Shipwreck Game – Tracking Player Stats

This is a post about the design and development of a currently unnamed Shipwreck Game. You can see the other Blog posts at the Index for the Game.

Tracking Player Stats

As the idea for game play has been percolating away, I have solidified the concepts regarding the Player Stats and how we might Track them. There will be 5 tracks of 13 squares, that will each hold a Cube during game play. T – Time (or Turns) that keeps track of the chronology of the game, M – Mental Health/Well-being, P – Physical Health/Well-being, H – Hydration & N – Nutrition.

Player Stats

The Circles on each Track are the starting positions of each Cube, and you will be given instructions during the game to move them up or down. If a Cube is ever moved on to a Cross, then the game is lost. If a Cube is ever moved on to a Star, then a Bonus is achieved.

Movements of the tracks are interconnected. So as the Time track advances, you get Thirsty and Hungry. And the longer you go with out food and water your Mental and Physical Health will be affected. I will touch on the specifics below.

Time

Time starts at 0, and moves up a square at the start of each turn. 12 Turns is the most allowed in a Game, with the final turn being the one that begins when the Cube moves to the Star at the top of that track. Roughly I am thinking this stands for hours of daylight on the Island, so each game starts at 6am and you have till 6pm to get things done. If you complete the goal early, then you have more time to relax, which will do good things for the other 4 Tracks. What that means for the Campaign, is still up in the air. Maybe there is a reset for the start of the next game. But if I want to focus on the Legacy aspect, which I do, it’s more likely your hand is put aside, and notes are taken about where each of the other 4 Cubes are, to carry on for the next game.

The 2 and the 8 square are marked with a -H. When the Cube moves into those squares at the beginning of those turns, the Hydration Cube is moved 1 step down its Track. Likewise for the Nutrition Cube when the Time Cube moves into square 6.

Mental Health

The Cube for the M Track starts in the middle square, and can move 6 steps up or down. Failing challenges and Thirst and Hunger can decrease Mental Health. Success, rest and leisure activities can increase Mental Health. If Mental Health gets to -6, then the character cannot summon the will to go on, and the game ends. If Mental Health gets to +6, a bonus is awarded (the first time). 3 bonuses occur to me, and I’m thinking it will probably be left as a choice to the Player. 1. Improving the Physical Health Track. 2. The ability to complete an extra round of actions in the current Turn. 3. Adding a modifier to a Skill card.

Physical Health

This Track works the same way as the Mental Health Track, with injuries, first aid & adjustments to physical fitness moving the Cube up and down. Enough Injuries to get to -6 will kill the Character. Getting to +6 will get the same bonus options, except option 1 would be the ability to Improve the Mental Health Track.

Hydration

The H Track starts at the top square, fully Hydrated, and moves down from there. You can never be more than fully Hydrated. Time and exertion will continuously lower Hydration, and a water supply is the only thing that can increase it.

Mental and Physical Health will take hits as Hydration lowers, but they will improve as Hydration increases. If you move the Cube down on to any square with an M or a P, then decrease the appropriate attribute by 1. However, if you move the Cube up off any square with an M or a P, then increase the appropriate attribute by 1.

If Hydration moves to the Cross on the bottom of the Track, then the character has literally died of thirst.

Nutrition

The N Track will work the same way as the H Track. It is identical, but it gets triggered just once during the 12 Turns, and very rarely by activities. Dying of hunger is therefore a lot less likely. Just like in real life. 🙂

First Draft

So that’s the first draft of the Player Stats. It seems like a solid starting point, and we’ll see how things evolve during play testing.

One Reply to “Shipwreck Game – Tracking Player Stats”

  1. Pingback: Index page for Unnamed Shipwreck game

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