Category: Arachnid

The spider game.

Even More Buggy

2021-07-20 / / 0 Comments
Arachnid Version #3 – 3 Player Mode

The game is coming along quite nicely. The first playtest didn’t go, down in flames as usual. The worst that happened was that one player got a bit bored, and the mechanics and components were much too fiddley. This is all fixable, especially with the great feedback I received.

I started by reducing the board size to encourage more engagement (less boredom) amongst the players. The action selection system evolved into a mechanism much like the one used in Concordia. I added the ability to play two cards if they interact with each other so it wouldn’t be a total rip off of the Concordia card mechanism.

Drawing the food tiles out of a bag turned into a neat push-your-luck mechanism. I originally planned on using a die, but threw the tiles into a bag because I didn’t know how many faces I would need. It turns out to be a pretty nifty push-your-luck mechanism if you draw them all out one at a time, then refill the bag when it’s empty. I added the “Wiggle” tile to simulate the potential bug escapes as well as the Swarm and Storm tiles which have drastic effects on game play. If the storm comes out early, it’s a free-for-all as players built their webs as fast as they can before the bag is replenished and the storm risk increases again with each tile pulled. This bag has also simplified all the awkwardness of the earlier implementation of all four of these mechanisms, random food selection, escaping bugs, periodic swarms of bugs, and the occasional storms that come along and damage your frail webs.

I’ve switched to simultaneous play with a turn marker which is just used to resolve conflicts. This will speed up the game quite a bit and provide a simple programming aspect to the game. (One of my favorite mechanisms.) I’ve also modified the game set-up and beefed up the child spider capabilities to encourage more asymmetrical play. The first couple of turns are similar but the play diverges quite quickly.

I’ve streamlined the play as much as I can and tried to incorporate all the complexity into the cards. This, I hope, will make make the game flow better, and be simpler to follow.

The next test will determine whether I have succeeded in working out the initial bugs. Even though I’ve run through it quite a few times myself, It’s hard to see all the potential problems that might arise with other players. Fingers crossed.

My next step will be to fine tune the player interaction once the webs start running up against each other. The basic gameplay needs to be fine tuned first, before we get into the nitty gritty.

If you want a peek, you can check out the Tabletop Simulator Mod Here:

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2552783520

A Little Buggy

2021-06-30 / / 0 Comments
Arachnid prototype By Roger Meloche 2021-06-28

Arachnid
You are a spider in a small area where other spiders (players) also reside. You build your web to capture food and expand your web as you build your small spider family, while defending your web from other spiders and competing for space and control. You are subject to the elements and interactions with competing spiders as well as periods of feast and famine, so you must always plan for the unexpected. Keep your colony on an even keel or you might slip into a rapid decline, or even a rapid expansion which could be just as bad if you’re not ready for it. You win the game by having the biggest and most efficient spider family.

At least, this is the way it plays out in my head. I have jotted down enough mechanisms, systems and components to choke a horse and have begun to sift through them to build a base prototype for testing. I’ve come up with some intriguing new mechanisms which are meant to constantly push the players toward chaos as they fight to maintain some kind of control over their spider family. It’s basically an area control / resource management game with a little “Push your Luck” thrown in. Oh yeah…I almost forgot…since it is my brainchild, there is definitely a little “Take That” in the game for fun. I hope it works because it sounds like it could be really fun. I’ll let you know when it’s ready to try on TTS.

Stay Tuned!

Roger

Pondering a Spider Web

2021-03-21 / / 0 Comments

I just read an article which explored the idea that a spider’s web was possibly an extension of its consciousness. At the very least, it was a part of its sensory system. It’s tendrils extend into the world and providing information in the form of vibrations about what is happening around the spider. It was an intriguing idea, and started me thinking about how to represent this in a game.

A typical tableau or engine builder probably wouldn’t be able to emulate this, but maybe an abstract game with a grid on which markers are placed in an ever expanding pattern. Events on the periphery could perhaps trigger a chain reaction which would somehow affect players pawn which could travel along this “web” like construct.

It’s an interesting approach and needs a little more thought, but I’m sure there is a game in there somewhere.

Lets create an artificial construct which might simulate spider behavior. It doesn’t have to be accurate but it should appear plausible. The game could have the following functioning parts:

  • Spiders respond to external stimuli like a fly landing on their web.
  • This behavior is an automatic reaction of the spider
  • They build elaborate webs
  • They cannot build and monitor their webs at the same time.
  • there is a central hub or home base in their web structure from which they monitor their webs
  • Spiders gain energy by eating flies
  • They expend energy by building webs.
  • Flies appear at random
  • The larger the web, the more food they can consume.
  • Spiders can choose to eat food or store it for later.
  • Capturing food damages the web and it must be repaired
  • Spiders compete for territory with other spiders
  • If an opponent’s spider enters a spider’s web, this will result in a battle.
  • Battles will result in a loss of energy which will have to be replenished.
  • The victor in a battle can steal an opponents food
  • A spider can lure an opponent into its web by moving adjacent to it and plucking the neighboring web.
  • If a spider runs out of energy it dies.

The webs can be constructed by laying marker pieces out on a grid. These webs can be free-form with each player being a different color. The home base would be a special marker and the beginning point of the web construction.

The spiders can be represented by a special pawn which can be placed over any web marker. It will be moved around the webs and will travel around the edge as the web is built. It must move to the home base to monitor the web and look for flies. The player has to decide whether or not to build or repair the web, monitor the web, eat some stored food.

The flies could be represented by a deck of cards. Some of the cards will have coordinates for bug-hits. These cards are revealed turn by turn and will randomize the bug hits in the webs. When a bug hits the web and a spider is monitoring it, it is captured. If the spider is not monitoring the web, a dice is rolled to determine if it will escape the web. This might happen repeatedly until the spider retrieves the food.

This is starting to sound like a viable concept for a game. I’ll have to give it some more thought and perhaps make a game out of it one day. It you have any thoughts about this game concept, let me know, I would be glad to hear them.