game design workshop – Matt Oztalay

Judge, Jury, OBJECTION!

Below are the (still in progress) rules for a game developed by Jonathan Yao, Ben Throop, Stan Chin, and I as part of the 10th Annual Game Design Workshop. In this exercise we were tasked with, in 45 minutes, creating a game that will trigger the emotions of Schadenfreude and ambivalence in the players.

The game started with the emotions, then we moved to the theme which gave an excellent context and narrative setting for our two emotions. Naturally, this theme was a courtroom. This led us down the trail to mechanics based off Blackjack, in which the goal of the player is to There are three roles for players:

1) Judge – The Dealer
The dealer deals one card face down (the Surprise Witness) and one card face up (Evidence) to each of the attorneys.
2) Attorneys – Players
The Attorneys are the two players to the right of the dealer
These players may take the following actions:
-“Call the next witness”, the Judge gives one card, face up, to that attorney.
-“Rest my case”, the attorney believes the total value of his evidence is higher than the other attorney and will no longer call witnesses.
-“Objection!”, after both attorneys rest their case, and the jury has bet (more on this later), each attorney may “object” to another player’s piece of evidence. This card is then removed from that players evidence string and is not counted in their final total.

3) Jury – Bettors
The jury consists of all players not designated as the Judge, or the Attorneys. These players may bet on each attorney after the judge has dealt them their initial evidence.

At the Start
All players are given an amount of poker chips determined by the player, but greater than 10 “units”
Each player draws one card, the player with the card of highest value is designated as “The Judge”

In the Courtroom
The Judge deals each attorney a Surprise Witness, and a piece of Evidence. The attorney to which a Surprise Witness is dealt may look at their surprise witness, but may not reveal it to other players.
Each member of the jury, in turn, will bet on which attorney they feel has the highest chance of winning
The Defense Attorney, the Attorney furthest from the Judge, is given the choice to “Call the next witness” or “Rest my case”
The Prosecuting Attorney, the Attorney closest to the Judge, is given the same choice
This continues until both attorneys have rested their cases
The Defense Attorney is now given the chance to “Object!” to one of the Prosecuting Attorney’s pieces of evidence
The Prosecuting Attorney is given the same chance
Once both attorneys have rested their cases, and filed objections, the Jury goes into “Deliberation” in which they may place additional bets on each of the attorneys.
Once the Jury has finished deliberating, the attorneys show their surprise witnesses, and the total value of their evidence is added
Whichever attorney has the greatest value of evidence that is not greater than 12 is declared the winner

(This is roughly were the game still needs some work. We still need to hash out how this phase of the game is resolved. I encourage the participants to comment and discuss.)

After that case is resolved, the Judge passes the deck of cards to the player on his left, and player begins again.

Saratoga Sabotage

Below are the rules to Saratoga Sabotage, the Oregon Trail-themed modification of SiSSYFiGHT3000 developed by Rory Fitz-Gerald, Jon Manning, Leo Cho, Taylor Kalajan, Ryan Milligan, and I as part of the 10th Annual Game Design Workshop at GDC this year.

Players: 4 to 6

Players start with 5 white poker chips, and five blue poker chips
White poker chips denote progress toward the West Coast, or progress points.
Blue poker chips denote supplies/ammo

Goal – Be the first to reach 12 progress points

Each player has a deck with the following cards –

Target Cards
-Red
-Blue
-Green
-Purple
-White
-Black
-Self

Action Cards

Move
- “Head West” – Target = Self – Gain one progress point
- “Convoy” – Target = Another player, and that player targets you with a move action – Both gain 2 progress points, both lose 1 supply point
Bullet
- “Get Supples” – Target = Self – Gain 2 supply chips
- “Sabotage” – Target = Another player – That player loses one progress point, initiating player loses 1 supply point
Raid
- If and only if 2 or more players play “Raid” and target the same player – Target player loses 2 progress points per attacker, attacking players lose 1 supply point each. If only one person raids another player, no damage is dealt and the attacker loses a supply point.
Defend
- “Circle the Wagons” – Target = Self – Divide total number of lost progress points in a round by half, round down. You now lose that many progress points. If no one attacks you, you lose a progress point.
- “Git Of Mah Land” – Target = Bullet – You take no damage from any “Bullet” attacks which target you, and you take the supply points those players lost in attacking you. If no one attacks you, you lose a progress point.
- “Indians!” – Target = Raid – You take no damage from any “raid” attacks which target you, and you take the supply points those players lost in attacking you. If no one attacks you, you lose a progress point. If only one person performs a raid attack against you, you do not lose a progress point.
- “You Scoundrel!” – Target = Another player – You take no damage from that player, and instead the damage is reflected onto that player. You gain the supply point that player lost in attacking you.

All communication must be public.
All communication does not have to be comprehensible to all players, but must be in a mutually agreed-upon language.

At the start of a game players choose their color, and place that color card in front of them on the table.

1 Round = 2 Turns
No cards played in the 1st turn of a round can be played in the 2nd turn of a round.

A Round –

Turn 1 –
Players choose their action, and the target of that action and lay those cards face down in front of them.
Once all players have chosen an action and a target, all players’ actions and targets are revealed simultaneously.
Players resolve the results of their actions.
Players do not pick up the cards in front of them at the end of this turn. The cards played cannot be played again in this round.

Turn 2-
Players choose another action, and another target.
Once all players have chosen an action and a target, all players’ actions and targets are revealed simultaneously.
Players resolve the results of their actions and targets.
Players pick up all the cards they have laid down in that round and begin a new round.

If at end of a round, a player has 12 progress points, he is declared the winner.
For the purposes of action-resolution, attacks are resolved before progress points are awarded.