Four Crows
Platform: Mobile Engine: Unity
Role: Game Designer
Four Crows is strategy-based card game within the Fer.al where players play cards that change the number of crows on branch. The more crows there are on the branch, the higher the payout. However, if the number ever exceed four, then the branch snaps and the player loses. If there are no crows on the branch by the time the player runs out of cards, the player receives nothing as well.
The shopkeeper, Kino, plays against the player and attempts to either break the branch or reduce the number of crows to zero.
The goal for this design was to create a dynamic strategy game that requires careful consideration, while using simple elements to portray the actions. Since Fer.al had a dark, fantasy tone, the crow wrapper came into play adding mysterious allure of mysticism and dread.
RESPONSIBILITIES
Game Designer
Designed the gameplay loop and game setting
Created analog prototypes for testing and presentations
Collaborated with a small team consisting of myself, an engineer, and an artist to implement game mechanics and create assets
Created an AI behavioral map for opponent NPC
Tested gameplay and earning velocities
Documented game details and tutorial systems
POSTMORTEM
This was one of my favorite of the eight total parlor games during my time on the Fer.al project. It had a relatively short production cycle, but it allowed our “pod” to stomp out a quick production-ready activity on the coattail of the Queens’ Duel gameplay. Not only did it quickly become a fan favorite, but it reinforced confidence in our ability to rapidly produce experiences for our player base.
In hindsight, the one thing I would have liked to do with this would be to add better visuals for our tutorials (something we did better in later games) and make the necessary server additions to allow for multiplayer gameplay.