Devlog #4- Production 3

Our group is continuing working in the production phase of developing our game. The first devlog of production I shared information on how we playtested our first prototype and how we got our game prepared. Up to that point we made all of the cards and had the base mechanics made, put it into our prototype and then started creating surveys. We wanted information on the core features so we based our survey around that, afterwards we got playtesters and received a lot of good feedback. The second devlog of production I talked about how we moved our game from prototype into Roll 20 to create the actual game. All card descriptions and layout was set out and the rulebook was completed, the only thing not in the game was the final art. We did more playtests and found great data, with a common complaint being about the length of our game. 

Now, in the past three weeks, we have slowed production down a little bit due to our reading week, which we took a much needed break, and design week. Despite production slowing down, it hasn't stopped, our main goals outlined in the last devlog are still our main goals, those being implementing the final art into the game, making the game shorter and creating a custom card deck. The final art is being worked on and coming along nicely, it should be completed before our final round of playtesting. To make the game shorter we brainstormed an idea, that being limiting the personal information in the game. Before players needed to find 10 separate numbers in order to knock out on opponent, SIN(4), credit card (3) and date of birth (3). One of our members came up with the idea to only use the SIN as the players life, this will limit the lives by 6 and surely shorten the game. The credit card will still be in the game, however, it will be a method to steal money from the opponent if discovered. Lastly, date of birth was initially scrapped, however, in playtests, players enjoyed choosing their own birthdates, so this will be reviewed. We plan on testing how this change works out in the next round of playtests. We have also started creating a custom card deck, we are balancing the types of cards (effector, defending, stacking) so that they are all equal in play, so players can get the ideal balance of cards.

Going forward we plan on finishing all of the things previously mentioned, as we have not finished them all. The art is coming along nicely but still needs to be finished and implemented in the game, for which a couple of our members are working on. The custom deck will also be worked on by a couple members with the intent of finishing it within the week, as we need to test out to see if it is balanced. So after we finish it there will surely be more balancing in the future, as I doubt we ace it on the first go. Lastly, the change to the personal information, while completed, needs to be tested, we need to see if it does shorten the games length but also if it hinders the enjoyment or makes things more complicated. We will be looking at all of those things with the intent of modifying it further after playtests. Nothing much has been added into our game, so below is another image of our game in Roll 20 with the placeholder art showing the layout of the players' cards.