simplicity of your game. your cards can obviously use illustrations, i would say behind the text. fortunately the book is out of copy and so are the original illustrations (but check they are from an old enough copy)
i would look at determination again. if i am reading the rules right it makes you immortal.

LoveInPaintCreations
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Hey Wob! I really appreciate

Hey Wob! I really appreciate your feedback throughout this process!

I'm glad you like the simplicity - I was worried or was too simple and this wouldn't be much fun. I agree, it does need illustrations and that's my next step, as I am also an illustrator. I have had a hard time telling which exactly the original Morlocks from the book drawings were and which is just fanart. That being said, I have nailed down the concepts I have for the time traveler and Eloi, but can't seem to create a Morlock I like (I've created 10 total as of today)

wob
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i would never worry about the

i would never worry about the weight of your game, especially it being too light to be fun. i find the opposite is normally true. the heavier the game the harder it is to make it fun.
lighter games are great for casual gamers, younger kids and those days you dont want to spend 6 hours roaming a dungeon.
also alot of the fun of games comes from the interaction rather than the game. i couldnt play memory match with my grown up friends, but my nephew will literally squeal in delight when he finds that he match i forgot. (although saying that drunk kids games can work well)
for your morlocks i would base them on the 1960s rod taylor film, when i think of a morlock thats what i see, not the god-awful thing with guy pierce.

let-off studios
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Game of Phones

At first glance everything seems to be mechanically sound. My only suggestion is to slightly change -Game of Phones- so that the player who uses it chooses which card they take from their opponent, as opposed to using a qualifier like "the best card." I imagine this will reduce confusion or debate about what makes something the "best," and leaves more decision-making to the player who played it.

I like that this has a brief play time and that it can accommodate a broad number of players. It's kind of like a game that determines who buys the next round of drinks for the group of friends at the pub for game night. :)

LoveInPaintCreations
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wob wrote:i would never worry

wob wrote:
i would never worry about the weight of your game, especially it being too light to be fun. i find the opposite is normally true. the heavier the game the harder it is to make it fun.
lighter games are great for casual gamers, younger kids and those days you dont want to spend 6 hours roaming a dungeon.
also alot of the fun of games comes from the interaction rather than the game. i couldnt play memory match with my grown up friends, but my nephew will literally squeal in delight when he finds that he match i forgot. (although saying that drunk kids games can work well)
for your morlocks i would base them on the 1960s rod taylor film, when i think of a morlock thats what i see, not the god-awful thing with guy pierce.

Thanks for saying that; it makes me feel better about the game. I do have a Morlock I finally like ( https://www.instagram.com/p/Bs0vzRdB6PV/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link ) It's only taken me 11 different drawings...I was getting worn down! Guy pierce's Morlocks were AWFUL!

let-off studios wrote:
At first glance everything seems to be mechanically sound. My only suggestion is to slightly change -Game of Phones- so that the player who uses it chooses which card they take from their opponent, as opposed to using a qualifier like "the best card." I imagine this will reduce confusion or debate about what makes something the "best," and leaves more decision-making to the player who played it.

I like that this has a brief play time and that it can accommodate a broad number of players. It's kind of like a game that determines who buys the next round of drinks for the group of friends at the pub for game night. :)

Thanks, I'll play around with that Game of Phones card and see if I can't relieve that tension of choice and playtest it.

questccg
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I like the Morlock you designed

It feels like a cross between a Jungle Boy and Lord of the Flies... That's the kind of vibe it gives me... Which makes me think that these Morlocks live in a very remote place on some island somewhere...

Here's a sample from the Special Effects guys from the "movie" I believe. Could give you some more ideas too!

This got me this other image too... Morlock Hunters:

Best...

wob
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your a better artist than i

your a better artist than i am. i'd have no hope of drawing a morlock. i like that its not too nightmarish, you dont want to terrify younger players. i might have made it a bit more "devolved", hairier, more ape-like. but thats just my personal preference. your pic does look awesome.

let-off studios
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Morlocks

I agree with wob on this. Your design for the Morlock looks excellent! Dramatic and action-oriented enough for typical gamers, without being too off-putting for parents or too scary for younger players.

Have you paired it up with an Eloi design yet so you can gauge the contrast between the two - or any similarities?

LoveInPaintCreations
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questccg wrote:It feels like

questccg wrote:
It feels like a cross between a Jungle Boy and Lord of the Flies... That's the kind of vibe it gives me... Which makes me think that these Morlocks live in a very remote place on some island somewhere...

Here's a sample from the Special Effects guys from the "movie" I believe. Could give you some more ideas too!

This got me this other image too... Morlock Hunters:

Best...

What do you think of this version: https://www.reddit.com/r/tabletopgamedesign/comments/aino9e/attempt_12_f...

wob wrote:
your a better artist than i am. i'd have no hope of drawing a morlock. i like that its not too nightmarish, you dont want to terrify younger players. i might have made it a bit more "devolved", hairier, more ape-like. but thats just my personal preference. your pic does look awesome.

Thanks! I have taken your comments into account and have created another, more ape-like Morlock. What do you think?

let-off studios wrote:
I agree with wob on this. Your design for the Morlock looks excellent! Dramatic and action-oriented enough for typical gamers, without being too off-putting for parents or too scary for younger players.

Have you paired it up with an Eloi design yet so you can gauge the contrast between the two - or any similarities?

Thank you! I haven't paired them together but I do plan on bringing them together on the computer and playing with them for the cards.

questccg
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#1 was better IMHO

LoveInPaintCreations wrote:
What do you think of this version: https://www.reddit.com/r/tabletopgamedesign/comments/aino9e/attempt_12_f...

Thanks! I have taken your comments into account and have created another, more ape-like Morlock. What do you think?

I like BOTH. But I think I prefer the "humanoid" (1st one) better. He looked more "fierce"! You're definitely a good artist... The "ape-like" one looks okay ... but he seems less "combative" that the humanoid...

That's why I prefer #1 (the humanoid)!

LoveInPaintCreations
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questccg wrote: I like BOTH.

questccg wrote:

I like BOTH. But I think I prefer the "humanoid" (1st one) better. He looked more "fierce"! You're definitely a good artist... The "ape-like" one looks okay ... but he seems less "combative" that the humanoid...

That's why I prefer #1 (the humanoid)!

I think I agree with you, I prefer the humanoid one as well. So many people have told me it needs to be more apelike, and I like what I came up with, but when I put them side-by-side, I still prefer the humanoid one.

LoveInPaintCreations
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Character Lineup

Played around with the Morlock a little bit. Here's the current lineup I'm wanting to use for the game. Opinions?

https://www.reddit.com/r/tabletopgamedesign/comments/aj2wjt/my_character...

let-off studios
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Tough Eloi

That Eloi looks like it would kick a lot more ass than I recall from the books. But maybe that's just personal preference.

Otherwise, the characters all seem distinct and contrasting enough that it's clear they're different from one another. They all make good character designs and would be great additions to the faction cards you have in mind.

Squinshee
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Some thoughts after looking

Some thoughts after looking through these docs:

1) You may want to visually differentiate game effect text and flavor text on your cards.

2) Am I correct in seeing that "Fatigue" is strictly worse than "Carnage"? If so, you many want to consider thinking about how each card can be used successfully in different situations rather than making some cards always better than others.

wob
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looking at your two morlocks

looking at your two morlocks i definitely prefer the more human one. it looks like a feral baby, i dont know if thats good or bad though.

your time traveler is perfect, no notes there.

your eloi is also cool but as others have said she looks tough. i suppose thematically the eloi are at the point where they're no longer happy being cattle, or you wouldnt have a game.

overall i would say your there with the art. i could imagine them in the disney version, (a compliment by the way) they remind me of their tarzan film.

be careful not to take on too much feedback on the art side of things as you'll never get a consensus. your mechanics will either work or be broken but things like art are just too subjective.

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