board-game-ideas/item-durability-boardgame.md

Unnamed Item Durability Boardgame

Solo boardgame which main idea relies on the item durability design concept from the Fire Emblem series.

• Core idea revolves around the player having three item slots, which can be engaged / at rest:
  • An engaged item will modify the property of the player's next action;
  • Items have limited amounts of uses: when engaged, they consume 1 use, when out of uses they disappear.
• Could be implemented as a game played in a 6x6 grid, where the player's actions will be "move north/east/south/west".
• Some items will be weapons (only 1 can be engaged at a time), much like Crypt of the Necrodancer they have a range / pattern of tiles where the attack is applied, an attack value, and of course a durability.
  • The player's main goal is to constantly have 1 working weapon, maybe multiple ones to raise their strategic options, but they will consume item slots (3 max)
• Items slots will raise over the course of the game to increase strategic options
• Goal could be to reach an exit tile on each floor, every 3 floors there is a boss where you need to defeat an enemy in particular
  • Between floors, the player will be able to interact with a Convoy: they see the next map, then they can put one of their items in storage & manage what they bring for this map depending on what they see.
  • The goal is for this sequence to be short (1-2 minutes), but to not bring a sword good at dealing with multiple enemies for a 1-enemy encounter to save uses for a floor which will make a better use of it
• Some items will:
  • have effects on movement (move diagonally, move 2 tiles instead of 1, move backwards);
  • have supportive effects (Duct tape: enemies do not move this turn, Vigor potion: +1 attack for engaged weapon, some item: gold reward if engaged when killing an enemy)
  • be instant-use and apply buffs (in a buff zone) which will be active for a certain number of turns and give a benefit to the player (Similar to Bonuses in Fire Emblem Heroes)
• Enemies will be cards on the board with an HP value, and a predictable, transparent movement & attack pattern communicated to the player. They may move before OR after the player's action
  • Most basic enemy just goes towards the player, privileging horitonzal movement before vertical to break ties for example
  • More complex enemies could follow varying patterns depending on turns, etc (plays before the player on odd turns, after on even turns; does not move but attacks at range on even turns, ...). To define
• Idea to perhaps explore: there could be various kinds of terrain on the 6x6 grid, which carry over from one fight to the other:
  • Example could be "grass terrain: fire weapons deal 1 more damage when the enemy is on them", or "ice: immediatly slip to the other end of this tile when entering it", or "brick wall: impassable"
• I love deckbuiling so there could be a deckbuilding element allowing you to play 1 (or more effects if engaging certain items) from a hand of 3-4 cards (such as +1 attack, enhanced movement, placing terrain, ...)
• Possibility to obtain passives (up to 1-2-3 during your run, depending on the character you are using)
• Replayability comes from the rewards you get (from chests on the map, enemy defeat rewards, floor clear rewards) which are taken from a pool, and multiple characters could exist
  • Character ideas: Alear (for the easy Fire Emblem comparison, could charge an Emblem over few turns and deploy another unit moving with them & applying damage), Patchouli Knowledge (Switching between 5 elements, changing each turn), Erika Furudo (Erika Furudo)

There is a possibility for multiplayer here as well, if both players plan their turn in advance & resolve it when they are both set up

Prototyping

• A very short gameplay loop can be experimented with on Tabletop Simulator to validate the above ideas & try to see if they flow correctly.
• This could also be done by reusing assets from Fire Emblem Heroes / Fire Emblem Engage