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Investigation into Talent Trees and gameplay For

Computer Games Design (Extended)

By Christopher Edwards



BEng (Hons) Computer Games Design
(Extended)

A project submitted in partial fulfilment of the award of the
degree of BEng (Hons) Computer Games Design (Extended)
from Staffordshire University
Supervised by Mr. Mike Beardwood
October 2013


Faculty of Arts & Creative Technologies



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Abstract
Investigation into talent trees and gameplay project is researching talent trees and strategies based
around the use in video and card games. The research that will be found will shape a card game
where two players will play against each other and win by defeating the other players characters.
The research found out will define how the game is played and how the characters are portrayed
and used during gameplay.
Each testing event gave positive results and reviews, each testing event was necessary as it provided
confidence with a majority of the project but in the first few events it highlighted a major problem
that the testing after the first time it was founded became the main focus. The different efforts used
to fix it show a development of the game and the different way to approach a game like this and
styles of games it can become.
The first achievement that was achieved during the development of the game was that the idea and
research to back up the idea of the board game worked and that multiple people during the testing
could play and understand the rules without the game being stopped.



















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Contents
Abstract Page 2
Introduction Page 4
Literature Review Page 5
Character Overview Page 15
Testing #1 Page 16
Testing#2 Page 19
Testing#3 Page 21
Testing#4 Page 22
Conclusion Page 24
Recommendation Page 26
Game Rules Page 27
Player Cards Page 28
Characters Page 29
Character talent trees Page 30
References Page 31

Bibliography Page 32

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Introduction
Investigation into talent trees and gameplay project is going to use an array of books, video games
and articles to research and then shape a card game that can be played by two players and provide a
gaming experience that is created from other card and video games like it. The outcome of the
report is to provide enough research that each decision made will suggest that the reason was good
and backed up.
The main areas of research that are going to be explored and broken down into the methods that
are going to be created for this project are Talent and tech trees, strategies. Talent and tech trees
are based around the same idea of using talent to improve or give new improvements to characters.
Strategies discussed will be based around creating them with the characters and talents.
Upgrades (permanent and temporary), game master and magic (as attack and how it differs from
differs in gaming). Comparing and selecting each attack for each character to be permanent or
temporary, will define players strategies in both long and short run. The game master is a person
with good knowledge of the game who will keep order. Magic is included to add some difficulty both
to the design and to the game that the players will be playing.
Skill sets (how many is too much and how many is not enough), balancing each element of the game
and then balancing those together and then character traits and attacks. Skill sets are set in place to
decide how many options a player has to understand and use to create their character with enough
points. Balances for each aspect revolve around testing of the elements and refining each time and
testing again. The attacks and traits that the characters have are based around existing characters
but with some changes or additions.
The practical element of this project revolves around two players who choose three out of four
characters and traits that have been created from the research of other games. Then they will
engage in battle with stats and the knowledge of the characters that they have chosen.
Both the practical and written element of this project will change once testing has been completed.
There will be new elements that will be needed to added and taken away or problems that cant be
predicted such as human error on the creation or players side of the gaming. These outcomes are
essential to the game and development of the projects as it can help or destroy the game.







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Literature Review
Challenges and Choices Fundamental of game designs
Ordinary competitive games, those without stories at all still offer more than one ending: The
player wins or she loses, depending on how well she played. So if the player meets your games
challenges well, you might want the story to end well, and if she meets them badly, you might let
the story end badly. Just as the final score of an ordinary competitive game reflects the players skill
in a numeric way, so the outcome of the story can reflect the players skill in a dramatic way. In
general, players expect that if they meet all the games challenges and make it to the end, the story
will end in some reasonably positive way, reflecting the skill that got the player successfully to the
end. If bad play produces a premature ending as we described above, youre under no obligations to
create fully fledged conclusion for it. When a games dramatic actions consist mostly of those taken
to overcome challenges, players usually tolerate stories that offer one ending. (Adams, Rollings
2007)
Choices made during the game will determine the length, style and outcome of the game. Drastic
choices are the core element of the game and will determine how the player plays game; the first
choice that the players will have to make is which out of the four characters to play in their team.
This decision is based on looking through the different talent trees created for the characters.
If, on the other hand, the different possible endings reflect the players dramatic choicescritical
decisions the player made in the course of the inter-active storyrather than ability to overcome
challenges, then the player will definitely expect her choices to affect the outcome of the story. For
the game to tell her that a choice is important, and then to find out that is really isnt, is the
consequence of the players dramatic choices. Games that include a lot of decision-making
especially moral choices, which feel dramatically important should be nonlinear and offer multiple
endings. (Adams, Rollings 2007)
Depending on the choices that the players have made the links between the characters can create a
stronger team. Having a single character the main use and then the other two as healing and extra
damage is one strategy that could be created.
The story as a series of challenges or choices
In many good games, the plot advances as the player meets challenges or make decisions. In a war
game or a vehicle simulator, completing a mission or level might advance the plot. StarCraft
advanced the plot only when the player successfully completed a level, while Wing Commander
advanced its plot whether the player succeeded or failed at a mission, but the story proceeded in
different directions depending on how the mission ended. In both of these large-grained stories,
neither time nor progress through space affected the plot, only the fact that the level had come to
an end. (Adams, Rollings 2007)


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Using a board to house the characters of both players will not affect the outcome of the game.
The main point of this project is to use talent trees to define a character with new abilities based on
existing ones from defining what that character is capable of from his title and uses in other video
games. A board would be divided up into sections that would benefit a character, but would also
provide new balancing issues. Players could then find the faults and manipulate them to their own
gain.
This system works well for games that involve no travel at all or those which travel itself doesnt
affect the plot. In a combat flight simulator, the player can fly all over the sky, but none of the travel
influences the story. What affects the story is shooting down enemy planes or being shot down by
them. Suspend, a text-based puzzle game from Infocom, also used this mechanism. All game and
story events took place in a restricted area, a small group of rooms. Solving puzzles in the different
rooms caused the plot to advance. (Adams, Rollings 2007)
Manipulating the characters to favour the players chances can only work through talent trees. This
works in multiple ways that are then based on the player, upgrading the basic skills that each
character has from the player choosing their talent. These talents and weapons are based on melee
weapons that each character would have with them to define the character.
Upgrades and talent trees
In a game with a limited number of types of units, the players can sometimes exhaust the interesting
battle combinations too quickly. For example, the knights, archers and barbarians of The Ancient Art
of War arent enough to hold players attention over many campaigns. You can make a game more
interesting by adding more unit types, but if all the unit types are available at the beginning of a
game, the player will undoubtedly concentrate on the most powerful ones and ignore the weaker
ones. (Adams, Rollings 2007)
To be able to use the talents to their full potential node tokens are given to the players, these tokens
are given out at each round. The point of the tokens is to fill the talent trees with tokens that will
increase the character with new or improved abilities that the player will take into battle for the
game. Using the tokens and the characters chosen will provide new strategies for the player. This
would alter the gameplay every time the game is played. The possibilities of the different games
from different character combinations are high and provide enough to not have a game where the
same game plays out.
The amount of nodes that are used in the talent tree will be equal for each tree and each character,
this is to make it fair for the player and not possible for them to try and use multiple trees and get
half powers for the character or have to spend more nodes to get to a position it takes less with
another character. The end node or the Master node will be used as an incentive for the player, the
master node would be an extra node after it that would then improve the strength of the node and
make a difference.



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To resolve this problem, you should look for a way to introduce new units or to upgrade the existing
ones as the game progresses. These upgrades can improve value of units attributes or give the units
entirely new capabilities. An upgrade might occur as a reward for some achievement. In checkers,
for example, moving a piece to the opposite side of the board turns that piece from an ordinary unit
that can only move forward into a king that can move both forward and backward. Because it takes
a while to reach the opposite side of the board, kings dont appear until well into the game.
-Researching Upgrades
If your game offers several different upgrades, you may wish to organize them into a sequence, such
that some upgrades become available only after others have been achieved. You may also offer the
player a choice of upgrades to research at any given time, which gives her an interesting decision to
make: Which is the most advantageous upgrade to choose given the units available and preferred
style of play? (A player who prefers a defensive style, for example, which many wish to choose
upgrades that enhance the defensives rather than the offensive capabilities of her units). (Adams,
Rollings 2007)
The talent trees that are going to be created for the characters will suit each character based on
what their position in a gaming environment is and the talent path that suits them. The magical
character will have a talent tree that is based around pets to use in the game. The three different
pets are Ghost, Imp and Demon. Each one of these offers a different path and a different outcome
for the master node.
The different master nodes that are given from each pet can define a strategy for the game and how
the remaining character talent trees are created. If the player chooses another magic character and
then uses the team boost tree they could boost their pets ability more than their opponent have.
The talent tree upgrades that are being created for each talent tree for each character are being
tailored to fit the character to fit in as a group, the end target is to have a game that a player can
pick up play. Choosing the talents gives the players a different game each time even if they decide to
keep the same setup; this would change because they know where the mistakes were made and
when to use attacks that didnt.
Permanent and Temporary Upgrades
Each time an upgrade is achieved, it lasts for the rest of the game. These permanent upgrades
strongly support the players sense of progression through an extended game. They typically occur
only infrequently and represent a major achievement when accomplished. Permanent upgrades are
ideal for game-time periods that span months or years.
In RTS games, however, you may want to have the research and upgrade process work fast enough
to produce big changes in the gameplay within a single level but not fast enough to carry over to the
next level. These are called temporary upgrades. This puts more pressure on the player, who has to
decide quickly whether to expend resources on research or on building new units to help fight a
battle taking place in real time. (Bartle, 2004)
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The uses of permanent upgrades over temporary upgrades are that the upgrades through talent
trees will be decided already and cant be changed. This result in giving the game already to the
players, they can play the game as it is and start up easily.
The use of temporary upgrades over permanent upgrades offer the players a chance to choose their
upgrades as the game is playing instead of being pre decided and not knowing how their opponent
will play against them. The remaining tokens that they will be given will define what the master node
does and how the power that is controls.

At this point the player can switch the master node in their chosen talent tree, if they find that their
original strategy has changed, they can also change their original master node and then see how this
changes their game. This change can only happen in the first three rounds while they are storing the
nodes or using them and testing the abilities. Depending on how many times a player will play this
game and use the same setup the first three tokens might become annoying or slow down
gameplay. This is highly unlikely though as there are so many different options for a single player
and strategies based of it.
Game Master

One of the Dungeon Masters jobs is to be a narratorto describe whats going on in the world of
the game as you explore it along with your fellow adventurers. When your party enters a room, the
DM tells you what it looks like and whats in it. However, narration isnt exclusively the DMs job:
You describe your own characters actions, and even during an intense combat encounter, you have
a chance to take part in telling the story of the game.
The flavor text included in every power description is a starting point you can use when narrating
your part in the action. When your barbarian attacks, you can just say, Krusk uses howling strike. I
get a 24. Or using the flavour text as a cue, you can say, With a blood-freezing scream, I throw
myself into the fray! Does a 24 hit? A powers flavor text is only a starting point. You can modify
that flavor however you like, as long as you dont change the powers game effects. Maybe you
would rather think of the barbarian power macetails rage as channeling the World Serpent, a primal
spirit that appears in some shaman powers. You might say, The earth shakes beneath my feet as
the World Serpent stirs, knocking my foe to the ground!

Choosing a background for your character can also be a great opportunity to take part in shaping
the story of the game. After youve looked at the Backgrounds section of Chapter 3, talk with your
DM about the background elements you want for your character. The D&D game is all about telling
an adventure story. If you take a more active part in telling your characters part of the story,
everyone has more fun.

The use of the game master in D&D works because it requires the player to not have much
knowledge of what is happening compared to this project where the player will have to know
everything and know what they want to do a few moves ahead of themselves.

The role of the game master in this game will be to watch over the game and make sure that the
rules are being followed. The closest similarity is the banker in a game of monopoly. The game
master will be providing the node distribution for the game. His role is to take control and let players
have the information required in front of them so they can play easily. (Shameimaru 2009)
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Technology Trees

If your game has a large number of upgrades, you should organize them into branching tree
structure, in which achieving one upgrade makes available a choice of several others that are
logically related to the preceding one. (Bartle, 2004)
Each characters attack is placed in a technology tree system, this to keep it organized and give the
appearance that the final attack is worth building a talent tree around and using node coins to be
able to use the attack. (Bartle, 2004)
Strategy games usually characterize these advancements as technological research, so such a
structure is called a tech tree even though some of the upgrades may not actually be technological.
In role playing games, a similar mechanism applies to upgrading a characters individual skills; in that
context it is called a skill tree, but the function is the same: It is a diagram of the available upgrade
paths for a unit. (Bartle, 2004)
These advancements are not all technology based (only the solider who has attacks that has tech
that upgrades available). The talents that are tech based will be based around the talents that are
associated with the character. These are also based off the weapon that the character is using.
Once the player chooses to research an upgrade on a particular branch, you can force them to
complete all the upgrades that are part of that branch before moving to another branch or even
prevent them from ever researching upgrades on another branch, So, for example, choosing to
research agriculture might force the player to stick with agriculture advancements, and other such
as fishing or animal husbandry would be closed to her either until the agriculture has been
completed or perhaps even forever. This restriction encourages asymmetric play; if one player
chooses agriculture and another chooses fishing, each will be committed to the approach he has
chosen. However, it will make your game tidy to balance and will discourage some players. (Bartle,
2004)
Players in the game wont be able to move talents for individual characters as they will cause too
much confusion to the game. The main goal of the game is to a back and forth that will be slowed
down naturally towards the end or after the first death in the game for either player.
To design a talent tree, first think of all the upgrades that you would like to introduce in the course
of the game. For each upgrade, note whether it applies for a particular unit, all units of a particular
type, all the units in the players force, or to the core mechanics generally. Also note what event will
trigger the upgrade- the passage of a certain amount of time, the expenditure of resources, or some
other achievement such as defeating a particular enemy unit or arriving at a certain place on the
map. Once you have an idea of what upgrades you want to include, you can organize them into a
logical sequence or tree. (Bartle, 2004)
-Upgrades/ talent upgrades are going to be offered other time during the game, they will be
presented to the players at the start of the game and pre decided before the first attack is sent. This
will make the game clearer to people and not confuse people who are new to the game.

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As a general rule, upgrades should strengthen the players side and give the player new choices to
make. Researching horse breeding, for example, might make cavalry units available for the first time
and this require the player to start thinking about how to use them.
-Each upgrade or talent that is on offer to the individual characters are based around what the
character should do based on existing video game depictions. The final node is used to deliver
damage that makes the player to keep using or make the game more difficult for their opponent.
Magic and it Equivalents
The use of magic is commonly restricted to a particular class of character often called mages, magic-
users or spellcasters. The purpose of this arrangement is to establish complementary classes of
characters, one that is good at conventional physical combat and one that is good at magical
combat, which encourages the players to create mixed parties containing members of both classes.
(Bartle, 2004)
-The magic character in the game was used as the core of the game as it was easier to expand
different spells and pets and then add normal characters (Solider and hunter) and then base those
normal attacks around the magic elements that are in the game.
Because magic doesnt exist in the real world, you cant assume that your player will know how it
works in your world. If you include magic in your game, you must define what kinds of things magic
does and how it is invoked. You must also create a way to limit amount of magic available, just as
characters must have limited strength and health. Typically, when a spellcaster uses magic, he does
so in a particular instance called casting a spell, the effects of which are usually immediate. (Few
spells in games take time to begin working.) Some spells are over and done with right away, more or
less corresponding to a shot in a strategy game; others may have a lasting effect that ends after a
certain amount of time. The effects of magic spells are almost never permanent in games.
Permanent changes are too significant to be allowed to happen frequently, so any permanent
change is normally made by the levelling process. (Bartle, 2004)
The levelling process is the way that the game is going to be spread out and last more than a few
rounds. IT will also make players plan out how their attacks and defences are going to work in a few
rounds, this will also change the way that the game is played. Attacks that the magic character were
developed first and then used as a template for the rest of the characters and help balance the
attacks and how much attacks and defence are worth.
Dungeon & Dragons uses a rather awkward system for placing limits on magic, requiring a character
to memorize spells which, once cast, disappear from characters memory rather as ammunition
is consumed in a gun. The character must have time to reset and rememorize the spells before they
can be used again. We dont find this metaphor compelling and prefer another system in which each
spell consumes a certain amount of magical power, or mana, when it is cast. A characters definition
includes a status attributes for the amount of mana the character has at the moment and a
characterization attribute for the maximum amount that he have. Mana is restoring by drinking
magic portions or simply by the passage of time.

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-The cool down of the game is going to be that when a player uses their master node attack it will
then require them to charge the attack again over three rounds. Instead of saying that it needs to be
charged, the players has to charge. This changes the idea that the player needs to do it more than
the attack does.
Skill sets
The biggest problem with skills lies in deciding which ones your virtual world should have. How many
should there be in total. Is 100 skills too many? Too few?
We should begin by determining what is meant by a skill. Most virtual worlds can admit derivatives
of crafting- making or repairing things in the virtual world-as qualifying as skills. Some would include
weapon skills, and others would also add spells. The disparity is in part due to the different
mechanisms by which acquisition works : If you get crafting skills by collecting skill points for going
up levels by you get weapons skills by buying training, the two are distant. It would be confusing to
call them both skills, so commonly some other term is used instead (for example, weapon
specializations). (Bartle, 2004)
None of the characters in the game are required to collect or require during the game to upgrade
their weapons. That has nothing to do with the game as it more about decisions that are made
before anything has happened and what the outcome of the decisions are.
Ideally, all forms of skills would use the same mechanism. Why should the system by which you learn
to make a barrel by any different from the one by which you learn to swing an axe, to brew a potion,
or to let rip a fireball? If they are fundamentally different even at abstract levels. Thats fair enough; I
wouldnt necessarily advocate implemented differently, perhaps the reasons for that different
implementation should be examined. (Bartle, 2004)
Each talent, attack, defence or master node are the same. Making it difficult to get one or more
master node attack compared to the other will cause problems where the players are asking why
this is different to the other one. Then if they saved up for the attack and that attack doesnt satisfy
the player they will feel cheated and dodge that attack for the rest of the game and further games.
Spells, for example, are often linked to a characters level. When you reach level 43, suddenly you
gain the ability to cast sidewider fireballs in addition to regular ones. The spells you could cast at
level 42 you can still cast, but with slightly more efficacy. If this approach is good enough for spells,
why not use it for crafts? When you reach level 43, suddenly you gain the ability to make mithril
horseshoes in addition to regular ones. Alternatively, if youre a skill points system for gaining new
craft and/or weapon skills, why not apply to spells? (Bartle, 2004)
Using a levelling system for this game is useless as the idea is to create the set of characters before
the battle. The only part of the game that is close to levelling is collecting the master nodes to then
be able to attack with the chosen higher attack. Levelling up would confuse the player or make the
player focus too much on a single character and then lose because they didnt choose the right
character.

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Balancing Asymmetrical games
Asymmetric PvP games run a greater risk of suffering from dominant strategies because the players
effectively play by the different rules. One player controls a single fox on the game board while the
other player controls eleven geese. The fox may move in any direction and jump over the geese,
while the geese may only move toward the fox. The victory condition for the fox is to jump over all
the geese (removing them from the board), whereas the victory condition for the geese is to trap the
fox so that it cannot move. Thus, the rules provide entirely different units, available actions and
victory conditions for each side. In designing an asymmetric game, you must test the mechanics for
each type of competitor against every other possible type of competitor to make sure that none has
a dominant strategy that confers an advantage over all his opponents. This lengthy and involved
procedure makes it more likely that a mistake will get past the testers. (Bartle, 2004)
The card game wont fall under the errors that a Asymmetric game would fall under. Each player is
given the same amount of players with the same amount of attributes. What each player does with
the information given to them is what makes and changes the game. The strategy that each player
creates will need to be tested multiple times and still might not work as the person that they are
playing against might be doing the same plan, or are trying different combinations of characters.
This could cause the game to fall into an Asymmetric gameplay but it would be in a small part and
towards of the game, but the way that each character has an attack to use and a master node
system it becomes too difficult.
In addition to the risk of dominant strategies emerging, players often disagree on the fairness of an
asymmetric game. It becomes much harder to judge whether a game really gives all players an equal
chance of winning and doesnt disadvantage any players who plays by different rules or with
different resources. These arguments often result in variants- alternative versions of the rules which
arise to rectify what players see as problems. Several variants of Fox and Gees have emerged: one
that puts more geese on the board, one that includes two foxes instead of one, one that lets the
geese move backwards as well as forwards, and so forth. (Bartle, 2004)
The way that the characters have been set up and how simple the game is, its too difficult to say
that a setup of characters is going to always win. During development a setup could be become a
stand out and believed to the best to go with. But during testing the setup could not be used or a
different setup is always used but a talent or character is taken out.







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Hunter Talent tree overview/D&D shifter
The marksmanship aspect of the hunter class emphasizes their use of ranged weapons. Critical skills
enhance general shot damage, as well as improving select shot and sting skills, and adding a few new
ones. Marksmanship hunters generally have the highest damage when only the hunter themselves
is included, however they are typically out damaged by beast masters when the pet is also
considered.
The three most difficult characters to balance alone and as a group have had extra benefits from
looking into games such as World of Warcraft and dungeons and dragons to seek advice and a base
to stand on and adapt to the game that is going to be created.
Longtooth Shifting
You unleash the beast within and take on a savage countenance.
Encounter Healing
Minor Action Personal
Requirement: You must be bloodied.
Effect: Until the end of the encounter, you gain a +2 bonus
to damage rolls. In addition, while you are bloodied, you
gain regeneration 2.
Level 11: Regeneration 4.
Level 21: Regeneration 6. (Shameimaru 2009)

RazorClaw Shifting
You unleash the beast within and take on a savage countenance.
Encounter
Minor Action Personal
Requirement: You must be bloodied.
Effect: Until the end of the encounter, your speed increases
by 2, and you gain a +1 bonus to AC and Reflex. (Shameimaru 2009)
The hunter melee weapon is his bow and then using the different attacks available through his talent
tree, this explanation be describes what a hunter should do in a game and can be adapted to show
what the hunter is going to do in this game. In Dungeon and Dragons the hunter is capable of
different shifting attacks, this has been adapted for the hunter character and is change to him using
different arrows with his bow.
The explanation of the different attack variations from Dungeon and dragons are more advanced
and require more sacrifices to be made during the game. During this projects game the players will
have little to understand and sacrifice to make sure that they can play the game easily. This was
decided that players trying to understand a new game and how it plays and works it should be at
minimum and make sense easily.



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Warlock Talent build/Ancestral Incarnate
Demonology is the study and practise of using and amplifying demonic powers and the ability to
summon items or demons, mostly using soul shards. P
Past Life Servent
A spirit resembling one of your past incarnations steps out of
your body, bows briefly, and moves as you direct.
Daily Conjuration
Minor Action Ranged 20
Effect: You conjure a spectral servant in an unoccupied
square within range. The servant can perform one of
these tasks when it appears:
Move 6 squares.
Pick up an unattended object adjacent to it that weighs
up to 20 pounds.
Manipulate an unattended object adjacent to it.
Sustain Minor: The servant persists, and it can perform
another task from the list above. You can spend multiple
minor actions in a round to have the servant perform
multiple tasks. (Shameimaru 2009)
The main focus of the magical character is going to stick with the way it is portrayed in games such
as World of Warcraft and dungeon and dragons. Where the character can summon pets to assist
either in battle or help with a certain element of their talent or the team and the gameplay. The only
change that is being is made from dungeon and dragons is that the character wont move because it
is not needed in this game.
Priest talent overview/ Ancestral Incarnate
A circle of healing (CoH) specced priest well suited for a variety of healing roles. However, they truly
shine in situations where several members of the raid are taking damage at once, and especially
when those members are within the same group and general vicinity of each other.
Spirit after sword-wielding spirit leaps out of your body Each
stabs a nearby enemy; then they all leap back inside you,
invigorating you as they return.
Daily Healing, Implement
Standard Action Close burst 5
Target: Each enemy in burst
Attack: Wisdom vs. Reflex
Hit: 4d8 + Wisdom modifier damage.
Effect: You regain 5 hit points for each target. (Shameimaru 2009)
The role of the healer is essential to all games in a way that is never shown unless the player is
breaking down the mechanics and setup of a game for themselves. The use of the healer in this
game will to keep players in the game with the different variations of healing and what difference
that can make to the game.

15

Character overview
To make it easier for the players to understand who each character is an overview has been created.
This will provide information about what the character does and how helpful the said character can
be during a battle.
Priest
The priest character heals players that are low on health and bring them back from death. They also
have the power to heal burn or freezing attacks that their enemies will use against their team mates.
A priest can choose from the general healing, which heals a player health. Freeze heal with will heal
and character (not itself though) that has been frozen and stop the attack for the remaining rounds
it has left. The burns heal works the same as the freeze heal.
Hunter
The hunter character uses his bow and arrow to either hurt, freeze or burn players so they. He is
accompanied by his pet cat Mike.
The hunter is one of the two core characters that can change the game at any point depending on
how many nodes the player has to play with.
Magic
The magical character has the ability to summon an imp, demon or a ghost under his control and
help either himself or his team.
The different pets that the magical character can summon offer the ability to be invisible to players
(ghost), absorb burn or frozen attacks (Imp) and have additional attacks (Demon).
Solider
The solider character is a soldier of fortune that uses his machine gun to mow down his enemies any
way he can. His choice of grenade, fire or sniper rifle attacks are available to him.
The solider character has the alternative attack to the hunter character; he can burn players for
multiple rounds when his master node is charged.








16

Testing #1
Pre test
For the first testing event, players will be given the overview of the development of the game, the
rules, characters, talents and how the general idea of the game is going to play out. Each player
should be able to understand the rules and choose their characters and talents to then go into the
battle stage.
When the players are choosing their characters and talents the players should be trying to formulate
a strategy that will help them win the game. Strategies that have been picked out through
development involve using a direct points system (DPS) character and healer for healing and then a
random choose for extra damage. From this a game can be created and played out until the game
ends or something causes it to stop.
The documentation provided to the players once they have understood the rules of the game will be
enough for them choose and be ready to play the game. They should also have their first move
already planned out. The reason behind their choices should that they want the characters for a
strategy rather than choosing them because they know from playing games what the character is
supposed to do what i.e. healer heals and solider attacks.
The mechanic behind the coin system to see if player would rather collect coins and attack at the
end of the collection, or use single coins every round to attack the player. The results from testing
this will provide evidence that using either strategy might change the outcome of the game. It could
also show weakness in the game or characters.
Rules provided by the game master are created to make sure that there is no stopping and
questioning the rules causing the game to be stopped and then started again. The intention of the
game is to be fast paced and players know what they can do in the next or few more rounds with the
use of strategy.
How testing is going to happen
Testing will be undertaken by two people who have no prior knowledge of the game or characters;
they will be given a quick brief on the game and its rules. The players will then be given the
documentation of each character their talent trees and master node qualities. They will in turn give
the game master their list of characters and their respective talents.
The game master will collect the information and then create a sheet for their knowledge. The game
master will then flip a coin with the two players representing heads or tails, then whichever outcome
occurs the player will take their first turn. Each player will then choose a single character to either
attack or help their team. This will evoke a back and forth style of player between the characters and
then result in an outcome that will give a winner.


17

The results of each turn will be collected by the game master after each player turn, both keeping a
record of the game and how each player plays the game. After the game has been completed the
game master will declare a winner and then the two testers will be asked questions based on how
they think the game went and changes that they think are necessary to add to the game.
How the testing went
Testing the game proved successful with only a few minor changes and additions that are required
to strengthen the game. The main problems that happened was that the fire and ice based spells
were too powerful to attack and work without any consequence to the player who uses the attack.
Smaller problems occurred during gameplay that would fall under human error or that it is the first
test and not knowing how the game will play out. But these small errors were either fixed on the
spot or already for the second round of testing.
At the end of the testing, the most significant problem that was apparent was that the game master
was holding onto too much information, and then the players were left with no information of their
own. These details should be given back to the player in a form that makes sense for them.
The choice of characters and talents that the two players provided were identical until the final
character and the talent for that character. This didnt affect the game and made for an interesting
test to see how people with majority the same setup would fight each other.
During the gameplay players would forget about their master node option on their player until a few
rounds in and then use it at a higher level to deal greater damage. When they understood the
potential of the master node it was recommend in the talk afterwards to use a dice for the higher
attacks that require more than one master node to use.
This was backed up by that if a players character could become frozen then stuck with only a
character with no attacks they would be stuck in a loop that would cause them to lose the game.
This proved annoying to the said player and made the game not enjoyable for the. To fix this
problem the dice roll suggestion would be presented and then tested to see how this would affect
the outcome of the game.
Gameplay that caused that the dice roll idea to be presented was that a player was presented with a
single character that couldnt attack and was being frozen every round for three rounds and could
escape the loop that they were in until the game had been ended. This was frustrating and could of
only been found out during testing.






18

Changes for the next round of testing
The changes that are going to be made for the second round of testing will be using a dice to
determine if the players can use the master node attack. A paper sheet system will be introduced to
the players; they will then keep track of the characters talents, health and attacks.
Breaking up the ice attacks to individual character is a change that is result of the testing that will
change the game. The change will be that one character will be able to do a fire or ice attack and the
setup of character that a player chooses can be dictated by that and what their opponent made up.
If the player chose to give their healer a ice heal and their opponent chose fire, it will be an
advantage for the opponent and not the player. These types of changes will create new and more
interesting strategies.




















19

Pre testing #2
The changes suggested from the first round of testing are going to give the game more mechanical
balance. When the player has to roll the dice they will have to get a score that it pre-determined by
them and the game master. The best outcome from this round of testing is that the game ending
scenario that happened in the previous round doesnt happen again (Players being stuck with a
single character and looping attack of frozen or burnt).
Before the game has been started the game master will create a players sheet for each player. This
sheet will hold the character, talent and health and then their opponents statistics. This will help the
game master with distribution of information to the players.
How testing is going to happen
Testing the game was approached more openly and wasnt feared to be a failure at any point, it was
to take the style of the game and then to add a new jeopardy to it. The jeopardy was created by
using dice rolls for each character to cast a higher spell against their opponent. The new paper
system created for the game will also help players with their decisions and strategies and how to
play the game as a whole.
When the players have read their character sheets the game master will give them a piece of paper
and a pen and ask them to fill out the sheet and ask their opponent for their characters. This will let
the player become familiar with the opponent and device a strategy for their game.
At the each round a player will be given a master node token, they will be given one until they have
three. Once they have reached three the game master will stop the distribution. If a player tries to
use their master node attack they will then be given a token at the next round.
How the testing went
Testing of the game went smoother; this was down to issues that were thought to be apparent
before the second testing were gone. The thinking before the game started was that the game
problems were fixed. The resolution that was in place was a hope that it would fix the problem and
hopefully be used to add more and change elements of the game.
Giving both players their own player sheets entertained them more and gave them an amount of
enjoyment and mockery at what each other have chosen and what they can and cant do against
each other now. This wasnt the intended use for it as it was more for giving the game master less to
do and concentrate on what it happening with the game.
The only problem with the character sheet for the players was the spacing for the health wasnt
large enough and made it difficult for player to write the new health in the box provided.
Using paper tokens and then distributing through the game master made it easier for the players to
attack based on their node count. The understanding of these attacks depends on the understanding
of the player, it became apparent during playing that one player just chose their characters based on
attacking score rather than how the character worked.
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When a player wants to use their master node the game master would ask them to throw a dice.
Based on the agreed number that they have to reach they would then be able to attack the
character of their choice. This method was created after the first round of testing and it became
clear that just attacking makes the game less difficult and enjoyable.
Using this method made it more enjoyable and made the players think about their next move. The
problem from the first testing still happens where if a player is left with one character and that
character is either has no attacks available (Priest) or they have become frozen or burnt based on
the new master node system where how many nodes are available they can attack them they would
then be stuck and would make the game boring for the player or just end the game in a few rounds
and become useless as a whole.
Changes for the next round of testing
Changes to be made from this testing is to change the way that the master node attacks work. The
first and second version where one or two rounds of freezing burning the character makes the game
interesting and playable but with some difficulty. The third attack attacks make it impossible and the
player who this is happening to doesnt want to carry on playing.
For the next round of testing is to see if a drastic change is what may fix the problem. The players
will be given three master nodes at the beginning of the game instead of one and getting one every
round until they hit the maximum. Then each player can use their best attack and still roll the dice.
This theory can be tested to see if it fixes the problem or doesnt affect the game or makes it
unplayable all together.
Comparing the testing events
The first testing event was used to check that a card game created from research and taking ideas
from different games into a hybrid game could work and not require a complete redo. The second
round of testing was more of a way of testing the game with people who have little knowledge of it.
The results from both of these testings where essential for the development of the game and the
results that have changed the game.
The way the game was approached change from the results of the two different testing events. The
first test was trying to figure out what was happen in the game and how the game plays. The second
was more about looking at mechanics that stop the game from playing and how to improve on them.
The main mechanic that has changed the game was the attacks for the hunter and the solider.
During the first testing the hope was that the game could stand on its own and work, the results
would be then that small amount of changes would be required to improve the game. The hope for
the second round of testing was that the fixes were correct and could fix the game ending problem.
Based on the results from the two tests the remaining tests that will be conducted will be just to fix
and then perfect the game. The final test will check that the game works and can be given to people
who dont know anything and are going to play it and be okay to learn the rules and play a game
without any complications.

21

Testing #3
Pre testing #3
Before the third testing of the game, the way that the master nodes are given to the players will be
changed. Each player will start with three nodes and then when they use one of their attacks they
will then be given the maximum amount master nodes each round. This idea turns the basic idea of
the game being a back and forth and adapting strategies based on characters into a quick fire game
that could go wrong. The best outcome is that during the game a new idea is created and then
adapted for the fourth round of testing.
How testing is going to happen
The conditions for this testing are going to be the same as the two previous testing events were
under. The only differences that will occur during this game testing is that the game could be
completed faster or just come to a halt because the conditions have been recreated like the previous
tests or just make the game too difficult to play and will require retooling.
How the testing went
Results from testing the game were that even with this drastic addition to the game it still creates
the same game breaking bug. This causes a problem that if a player has one character left and is
then frozen or burnt they cant then continue playing and have to play out the game as it is until
they lose. Playing this way doesnt make it enjoyable and not how the game was intended to be
played.
Changes for the next round of testing
For the next round of testing the new mechanic is based around the failing of the frost and fire
attacks. It is going to remove the distribution of master nodes to players and give them a token each
round. It is now that each player will have to use a smaller attack for the frost or fire attack three
times and then on the fourth they will have to roll the dice again to see if they get their correct score
from the dice roll.
This will offer both players a chance to build up their attacks and then spread the damaged that can
be dealt over time. This new rethinking of this mechanic will affect the gameplay and require an
explanation of the rules to the players.
The addition rule that if a player character has been frozen it cant be hit again was suggested but
that would only work in the environment that the character had more than one character to play
with that could do a direct attack or have a power that is useful in that situation that is presented.
Comparisons between #2 and #3 testing
Comparisons between the second and third testing are the same as the first and second testing. The
major problem that is with the game is the frost/fire mechanic and how to fix it. The solutions are
different to each other and give the same version of the ending. The fourth testing will hopefully
provide the answer that is needed to fix the game.
22

Testing #4
Pre Testing
Before the fourth testing of the game the hunter and solider character are going to be tweaked with
the new mechanic for their frost and burn attack. This will be the main focus of the testing and will
be hopefully the solution and what in the fifth testing will be tested to its limit to see what can be
fixed or improved upon. The fix will resolve around charging a frost of fire attack and then rolling the
dice again.
The master node token system of giving a player a token from number one to three will be switched
and it will be used to give each player a notification of how many rounds the character or characters
they have that is frozen or burnt and cant play again.
Players are going to be given tokens with number one to three on to tell them how many rounds
frozen a character has. This was getting lost in the previous testing and became too confusing for the
players (even more if the game master is a player also). The players will have to remove the numbers
themselves and give them back to the game master.
How testing is going to happen
This round of testing will work the same as the previous rounds but the main outcome is that the fix
for this testing will work and that the game will be tested again immediately afterwards. The only
change that is being made is the nodes are being changed to say how many attacks with the attack
that requires a charge has been used.
How the testing went
This final testing event went smoothly even with the problems that have been present in all the
testing events but a solution was found and worked, which then presented another problem but was
fixed as the problem was an issue that was designed differently. The fixes presented and checked in
this testing provide a game that is functional and can be presented and played to different players.
The change that was added for the game where characters have to charge the frost of fire attacks
was added was successful and made the game more interesting as the health of the characters went
down. The change had to be adapted for the magic character as that character was forgotten about,
the magic character can cast any of their pets at any time and then have to roll their dice for an
attack.
The change in the attack score from five to ten for the basic attacks was an option that was taken
over giving the characters fifty health. It was taken because giving the characters with that little
health could stop the game mid flow and didnt feel powerful enough for the characters.
During play the healer became the newest character to encounter problems; the problem had
always been there but was the root of the bigger more apparent problem. So when the bigger
problem was fixed it still appeared. This fix was suggested by one of the testers as he had only his
healer left and no way of attacking only defending.
23

For the first four or five rounds the players were adapting to the changes and when the first player
choose his magic character and questioned the use of his demon. There was some scrambling of
what to do, to make it like the frost attack and charge a base attack to summon the demon or allow
the demon to be summoned and then base the attacks.
The rule was made that the player can summon their chosen pet and then depending on how many
charges the player has it can increase their attack with the demon. This effect worked and balanced
out well. Problems like this are based on how the testing goes; if none of the players chose magic
then it would have gone missing until it was too late.
An ideal testing environment would have been to take every character and combination and play the
game out to see what would and could have happened. But just working out the combinations for
this test would have proved difficult and trying to get enough tests to get to work would make it
impossible.
Changes to make for final version
Changes made from the last testing event will be introduced into the game and will strengthen the
final version of the game. The changes have been tested in various tests either during play, before or
after a testing event. The only small change that needs to be made is designing a better system of
presenting the characters health to the players. Below are an array of the changes that have been
made and how they affect the game.
The healer character can now attack other players; they can hit with their healing staff and cause
plus ten damage each turn and help charge their healing abilities. This was introduced because the
healer cant defend or attack and causes and a dead end in the game.
Magic characters can summon their pet at any time but require a master node sacrifice to activate
their power based on how many nodes. This is a variation based on the frost and fire attack that had
to be adapted during the final testing session. This was done mid-way points and the change didnt
affect the gameplay as the two testers wanted the justification more than stopping and rethinking
the mechanic.
The base attack that all characters apart from the healer will require to use their highest master
node attack is being increased from five to ten. This was in favour of changing the health of the
player from one hundred down to fifty. This change could have made the game shorter or made the
players think the players are not that strong.
Comparisons between testing #3 and #4
Comparing the final test (test number four) to the third test that took place showed a development
of the game that had been changed from the major problem that has been going on since the end of
the first test. The answer which was found out at the end of the final testing made the game
function and then helped other characters change the way that they are played in the game.


24

Each player have more paper based information in the game gives them a better understanding of
what is happening in each round, what to do next and what can happen in a few rounds time.
Comparing all of the testing to each other and how the final test played out it has showed how the
research that was needed and testing the game was essential. The research gave pacing and reasons
to give player easy and difficult decisions, testing showed flaws and errors that based on the
research or just writing information down and hoping it works can be both good and bad.
Comparing the final product to the product before testing

Conclusion
In conclusion the project created has become a success, based on the aims and goals created for the
project a strong majority of them have been met. The reasons behind some not being met have
been due to development cycle and human error. The different aims were covered as much as
possible before full development of the project began and entered problems. These problems have
been fixed or removed for the benefit of the project as a whole.
Looking back at the development some aspect of the game could have been fixed through either a
questionnaire with some of the questions defining the talent of the character. But these questions
would have been too specific and would have lost players before they tested the game.
To determine/find the best character to use
Determining the best characters to use was a major point of the testing event. Its also connected to
the other aims as they are based around each character and how these characters work with other.
This aim was found out through the testing. This was taken from showing a list of each character and
how their attacks work, it was also using characters from video games that people would be familiar
with. Finding characters that players would be familiar with came from playing games that are
centred on creating teams of characters to complete the game.
Do Players prefer to play character or talents or vice versa
To define what characters prefer to play either the characters or the talents, the testing had to be
deconstructed by watching the game and players. It is still unclear which the players prefer as they
seem to choose the character because they like the character from playing other games and then
sometimes the talents remind them of a talent from a game and choose it because of that.
How different game strategies affect how a player chooses their team
Different strategies didnt affect the way a player would choose a team, the setup of the characters
made it that they had a choice based around two characters that had the same attack but the
description and name of the attack changed it for the player. The only strategy that was apparent
from research and development was never used until it was too late though.

25

Players would never use their healer to heal a player until it was towards the end of characters
health. Players would not even attack the healer as they wanted to stop other characters from doing
a direct attack; this was never thought of through development as most linear strategy thinking for
this type of gaming would be to save characters through healing at the point it would need it rather
than at the end of its life.
What strength and weakness a character needs
The original idea for the strength and weakness for each character would be that a single character
would require another character to make a combination that makes the two whole. That idea didnt
work for this game or any game that it was based on. That idea wouldnt work as if a player wanted
to use the first character but not the second character or a different one, then it wouldnt give the
same results or something different and wrong.
Why no board for the game
In the early development stages of the game a board was created for the players to try and move
around to gain bonuses that would help certain players. The was created and the development of
the project changed where characters moving or giving a certain character a bonus didnt fit with the
idea of the game being about characters and talent trees.
Changing talents in the first three rounds
The proposal of changing talents for each character in the first three rounds was an idea that was
put together in early development to see what would last throughout the development. It didnt last
much beyond the idea stage, in hindsight this idea would cause so much chaos during the game that
it could stop the game or make players not want to play it anymore.












26

Recommendations
After the completion of the project the recommendations that are being suggested are to take a
look at the game and what works and where improvements from other games are like it and adapt
the game to improve it or make something new to it. These ideas are making the game a one verses
one situation. Expanded the talents more and try to include other characters to create bigger attacks
which would require more sacrifice and dice rolls.
During the development and in the creation of the contingency plan the idea to take the amount of
characters available in the game was created as a failsafe. Looking back at the game as a whole it
could become something new in the game. The players would have a pawn that could be created
together with three talents that can be chosen from the players available already. Then in the same
way the game is already played it would be played out.
This skirmish style of play would change the style of game and would require changes such as the
master node system and the health of the player. This would require the same amount of testing as
this project has had already because problems would occur.
Now that the bases of the characters have been created, tested and work. The next step would be to
take the characters and combine two talents for an attack that would require more dice roll
combinations or master node sacrifice. This would require further testing and development. Based
on the existing game there is a base for it to begin.
A questionnaire could be formed if a project like this was going to be created again, the questions
would be specific about characters and talents for them. It would be difficult to get a definite answer
but would give a general idea of what players do and dont like about characters that would be at
time be presented to them.












27

Game Rules

Must choose three characters from the list

No duplications

Talents cant be changed once the game has started

A coin flip is used to determine who plays first

The game master distributes a node to the players at the start of their round

If a player doesnt have enough nodes for an attack they can do it

The dice roll number is to be determined by the game master

The first player to hit zero health on all three characters loses

If a player is frozen or burnt for X amount of rounds they cannot use any attack or talent tree
attack















28

Games Characters
Priest
The priest character heals players that are low on health and bring them back from death. They also
have the power to heal burn or freezing attacks that their enemies will use against their team mates.
A priest can choose from the general healing, which heals a player health. Freeze heal with will heal
and character (not itself though) that has been frozen and stop the attack for the remaining rounds
it has left. The burns heal works the same as the freeze heal.
Hunter
The hunter character uses his bow and arrow to either hurt, freeze or burn players so they. He is
accompanied by his pet cat Mike.
The hunter is one of the two core characters that can change the game at any point depending on
how many nodes the player has to play with.
Magic
The magical character has the ability to summon an imp, demon or a ghost under his control and
help either himself or his team.
The different pets that the magical character can summon offer the ability to be invisible to players
(ghost), absorb burn or frozen attacks (Imp) and have additional attacks (Demon).
Solider
The solider character is a soldier of fortune that uses his machine gun to mow down his enemies any
way he can. His choice of grenade, fire or sniper rifle attacks are available to him.
The solider character has the alternative attack to the hunter character; he can burn players for
multiple rounds when his master node is charged.










29

Character Sheets


























30



31

Player Sheets

32

References
Ernest Adams, Andrew Rollings (2007). Game Design and Development: Fundamentals of
game design: Prentice Hall
Richard A. Bartle(2003). Designing Virtual worlds: New Riders
Jeremy Crawford, Mike Mearls, James Wyatt(2009). Dungeons and Dragons Players
Handbook 2: Hasbro UK
Rob Heinsoo, Logan Bonner, Robert J. Schwalb(2008). Forgotten Realms Players Guide.
Hasbro UK
Logan Bonner, Eytan Bernstein, Bruce R. Cordell, Peter Lee(2009). Arcane Powers. Hasbro
UK





















33

Bibliography
Ernest Adams, Andrew Rollings (2007). Game Design and Development: Fundamentals of
game design: Prentice Hall
Richard A. Bartle(2003). Designing Virtual worlds: New Riders
Jeremy Crawford, Mike Mearls, James Wyatt(2009). Dungeons and Dragons Players
Handbook 2: Hasbro UK
Rob Heinsoo, Logan Bonner, Robert J. Schwalb(2008). Forgotten Realms Players Guide.
Hasbro UK
Logan Bonner, Eytan Bernstein, Bruce R. Cordell, Peter Lee(2009). Arcane Powers. Hasbro
UK
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November 2013]
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2013]
Jeff Berry(2013), Lets Spec Into Talent Trees: A Primer for Game Designers[Online].
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Ethics Form
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