Deciphering generated symbols as a game mechanic : the design of Alien Transmission

Abstract

Board game play is enhanced through technology for the purposes of time-keeping in games such as One-Night Werewolf, logistics for e.g. hit point tracking in Hero Realms or revealing hidden information in Alchemists, new mini-games such as the digital puzzles in Mansions of Madness, and randomization. Randomization could be considered a form of procedural content generation, although it often follows a simple digital variant of shuffling a deck or looking up values in a table. While randomization speeds up preparation in long games such as Mansions of Madness and ensures information stays hidden in Alchemists, it does not particularly contribute to novel gameplay. The generated content (i.e. the event sequence or board) forms a backdrop for traditional game mechanics (dice-rolling, token placement, etc.) and only indirectly affects the player experience. In order to explore different uses of generated content in board games, I designed a game ultimately titled Alien Transmission where symbols are generated and players must use them to communicate information to each other. This 4-player game has a science-fiction theme and hinges on co-operation for survival against an external invasion. Each player controls one sector of a solar system with two planets (one outer, one inner) and one starbase. Planets can hold population, fortifications or infiltrated aliens, while starbases can hold spaceships. Planets with no population are considered fallen, and if all players' planets fall the game is over. In the current prototype, players must choose one action per turn (from a set of 12 actions) and choose one of their two planets or neighboring sectors where this action is issued. Actions include building spaceships to send to the starbase, sacrificing population to guard against alien threats, sending population or spaceships to players of neighboring sectors, etc.