3 Dice and You're OUT!!! Pitch

Visual Research

Logos

3 Dice and You're Out Logo

Game Categories

Game Categories

           

            After reading the chapter in Game Design: Principles, Practices and Techniques, I began to think about the games that I play and enjoy and where they fall in the categories discussed.

L.A. Noire has very realistic graphics. The character models look like real people with amazing facial animations thanks to new facial scanning technology. Along with a great cast of actors, you really feel like you’re in 1947 Los Angeles.

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword has very abstract graphics. The game has colorful and stylized art form making the player feel like they’re looking at a painting. Because of this, it is one of the most visually stunning games I’ve ever seen (which is ironic considering it is for the Wii.)

Super Meat Boy is a 2D side scrolling platform game. In each level, you must guide Meat Boy to Bandage Girl through many obstacles presented in a 2D perspective.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is a 3D role-playing game. In it, you are given a huge world to explore in a 3D perspective.

Banjo Tooie is a third person action adventure platformer with some first person segments. For most of the game you control Banjo and Kazooie in a third person perspective but there are some parts in the game where you switch to a first person perspective as Banjo takes Kazooie out from his backpack and holds her like a gun as she shoots eggs from her mouth (Games were weird back in the Nintendo 64 era).This gave the game a great sense of variety and making it one of my favorite games when I was a kid.

There are many games that use real-world activities as means for gameplay. One that comes to mind is Wii Sports for the Nintendo Wii. This game came with the console in order to show the audience what it is capable of. The game shows off the Wii’s motion sensing technology to make the player feel like they’re actually playing the sports, such as baseball, tennis, bowling and boxing.

There are many games with memorable storylines such as Mass Effect and the Metal Gear Solid Series. However, one that seems to come to my mind is the game Psychonauts. The story revolves around Raz (short for Rasputin), a boy with psychic powers who was raised in the circus. He decides to escape to a U.S. government base disguised as a summer camp where he can learn to control his abilities. It was there when he learned that one of the counselors is stealing the brains of the campers and using them to build psychic death tanks to (you guessed it) take over the world. While that may seem cliché, it is only a setup. While trying to stop the counselor, Raz meets many funny and interesting characters such as Dogen, a kid with head exploding powers who believes squirrels are telling him to him to kill everyone. For a number of these characters, Raz must enter their minds and sort them out in order to proceed. (My favorite being the Milk Man Conspiracy. It’s just so hilarious and awesome.) With smart writing by one of the best video game storytellers, Tim Schafer, this is one of the best stories I’ve seen as well as one of my favorite video games of all time.

Inspiration

3 Dice and You're Out!

Pitch-Three Dice and You're Out!

Overview

Three Dice and You're Out is a board game that will appeal to people of all ages. The primary demographic however of this version is 12 years old and younger. The game combines the interest of baseball with the random element of throwing dice while using subtraction skills. The game is simple and quick which will keep the interest of the players, particularly the young ones. The simple nature of the game also makes it easy to manufacture. The games can be made into smaller versions as a travel game. Games can be brought to big stores such as Toys R Us and Target to get interest. The game can also be introduced at toy fairs as well sold on an online site.

Why Are We Making This Game?

Baseball is considered to be America's favorite past time. It appeals to a wide spectrum of people and the basic rules are widely understood. The throw of the dice adds to the random element, yet the player with the use of "side rolls" can use strategy. Board games are good sources for fun. This teaches children to focus, patience and good sportsmanship. It is also a good way to spend time with family and friends. This particular game does all this while moving at a quick pace keeping the player's interest. The rules of the game can be modified easily according to the player's ability.

Walk Us Through the Game!

The players begin the game by choosing their team and determining which player is the batter and which is the fielder. At the same time each player throws a die. If the fielder throws the higher die the batter is out. If the batter throws the higher die the difference between the two die determines the base in which the batter's piece is placed on the board. For instance, a 1 is equivalent to 1^st base, a 2 is equivalent to 2^nd base, a 3 is equivalent to 3^rd base and a 4 is a homerun. If the difference is 5, the batter scores a homerun and a single following the home run. Any pieces that were already on base advance accordingly.  If the fielder rolls a 6 and batter rolls a 1 than it’s a double play. Snake eyes is a triple play. All other doubles equal a foul ball. Three fouls per player in an inning is an out. After three outs the sides are switched.  At any time a player can call a side roll. Normal play is suspended during side roll. During side roll both players roll the die, the player who gets the higher roll wins the side roll. If the batter called the side roll and rolls a higher die the batter is able to steal base. However if the batter calls the side roll but loses the roll the batter is out. If the fielder calls the side roll and is successful (rolls higher die) than the fielder is able to pick off a runner (giving the batter an out). However if the fielder is not successful and rolls the lower die the batter automatically takes one base. Each of the batter's runners will advance accordingly. Each player can only call side roll once per inning. After 9 innings player with most runs is winner.

Similar Games

Front Porch Classic Circa Baseball http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/30092/front-porch-classics-baseball

APBA Baseball Board Game http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/895/apba-pro-baseball

Dice Baseball http://www.k12.wa.us/cisl/pubdocs/DiceBaseballRules.pdf

Minor Project 3 Option 3

Freeze-Tag

Structure Type

If I had to give freeze tag a certain structure type, it would be “linear.”  The game goes in a somewhat predictable pattern. When the game starts, the “tagger” chases the other players to freeze them. While he/she can choose which order to tag them, the goal of the game is exactly the same: freeze all players before game ends. However, there are some “sandbox” elements with the random acts of the other players. They have the option to run anywhere on the playing field (in most cases, the playground) and even have the option to hide.  Players who had been tagged are also able to be freed by other “unfrozen” players. So the game’s structure depends on whether you are the hunter or the prey.

Minor Project 2 Option 3

Rayman Origins does almost everything a 2D platform game should do. It has creative and well-designed levels with, co-op (but sadly, no online), collectables, and time trails (giving each level replay value).

The Professor Layton games have never been subtle about them being about puzzles. Literally, every conflict in this series has been solved by puzzles.

Ratchet and Clank Future: A Crank in Time is a cross between platforming and shooting with some puzzle solving mixed in. At one point you’ll be going through different obstacles to reach your goal and at another point, you’ll be blasting aliens to survive.

Minor Project 2 Option 2

Rock-Paper-Scissors vs. Dark Souls

      According to Andrew Vanden’s article, “Analysis: Everything is Rock, Paper, Scissors,” the game rock-paper-scissors has been integrated into game design to this day with it’s use of luck and/or skill. A perfect example of this would be the game “Dark Souls.” In this brutally hard, yet incredibly fun game, the player must use his/her skills to reach the goal. But at the same time they need luck finding a certain item or weapon in order to survive. It’s the same thing with rock-paper-scissors. While a player can predict their opponent’s moves, they still have a one out of three shot.

Minor Project 1 Option 3

Freeze-Tag

Back when I was a kid, my friends and me played all sorts of games during recess. The one I remember the most however, was freeze-tag.

Rules:

Three or more players get together to decide who’s “it.” Once decided, the rest of players get a ten second head start before the “tagger” (because “it” just sounds insulting) starts chasing them. Once he/she tags someone, they become “frozen,” and are unable to move until another player tags them and “unfreezes” them. If the tagger freezes all the players before recess is over, he/she wins.

Minor Project 1 Option 4

Rock-Paper-Scissors

Rock-paper-scissors is a two or more player hand game commonly used for decision making, similar to drawing straws or flipping a coin.

Rules:

Two or more players face each other and shake their fists three times. Usually, when shaking, they both say a phrase such as, “Rock, paper, scissors, shoot,” but it varies between certain locations (For instance, “One, two, three, shoot,” or, “Rock, paper, scissors, says shoot.”) After the fist shaking, each player makes a certain hand gesture that depicts rock, paper, or scissors. The player with the superior gesture is the winner.

Hand Gestures to use:

Rock

To make a rock gesture, you must make a fist.

Paper

To make a paper gesture, you must open you hand so you fingers are straight and touching each other.

Scissors

To make a scissors gesture, you must extend two of your fingers out and keep them far apart.

Superior Hand Wins:

Rock smashes Scissors

Scissors cuts Paper

Paper covers Rock