IMHOTEP´S HERITAGE

DIGITAL CARD GAME

OVERVIEW

Imhotep's Heritage was the first group project during my studies and was created under the guideline to develop a digital card game. The idea was to integrate and implement strategic building and resource management into a card game.

THE GAME

The player has a total of 60 seconds and can explore new cards, which subsequently bring him new resources every 10 seconds. These field cards can be upgraded with building cards that the player has in his "hand", so that they provide more resources. Placing matching buildings on the field cards increases the bonus. However, exploring and constructing buildings also costs resources, so the player must weigh up whether he invests in bonuses or prefers to save. The goal is to collect the necessary resources as quickly as possible to build the winning building.

RESPONSIBILITIES

I worked a lot on programming menus and the UI for this project. I also took on the role of game designer and was involved in the decision-making and ideation process as early as the planning phase. During the development of the game, I made a lot of decisions especially in terms of balancing.

REFLECTION

Since I made a lot of important game design decisions in this project, I was able to learn a lot from it and got an overview of what could or should be improved. For example, the effects of the cards are sometimes unclear and the UI could generally be designed more clearly. In addition, the game is often too luck-dependent; if the player only gets the wrong cards, he cannot win, although this should always be possible. In addition to the very short turn time, there is a lack of strategic depth and the possibility to make meaningful decisions during the course of the game. This could be remedied with the help of longer rounds in combination with more difficult decision options. Despite these aspects that could be improved, this first group project was a very exciting and educational experience. I still see a lot of potential in the basic idea of a tactical building card game. In addition, I learned a lot about the cooperation between game designers, programmers and artists during this project.

IMPRESSIONS

Playspace Bottom Left there is an Explore button to discover new fields. At the top right you can see the resource display. The plus number is the additional income that the player receives every 10 seconds. At the top center is the timer that shows the remaining game time, at the top left is the High Score and at the bottom center is the "hand" with the building cards.	Field Cards The 3 standard field cards are Palm Forest for the resource Wood, Irrigation Area for the resource Food and Stone Pit for the resource Stone.	Upgraded Field Cards Palm Forest is upgraded with a Lumber Camp, giving an additional 20 wood. The same applies to the Mill for food and Transport Ship for stone. On the top right you can see the significantly higher resource income.
Victory condition Fruit Valley is a hybrid card that gives 2 resource types, in this case stone and food. On Desert cards, if the resources are available, the victory building "Khufu Pyramid" can be built.	Game modes There are three different game modes with different victory conditions.