Rule Sheet Development Process: Scuba Scuffle

Group 13

Scuba Scuffle: Rule Sheet V1 and V2

Scuba Scuffle is a 2 player rock paper scissors-esque survival game. Players must strategize and make careful choices to be the survivor of this deep sea encounter.

Between V1 and V2 we’ve made some exceptional changes. Albeit the changes we’re making or more so specifications of standing rules and procedures. This iterative process I did make note of starting broad and narrowing down game mechanics with my partner. This approach has led to more success and far more iterative additions. The key to success though above all else is communication

I can’t stress enough how important it is to communicate with your team. There were multiple points where we were making leaps and bounds in additions, but we would get misaligned as to what exactly was being added or changed. Stopping and addressing how each of us interpreted it and proceeding with the better of the two or a compromise. This has made the iterative process through development a breeze and hopefully create the most optimal game. 

The main problem we had was getting more specific about game procedures and rules. The complication comes from making sure it’s not over complicated or not too simple. After bouncing ideas back and forth we managed to find a medium and the issues that arose did not plague us for long. 

Buy and large the iterative problems came from combat systems. I stress the importance of combat and the risks and rewards of engagement. I wanted to be sure that aggressive play would not trump defensive play. I instead sought a healthy balance between attacking, defending, and changing equipment. Each had to have pros and cons that incentives different play styles to choose different strategies. To limit or deter players from attacking indiscriminately we added the mechanic that attacking under some conditions may lead to you taking damage. To limit players from becoming campers we made the addition of base damage and additional damage to deter players from relying on defense rolls. We created equipment that are all but useless and some that are very weak to make a hard choice between attacking or changing equipment. All and all we felt these changes made for varied game play that will never be the same on different playthroughs. 

The game we’ve made thus far allows for expansions to be made. That’s the aspect I’ve come to love most. Additional equipment cards in later expansions or perhaps in the future iterations new divers and sharks. The premise we have on hand is quite malleable and to our knowledge very fun. The main thing we thought of is how can we make this game allow for unique and memorable situations. Can a player have the best equipment and miss? Could the weakest weapons be what gets a player the victory? Can the attacker get damaged instead? That’s just a few of the questions that came to mind. But I realized that what makes games like Among Us and Mafia fun is the unique situations that can occur from the simple premise alone. 

In short we sought to create a simple premise with replay-ability and unique situations that can occur under different circumstances. As far as we’ve gotten it’s been nothing but improvements left and right. Perhaps in V3 we can expound upon these mechanics or refine them to near perfection.