Pinball Playfield Exercise

Game 1: Short Circuit Pinball - Pinball play field

Colored playfield elements:

1. What is "good gameplay" when it comes to pinball game design?

This is a very standard pinball design with good mechanics and predictable game play. I don't see any  profound challenge to playing this game with proficiency after a couple of tries.

2. How do pinball playfield designers create exciting experiences?

They create them by providing goals that are not readily attainable in the first dry run at the game. This  one has some easy elements and some moderately difficult elements. But nothing stands out.

Game 2: Virus Pinball - Pinball Playfield

Colored playfield elements:

1. What is "good gameplay" when it comes to pinball game design?

This one is exciting because it has floating enemy elements that are only realized in a video game and not in a physical pinball game. It has an extremely straighforward design.

2. How do pinball playfield designers create exciting experiences?

They make a good pinball game like this - introducing new play elements that have not been thought of  before.

Collaborative Chess

Rules:

1. Begin with six pawns and a Queen in the Start position for each color. Each pawn moves

according to rules of Chess with the addition of being able to move diagonal forward by one space.

Queen moves according to classical chess with the ENHANCEMENT that it can "push" pieces of

the same color 1 space in any direction. However, if there is a piece blocking the pushed piece in

that direction, then the Queen cannot push that piece until the obstacle is moved elsewhere.

2. The pieces are never taken off of the board.

3. The pieces cannot "jump" over each other.

GOAL: Move the pieces in a manner that you achieve the symmetric start position (about the

center horizontal) in the fewest moves.

AWARD:

Respect from nubs. :)

High Concept Statement

My game contains the elements of a turn-based RPG with a science fiction theme. It uses Mass

Effect as model for the game mechanics and will have similar dialog options. The plot centers on

a mercenary group that abducts and holds the president of a country hostage. The antagonists

demand that the country relinquish most of their water and oxygen reserves. The planet that the

characters reside in has extremely limited quantities of oxygen and just barely enough water to

sustain the inhabitants of each country. The country that was targeted by the group had a stake

in one of the largest reserves of oxygen the planet has ever seen as well as ample supplies of water.

The mercenaries intend to sell the oxygen to the highest bidder in an underground auction. Your

mission is to rescue the president using various weapons and powers and recover the stolen water

and oxygen.

One sentence game idea

Deal five playing cards from a numbered deck for each player and determine how quickly the

player can add the five numbers mentally.

The player who gets the correct sum first gets one point. The next time that the player is dealt cards, that
player gets one less than 5 cards. The player has to get the correct sum quickest 3 more times before the
hand that is dealt goes down to three cards. If the player gets the wrong sum, that player loses a point. The
player who has the greatest number of points when the deck is exhausted is the winner.

My first blog post

popl;lokkll