GAME-4000/GSND-6000 Project 5

Each round you get a choice between a sword and a random weapon. Use your selected weapon to fight the enemy by clicking the attack button (attack order is random). If you kill the enemy before it kills you, you gain a level and vice versa. 

DESIGN DOCUMENTATION

Progression Mechanic Name

Attack

Description of mechanic and its progression

In a turn-based combat system, the player has one chance to attack per turn. An attack reduces the target’s health by the player’s attack stat multiplied by the weapon’s modification value.

To win a battle, the player must reduce the enemy’s health to zero through attacks.After winning a battle, the player levels up, increasing their attack stat, which allows them to deal more damage in future battles.

Implementation description

In our prototype, players will engage in a series of turn-based battles, with the goal of defeating as many enemies as possible.

During combat, the player can attack the enemy once per turn, dealing damage equal to the player's attack multiplied by the weapon modifier. The enemy also attacks the player once per turn, dealing damage equal to the enemy's attack. Each turn, there is a 50% chance that the player attacks first and a 50% chance that the enemy attacks first. The game ends when the player's health is reduced to zero or below. However, if the enemy's health reaches zero or below, the player levels up, triggering power progression: The player's attack and maximum health increase. Also, the player's health is fully restored to its new maximum. The player can choose to equip either the initial weapon or a randomly selected weapon for the next battle.

In the next battle, the player will face a higher-level enemy with greater attack power and higher maximum health, and the process repeats.

Below are the formulas for player and enemy attributes:

Player's attack Ap, player’s health Hp, enemy’s attack Ae and enemy’s health He are all related to their level n.

Ap(n)= 15[(1+52)n+1 -(1-52)n+1 ] (Fibonacci(n+1))

Ae(n)= ⌈Ap(n)3⌉

Hp(n) ~ U(4Ae(n),5Ae(n)]

He(n) ~ 23U(3Ap(n),4Ap(n)]+13U(4Ap(n),5Ap(n)]

Below is a list of all weapons and their effects.

Sword(initial weapon): Deals 1×Apdamage.

Dagger: Deals 0.8×Apdamage with a 50% chance to critically hit, dealing 1.5× damage.

Twin Dagger: Deals 0.5×Apdamage with a 1/3 chance to critically hit, dealing 4× damage.

Spear: Deals 0.9×Apdamage and always attacks first.

Greatsword: Deals 1.1×Apdamage but never attacks first.

Axe: Deals 0.8×Apdamage; if attacking first, deals 1.5× damage.

Warhammer: Deals 0.5×Apdamage; if attacking second, deals 3× damage.

Bow: Deals 2×Apdamage, but has a 50% chance to miss.

Throwing Spear: Deals 5×Apdamage, but has an 80% chance to miss.

Flail: Deals 0.5×Apdamage, increasing by 20% each turn.

Sun Blade: Deals 1.5×Apdamage on odd turns and 0.5×Apdamage on even turns.

Moon Blade: Deals 1.5×Apdamage on even turns and 0.5×Apdamage on odd turns.

Magic Wand: Deals 0~2×Apdamage.

Crystal Orb: Deals 0 damage initially. If the player attacks first for two consecutive turns, deals 10×Apdamage.

Graybox:

Description of how your pattern(s) relate to the prototype. (Include a link the to pattern)

In our prototype, after winning a battle, the player can choose which weapon to use in the next battle. The option on the left is always the basic starting weapon, while the option on the right is a randomly selected weapon from a list. These weapons are designed with either some element of uncertainty or mathematical complexity (such as the Flail and Crystal Orb). By introducing this weapon system with decision-making, we aim to provide players with a dynamic experience that balances difficulty and power progression, keeping them motivated to continue playing.

Our Pattern

Analysis describing the implications of the progression explored in your playable prototype.

The design purpose of our prototype is to introduce an extreme scenario where the player's power progression perfectly matches the difficulty progression. If the player always chooses the weapon on the left (the initial weapon), they will still experience power progression—gaining increased attack and health after each battle. However, the difficulty progression (stronger enemies in each new battle) will align perfectly with their power progression. As a result, the player has nothing to do but press the attack button, leading to a predictable outcome: they have a 2/3 chance to defeat the enemy by the fourth turn, and in the fifth turn, if they attack first, they will win. This means the player’s overall chance of winning a battle is 1/6. Even with power progression, the gameplay quickly becomes boring.

To address this, we introduced a randomly selected weapon on the right side of the weapon selection interface. These weapons are designed to appear "seemingly balanced." For example, the expected damage output of the Throwing Spear (which deals 5×Ap damage but has an 80% chance to miss) per turn is Ap, which is the same as the initial weapon. However, when calculating the actual winning probability (considering the player can only take five hits, needs one hit to defeat the enemy, and has a 50% chance to attack four times, a 50% chance to attack five times, etc.), the player's winning chance is around 63%.

The key point is that while all weapons may seem similar at first glance—and their winning probabilities are not drastically different—once players start thinking about their weapon choices, the decision-making process becomes far more complex than they initially assumed. The more players analyze the weapon system, the more dynamic and engaging the game becomes, enhancing the overall experience alongside power and difficulty progression. This serves as solid proof of our pattern.