This blog post highlights the second physical game prototype that I created for my Game Design class at Rider University in the Fall of 2024. For those who may not know, a prototype is an early version of an idea or concept that is likely to evolve. This post explores my interpretation of a particular theme, the inspiration behind my idea, my overall thought process, and what I ultimately learned. Note: For anyone interested, the rulesheet and setup images for A Ghost’s Revenge are included at the end.
Similar to my first prototype, Seasonal Journey, we were instructed to come up with a new game that revolved around a theme chosen from a random prompt generator. After playing around with a few different ideas, I landed on the concept of You are already dead. When I first saw this prompt, I was instantly intrigued by the various possibilities popping around in my head. I even had two very different concepts planned out for this theme, though I went with my first idea since I felt it was stronger and more interesting.
While creating a prototype designed around this prompt, I immediately thought of the hit multiplayer ghost-hunting game Phasmophobia. I had recently gotten into horror games, with Phasmophobia being my introduction to the genre. My project ended up including contracts like those found in Phasmophobia, though instead of these missions ending in hunting a ghost, my quests focused on scaring people in order to fill the players’ Fright Meters.
The story behind A Ghost’s Revenge revolves around the players starting off as ghosts and being offered the chance to come back to life by the devil himself. In order to accept this once-in-a-lifetime deal, all they would have to do is fill up their respective Fright Meters. Sounds like a pretty awesome proposition, right? Well, unfortunately, the devil doesn’t do anything for free and only offers this agreement to the first person to charge up their meter. Those who fail this race are banished to hell for the rest of eternity. Throughout this intense game, players may decide to sabotage their opponents to slow their progress down.
There are four different Ghost Cards (unique player pieces), each with their own distinctive ability that can be used to either aid their journey or hinder their opponents. These special powers have a cooldown, so players must use them strategically. Alongside these Ghost Cards are Contract Cards, which come in three different classes: Light, Medium, and Hard. Each mission costs Stamina Tokens, with the Hard Contract Card demanding the most. The devil also likes to be entertained and established a bit of luck needed in order for a contract to be completed. This stroke of luck requires players to roll a six-sided die to determine whether they finish the mission or not. Stamina Tokens can also be utilized to sabotage opponents, with each attempt costing ten tokens. The devil snuck his greedy paws into the sabotage mechanic as well, requiring a die roll to decide whether the opponent is successfully thwarted or not. An even number results in the sabotaged player failing their next contract and losing two bars off their Fright Meter. If the player rolls an odd number, they evade the sabotage attempt and escape untouched for that turn.
Die rolls weren’t originally part of A Ghost’s Revenge. However, I added them in after playtesting my prototype with my parents and sister. From observing their play session, I realized the players had no incentive not to take the hard contracts right away, leading to a fairly straightforward and boring experience. Upon realizing my mistake, I added the die rolls to break up the linear aspect of my prototype, resulting in nail-biting situations between players and giving the other two contract classes a reason to be utilized.
While observing my classmates in another playtest of my project, I learned that my game was both fun and more interesting with my new additions. I was very surprised that the players did not utilize their special abilities until around the midpoint of the game, seemingly forgetting that each of them had a unique power that could aid in their race to fill up their Fright Meters. Once used, the pace of the game picked up and became a lot more tense. The players also did not employ the sabotages as much as I would have thought, instead choosing to use them sparingly but strategically.
Though A Ghost’s Revenge ran smoothly, I plan to make some minor adjustments to make the game more enjoyable. One tweak I hope to make is lowering the number of Stamina Tokens that each player starts with from ten to six. Originally, players seemed to have too many of these tokens, so I hope by decreasing the starting amount, I can make the game a lot more intense. My Game Design professor also suggested having the player’s chance of successfully completing a contract determined by how many Fright Bars they have instead of relying on a die roll. I found that idea pretty interesting and may create a future iteration toying with that concept.
For the purpose of building upon the lore, here are the four special Ghost Cards and an example scenario from each contract class.
Ghost Cards (Picked randomly by the players at the start of the game):
- Banshee – The banshee’s melodic voice has lured another ghost to them. Choose one player to lose their next turn. (3-round cooldown).
- Poltergeist – The poltergeist decides to make its presence known, throwing all objects in sight at another ghost. Choose one player to lose 4 stamina tokens. If the player has less than 4, that player will lose the remaining stamina tokens they have left. (3-round cooldown)
- Pontianak – The pontianak uses its unique cry to lure another ghost to them. Choose one player to receive half the amount of Fright Bars on their next successful contract. (3-round cooldown)
- Ifrit – The Ifrit uses its enormous size to intimidate another ghost. Choose what contract class another player has to accept on their next turn. (3-round cooldown)
Example Contract Scenarios (these scenarios are written on the back of each Contract Card):
- Light Contract: You decide to haunt your gaming friend of eight years, Wesley.
- A.) Flicker the lights in his bedroom while he is playing Phasmophobia (costs one Stamina Token, grants one Fright Bar).
- B.) Be bold and turn off his computer while he is in the middle of a Search and Destroy match that is tied 5-5 (costs two Stamina Tokens, grants two Fright Bars).
- Medium Contract: You decide to haunt your old boss while he is out buying groceries at the local supermarket.
- A.) Have all of the items in his cart levitate for a few minutes, then forcefully send them crashing back down into his cart (costs three Stamina Tokens, grants three Fright Bars).
- B.) Have the milk in his cart suddenly fly out and explode all over the floor, drenching a nearby customer’s new shoes. You then walk through the spilled milk and leave your footprints behind in the white residue (costs four Stamina Tokens, grants four Fright Bars).
- Hard Contract: You decide to haunt your girlfriend while she is at a heavy metal concert.
- A.) Have the speakers at the concert blare creepy clown sound effects (costs five Stamina Tokens, grants five Fright Bars).
- B.) Unplug the band’s instruments and have her name chanted throughout the venue menacingly (costs six Stamina Tokens, grants six Fright Bars).