Game Board
Last updated
Last updated
The design guidelines for the Game Board follow the functions explained in the How to play section of this Wiki.
Below you can see a comperison of the Blueprint Design (left) vs. the in-game design (right).
The base layer
The base layer of the design inlcude all parts that the player can't interact with. This includes the Deck Space, Hand Card space, Attack Area, Defence Area, Battlefield and HQ.
While designing the base layer of the Game Board it is important to give visual indications of the Attack Area (3) and the Defence Area (4). The Attack Area includes the space on which Action Cards are played and the Attack Lane of the Battlefield. It needs to be visually differentiated from the Defence Area, which includes the space on which Place Cards are played and the Defence Area of the Battlefield. It is therefore recommended to make the design of the Game Board asymmetrical. In the example design, the Attack Area is indicated through a ramp for the Action Cards, while the Defence Area is indicated through a structural embedding for the Place Cards. Additionally, you can also add indications for the Attack Lane and the Defence Land of the Battlefield.
Next we'll look at the design for the Deck (1) and area for hand cards (2). Since our cards have different shapes, depeding on the card type, it is recommended to have a visually seperate base for the hand cards. This way, it is easier to recognize the card type.
The space that holds the decks can be designed with a counter for the number of Wisdom that is currently held. In the example Game Board you can see this as the 4 purple light indicators that light up, once Wisdom is stored.
On Board Cards and HQ
Cards that are played are represented as On Board Cards on the Game Board. They follow the basic shape language of the Hand Cards and it is recommended to therefore follow the general style of the Hand Cards too.
The HQ as a design element should follow the style of the Cardframes, similar to the On Board Card elements. The side bar on the left side of the HQ also has indicators for counting Wisdom, represented as rings that appear with counting.
Buttons
Buttons are the interactive elements of the gameboard. It is therefore important, that they stand out from the base of the Game Board. In the example design this is achived through colour differentiation, which brings it out from the background. There are 3 types of buttons on the board: The Commit button (0), the Queue button (9) and the Dust Pile button (6). The Dust Pile button should contain the in-game symbol for the Dust Pile.
The Commit button has 2 states: Neutral and Action Required. When the player has played cards or when there are no gameplay actions left that can be done, the Commit button switches to blinking mode.
Game Segment and Phase indicator
The Game Segment and Phase indicator in the middle of the Game Board also has 2 states: Action Required and Committed. When the player has pressed the Commit button, the indicator switches from Action Required to the highlighted Committed state. The icons representing the different states are generated by the game and place on top of the button.
The Queue
Separating your side and your opponent's side of the Game Board is the Queue. The Queue has different elements which have to be balanced in the visual design. Since the Queue itself provides additional information, which is not crucial to the gameplay itself, it can have a colour scheme which blends in more with the base layer of the Game Board. It is also retractable, if the player does not want to see the additional information. The purple line on top of the Queue is the Rope, which counts down the remaining time a player has to lock in their gameplay decisions. It needs to be easily readable and standing out from the base layer underneath. Same goes for the phase separators and arrows at each side of the Queue parts, as they are used for scrolling through the Queues.
The queued gameplay icons are partially designed and partially generated. The frames of the icons can follow the designs of the On Board Cardframes, but doesn't have to. In the example design the colour for the Queue and the frames are chosen to blend in better with the background layer, so that the whole element does not interfere to much visually.
The content of the gameplay icons and the Dots are generated with the game native icons, for which you can choose colours. It is recommended to choose two colours which have enough contrast, so that the icons are easily readable. In the example the chosen colours are gold and white.
