ePortfolio Post 6

 Konner Rooney

11/2023

CAGD-170-01-Video Game Design

Portfolio Post 6

    I am Konner from Unit 3's Group 12, and our game was titled "Nightmare Escape".

What is, "Nightmare Escape"?

    In "Nightmare Escape", players take on either the role of a Survivor or Killer. 

The goal of the Survivors is to eventually discover a way to escape by collecting each escape method's required cards. This includes finding the car keys card and reaching the car, or the cell service card that allows a Survivor to call the police, or if they kill the Killer. If one of the required cards is pulled, the Survivors must reach a corner of the map (chosen by the one who reached the car with the keys or pulled the cell service card) before the killer to win. If the killer reaches the corner, that method of escape is stopped, and the survivors would have to pull the card(s) again to reinitiate this method of escape. On the flip side, if the Survivors have a weapon card, and are within one space of the killer, they can damage the Killer, and win if the Killer's health reaches 0.

The goal of the Killer is to kill the Survivors, eliminating them from the game when their health reaches 0. While generally slower than the Survivors, they have various methods of reaching their targets and do damage more consistently. Killers can also move through bushes, which the Survivors must navigate around.

What type of  Players is "Nightmare Escape" Marketed Towards?

    The game is generally targeted towards older teens and young adults who are fans of the horror genre across all media, particularly those who are fans of the slasher subgenre. 

As for "types", the general list we had in mind were...

• Achievers - Achievers would enjoy both roles, trying to fight the odds while both trying to survive as a Survivor and kill as a Killer. They may find the most joy in going against the odds (when the opposing side is more set up for victory than them). 
• Competitors - Similar to Achievers, Competitors would find the most entertainment in meeting the win conditions for either role. However, their joy is more placed in whether or not they reach their end goal, while Achievers focus on the journey leading up to it.
• Jokers - Jokers would enjoy "trolling" their way through the game, taking advantage of the mechanics to make flashy and borderline ridiculous plays. Such as comboing cards as Killer to eliminate Survivors before they can fight back, or making the Killers afraid to approach Survivors who take ease in escaping their murderous grasp and/or end up dealing more damage than the Killer at points. The results of this playstyle usually come from extensive knowledge of the cards' complimentary nature with each other and a little bit of luck, which Jokers are more than happy to put in the effort to gain results.
• Storytellers - Storytellers would enjoy visualizing the interactions between players and try to form a story as a result.

A Retrospective of the Game's Development Process

    It felt like my partner were both fans of the horror game genre, and wanted to make a game based on it! This resulted in a generally well communicated and conflict free work process. However, that isn't to say there weren't the occasional hiccups here and there. For one, I am a full-time student, while my partner is part-time and has a job. This caused some issues in arranging meetings and getting in touch with them outside of class hours. We did try to arrange a biweekly schedule to meet, but we would both forget about the time slots. 

While the times we met resulted in a good amount of progress being made each time, this was almost exclusively during the class hours. Its hard to think of a solution to this problem besides just applying and pushing ourselves to meet more often, if we were to do this unit's process all over again.

Conclusion

    Overall, I'm fairly satisfied with the product we made. While it wasn't perfect, my partner and I got along well and had a fun time developing "Nightmare Escape", and I am glad we were partners this unit!