Jotnar
Design Blog
Game Summary:
Jotnar is a 2 player escape/race game that involves a giant Norse beast (Jotnar) attempting to block the players from reaching the finish line. However, the players can control the movement and actions of the Jotnar by playing cards from their hand. There are no lives or health values in the game so everything is based on avoiding the Jotnar, avoiding obstacles, and trying to hinder the opponent as much as possible. Players must plan their movements ahead of time and play their cards as best as possible for maximum effect. Our target age range are teenagers and up due to the complex moving within the game and level of thinking required to play the cards effectively. Players that would enjoy this game include explorers, socializers, and competitors because of the unique map design and the head to head nature of the race.
Play-test Observations and Development Process:
Initially our game involved drawing cards from the deck and playing them as they were drawn. We intended the Jotnar to have a rudimentary AI so each player would have an equal chance of winning. An unintended result of this mechanic was that the players were left with only rolling a dice as the primary way of engaging with the game. After a play test where the cracks in the game really showed, and neither player was enjoying the core loop, we knew that we had to make a serious change.
On the advice of one of the play testers we instead decided that each player would have a hand of cards that they could play on their turn to control and move the Jotnar. This change immediately made our game more interesting and engaging, especially since we made the rule so that a player could play as many cards as they wanted, allowing for impactful chains of actions that could drastically alter the outcome. One example of this was using the card 'Leap' to land directly in front of the opposing player and then playing 'Charge' which would push the player all the way all the way to the end of the map.
Chaining cards together like the example described above proved to be a great change and we went forward with this idea by adjusting current cards to fit this play style and adding new ones that further complimented this mechanic. For the next playtest, players enjoyed the game much more and were able to do much more fun and exciting plays with the Jotnar.
Liam and I worked really well together and were able to meet up multiple times a week to play test and revise our game. Liam wrote the rule sheet with my input and I supplied most of the materials for the game including obstacles and the board. Liam was interested in my game after hearing my pitch so it was not a problem for him to get on board with the ideas that I had as well as offering his own input to further enhance the game. Going forward I would have liked for us to have added more interesting obstacles and given the players items to hinder the opponent but overall it was a great learning experience creating Jotnar.
Jotnar, main antagonist of the game
Our rule sheet was revised many times to both shorten it, and make it as clear as possible. The main issue was that the obstacles on the board frequently move and many times in positions that are awkward. Therefore we had to make it exceptionally clear how things would move and be restricted. We rewrote our cards many times and eliminated some that proved to be too unwieldy. We allowed players to choose the positions of the obstacles during the set up phase but labeled areas where they were restricted so players could not box in their opponents or the Jotnar.
A play session in progress and example of a card