Core Design Elements

Core Design Elements

This page is currently deprecated and remains online for historical purposes.
A lot of these core design elements turned out to be important at all, so it
stands as a testament to the importance of playtesting and constant iteration.

Despite the inaccuracy of this document, I do still like the format and
intention of it. -b

This page outlines core design elements and the features that define them in the game. Before adding a feature, this page should be consulted to ensure that the feature 1) fits in one of the core element categories and 2) can be phrased so that it is directly beneficial to the end user.

Each feature is described by a user story and a series of scenarios. Features need to be stripped to their most minimal incarnation, and then developed incrementally.

A user story takes the form of "As a ... , I want to ... so that I can ..." User stories require features to be framed around how the end user would experience them.

A scenario takes the form of "Given ... , when ..., then ...". Scenarios describe how the system will accomplish the task described in the user story.

Player Strategy

As a player, I want some knowledge of the dungeon, so that I can strategically make decisions.

Iteration	Scenario
1	Given a player begins a game, when they are about to enter the first room, then they are presented with a list of room titles for the dungeon.
2	Given a player begins a game, when they are about to enter the first room, then they are presented with a list of room titles and success rates for players.
3	Given a player begins a game, when they are about to enter the first room, then they are presented with a sentence constructed of tags, titles, and relevant traits.
4	Given a player begins a game, when they are about to enter the first room, then they are presented with an intelligently constructed English narrative giving clues based on room information.

As a player, I want to know other player's traits, so that I can make strategic choices on party making and in game decisions.

Iteration	Scenario
1	Given a player is looking for a game, when they are looking for party members, they they can look at other players stats.
1	Given a player is in the game, when they are trying to make decions, then they can easily look at other players traits.
2	Given a player is looking for a game, when they are looking for party members, they can search for other players based on stats.

Replayability

As a player, I want a player profile, so that I know what my character is capable of.

Iteration	Scenario
1	Given a player is logged in, when they are looking at their dashboard, they can see the player's name, image, and list of traits, so that they can view their progress.
2	Given a player is logged in, when they are looking at their dashboard, they can edit their image and name.
3	Given a player is logged in, when they are looking at their dashboard, they then can see advanced statistics about their playing habits.
4	Given a player is logged in, when they are looking at their dashboard, they then can see a history of recent events that happened to the player, as well as recent dungeons completed and the results
5	Given a player is logged in, when they are looking at their dashboard, they then can share it via social media.

As a player, I want the dungeons to be interestingly constructed, so that the game will always be different.

Iteration	Scenario
1	Given the player has invited friends, when the game starts, they will be taken to a dungeon of ten randomly chosen rooms.
2	Given the player has invited friends, when the game starts, they will be taken to a dungeon constructed of rooms with similar tags.
3	Given the player has invited friends, when the game starts, they will be able to choose through a selection of pre-made dungeons.

As a player, I want the rooms to be sufficiently complex, so they seem different every time I enter.

Iteration	Scenario
1	Given the player is in a room, when they are presented with decisions, they are based on trait values.
1	Given the player is in a room, when they are presented with resolutions, they are based on traits and basic ordering of choices.
2	Given the player is in a room, when they are presented with decisions, they are based on other stats, like pants shitter, health, and the health of other players in the room.
2	Given the player is in a room, when they are presented with resolutions, they are based on their stats as well as the stats of the other players in the room.

Community Content Creation

As a player, I want an easy way to make new rooms, so that I will contribute high quality rooms to the game's collection.

Iteration	Scenario
1	Given the player is creating a room, when they are on the page to do so, they are presented with text inputs connected to XML validators.
1	Given the player has created a room, when they are on their dashboard, they will be able to edit and view the rooms they have made.
2	Given the player has created a room, when they want to test it, they can simulate four players playing the room and view the outcome.
3	Given the player is creating a room, when they are on the page to do so, they are presented with an interactive tool to generate XML for them.

As a player, I want to rank and give feedback for rooms so that broken ones can be fixed and poorly designed ones avoided by the dungeon creator.

Iteration	Scenario
1	Given the player has played a level, when the resolution is shown, they can provide a star ranking for the room.
2	Given the player is frustrated, when they complete a level, they can provide a comment from a pre-selected set of comments that the author can see.
3	Given a room has a ranking, when the dungeon creation is selecting rooms, it will give preference to higher ranked rooms.
4	Given a room has extremely bad feedback, when an administer is logged in, they can flag the room for deletion.

As a player, I want to add meta data to rooms, so I have some control on how dungeons are created.

Iteration	Scenario
2	Given the player has a theme in mind, when they are creating a room, they can add descriptive tags to the room.
2	Given the player makes rooms that work well together, when they are creating a room, they can select another room that would best follow after it.

Suggested Elements:

• Encourage Social Behavior
  • easy invite, sign up
• Low Commitment
• Customization
• Progression