While I waste more time waiting for the DESIGN to "crystalize" (pun intended!) I find that I am developing the game further such that some aspects of the game are no longer "remote" or "esoteric" areas of the design.
One of those "areas" was the Ex-P Crystals. There had been an issue about these specific Crystals because they can be used with Actions to make some POWERFUL decisions impacting your turn a bit.
So if you could ONLY take three (3) of some of the more COMMON Actions, that would leave two (2) Action Points (APs) that could serve some better use. Well previously that would NOT be possible, because players would start with NO (0) Ex-P Crystals. And why this was a Bad Design decision has become pretty obvious.
Specifically there were supposed to be nine (9) of these Ex-P Crystal and players would gather them when they were drawn from a Conquest. This meant that at the VERY START of the game, none of the players (2-Players or 4-Players) had any of these REQUIRED Crystals...
Therefore I decided to GIVE each player three (3) of these Crystals and put the others in the bag. In a 4-Player game that meant that the TOTAL had to be HIGHER than nine (9) and therefore twelve (12) in total.
But upon further design, I realized that this STILL was NOT enough. I wanted more flexibility and people to USE those Crystals as they needed them. So I have now settled on twenty (20) Ex-P Crystals and each player starts and has a maximum of five (5) per player. In a 2-Player duel, that means ten (10) and in a 4-Player versus, that means five (5) each for a total of twenty (20)...
How this changes the design a bit is something like this:
This is the LASTEST and greatest version with the NEW counts which I believe will make PLAYABILITY IMPROVED such that you need to use the Crystals WISELY ... but they are available to the players from the very start of the game.
Please feel free to share your comments/questions/concerns regarding this topic in the event that you have something you'd like to add to this thread. Thanks and as always cheers!
Comments
Still working on the Index for the Gamebook
I'm about 75% done with the Rulebook Index (or Gamebook as I now call it). There are still a few entries that need to be revised and someone generally needs to PROOF the entire document for accuracy and proper grammar (and no typos...)
I'm hoping I can get this done by TONIGHT and then PRINT a PROOF tomorrow and go from there...
It is really exciting since I made some minor ESTHETIC corrections which lead to more understandable gameplay (like color-coordinating the fervor track)... So Blue = Battle, Red = Food and Yellow = Treasure.
That was a BIG change (even if it seems minor) and it has a very VISUAL impact too... In any case, I'm going to TRY to wrap things up TONIGHT for tomorrow. I've got some errands to run and an appointment with my mechanic to change the tires.
In any case, I should be able to finish the Index this AFTERNOON! We'll see if I can STICK to that DEADLINE! Hahaha...
90% done and asking for a proof-reading...
I've printed a physical copy at 125% with two (2) pages per paper (8.5" x 11") and will wait for my Family members to review the rulebook and comment as to the grammar and typos found in the document. In addition, if there are any sentences that don't make sense (and not the gameplay) in English for whatever the reasons I will get to editing and correcting those errors.
I will proof read it myself on Sunday and see if I can spot errors too... And just check the overall CLARITY of the rulebook: meaning is the game well made and understandable... Or do I have areas which need further editing.
Right now, no surprises that I hope to enter it in the "Cardboard Edison" Award Contest ... But I've got to move my butt along because there isn't too much time left for the rulebook and getting that finalized and shipped (that's the major part of the problem, it takes like 2 to 3 weeks for items to arrive in Canada) and I will need this prior to speaking with the people who need to make the Video for me... Yeah I'm having it professionally done ... Because I don't have the equipment to do it myself and I don't want to use a SmartPhone or such device to film then entire video (which needs to be under 3 minutes).
So all that has to happen SOON... Probably finished in December (some time) and then I'll be ready to mail my physical copy of the game in time for the end of the submissions period (January 31, 2023).
Lots to do and finish up... And we'll see IF I can get it all done. I should be able ... There is still like 2 to 3 months left. It just means that for the time being I need to FOCUS on CH as being the most important design and put other designs on-hold.
Sincerely.
Wrapped up the Rulebook for CH!
100% done. I have already uploaded the files tonight and am going to BUY my copy of the Game Tile Lord Edits and the Gamebook (or Rulebook) and get that expressed to me ASAP because it is going to AT LEAST take 2 weeks to ship.
No point in wasting time ... I'm working on getting the REVISED Gamebook ready to be proofed by my Video Team (outsourced) to produce an instructional video for the game.
Cheers all!
Congratulations
Congratulations to you sir for getting your game CH rule book complete.
Jesse
Keep going the distance.
Thanks @Jesse...
Was a hard and long process... I had so much EDITING to do it wasn't funny. Plus I had to re-format the "presentation background" since the previous version was just too PLAIN and VANILLA. I worked with Photoshop and managed to alter a parchment paper to something LESS intrusive and made my own version which was more of a fit for MY Rulebook. It looks pretty decent TBH.
I ordered my Rulebook and some Card Edits for CH and expressed them (~$20 USD only) ... So it is still affordable. I try to make for affordable purchases when designing games (especially with Prototypes).
Thank you for your kind words ... I'm always "trying" to go the distance.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_HoMkkRHv8&t=47
Enjoy the video and cheers!