Randomisation and Gaming Mechanic Development Notes From 2020
Did I mention the randomisation mechanic? ..for a card-based game I had created, unfortunately it used the same game mechanic as Magic the Gathering (tapping computer resource cards to hack or defend from attack, it was played once and the basic mechanic worked ..except that it also used the game-play motions of MTG).
Now I have a novel mechanic, from my C64 BASIC coding project ..hmm the boss battle-style mechanic ..added to the information technology theme/ setting of the first game ..a novel game with satisfying difficulty (I wrote the code and lost the first game). I twice invented games that were played once then left aside though the game mechanics were compelling.
Amazing! ..a correction AND it turns out the mistake I made, means the game has NEVER been played.
Well, the erroneous test version allowed me to document the mechanic and lexicon implemented for the boss fight that delivered such compelling game-play from simple elements. That was two summers ago, I had forgotten the exact scenario, skill and powerlevels for balancing difficulty with playability. I wonder if the game will still seem "Nintendo hard" or will the correction change the difficulty of succeeding the scenario.
I am from the old school, if the character cannot die or lose, then the challenge and satisfaction of a win or survival are lost. The flexibility of the novel mechanic, is traditional play by flipping a series of coins or using a computerised randomiser.
To emulate rolling a six-sided die with coins using a series of flips, count the result in binary, a plus one is required as it is not possible to roll a zero.
The mechanic was developed as I often had coffee that required of me a two dollar Canadian coin, twoonie. On one side of the coin is Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II (twice decorated the American white supremacist infiltration), the other presents a polar bear. I practiced counting and mathematics in binary, using the flips of coins. I can really Ziiing! a coin into the air, it makes a certain ringing tone while flipping in mid-air. Heads are a zero and tails a binary one.
Orders of magnitude in base two are 1, 2, 4, 8. A D6 is not that simple in binary ..flip for the 1s and 2s places, a 1s place and another 1s place, counts to five then add one because a die has no zero position.
Four flips for one D6, that would have been a long then short Star Wars game "..someone in your party drops a thermal detonator aboard the ship, roll a handful of dice to see who survived" (a thermal detonator is an in-game explosive device, that is fumbled by characters that lack the attributes to not cause more damage than the enemy).
It would be nice to flip for 16 and 4 but that is too easy. The +1 shift means 19 probable outcomes need to be included. That can be 1 + (1, 2, 4, 8) + (1, 2) + (1) ..seven flips of a coin can emulate a twenty-sided die.
For a more even distribution of values to probability, one can choose the ten flip version ( 1, 2, 4 ) + ( 1, 2, 4 ) + ( 1, 2 ) + (1, 2) ..ten flips, so half the result is not dependent of the largest binary order of magnitude position in the seven flip version ..counts to 19 and do not forget to add +1 set shift.
You are in a foreign nation with a Monopoly set that is only missing dice, voila. It is so much flipping effort to "roll" one die, that made the boss fight that lasted hours seem ..epic (I lost but still remember the game I played). I tried, I even had some flipping successes along with strategy to "beat the game" ..I still lost, THAT was fun ..an effective game mechanic.
The bonus of playing games using coins, developing a mind that is accustomed to counting and mathematical operations in base two (binary). From there an entire world of digital circuits becomes available, logic and programs that make wonders from the data they are given.
The nomenclature for "base Mega" is declared (acronym bM), successfully implemented for rebasing numbering systems and the higher-level information which they contain, legible text and a multitude of data formats necessary for specific use cases.
An impressive rate of data compression was experienced the first time, of which there are certainly screenshots ..this is what I do, video and otherwise capture the first purposeful and intended applications of novel technologies. To be accurate, the information was rebased then compressed using existing data compression technology ..for a cumulative data compression rate of one tenth, an entire order of magnitude (in decimal, base ten). Base Mega, Novel Mathematics and Compression Method
WARNING: the following is an unfinished and imperfect first draft.
AWESOME! ..the opportunity to edit the wording of certain spells that I would rather choose synonyms for. Good the pieces will fit neatly together.
Game: The Plight and Triumph of the Mindful Amidst Energetic Vampirism
The player (referred to as The Mindful) begins under the global affliction of a grand Fake News spell, that halves mental and physical energy of all. The result, ten points of mental energy remaining along with ten points of physical energy.
An incoming spell called Ambiguity of Reasoning causes a further (two flips + 1) points cleaved from mental energy.
Lost points can create a deficit, negative mental energy points. The player must Meditate for one turn, restoring (four flips + 1) of mental energy.
Physical energy cannot be restored in the same manner, zero physical energy points mean the game is over.
Physical energy is restored by not losing it to begin with or Meditation producing points of mental energy above twenty. When the player has mental energy above twenty, they may use the Awareness skill to allocate points of mental energy (above twenty) to restore their physical energy.
The second turn for the vampire of energies, here comes a Low Blow taking (two flips + 1) points of physical energy from the Mindful to increase that of the Vampire.
||Skills and Spells||
Fake News: once per day, hijacks half of the mental and physical energy from the Mindful.
Ambiguity of Reasoning: once per turn, player flips for the opposing entity (two flips + 1), the score is the amount of mental energy removed from the Mindful, then accumulated as physical energy by the regenerating Vampire.
Meditation (emptiness of mind) skill: once per turn, restores for the player (four flips + 1) of mental energy.
Awareness skill: once per turn, application of mental energy above twenty to restore the same amount of physical energy.
Low Blow: once per turn, vampirizes the physical energy of the Mindful increasing that of the Vampire.
Published Solution: requires a specific amount of forethought points set at the beginning of the game (difficulty), ending the vampirism if the energetic bleeding is stopped before the Mindful have no physical energy remaining.
Forethought skill: once per turn (four flips + 1) to be invested toward the Published Solution.
The Vampire's Counsel:
The Vampire has two attacks with which to regenerate, along with the chance to skip a turn or take another depending on values/weighting applied to each of choices a, b, c, and d.
Example: an even weighting across twenty divisions for a range of probability.
Choices:
a = 1 to 5 (skip a turn)
b = 6 to 10 (Ambiguity of Reasoning)
c = 11 to 15 (Low Blow)
d = 16 to 20 (take another turn)
NOTE! ..this is a record of the game I played counting an extra plus one than I should have. The good news, the final draft can also still present the first play. DO NOT REPRODUCE the erroneous counting below, the adventure is however legible and interesting ..it is off by plus one, I could not have planned it better.
The decision function for twenty possibilities (four flips + 1) + (two flips + 1), the evenly weighted table above provides the vampire's decision for the turn.
Now that a game world exists, let the flippin' adventures begin!
The number of turns in one "day", determine the difficulty of the game.
Game mechanics need testing through use, development will further improve playability and allow modulation of difficulty by mathematical modifiers.
1, 2, 3...
THE PLIGHT AND TRIUMPH OF THE MINDFUL (first game)
INSERT COIN TO PLAY...
..$2, thank you.
DIFFICULTY SETTINGS...
..Day = 7 turns
..Published Solution (successful game) = 50 points of research and development.
START GAME...
The Mindful, Physical: 10, Mind: 10
Both the Mindful and Vampire must compete for the first turn initiative (four flips + 1) + (two flips + 1) or D20...
Vampire scores = 0011 + 11
(0011 + 1) + (11 + 1)
(12 + 1) + (3 + 1)
17
The Mindful scores = 0001 + 00
(0001 + 1) + (00 + 1)
(8 + 1) + (0 + 1)
10
With a score of 17, the Vampire takes the initiative, playing the first turn.
TURN 1...
The Vampire must choose a course of action for this turn...
..score = 1001 + 11
(9 + 1) + (3 + 1)
(10) + (4)
14
The Vampire's decision table is considered...
Choices:
a = 1 to 5 (skip a turn)
b = 6 to 10 (Ambiguity of Reasoning)
c = 11 to 15 (Low Blow)
d = 16 to 20 (take another turn)
Bad news, the Vampire moves quickly. A Low Blow that takes (two flips + 1) physical energy from the Mindful.
..The Vampire takes away (3 + 1) physical energy from the Mindful.
The Mindful is now beginning to look a bit weak, with only six physical energy points remaining...
WHAT WILL HAPPEN NEXT??
TURN 2...
At the end of the previous turn...
"The Mindful is now beginning to look a bit weak, with only six physical energy points remaining..."
The Mindful successfully Meditates, restoring mental energy (four flips + 1).
(0101 + 1)
(10 + 1)
11
Great score! ..11 from a range of 16.
The Mindful remarks that with 21 points of mental energy, next turn the Awareness skill could restore 1 point of physical energy.
TURN 3...
The Vampire decides...
(four flips + 1) + (two flips + 1)
(1000 + 1) + (01 + 1)
(1 + 1) + (2 + 1)
5
..the Vampire fares poorly and skips this turn, forfeiting the round to The Mindful who now has two consecutive turns.
TURN 4...
The Mindful Meditates, restoring (four flips + 1) of mental energy...
(0010 + 1)
(4 + 1)
5
The Mindful, Physical energy: 6, Mental energy: 26
TURN 5...
The Mindful chooses the safer path using the Awareness skill this turn, restoring 6 points of physical energy.
The Mindful, Physical energy: 12, Mental energy: 20
TURN 6...
The Vampire...
(four flips + 1) + (two flips + 1)
(0001 + 1) + (10 + 1)
(8 + 1) + (1 + 1)
11
..the Vampire commits to a Low Blow which takes...
(two flips + 1)
(10 + 1)
2
The Mindful, Physical energy: 10, Mental energy: 20
TURN 7...
The Mindful thinks it wise to invest Forethought, toward the Published Solution before the beginning of the next day...
(four flips + 1)
(1101 + 1)
(11 + 1)
12
The Mindful, Physical energy: 10, Mental energy: 20, Forethought: 12
TURN 8, DAY 2...
The game continues...
The Mindful, Physical energy: 10, Mental energy: 20, Forethought: 12
TURN 8, DAY 2...
The beginning of a new day sees the daily renewal of the Fake News spell, halving the physical and mental energies of the Mindful. Can the hero overcome the successive onslaughts?
With only 5 physical energy remaining, two Low Blows are all that stand between the hero and impending doom.
The Mindful, Physical energy: 5, Mental energy: 10, Forethought: 12
This eighth turn, belongs to the Vampire who chooses to...
(four flips + 1) + (two flips + 1)
(1001 + 1) + (00 + 1)
(9 + 1) + (0 + 1)
11
..great timing for the Vampire, another Low Blow takes away (two flips + 1) points of physical energy.
(01 + 1)
(2 + 1)
3
The Mindful, Physical energy: 2, Mental energy: 10, Forethought: 12
TURN 9...
The Mindful Meditates, restoring (four flips + 1) points of mental energy.
(1010 + 1)
(5 + 1)
6
The Mindful, Physical energy: 2, Mental energy: 16, Forethought: 12
TURN 10...
The Vampire's counsel...
(four flips +1) + (two flips + 1)
(1111 + 1) + (00 + 1)
(15 + 1) + (0 + 1)
17
..the Vampire takes another turn after this.
TURN 11...
The Vampire's counsel...
(four flips +1) + (two flips + 1)
(0010 + 1) + (00 + 1)
(4 + 1) + (0 + 1)
5
..our Vampire is not without mercy, even skipping this turn to offer a second for his respectful opposition.
TURN 12...
This is the opportunity to re-establish footing. The meditative skills of The Mindful might allow a fourth day.
Meditation restores (four flips + 1) of mental energy.
( + 1) + ( + 1)
(1111 + 1)
16
..extremely fortunate, restoring the maximum amount of mental energy. This happened, I was expecting The Mindful to be vanquished quickly by the Vampire.
The Mindful, Physical energy: 2, Mental energy: 32, Forethought: 12
TURN 13...
For the second turn, The Mindful uses the Awareness skill. The mental energy beyond 20, recovers 12 physical energy.
The Mindful, Physical energy: 14, Mental energy: 20, Forethought: 12
TURN 14...
Last turn, before the dawn of a new day.
The Vampire's counsel...
(four flips +1) + (two flips + 1)
(1011 + 1) + (00 + 1)
(13 + 1) + (0 + 1)
15
The Vampire takes another turn.
TURN 15, DAY 3...
Fake News, halves the physical and mental energies of The Mindful.
The Mindful, Physical energy: 7, Mental energy: 10, Forethought: 12
The Vampire's counsel...
(four flips +1) + (two flips + 1)
(1100 + 1) + (01 + 1)
(3 + 1) + (2 + 1)
7
Ambiguity of Reasoning overcomes The Mindful, taking (two flips + 1) from mental energy.
(10 + 1)
(1 + 1)
2
The Mindful, Physical energy: 7, Mental energy: 8, Forethought: 12
TURN 16...
The game scenario continues...
The Mindful, Physical energy: 7, Mental energy: 8, Forethought: 12
TURN 16...
Meditation provides (four flips + 1) mental energy for The Mindful.
(1101 + 1)
(11 + 1)
12
The Mindful, Physical energy: 7, Mental energy: 20, Forethought: 12
TURN 17...
The Vampire's counsel...
(0010 + 1) + (11 + 1)
(4 + 1) + (3 + 1)
9
Ambiguity of Reasoning affects the mental acuity of The Mindful (two flips + 1)
(00 + 1)
1
The Mindful, Physical energy: 7, Mental energy: 19, Forethought: 12
TURN 18...
The Mindful restores (four flips + 1) during Meditation.
(1000 + 1)
2
The Mindful, Physical energy: 7, Mental energy: 21, Forethought: 12
TURN 19...
The Vampire's counsel...
(1111 + 1) + (01 + 1)
19
The Vampire takes another turn.
TURN 20...
The Vampire's counsel...
(1101 + 1) + (00 + 1)
(11 + 1) + (1 + 1)
14
The Vampire's Low Blow takes (two flips + 1) physical energy from The Mindful.
(11 + 1)
(3 + 1)
4
The Mindful, Physical energy: 3, Mental energy: 21, Forethought: 12
TURN 21...
The Mindful restores (four flips + 1) mental energy during Meditation.
(1100 + 1)
(3 + 1)
4
The Mindful, Physical energy: 3, Mental energy: 25, Forethought: 12
TURN 22, DAY 4...
The daily Fake News spell halves the physical and mental energies of The Mindful.
The Mindful, Physical energy: 1.5, Mental energy: 12.5, Forethought: 12
The Vampire's counsel...
(1001 + 1) + (10 + 1)
(9 + 1) + (1 + 1)
12
A Low Blow that signals the gloomy end for The Mindful, taking (two flips + 1) physical energy.
(01 + 1)
(2 + 1)
3
The Mindful, Physical energy: 0, Mental energy: 12.5, Forethought: 12
The whirlwind of magic and skills have overcome The Mindful, better flipping next incarnation, for this scenario it is...
GAME OVER.
I inadvertently gave myself a +1 and +1 = +2, when randomising the twenty probabilities of a twenty-sided die.
The mistake is GREAT news, I can try the game again, for the first time.
Salvaged screenshots:
A memory preserving algorithm, generating phrases using in-game nomenclature that occurs repetitively.
Randomising for one bit, using C64 BASIC:
Application of randomisation for the necessary number of bits:
How many decimal digits of precision are available in C64 BASIC (before imprecise NaNs are implemented)?
A C64 colour scheme that worked:
