❖ Version History ❖

23rd – 30th of August 2020
For the entirety of the next week I am focused on Phoenix Farm. The lore and overall flavor of the game have me hooked, and I am completely dedicated on refining it. As I had shown in my notes during the last entry of the Design Journal, there were many small elements that I knew needed to be adjusted. The key targets being:

1. Marketplace Randomization
2. Overall Economy (Costs of Elements vs. Payouts)
3. Reward Systems
4. Layout and Number of Components

Let’s take a moment to study how each of these had appeared in the original layout of the game concept, and then discuss how they were changed as a result of this refining process:

~:: Marketplace Randomization ::~

In the Original Layout:
Phoenix Farm iteration 1.0 featured a marketplace of: tools/gold
Shopping could happen at any time, but cost 1 of 2 player actions.
Players could buy a piece of gold for: 5 phoenix feathers (flat rate).
Tools would appear in the shop at random, and cost: 1 feather (flat rate).

In the New Layout:
Shopping could only happen as the first of two actions in a turn.
Players could shop for multiple items during any visit to the shop (based on wallet).
The new shop showed all tools at once, but each cost a unique amount of feathers.

~:: Overall Economy ::~

In the Original Layout:
All tools cost the same amount, but appeared at random.
When using a tool, a success always paid out feathers: 1 + Phoenix Phase.
(i.e. 1, then 2, then 3, then 4, then 5)
Gold always cost 5, and was the only way to win.

In the New Layout:
All Tools cost slightly different, and are all always available to buy.
When using a tool, the payout was based on the dice outcomes:
(i.e. 0, then 1/2, then 2/4, then 3/6, then 1+x)
Gold starts at cost of 5, then deteriorates over time.
Both Phoenix Completions & Gold = victory points (emphasizes farming).

~:: Reward Systems ::~

In the Original Layout:
When Rolling Dice: 1/2/3 = Fail, 4/5 = Success
When Rolling a 6, get double the rewards:
(i.e. 2, then 4, then 6, then 8, then 10 feathers)
There is no limit to how much currency a player can hold.

In the New Layout:
When Rolling Dice: 1 = Critical Failure, everyone else gets +1 Feather
2/3 = Fail, 4/5 = Success (stays the same)
When Rolling a 6, get double the rewards, changed based on economy:
(i.e. 2 eggs, then 2 chicks/feathers, then 4, then 6, then 2-12 feathers)
There is a limit of 12 feathers in a player wallet (12 feather payout = max).

~:: Layout and Number of Components ::~

At this point in the adventure, I do not have a clear enough schedule to tackle this agenda. I know that there are some elements that need to be changed in terms of the number of pieces & frequency that they appear in the game, but this is a task that I return to later on in the progression of things. As a result, we will talk about this aspect in a later design journal entry.

After a week or so of playing around with the layout and monetary mechanics of the game, I alert Ben that I am now the one ready with the new play test needs for the Pheonix Farm. On the 23rd of August, Rory, Sean, Ben, Aimee, and I meet at Rory’s family lake house to take a new swing at this prototype. Though every single piece of the original artwork is exactly the same, the layout of the pieces, and the way that they are played with has now been completely changed around. This time Ben takes notes and makes sure to jot down ideas behind how the rules are going to be adjusted.

As a result of all the fixes, the game is playing much more smoothly, and definitely requires more strategy… but there are still mechanics that need some fixing, and I take several notes while observing the game on how I can continue to improve it as well.

By the end of this round, I have concretely decided that this game will be the next focal point of my artistic attention. I truly love the flavor and mechanics of this beautifully short game, and want very much to continue expanding upon it. Over the course of the following seven days, I spend a gratuitous amount of time studying the product catalogue of The Game Crafter website and begin calculating budget / component needs for this game. I am very quickly beginning to do measurements and calculations on what this game will start to look like before I even begin the artistic process:

There are many ideas flowing around in my head for how to make this all fit in a tiny box, but there are definitely some immediate roadblocks based on the size of the components needed, and how to make everything fit in the box. This leads to my next economic problem: how do I reformat the real-world economy of the game’s design in such a way to make it all work but keep it affordable? ~ for that you’ll have to tune back in for our next adventure in the Librarium Games Design Journal!