I think a meetup on Friday is a must from now on, a no kill meetup of course but a meet up. That way it establishes whos playing, reiterates the rules, and formally begins the game. Nothing major but just something along those lines. As for playing, the best kill I got was I just happened to see the symbol of my mark by the Popcap booth. Now I was wearing a baby and had my wife in tow (YES WEARING A BABY, If that makes sense you know who I was) I chased at a moderate pace though the entire Indie Mega Showcase for at least 5 or 7 min. Every time I'd catch up to her I'd turn around and see my wife several booths behind me so I waited for her LOL. But I finally caught my mark. That was by far one of the better moments of the game.
That would be a great idea.. That way everything is one hundred percent clear. And if you were with your 1 year old i know of you. I was talking to your wife downstairs while she was charging her phone. I saw ur ID on the back of the assassins pin and asked her if she was still playing. I also gave her my xbl gt for you to friend me with.
Pax East 2015
Assassins Ball 2015
Pax East 2012 & 2013 Attendee
I like the ideas of other buttons as camouflage, but I also like having everything in an armband. I kept my mission in my pocket for easy access when it came time for killing but it fell out. So, I ended up giving my Second Life mission to the person who killed me instead. Seemed fair.
I really like the idea of a meetup on Friday because being social seems just as important as playing the game.
I had 0 kills, but the person who killed me gave me a sweet token from The Museum of the Moving Image in New York. I looked it up and I really want to visit there. I had pretty poor timing with the game (my own fault), so I don't know how much fun I really had, but learning about that museum sort of made the game worth it to me.
It wasn't everything I dreamed it could be, but it turned out to be a win in the end, so I can't complain!
Hi all!
Now that I've had a chance to rest I want to give a recap of the game at PAX East 2013 as well as talk about some of the issues with the website and game that occurred over the weekend.
There were 230 players this time which is almost double the largest game of Assassins I've run and over double any Assassins Ball game run so far! There was a noticeable difference in how many players I saw from past games and from the number of assassinations registered it seems like finding players was easier, at least initially (I was killed both times in a half-hour period while walking the expo hall Saturday morning).
Website & Game Issues
There were a number of issues with the site that made playing difficult and tarnished the experience for some players. Specifically the Intel, Kill Registration and Leaderboard pages had an issue that made them not not appear or usable until around mid-Saturday.
A separate issue with Second Life registering made it impossible for some players to register players Second Life missions on the site. While this was fixed Sunday morning it's likely any issues with registering missions are due to this. I am adding these kills in manually so if you're having any issues registering a kill just send me a photo of the Mission and Assassination Card and I'll make sure it's registered.
The testing I did for the new features missed some critical areas which is why the Second Life registration problem and I acknowledge that tarnished the experience. I'm planning on improving the testing and site functionality for future games (More on that below).
What's Next?
While the mechanics of this game are very similar to past games the new materials and increase in players make the game behave differently and I'm seeing a lot that can be improved upon. Here's a list of the ideas to be implemented in the short and long-term for Assassins Ball. Feel free to input your own!
Short-term (Before PAX Prime)
Longer lead time
Start community thread at least 3 months out and kit ordering at least 2 months. Details about the game and rules available from the start.
Balancing
I'll be updating the symbol/color variations in each game to account for the estimated increase in players which will prevent kills from occurring too quickly.
Responsive website
A rebuilt, mobile-friendly site designed to be used in low-connection convention environment. Hoping to leverage Bootstrap 3 for this.
Long-term (When it's ready)
Achievements
I've been talking about achievements for awhile. I have a lot of code written to make that happen but this is definitely one thing that's only happening when it's ready.
App/Mobile-based play
Playing the game will require an app or internet-enabled device capable of accessing the mobile site. You'll still need a badge to play but other physical elements like Assassination and Intel cards may no longer be required. Doing this opens up a ton of options for new actions/abilities. Side missions, bounties, gear and more all become possible once this is in place.
Virtual missions
Missions would be generated on the fly with new missions being generated each time one is completed.
Thanks to everyone who played this year! Again, if you have any comments or suggestions for future games post them here. I'll be replying to comments already posted shortly.
I dunno. I kind of liked having physical cards. What about QR codes? I like having something physical to pass around or keep as a memento.
Things to contemplate:
-Faction shirts
-Faction leader (only X amount available, one per faction, special button)
-Passive players (NPC, can give out codes/QR to reveal puzzle pieces/riddles/something).
You could also maybe see about putting QR codes something around the expo that give you extra points. Don't know how feasible that would be.
edit: Maybe faction leaders can heal members and that takes away half the points for that kill.
-Passive players (NPC, can give out codes/QR to reveal puzzle pieces/riddles/something).
Oh, man if there were NPCs, I'd jump on that so hard. I love the concept of Assassins, it's just that I'm far too paranoid to enjoy the convention knowing there's someone looking for me. It's been the only thing keeping me from playing since I've started going to PAX.
-Passive players (NPC, can give out codes/QR to reveal puzzle pieces/riddles/something).
Oh, man if there were NPCs, I'd jump on that so hard. I love the concept of Assassins, it's just that I'm far too paranoid to enjoy the convention knowing there's someone looking for me. It's been the only thing keeping me from playing since I've started going to PAX.
Maybe the NPCs could be from the factions and can only give intel/something to fellow faction members. They can't be killed, can contribute, and not be fully committed.
What about this. NPCs can't go up to assassins. The assassins have to approach the NPC players to be able to get the information/QR/etc. NPCs can spot a faction member and intentionally walk around them and hawk to hopefully catch the assassin's attention.
Posts
Assassins Ball 2015
Pax East 2012 & 2013 Attendee
I like the ideas of other buttons as camouflage, but I also like having everything in an armband. I kept my mission in my pocket for easy access when it came time for killing but it fell out. So, I ended up giving my Second Life mission to the person who killed me instead. Seemed fair.
I really like the idea of a meetup on Friday because being social seems just as important as playing the game.
I had 0 kills, but the person who killed me gave me a sweet token from The Museum of the Moving Image in New York. I looked it up and I really want to visit there. I had pretty poor timing with the game (my own fault), so I don't know how much fun I really had, but learning about that museum sort of made the game worth it to me.
It wasn't everything I dreamed it could be, but it turned out to be a win in the end, so I can't complain!
Now that I've had a chance to rest I want to give a recap of the game at PAX East 2013 as well as talk about some of the issues with the website and game that occurred over the weekend.
There were 230 players this time which is almost double the largest game of Assassins I've run and over double any Assassins Ball game run so far! There was a noticeable difference in how many players I saw from past games and from the number of assassinations registered it seems like finding players was easier, at least initially (I was killed both times in a half-hour period while walking the expo hall Saturday morning).
Website & Game Issues
There were a number of issues with the site that made playing difficult and tarnished the experience for some players. Specifically the Intel, Kill Registration and Leaderboard pages had an issue that made them not not appear or usable until around mid-Saturday.
A separate issue with Second Life registering made it impossible for some players to register players Second Life missions on the site. While this was fixed Sunday morning it's likely any issues with registering missions are due to this. I am adding these kills in manually so if you're having any issues registering a kill just send me a photo of the Mission and Assassination Card and I'll make sure it's registered.
The testing I did for the new features missed some critical areas which is why the Second Life registration problem and I acknowledge that tarnished the experience. I'm planning on improving the testing and site functionality for future games (More on that below).
What's Next?
While the mechanics of this game are very similar to past games the new materials and increase in players make the game behave differently and I'm seeing a lot that can be improved upon. Here's a list of the ideas to be implemented in the short and long-term for Assassins Ball. Feel free to input your own!
Short-term (Before PAX Prime)
Start community thread at least 3 months out and kit ordering at least 2 months. Details about the game and rules available from the start.
I'll be updating the symbol/color variations in each game to account for the estimated increase in players which will prevent kills from occurring too quickly.
A rebuilt, mobile-friendly site designed to be used in low-connection convention environment. Hoping to leverage Bootstrap 3 for this.
Long-term (When it's ready)
I've been talking about achievements for awhile. I have a lot of code written to make that happen but this is definitely one thing that's only happening when it's ready.
Playing the game will require an app or internet-enabled device capable of accessing the mobile site. You'll still need a badge to play but other physical elements like Assassination and Intel cards may no longer be required. Doing this opens up a ton of options for new actions/abilities. Side missions, bounties, gear and more all become possible once this is in place.
Missions would be generated on the fly with new missions being generated each time one is completed.
Thanks to everyone who played this year! Again, if you have any comments or suggestions for future games post them here. I'll be replying to comments already posted shortly.
Things to contemplate:
-Faction shirts
-Faction leader (only X amount available, one per faction, special button)
-Passive players (NPC, can give out codes/QR to reveal puzzle pieces/riddles/something).
You could also maybe see about putting QR codes something around the expo that give you extra points. Don't know how feasible that would be.
edit: Maybe faction leaders can heal members and that takes away half the points for that kill.
Tumblr | Twitter | Twitch | Pinny Arcade Lanyard
[3DS] 3394-3901-4002 | [Xbox/Steam] Redfield85
Oh, man if there were NPCs, I'd jump on that so hard. I love the concept of Assassins, it's just that I'm far too paranoid to enjoy the convention knowing there's someone looking for me. It's been the only thing keeping me from playing since I've started going to PAX.
Maybe the NPCs could be from the factions and can only give intel/something to fellow faction members. They can't be killed, can contribute, and not be fully committed.
What about this. NPCs can't go up to assassins. The assassins have to approach the NPC players to be able to get the information/QR/etc. NPCs can spot a faction member and intentionally walk around them and hawk to hopefully catch the assassin's attention.
Yay, ideas and brainstorming.
Tumblr | Twitter | Twitch | Pinny Arcade Lanyard
[3DS] 3394-3901-4002 | [Xbox/Steam] Redfield85