When designing games, most designers look for a "signature" that lets you know it's their design. Keith Avallone uses the attribute system to great effect in all of his games; you know when you see a card with words like "Star", "Slugger", "Tough", etc., you know you're looking at a PLAAY.com design.
And so it is with what I call the "Activator Die". I came up with the idea when designing On The Green Golf, and it's not so much a new idea as it is an idea of convenience. Lots of games have you roll a handful of dice, using them in various capacities. In Lambourne Games' International Cricket, you roll five, six-sided dice. The yellow die determines whether the ball is in play or a dot ball, the red total references the bowler's card, the green total references the batsman's card.
With the Activator Die, you roll it at the same time as the "regular" dice, but you only refer to it when circumstances dictate. In On The Green Golf, you only consult the Activator Die when you roll Trouble with the regular dice; the Activator Die result is then checked against the results from the Hole Card to determine what type of trouble you're in. This allows us to have an "extra die/dice roll" without having to scoop the dice and roll them again. Simply roll all three, every time, and ignore the Activator if you don't need it.
When I did W2W, I tried something different, because I wanted to avoid "hard-coding" unusual results on the play cards. Hard-coding means that those results would *always* bring a problem, but it also means that other results are *never* affected. But the way I went about it in W2W also, in some ways, "hard-coded" the results.
Without getting into all the details, the third die in W2W was compared to both the tens digit and the ones digit. Depending on which of the digit dice matched, you might get a sack, fumble, penalty, or interception. But the method by which this was done is "complex" enough that it throws off new gamers because it goes way outside their transition zone I spoke about in a previous post.
So, for the new game, certain results on each Play Card will be hard-coded in yellow, and the Activator Die will be checked against a certain range on the Play Card to determine what type of play (penalty, fumble) will occur. Sacks, penalties, and fumbles on passing plays will be done in a similar manner.
More on the Activator Die to come ...
Tuesday, October 28, 2014
Monday, October 27, 2014
Inside The Mind Of Design ... Part 1 of Many ...
OK, everyone ... back to the project, and a chance to go inside the mind of the designer as we start talking about the timing system for the new outdoor game ...
Wait, we're talking timing first?? What about charts, tables, rules, etc.? Well, if my mind worked the way yours does, we might be talking about those other things first. However, I prefer dealing with the oddities of a gaming system before we start on the nuts and bolts.
For example, every football game has you call an offensive play and then a defensive play. The interactions of those plays determine the outcome. Not much time is needed, then, to work on the "basics" of how a tabletop football game plays. And the charts for the new game are being based on those from W2W, and will be adjusted for the outdoor game based on the data I'm crunching at the moment.
So, there's not too much to do in the way of the normal play charts. At least not right now. We'll work on those later as 90% of the work on them is already done. For now, the timing system has intrigued me the most, so the timing system is what I work on until I get about 90% of that down "cold". Then, we'll move on to something else.
However, the timing system could be the lynchpin to the whole feel, both from a game flow and a strategic standpoint. And that has me really excited to tinker with the timing system.
Let me digress for a minute ... the stuff I'm about to talk about is bound to get folks scratching their heads, and some may even go so far as to say, "geez, this sounds like it's gonna be too much extra effort ... I'm outta here". Before you go, take a minute to hear the designer's side of the story:
Designers understand that the games you already enjoy have a lot of similarities, and those similarities help you "transition" from one game system to the next with a minimum of re-learning concepts. The whole play-calling routine is pretty much the same in every tabletop football game, and therefore, you need not learn something new in that regard with every new game purchase.
But I like thinking outside the proverbial box. I want to give you, the gamer, something new and different to chew on, while retaining the flavor of other games you know. Kinda like serving you steak, or serving you steak with a slathering of garlic steak butter ... the base flavor is the same, but the steak butter adds a layer of flavor that you might enjoy even more.
For you, the gamer, the most open of minds is necessary for you to accept and enjoy anything that falls outside your customary comfort zone. Sometimes, it's exactly like the Dr. Seuss book, "Green Eggs And Ham" ... gamers simply won't try something new, but those who finally give in discover there was nothing to worry about in the first place. With this timing system, I'm sure many will, like the character in the book, refuse to try the game because of the system. It's my hope they'll read enough positives about it that they give it a try ... you DO like the timing system, Sam-I-Am!
OK, back to design thought ...
When you break down a team's play-by-play, you discover some constants, and surprisingly, the one constant in every style of offense is the time spent in the huddle. Teams practice their play-calling down to the second in terms of how quickly they want the team to huddle up, how long it takes to get the play call in from the sideline, how long it takes to communicate the play and snap count, how long it takes to line up, how long the QB has to read the defense, and then get the ball snapped.
The variable on every play is, of course, the length of the actual play, which is a function of play type and yards gained. A pass play gaining 25 yards takes less time than a running play gaining the same distance. An incompletion may take five seconds off the clock; a running play stuffed at the line might take the same amount of time.
So, with this timing system, we must look for simplicity as well as what others call "game memory"; that is, how quickly can you memorize certain results from charts and how does that speed up your game play. Any timing system that folks want needs to address both.
How to do this? Well, you have to take a leap of faith and say that one 15-yard run off-tackle is the same as all others, and every 70-yard pass play is the same as all the others. We do this, even though we know that some 15-yard runs are the result of busted plays that took a long time to develop as the back picked a hole after reversing field, because it allows us to abstract and simplify for the purpose of meeting both simplicity and game memory.
Once we make a determination of how many seconds each length of play takes (and we can detail this out to distances on any kind of play, from returns to punts, field goals to incomplete passes, and so on), we then add that play result to some constant time that represents the time in the huddle for the play call.
And therein lies the rub ... how many seconds for the huddle and play call? If you look at any NFL game, you can find huddle times anywhere between five (hurry-up) and thirty seconds (clock kill). And then, the data sometimes "lies" to you. See if you can guess which of these four teams from 2013 (Philadelphia, Denver, Baltimore, and New England) matches with the data in the following table (includes playoff games):
REGULAR HUDDLE NO HUDDLE
366 plays, 21.81 sec/play 744 plays, 23.26 sec/play
1140 plays, 24.76 sec/play 127 plays, 21.41 sec/play
696 plays, 24.89 sec/play 393 plays, 24.77 sec/play
699 plays, 24.15 sec/play 661 plays, 25.00 sec/play
Did you take a legitimate guess? OK, in order, the teams are: Philadelphia, New England, Baltimore, and Denver. Would you have guessed that Chip Kelly's teams run their "regular" plays faster than their no-huddle plays? Or that New England uses the no-huddle far less than you might have guessed? Or that Baltimore's average time per play is almost the same, regardless of how they huddle up?
So, even when we think we know ... we don't. How does this factor into a timing system that we want to be as realistic, simple, and easily committed to memory as possible? We reach back into that bag of tricks known as "abstraction" to solve this particular problem.
For those who haven't heard me talk about this before, abstraction is the "art" of making some general assumptions about the way the world works, and then using those assumptions to build a model around. For example, if we didn't have individual kicker stats, but knew that kickers make 99% of their extra point attempts, we could give each kicker a rating that would net them 99% of their attempts, even though some may not have missed any that year. The abstraction allows the total stats to be correct (and "feel" correct), even if individual kickers may not be spot-on at season's end.
We can do this with timing. We know that few teams use all 40 seconds of the play clock (25 when the criteria are met), and yet, may get called for delay of game (which happened 153 times in the 2013 season, including playoffs). We also know that, with the exception of the two-minute hurry-up, few teams use less than ten seconds off either play clock.
So, we can create a few, basic "huddle times" that act as the "base time" for each play, based on specific criteria. For example:
Huddle Times, Clock Running
Normal Offensive Speed: 30 (40) / 18 (25)
No-Huddle Speed: 20 (40) / 12 (25)
Hurry-Up Speed (under two minutes): 10 (40) / 10 (25)
Now, that may be over-simplifying things a bit. And playtesting will help determine the optimum huddle speeds with a running clock. But these feel right, and maybe they seem right to you, as well. In 2013, here's the breakdown of plays by time expired between snaps:
36 seconds or more: 12,516
27-35 seconds: 8,198
11-26 seconds: 6,420
10 seconds or less: 17,685
This data certainly points to a potential adjustment in the base huddle times, but, again, playtesting will sort all of that out in the end.
What will happen is that the base time will be added to the time of the actual play to arrive at the number of seconds to "tick" off the clock. What this means is that there may be all sorts of end-game scenarios where you, the gamer and coach, have, say, nine seconds left instead of the traditional last half-play. Can you squeeze in a short, sideline pass with no timeouts left and still have a second or two left to bring on the field goal unit for a winning kick? Or, does the receiver, losing his mind for a moment, sprint into the clear for a gain that takes those final nine seconds off the clock, costing you the game?
The new timing system also simplifies the whole concept of the time out. In every other football game, you usually spend a half-play or so to take a time out. Not so here. Soon as you know the time deduction, you can immediately call time so that you don't pay the huddle time for the next play. All you pay for is the time it takes to run the play itself. So, whereas another game, with a half-play left, gives you that last half-play due to a time-out ... we'll let you call time with 16 seconds left, use 6 for the play, leaving you ten with which to work.
I believe you'll be dealing with the same clock management issues that face every real-life coach: down in the score, no way to stop the clock ... how do you get from here to there with the precious few seconds you have?
More to come on this, and other stuff ...
Wait, we're talking timing first?? What about charts, tables, rules, etc.? Well, if my mind worked the way yours does, we might be talking about those other things first. However, I prefer dealing with the oddities of a gaming system before we start on the nuts and bolts.
For example, every football game has you call an offensive play and then a defensive play. The interactions of those plays determine the outcome. Not much time is needed, then, to work on the "basics" of how a tabletop football game plays. And the charts for the new game are being based on those from W2W, and will be adjusted for the outdoor game based on the data I'm crunching at the moment.
So, there's not too much to do in the way of the normal play charts. At least not right now. We'll work on those later as 90% of the work on them is already done. For now, the timing system has intrigued me the most, so the timing system is what I work on until I get about 90% of that down "cold". Then, we'll move on to something else.
However, the timing system could be the lynchpin to the whole feel, both from a game flow and a strategic standpoint. And that has me really excited to tinker with the timing system.
Let me digress for a minute ... the stuff I'm about to talk about is bound to get folks scratching their heads, and some may even go so far as to say, "geez, this sounds like it's gonna be too much extra effort ... I'm outta here". Before you go, take a minute to hear the designer's side of the story:
Designers understand that the games you already enjoy have a lot of similarities, and those similarities help you "transition" from one game system to the next with a minimum of re-learning concepts. The whole play-calling routine is pretty much the same in every tabletop football game, and therefore, you need not learn something new in that regard with every new game purchase.
But I like thinking outside the proverbial box. I want to give you, the gamer, something new and different to chew on, while retaining the flavor of other games you know. Kinda like serving you steak, or serving you steak with a slathering of garlic steak butter ... the base flavor is the same, but the steak butter adds a layer of flavor that you might enjoy even more.
For you, the gamer, the most open of minds is necessary for you to accept and enjoy anything that falls outside your customary comfort zone. Sometimes, it's exactly like the Dr. Seuss book, "Green Eggs And Ham" ... gamers simply won't try something new, but those who finally give in discover there was nothing to worry about in the first place. With this timing system, I'm sure many will, like the character in the book, refuse to try the game because of the system. It's my hope they'll read enough positives about it that they give it a try ... you DO like the timing system, Sam-I-Am!
OK, back to design thought ...
When you break down a team's play-by-play, you discover some constants, and surprisingly, the one constant in every style of offense is the time spent in the huddle. Teams practice their play-calling down to the second in terms of how quickly they want the team to huddle up, how long it takes to get the play call in from the sideline, how long it takes to communicate the play and snap count, how long it takes to line up, how long the QB has to read the defense, and then get the ball snapped.
The variable on every play is, of course, the length of the actual play, which is a function of play type and yards gained. A pass play gaining 25 yards takes less time than a running play gaining the same distance. An incompletion may take five seconds off the clock; a running play stuffed at the line might take the same amount of time.
So, with this timing system, we must look for simplicity as well as what others call "game memory"; that is, how quickly can you memorize certain results from charts and how does that speed up your game play. Any timing system that folks want needs to address both.
How to do this? Well, you have to take a leap of faith and say that one 15-yard run off-tackle is the same as all others, and every 70-yard pass play is the same as all the others. We do this, even though we know that some 15-yard runs are the result of busted plays that took a long time to develop as the back picked a hole after reversing field, because it allows us to abstract and simplify for the purpose of meeting both simplicity and game memory.
Once we make a determination of how many seconds each length of play takes (and we can detail this out to distances on any kind of play, from returns to punts, field goals to incomplete passes, and so on), we then add that play result to some constant time that represents the time in the huddle for the play call.
And therein lies the rub ... how many seconds for the huddle and play call? If you look at any NFL game, you can find huddle times anywhere between five (hurry-up) and thirty seconds (clock kill). And then, the data sometimes "lies" to you. See if you can guess which of these four teams from 2013 (Philadelphia, Denver, Baltimore, and New England) matches with the data in the following table (includes playoff games):
REGULAR HUDDLE NO HUDDLE
366 plays, 21.81 sec/play 744 plays, 23.26 sec/play
1140 plays, 24.76 sec/play 127 plays, 21.41 sec/play
696 plays, 24.89 sec/play 393 plays, 24.77 sec/play
699 plays, 24.15 sec/play 661 plays, 25.00 sec/play
Did you take a legitimate guess? OK, in order, the teams are: Philadelphia, New England, Baltimore, and Denver. Would you have guessed that Chip Kelly's teams run their "regular" plays faster than their no-huddle plays? Or that New England uses the no-huddle far less than you might have guessed? Or that Baltimore's average time per play is almost the same, regardless of how they huddle up?
So, even when we think we know ... we don't. How does this factor into a timing system that we want to be as realistic, simple, and easily committed to memory as possible? We reach back into that bag of tricks known as "abstraction" to solve this particular problem.
For those who haven't heard me talk about this before, abstraction is the "art" of making some general assumptions about the way the world works, and then using those assumptions to build a model around. For example, if we didn't have individual kicker stats, but knew that kickers make 99% of their extra point attempts, we could give each kicker a rating that would net them 99% of their attempts, even though some may not have missed any that year. The abstraction allows the total stats to be correct (and "feel" correct), even if individual kickers may not be spot-on at season's end.
We can do this with timing. We know that few teams use all 40 seconds of the play clock (25 when the criteria are met), and yet, may get called for delay of game (which happened 153 times in the 2013 season, including playoffs). We also know that, with the exception of the two-minute hurry-up, few teams use less than ten seconds off either play clock.
So, we can create a few, basic "huddle times" that act as the "base time" for each play, based on specific criteria. For example:
Huddle Times, Clock Running
Normal Offensive Speed: 30 (40) / 18 (25)
No-Huddle Speed: 20 (40) / 12 (25)
Hurry-Up Speed (under two minutes): 10 (40) / 10 (25)
Now, that may be over-simplifying things a bit. And playtesting will help determine the optimum huddle speeds with a running clock. But these feel right, and maybe they seem right to you, as well. In 2013, here's the breakdown of plays by time expired between snaps:
36 seconds or more: 12,516
27-35 seconds: 8,198
11-26 seconds: 6,420
10 seconds or less: 17,685
This data certainly points to a potential adjustment in the base huddle times, but, again, playtesting will sort all of that out in the end.
What will happen is that the base time will be added to the time of the actual play to arrive at the number of seconds to "tick" off the clock. What this means is that there may be all sorts of end-game scenarios where you, the gamer and coach, have, say, nine seconds left instead of the traditional last half-play. Can you squeeze in a short, sideline pass with no timeouts left and still have a second or two left to bring on the field goal unit for a winning kick? Or, does the receiver, losing his mind for a moment, sprint into the clear for a gain that takes those final nine seconds off the clock, costing you the game?
The new timing system also simplifies the whole concept of the time out. In every other football game, you usually spend a half-play or so to take a time out. Not so here. Soon as you know the time deduction, you can immediately call time so that you don't pay the huddle time for the next play. All you pay for is the time it takes to run the play itself. So, whereas another game, with a half-play left, gives you that last half-play due to a time-out ... we'll let you call time with 16 seconds left, use 6 for the play, leaving you ten with which to work.
I believe you'll be dealing with the same clock management issues that face every real-life coach: down in the score, no way to stop the clock ... how do you get from here to there with the precious few seconds you have?
More to come on this, and other stuff ...
Friday, October 10, 2014
In The Interest Of Time ...
"Time keeps on slippin' slippin' ... into the future ..." -- "Fly Like An Eagle" by Steve Miller Band
One of the toughest things to replicate in a tabletop football game is the timing of plays. If you keep it simple (which is what many gamers want), you end up with game-end and quarter-end situations that seem forced; there's usually just one play left, period, when we've all seen games where there's two plays' worth of plays in that short amount of time.
For the outdoor game, I'm hoping to come up with a simplified, but realistic, timing system that isn't tied to plays that are "worth" some multiple of five, ten, or fifteen seconds. So, I ran a query on my play-by-play database and came up with some interesting numbers ...
KICKOFF RETURNS
With the kickoff and return, here's the "breakdown" of how long it takes to run a kickoff and the ensuing return:
Returns of 31 yards or less: 6 seconds
Returns of 32-48 yards: 7 seconds
Returns of 49-65 yards: 8 seconds
Returns of 66-82 yards: 9 seconds
Returns of 83-99 yards: 10 seconds
Returns of 100 yards or more: 11 seconds
PASSING
Completed passes in no-huddle offense .... normal huddle offense
Deep left/right: 12 seconds ... 15 seconds
Deep middle: 16 seconds ... 18 seconds
Short left/right: 18 seconds ... 22 seconds
Short middle: 19 seconds ... 23 seconds
PUNT RETURNS
Fair catch ... 8 seconds
Returns of 9 yards or less: 11 seconds
Returns of 10-17 yards: 12 seconds
Returns of 18-25 yards: 13 seconds
Returns of 26-34 yards: 14 seconds
Returns of 35-45 yards: 15 seconds
Returns of 46-56 yards: 16 seconds
Returns of 57-67 yards: 17 seconds
Returns of 68-78 yards: 18 seconds
Returns of 79-89 yards: 19 seconds
Returns of 90 yards or more: 20 seconds
Field goal attempts: 4 seconds
On-side kickoff: 3 seconds
Running play, normal huddle: 34 seconds
Running play, no-huddle: 30 seconds
All of these can be further split. For example:
PASSING, NORMAL HUDDLE
Incomplete: 9 seconds
Complete: 31 seconds
PASSING, NO HUDDLE
Incomplete: 8 seconds
Complete: 25 seconds
We can also determine the timing of intercepted pass plays and their returns, fumbles and those returns, field goals by distance, etc. We can look at the timing of plays in the two-minute windows, as well as the timing of plays right after a timeout or right before a timeout.
Lots of things to look at as I try to incorporate as much about the real game as I can into the tabletop version without slowing things down without purpose. What do you think? Use the comments below to share your thoughts and ideas ...
One of the toughest things to replicate in a tabletop football game is the timing of plays. If you keep it simple (which is what many gamers want), you end up with game-end and quarter-end situations that seem forced; there's usually just one play left, period, when we've all seen games where there's two plays' worth of plays in that short amount of time.
For the outdoor game, I'm hoping to come up with a simplified, but realistic, timing system that isn't tied to plays that are "worth" some multiple of five, ten, or fifteen seconds. So, I ran a query on my play-by-play database and came up with some interesting numbers ...
KICKOFF RETURNS
With the kickoff and return, here's the "breakdown" of how long it takes to run a kickoff and the ensuing return:
Returns of 31 yards or less: 6 seconds
Returns of 32-48 yards: 7 seconds
Returns of 49-65 yards: 8 seconds
Returns of 66-82 yards: 9 seconds
Returns of 83-99 yards: 10 seconds
Returns of 100 yards or more: 11 seconds
PASSING
Completed passes in no-huddle offense .... normal huddle offense
Deep left/right: 12 seconds ... 15 seconds
Deep middle: 16 seconds ... 18 seconds
Short left/right: 18 seconds ... 22 seconds
Short middle: 19 seconds ... 23 seconds
PUNT RETURNS
Fair catch ... 8 seconds
Returns of 9 yards or less: 11 seconds
Returns of 10-17 yards: 12 seconds
Returns of 18-25 yards: 13 seconds
Returns of 26-34 yards: 14 seconds
Returns of 35-45 yards: 15 seconds
Returns of 46-56 yards: 16 seconds
Returns of 57-67 yards: 17 seconds
Returns of 68-78 yards: 18 seconds
Returns of 79-89 yards: 19 seconds
Returns of 90 yards or more: 20 seconds
Field goal attempts: 4 seconds
On-side kickoff: 3 seconds
Running play, normal huddle: 34 seconds
Running play, no-huddle: 30 seconds
All of these can be further split. For example:
PASSING, NORMAL HUDDLE
Incomplete: 9 seconds
Complete: 31 seconds
PASSING, NO HUDDLE
Incomplete: 8 seconds
Complete: 25 seconds
We can also determine the timing of intercepted pass plays and their returns, fumbles and those returns, field goals by distance, etc. We can look at the timing of plays in the two-minute windows, as well as the timing of plays right after a timeout or right before a timeout.
Lots of things to look at as I try to incorporate as much about the real game as I can into the tabletop version without slowing things down without purpose. What do you think? Use the comments below to share your thoughts and ideas ...
Wednesday, October 8, 2014
Say What??
One of the questions I've gotten from guys who own W2W is ... "How can so-and-so have an interception rating of 45? He was a better QB than that!"
Well, the reason for it ties neatly into the conversion conversation (I like that alliteration!), which is to say that we can neatly port over the formula and rationale for interception rating into the new game. But before I do, let's talk a bit of math ...
Ahhhhh, you say ... here's where you trick me into listening to a dissertation on math and complex equations! No, not really. But, until you understand some of what you can do with math and game design, you won't really understand a rating that's used, and how it *will* work "correctly" over thousands of dice rolls.
Let's take an interception rating, then, in the context of W2W, because that context will be identical for the new game. And let's assume that the QB we're looking at has an interception percentage of 3.9.
If you were designing a game with individual QB cards, like APBA, you can make sure the QB throws a pick 3.9% of the time by simply assigning him enough card results that can end in an interception roughly 3.9% of the time. In a base-36 system like APBA, merely multiply 36 by .039 ... and you find you'll need 1.4 card results. And, based on which card results end in an interception (and how often), you'd find the two results that happen 1.4 times in 36.
For percentage-based games, you'd simply say that the QB gets picked on some range that can be a range of four (base-100) or a range of 39 (base-1000). Let's look at that base-100 number again ...
In a 2d10 system (base-100), there's no way to replicate to the tenth of a percentage point. 3.9 gets rounded to 3 or 4, depending on what you want. But the question you should be asking here, a la Joe Pesci in "My Cousin Vinny", is "Are you suuuure?"
The answer, of course, is "no" ... we're not sure that we can't replicate that because we need to add a dimension to the base-100 system that will take us to another level, creating a base-1000 system without the need for a three-digit dice roll.
How? By introducing a concept that was first seen in On The Green Golf ... the Activator Die, an additional d10 that allows us to do all sorts of additional things that we can't do with a base-100 system.
Here's the thought process: For the most part, no QB with regular playing time has an interception rate higher than 10%. So, we add the Activator Die and say that, whenever the Activator Die is EQUAL to the Ones Die from the 2d10 roll, we have an "interception check" ... statistically, this will happen 10 times out of every 100 dice rolls (00, 11, 22, 33, 44, 55, 66, 77, 88, 99).
Why an "interception check" and not a straight INT? Because all but the rarest of QBs will have an interception rate of 10%. What the check does is make us do another 2d10 roll, that now must be less than or equal to the QB's Interception Rating, for there to actually be an interception. Anything higher is simply an incomplete pass (overthrown, dropped by the d-back, batted away, etc).
For this QB, his Interception Rating is 39. Why? Because 39% of the time, when there's an Interception Check, he will throw the pick. WAIT!! Are you saying he's got a rate of 39%?? Didn't you say 3.9%??
Nope, I'm saying that, 10% of the time, he'll throw a pick 39% of the time. And the math then proves an interception rate of 3.9% ...
rate = .10 x .39
rate = .039 = 3.9%
There's is a way to short-cut this, and we'll be using this short-cut in the new game.
No qualifying QB (one who has enough pass attempts to be rated in the game) should have a completion percentage higher than 90%. Because of that, we can state, in the rules, that anytime a QB's Pass Roll is 90-99 (in our game, 00 = 0, not 100), then there's an Interception Check. And then, just as in W2W (but without an Activator), we do another roll against the QB's rating to see if he gets picked.
And so, now you see a couple of ways that you can approach representing plays that are a subset of the whole. Folks need to remember that the interceptions are "double-counted" in football ... they are part of the total number of pass attempts, and they are also counted separately. A QB who is 3-5-1 actually had 3 completions, one incompletion, and one interception.
Well, the reason for it ties neatly into the conversion conversation (I like that alliteration!), which is to say that we can neatly port over the formula and rationale for interception rating into the new game. But before I do, let's talk a bit of math ...
Ahhhhh, you say ... here's where you trick me into listening to a dissertation on math and complex equations! No, not really. But, until you understand some of what you can do with math and game design, you won't really understand a rating that's used, and how it *will* work "correctly" over thousands of dice rolls.
Let's take an interception rating, then, in the context of W2W, because that context will be identical for the new game. And let's assume that the QB we're looking at has an interception percentage of 3.9.
If you were designing a game with individual QB cards, like APBA, you can make sure the QB throws a pick 3.9% of the time by simply assigning him enough card results that can end in an interception roughly 3.9% of the time. In a base-36 system like APBA, merely multiply 36 by .039 ... and you find you'll need 1.4 card results. And, based on which card results end in an interception (and how often), you'd find the two results that happen 1.4 times in 36.
For percentage-based games, you'd simply say that the QB gets picked on some range that can be a range of four (base-100) or a range of 39 (base-1000). Let's look at that base-100 number again ...
In a 2d10 system (base-100), there's no way to replicate to the tenth of a percentage point. 3.9 gets rounded to 3 or 4, depending on what you want. But the question you should be asking here, a la Joe Pesci in "My Cousin Vinny", is "Are you suuuure?"
The answer, of course, is "no" ... we're not sure that we can't replicate that because we need to add a dimension to the base-100 system that will take us to another level, creating a base-1000 system without the need for a three-digit dice roll.
How? By introducing a concept that was first seen in On The Green Golf ... the Activator Die, an additional d10 that allows us to do all sorts of additional things that we can't do with a base-100 system.
Here's the thought process: For the most part, no QB with regular playing time has an interception rate higher than 10%. So, we add the Activator Die and say that, whenever the Activator Die is EQUAL to the Ones Die from the 2d10 roll, we have an "interception check" ... statistically, this will happen 10 times out of every 100 dice rolls (00, 11, 22, 33, 44, 55, 66, 77, 88, 99).
Why an "interception check" and not a straight INT? Because all but the rarest of QBs will have an interception rate of 10%. What the check does is make us do another 2d10 roll, that now must be less than or equal to the QB's Interception Rating, for there to actually be an interception. Anything higher is simply an incomplete pass (overthrown, dropped by the d-back, batted away, etc).
For this QB, his Interception Rating is 39. Why? Because 39% of the time, when there's an Interception Check, he will throw the pick. WAIT!! Are you saying he's got a rate of 39%?? Didn't you say 3.9%??
Nope, I'm saying that, 10% of the time, he'll throw a pick 39% of the time. And the math then proves an interception rate of 3.9% ...
rate = .10 x .39
rate = .039 = 3.9%
There's is a way to short-cut this, and we'll be using this short-cut in the new game.
No qualifying QB (one who has enough pass attempts to be rated in the game) should have a completion percentage higher than 90%. Because of that, we can state, in the rules, that anytime a QB's Pass Roll is 90-99 (in our game, 00 = 0, not 100), then there's an Interception Check. And then, just as in W2W (but without an Activator), we do another roll against the QB's rating to see if he gets picked.
And so, now you see a couple of ways that you can approach representing plays that are a subset of the whole. Folks need to remember that the interceptions are "double-counted" in football ... they are part of the total number of pass attempts, and they are also counted separately. A QB who is 3-5-1 actually had 3 completions, one incompletion, and one interception.
Tuesday, October 7, 2014
Features
For those not familiar with W2W, here are some features of the game that I think folks will enjoy seeing in the new game ...
1) On passing plays, even if the dice roll indicates that the QB has thrown "complete", the game only treats that as "on target", meaning the pass will not be intercepted ... but the play result may still read "incomplete" due to a receiver drop, pass break-up, etc.
This increases the "suspense" factor ... say you need a long pass completion to set-up the winning field goal. After adjusting for all the pass factors (don't panic, there's not as much math as it might sound), you roll and the pass is "on target" ... so you're probably 90% sure the pass will be caught ... it's that 10% chance or so that the receiver won't catch the ball that worries you. So, rather than "knowing" the play is good ... you have to roll again and see if the dice find the incompletion.
2) On passing plays, the play call can be "changed" by results of Hot Read (R), or Checkdown (C). If a Hot Read results, the play is re-rolled on the next longest pass play card. If a Checkdown results, the play is re-rolled on the next shortest pass play.
So, you can get a Hot Read on a screen, short, and medium pass, and a Checkdown on a short, medium, and long pass. You can also get multiple Hot Reads or Checkdowns on a single play if the dice are "right" ... you could look long for the bomb and checkdown to a short pass or, you could look to swing a screen and then the QB sees something that takes him to a medium pass. Again, it's all about taking complete knowledge and control of a play out of your hands and put it into the hands of the players on the field.
3) We won't be using decimal yardage in the outdoor game, but there will be a rule (and chart) in play where, when a first down is made exactly, that the play either came up short or made it (with a potential video review). Same for touchdowns.
For example, it's third and goal from the four-yard line. The play result is a gain of four yards. The chart is consulted and will either result in the play coming up short (and recorded as a three-yard gain under NFL scoring rules), or breaking the plane.
4) Speaking of video review, every play that qualifies for video review will be given a Review Modifier ... an addition/subtraction from the Video Review dice roll that gives the play a better chance of being upheld or overturned, as the case may be.
Extending the previous example, the call is that the runner is short of the goal line, but the Review Modifier is +3, meaning that there's a better chance that the call will be overturned. This gives you, the player, a gauge as to whether or not to challenge the call on the field ... yep, you heard that right ... only *you* will determine if the play will be challenged, although the game system will define when a play is close enough to challenge (white result on red background) ... and other rules allow for challenges (for example, any pass play where the receiver goes out of bounds ... did he get the toes down??)
5) Defensive plays will "change" as the offense nears the end zone ... yards are harder to come by on the ground ... completion percentage drops with less territory to work with ... and so on.
And defenses come with the usual risk-reward factor ... you wanna go run-stop? OK, but completion percentage goes up. You wanna blitz? Sure, but those screens just became a huge liability for you, both percentage- AND yardage-wise!
6) Unlike W2W, the plan (for now) is not to have team-specific play-calling cards. There will be a generic play-calling system, based on the tendencies of all 32 NFL clubs over a ten-year period. But, don't fret ... the timing system will allow you to replicate the no-huddle offense, or the Chip Kelly offense by allowing you to control the game tempo based on the offensive "system" you're in ... which then controls the timing rules.
And there will be much more to discuss as I start re-vamping actual game charts for the outdoor game ...
1) On passing plays, even if the dice roll indicates that the QB has thrown "complete", the game only treats that as "on target", meaning the pass will not be intercepted ... but the play result may still read "incomplete" due to a receiver drop, pass break-up, etc.
This increases the "suspense" factor ... say you need a long pass completion to set-up the winning field goal. After adjusting for all the pass factors (don't panic, there's not as much math as it might sound), you roll and the pass is "on target" ... so you're probably 90% sure the pass will be caught ... it's that 10% chance or so that the receiver won't catch the ball that worries you. So, rather than "knowing" the play is good ... you have to roll again and see if the dice find the incompletion.
2) On passing plays, the play call can be "changed" by results of Hot Read (R), or Checkdown (C). If a Hot Read results, the play is re-rolled on the next longest pass play card. If a Checkdown results, the play is re-rolled on the next shortest pass play.
So, you can get a Hot Read on a screen, short, and medium pass, and a Checkdown on a short, medium, and long pass. You can also get multiple Hot Reads or Checkdowns on a single play if the dice are "right" ... you could look long for the bomb and checkdown to a short pass or, you could look to swing a screen and then the QB sees something that takes him to a medium pass. Again, it's all about taking complete knowledge and control of a play out of your hands and put it into the hands of the players on the field.
3) We won't be using decimal yardage in the outdoor game, but there will be a rule (and chart) in play where, when a first down is made exactly, that the play either came up short or made it (with a potential video review). Same for touchdowns.
For example, it's third and goal from the four-yard line. The play result is a gain of four yards. The chart is consulted and will either result in the play coming up short (and recorded as a three-yard gain under NFL scoring rules), or breaking the plane.
4) Speaking of video review, every play that qualifies for video review will be given a Review Modifier ... an addition/subtraction from the Video Review dice roll that gives the play a better chance of being upheld or overturned, as the case may be.
Extending the previous example, the call is that the runner is short of the goal line, but the Review Modifier is +3, meaning that there's a better chance that the call will be overturned. This gives you, the player, a gauge as to whether or not to challenge the call on the field ... yep, you heard that right ... only *you* will determine if the play will be challenged, although the game system will define when a play is close enough to challenge (white result on red background) ... and other rules allow for challenges (for example, any pass play where the receiver goes out of bounds ... did he get the toes down??)
5) Defensive plays will "change" as the offense nears the end zone ... yards are harder to come by on the ground ... completion percentage drops with less territory to work with ... and so on.
And defenses come with the usual risk-reward factor ... you wanna go run-stop? OK, but completion percentage goes up. You wanna blitz? Sure, but those screens just became a huge liability for you, both percentage- AND yardage-wise!
6) Unlike W2W, the plan (for now) is not to have team-specific play-calling cards. There will be a generic play-calling system, based on the tendencies of all 32 NFL clubs over a ten-year period. But, don't fret ... the timing system will allow you to replicate the no-huddle offense, or the Chip Kelly offense by allowing you to control the game tempo based on the offensive "system" you're in ... which then controls the timing rules.
And there will be much more to discuss as I start re-vamping actual game charts for the outdoor game ...
Monday, October 6, 2014
Play Cards
From the previous post, it should be noted that there are really only four play types in W2W: Run, Short Pass, Medium Pass, and Long Pass. Because the indoor game is so pass-heavy, and the field rather narrow (with only three down linemen), four plays is about all you need to represent the sport.
Outdoor football, with a much wider field, and where defenders are allowed to blitz (something outlawed in the indoor game), you need more play types. Couple reasons for this, the most obvious of which is that there are lots more options outdoors than indoors. The other comes down to the immersion factor for you, the game player.
If you love indoor football, you know that there's very little variation in the plays that are run. There's almost always a receiver in motion toward the line of scrimmage on every play; the only "options" are where he lines up and whether he circles around the back of the formation or straight up the slot.
However, if you love outdoor football, you know that there are sweeps, and draws, and off-tackle runs, plunges, dives, etc. There are screen passes, dump-offs, bubble screens, slants, quick-hitters, posts, go routes, etc. And if you're playing a game on the tabletop, you want to have, at the very least, a set of plays that allow you more flexibility to run your offense.
In this new game, the plan is to have, at a minimum, the following plays: inside run, outside run, screen pass, short pass, medium pass, long pass, gadget plays, kneeldowns, and spike plays. We'll also allow you to put your QB under center or in the shotgun as you choose.
Defensively, we'll be looking at: base 3-4/4-3, run key, pass key, nickel, dime, prevent, and goal line/short yardage. On special teams, teams will have punt block and placekick block options, as well.
The key here is ... where do I get the data for all of this? I have some sources, not all of which I am willing to share. One source is the NFL GameBooks ... every game's play-by-play logged and noted for you. Not easy data to put together, but if you had the time, you could copy and paste and code every single play from every season there are GameBooks for.
Other sources cost me to access, which, for many of you, partially explains the cost of a simple PDF being "more" that it appears on the surface. Yes, a PDF is virtually cost-free to create and send. But, the data that the PDF represents generally cost me something to obtain, and thus you, the customer, help me recoup that cost.
So, now that we know what plays there are going to be, we can start devising the play cards for the outdoor version of the game ...
And that's coming soon ...
Outdoor football, with a much wider field, and where defenders are allowed to blitz (something outlawed in the indoor game), you need more play types. Couple reasons for this, the most obvious of which is that there are lots more options outdoors than indoors. The other comes down to the immersion factor for you, the game player.
If you love indoor football, you know that there's very little variation in the plays that are run. There's almost always a receiver in motion toward the line of scrimmage on every play; the only "options" are where he lines up and whether he circles around the back of the formation or straight up the slot.
However, if you love outdoor football, you know that there are sweeps, and draws, and off-tackle runs, plunges, dives, etc. There are screen passes, dump-offs, bubble screens, slants, quick-hitters, posts, go routes, etc. And if you're playing a game on the tabletop, you want to have, at the very least, a set of plays that allow you more flexibility to run your offense.
In this new game, the plan is to have, at a minimum, the following plays: inside run, outside run, screen pass, short pass, medium pass, long pass, gadget plays, kneeldowns, and spike plays. We'll also allow you to put your QB under center or in the shotgun as you choose.
Defensively, we'll be looking at: base 3-4/4-3, run key, pass key, nickel, dime, prevent, and goal line/short yardage. On special teams, teams will have punt block and placekick block options, as well.
The key here is ... where do I get the data for all of this? I have some sources, not all of which I am willing to share. One source is the NFL GameBooks ... every game's play-by-play logged and noted for you. Not easy data to put together, but if you had the time, you could copy and paste and code every single play from every season there are GameBooks for.
Other sources cost me to access, which, for many of you, partially explains the cost of a simple PDF being "more" that it appears on the surface. Yes, a PDF is virtually cost-free to create and send. But, the data that the PDF represents generally cost me something to obtain, and thus you, the customer, help me recoup that cost.
So, now that we know what plays there are going to be, we can start devising the play cards for the outdoor version of the game ...
And that's coming soon ...
Sample W2W Play Cards
Here's a look at two of the play cards from W2W: the Run Play and the Short Pass Play ...
What's This About Wall 2 Wall?
For those following along who do not own Wall 2 Wall Indoor Football, a lot of what follows in this blog will seem foreign to you.
I had contemplated a lengthy explanation of the game, how it plays, and its genesis, so that everyone can be "up to speed" as we get started. But that would eat up a lot of time as I would have to be thorough enough that a complete novice would understand at level that would leave them with virtually no questions going forward.
I decided not to go that route for two reasons: 1) the purely selfish motivation that it would take up time I really don't want to spend re-hashing a process that happened four years ago, and 2) the backstory really won't have much impact on how I approach this game, going forward.
You see, Wall 2 Wall (W2W hereafter) was built specifically to represent the indoor game. All the probabilities you see in W2W come from arena league stats and tendencies, and all of the charts and rules are geared for the indoor game only. W2W is, to my knowledge, the only game to represent the indoor game that was built on the indoor game ... not modified from an outdoor game engine.
But, to convert from W2W to this new game, I have to "throw out" much of what came before in terms of charts and tables. For example, you can return missed field goals if they rebound back into the field of play from the nets. But, in the outdoor game, you can only return a field goal if it is short, and fielded within the field of play; a field goal sailing wide right can't be returned.
Penalty rates, fumble rates, interception rates, etc., are all vastly different in the indoor game than the outdoor game. Thus, the charts will reflect those characteristics, as well.
What won't change is the basic way the game plays: roll three, ten-sided dice, and using different ways to read the three dice, you can get the play result and whether or not a fumble, penalty, etc. happened on the play. What triggers each may be different with the new game, but the base mechanic is (at least for now) staying as it was in W2W.
So, if you feel "lost" at any time during the process, it's because you don't have the working background in W2W (again, I'm saying this to non-owners of the game) to have as complete an understanding as you like. You're free to use the comments to ask questions and, wherever practical (which means "Whenever the answer can be kept brief"), address those questions.
I had contemplated a lengthy explanation of the game, how it plays, and its genesis, so that everyone can be "up to speed" as we get started. But that would eat up a lot of time as I would have to be thorough enough that a complete novice would understand at level that would leave them with virtually no questions going forward.
I decided not to go that route for two reasons: 1) the purely selfish motivation that it would take up time I really don't want to spend re-hashing a process that happened four years ago, and 2) the backstory really won't have much impact on how I approach this game, going forward.
You see, Wall 2 Wall (W2W hereafter) was built specifically to represent the indoor game. All the probabilities you see in W2W come from arena league stats and tendencies, and all of the charts and rules are geared for the indoor game only. W2W is, to my knowledge, the only game to represent the indoor game that was built on the indoor game ... not modified from an outdoor game engine.
But, to convert from W2W to this new game, I have to "throw out" much of what came before in terms of charts and tables. For example, you can return missed field goals if they rebound back into the field of play from the nets. But, in the outdoor game, you can only return a field goal if it is short, and fielded within the field of play; a field goal sailing wide right can't be returned.
Penalty rates, fumble rates, interception rates, etc., are all vastly different in the indoor game than the outdoor game. Thus, the charts will reflect those characteristics, as well.
What won't change is the basic way the game plays: roll three, ten-sided dice, and using different ways to read the three dice, you can get the play result and whether or not a fumble, penalty, etc. happened on the play. What triggers each may be different with the new game, but the base mechanic is (at least for now) staying as it was in W2W.
So, if you feel "lost" at any time during the process, it's because you don't have the working background in W2W (again, I'm saying this to non-owners of the game) to have as complete an understanding as you like. You're free to use the comments to ask questions and, wherever practical (which means "Whenever the answer can be kept brief"), address those questions.
Let's Start With A Contest!
OK, you've come this far ... linking to the blog, maybe even reading the opening post.
So, let's potentially reward you for that by opening up the floor for a "name the game" contest ... if your suggestion is chosen, you'll win a free PDF copy of the game upon its release.
Your task is simple ...
What should the name of this game be? Keep in mind that the original design, "Wall 2 Wall", gave a pretty fair description of the indoor game ... it's literally played between the walls of a hockey rink, from one end to the other. The name also alludes to the artificial surface, also known as the "carpet", where one usually buys "wall-to-wall carpeting".
So, the name of this game doesn't have to be "Something 2 Something" ... but the name should evoke images of outdoor football. One name that I have already put forth eons ago for a pro football game of my own design is "Frozen Tundra Football" ... so anyone suggesting that can't win the prize, since it's already been suggested by me.
Post your suggestions in the comments section ... if I choose the name from the suggestions, all ties for the suggestion will be broken by the person who FIRST suggested the title.
Please also note that I am not bound to choose a title from this contest if none of the suggestions appeal to me ...
So, let's potentially reward you for that by opening up the floor for a "name the game" contest ... if your suggestion is chosen, you'll win a free PDF copy of the game upon its release.
Your task is simple ...
What should the name of this game be? Keep in mind that the original design, "Wall 2 Wall", gave a pretty fair description of the indoor game ... it's literally played between the walls of a hockey rink, from one end to the other. The name also alludes to the artificial surface, also known as the "carpet", where one usually buys "wall-to-wall carpeting".
So, the name of this game doesn't have to be "Something 2 Something" ... but the name should evoke images of outdoor football. One name that I have already put forth eons ago for a pro football game of my own design is "Frozen Tundra Football" ... so anyone suggesting that can't win the prize, since it's already been suggested by me.
Post your suggestions in the comments section ... if I choose the name from the suggestions, all ties for the suggestion will be broken by the person who FIRST suggested the title.
Please also note that I am not bound to choose a title from this contest if none of the suggestions appeal to me ...
Welcome to the World of Game Design
Hello, everyone!
Welcome to "Wall 2 Wall Goes Outside", a special blog dedicated to the inside story of how the Wall 2 Wall Indoor Football Game, designed by yours truly, is converted to an outdoor version of the game, suitable for use with NFL stats and players.
For years, folks have asked me, "How do you do that?" And, I usually say that game design is a "feel" process where you try different ideas until you find one that just feels right for you to continue moving forward with the design.
What I decided to do as I work on the conversion of Wall 2 Wall to the outdoor game is to let folks in on the process or, more correctly, let folks in on as much of the process as I can without giving away my rating formulas and other proprietary information. You gotta be careful, because if you freely post your rating formulas, then folks can run with them and create their own card sets, which they could, conceivably, sell as their own.
So, there will be times when the "story" told within these pages seems to "jump" over some elements. You may be tempted to comment or e-mail, asking me to fill in what appears to be missing. But I will tell you, up front, that whatever is missing is missing for a reason, and that I won't be sharing the missing parts, no matter how politely you may ask.
Anyway, just settle in for a look at the thought process behind this conversion. I hope that the look inside will be enough, once the game is complete, for you to purchase a copy of your very own. And, there may be some opportunities for you to contribute ideas ... which, if they're used, scores you a free copy of the game when it comes out.
Please, enjoy the ride ...
Welcome to "Wall 2 Wall Goes Outside", a special blog dedicated to the inside story of how the Wall 2 Wall Indoor Football Game, designed by yours truly, is converted to an outdoor version of the game, suitable for use with NFL stats and players.
For years, folks have asked me, "How do you do that?" And, I usually say that game design is a "feel" process where you try different ideas until you find one that just feels right for you to continue moving forward with the design.
What I decided to do as I work on the conversion of Wall 2 Wall to the outdoor game is to let folks in on the process or, more correctly, let folks in on as much of the process as I can without giving away my rating formulas and other proprietary information. You gotta be careful, because if you freely post your rating formulas, then folks can run with them and create their own card sets, which they could, conceivably, sell as their own.
So, there will be times when the "story" told within these pages seems to "jump" over some elements. You may be tempted to comment or e-mail, asking me to fill in what appears to be missing. But I will tell you, up front, that whatever is missing is missing for a reason, and that I won't be sharing the missing parts, no matter how politely you may ask.
Anyway, just settle in for a look at the thought process behind this conversion. I hope that the look inside will be enough, once the game is complete, for you to purchase a copy of your very own. And, there may be some opportunities for you to contribute ideas ... which, if they're used, scores you a free copy of the game when it comes out.
Please, enjoy the ride ...
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