
FieldBattle
'The king knows when to strike'
Development information
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Team size: Solo
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Project duration: 8 weeks
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Tools: Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, GIMP
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Year: 2016
Project Description
Fieldbattle is a 2 player Strategy boardgame.
In this competitive board game each player gets the same pieces, however does not know the set up of the other player, which is only revealed after starting the game. Each player has 2 minutes to do two moves with each type of piece having different behavior. The goal of the game is to capture the opponent's king.
Process



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I started this project with the problem that I liked playing chess, but didn't like waiting for 10 minutes for the opponent to make a move, however I also did not like speed chess. I wanted to create a strategy board game that represented warfare more.
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I researched Chess, Warfare, and Stratego. From which I concluded I wanted to use Roman Warfare as a theme but still keep it a bit abstract. I also decided I want to use a timer of 2 minutes for each to keep the players engaged.
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I experimented with over 25 different piece behaviors 5 different map sizes and balanced them along the way. I also allowed for possible expansions with different map sizes to create new gameplay styles.
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I playtested through this entire experience and iterated with the feedback given to make sure it had the appropriate amount of playtime I set out and was fun to play.
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During iteration I also made the art of the game with Adobe Illustrator and iterated upon them over time with the feedback.
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I programmed my own chess clock with Arduino.
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I went to a publisher who mentioned that with a few more simplifications it was possible to release it.

Valued experiences
Through this entire process of making my own boardgame I learned a lot about scoping a project. There were a lot of features I had to cut or took up more time to balance.
I also learned to write proper manuals and how to onboard a board game as well as
Because of this game I understand turn based games and strategy games more as well as player-information knowledge development during a game. I also learned to develop clear art and intuitive board game design that gives proper visual feedback.
Besides this I learned to code in a new program that I never used before, although the program was simple, it does help to understand the principles of programmer more clear.
Currently this project is not published and have the Beta on hold as I right now keep myself engaged with developing video games instead.