Mixt
2ND SEMESTER UNIVERSITY PROJECT
ROLE: DESIGNER
SUMMER - 2021
My Responsibilities:
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System Design - Designed rules and game flow
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Problem Solving - Numerical balance and play test
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Communication (Written) - Wrote design docs
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Communication (Verbal) - Weekly stand-ups, meetings
A Graduate Showcase Video of Mixt
Mixt is a collaborative hot seat card game/engine-builder where 2 players work together to build a floating engine-driven city/ship which blends UK and China influenced Steampunk structures to escape the toxic fog which is growing on the planet. Mixt is currently in active development, and will enter Beta on the 3rd of August. A 20 minute vertical slice will be ready at the end of August, and present to our tutors and clients.
The Rules and Flow
As a designer, I contributed concepts and ideas of core systems and rules based on Engine-building mechanics. To better convey the simplified game rules and flow to our programmers visually and logically, I wrote several design documents and flow chart on Miro in our designers team.
Game Flow Chart for Mixt on Miro - Final Verson
Game Streamline and Simplificaton
Game Representation of Wingspan and Mixt for Analysis
Refining the rules and simplifying the mechanics are the most challenging aspects of the game from a design standpoint in the Alpha stage. To help our designers better understand the main flow and complexity of our game rules, I borrowed the idea of gameplay representation analysis from Liamascape Games and created a gameplay comparison between Wingspan and Mixt to clarify design direction and vision to our team.
Specifically, in response to the social and cooperative experience highlighted in the brief, I designed the exchange system where players are able to give and receive cards from different cultural regions. This was developed to the core strategy that players are able to use for achieving the goal.
Game Balance and Playtest
Click the right button to download the design Doc I made for the project
I was specifically responsible for the numarical balance and playtest sessions of Mixt, including card effects testing, game flow testing, progress testing.
Playtest Document for Recording the Process
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Playtest MVP: Organized designers to test and define rules, game flow and progress
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Playtest Alpha: Organized 3 playtest sessions for simplification and game balance
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Card balance: Tested and balanced (36) card effects and Gain value of each type of card
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Progress balance: Tested and balanced the difficulty based on the Turn-Fog progress
Balanced Card List including Ordinary A-H, Rare I-Q
Game Progression
Design of Toxic Fog Progress Bar
In response to the tutor's feedback that the progress and goal of the game is unclear, I designed and developed the progress bar to help players visually communicate with the game progress to promote players' decision-making and strategy in the game