Protocol

Inspirations

Timeline

Timeline is a Trivia Shedding card game whereby players have to place event cards correctly onto the timeline. Each turn, the active player attempts to play a card by placing it somewhere in the timeline and then flipping it over.  If they have placed the event in the proper location, then their turn is over; otherwise, they must draw a new card. The first person to run out of cards is the winner.

What we liked and drew inspiration from this game is the concept of a timeline. Having a physical representation for a list of events that happen is a helpful tool in the game that we are crafting.

Fluxx

Fluxx is a take'em card game whereby the player who accomplishes the goal at the centre of the board wins the game. Players have cards that changes various aspects of the game like the number of cards drawn, special actions that can be taken and even the final goal of the game.

We liked the idea of having a common goal that the players have to work towards while constantly sabotaging each other.

Deception: Murder in HongKong

Deception: Murder in Hongkong is a social deduction game. Every player is a detective while one player would play as the forensic scientist. Every round the forensic scientist draws from a pile of clues and pick how the victim died. His role is to look at the detectives and pick the option that would draw suspicion to the actual killer. Each detective would have a list of items that would incriminate them. The first person who can deduce who the killer is wins the game.

What we liked about this game is that there was 2 experiences being played at the same time. The forensic scientist has the goal of revealing who is the killer whilst the detectives have to find out how who the killer is. This setup creates tension in the player's dynamic because everyone would play the forensic scientist slightly differently and the discussion that comes up from the clues that was given creates confusion for some but produces clarity for others.

Prototype

Player Fantasy

Members of the upper echelon of society gather for an exclusive black-tie gala, but beneath the elegant façade, each attendee harbors a hidden agenda. Among them, a sniper lurks, tasked with eliminating the VIP before time runs out.'

Merging these three concepts, we envisioned a game where one player assumes the role of the sniper. Their mission is to identify and eliminate the VIP before it's too late. Meanwhile, the VIP operates under a secret objective, while the rest of the players work toward a shared goal. Each round, a player places a card onto the timeline—either advancing the main mission or disrupting it. The game reaches its climax when the timeline is complete, forcing the sniper to take their shot or automatically lose.

Design Decisions

Time Pressure

By having only 8 or 9 events that can happen within a day, it creates time pressure for the sniper because he only has limited time to deduce who the VIP is. This emulates the situation of a sniper because a sniper only has a few seconds of a perfect shot throughout the day and if he misses it, there won't be another chance for him.

Alternate Objectives

Having different objectives introduces varied gameplay dynamics among players. A shared objective provides clarity, ensuring everyone understands what they need to work toward. However, the VIP operates under a secret objective, which adds an extra layer of tension. They must discreetly sabotage the common objective while remaining undetected, creating a thrilling challenge. We deliberately designed the VIP’s goal to directly oppose the common objective, heightening the stakes and fostering strategic deception.

Blitz

Blitz was one of the key mechanics we introduced to add excitement to the game. It compels players to make decisive choices, injecting a sense of urgency and unpredictability into the gameplay. Additionally, it introduces a strategic layer of bluffing, allowing players to attribute their “bad” or questionable decisions to their Blitz cards, creating moments of deception and intrigue.

Timeline

Taking inspiration from timeline, we allow players to place events at any position throughout the day. But placing a timeline card would reveal their true alignments because it either works towards the main goal or not This also provides a visualization of the events that happened during the gala.

Sniper Actions

As a sniper the player has a set of 7 different actions they can take. Each of these cards gives the sniper some information on who the VIP is. This gives the sniper the ability to gather clues before the make their fatal shot.

Player's Turn

Sniper's Turn

Iteration 1

Conducting Playtest

We passed the rulebook to a play-tester who will read and explain the game to the rest of the game group. During the initial stages we will not interfere with the way they set up and play the game. The rest of us would observe and write down our observations of the group.

Playtest Observations

• Some players did not play the roles as we intended.

• Some players felt that the sniper role was too overwhelming as that role is the deciding factor of the game outcome.

• Some playtesters felt that the rulebooks are a little lengthy, and that it needs to be shortened for easier readability and understanding.

• Play testers felt that some of our action card’s effect descriptions are a little too long, and needs to be shortened as well. 

• The cards were not Singaporean themed enough

Changes

• We shortened the rulebook and summarised various paragraphs and added illustrations to emphasise our points 

• We summarised our words and re-edited our cards 

• Rethemed some of our cards to be Singaporean based items and events 

• We tried to rebalance the roles in the game depending on the number of players 

• Changed naming conventions of roles to include team names (red) and (blue) to emphasise which team they are in and removed various unused roles 

• Added Card Backs to help players separate the cards faster 

Iteration 2

Conducting Playtest

Starting from a new group of players, starting from the same process

Playtest

• Players are able to understand the rules better

• Hoarding is no longer an issue and the players seem to have some mind games with the blitz rules

  (Red Vip claimed that he was forced to play the cards onto the timeline) 

• Some suggestions for a better flow of reading the instructions includes moving the Timeline forward by a page, a section dedicated to event cards and illustration details

• Some rules on the cards are not clear enough and the player has to look at the rulebook to understand

Changes

• Changed the rulebook according to feedback

• Re-edited the cards to make the rules clearer 

Production

There was no budget that was given to us. We tried to source for a cheap printing shop who would be able to print out these at a reasonable rate. We would then cut and paste these printed cards onto poker cards so that it would be sturdier. We created 4 sets of cards, each for a member of Shard Interactive.