Game Design: Part 4; Terrain and Movement

When it comes to movement, the basics are very simple to grasp either all units move the same distance or different units have different movement values to add some variety and add a little tactical depth to the game.  The main mechanics of movement come when you introduce terrain and its interactions with different unit types within the game, for example in Warhammer 40k there are 3 types of terrain (open, difficult and dangerous) which effect vehicles and non-vehicles differently.  In 40k open allows units to move full speed (usually 6"), difficult means most non-vehicles roll 2d6 and pic the highest as their maximum movement distance while dangerous adds the chance of damaging the unit with each model rolling a d6 and on a 1 taking a wound, whereas vehicles in both difficult and dangerous roll a d6 and on a 1 they become immobilized.  This system is quite simple but gives the right feel that terrain is slowing down the foot sloggers but vehicles crash through it until they get stuck in some way and I think this is well suited to the style of combat in 40k. 

A more complex system is used in Flames of War in which there are five different grades of terrain and each unit type interacts with each grade differently, for example infantry are basically unaffected by terrain and always move full distance where as a standard tank such as a Sherman or T-34 move 12" in open terrain but only 8" when moving through rough terrain.  The Flames system also includes a immobilization mechanic where vehicles and some gun teams moving through rough terrain roll a d6 and depending on the type of terrain need to roll a 2+ for example and if failed they become "bogged down" being unable to act any further that turn.

Both of these systems add extra tactical depth to their respective games as players have to think about the risk of moving through terrain rather than it just being to "dress" the table as well as allowing a city feel very different to a trenchline in is effect on the battle.

Game Design: Part 3; Dice and Activation

In this post I'm going to discuss "dice" and activation in a game.  The first topic is "dice" by which I mean how your game introduces randomness and chance into the mechanics of the game.  This can be using dice, cards or some other method but with any choice, a balance between chance and choice needs to be struck and if possible to make it fit with the theme of the setting.  I am just going to look at dice as this is the choice I've made for my game.

Dice, which are the most common choice for games, gives the designer a set of choices that can make the game unique and add character to it, the first choice with dice is what sided dice to use, for example Warhammer 40k uses a 6 sided dice whereas Warzone Resurrection uses 20 sided dice and this is often referred to a dX where X is the number of sides on the dice.  The number of sides determines the statistic variation available to each roll, for example a d20 has a larger range than a d6 so can give more extreme results.  These extreme results could be used in the game to allow for critical effects, which is the case in Warzone where a roll of a 1 is a critical pass and 20 is a critical fail.  The critical roll mechanic can be used with any sided dice but will be more frequent an a lower sided dice.

The next choice with dice is what method of rolling are you going to use, this could be a target number style, a number of successes or a opposed roll.  The target number type is when the player is looking to equal or exceed a target number, eg an armour save in Warhammer 40k, or to roll equal to or under a target value eq Warzone Resurrection.  The number of successes type is when players roll multiple dice to try to match a number of successes, with a success usually defined using a target number style, an example of this used in Dystopian Wars when shooting.  The last type is an opposed roll which is appears in Dungeons and Dragons, and generally involves both players rolling a dice then adding a number from their stat line with the player who has the highest total winning the roll.  There is no right choice and the type chosen should follow on from what I said in the last blog post meaning that it should, if possible, add to the flavour of the game.

For my game I'm going to be using a target number system for all my mechanics to keep it from getting too complex and hopefully to allow the game to flow better, where players will roll a 6 sided dice then add modifiers to see whether they equal or exceed the target number.

The next step to tackle is activation, which is how the turn is divided between the players.  The first option is to use the "You-Go-I-Go" system which is used in flames of war and warhammer 40k, this means that it is always clear what should be happening and allows the mechanics to be split between a series of phases but it means that generally one player is in a passive roles for long periods of time and it doesn't allow for much immediate reaction to moves made by the other player.

The opposite end of the spectrum is the "alternative activation" system where players take it in turns to pick a unit then move, shoot and assault with that unit, which allows for more reaction to opponent's actions but needs a more complex set of rules to cover this as what a unit does as the turn is no longer divided neatly into phases

There are hybrid systems such as the Lord of the Rings strategy battle game which had phases like the "you-go-i-go" system but in each phase the players take it in turns to do all their units moving/shooting/fighting which is a nice system that keeps the different actions separated into phases to help with the clarity of the rules while allowing players to react to each other to a limited extent.  Another hybrid system is a "multiple alternative activation" system where players activate a set number of units alternatively which allows players to enact set pieces with multiple units such as flanking or covering fire while keeping the quick reaction time for players.

When I was doing this for my game, I wanted a way that allows players to react to each other and reduce time being the observer while still allowing a way for players to use multiple units to achieve their plans so have gone with a hybrid system in which players receive a number of activation points to use to activate units, which have statistic which indicates the number of points needed to activate that unit.

Hope this week's post was useful to you and if you've found anything interesting please comment below for some discussion.  The next post will be about "Units and Movement", so subscribe for more updates.