Beyond the Mist
- Genre: Deckbuilder Legacy PvE/PvP
- Type: Proof-of-concept Prototype
- Software: Tabletop Simulator
- Duration: 8 Weeks
- Iterations # 7
- Playtests # 6
Role: Game designer
(Research and concept, documentation, prototype, balance)
Iterations Overview
Goal
My objective with Beyond the Mist was to make a deception game where other players would help eachother without knowing eachother’s objectives until they’ve all revealed their cards – literally.
- Risky Co-op I liked the idea of players banding together without knowing if it was the right call. Like in the Binding of Isaac card game, are you actually helping eachother, or is everyone just doing this for their own gain?
- Deckbuilding I liked the idea of making your deck be around the theme of what you do in-game. I loved the elegance of Slay the Spire so it inspired me.
- Mystery The theme of a foggy, mysterious land filled with magic intrigues me. Like an episode of X-Files set in a world where magic exists.
I sought regular guidance from Jeremiah Franczyk (LoTR Online and D&D Online) who helped me understand the importance of resonance and rapid prototyping techniques.
Overview & Technique Highlights
Game Premise: You and your companions are inhabitants of an island surrounded by a magical fog. Lately, the fog has been acting erraticaly, summoning monsters and causing disasters on the island. It’s up to you and a few others to try and find out what is happening on the island, and how to fix it.
Build your Action deck by resolvign encounters and gaining rewards over time in a solo or co op game. Backstab your friends, help the whole group out, or make a secret alliance with only a few of them to win the game.
Technique Highlight 1
Goal: Create a systems of cards that players could use to solve encounters that had innate synergies and strategies.
Result: The system is simple and engaging. Players know that they can diversify or specialize their decks based off their needs for the game, and the drawbacks/strengths that come with their choices.
Techniques
- Created 4 Types and a total of 12 Subtypes, giving each Action and Encounter card 1 Type and 1 Subtype. Bonuses are given to the player that uses an Action card with a corresponding Sub/Type on an Encounter. Each Type and Subtype is represented by a symbol.
- Every Type is given a main mechanic, such as PvE Focus (the majority of encounter cards share this type), Control abilities (see player cards, learn hidden information) Soft PVP abilities (Stop action cards from other players, steal resources) and Support abilities (heal, gain more resources, make the gamestate easier for all players)
- Few Special Action cards were given more than one Type and big values as rare-to-obtain advantages to create high stake moments.
Technique Highlight 2
Goal: To increase replayability by adding another layer of randomness on top of the random Encounter Deck, as well as creating a system that increases the difficulty and creates resonance with the theme of mystery and exploration of the game.
Result: The “Land Deck” was added as an extra layer of randomness to the encounter deck. The 12 Encounter Cards could be combined with any of the 17 Land Cards creating effectively 204 unique encounters. These Land cards would also be classified in Easy, Hard and Special, and would be introduced to the game depending on how many turns had passed, increasing difficulty over time and keeping the game fresh as it goes on.
Techniques:
- Added 17 Land Cards that give an extra effect to the Encounter that is placed on it
- Classified Lands with a Difficulty level, adding higher difficulty cards in the midgame and removing lower difficulty cards in the lategame, creating a difficulty curve
Technique Highlight 3
Goal: Create resonance and replayability through legacy mechanics for the game.
Result: Added a layer of mystery, reasons to choose between betrayal or cooperation for players and a narrative drive for players to play the game more than once, with a twist that encourages new players.
Techniques:
- Added a Secret Ruleset that is unlocked upon playing more than one match to completion.
- The Secret Rules give additional objectives to returning players and reason to involve players that have never played or have played less
- Through the unlocking of Knowledge Points returning players have additional powers that can be used to further cooperate or contrast eachother, depending on your goal.
- Playing enough games unlocks the True Ending of the game, with a secret Endgame Encounter.
Process Breakdown
1. Research, Ideation & Planning
I wanted a deckbuilder game where the deck you made was to achieve a self imposed victory condition, that could either be cooperative or not.
- Analyzing Games: The concept of opposing/hidden objectives from Werewolf and the coins and encounter system from The Binding of Isaac board game were useful.
- Ideating Mechanics: Everything in the game had to be done through rolling dice to ensure winning players might be overcome by luck.
- Resonant Theming: Fog hiding parts of the island create resonance with encounters gradually appearing, and helps with the feeling of mystery I want to evoke.
2. Prototyping
Paper Prototype
Result: Found underwhelming mechanic in the encounter system and adjusted it through iteration.
Goal: Make a paper prototype to check if the game had any overwhelming or underwhelming mechanics.
Solution:
- Printed out all cards and encounters using placeholder art and smaller, modular values
- Used color coded cards for visual clarity and showing synergies.
- Gave thematic names to card types for more meaningful build options.
Rapid Prototype
Miro
Result: A functioning Player, Shop and Land Board that conveyed information to the players.
Goal: Experimented with the use of Boards to convey information and rule reminders.
3. The First Interactable
Result: Tuned the feel and pacing of upgrading your deck while iterating different types of interactions with the Encounter deck
Goal: Build a prototype in Tabletop simulator with all the necessary cards and tokens
Implementation:
- Mechanic Synergy 1: Deckbuilding with 4 different card types, each card type has a different role between Player control, PvE, PvP and Support capabilities.
- Mechanic Synergy 2: I studied games like 7th Continent and Tainted Grail to make a Land Tile system where encounters would recieve random modifiers to them based on where they’re found
- Narrative Synergy: I looked towards Avalon myth and legend in order to better depict the mysterious powers in the environment
4: Playtest & Key Iterations
Playtest #1 Highlight
Result: The core concept of the game was understood and the mechanics were intuitive to grasp upon explanation.
Feedback & Problem: The game had a degree too high of complexity because of the amount of information the player had to keep in mind at all times.
Solutions: Add more Boards for Lands, Players and the Shop with rules written on them in order to ease the amount of information the player had to keep in mind. Increase visual clarity of the cards by using more symbols and less text. Simplify some rules and mechanics.
Playtest #2 Highlight
Result: Problems from last iteration were solved partially, the game resulted as engaging all new mechanics introduced (shop, new pve and pvp interaction) were used and proved satisfactory.
Feedback & Problem: Information density was still a problem, as well as visual clarity and setup complexity.
Solutions: A final, complete draft of the Action, Encounter, Land cards and Player Boards & Land board were necessary in order to make the game as intuitive as possible in order to reduce friction with learning the game (and remembering mechanics as the game went on).
5. Polished Portfolio Piece
Game Elements
Full Board
Results: Made a Playable game on Tabletop Simulator with all components.
Goal: A Legacy Deckbuilder game that gave Players a sense of mystery and intrigue through simple lore and little exposure.
Execution:
- Easy to learn, hard to master game with high replayability due to the interactions between Actions, Encounters and lands.
- Intrigue and mystery with the novelty of revealing hidden mechanics of the game to new players, alongside a long term goal for the game with the Secret Manual.
- Clarity and simplicity of information thanks to Player boards, Land Board, Shop board and use of symbols on cards.