ARTe: Hemut
Development Summary:
Game: ARTe: Hemut
Engine: Unity 4
Development Time: 2 months
Genre: Educational, Board Game, Deck-Builder
Platform: Web GL
Released: August 25, 2018
Responsibilities:
Developed initial narrative pass for three of four scenarios while covering specific, important events and art pieces in a logical and fun manner
Created four, balanced board games which rewarded knowledgeable players, while encouraging less studious individuals
Implemented and crafted over 150 cards using limited coding blocks to develop a series of unique and progressively challenging encounters
Infused the deck-building with strategy, synergy, and powerful, one-use cards
Transcribed and documented all aspects of design to ensure an easy continuation of the project at a later date
Game Overview:
Upon joining Triseum in June of 2018, one of the first projects I collaborated on was ARTe: Hemut, a title which focuses on the art, history, and culture of Ancient Egypt. The goal of the project was to take the game-skeleton we received from an outside source and develop it into a final product. In brief, the game provides players four scenarios covering various topics of early Egyptian history. Players select an encounter and are first treated to a board game. During the board game, players encounter various events and make decisions based on information the student learns either from class or in their readings. After completing the board game section, using the rewards and cards they earn, players must win a deck-building section by completing various scenario cards, all while beating back the forces of chaos.
After some delays, we received the project files, a little less than two months before it needed to be in the hands of students. We could not push back our release date as it coincided with the start of the semester and, with the other designers preoccupied by ARTe Lumiere, the majority of design tasks fell to me. While initially concerned about taking on such an important series of tasks, seeing there was little else that could be done, I smiled and quickly set to work.
Tearing Down to Build Up
The project we received suffered from a couple of different problems ranging from over-scoped design, incomplete features, and several random instances of hard-coded information, the least of which being the Scenario Selection Screen. This meant one of our first steps was to assess our time and resources and develop a more reasonable scope of what we could deliver within the time frame. Originally, we wanted to ship six unique scenarios to spread out the learning objectives and create a better flow. However, limited by time and resources, we ended up combining scenarios and ultimately settled on four :
Early Kings - Focuses on the first rulers of Egypt, those who united Upper and Lower Egypt, established the cult of the pharaoh and set the ground work for future rulers
Burial Rites - Uses a more interpersonal story to frame the discussion of ancient Egypt’s various rituals and rites about death, and culminates in a discussion on mastabas, some of ancient Egypt’s gods, and the beginnings of mummification
Early Pyramids - Discusses the beginnings of pyramid construction through Djoser and Sneferu
Giza - Discusses the reigns of Khufu, Khafre, and Menkaure and how the three of them endeavored to leave their mark on history through their tombs
One unfortunate loss we suffered during this portion of the project was the use of branching paths. The idea was, once the player arrived at a “decision tile”, the player could either move their piece up to one tile (Tile A) or down to a different tile (Tile B). Each tile would have the same question, but would provide only one possible answer. Players would then be able to hop between both tiles and explore their options before making a decision. Upon choosing, the player would proceed down one path, encountering events similar to what would be on the other branch, but with slight changes to the script based on the player’s choice. After evaluating the work it would require, the team soon agreed it would be better to cut this feature as it distracted from the educational information and we could not spare the engineers from developing more important systems.
Thankfully other features were easier to cut, such as the ability to earn trophies and the incomplete system for creating trade routes with foreign nations to obtain special cards. In cutting these and other features we were able to create a more focused experience which directed the player’s attention to the important educational information, while still providing players a plethora of choices with impact.
Board Game: Where Education and Game Meet
One of the key parts of game design is knowing how to provide players with a series of interesting choices and insuring those choices have proper ramifications. In ARTe Hemut, once the player chooses a scenario, they must proceed through a series of events relating to the overarching theme of the scenario. A majority of the events had a question about a particular piece of Egyptian art, culture, or history. Players must use their knowledge of the subject matter to make the best possible choice. Each choice either provided players additional cards and influence (the player’s life) or took cards and influence away. This system, while simplistic, encouraged players to prepare ahead of time and study the relevant information so they could make good choices possible and earn better cards.
That said, not every event was strictly scholastic. Several events throughout each scenario instead provided players a choice to optimize their deck by sacrificing other cards, swing their deck in one direction or another, or provide players a short narrative section which served to make the relevant materials more personal. These choices allow a player’s experience to be far more personal and help to shape a player’s deck and gameplay experience. One of my personal favorite types of questions we are able to provide players in Arte Hemut are the various art questions. In these, players must distinguish which one of three pieces of art is correct. These questions provide players great opportunities to apply their knowledge. While the example to the right is arguably fairly simplistic, it still provides players plenty of information and rewards knowledge.
Card Design: How to Portray a God and Add Combo
Due to the fact ARTe Hemut relies so heavily on cards and we had limited time, I knew I would have to pick and choose my battles. For example, while I would have preferred more scenarios that did not revolve so heavily on getting a high number of laborers and foreman together, I figured it was best to keep that interaction simple as the final scenarios rely heavily on building various monuments. As such, I decided to focus on two major aspects:
Making the various god cards feel very powerful
Adding in combo and synergy potential where ever possible
I knew I wanted to make the god cards powerful and to evoke the various domains of each god. One of the first things I implemented, to help make god cards that much more formidable, was removing them as purchases in the Marketplace, there-by making them only obtainable through the board game. While this god cards even more special, it also ensured the player could never obtain too many of them and somehow break the game. Another characteristic I decided to add to god cards was to make them one-time use. Players could discard or just not play a god card, but upon being used, the god card exiles itself from the game. This gave players a one-time use, big swing that might allow them to survive some bad luck or even pull off a victory. See, the image to the left for an example of one such god card, the Isis card. Being a goddess of magic and knowledge, I eventually decided Isis’s ability should permit the player to draw three cards. This gives the player immediate knowledge in the form of potential new resources; however, players must use the card carefully as it is a one-time use.
The other big issue I wanted to tackle was to some how add in combo and synergy to the cards and gameplay. This way players who may not be as knowledgeable in art history, still had a chance to in the deck-building section by optimizing their play. One of the easiest examples I can point to is the combination between a Priest and Embalmer. When the player plays a Priest card, they may discard a card from their hand. If they do, they draw a new card. When a player plays an Embalmer, the player may exile a card from their Discard pile. If they do, they draw a card. This simple two card interaction allows players turn an otherwise weak hand into an explosive turn as they draw into new cards and resources. Additionally, it allows players to have perfect selection as without the priest, the player would have to discard some other card in their Discard which, depending on the state of the game, might be impossible or be a negative play. However, alongside a priest, the player is able to ditch an unwanted card, then thin and refine their deck by exiling the useless card they just pitched with the Embalmer.
Postmortem:
Looking back on ARTe: Hemut, I could easily point to various things that could be refined, fixed, tweaked, and improved. However, that is an unfortunate and enduring truth in our industry. Eventually you have to stop, decide it is good enough and ship the best product you can. So while I could easily list off a few improvements I would make, or discuss how excited I am at what we could do with the next patch, I am still proud of what we accomplished. Triseum’s small team, worked day and night over two short months, and were able to improve upon what we were given by a massive degree. In this industry of ups and downs, of deadlines, and ship dates, it is some times useful if not necessary to step back and look at what you were able to accomplish instead of always looking at what you did not ship or how much better something could be. It is a small lesson, one of many, but it is something I have started doing and have found my life more enjoyable for it.