Team Members: John Clemens, Paul Farino, Edward Fisher ... · Web viewTeam Members: John Clemens, Paul Farino, Edward Fisher, Heather A. Lacey. Game Title: Brigade Brawlers. Design

Team Members: John Clemens, Paul Farino, Edward Fisher, Heather A. Lacey

Game Title: Brigade BrawlersDesign Document

Latest Revision: July 13, 2012

Class: Design Project, Full Sail University, July, 2012Instructor: Kingsley Montgomery

Design Document for Brigade Brawlers Page 1

Table of Contents

Brigade Brawlers Title Page (Design Document)………………………………………………………………………………………………. 1TABLE OF CONTENTS & BRIGADE BRAWLERS: DESIGN HISTORY…………………………………………………………………………………2

Brigade Brawlers Original Game Board Design (photo)…………………………………………………………………………………… 3

Brigade Brawlers Card Battle Mat (photo)………………………………………………………………………………………………………... 4TYPE CHAPTER TITLE (LEVEL 2)…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..5

Type chapter title (level 3)………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..6………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………...7………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..8………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..9………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………10………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………11………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………12………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………13………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………14………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………15………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………16………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………17………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………18………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………19

Brigade Brawlers: Design History

Knights of Jepth have been focused on preparing Brigade Brawlers for anyone as a target audience. Our designs are based on aesthetics and gameplay that are appropriate for everyone to play. We began designing Brigade Brawlers after a few conversations about what might be fun for children to enjoy together with others and then we added different elements and tools that we thought would make this game interesting and fun for them; as well as something that us as the designers would enjoy as well. As for an exact answer to Brigade Brawlers history, Heather started sending emails to everyone so that we could all get together to start communicating with our team and begin to feel comfortable with everyone. We had several meetings, and one day Heather Lacey brought an idea to the table while having a phone conversation with John Clemens.

During the conversation between John Clemens and Heather Lacey, the basic mechanics that Heather had worked on the night before were discussed as an option for our team to accept or deny as the game that we were going to design for our class. John had agreed that the ideas sounded like they would be something that he would like to work on as well, and Heather began to add the ideas that were discussed to our teams Focus Worksheet for week 1 of our Design Project class. Before we took our design any further, Heather Lacey and John Clemens collaborated the ideas of Brigade Brawlers with our two other team members; Edward Fisher and Paul Farino.

Once we had contacted everyone, we all communicated via Skype messaging, to add other ideas, which added to the finalization of our teams Focus Worksheet. Once we finished our Focus worksheet, our entire team had an understanding of the general elements that would go into Brigade Brawlers. Everyone on our team has


contributed many valuable ideas that have had a positive outlook for our entire team, which will be put to the test in future weeks of our project.

We look forward to delivering the most interesting and advanced form of board and card game ever to be released in this genre of gaming. We at Knights of Jepth follow our determination for developing video and board games that will present players with something innovative to what has been seen in the past. We take our jobs seriously, and hope that everyone will notice that our hard work is valuable and in demand in the gaming industry. That concludes the history of Brigade Brawlers at this time. We all hope that you enjoy Brigade Brawlers, and have a great time playing with your friends and families.

The original game board for Brigade Brawlers looks like this:

(Brigade Brawlers Original Game Board Design)

The Brigade Brawlers Game Board is set up with horizontal, vertical, and diagonal spaces that the player may move when they roll a number on the game’s 12 sided die. The color green is a representation of grass. There will be water, and some of the boxes will be separated by different things like stones, rocks, mountains, and other items that will fit the aesthetics for the environment feel of the game. The bottom left of the board, has a compass


to authenticate the feel of the game, as well as a learning tool for players who are learning the proper directions for north, south, east, and west.

The colors of the game board are not set in stone at this time. There could be several changes to the game board, before we finalize the game for customers to enjoy.

Once the Game Board was designed, it was decided by Heather Lacey to begin designing a card battle mat, which is not included with the game, but will be available for serious players to purchase at a location that sells our products. Here is an original example of what the Brigade Brawlers Card Battle Mat will look like:

As you can see, the Brigade Brawlers Card Battle Mat is basic and simple to understand. Each side/player will have rectangular spaces that are the same size as the playing cards. This is so that each card can nicely fit on top of each of the spaces for an organized gameplay experience that will designate where the playing cards should be placed. There are 4 different spaces for each of the following card types: Brigade, Character, Weapon, and Special. The playing cards that each player decides that they would like to play will be placed on one of the 4 spaces according to their card types.

Version 1.10Version 1.10 includes some changes to the game board that I did after making my initial pass at the design. Here is what I changed.


1. I added an X to the spot where the players will start. (It was a bit confusing to understand where to start).

2. I incorporated a few more spaces to make the game a bit more interesting. (There were not enough spaces in all directions). Also, we felt like if we added more spaces that were next to one another, this would add more intense gameplay for players while trying to takeover spaces.

Here is a photo of how the revised version looks:

Version 2.00After taking time to really look over the design of the Brigade Brawlers board, it was decided to add the

following because we thought that they would be good for the overall design of the game.

Included in the changes are the following:

1. Addition to territory: added an outline to represent the territories into more spaced out territories (such as we have with states and continents). This is so that we understand which spaces will be included in the different areas of the map when we draw out aesthetics with different climates.


2. We have added a key in the bottom right corner that represents different pieces and spaces. (This is so that players can learn of the pieces, while another person may be looking at the game manual).

The following photo is an example of Brigade Brawlers version 2.00:

Version 2.00 has opened up a few new possibilities for gameplay. These are our new possibilities:

Now that there are 4 separated “continents”, they could each have their own names and we can make a rule that once 1 side has taken over all of the spaces in 1 of the full continents, they will take over that continent and players will not be allowed to move in the directions that would set them in that territory.

There could be other game pieces that would mark the full continent once all of the territory spaces within that continent are taken by 1 side or the other.

Version 3.00After taking the game for a test run we made a few changes to the board. The changes made are as followed:

Changed the layout of the spaces so that they would not be to crowded while at the same time still give the players the option of choosing different paths to travel.

Each continent now has the same amount of spaces (25). This change was made so that there will never be a tie in how many spaces are locked by players, regardless of how many players (2-4) play at one time.

We combined the card mat and the game board together. We added multiple starting spaces at each corner of the board so that each player will have their own

starting space. New gameplay elements were added such as “locking territory” so games will not be dragged out too long.


Red – Starting spacesGreen – Territories taken, but not yet lockedYellow – Territories lockedColored X’s – Unclaimed territories/ movement spaces

Game Overview

Philosophy

The purpose of Brigade Brawlers from the beginning of development was to design a game that would be appropriate for children, but also be fun for adults to play. This is something that will be important for families who enjoy having game nights. As adults, having a game night with our children is something that kids look forward to doing and it is important that we incorporate a little something for everyone to enjoy. We didn’t have any ideas for any other games because our team agreed with Brigade Brawlers throughout the entire development process, which is also something that is important. We all had to visualize Brigade Brawlers and agree that it will be a great game, in order for us to begin planning other interesting things that will be included or be able to be purchased by players at designated retail locations that sell our gaming products.


Here are a few of the interesting things that we are planning for Brigade Brawlers: Only 2 players may play with the original game and board pack. Then players may purchase other card

packs, which will randomly include other brigade cards, which will allow for more players. (Each player must have 1 of the 12 brigade cards, and all 12 are different)

There will be several game card packs available. We haven’t began the development of these card packs, but will at some time shortly near the release of the final board and game pack. This will allow players to be excited to be able to have more players included with gameplay.

Our marketing department will design several items which will help familiarize our audience, a few months before the release of Brigade Brawlers.

We will have a whole line of Brigade Brawlers items that will include: game miniature pieces, card packs, battle mats, action figures, cups, shirts, posters, key chains, magnets and any other TBD items that will be of interest to our players.

Designated retail locations and competition spots will have sign up lists for Brigade Brawlers enthusiasts to sign up and winners will be awarded with prizes. There will be a Brigade Brawlers Club fee that must be paid monthly in order for players to be considered for competitions (which at this point is TBD).

Philosophical point #1

Brigade Brawlers is ultimately trying to be of interest to players who will enjoy playing a card battle, territory take over game with a group of friends. We believe that Brigade Brawlers has some interesting elements that players will really enjoy and we are doing our best to make sure that everything is in order and so that our players will have a nice time with fellow players. We are hoping that the release of Bride Brawlers will be interesting enough to spark interest with the board and card game community, as an amazingly entertaining and strategic game that will be featured in board and card game competition lists all over the world.


Brigade Brawlers is a game that will be talked about for years! Players will love the strategic gameplay that is related to: Shadowrun, Pokémon and Risk. The battle cards will be interesting and have different elements that will allow players to connect to their favorites and brawl others with pride in their card battle play choices. The reason why this happens is because we will have many characters and designated Brigade Brawlers teachers that will show others how to play and we will have announcements to explain to potential customers what Brigade Brawlers is all about. They will either choose to play, or not. Brigade Brawlers is an amazingly epic board and card game that will be difficult to put down.


All players who play Brigade Brawlers will be very happy that they did. Our game features two types of gameplay, packed into one unique game. Brigade Brawlers will be of interest to players who enjoy card battling and territory board games. Fans of both types of gaming will be highly impressed with our innovative gameplay and will not help but be hooked.

Common Questions

What is the game?

The name of our game is: Brigade Brawlers. The name for our game was decided based on the fact that there will be 12 different brigade cards that will represent the strength of either magic or technology. Both magic and


technology will have 6 brigades that will be fighting for one side or the other. Since the brigades are battling for their side to be the strongest, the word fighters was what had come to mind as the right word to add to Brigade in order to make it have more description to its title. We were going to go with “Brigade Fighters”, but then the word Brawlers was suggested to be a better fit because the word seemed to be more intense. So we decided on “Brigade Brawlers”, which has a lot of charm to it and makes the game feel more authentic and possess elements that will invite the player’s to be curious about what the game will be like.

Our game genre is a collectable card and board game. Both cards and a territory board are a part of the unique gameplay for this genre. This genre of board/card game is very addicting and will entertain players for hours. We tried to come up the most entertaining mechanics, aesthetic direction, challenges, features, story, and general concept for how Brigade Brawlers will turn out as a completed product. We have acknowledged that members on our team would rather classify our design in an original category without labeling a specific genre, but we generally understand why having genres are important to the production of any product’s development cycle. So we are designing a “Collectable, Card and Board Game” at the moment. There are not any new types of playing pieces that have not been used in other board and card games in this particular style; and that is why we are not going to be creating our own unique genre, but it is our own unique game.

Why create this game?

We are creating Brigade Brawlers because first of all, we enjoy developing games. Mostly, the inspiration for this game was something that would be fun for kids and their friends or family to play together. We love the theme that has been chosen for Brigade battles, which is “Magic vs. Technology”. Our intention is for people to enjoy playing our game with others in a casual and enjoyable environment, with other players who feel happy about playing our game.

Where does the game take place?

From an aesthetic point of view, the Brigade Brawlers game board will look like a map. The map will have different territories clearly outlined. There will be a colorful “Brigade Brawlers” logo on the top of the game board as well as on the game box and on each playing card to properly trademark all game pieces. The playing cards will have unique and colorful art to represent the game’s characters, weapons, specials, and brigades. All art will be original and trademarked as property of our team’s development.

The game takes place in the land of Tazira. There are 2 sides that are battling to own rights to the land. The two sides are Magic and Technology. There is only one way to find out who will win and that is to play!

What do I control?


The player will collect game card decks that will include cards with: characters, weapons, specialties and brigades. With those cards the player will battle the opposing player to take over their territory and prove which side is strongest. The player acts as the General of either the magic or technology side. Each player will move their player piece to different areas of the game board, depending on the number that they roll with their die. Once they have landed on a territory space, they can take it. If the other player chooses to land in a territory space that is already taken, then there will be a card battle to see who wins rights to that spot. This process will continue, until one player (brigade) has taken over the entire game board and proves that either the magic or the technology side is the strongest. Each player must have the same amount of battle cards, which will depend on whether or not they purchase other game packs that will expand each player’s game deck.

How many characters/units/pieces do I control?

The player will have the option to choose which direction on the game board that they would like to move, without skipping spaces. There will be several card decks that are currently on TBD at some time near the release of the original board/card game set. All players will have the option to purchase game miniatures of their favorite characters (few will be available, but custom orders will also be an option). The player may have control over rolling the 12 sided die, that number is the amount of spaces that the player must move.

What is the main focus?

The main focus of Brigade Brawlers is to conquer the four continents in the world of Tazira. Players will claim territories by moving their player piece around the board and landing on “open”, or unclaimed territories spaces. An alternative approach to claiming territories is for a player to land on a territory space that has already been claimed by their opponent and beating their opponent in a card battle to switch ownership of that territory.

What’s different?

Brigade Brawlers is different from other trading card games by incorporating a game board that players can move pieces during gameplay. Likewise, it is different from most board games because players must use trading cards to battle their opponents throughout gameplay. By combining both traditional board game gameplay and the use of trading cards, we are creating a game experience that is unlike any other on the market today. We took this approach because most trading card games in the market today are designed to appeal to a younger crowd and tend to dissuade older players from playing. We hope that by adding a board game element that we can attract players of all ages.

What is the story?

The world of Tazira is dying and must be saved. There are two opinions as to which way the planet is to be saved. One side believes that the use of magic will restore Tazira to its former glory, while the other side believes that technology is the right way towards building a better tomorrow. The ones that fight for magic are called the Sagus, and will use all their magic to fight their enemies and restore Tazira. The ones that fight for technology are called the Machina. They will use all of their knowledge to build machines to attack the opposition and rebuild Tazira.

Both the Machina and the Sagus are at war and will stop at nothing until the other is completely destroyed. The Sagus and the Machina seek world domination so that their armies will grow stronger. In order to achieve this feat they must battle each other for the rights of ownership of the lands of Tazira. Only one side can prevail, which side will you fight for?


Brigade Brawlers is a strategic, tactical, conquering, competitive collectable card/board game hybrid. Brigade Brawlers will test player’s strategic and tactical abilities. There is no time limit as to when each player must make their move, so the player may take their time to think about their next move. Due to the fact that we haven’t reached the testing phase of our game, we are unsure as to if we what to add “special” rules that would include a “timed” match, where each player will have a set amount of time to complete their move or forfeit their turn.

Feature Set

General Features

When the player purchases the original game and board standard set, they will only be able to play with 2 players because the standard deck only includes 2 of the 12 brigade cards. Each player must have 1 of the 12 different brigade cards in order to earn the right to a playing spot. As the players purchase game decks that have other brigade cards, they can be included in the gameplay. There is a possibility of 12 people to play, once all card decks have been purchased from designated retailers that sell our products.

Game Components

1 Game Board with hexes denoted movement spaces Blue glass counters representing player pieces, (working on this, there will have to be different pieces to

better express both brigades without having a mix up in which player is which/possible paper with brigade names will work for now). There are 2 sides: Magic or Technology.

Red glass counters representing Magic Territory Spaces White glass counters representing Technology Territory Spaces 1 12 sided dice 50 Standard battle cards (15 characters, 15 weapons, 18 specialty and 2 brigade) Rule Book Extra pieces that must be purchased separately: game play miniatures, card battle mats, card battle decks

Our game will consist of the following items: We will have 50 cards that are standard with the game board package. The cards will be arranged with: 15 character cards, 15 weapon cards, 18 specialty cards, and 2 brigade cards. There will be 1 (12) sided die, 1 territory game board and a handful of player pieces that will represent the side that they are brawling for. There will also be a handful of color coded pieces to mark the territories that each player has taken over. The players will have the option to purchase other game decks and player miniatures to represent their favorite characters while they are playing.

The conflicts that will arise in Brigade Brawlers will be based on whether or not a player is willing to take a chance to attack the opposing team to take over their territory and when there are more players. This can be a difficult situation because each player must strategize in order to win their card battles. There are going to be a lot of conflicts in the game, especially when there are more people playing.

There is a chance for player cooperation in Brigade Brawlers, but the players must purchase card decks before that is possible. There are only 2 brigade cards that will be included with the standard set, which means that there can only be 2 players, until other card packs that include more brigade cards are purchased. There are 12 possible brigade cards, so if someone purchases decks and has all 12 brigade cards, there can be 12 players in the game. Each player must have 1 brigade card in order to play; and each player’s brigade card must be different. If there


was a full board of 12 players each person would have 1 of the 12 brigade cards with each one will being different. There will be 6 magic and 6 technology brigades. So 6 people will be cooperating to defeat the other 6 players (or however many brigade cards are available to allow each player to play).

Here is a list of the 50 battle cards that will be included with the standard board and card set , including their significances while in card battle mode:

Rules

Overview

The rules of Brigade Brawlers are quite simple. With the original board and card game, there are only allowed to be 2 players because there are only 50 brigade cards included and each player will have 25. This is true until card packs with other brigade cards are purchased. 4 Players total can play when each player has 25 cards..

Only 1 person will be moving on the board at a time. At the start of the game, each player will roll the 12 sided dice. The person with the highest number will be awarded with the right to be first to roll in the game. The person with the next highest will be player 2, and so on. A player may move in


any direction on the board when at a branching point. The player may NOT move backwards during the same move, but may go back the way they came during their next move. (i.e. player rolls a 3, he/she may not move forward 2 then back 1)

Territory spaces must be clearly marked with one of the 2 colors of stones, which represent either the Magic Brigade’s side or the Technology Brigade’s side. The other color stones are meant as representation of player pieces, but they are not accurate because they all look the same. So the best option for testing is to use paper with names labeled or to find player pieces until we go further with the development process.

There is 1 12 sided dice that is the designated means for deciding how many spaces the player will be allowed to move within the territory spaces on the game board. 1 number is equal to 1 space moved on the game board. There is no jumping over/double jumping allowed.

Once a player has placed their territory marker on a space, other players may land on that space to takeover that space. If a player lands on a territory space which is already taken by another player, both the player that had right to that territory (had there marker there), and the player that landed on that space, will have a card battle brawl to decide who will take over rights to that space.

Only 4 playing cards will be allowed for each round when playing a card brawl. The first card is their brigade card, followed by: character, weapon, and special. The players will shuffle all cards, except for their brigade card because that card is special only to each player (to represent their brigade side). The other cards will have different numbers that will be deducted from the opposite players LP.

In card battles, players will both start the battle with 200 LP (life points). Each battle card will have different amounts of LP deduction amounts that will be deducted from the other player who they are battling against. Once one player has lost their entire LP (life points), they will be dead and the player who is still alive (hasn’t lost all 200 LP), will take that space. Then all players will return to the game board and continue playing.

The climate differences do not make the rule that once an entire continent has been taken over then that area is done. (This was discussed as a feature that might be included with version 2.00) We have decided not to include this feature.

Specific Rules

World Map Rules

A player is able to move in any direction on the board when at a branching point. The player may not double over the same point during a single move. They are permitted to backtrack on

proceeding turns.

Battle Rules

Battles occur when enemy players are in the same grid location at the same time. Players must have a shuffled deck of 25 cards. The player is unable to have more than one character, weapon or special in play at a single time. This

limitation can be bypassed with certain cards. When a brigade’s Life Points (LP) drops to 0 or under 0, the player’s brigade retreats. Cards (except the brigade card) can be replaced in the deployment phase. The card that is currently active

must be moved to the bottom of the shuffled deck. Players can attack the enemy’s brigade, or they can also direct their attacks at any other card in play.

Territorial Mini-Battle Specific Rules


Brigades have 100 LP in addition to any continental bonuses at the start of mini-battles. When the battle is finished, the winning faction “locks” the territory.

Final Card Battle Specific Rules

Brigades have the standard 200 LP in addition to any continental bonuses. The winner of the final battle is the winner of the game.

Continental Bonuses

Black continents grant a bonus to defense Red continents grant a bonus to health Blue continents grant a bonus to offence Green continents grant a bonus to magic/tech (depending on the controlling faction)

Game Setup

To set up the game, place the game board on a flat surface so that both players can reach the board equally. There is no battle mat included with the standard card and board deck, so card battles can be done by following the setup that was shown in the photo of the “Brigade Brawlers Card Battle Mat”, on page 4 of this document. To begin the game, both players must choose their brigade side (there are 2 brigade cards included with this standard edition). Once brigades have been decided, both players will separate their stones (territory markers). Then the game is ready to start once the player turn sequence has been established.

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Turn Sequence

Each player will roll the 12 sided dice to see who will be player 1 and who will be player 2. When there are more than 2 players (when game card decks are purchased to allow so), then there will be up to 12 players rolling the 12 sided dice to find out who will go first, second, third, etc. Each person will respect the other players turn and wait patiently until the person before them is finished with their turn.

Flowcharts

The first flowchart explains the gameplay while players are moving their pieces and strategizing the spaces that they will take over when there is another player already on the territory space that they wish to take for their team.


The second flowchart explains the card battling process.

The 3rd flowchart explains the process of LP (life points) while in player card battles.


The 4th flowchart explains the battle phase.


The 5th flowchart explains the full game process.

The 6th flowchart explains the pre-game.


The 7th flowchart explains the world movement.


Rounds of Play

Before the Game

Determine Order – Everyone rolls a 12-sided die to determine the order. Ties are resolved by rolling a 12-sided dice. Whoever gets higher between the tied parties goes first amongst the tied individuals.

Claim Territory – Players get to choose which continent they start on, with respect to their order.

Outside of Combat

Movement – Roll a 12-sided die to determine maximum movement in the current round. Commence Battle – If opposing faction brigades are in the same region, mini-combat begins. Calculate Territories – At this point, factions are given the territories they’ve conquered. If a faction

controls 13 or more territories within a region, they receive the continent’s respective bonus. Final Battle Commence? – If all continents have been claimed, the final battle commences.

Before Combat Starts

Determine Order – All brigades involved roll a 12-sided die to determine the order within the battle itself. Preparation – Players put their initial cards in play. Players divide their cards into three shuffled stacks:

Characters, weapons and specials. The players put their decks into the respective

In Combat

Draw – Players are able to replenish their hand by drawing from the shuffled deck. Action – Players declare their actions on this turn. Execution – This is the round where all actions are played out.

Winning the Game

To win the game, every territory space must be taken over by one side or the other. That will determine whether Magic or Technology will take over the land of Tazira.


Documents

Team Members: John Clemens, Paul Farino, Edward Fisher ... · Web viewTeam Members: John Clemens, Paul Farino, Edward Fisher, Heather A. Lacey. Game Title: Brigade Brawlers. Design