CAGD Section 2 Group 11 - Tree Climber

December 8, 2019

I have been working with my partner Joaquin in group 11, and our game is called Tree Climber. The game is about two friends who decide to race to the top of a large tree to see who is better at climbing.

Game Summary

In Tree Climber, the player’s goal is to reach the top of the tree before their opponent. They accomplish this by choosing a path up the branches and rolling their dice to see if the branches hold their weight. The game begins with players deciding who will go first by rolling the dice and seeing who rolls higher. Then, they start picking their first few moves, which will determine their path for much of the game. However, the players may decide to deviate from their original ways later on.

The player chosen to moves first will move their player piece forward one space. If the space has an X on it, the player must roll their dice to see if the branch supports their weight. If the player rolls higher than or equal to 7, play continues and nothing happens. However, if the player rolls lower than 7, they must go back one space. Throughout the game, the player faces many branching paths. Some are shorter, but have more X spaces, while others are longer and safer. This risk-reward system allows players to control how they achieve victory in the race.

Audience

When we were creating Tree Climber, our target audience was families with children old enough to understand dice and simple addition. Because of this, we focused on simple concepts that could be understood by both children and adults alike. We used dice because they are easy to use, and add an element of surprise to our game.

Issues

The biggest problem encountered during the playtesting was that our board was too confusing. The different paths were not nearly apparent enough for the player to grasp the game entirely and quickly. This was due to the board having no color. Another reason for this problem was my partner and I’s attempts to cross the paths. No matter how hard we tried, however, players still had trouble figuring out the proper routes to the top of the tree occasionally. 

The main gameplay issue observed was the difficulty presented by the selection of ways the players can take. Whereas shorter paths offered many options for strategic choice, the process of rolling the dice became tedious for some players. Thus, my partner and I tried making the paths mostly the same. However, this leads to the player feeling disconnected from the game. Since the speed of progression was already randomized with the use of dice, adding the risk of different paths became too heavy of a burden to be worth the effort. We noticed that this aspect made it so random, the player was going through the motions instead of playing a game. We finally decided on a board that had distinct paths with easy to understand consequences.

Solutions

The solution to the board issue is quite simple; we just needed to completely overhaul the board design to make it more accessible to players. To accomplish this, we moved around a few paths on the board, which, in their previous placement, were confusing or not aesthetically pleasing. We mapped the board once again to make the game a little longer, and to make the board feel more substantial and more spacious.

The solution to the path problem was a bit more challenging to find, but we eventually found it. By allowing the player to choose which path to take while showing the clear consequences and risks involved, they are engaged and feel as if their choice matters. This is directly opposed by our previous strategy, which had the players uncover the faster paths on their own.

The Plan Going Forward

I believe in the future, I would not change anything about the development process. My partner and I worked studiously, and the problems we encountered were, in my opinion, normal for the development process.