3D Level Screenshots

Here are some screenshots from the level I made in UDK with a combination of building pieces and props modeled by me and my sophomore class.

Completed Board Game

Here's some photos of the finished physical game:

Dragon Dash Print and Play

A link to a pdf of my print and play game, Dragon Dash

Print and play this game!

Box Art Illustration Final and Progress

Playtest Results

The initial response to my game was that it was too easy and boring. The rules seemed to work fine except for a few confusions regarding cards. For each revision of my game I changed a few rules here and there and added different cards. And to make the task of fighting the dragon more risky, the player can now die for good in the game.

But the major change I am making based on feedback is the addition of ice minions. This will get rid of "Next Day" cards and add more challenges throughout the game. This also adds more of a rivalry between players because when a minion card is drawn, they will be able to choose where to place it based on special spaces (or numbers) on the board.

Hopefully this will make my game more interesting to play.

Board Game Theme and Concept

Theme: "race to defeat the dragon and be the hero!"
The game's theme is medieval knights on a quest to kill a dragon and stop the land from freezing over. This is not "historically accurate medieval" as there is an ice dragon in a tower and there is an equal number of male and female knights the player can choose from.

Examples of theme: Game of Thrones and The Hobbit
The television/book series Game of Thrones is based on medieval western Europe and inspired by castles and knighting tournaments. There are also dragons involved. This theme is the basis for everything socially acceptable (and unacceptable) in the series as well as the overall aesthetic look to the characters and setting.

The book/movie The Hobbit takes place in a fantasy setting where a group of characters go on a journey to take treasure from a dragon. The fantasy theme allows for the monsters, dragons, and other creatures to exist in the land without question.

Color scheme: The land around the dragon's tower is icy so it will be more of a light blue while the land farther away from it is more dark greens and purple. The overall scheme of the board is cool colors, and the player pieces would be warmer colors such as red, orange, and yellow.

Board Game Ideas

A few ideas for board games (mechanics, themes, designs):

Find and collect the treasure before the volcano erupts.

-Random treasure tiles face down on board.
-It would be cool to have the lava on the board be neon orange so a black-light can be integrated in the board.

Steal a dragon egg while battling your opponents.
     -Each player has a set amount of health.
     -Items can be found and used.

Defeat the ice dragon before it creates the next ice age.
    -2 to 4 players race to kill the dragon first.
    -Set amount of "days" until the dragon freezes the land and all players lose.
    -Draw a card each turn (either "next day" card or an item/event) then roll the die to move.
    -If a player lands on the same space as another player, they may duel to lose an item card. If the losing player has no cards, they lose a turn.
    -3D tower that can be lifted from the board to reveal the dragon and more spaces.
    -Must land exactly on an attack spot to attack dragon.
    -Die roll determines if attack was successful.

Still need to test if game is too easy or too difficult. This will determine how many days the players have to defeat the dragon and whether there will be "lose a turn" cards in the deck.

Print and Play Deconstruction

A Smash Monster Rampage deconstruction:

Goal: Stop the monster before it destroys the city and have more points than your opponent.
Core Mechanic: Shoot at the monster by rolling dice.
Space: 3D paper buildings on a flat grid board.
Objects, Attributes, States: Buildings stay in place until destroyed, units and monster move/attack with dice, and survivors are placed according to cards drawn.
Operative/Resultant Actions: Roll dice-->move/attack, roll monster die-->monster move/attack, attack-->draw card.
Rules: Starting point for units was not clear so we made a "house rule" to start them on the street at opposite ends of the board. Otherwise, rules were fine.
Skills: Deciding where to move your units to successfully attack the monster and avoid getting hit.
Chance: Most of the game is chance (monster movement/attack, rolling dice for unit attacks, and card draws.

Smash Monster Rampage

   Yesterday I put together and played a "print and play" game called Smash Monster Rampage.
This is a free printable game for two players in which the goal is to stop the monster from destroying the town and be the player with the most "Mission Points" in the end. Each player has control of three helicopters and three tanks. To earn Mission Points, players must attack the monster and fulfill the instructions on Monster Hit Cards. Any remaining units of helicopters, tanks, and rescued survivors also earn you Mission Points at the end of the game.

   I liked how the monster's movements were unpredictable as they were determined by a "Monster Die" roll, and the part where the city gets destroyed (fire is added to buildings, buildings and units are taken away from the board). I also liked how even though the players were working together towards a common goal (stopping the monster before all the buildings are destroyed), you are still competing against each other with the amount of Mission Points.

   My only complaints are the amount of time the game took to set up, and some confusion in the rules. There were almost 40 pages that had to be printed (mostly buildings for the city) and with two people cutting them out, folding, and gluing them together it took AT LEAST an hour. However, now that all the pieces are put together, future play-throughs of this game will not take as long. As for the rules, once they were read it was easy to see how the game would work. But when it came to figuring out where to start our units from, we could not find the answer in the rulebook. So we ended up starting our units from opposite sides of the board on a center road piece when they came into play.

   So overall, if you don't mind taking a lot of time to initially set up the game, it was a fun experience and I would play it again.

Freshman Work

Here are a few assignments from last year in order from most recent to oldest. I feel like I have improved since I submitted my portfolio to Ringling and I can continue to see improvement in each semester. Hopefully that will never stop!