Nicholas Sceusa

Gameplay and Level Designer

nicksceusa@gmail.com

Game Design Exercise: Redesigning Shootout

Shootout is a small tabletop game designed by Reiner Knizia. 2 players have a shootout at High Noon. Players move closer to each other in an attempt to reach the center of the gun range. However, moving closer to the center makes it easier for you to be hit by bullets and pushed away. Players earn a number of points each round and the first to earn 14 points wins the Shootout. You can check out the full rule in this review video on Board Game Geek: https://boardgamegeek.com/video/18566/shoot-out/shoot-out-in-5-seconds

The board game Shootout.

First Impressions

Shootout's core mechanic, shoot or move, is simple but works exceedingly well within the boundaries of the game board. It is a great example of "abstraction" or the process making something representational as opposed to literal one to one application. While cowboys probably had additional options at their disposal during a standoff, such a shooting from horseback or diving into a saloon for cover, Shootout takes the core idea and distills it down into a simple experience that fits within the genre. If we wanted something more realistic, we could make a cowboy RPG with rules governing how shootouts work, apply bonuses for gear and weapon mods, look at how to determine health and grit, etc , etc, The list could go on. However, the best games are simple to learn, play, and master. This is a great one to look at as the core rules are extremely simple and avoids over complicating the process.

While an actual shootout is a lot more dangerous, Shootout takes the idea and turns it more into a game of chance and managing resources. Health is not an issue so it turns into a flinging of bullets at times as seen on the left (thanks Vector Stock). The grittiness and tough life out West is more realistic (historical photo on the right), but would need a lot more rules to account for the different scenarios. This changes the overall style and the feel of the game. Not to mention - it might not be a fun.

Some images I found online that roughly match the genre I was envisioning.

Theme Change

The first part of the exercise involved changing the fiction. Could the core mechanic be used with a different genre? The idea is a well made set of core mechanics can be reskinned into a different genre. This is particularly great for the designer if they think the game might sell better with an audience. The short and long of it - yes it can!

I decided to go with a sci-fi approach, reskinning the game as an attempt to reach a mainframe and steal data for barter on the black market.

This part of the exercise was relatively easy as the core mechanics are simple and really well thought out. No drastic changes were needed. Instead of a revolver, players have a kinetic-force gun that shoves them away from the mainframe (the center of the board). Two modes of fire with limited charges replaced the bullets and the cards won at the end of a "data run" represent the "terraflops' of data they just stole. Yielding the data run early allows them to regroup and regain ammunition while the opposing player gains more data. In the end this is essentially a change of word use. However, the second part of the exercise was a bit trickier.

Secondary Mechanics

This part of the exercise focused on keeping the core mechanics, shoot or move, while changing the additional mechanics to further support the theme. This was more difficult as there is a danger of making the game over complicated or making it less synergistic (having game parts that don’t work well together).

You can read my full rule set of rules on the right.

The first point of focus was implementing additional options for the thief/hacker. I liked the option of shooting with a kinetic gun, but the character I have in mind should have more tools at their disposal. If you are familiar with the Cyberpunk genre, people in that world have multiple tools or machinery installed into their bodies which give them unique abilities and appearances. I didn’t want to add in a ton of options, but some secondary mechanics would help vary the gameplay and add a little bit of strategy.

This is how the idea of Electric Pulse, Power Surge, and Hack Attack came about. This would provide 3 additional options for each player to interact with each other. One stops the opposite player from moving, another provides additional movement, and Hack allows can potentially stop players from activating an ability (with the exclusion of move).

Remaking Shootout.docx

This was developed in tandem with changing how players interact with the board. Instead of simply racing for the middle, players now need to reach the center (now called the data center), flee far away enough, and then call for a getaway vehicle.

One of the main issues was how to handle the abilities. More abilities do mean more options and varied gameplay, but I wanted players to consider when to use them. Costs associated for each ability were generated, with the largest cost being used for the getaway vehicle. This would make players re-consider how often to use certain abilities, as there is the potential of becoming stalled later in the game (for a limited time). I used a spreadsheet to help me look at the cost, use, and success measurement of each ability. This helped compare all the abilities a bit more easily.

Remaking Shootout.xlsx

To make things even more exciting, as heists always seem to go, if the opposing player can make it to the center of the board before the other player escapes, they can steal the data back and make their own attempt at escaping.

The next biggest change to the rules was the elimination of the game rounds. This version is continuous until one of the players escapes with the data. This may need additional playtesting to determine if this will take too long to hold player interest, or if the mechanics will keep them invested. Additionally, I am curious to see if the costs of each ability are suitable.

Some last-minute changes were implemented after observing the spreadsheet more closely. Originally Electric Pulse only stopped a player from moving; however, since the opposing player can still use Kinetic Blast, it makes Electric Pulse tough to use early in the game. Why stun an enemy when you can force them back 3 spaces and cancel their turn? The ability to cancel a turn was moved to Electric Pulse to make it a more powerful and (hopefully) more useful in the game.

In Review

This was a fun exercise. Breaking down the core mechanics and reskinning it for another genre really demonstrates how you can change the feel and idea of a game with a few simple adjustments. Plus, if there is a bigger audience for that specific genre, then you will be more likely to make a profit from your efforts. Then adding additional mechanics to further flesh out the game, with that new genre in mind, helped us look at the game in a different way.

It shows the influence a genre may have and how it can be useful for generating ideas. However, it can also cause you to overlook certain aspects of the game if you get too wrapped up in the genre itself. A good thing to keep in mind and it further reinforces the importance of looking at a game in multitude of ways.

Something I will do going forward is remove some of the rules and then ask: “can I still play the game and have fun?” If the answer is yes, then I might not have stripped it down to its core mechanics. If the answer is no, then I may have reduced the game down to its bare components.

Onto the next exercise!

Page updated

Google Sites

Report abuse