Gameplay Mechanic a Month: Co-op Translation
Month 10 - October 2013
Mechanic Description:
The basic setup is a multiple choice quiz where you must answer correctly to be able to progress. However, the questions are asked in a made-up pictogram language so you need to use a "dictionary" to translate what each pictogram means. The catch is that you only have half of the dictionary. You need a fellow player to use the other half of the dictionary to work out what is really going on.
Players switch between the question screen and the dictionary screens. The two players sit next to each other in the real world and work together by having one player show the question screen on their mobile device while the other person uses their dictionary to look up words. Although this game could be played with one person, it would be a lot of information to hold in your head at one time, since there are 10 words to look up for most questions. The game encourages discussion between the players.
Playable in the following game:
The Dragon Whisperers
Platform:
Mobile (Android, iOS)
Genre:
Co-op Puzzle
Game Description:
You and your sibling must save your mother's life by travelling to the top of a temple guarded by a dragon. The dragon asks questions in pictograms and if you want to be understood you'll need to reply in pictograms. Luckily you have a dragon dictionary! Unfortunately you only have half of the dictionary. Your sibling has the other half!
You must work sitting next to a friend in the real world to translate what the dragon is saying and determine what you should say in response. If you choose correctly, you will ascend the temple steps and get closer to saving your mother's life. If you choose incorrectly you will be forced to descend.
The Dragon Whisperers is a two player offline co-op game and requires both of you to have the app installed on your device. One player must select "Player 1" at the beginning, the other must select "Player 2".
Screenshots:
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You begin by choosing which player you would like to be. The choice will change which dictionary you use. |
You play as two siblings whose mother is ill. The only cure is at the top of the temple. |
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The dragon speaks in pictograms. You must choose the correct pictogram answer to progress. |
Each player has access to half of the dragon dictionary. One player has the "white" words, the other has the "black" words. |
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Each dictionary has 50 words. Making the total dragon language 100 words strong. |
As the game progresses you'll have to translate more words and you'll have more choices to reply to the dragon. |
Gameplay Instructions:
- Find someone to play with and sit next to them in the real world.
- One player should choose "Player 1", the other "Player 2".
- Look at the backstory and then tap anywhere on the screen.
- Tap anywhere on the screen after you have read the instructions.
- Each player needs to choose what to reply to the dragon (there is only one correct answer) by tapping on the speech box near the player characters.
- Use the dictionary (accessable by tapping the book icon) to translate what the dragon is saying and what you can say in reply.
- Player 1 has half of the dictionary and Player 2 has the other half, so you need to work together to translate all the pictograms.
- Use a swipe action to change pages in the dictionary.
- Tap your response from the options given to you.
- If you choose correctly, you will go up the stairs closer to the top of the temple.
Downloads:
The game will be available on Google Play and on the iOS App Store. Please follow the links here:
- Google Play: Dragon Whisperers
- iOS App Store: Dragon Whisperers
Acknowledgements:
This game was developed for the SF Indie Game Jam with the following team members:
- Jennie Lees
- Glenn Hernandez
- Cliff Warren
Analysis:
An analysis of the gameplay mechanic written by me in March 2015.
Context: This was made for another game jam. The theme was a random wikipedia article about an Air Force squadron with a Dragon for a symbol. The squadron worked as a kind of help desk for other pilots to call up and report issues with their plane. We wanted to take that idea and make a cooperative game that got people talking and sharing the story together in person.
What Went Right:
- We were able to come up with the core "story" that the Dragon said super quickly, so we could start building out everything else quickly.
- We started testing using multiple choice options in English instead of the pictograph language that we came up with, so we could tell that the concept was going to work.
- In the final game, players could tell they were making progress easily.
- Once the dictionary idea was explained, looking up the pictographs with someone next to you was kinda fun.
- The art was awesome... Ok... so that's not about the mechanic, but I really loved the art.
What Went Wrong:
- We put the game on the app store and I think trying to explain to people that they need to be sitting next to someone else in the real world who's chosen player 2 is tough to get across. It's like we needed a diagram or something.
- The story that the Dragon was saying was quite simple and a bit too saccharin.
- Trying to keep the story and your options going in your head was tough. It's like you had to write down the words that the dragon said and use pen and paper, which is a hassle.
- There were a lot of pictographs and almost none are used twice as options. This means there was no learning of the pictographs and no sense of mastery for the player to obtain.
- The idea is probably not scalable since getting two people to dedicate the time to play a game together is kinda tough.
Hug Rating:5 hugs
Verdict: A super cute little game which made a big impression on the other participants of the game jam (I still get people remembering it over a year and a half later). I think the idea of giving two players different content was good, but is hard to explain to people.