I am not actually making this game, because I was only trying to make a game idea design portfolio to apply to a game development school. But, it is too late and I have a bad portfolio mark. But, I still want a feedback why my idea is too weak? My game is called Rock Paper Scissors Ship Battle. Is it because it is too simple to play?
It probably isnât but it seems like a lot of reading for something that would be easily experienced firsthand using a rectangles for ships prototype.
Did you turn in the game design document in English, or did you translate it for the forum? Because the grammar is really all over the place, and some sentences really donât seem to make any sense (âuses new type of random luckinessâ?). I understand if youâre not a native speaker, but in that case you should probably get a proofreader for important stuff like that.
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On the design itself, what advantage does adding the the paper-scissors-rock element actually give your game? It seems that winning the ârandomâ draw to get power will become more significant the the actual ability to play the game itself. The game seems stuck between being a luck based filler and a strategic game. If you want luck to dominate do straight up paper-scissors-rock and keep track of score. If you want strategy to dominate then remove the paper-scissors-rock element altogether.
There are some other major design flaws. It seems the first player to build a ship could dominate by preventing the other player from building their fourth power. If the player canât build a fourth power, they canât ever build ships or shields.
Plus your players start in the loss condition. If you loose as soon as you have no power, and players start with no power, that means the game is lost.
The point of a game designer is not to come up with ideas. The point of a game designer is to shape ideas into a cohesive system that actually works as a game. And make sure it is fun at the same time. Youâve built a fundamentally broken system. I wouldnât dare show it as a portfolio piece.
You say the player can choose to do something. Does that mean they could choose not to do anything & save the point for use later? Also, there doesnât seem to be any strategy, you place a ship & shoot the player or occasionally buy a shield. Since being able to do any of those relies on luck to win the RPS there isnât any strategy after that point, you just place a ship where there is no shield or buy a shield if you have none & your opponent has a ship.
As @GarBenjamin said, this could be played with bits of paper. Make up a paper prototype & get people you donât know to read the rules & play the game while you stand back & watch. Look at their faces as well to see if they look like they are having fun, watch them make their decisions to see if they are actually having to think about what to do. This will give you the best indication of whether it is any good. Family & friends may be to nice to give honest feedback so find complete strangers at local game clubs etc.
Good luck
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When the game is just starting is not a loosing position, because the player is not actually loosing any more power in the end when the player have no power at the beginning. Therefore, it is alright to start this game without power, because you are not actually losing any power at the beginning phase only.
True, maybe my school marker give me a bad mark, because he thought I am a careless writer with a poor language skill. I thought my writing will be at least understandable.
Shoot, I used to play test this game a lot of times. To be honest I have copied my game idea that is similar to the Tin Ha Tai Ping. But, I just find my old game reference that I by accidentally forgot to add in the three free extra Flag life point before the game starts.
What was the feedback from players? & did you try blind play testing it or was it only done with family & friends?
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I do not really need much feedback, because I kind of copy the game from Tin Ha Tai Ping, where a lot of people used to play Tin Ha Tai Ping. The Tin Ha Tai Ping was a old Chinese popular drawing figure game. I used to play Tin Ha Tai Ping with my friends. But, I might still need feedback, because I have changed some of the Tin Ha Tai Ping design. But, my game idea is just a art portfolio that I do not really need much feedback I think.
But you wanted to know what was wrong with your design. If you want to put a design in your portfolio you want it to be good as that is what other people will look at when deciding whether to hire you or not. Why put a bad design in your portfolio? That would be like an artist putting stick figures & doodles in their portfolio & saying they are really good at 3D animated characters & virtual environments. The best way to find the flaws in your design is to give the game to other people to play it.
Also, if it is a copy of a well known game you need to highlight how yours is different, why it is better because of the changes youâve made, & be able to support your claim with statistics & player feedback if asked.
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I guess you were right that I should practice more game design. I guess it is too soon to design this game that deeply, because I have not started a game school yet. My game school starts at September 2016. Also this Rock Paper Scissors Ship Battle game design is only my portfolio to apply a game school as I have said from before. It is not my random piece of an artwork portfolio. I just want a feedback to know why I have a bad portfolio mark. I think my mark is bad because of my bad writing skills. I might need to play test with another real player instead of only getting feedback from this forum only when I am starting a future school project or a future side business.